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A Quick Guide to using this document
It’s too much to ask people to simply internalize the
setting. Particularly when most of it was restated from longer and more
coherent writing elsewhere.
So, my advice is to break it into a small series of chunks.
Read through and find an article that sparks your
imagination.
Copy it down and all other articles it references.
Then if they do not feel substantial, do the same again for the articles those
articles reference. This will quickly balloon your setting into a multi-thousand-word
work that should be sufficient.
An article in the document is indicated by its
capitalization within an article, though grammar requires proper nouns to be
capitalized even if there are no articles for them.
If you desire, you can gain more nuance by reading the
original references listed in the endnotes (so many endnotes)
Common World Geography for Noble Children
Adventia – West of the Axis Mudi, Adventia is the
ancestral home of the Elves on the Earth and the center of their cultures.
Running from the ice-choked Whale Sea to the balmy but pirate haunted Sea of
Ships that separates it from Zakhara. To the west is the Endless Blue and, in
the east, the landscape gives way to the Forest Wall. Its Demi-Humans tend to
be fairer in skin and hair than in other parts of the world.[i]
Arodia – Derived from the Antiquity name for the Dawn
Age bird-riders (Garuda), this land is south of the Axis Mundi. Arodia is a
diverse land which shares distinct cultural practices. Rather than pursue what
may never come, the dominant philosophy is to maintain an ever-renewing order
for all beings. Besides The Hundred Kingdoms, there are the entrepots of the
Isle of the Elephant and the Yellow City, with the ancient ruins of
Degringolade on the east coast. The Demi-Humans are usually darker than the Zakharans
and have dark hair in most cases.
Artic Ocean – A mostly ice-capped body of water, the
ocean itself is barely recognized as one, more a barrier to sailing in from the
Endless Blue or Waters of Light. It is so named due to the abundance of dreaded
bears. As white as the snow and shading to brown or black on all adjoining
coasts as the lands warm. No one but the Sea-Men and the Giants truly live
here, all famously carnivorous and stick close to the water’s edge. Everything
else is left to the elementals, laughing, and howling across the ice.
Axis Mudi – The much-mythologized mountain at the
center of the world, see Mountains of the Moon
Continent – Earth has ten large landmasses
sufficiently separated or distinct from each other. The Known World is:
Adventia, Nangia, Aroadia, Imaria and Zakhara. The ancient writer Perastrulus
postulated that each continent contained a germ-people, a distinct identity
that influenced the features, temperament, and magic of each place. Various
historical records will show, however, that many people originated in other
regions first. The other five continents are yet unknown to the Known World,
except in the records of Plane-travelling Magic-Users and the dustiest records
of the explorers of the Elven Merchant Fleets.
Earth – The Earth is where this is set. With two
Moons, it passes around the sun in a manner that matches our own solar system
for ease of understanding. When viewed magically the Earth is covered in leylines,
magical conduits which form an invisible web of power, and the sky is filled
with the vast bulk of the Primal Spirits which regulate the ban on direct
intervention by higher powers. The Earth as created by the Primordials during
the Dawn Age and the victory of the Gods in the Dawn War prevented its disassembly.
Endless Blue – One of the five oceans of the Earth,
separating Adventia, Imaria and Zakhara from each other but also three other
continents to the west which are unknown to most of the Known World. The seas
here are rough and ships are driven back because of adverse winds and doldrums due
to a lack of sailing technology. The Elven Merchant Fleets could do it but
haven’t traveled to Alt-Numinor since Antiquity. Many magical islands are
rumored to be present and coastal Sea Elves. The waters are teeming with fish
though and many brave the storms and pirates for subsistence.
