AjaxTorbin
2007-08-30, 06:16 PM
I'm going to post all the back stories and area back-grounds I've come up with over the years I've run this world.
Please feel free to use what you want, just tell me what you think and what you use.
Map
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2762/copyofscaleje8.jpg
If you ask the inhabitants of the known lands what the name of their land is, you will get a differing response, dependant on where you are when you ask. If you ask the southern elves, they will say we stand upon Gaea, the Mother of all. In the west, across the sea if you ask the small men there, who follow a Daimyo who in turn follows an Emperor, they will say we are of Niouwn. But the one thing all of these differing cultures share is the legends of the past. Everywhere in the world, what ever you call it, there is this similarity, this shared prehistory. When you boil away all the culture inspired changes to the stories, keeping only the part agreed upon, you get a very plain story.
The Story:
I have read these stories, walked in the ancient places, found artifacts from forgotten cultures , and I will write what I have learned for future use. I will not put down the myth, the legends that have grown up around the pre-histories of the world. The tales of a forgotten heaven, a wondrous world of peace and magics beyond our reckonings. This so-called lost age has only a few unsubstantiated tales left of its existence. If such things interest you, read my mythography work, in this I compile fact, not fiction.
First, it is known that there was some unknown race, some think these were the forerunners of today’s elves, a race sometimes called ‘Eldrin’. However in my researches I have found that this is a corruption of a term from the old tongue that means ‘elder’, and so I a have named this mysterious forgotten race ‘Eldar’, for they are the elders to us all. These people came from the south, in the warm areas, where once it was lush and fertile; I have found entire forests turned to stone, ancient seas that have dried into entire fields of salt. And in the warrens of the Dwarves, I have seen markings depicting massive cities and worked lands crisscrossing the south. Then, these people changed, something happened to drive them into the wild, a war, some cataclysm that was sudden and changed their whole way of life. After this it is unclear, but much time passed, it is unclear how much or exactly what happened. But it is this time that other distinct rases began to make their marks on time, in this time, millennia ago the Dwarves began their first delves into what appears to be preexisting tunnels. The elves began to build their first cities, Ill’Shadune and Nartendo. The first Orks and goblinoids appeared. It to be assumed that the first humans, and their relations, the Gigans and halfings appeared also, but this early the real evidence of their existence is in elven depictions of ‘barbarians’ in the mountains and plains. This whole era is clouded in time so I will not delve further into its mysteries.
No, the first civilization is where the first real concrete history is found. I speak of the Empire, or rather better translated from the old tongue, The Realm. This was the natural inheritor of the first elvish civilizations. Form what I have found, humans were a strong majority, but considered a second class citizen. Now this does not mean they were treated badly, I have records showing that humans owned trading companies, were accomplished sailors, is even the habit of the lords of Nartendo to take at least one human mate. But the humans of this time had no authority in the running of the Realm, as they were barely removed from their tribal origins and still fought over such things as gods and farming rights.
This realm streched from the Eastern sea to the western river country. It was ruled from the city of Naru by a council of elves, known as the circle of twelve. However this council met only every fifty years so the day to day running of the Realm was given over to one of the oldest families, Andorana. The head of this family was much like human kings of today, they had total control over the military, the Legions, and made their home in Nartendo. The city itself was guarded by an elite unit of the legion, the Sandur Kai, or ‘Last Legion’. Many of the legends and stories surrounding the Legions are directly related to the exploits of this unit. But I will discuss the exact nature of this city later.
This era of the Legions and of the Wild Times is known collectively as the ‘First Age’ although it is deceptively simple to call this era spanning many millennia by such. However this era came to a violent close with the first Barbarian Wars, although some historians may say it ended much earlier, when Nartendo fell to necromaster invaders. But while the end of this great city, and the hole it opened for every manor of invader to take a nibble at the Realm, was a cause in the end of this era, it was not until the Thousand Years Dark that things really changed. In the years leading up to this time the northern barbarian attacks grew and grew, the seeming never-ending hordes of Orc, Human and Goblinoids whittled down the once massive Legions to a shallow core. The remnants of the Realm dragged them selves into the Naru peninsula and made their last stand on the Ishar Cliffs, on which the tree of life grows.
Now here you may ask, the tree of life is a legend, why do I mention it? Because I have seen it. In my travels I encountered a guide, who knew the waste and led my party to the roots of this great tree. It was a wonder to behold, I doubt if the myths surrounding it are true, that all life sprang from this one place, but this one tree, covering the cliffs as far as I could see, and spiraling up into the sky, even I a man of science and fact was moved by its grandeur. It went from the needles of pine to the wide leaves and branches of oak and the leaning trunks of the palm. But as we approached a masked figure appeared from the sands and said that to approach further would be to invite death, and as we were low in supplies and not paretically armed, we left the guardians of the tree in peace, taking only one massive leaf, the size of a pack horse and strong as wood, as proof of its existence.
But that is another story. After the fall of this empire this realm, there cam the era known as the thousand years dark, a time when there are not many records. This time started when the Sundering happened. This cataclysm of unknown source is a major cause of the lack of records from before this time. This even effected all the known land; the South once just a warm place with a small dune sea surrounded by plains, was turned in the great Waste. In the north, the once verdant hills of Kaslo were broken and volcanic vents killed the soil, even to this day, nothing but the most hardy of plant will grow there. But the biggest change was the loss of the center of the old world, where once there was land there is now the Sundered coast, its broken shores and impact craters show the violence that occurred here ten thousand years ago. The Maze, that ragged collection of razor-sharp rocks and shoals that pirates find so inviting was formed by this same event.
During this time many races scattered across the remaining land. Some of the elves went north, forming the Illion Woods, the Grey elves, always close to humanity, took their friends and lovers to the open sea, and the Rasarine, the elves of the wood; alas, I was unable to access any of their records, or even access their forests. The dwarves at this time scattered, they went west to the Ibern lands, and north to Grossneghgrok. But, it was the Orcs who suffered most, previously they were just warlike, but now they took to raiding as a cultural motive, indeed, the Orcs of today bare no resemblance to yesterdays Orc. Where once they held honor, and fought for glory and the right to be remembered in song, now they only fight for fighting sake. Here too in my travels I saw a few tribes who clung to this former way, south in the eastern end of the Divide Mountains in a few lost vales they exist. This is also when the Goblin races split, the Gnomes retreating underground like the dwarves, and the wandering Hobgoblins joining with human villages. The remaining ‘proper’ goblins emulating the Orcs and raiding and pillaging for sustenance.
