Archmage1
2015-08-13, 09:40 AM
So, I decided that I want to try to write up a world, so... here I am.
The basic premise of the world is that, well, I'm only going to focus on one island.
The history(Well, pre-history) of the world is a story.
There was a mighty empire(Or many mighty empires, no one really remembers), but it reached too high, and the gods struck it down, but a few fled, to a very difficult to reach island(Found, but no one showed any real interest in it), and that's where our world begins. The overall map of the world looks something like a target. You've got the old empire ringing the island, separated by sea(About the thickness of the atlantic), and this sea is a very rough sea, and bad weather events are quite common, as the waters are quite warm(Due to being quite shallow). This results in large waves, and frequent storms hammering the coastal regions(which is also why no one really was interested in the island, as building boats to get there wasn't easy.).
The old empire was, well, wasted away. The remains are mostly buried beneath sands, and protected by various mechanical and magical creatures, as well as undead, and demons, that sort of thing. Definitely not the sort of place low level parties go. However, the old empire was a very, very powerful one(Both magically and technologically)(Although, more in the steampunk kind of way than the modern kind of way). The technology they used was effectively lost, in the retreat, but brave adventurers might be able to retrieve useful magical and technological artifacts from the mainland. But that isn't the focus here.
That's a lot of the history. Now, what makes the island different is the red wall. A wall of red light, that extends across the entire island, leaving the eastern third behind it(The western 2/3rds are the inhabited section). No one's been able to figure out a way across it, and the other side looks blasted, otherworldly. Observers have noted massive creatures that roam it,(Implication is that they are mechanical) but they haven't spotted any signs of plant life, and the occasional dust storm roars out of it, leaving the prevailing belief that is is a wasteland. This area may be linked to the destruction of the mainland, as the mainland, and the Red Lands are very similar(Not that anyone's been to the mainland)
I'm not much of an artist, so I'm just going to describe the island, for now.
The world is comprised of two continents. The vastly larger one, the Old World, or the Old Empire, is a blasted wasteland, infested with very powerful monsters that don't need to eat to survive. There is no food, and no water there.
The Old World is a roughly circular disk, around the Sea of Rage, which is around the New World. It has a wide variety of terrain, but, well, everything is dead. What were plains are now howling wastelands, dust storms, lightning storms, tornadoes, basically bad weather without rain are common. What were forests are now petrified, and cities are buried beneath shifting sands. Lakes are salt flats. There is no water, no food. The only survivors are demons, undead, and mechanical/magical guardians. They are most certainly not friendly.
The Ocean of Peace(As it was called. No one alive has ever seen it, and it is known only from ancient maps), was a much deeper, and cooler ocean, around the Old World. Basically, an ocean. Lots of coastal cities around it, as it was important to trade.
The Sea of Rage is the ocean between the New World and the Old World, and it is a very different sea. It is a warm ocean, and very shallow, which leads it to having very, very bad weather, with massive waves. The only "ports" on the inner edge of the Old World were more like fortresses, against the weather, and the only boats were submarines. The only ports along it in the New World are a part of the Shalassan Kingdom, the elven realm, and they are protected by druids, who help to calm the wind and waves. There may be islands in it, but they'll be devoid of live, except possibly for lichen, and other hardy plant life, which can take a storm.
The Straight of Doom: This is a narrow sea lane, between the Ocean of Peace, and the Sea of Rage. Predictibly enough, it is usually covered in heavy fog, except during the frequent(And violent) storms that plague it. There was no ship traffic during the time of the old empire.
The New World is the continent(Roughly the size of Australia) in the center of the Sea of Rage. It is roughly circular, but only 2/3rds are populated. The eastern third is on the other side of the Red Wall, and little is known of it. The northern portion of it, above the Trastan Mountains, is largely flat, with poor soil. It is a steppe(Caused by the rain shadow of the Trastan Mountains), and it is quite large. South of the Trastan Mountains, and north of the Elithran Mountains, is jungle, primarily inhabited by the elves. To the south of the Elithran Mountains is a more European area, primarily glacial planes, relatively flat, and quite fertile. The east has the Duthhurger Mountains, which are volcanic(The ash mostly gets blown to the south), and the Red Wall. There are rivers and such, flowing from the mountains to the sea, with the biggest one flowing through the Shalassan Kingdom.