Far Realms, The – Beyond the boundaries of any Plane
is a maddening place. Revealed only by the deepest records of Hevastar. An
infinite series of onion-like layers, unwholesome to life and souls, inhabited
by equally vile things. It was blocked by the Living Gate, akin to the lords of
the Planes, during the Dawn Age, yet three Gods saw through it. Powerful beings
were thrust through but, the yet-to-be chained god shattered the gate and
withdrew the seed of all fiends. Stars were infested and aberrants grew. Pelor
made great sacrifices to seal it away. Psionics and the wild races occur in
response.[ii]
Feywild – Also known as the
Land of the Faerie. A Plane torn forth by the Primordials, for the vague
reasoning of being too bright. Bright in magic for it is home to wonders and
miracles undreamt on Earth. Animals converse, landscapes and distances shift,
the natural world obeys stories and rhymes. It is home to powerful beings, the
Fey and their Archfey, who wield their power in the fickle causes of good and
evil. The natives navigate this vast wilderness with personal feelings rather
than borders, while visitors are changed, revitalized by destiny or warped by
the power of others.[iii]
Imaria – The tropical and sub-tropical continent
south-west of Zakhara. Home to a rich diversity of animal and spirit life,
Imaria is most notable for its relative lack of non-Humans, with Fey spirits
and zoomorphic Humanoids possessing significant populations. The main barrier
to adventuring is the large deserts, jungles, Mountains of the Sun, and the
Weeping Mountains. Its most notable civilizations are those of the Three Lands,
The Night Men, survivors of the Yellow Plant Empire and the historical relics
of Stygia. Its Demi-Humans are very dark in skin and hair.[iv]
Laughing Storms – Perhaps one of the most vital oceans
for civilization, this middle ocean forms the geographic center of the Known
World. Uniting Arodia, Imaria, Nangia and Zakhara together in both
communications and the life-giving monsoon that feeds much of the population.
From the monsoon comes the element for storms but the laughing element comes
from a near-forgotten trick beloved by Zakharan merchants called The Genie’s
Wind, which propels them along with the breath of the Djinni. Otherwise known
as the Southern Sea or Foreigner’s Sea.
Leyline – A thread of magic which connects sources of
magic in the world and in turn creates new points of magic when they intersect.
This has been tapped for millennium using megaliths, temples, towers, and
intricate occult geometry to improve spell casting. Though mortal construction
inevitably shifts and renders it erratic, similar to Planar portals which
always form at natural confluences. The Elven Empire used it to cast the Great
Enchantment on its population, and localized examples of dense leylines can be found
in Dolman Country in Adventia and Qelong in Nangia.
Moons – There are two moons,
the white moon of which is mistress of the tides, the thief and the wolf. And
the black moon which hides in the night until certain conjunctions. While all can see the white moon,
and indeed worship it for strength or cunning. The black moon is smaller and
serves as the armory of the Gods. Artifacts and even creatures which the gods
dare not keep within the Astral Sea or a far Plane are confined here, to
slumber in the dust until dispatched by comet. For thirty years until Nerath’s
fall the black was Blue Iltani. [v]
Nangia – To the east and to
the north of the Axis Mundi. Known as the Center of the World to its
inhabitants, the common western name is derived from the frequent depiction and
veneration of Naga and Dragons, which were distastefully deemed snakes by the
Elven Merchant Fleets. Most imperial civilizations are spread along the wet
eastern coastal plains, archipelago clusters and jungles. The Demi-Humans
inhabitants are noted for a tendency to sallow tones and dark hair.[vi]
Planes – The universe is
divided into magically connected but separate domains of reality called planes.
To the mortals of the Earth, the Prime Plane they inhabit seems to encompass
them all. Yet the Parallel Planes of the Feywild and Shadowfell no less real
and ancient, echoing and influencing in a rule of three. The Fundamental planes
of the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos are infinite and the source of all
creation, ethereal and material. Other planes are stranger anomalies. The
original plane determines the form, yet the flesh of creatures is comprised of
their home, changing their nature to match.[vii]
Sea of Ships – Everything crosses the wine-dark sea in
the end. To reach Adventia or the western halves of Imaria and Zakhara, a ship
must sail these waters, friendly or unfriendly as they skirt hero-cradle islands
and the peninsulas that house towns, citadels, navies, and pirates. Navigation
here is still done by sight for most, with millennia-old cities and volcanos for
guiding lights. The sea spans from the Altaran Peninsula and Aesheba to the gates
of Stygia and Akota. Narrowing beyond dead Peloria to touch the caravan cities
below Sughd. It is no wonder the Midani call it Bahr Al-Kibar, The Great Sea.