I should pause here and clarify some things, when I write of travels I speak of my twenty year sojourn from the Imperial Vialene Collage. It began as a debate, I questioned the insinuation and assumptions of the professor of history, he was an intelligent man but had never questioned the so called histories that came before. Each one was geared toward some motive, most having been put out by religious organizations. I, in my youth questioned this acceptance of materials that had obviously never been researched and said so openly. In the end I was laughed out of my station as assistant chancellor to the history department and was quite despondent for some time.
Then I met a elf, who took to be of the Grey variety, as his high build and demeanor would indicate, I learned later that he was in fact half Gray elf, his father being a High elf of some importance. Anyhow, my new friend, calling himself Tybalt , said I should prove my theories, bur I told him I would have to mount an expedition, such things take gold. It was not until Tybalt introduced me to Queen Isabella Dalvia of the Impero De los Aldavir, The Empress of all Ibern, that I really believed I, a young scholar, actually visit the places of history and delve their secrets. But in the end, the ruler of one of the wealthiest nations gave us the needed finances for our purely research undertaking.
From the far frozen north, with the Burning Forest and Barbarian lands; the south, where desert nomads roam, fending off Wyrm attacks and raiders; the west where Kaslan and Door naval ships clash on the open sea and play hide and seek in the collection of razor sharp rocks known as the Maze. But even in the heartland, the old Kingdom of Ragnarok, or rather what’s left of it, a massive incohesive stretch of land ruled by any who can take over. But even amidst all this chaos, there are a few bright points; the nation of Ibiern to the south west with their new ways of thinking and advancing technology; Bastion of the North, the great walled city of Tanton that has stood for more than a thousand years; and the Illion Woods, home to the largest known settlement of High elves. All this I have seen, and more.
This is a excerpt from a story based on this land:
“What do you know of history Argyle? Specifically the Old Kingdom of Ragnarok and the Alliance that came after?” After the captain slowly shook his head he continued, “Without getting into a lecture suffice to say they both lasted about a thousand years; first the Kingdom started out a golden age, forged from the various human tribes by Hektor the Great, it was ruled by his decedents for almost five centuries by his heirs and an elite noble class, similar to our lords of the realm, except each was responsible for the defense of his own realm. There is even indication that the various lords would fight among themselves.”
“That’s pure lawlessness ” Argyle exclaimed.
“No, not exactly, each lord was THE law in his land, even the smallest of which were many times the size of Tanton’s holdings. You must remember, this was a chaotic time, a clear authority was paramount to keeping order.” Now Waintree had shifted into full headmaster mode, there would be no stopping the flow of information now, “Also recall that the land was untamed and wild, if you think a few orc raids from across the Dorn sea is a hard year, spend a day in the past A time when every manor of creature, from goblins to dragons roamed freely about the land. You and I my friend are the product of a calm age when the monsters and things that go bump in the night stay far to the north and the south, a time when the only ‘goblins’ we see are their stunted cousins, the Gnomes.
Argyle interjected, “The gnomes are related to goblins?”
“Well, related to them in the same way the wood elves are related to the high elves and the dwarves are related to us, once possibly having a common ancestor but millennia of separation has made each their own race. But I digress, the old kingdom fell not because of outside threat, or rather not purely from outside threats, no, it fell truly from the internal fighting its peers. We don’t know much of that time, it’s not called the hundred years war for its great records, but the historians do know that it was a minor tiff between two lords, coupled with the death of the currant High King and an abnormally large and active orc hoard, and the second kaslan invasion, all within the span of a year. In the confusion old hatreds, old feuds, the old tribal wars, thought long forgot, were rekindled. For example, you and I, in that time would be blood enemies. Your blond hair, stern features and slightly squared jaw line clearly define you as of the Teution peoples and me, I have the long face, low and clearly defined cheekbones and rather slender build of Galuian tribes, our ‘people’ fought over the same farming lands for generations, even though there was enough for both parties.”
“All this is very interesting, but what has it to do with us?” interjected Argyle testily.
“Everything! Look, when Edward Tanton founded the city he had already done the impossible, united the tribes, under one cause Before during the old kingdom and the alliance, they were united under a banner, but they did not intermingle, each tribe stayed in their own lands. But when Edward came recruiting for his mercenary army he recruited from all tribes, and when they settled they began to mingle, crossing the bloodlines, until what we have now in Tanton, and the surrounding lands is a hodgepodge of the so called ‘races’. You my friend are proof of this, your features might be Teution, but your name marks you as Angleas. It's because Edward Tanton was no fool, if he settled near his troops’ home lands the old feuds would just be rekindled, so he built a city far to the north of any tribal lands basically forcing them to intermarry if they wanted to stay. They stayed and became united by blood, strong ties indeed.”
NATIONS OF THE NORTH
The Federation of Door
Door has a long seafaring tradition and to the current day boasts the best navy in the known world, Kaslo having the largest. When the name Door is mentioned pirates quake and old sailors will launch into stories about how they saw a Doran battleship come out of the mist, strike and leave, all while leaving naught a wake. They exaggerate some.
For thousands of years there were massive seafaring tribes, they lived, traded, and fought on the open sea. This lasted until the third Kaslan invasion when they were nearly wiped out by the Kaslan Navy. Afterwards a conclave of ‘driftmasters’, their elders and leaders, decided a safe harbor was needed, an eternally safe one, a land to call home and defend in time of need. While having this safe harbor united the tribes under one banner, they are still spread out over thousands of miles. In all the world the island of Door is unique in that it possess the only so called ‘free’ style of government in the known lands; a Republic. This fact has made most of the other major nations wary of the federation’s strongest member, they distrust the ‘chaotic’ form of government where the ruling power changes hands as often as eight years. Where most nations have a royal family to provide a steady foreign policy, Door elects a new Chancellor every eight years.