The Red Wall is the mysterious wall, a wall of red light, stretching the entire distance of the continent. It goes as high as people can see, and as low as the dwarves have ever dug. No ship has ever returned from trying to sail around it. The Red Lands(The land to the east of the Wall), are commonly thought to be wastelands, as evidenced by the dust storms that occasionally blow out. There are large moving things there, but no one has ever figured out how to cross it. Every attempt to do so has resulted in the death of the crosser.
The world was populated by evacuees, but planar travel doesn't work, nor does teleportation. This leads to a complete and utter lack of planar races(Such as genasi, Aasimar, tieflings, and others)
The main races(This isn't an exclusive list)
Elves: Elves, and most of their subtypes(Again, no planar elves(Such as fire elves) exist, and they control a large area of coast, as well as an interior area consisting mostly of jungle, bounded by mountains(which are inhabited by various "monster races"). They are a powerful force, and make extensive use of magic(Especially druidic). Their druids provide food via magic, and they also help to tame the storms and waves that come in off of the sea.
Humans: Humans are mostly located to the south, which is a glacial plain.(Flat, rolling hills, excellent farmland). Their coastal areas aren't protected by druids, so they don't have ports, or any coastal cities. Much of the sea coast is high cliffs, which absorb the waves. Their territory runs up against the Red Wall. They are numerous, but frequently war with themselves, and the hobgoblins, to the north. They don't war with the elves, as the only access ways are quite heavily fortified.
Little folk(Gnomes, Halflings), mostly live with other races, although there are some primarily gnome or halfling villages. Gnomes provide much of the higher education available in the world, for non-magical things(Elves have arcane and druids). There are also some in among the elves, but they are quite rare there.
Hobgoblins: Hobgoblins(And a scattering of other monster races) rule the northern areas, which are steppes, similar to mongolia. They are well organized, and they are a raiding society, skilled at surviving on nothing much. They are numerous, and rely heavily on horses for survival. They raid the humans, but not the elves or dwarves, as both are much harder to get at, whereas the humans have a long frontier with the hobgoblins.
Dwarves: Located primarily in their main city, dwarves live in the mountains near the Red Wall. Their tunnels have ran into the Red Wall, in the past. They are miners and craftsmen, and their industrial output is the bulk of the high quality metal equipment available. Human crafting is inferior, and elven weapons are mostly ironwood, or crafted by highly skilled smiths, mostly out of Mithril(Which they get from their own mines, or trade with the dwarves).
Other races: There are quite a lot of other races, but they are minorities. There are kobolds(And dragons), scattered through mountains, along with goblins, orcs, ogres, some giants, and many more. The mountains are definitely not safe places. Fey can be found mostly in the elven forest. Warforged are constructed by the dwarves(And some by the gnomes), but they are quite rare, and are very expensive property, not people. For a campaign, make up spots for other races, at need.
The only races native to the region are the fey(Who generally avoided the newcomers, although, later, they came to like the elves), but they were few in number, and offered no explanation for the scattered ruins. The kobolds and dragons, too, seemed to be there first, although they had little in the way of history. Other races are evacuees from the Old World, but it has been centuries since the evacuation.
The Empire of Horse is the hobgoblin controlled empire in the northern Steppes. It is a loose conglomerate of seperate tribes, with one leader, selected by all the tribes. This leader(Currently Shaco Gorand), is mostly powerless, and his primary task is resolving disputes between tribes. His title is Warleader, but he has no real political power. There are many tribes, but the Shazkan and the Tratain are the two most powerful. The Shazkan and Tratain both have significant territories bordering the human empire, and it is somewhat customary to send excess warriors to them, to participate in the raids of the humans. There are many smaller tribes. The hobgoblins tend to treat other races as slaves, and are a brutal, but honorable(To other hobgoblins. Not to other races) people. The slaves tend to live for a short time, unless they have some skill that the tribe needs, as they are treated brutally, and usually used up for entertainment. While they last, they are usually used for labour, such as moving tents, and carrying things. Their leaders are elected, but disposed of by force. The Clan Chief of each tribe takes the name of the tribe, as he speaks for the tribe as a whole. They are primarily mounted skirmishers, not infantry. Their typical behavior is raiding, but they are disciplined, and work well together. Their main exports are hides, as they are primarily herders. Their combat tactics(As a group) are to move in, firing arrows, then, before reaching their enemy, turning(Firing another arrow), and then falling back, continuing to fire arrows. They don't stand and fight. They don't have cities, but clan holds, which are named after the tribe living there, but they are tent cities, and are simply taken with the nomads when they exhaust their current feeding grounds for their animals(Mostly hardy sheep and goat, along with their horses). Their capitol is a trading town, called Samovar, located near the center of their territory, where strict rules of neutrality are observed(And enforced, by the Warleader's men). They also possess a few mining sites, and a handful of farming valleys, in the Duthhurger Mountains, where, again, the Warleader's men use collected slaves to farm, and to mine.