Underdark – Woe be to those who assume the depths of
the Earth and its cousins is but tunnels and caverns. The scars of the Dawn War
have never known the Gods, save Torog and Lolth. Bubbling with the raw stuff of
creation. Surreal jumbles of ecologies and environments defy theses and sap the
body. The upper two miles are the shallows below the dungeons, the lairs of
Goblins and deepest Dwarf shafts. The deeps are the homes of sunless seas and
cities of madness and cruelty, the home of the Drow and aberrants. Below is the
churning, magical hunger.[viii]
Waters of Light – One of the five oceans of the Earth,
east of Nangia, from where the Sun comes every morning and where the seas
Dragons lair. This vast expanse of ocean is home to many tiny archipelagos, each
of which contains some manner of exotic fauna, of which the Thousand Thousand
Islands and Rokugan are only the larger western extents of. Floating in these
waters are human cultures only loosely known to their neighbors, sunken
kingdoms, sleeping spirits and even other Continents. The open waters concoct
ferocious storms though, that threaten whole kingdoms, archipelagos, and
seaboards at times.
Zakhara – The lands southwest of the Axis Mundi. Split
physically and socially between watered coasts and harsh interior deserts,
Zakhara is known as the Land of Fate and is united in a theocratic yet
theoretical state under the Grand Caliph. This faith, The Enlightened Faith,
allows many humanoids who would be otherwise persecuted to join, but harshly
persecutes non-believers. Zakhara is a vital trade hub with coasts on three
seas and a misunderstood route to the Thousand Thousand Islands. The
Demi-humans are frequently of olive complexation and dark curly hair.[ix]
Adventia
Geography
Adretia – The rich southern city-states of the Altaran
Peninsula have long been at odds yet share common mercantile and cultural
interests. Over the last twenty years, however, they have increasingly fallen
under the sway of the Iron Circle, whose Citadel of Iron’s Grasp squats at the
terminus of the encircling mountains. Using Hobgoblin mercenaries from Murgmar,
they have subjected coastal Nath Mornal, Jandhavar, and Bamadin. The latter
becomes a half-Goblinoid center of slavery. Tollhouses and tyrannical authority
dominate. The ruins of Sercar beyond callous Punjar testify to it. Thanulzarum’s defaced necropolis
remains shunned and Vathan is close to Merindaelion and Rethmil.[x]
Alkavanti Hills,
The – A small rise in the landscape of the steppes, these forested hills have
long been the home to outlaws and monsters which have been driven from settled
or nomad lands. An Animal Nomad horde could cross swiftly and safely, but
caravans must be large and guarded. These creatures, particularly the ferocious
manticores and Giants. Mean only the most cruel and cunning bandits and
Goblinoids survive here. Neighboring Analand guarded here with a dyke,
accessible through the Cantopani Gate. Though determined creatures have
breached it before.[xi]
Altaran Peninsula – A rugged and dry land on the
south-west of Adventia, it should be wealthy from its minerals and watered
valleys. In Antiquity it was contested between Arkhosia and Bael Turath, and
under Nerath, flourished. In the last hundred years it was seized by Zakhara
and only by strange alliance did Adretia, Punjar, Rethmil and goblin Murgmar
join to defeat the Mamluks on land and sea. Now the new threat is the
encroachment of the diabolical Iron Circle, an evil organization of order and
one-sided transactions. Culturally the Altaran states consider Aesheba and
western Imaria to be extensions of their ambitions.
Ambrosia’s
Dyke – A series of earthworks constructed by the legendary
warrior-queen of Endon to keep the Goblinoids of the northern Deepwoods from
her lands along the Burl. Also known as Offal Dyke due to the history of
displaying humanoid corpses upon it to discourage crossings. For as it is said by Garetius:
Posting and placement of skulls, carcasses, etc. to discourage intelligent
creatures and monsters of the type able to recognize that the remains are
indicative of the fate of creatures in the area.[xii]
Analand
– East of the Vidya Mountains is the forests and plains of the semi-steppes.