Kaslo; The broken land
Kaslan, just saying the name of the folk that inhabit this frozen north waste will bring shudders to people in the heartlands. This barren land allows only the strongest and most cunning to survive, let alone succeed. Ancient history indicates that before the sundering Kaslo was a plentiful land, rich in minerals and timber. Now it is half frozen tundra, the sundering released strange creatures and toxins from the earth and nothing will grow for long in the ashen earth for five hundred leagues around Kaslo. The only real plant life left is strange and twisted, great lichens and fungi grow from twisted scrub trees, their wood only good for burning.
The Kingdom of Tanton
The gray city. Bastion of the North. Tanton. It is a large city, housing half a million inside its massive stone walls, only once in its two millennia history did an enemy breach it. The actual city, like many other major cities is more of a state in fact, if not name. The lands claimed by Tanton include everything southwest along the Dorn sea cost till the Rolk river, and everything on that river till the city of Outpost. In the other direction, toward the north-east it spreads for more than fifty leagues to the city of Northridge.
The city itself juts out into the clear cool waters of the sea, in fact, the rear third of the wall was open to the water except for that which was taken up by the citadel, its massive girth leaving open 'only' the two miles of docks on either side of it that are the city's source of wealth.
The first thing someone who was familiar with cities would notice when looking upon it was the height and shape of the wall, it was more egg shaped then round and it rose to more then ten stories above the ground. The next thing one would notice was the Citadel, the massive plateau that rose more than twenty stories from the edge of the water. That massive thing was a city unto itself, there were miles of tunnel carved throughout it and a good part of the population lived there. The last thing the observer might notice is the uniform light shaded gray the whole city was, the walls, most of the buildings, and the Citadel all were a uniform unique grey stone. It was that stone that first attracted the eye of Edward Tanton, he had heard rumors of a place where there was a stone that even magic could not break.
Spaced around the city there were ten towers, each a fortress unto itself. Starting in the north-west going clockwise the towers are called; Demon tower, Kraken and Hydra set right into the citadel, Dragon tower-like Demon this one was set right where the city wall ended four furlongs out into the Dorn sea; then Fire and Water towers at the east gate, Griffin and Manticore-the largest of all the towers-placed near the main gate, and then finally Air an Earth towers guarding the west gate. Each of these towers was well armed with guards cannon and mortars. Each of these towers commanded a stretch of open ground a good mile wide around the city wall, by royal decree nothing was to be built with in this stretch, this killing field.
From the main gate there ran a wide thoroughfare starting as wide as the gate then narrowing till it reached the Citadel where it turned into a switchback trail that led up to the top. This main street is bisected only at one point, right in the center of the city where a road connected the east and west gates. If ever the impossible happened and the city wall was breached, any attacking force would either be forced along these routes in order to take the Citadel or slog their way through the narrow streets that wound labyrinth like through the four quarters of the city. When the city was first built the streets were planed carefully, allowing for easy movement but after the city was taken by the Kaslan during their first invasion it was decided to let each quarter plan their street's in whatever way they wished. This led to one of the most convoluted city scapes known. The mages quarter was filled with web-like street pattern that had some magical meaning, the artisans quarter had geometric circles that all seemed to blend together, the merchants quarter was planned, to some extent, near the docks there was a plain grid pattern of streets but after that it degenerated into a random sprawl. And the craftsman's quarter was much the same, only more random, with switchbacks and dead ends at random places. The point of all this was so any attacking force would either march straight through the preplanned killing fields that were the main streets or would be subject to bloody street fighting while under constant fire from the cannon and mortars in the citadel. If such a force actually made it to the citadel they were made to make another choice, attempt to climb right up the switchback trail, under fire from the towers that lined it or try the cargo ramp that sloped gently up the side while still facing fire and attacks from the tunnels that permeated the citadel and emptied right onto the ramp.
In short, any direct attack on Tanton was suicide. The only reason the city had fallen once before was because of a series of flukes; the Dorn sea had frozen over, not the northen end that froze every winter, but the entire thing solid as a rock, and most of the city had been emptied of troops because of the attacks coming from the south. No one expected the Kaslans to march a second force right across the frozen sea and take Tanton from the rear. It did cost them dearly but with orcs and goblins swelling their ranks they, for a time, conquered the unconquerable city.
The government of Tanton is made up of two main parts, both bodies are responsible to the compact. The compact is the main legal document from which all laws of Tanton come, it defines the areas of authority for each division of government, chiefly the Crown and the Council. The Tantonnian government is ruled by two separate and distinct offices; the Council is a gathering of selected leaders chosen from the separate sectors of the city; the High Magus of the mages guild, master of the Mages Quarter; the Head Foreman of the Craftsmen’s Quarter; the Magistrate of the Artisans Quarter; the Guild master of the of the Merchants Guild, oft referred to as the Tradesmaster; and though he had no quarter to command, the Marshal of Guard, the commander of the city watch. The Marshal was an odd position, he was chosen by the guard captains who where themselves chosen by the councilors; so in effect their subordinates chose their equal. Each of these councillors have near total control over his sector and a equal say on the council. In turn the council had final say over all taxes, in-city trade, law keeping and law making. The Crown comprised of the King, or Queen, at the head with various Dukes, Barons, Marquis, Counts (sometimes called Earls), and Viscounts under the royal family. There aren’t many and most live outside the city itself on large plots of land bequeathed to them from the founder of Tanton, Edward Tanton the first. It was they who are law in the hundred leagues around the Idreasa peninsula, Where the city is.
THE BURNING FOREST
Even though this forest is located far to the north in the cold the snows rarely touch the trees. It is not known why, but there are massive vents of steam located all around the forest and on cold days, the moisture put off by these vents looks almost like white smoke from a long distance.
Mostly unclaimed and unexplored, the dangers from this place are too numerous to set in word..