The Shalassan Kingdom is dominated by elves, and is located in the jungle between the Trastan and Elithran mountains. They are a fairly peaceful society, but they generally don't allow large numbers of other races inside their territory. Their rulers are Lord Elthran, and Lady Lyara, who live in the coastal city of Shanue, which is the capitol. There are two other coastal cities(Elthras, and Amerone), and one inland city(Starfall), and three fortresses, Fort Trastan(In the only navigable pass through the Trastan Mountains), and Ellithras and Ellithran, the two fortresses in the Elithran mountains, blocking the main passes there. The three forts have resisted many attacks, and are considered impregnable. They are also significant trading centers, dealing with the hobgoblins, and the humans, although the officials don't approve of this, so there are no legal protections, until the elven lands are entered. However, such trade can be quite rich, as the hobgoblins frequently dispose of their loot here. Starfall is built around a crater lake, but, like all of the elven cities, it is a part of the land, not an intrusion into it. Treehouses are common, and lights are primarily magical. Food is provided via druidic magic, and water is plentiful. Shanue is a center of magical research and training, although there are other schools, in the other cities. Overall, the elves are isolationist, but they are willing to allow caravans, and traders, into their lands, as well as explorers. Their primary exports are forest products, medicine, and magical objects. They import metal, and some foods.
The Human Lands aren't united under any one ruler, instead, they are ruled by a scattering of nobles, who are frequently at war with each other, and with the hobgoblins. There are no major cities, but many smaller towns, and castles dot the terrain. They primarily farm, although there is some mining. The northern towns are more like fortresses, and, due to frequent attacks, they are well defended, and the farmers are trained to run inside the towns at the first sign of trouble. Most human buildings are stone, and well built, due to the rather terrible weather.
Urdonesk, the only dwarven city, is in the Duthhurger Mountains, and it is a mining city, importing everything, and exporting metal and weapons. It is basically a fortress. And a mine. But, it does have mushrooms.
but dwarves get sick of a diet of mushrooms, and mine water.
There are many places for adventure in this world, as there are tribes of monsters in the mountains, who, of course, have treasure, as well as many scattered ruins, from some unknown race(No one has been able to translate the writing, not even via magic), which are located all over the continent. Most of these ruins are sealed, and locked, but they are occasionally open, but guarded by some magic. It is considered risky to try to raid them, as well as bad luck, so, generally, rulers don't sponsor people to do so. Inside, enemies vary.
Planar travel doesn't work, nor does teleportation(Thus, the spells and such about it simply don't exist in the new world). Druidic plant shifting only allows one to travel around the island; Any attempt to go elsewhere fails.
No one knows why(Although there is a reason, and campaigns in this world may discover it.(High level adventure)
Planar binding spells, and other such things, are somewhat known, but rather than call demons, they are limited to elementals, which are created from the surroundings(So, if you want a fire elemental, you need fire, if you want a water elemental, you need water).
Magic isn't distributed evenly through the races. The elves have the most, having the time to study it, although they have more druidic magic than anything else. The humans have little magic, as constant warfare doesn't promote such learning, although some of the things the gnomes make, you would think are magic(Beginning to experiment with gunpowder). The hobgoblins have few magical items, but they do have many shaman, who are low level cleric/wizards. The dwarves disdain magic, preferring technology, but they do have clerics, who run the breweries.
More work is needed, this is just the start, but I'm thinking that, after the map is made, most of the details will be worked out in the campaign I'm planning on running.