Where the Korlathi emerged from the union of storm and earth and the Pelorians taught
them the secrets of the sky-horses. Analand receives much custom from the Long
Lakes and shares their river-towns surrounded by wilderness villages. It has
suffered much from its neighbours but remains rich and determined. Frequently
threatened by Animal Nomads, they once employed magic to build an earthen wall
longer than Ambrosia’s Dyke to stop the outlaws of Kakhabad, but
it was not finished.[xiii]
Ashenport – One of the few towns still surviving along
the rocky shores of Wuffmark, where the Tronish Sea and the Endless Blue meet
in the Maelstrom. Since the Age of Chaos, the storms have only gotten fiercer,
the catches smaller and the pirates bolder. A generation ago, many of this
stretch could no longer rely on Melora, Saint Ulther or the Primal Spirits and
decamped inland. Ashenport has held on and benefitted from the monopoly. Even
the old trade route along the coast has been revived, though still dangerous.[xiv]
Avaat
Mahn – Where the fell trees of the Ironwoods grow, civilisation has long been
scarce. The Tronskalian feared the shapeshifters of Pohjola and
Karkoth has long counted it as a core of its realm. But the great stone wall of
Avaat Mahn have enforced a strict theocracy on all within several days. Led by
the Pontifex Council,
Ahn-Sur is a local God with delusions of grandeur. But the kingdoms of the past
have long been willing to ignore this for a bulwark and trading center into the
forests. Some in Hevastar question such an obscure god’s presence, as Ahn-Sur
gives no audiences.[xv]
Badabaskor
– A fortress of thieves and bandits, built into the side of a flat-topped peak
in the Altaran Mountains. Supposedly home to a cult of an evil God or demon and
his cannibalistic priests. Rumours say that the cult remains. Bandits ride two
or three days north and south to prey on caravans in the passes and isolated
hamlets. While the mountain shepherds have long been accused of being habitual
bandits, the fortress is reviled for its slave-taking, supposedly to Adretia,
into the maw of the Iron Circle.[xvi]
Barovia - High in the Balinok Mountains, an eastern
face of the Vidya Mountains is a land isolated by fear and wrath. Liberated
from the Terg Animal Nomads, by Strahd Von Zarovich, a supposed noble of
Nerath. Bloody was its inauguration for Strahd faced rebellion and heartbreak,
though some say it was self-inflicted. Since then, the cold-hearted lineage of
Strahds have ruled. Never seeking to engage foreigners except for hereditary
linkages with the Vistani. The mountain mists and geographic whispers of the
undead have long given rise to rumours it is a fearsome Domain of Dread.[xvii]
Battlefield Downs – These accursed hills, southeast of
the Burl, form the boundary of Endon and the Havens. Linking the rolling hills
of the Haven’s Halfling hinterland and Dolman Country. Once home to Westerman
hillforts. Here was where the final act of Nerath began. The Gnolls of the
Deepwoods had multiplied at the expense of the Goblinoids, drawing all in
Adventia to them. Ravening packs fought with legions, wearing down the empire’s
strength in grinding and disastrous campaign. Now the thousands who rest here,
new and old, do so uneasy.[xviii]
Brakmar – The so-called last city of Bael Turath or
Dis-On-Earth. Founded as a trade-station and as a temple of Asmodeus, Brakmar
has survived as an honest trade city with no other scruples bar recognition of
equal payment for services. The river is called the Enflammee, due to the
spectral fire summoned from the temples and magical furnaces. The hinterlands
are called the Monster March, a rough mass of foothills and marshes populated
by monsters and Humanoids who exist for the city to hire and harvest for their
magical parts. Including the barbarian dog folk who are found nowhere else.[xix]
Brindol – Centre of the Elsir Valley now that Rhestilor has sunk. This is perhaps
one of the two common road junctions into and across the Altaran Peninsula. It
is of modest size and has not regained the population it did a decade prior,
before the Goblinoids serving Tiamat and the Red Hand of Doom swept though. Few
Halflings dwell here except to pull up their river boats, and the warring races
of Antiquity never properly settled the interior. Much trouble has been made by
of resurgent tribes, abetted by the Iron Circle of the south.[xx]
Col Fen – A village along the edge of the Deepwoods in
the Western Reaches. The upheavals of the Age of Chaos have not stopped
intrepid settlers from striking out to the borderlands. And many villages have
been founded in areas where legal writ has ceased to be. Col Fen is notable for
earlier ruins and the forest road to the upper waters of the Enflammee.