[DM use: I’ve never actually used this in campaigns (yet). But it’s a deciduous forest in a far north (icy) environment. I put it there as part of Raydawn forest. (It protects their western borders)
THE NORTHERN STEPPES
Ah, the wild and untamed lands of the barbarians. Here it is strength and fierceness that get noticed. It is only they that know the pathways through the maze of rock east of Tanton and north of Illion Wood.
They use this knowledge to raid and pillage the villages on the road between the elven wood and the human city. Sword and warhammer are the law, allegiance is to the tribe.
[DM use: the landscape is akin to Iceland or Norway, and so are the people. Any large barbarian type character is likely to be from here.]
Once, in millennia past, there was more to the known lands, where the Maze is, once there was land stretching down to the far south. The Sundered coast was once a great inland plateau, and the Broken isle was a paradise.
But that time has past, the land is broken and has recovered. After the Dark Time, a two thousand year stretch when there were no real kings or lords or laws but that which were made by the strongest, came the Kingdom of Ragnarok. The high king united all the warring human tribes under one banner. And for a millennia there was relative piece. Then the Kaslans attacked. They invaded killing and purging the land of all they deemed ‘unworthy’. That was the first of three Kaslan invasions over the next thousand years. The second, combined with the death of the high king, a massive orc horde that year caused the fall of Ragnarok Castle and then the Kingdom itself.
About the same time there was mercenary General Named Edward Tanton, who, seeing the chaos coming took his loyal troops and their families north to the Idreasa peninsula and settled there in a village named for him.
THE SOUTH
THE BASIN
starting zone
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/3008/thebasinuo9.png
Wellspring wood
here on the north the gigans clash with giants and beasts, to the south is the Shadow road where only the bravest go across the mountains to the Waste and the death that awaits in the sands there.
The east is guarded by one of the oldest raysarine (wood elf) forests, beyond that the Vialene Empire. Effectively cut off from the outside these people have their own ways and standards, often at odds with the outside.
Notes: warm climate, sub-jungle forests
The Old Kingdoms
The remains of a once great nation this place is now ruled by every manor of lord or lords. Great forests and rivers are found here among ruined aqueducts and towers holding lost tomes.
This is the most vast region on maps, its wild politics and natural dangers make it hard to map, or rather, keep map makers alive long enough to do their job. A thousand leagues stretching from the center, it is bordered on the north by Tanton, the south by wild lands and the southwall moutains. The east is covered by endless ocean, and the west, the broken coast and the maze, an impassable maze of rocky shoals that ships avoid.
Notes: Cooler, north American climate
THE WASTE
This was once a large desert, inhabited by nomads and all types of warm blooded creatures. The Sundering (what they call the event that changed the face of the land) changed what was once a small dune sea into a vast wasteland, monstrous beasts and vicious tribes preying on the nomads that dwell here. The once great elf city, Est’illion located on the edge of the desert, called by others the city of brass because of its great brass covered roofs was abandoned with the elves retreating into Illshadune.
[DM use: the ‘flavor’ of this area is kinda Arabian Nights, Jinn, wyrms, any large hot environment creature can be found here.
IBIERN LANDS
relatively safe and free from monster attack, this land with its gently rolling hills and grasslands has seen more peace than most. It is ruled by Queen Isabella Dalvia of the Impero De los Aldavir, The Empress of all Ibern.
[DM use: the people and lands here are akin to a renaissance Spain. (They even speak a different language.) Small firearms are found in greater number and adventures tend toward ‘high court intrigue’ rather then ‘smash em ups’ ] NOTE; geography nuts will recognize Ibiern as a corruption of Iberian, the peninsula Spain is located on
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SETTING NOTES:
MAGIC:
Spell points. Magic is kept track of through spell points as shown in Unearthed Arcana. However, the extra cost for extra damage dice is ignored.
Any spells that take use of dimensions or planar travel are out. As is teleport and all teleport related spells. Resurrection all its related spells are non-existent.
Any spell over the level of fifth is rare and powerful. Casters who gain spells over this rank instead just add spell points as normal.
NOTE: if you REALLY want to, you can use spell slots. i wont be though.COMBAT:
Armor as damage reduction. As shown in Unearthed Arcana.
Debilitating Attacks; any time a character takes damage equal to or more than their Constitution SCORE, (NOT modifier) PLUS his character level in one attack he takes -1 to all skills, attacks, and AC. This penalty stacks with itself. This includes nonlethal damage. For monsters use their hit dice plus CR to determine this if necessary.
quick change: for now its if you take that much in ONE ATTACK. the stacking caps at -5 for now.
Wounded: when a character is at half of his hit points he is wounded and takes -2 to all actions and saves and -10 to all movement modes. minimum speed: 10
Massive damage threshold: 25 or more damage in one blow the target makes a save, he may add his hit dice+ one stat modifier, or he becomes stunned. 50 or more, a save is made or unconsciousness occurs. The DC is twenty-five for both these saves.
Parry Mode: taking a full round action the character may add his base attack bonus to his armor class.
CHARACTER CREATION:
Maximum hit points all levels
All characters start at level two.
Point Buy System: All stats start at ten. You have 22 points and each stat point is one for one. No stats over 20 allowed before adding racial bonuses. You may ‘buy down’ stats to 8.
‘0' level: In the Unearthed Arcana book there are three ‘generic’ classes these along with the NPC classes from the dungeon masters guide, one level of one of these may taken at character creation. This zero level does not count toward cross-classing limits.
Skills: Spot and listen are now Awareness. Hide and Move Silently are now Stealth. Balance, Climb and Jump are now Athletics. All Craft skills are now just Craft.
All knowledge skills are now just Knowledge (if a class gives you a specific knowledge you may take it as a Focused Skill that does not count toward your limit of focused skills) All Perform skills are now just Perform.
Focused Skills. Each is a specific thing that the character does well. A character may have five skill focuses. Each counts as a class skill. The character must have at least three points in the parent skill to have a focus in that skill. A focused skill rank may be no higher than the characters level. Effect: when using that specific skill one may add the focus bonus to the skill check roll. Skill focus does not add any external modifiers such as any stat modifiers or bard song. Example: Repositioning, while using Tumble to move around a single opponent add your skill focus. So this focus does not apply when moving through a opponents space, out of combat tumble checks, or when threatened by more than one opponent.