The basic premise of the world is that, well, I'm only going to focus on one island.
The history(Well, pre-history) of the world is a story.
There was a mighty empire(Or many mighty empires, no one really remembers), but it reached too high, and the gods struck it down, but a few fled, to a very difficult to reach island(Found, but no one showed any real interest in it), and that's where our world begins. The overall map of the world looks something like a target. You've got the old empire ringing the island, separated by sea(About the thickness of the atlantic), and this sea is a very rough sea, and bad weather events are quite common, as the waters are quite warm(Due to being quite shallow). This results in large waves, and frequent storms hammering the coastal regions(which is also why no one really was interested in the island, as building boats to get there wasn't easy.).
The old empire was, well, wasted away. The remains are mostly buried beneath sands, and protected by various mechanical and magical creatures, as well as undead, and demons, that sort of thing. Definitely not the sort of place low level parties go. However, the old empire was a very, very powerful one(Both magically and technologically)(Although, more in the steampunk kind of way than the modern kind of way). The technology they used was effectively lost, in the retreat, but brave adventurers might be able to retrieve useful magical and technological artifacts from the mainland. But that isn't the focus here.
That's a lot of the history. Now, what makes the island different is the red wall. A wall of red light, that extends across the entire island, leaving the eastern third behind it(The western 2/3rds are the inhabited section). No one's been able to figure out a way across it, and the other side looks blasted, otherworldly. Observers have noted massive creatures that roam it,(Implication is that they are mechanical) but they haven't spotted any signs of plant life, and the occasional dust storm roars out of it, leaving the prevailing belief that is is a wasteland. This area may be linked to the destruction of the mainland, as the mainland, and the Red Lands are very similar(Not that anyone's been to the mainland)
I'm not much of an artist, so I'm just going to describe the island, for now.
The world is comprised of two continents. The vastly larger one, the Old World, or the Old Empire, is a blasted wasteland, infested with very powerful monsters that don't need to eat to survive. There is no food, and no water there.
The Old World is a roughly circular disk, around the Sea of Rage, which is around the New World. It has a wide variety of terrain, but, well, everything is dead. What were plains are now howling wastelands, dust storms, lightning storms, tornadoes, basically bad weather without rain are common. What were forests are now petrified, and cities are buried beneath shifting sands. Lakes are salt flats. There is no water, no food. The only survivors are demons, undead, and mechanical/magical guardians. They are most certainly not friendly.
The Ocean of Peace(As it was called. No one alive has ever seen it, and it is known only from ancient maps), was a much deeper, and cooler ocean, around the Old World. Basically, an ocean. Lots of coastal cities around it, as it was important to trade.
The Sea of Rage is the ocean between the New World and the Old World, and it is a very different sea. It is a warm ocean, and very shallow, which leads it to having very, very bad weather, with massive waves. The only "ports" on the inner edge of the Old World were more like fortresses, against the weather, and the only boats were submarines. The only ports along it in the New World are a part of the Shalassan Kingdom, the elven realm, and they are protected by druids, who help to calm the wind and waves. There may be islands in it, but they'll be devoid of live, except possibly for lichen, and other hardy plant life, which can take a storm.
The Straight of Doom: This is a narrow sea lane, between the Ocean of Peace, and the Sea of Rage. Predictibly enough, it is usually covered in heavy fog, except during the frequent(And violent) storms that plague it. There was no ship traffic during the time of the old empire.
The New World is the continent(Roughly the size of Australia) in the center of the Sea of Rage. It is roughly circular, but only 2/3rds are populated. The eastern third is on the other side of the Red Wall, and little is known of it. The northern portion of it, above the Trastan Mountains, is largely flat, with poor soil. It is a steppe(Caused by the rain shadow of the Trastan Mountains), and it is quite large. South of the Trastan Mountains, and north of the Elithran Mountains, is jungle, primarily inhabited by the elves. To the south of the Elithran Mountains is a more European area, primarily glacial planes, relatively flat, and quite fertile. The east has the Duthhurger Mountains, which are volcanic(The ash mostly gets blown to the south), and the Red Wall. There are rivers and such, flowing from the mountains to the sea, with the biggest one flowing through the Shalassan Kingdom.