Providing another route into the Riverlands.[xxi]
Dawnforge Mountains – Mountains emerge from the Nentir
Vale and roll east into the Lands of the Water Cat. Long the home of monsters and
ruins, it was the domain of now slumbering and three-headed Dragon, Calastryx. Most
of the population are Dwarves. Mithralfast
remains strong and leads among all heirs of Nerath. Shatterstone is to the
south. Hammerfast is the western hub for commerce. When the Orcs of the
Bloodpsear swept the necropolis, they couldn’t breach the tombs. With the Age
of Chaos upon them, the dwarves needed another fortress. Gruumsh and Moradin
agreed to share the town. The ghosts remain citizens.[xxii]
Deepwoods – In the west of Adventia is a forest a
quarter the size of the continent. Tall and dark, its roots gnarl the bones of
the early Earth, and its uncanny multitude of trees bear thousand-year scars.
Every kind of monster lurks and flitters under its canopy and the hidden paths
of the Elves connect hundreds of disparate settlements of Fey. Here is the
heartland of the elves and where their greatest ruins lie. Here is where the
long war with the Goblinoid nations of the northern forest has dragged on for a
hundred years. Don’t leave the path.[xxiii]
Delve of Saint Ulther, The – In the northern
Riverlands along the Burl is a desecrated tomb. Once a Dwarven shaft, built to
allow Elven explorers to reach the Underdark. These caves were eventually used
as a Westerman tomb complex before finally being used by as the crypt of Saint
Ulther. Saint Ulther was a fisherman who guided a fishing boat into port during
a storm and continued to show divine favour. Receiving both visions and
clerical powers without training. Now the tunnels are used by monsters and Goblins
who have crossed Ambrosia’s Dyke.[xxiv]
Dolmen Country – A region of the Riverlands, bisected
by a tributary of the Burl and to the north of the Twilight Woods. This land is
covered in dolmans and menhirs erected first by the Elves to channel the leylines
into religious rituals and enhance natural magic. It was the border for human
habitation in the Elven Empire and after its end the magic grew wilder, with
monsters finding it to their liking. The Korlathi never settled in great
numbers and now the land is home to wizard towers, trying to harness the
leylines. In several hundred years this will be Wizard Country.
Dolmenwood – Central to the realm of Endon is the
timeless forest of the Dolmenwood. Though axe and mankind has felled the
Deepwoods and driven it back beyond Ambrosia’s Dyke, in this central stand, the
forest resists. Though ruled as the duchy of Brackenwold, Planar portals to the
Feywild fill the forest and the wild folk, Elves and Fey Humanoid who have long
turned from their Archfey. Unwholesome Pagan practices are rumored in darken
glades. It is not safe in the Dolmenwoods even for those of the Fey Crossing Hamlets that dot it.[xxv]
Dolor, Fort – In the hinterlands of Tronskal, mighty
Nerath built a fort-town to guard the clans, ores, timbers, the fertile plains
and enforce peace along the trade road. Heading into dark Pohjola, bypassing Avaat
Mahn. Shortly after it was destroyed by the white Dragon Frystiomagythant, when it grew
large enough to draw his attention. So Nerath built it again and it was
destroyed again, but numerous times after, it was the Jarls who reconstructed
it. Forthright in their belief in dragon-slaying, despite the scores of dead
each time. It is said Frystiomagythant
was slain by adventurers, saving the town finally.[xxvi]
Dungeonland, Kingdom of – Located on the eastern side
of the Lipid Valley under and around the rocky Fisher’s Rise. The kingdom
exists as a single impregnatable fortress and numerous farmsteads within a
day’s travel. What makes the kingdom so special besides Osric I breaking Goblinoid
control of the valley, is that the Dwarvish and Humanoid mines extend all the
way down to the Underdark in the lava tubes to form a worming semi-worked space.
These tunnels allow expeditions beneath the Earth and into dungeons. Enriching
the kingdom with treasure taxes, though Osric II would like to someday claim it
all by royal ownership.