Please feel free to use what you want, just tell me what you think and what you use.
Map
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2762/copyofscaleje8.jpg
If you ask the inhabitants of the known lands what the name of their land is, you will get a differing response, dependant on where you are when you ask. If you ask the southern elves, they will say we stand upon Gaea, the Mother of all. In the west, across the sea if you ask the small men there, who follow a Daimyo who in turn follows an Emperor, they will say we are of Niouwn. But the one thing all of these differing cultures share is the legends of the past. Everywhere in the world, what ever you call it, there is this similarity, this shared prehistory. When you boil away all the culture inspired changes to the stories, keeping only the part agreed upon, you get a very plain story.
The Story:
I have read these stories, walked in the ancient places, found artifacts from forgotten cultures , and I will write what I have learned for future use. I will not put down the myth, the legends that have grown up around the pre-histories of the world. The tales of a forgotten heaven, a wondrous world of peace and magics beyond our reckonings. This so-called lost age has only a few unsubstantiated tales left of its existence. If such things interest you, read my mythography work, in this I compile fact, not fiction.
First, it is known that there was some unknown race, some think these were the forerunners of today’s elves, a race sometimes called ‘Eldrin’. However in my researches I have found that this is a corruption of a term from the old tongue that means ‘elder’, and so I a have named this mysterious forgotten race ‘Eldar’, for they are the elders to us all. These people came from the south, in the warm areas, where once it was lush and fertile; I have found entire forests turned to stone, ancient seas that have dried into entire fields of salt. And in the warrens of the Dwarves, I have seen markings depicting massive cities and worked lands crisscrossing the south. Then, these people changed, something happened to drive them into the wild, a war, some cataclysm that was sudden and changed their whole way of life. After this it is unclear, but much time passed, it is unclear how much or exactly what happened. But it is this time that other distinct rases began to make their marks on time, in this time, millennia ago the Dwarves began their first delves into what appears to be preexisting tunnels. The elves began to build their first cities, Ill’Shadune and Nartendo. The first Orks and goblinoids appeared. It to be assumed that the first humans, and their relations, the Gigans and halfings appeared also, but this early the real evidence of their existence is in elven depictions of ‘barbarians’ in the mountains and plains. This whole era is clouded in time so I will not delve further into its mysteries.
No, the first civilization is where the first real concrete history is found. I speak of the Empire, or rather better translated from the old tongue, The Realm. This was the natural inheritor of the first elvish civilizations. Form what I have found, humans were a strong majority, but considered a second class citizen. Now this does not mean they were treated badly, I have records showing that humans owned trading companies, were accomplished sailors, is even the habit of the lords of Nartendo to take at least one human mate. But the humans of this time had no authority in the running of the Realm, as they were barely removed from their tribal origins and still fought over such things as gods and farming rights.
This realm streched from the Eastern sea to the western river country. It was ruled from the city of Naru by a council of elves, known as the circle of twelve. However this council met only every fifty years so the day to day running of the Realm was given over to one of the oldest families, Andorana. The head of this family was much like human kings of today, they had total control over the military, the Legions, and made their home in Nartendo. The city itself was guarded by an elite unit of the legion, the Sandur Kai, or ‘Last Legion’. Many of the legends and stories surrounding the Legions are directly related to the exploits of this unit. But I will discuss the exact nature of this city later.
This era of the Legions and of the Wild Times is known collectively as the ‘First Age’ although it is deceptively simple to call this era spanning many millennia by such. However this era came to a violent close with the first Barbarian Wars, although some historians may say it ended much earlier, when Nartendo fell to necromaster invaders. But while the end of this great city, and the hole it opened for every manor of invader to take a nibble at the Realm, was a cause in the end of this era, it was not until the Thousand Years Dark that things really changed. In the years leading up to this time the northern barbarian attacks grew and grew, the seeming never-ending hordes of Orc, Human and Goblinoids whittled down the once massive Legions to a shallow core. The remnants of the Realm dragged them selves into the Naru peninsula and made their last stand on the Ishar Cliffs, on which the tree of life grows.
Now here you may ask, the tree of life is a legend, why do I mention it? Because I have seen it. In my travels I encountered a guide, who knew the waste and led my party to the roots of this great tree. It was a wonder to behold, I doubt if the myths surrounding it are true, that all life sprang from this one place, but this one tree, covering the cliffs as far as I could see, and spiraling up into the sky, even I a man of science and fact was moved by its grandeur. It went from the needles of pine to the wide leaves and branches of oak and the leaning trunks of the palm. But as we approached a masked figure appeared from the sands and said that to approach further would be to invite death, and as we were low in supplies and not paretically armed, we left the guardians of the tree in peace, taking only one massive leaf, the size of a pack horse and strong as wood, as proof of its existence.
But that is another story. After the fall of this empire this realm, there cam the era known as the thousand years dark, a time when there are not many records. This time started when the Sundering happened. This cataclysm of unknown source is a major cause of the lack of records from before this time. This even effected all the known land; the South once just a warm place with a small dune sea surrounded by plains, was turned in the great Waste. In the north, the once verdant hills of Kaslo were broken and volcanic vents killed the soil, even to this day, nothing but the most hardy of plant will grow there. But the biggest change was the loss of the center of the old world, where once there was land there is now the Sundered coast, its broken shores and impact craters show the violence that occurred here ten thousand years ago. The Maze, that ragged collection of razor-sharp rocks and shoals that pirates find so inviting was formed by this same event.
During this time many races scattered across the remaining land. Some of the elves went north, forming the Illion Woods, the Grey elves, always close to humanity, took their friends and lovers to the open sea, and the Rasarine, the elves of the wood; alas, I was unable to access any of their records, or even access their forests. The dwarves at this time scattered, they went west to the Ibern lands, and north to Grossneghgrok. But, it was the Orcs who suffered most, previously they were just warlike, but now they took to raiding as a cultural motive, indeed, the Orcs of today bare no resemblance to yesterdays Orc. Where once they held honor, and fought for glory and the right to be remembered in song, now they only fight for fighting sake. Here too in my travels I saw a few tribes who clung to this former way, south in the eastern end of the Divide Mountains in a few lost vales they exist. This is also when the Goblin races split, the Gnomes retreating underground like the dwarves, and the wandering Hobgoblins joining with human villages. The remaining ‘proper’ goblins emulating the Orcs and raiding and pillaging for sustenance.