The Red Wall is the mysterious wall, a wall of red light, stretching the entire distance of the continent. It goes as high as people can see, and as low as the dwarves have ever dug. No ship has ever returned from trying to sail around it. The Red Lands(The land to the east of the Wall), are commonly thought to be wastelands, as evidenced by the dust storms that occasionally blow out. There are large moving things there, but no one has ever figured out how to cross it. Every attempt to do so has resulted in the death of the crosser.
The world was populated by evacuees, but planar travel doesn't work, nor does teleportation. This leads to a complete and utter lack of planar races(Such as genasi, Aasimar, tieflings, and others)
The main races(This isn't an exclusive list)
Elves: Elves, and most of their subtypes(Again, no planar elves(Such as fire elves) exist, and they control a large area of coast, as well as an interior area consisting mostly of jungle, bounded by mountains(which are inhabited by various "monster races"). They are a powerful force, and make extensive use of magic(Especially druidic). Their druids provide food via magic, and they also help to tame the storms and waves that come in off of the sea.
Humans: Humans are mostly located to the south, which is a glacial plain.(Flat, rolling hills, excellent farmland). Their coastal areas aren't protected by druids, so they don't have ports, or any coastal cities. Much of the sea coast is high cliffs, which absorb the waves. Their territory runs up against the Red Wall. They are numerous, but frequently war with themselves, and the hobgoblins, to the north. They don't war with the elves, as the only access ways are quite heavily fortified.
Little folk(Gnomes, Halflings), mostly live with other races, although there are some primarily gnome or halfling villages. Gnomes provide much of the higher education available in the world, for non-magical things(Elves have arcane and druids). There are also some in among the elves, but they are quite rare there.
Hobgoblins: Hobgoblins(And a scattering of other monster races) rule the northern areas, which are steppes, similar to mongolia. They are well organized, and they are a raiding society, skilled at surviving on nothing much. They are numerous, and rely heavily on horses for survival. They raid the humans, but not the elves or dwarves, as both are much harder to get at, whereas the humans have a long frontier with the hobgoblins.
Dwarves: Located primarily in their main city, dwarves live in the mountains near the Red Wall. Their tunnels have ran into the Red Wall, in the past. They are miners and craftsmen, and their industrial output is the bulk of the high quality metal equipment available. Human crafting is inferior, and elven weapons are mostly ironwood, or crafted by highly skilled smiths, mostly out of Mithril(Which they get from their own mines, or trade with the dwarves).
Other races: There are quite a lot of other races, but they are minorities. There are kobolds(And dragons), scattered through mountains, along with goblins, orcs, ogres, some giants, and many more. The mountains are definitely not safe places. Fey can be found mostly in the elven forest. Warforged are constructed by the dwarves(And some by the gnomes), but they are quite rare, and are very expensive property, not people. For a campaign, make up spots for other races, at need.
The only races native to the region are the fey(Who generally avoided the newcomers, although, later, they came to like the elves), but they were few in number, and offered no explanation for the scattered ruins. The kobolds and dragons, too, seemed to be there first, although they had little in the way of history. Other races are evacuees from the Old World, but it has been centuries since the evacuation.
The Empire of Horse is the hobgoblin controlled empire in the northern Steppes. It is a loose conglomerate of seperate tribes, with one leader, selected by all the tribes. This leader(Currently Shaco Gorand), is mostly powerless, and his primary task is resolving disputes between tribes. His title is Warleader, but he has no real political power. There are many tribes, but the Shazkan and the Tratain are the two most powerful. The Shazkan and Tratain both have significant territories bordering the human empire, and it is somewhat customary to send excess warriors to them, to participate in the raids of the humans. There are many smaller tribes. The hobgoblins tend to treat other races as slaves, and are a brutal, but honorable(To other hobgoblins. Not to other races) people. The slaves tend to live for a short time, unless they have some skill that the tribe needs, as they are treated brutally, and usually used up for entertainment. While they last, they are usually used for labour, such as moving tents, and carrying things. Their leaders are elected, but disposed of by force. The Clan Chief of each tribe takes the name of the tribe, as he speaks for the tribe as a whole. They are primarily mounted skirmishers, not infantry. Their typical behavior is raiding, but they are disciplined, and work well together. Their main exports are hides, as they are primarily herders. Their combat tactics(As a group) are to move in, firing arrows, then, before reaching their enemy, turning(Firing another arrow), and then falling back, continuing to fire arrows. They don't stand and fight. They don't have cities, but clan holds, which are named after the tribe living there, but they are tent cities, and are simply taken with the nomads when they exhaust their current feeding grounds for their animals(Mostly hardy sheep and goat, along with their horses). Their capitol is a trading town, called Samovar, located near the center of their territory, where strict rules of neutrality are observed(And enforced, by the Warleader's men). They also possess a few mining sites, and a handful of farming valleys, in the Duthhurger Mountains, where, again, the Warleader's men use collected slaves to farm, and to mine.