I should pause here and clarify some things, when I write of travels I speak of my twenty year sojourn from the Imperial Vialene Collage. It began as a debate, I questioned the insinuation and assumptions of the professor of history, he was an intelligent man but had never questioned the so called histories that came before. Each one was geared toward some motive, most having been put out by religious organizations. I, in my youth questioned this acceptance of materials that had obviously never been researched and said so openly. In the end I was laughed out of my station as assistant chancellor to the history department and was quite despondent for some time.
Then I met a elf, who took to be of the Grey variety, as his high build and demeanor would indicate, I learned later that he was in fact half Gray elf, his father being a High elf of some importance. Anyhow, my new friend, calling himself Tybalt , said I should prove my theories, bur I told him I would have to mount an expedition, such things take gold. It was not until Tybalt introduced me to Queen Isabella Dalvia of the Impero De los Aldavir, The Empress of all Ibern, that I really believed I, a young scholar, actually visit the places of history and delve their secrets. But in the end, the ruler of one of the wealthiest nations gave us the needed finances for our purely research undertaking.
From the far frozen north, with the Burning Forest and Barbarian lands; the south, where desert nomads roam, fending off Wyrm attacks and raiders; the west where Kaslan and Door naval ships clash on the open sea and play hide and seek in the collection of razor sharp rocks known as the Maze. But even in the heartland, the old Kingdom of Ragnarok, or rather what’s left of it, a massive incohesive stretch of land ruled by any who can take over. But even amidst all this chaos, there are a few bright points; the nation of Ibiern to the south west with their new ways of thinking and advancing technology; Bastion of the North, the great walled city of Tanton that has stood for more than a thousand years; and the Illion Woods, home to the largest known settlement of High elves. All this I have seen, and more.
This is a excerpt from a story based on this land:
“What do you know of history Argyle? Specifically the Old Kingdom of Ragnarok and the Alliance that came after?” After the captain slowly shook his head he continued, “Without getting into a lecture suffice to say they both lasted about a thousand years; first the Kingdom started out a golden age, forged from the various human tribes by Hektor the Great, it was ruled by his decedents for almost five centuries by his heirs and an elite noble class, similar to our lords of the realm, except each was responsible for the defense of his own realm. There is even indication that the various lords would fight among themselves.”
“That’s pure lawlessness ” Argyle exclaimed.
“No, not exactly, each lord was THE law in his land, even the smallest of which were many times the size of Tanton’s holdings. You must remember, this was a chaotic time, a clear authority was paramount to keeping order.” Now Waintree had shifted into full headmaster mode, there would be no stopping the flow of information now, “Also recall that the land was untamed and wild, if you think a few orc raids from across the Dorn sea is a hard year, spend a day in the past A time when every manor of creature, from goblins to dragons roamed freely about the land. You and I my friend are the product of a calm age when the monsters and things that go bump in the night stay far to the north and the south, a time when the only ‘goblins’ we see are their stunted cousins, the Gnomes.
Argyle interjected, “The gnomes are related to goblins?”
“Well, related to them in the same way the wood elves are related to the high elves and the dwarves are related to us, once possibly having a common ancestor but millennia of separation has made each their own race. But I digress, the old kingdom fell not because of outside threat, or rather not purely from outside threats, no, it fell truly from the internal fighting its peers. We don’t know much of that time, it’s not called the hundred years war for its great records, but the historians do know that it was a minor tiff between two lords, coupled with the death of the currant High King and an abnormally large and active orc hoard, and the second kaslan invasion, all within the span of a year. In the confusion old hatreds, old feuds, the old tribal wars, thought long forgot, were rekindled. For example, you and I, in that time would be blood enemies. Your blond hair, stern features and slightly squared jaw line clearly define you as of the Teution peoples and me, I have the long face, low and clearly defined cheekbones and rather slender build of Galuian tribes, our ‘people’ fought over the same farming lands for generations, even though there was enough for both parties.”
“All this is very interesting, but what has it to do with us?” interjected Argyle testily.
“Everything! Look, when Edward Tanton founded the city he had already done the impossible, united the tribes, under one cause Before during the old kingdom and the alliance, they were united under a banner, but they did not intermingle, each tribe stayed in their own lands. But when Edward came recruiting for his mercenary army he recruited from all tribes, and when they settled they began to mingle, crossing the bloodlines, until what we have now in Tanton, and the surrounding lands is a hodgepodge of the so called ‘races’. You my friend are proof of this, your features might be Teution, but your name marks you as Angleas. It's because Edward Tanton was no fool, if he settled near his troops’ home lands the old feuds would just be rekindled, so he built a city far to the north of any tribal lands basically forcing them to intermarry if they wanted to stay. They stayed and became united by blood, strong ties indeed.”
NATIONS OF THE NORTH
The Federation of Door
Door has a long seafaring tradition and to the current day boasts the best navy in the known world, Kaslo having the largest. When the name Door is mentioned pirates quake and old sailors will launch into stories about how they saw a Doran battleship come out of the mist, strike and leave, all while leaving naught a wake. They exaggerate some.
For thousands of years there were massive seafaring tribes, they lived, traded, and fought on the open sea. This lasted until the third Kaslan invasion when they were nearly wiped out by the Kaslan Navy. Afterwards a conclave of ‘driftmasters’, their elders and leaders, decided a safe harbor was needed, an eternally safe one, a land to call home and defend in time of need. While having this safe harbor united the tribes under one banner, they are still spread out over thousands of miles. In all the world the island of Door is unique in that it possess the only so called ‘free’ style of government in the known lands; a Republic. This fact has made most of the other major nations wary of the federation’s strongest member, they distrust the ‘chaotic’ form of government where the ruling power changes hands as often as eight years. Where most nations have a royal family to provide a steady foreign policy, Door elects a new Chancellor every eight years.
Kaslo; The broken land
Kaslan, just saying the name of the folk that inhabit this frozen north waste will bring shudders to people in the heartlands. This barren land allows only the strongest and most cunning to survive, let alone succeed. Ancient history indicates that before the sundering Kaslo was a plentiful land, rich in minerals and timber. Now it is half frozen tundra, the sundering released strange creatures and toxins from the earth and nothing will grow for long in the ashen earth for five hundred leagues around Kaslo. The only real plant life left is strange and twisted, great lichens and fungi grow from twisted scrub trees, their wood only good for burning.
The Kingdom of Tanton
The gray city. Bastion of the North. Tanton. It is a large city, housing half a million inside its massive stone walls, only once in its two millennia history did an enemy breach it. The actual city, like many other major cities is more of a state in fact, if not name. The lands claimed by Tanton include everything southwest along the Dorn sea cost till the Rolk river, and everything on that river till the city of Outpost. In the other direction, toward the north-east it spreads for more than fifty leagues to the city of Northridge.
The city itself juts out into the clear cool waters of the sea, in fact, the rear third of the wall was open to the water except for that which was taken up by the citadel, its massive girth leaving open 'only' the two miles of docks on either side of it that are the city's source of wealth.
The first thing someone who was familiar with cities would notice when looking upon it was the height and shape of the wall, it was more egg shaped then round and it rose to more then ten stories above the ground. The next thing one would notice was the Citadel, the massive plateau that rose more than twenty stories from the edge of the water. That massive thing was a city unto itself, there were miles of tunnel carved throughout it and a good part of the population lived there. The last thing the observer might notice is the uniform light shaded gray the whole city was, the walls, most of the buildings, and the Citadel all were a uniform unique grey stone. It was that stone that first attracted the eye of Edward Tanton, he had heard rumors of a place where there was a stone that even magic could not break.
Spaced around the city there were ten towers, each a fortress unto itself. Starting in the north-west going clockwise the towers are called; Demon tower, Kraken and Hydra set right into the citadel, Dragon tower-like Demon this one was set right where the city wall ended four furlongs out into the Dorn sea; then Fire and Water towers at the east gate, Griffin and Manticore-the largest of all the towers-placed near the main gate, and then finally Air an Earth towers guarding the west gate. Each of these towers was well armed with guards cannon and mortars. Each of these towers commanded a stretch of open ground a good mile wide around the city wall, by royal decree nothing was to be built with in this stretch, this killing field.
From the main gate there ran a wide thoroughfare starting as wide as the gate then narrowing till it reached the Citadel where it turned into a switchback trail that led up to the top. This main street is bisected only at one point, right in the center of the city where a road connected the east and west gates. If ever the impossible happened and the city wall was breached, any attacking force would either be forced along these routes in order to take the Citadel or slog their way through the narrow streets that wound labyrinth like through the four quarters of the city. When the city was first built the streets were planed carefully, allowing for easy movement but after the city was taken by the Kaslan during their first invasion it was decided to let each quarter plan their street's in whatever way they wished. This led to one of the most convoluted city scapes known. The mages quarter was filled with web-like street pattern that had some magical meaning, the artisans quarter had geometric circles that all seemed to blend together, the merchants quarter was planned, to some extent, near the docks there was a plain grid pattern of streets but after that it degenerated into a random sprawl. And the craftsman's quarter was much the same, only more random, with switchbacks and dead ends at random places. The point of all this was so any attacking force would either march straight through the preplanned killing fields that were the main streets or would be subject to bloody street fighting while under constant fire from the cannon and mortars in the citadel. If such a force actually made it to the citadel they were made to make another choice, attempt to climb right up the switchback trail, under fire from the towers that lined it or try the cargo ramp that sloped gently up the side while still facing fire and attacks from the tunnels that permeated the citadel and emptied right onto the ramp.
In short, any direct attack on Tanton was suicide. The only reason the city had fallen once before was because of a series of flukes; the Dorn sea had frozen over, not the northen end that froze every winter, but the entire thing solid as a rock, and most of the city had been emptied of troops because of the attacks coming from the south. No one expected the Kaslans to march a second force right across the frozen sea and take Tanton from the rear. It did cost them dearly but with orcs and goblins swelling their ranks they, for a time, conquered the unconquerable city.
The government of Tanton is made up of two main parts, both bodies are responsible to the compact. The compact is the main legal document from which all laws of Tanton come, it defines the areas of authority for each division of government, chiefly the Crown and the Council. The Tantonnian government is ruled by two separate and distinct offices; the Council is a gathering of selected leaders chosen from the separate sectors of the city; the High Magus of the mages guild, master of the Mages Quarter; the Head Foreman of the Craftsmen’s Quarter; the Magistrate of the Artisans Quarter; the Guild master of the of the Merchants Guild, oft referred to as the Tradesmaster; and though he had no quarter to command, the Marshal of Guard, the commander of the city watch. The Marshal was an odd position, he was chosen by the guard captains who where themselves chosen by the councilors; so in effect their subordinates chose their equal. Each of these councillors have near total control over his sector and a equal say on the council. In turn the council had final say over all taxes, in-city trade, law keeping and law making. The Crown comprised of the King, or Queen, at the head with various Dukes, Barons, Marquis, Counts (sometimes called Earls), and Viscounts under the royal family. There aren’t many and most live outside the city itself on large plots of land bequeathed to them from the founder of Tanton, Edward Tanton the first. It was they who are law in the hundred leagues around the Idreasa peninsula, Where the city is.
THE BURNING FOREST
Even though this forest is located far to the north in the cold the snows rarely touch the trees. It is not known why, but there are massive vents of steam located all around the forest and on cold days, the moisture put off by these vents looks almost like white smoke from a long distance.
Mostly unclaimed and unexplored, the dangers from this place are too numerous to set in word..
[DM use: I’ve never actually used this in campaigns (yet). But it’s a deciduous forest in a far north (icy) environment. I put it there as part of Raydawn forest. (It protects their western borders)
THE NORTHERN STEPPES
Ah, the wild and untamed lands of the barbarians. Here it is strength and fierceness that get noticed. It is only they that know the pathways through the maze of rock east of Tanton and north of Illion Wood.