The Shalassan Kingdom is dominated by elves, and is located in the jungle between the Trastan and Elithran mountains. They are a fairly peaceful society, but they generally don't allow large numbers of other races inside their territory. Their rulers are Lord Elthran, and Lady Lyara, who live in the coastal city of Shanue, which is the capitol. There are two other coastal cities(Elthras, and Amerone), and one inland city(Starfall), and three fortresses, Fort Trastan(In the only navigable pass through the Trastan Mountains), and Ellithras and Ellithran, the two fortresses in the Elithran mountains, blocking the main passes there. The three forts have resisted many attacks, and are considered impregnable. They are also significant trading centers, dealing with the hobgoblins, and the humans, although the officials don't approve of this, so there are no legal protections, until the elven lands are entered. However, such trade can be quite rich, as the hobgoblins frequently dispose of their loot here. Starfall is built around a crater lake, but, like all of the elven cities, it is a part of the land, not an intrusion into it. Treehouses are common, and lights are primarily magical. Food is provided via druidic magic, and water is plentiful. Shanue is a center of magical research and training, although there are other schools, in the other cities. Overall, the elves are isolationist, but they are willing to allow caravans, and traders, into their lands, as well as explorers. Their primary exports are forest products, medicine, and magical objects. They import metal, and some foods.
The Human Lands aren't united under any one ruler, instead, they are ruled by a scattering of nobles, who are frequently at war with each other, and with the hobgoblins. There are no major cities, but many smaller towns, and castles dot the terrain. They primarily farm, although there is some mining. The northern towns are more like fortresses, and, due to frequent attacks, they are well defended, and the farmers are trained to run inside the towns at the first sign of trouble. Most human buildings are stone, and well built, due to the rather terrible weather.
Urdonesk, the only dwarven city, is in the Duthhurger Mountains, and it is a mining city, importing everything, and exporting metal and weapons. It is basically a fortress. And a mine. But, it does have mushrooms.
but dwarves get sick of a diet of mushrooms, and mine water.
There are many places for adventure in this world, as there are tribes of monsters in the mountains, who, of course, have treasure, as well as many scattered ruins, from some unknown race(No one has been able to translate the writing, not even via magic), which are located all over the continent. Most of these ruins are sealed, and locked, but they are occasionally open, but guarded by some magic. It is considered risky to try to raid them, as well as bad luck, so, generally, rulers don't sponsor people to do so. Inside, enemies vary.
Planar travel doesn't work, nor does teleportation(Thus, the spells and such about it simply don't exist in the new world). Druidic plant shifting only allows one to travel around the island; Any attempt to go elsewhere fails.
No one knows why(Although there is a reason, and campaigns in this world may discover it.(High level adventure)
Planar binding spells, and other such things, are somewhat known, but rather than call demons, they are limited to elementals, which are created from the surroundings(So, if you want a fire elemental, you need fire, if you want a water elemental, you need water).
Magic isn't distributed evenly through the races. The elves have the most, having the time to study it, although they have more druidic magic than anything else. The humans have little magic, as constant warfare doesn't promote such learning, although some of the things the gnomes make, you would think are magic(Beginning to experiment with gunpowder). The hobgoblins have few magical items, but they do have many shaman, who are low level cleric/wizards. The dwarves disdain magic, preferring technology, but they do have clerics, who run the breweries.
More work is needed, this is just the start, but I'm thinking that, after the map is made, most of the details will be worked out in the campaign I'm planning on running.