They use this knowledge to raid and pillage the villages on the road between the elven wood and the human city. Sword and warhammer are the law, allegiance is to the tribe.
[DM use: the landscape is akin to Iceland or Norway, and so are the people. Any large barbarian type character is likely to be from here.]
Once, in millennia past, there was more to the known lands, where the Maze is, once there was land stretching down to the far south. The Sundered coast was once a great inland plateau, and the Broken isle was a paradise.
But that time has past, the land is broken and has recovered. After the Dark Time, a two thousand year stretch when there were no real kings or lords or laws but that which were made by the strongest, came the Kingdom of Ragnarok. The high king united all the warring human tribes under one banner. And for a millennia there was relative piece. Then the Kaslans attacked. They invaded killing and purging the land of all they deemed ‘unworthy’. That was the first of three Kaslan invasions over the next thousand years. The second, combined with the death of the high king, a massive orc horde that year caused the fall of Ragnarok Castle and then the Kingdom itself.
About the same time there was mercenary General Named Edward Tanton, who, seeing the chaos coming took his loyal troops and their families north to the Idreasa peninsula and settled there in a village named for him.
THE SOUTH
THE BASIN
starting zone
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/3008/thebasinuo9.png
Wellspring wood
here on the north the gigans clash with giants and beasts, to the south is the Shadow road where only the bravest go across the mountains to the Waste and the death that awaits in the sands there.
The east is guarded by one of the oldest raysarine (wood elf) forests, beyond that the Vialene Empire. Effectively cut off from the outside these people have their own ways and standards, often at odds with the outside.
Notes: warm climate, sub-jungle forests
The Old Kingdoms
The remains of a once great nation this place is now ruled by every manor of lord or lords. Great forests and rivers are found here among ruined aqueducts and towers holding lost tomes.
This is the most vast region on maps, its wild politics and natural dangers make it hard to map, or rather, keep map makers alive long enough to do their job. A thousand leagues stretching from the center, it is bordered on the north by Tanton, the south by wild lands and the southwall moutains. The east is covered by endless ocean, and the west, the broken coast and the maze, an impassable maze of rocky shoals that ships avoid.
Notes: Cooler, north American climate
THE WASTE
This was once a large desert, inhabited by nomads and all types of warm blooded creatures. The Sundering (what they call the event that changed the face of the land) changed what was once a small dune sea into a vast wasteland, monstrous beasts and vicious tribes preying on the nomads that dwell here. The once great elf city, Est’illion located on the edge of the desert, called by others the city of brass because of its great brass covered roofs was abandoned with the elves retreating into Illshadune.
[DM use: the ‘flavor’ of this area is kinda Arabian Nights, Jinn, wyrms, any large hot environment creature can be found here.
IBIERN LANDS
relatively safe and free from monster attack, this land with its gently rolling hills and grasslands has seen more peace than most. It is ruled by Queen Isabella Dalvia of the Impero De los Aldavir, The Empress of all Ibern.
[DM use: the people and lands here are akin to a renaissance Spain. (They even speak a different language.) Small firearms are found in greater number and adventures tend toward ‘high court intrigue’ rather then ‘smash em ups’ ] NOTE; geography nuts will recognize Ibiern as a corruption of Iberian, the peninsula Spain is located on
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SETTING NOTES:
MAGIC:
Spell points. Magic is kept track of through spell points as shown in Unearthed Arcana. However, the extra cost for extra damage dice is ignored.
Any spells that take use of dimensions or planar travel are out. As is teleport and all teleport related spells. Resurrection all its related spells are non-existent.
Any spell over the level of fifth is rare and powerful. Casters who gain spells over this rank instead just add spell points as normal.
NOTE: if you REALLY want to, you can use spell slots. i wont be though.COMBAT:
Armor as damage reduction. As shown in Unearthed Arcana.
Debilitating Attacks; any time a character takes damage equal to or more than their Constitution SCORE, (NOT modifier) PLUS his character level in one attack he takes -1 to all skills, attacks, and AC. This penalty stacks with itself. This includes nonlethal damage. For monsters use their hit dice plus CR to determine this if necessary.
quick change: for now its if you take that much in ONE ATTACK. the stacking caps at -5 for now.
Wounded: when a character is at half of his hit points he is wounded and takes -2 to all actions and saves and -10 to all movement modes. minimum speed: 10
Massive damage threshold: 25 or more damage in one blow the target makes a save, he may add his hit dice+ one stat modifier, or he becomes stunned. 50 or more, a save is made or unconsciousness occurs. The DC is twenty-five for both these saves.
Parry Mode: taking a full round action the character may add his base attack bonus to his armor class.
CHARACTER CREATION:
Maximum hit points all levels
All characters start at level two.
Point Buy System: All stats start at ten. You have 22 points and each stat point is one for one. No stats over 20 allowed before adding racial bonuses. You may ‘buy down’ stats to 8.
‘0' level: In the Unearthed Arcana book there are three ‘generic’ classes these along with the NPC classes from the dungeon masters guide, one level of one of these may taken at character creation. This zero level does not count toward cross-classing limits.
Skills: Spot and listen are now Awareness. Hide and Move Silently are now Stealth. Balance, Climb and Jump are now Athletics. All Craft skills are now just Craft.
All knowledge skills are now just Knowledge (if a class gives you a specific knowledge you may take it as a Focused Skill that does not count toward your limit of focused skills) All Perform skills are now just Perform.
Focused Skills. Each is a specific thing that the character does well. A character may have five skill focuses. Each counts as a class skill. The character must have at least three points in the parent skill to have a focus in that skill. A focused skill rank may be no higher than the characters level. Effect: when using that specific skill one may add the focus bonus to the skill check roll. Skill focus does not add any external modifiers such as any stat modifiers or bard song. Example: Repositioning, while using Tumble to move around a single opponent add your skill focus. So this focus does not apply when moving through a opponents space, out of combat tumble checks, or when threatened by more than one opponent.