Durigirn –
An ancient Dwarven hold in the leeward side of the southern reaches of the
Vidya Mountains. From the earliest days of the Empires of Deep Darkness, it’s
most well-known by outsiders for the legend of Kurngal the Hunter. Otherwise,
it has commanded the flanks and done much to supply goods and craftsmen to
Analand. For the dwarves have had little love of the Animal Nomads unless they
have heeded their call to settle and work stone.[xxvii]
Dyne, The - What flows from the Vidya Mountains across
the plains to empty in the Sea of Ships. North of the Hill Cantons and south of
the Hundred Kingdoms. Originally a sacred spring of pre-Korlathi Old Adventina,
it was destroyed by a local wizard family to harness its magic for their
crafting. This widening brought magical changes down its length before it could
disperse. Leading to strange occurrences and monsters along its banks, some
which persist.[xxviii]
Elsir Vale
– The vast frontier that stretches across the south of the Altaran Peninsula.
Split by upland grassland and mountains, the vale was theoretically governed in
the days of Nerath from now-drowned Rhestilor. But now is a scattering of
garrisons gone to seed, waystations and Demi-Humans. Much of this is due to the
ravages of the Red Hand of Doom, an organisation devoted to Tiamat, which
scoured the Goblinoid warriors of Mugmar and the mountains tribes. Only to fall
at the last moment, the great Fane buried beneath the mountainside. The Dwarven
road is key, connecting Punjar into the rugged interior.[xxix]
Endon – A rich city surrounded by a great wall. A
place of cheer and squalor and almost out of place at the end of the
Riverlands. With its lack of magical authority and robust hinterland. Endon is
mostly Human, a monarchy and somewhat unstable with the recently abated Civil
War. What the land lacks in strangeness, it makes up for the many manors and
castles along the Burl. From Wuffmark, once ravaged by Vikings to Ambrosia’s
Dyke against the Deepwoods. A constant stream of adventuring knights and doughy
peasants stream south or east.[xxx]
Everspring Grove – In the heart of the Deepwoods
stands a Planar crossing between the Feywild and Earth. Such a place stays warm
and green inside the circle, all days of the year. A few tales of Humans and
Elves alike speak of heroes lost in the wintery forest, only to be saved within
its heart. It may not be the first place fey crossed over to the world. But it
is where the Primal-worshiping Fey come into the world to pay them homage.[xxxi]
Fallax – What was once the river the marked the border
between the Western Reaches and western Nerath is now the border between the
mere wilds and the Monster Coast. But the Aux remains steadfast as does its
premier city-state. Besides being the primary port, Fallax is a bastion against
wild creatures. For which it employs a bevy of polearms. Their duchess was long
obsessed with them, as was their older writer, Garetius. The specialization of
each weapon, monsters and situations is confusing to outsiders. But their material
techniques are widely copied.[xxxii]
Fenreach –
The Sea of Ships is vast and splits half the Known World as the Endless Blue’s child.
But it cannot fully subjugate the land and narrows between Adventia and
Zakhara. Captains rue this stretch of putrid shallows, deep swamps and marshy
forests. Land and water ae synonymous, the fog is humid, and monsters and
witches plague the miasma. Except for the few mountain islands, inhabited by
cultures of religious orders and shepherds. The northern isthmus marks the
border of the Hill Cantons and Analand, it’s twin is the Blackwash Fens, where
the Yak-Men hold their sole raiding port.[xxxiii]
Fisher’s Rise – A large stone plug of a volcano raised
and leveled during the Hot Period of the Dawn Age. It forms the last bastion of
Adventine civilization before the northern road reaches the Orc-controlled
beaches along the Tronish Sea. Osric I redelved into the Dwarven mines underneath
and around it to form the Kingdom of Dungeonland. The kingdom extends to a
nigh-impregnatable fortress on top of the rock, fed by a massive spiral
staircase. The name comes from the idea that Kord could fish for whales from
the distant sea by sitting on it with mighty threws and harpoon throws.
Firetop Mountain – See White Plume Mountain
Flamefall Tower – Of all the wonders of Nera, none
were quite as terrifying as the volcanos that defied the sea, forming a ridge
of fertile black mountain and several of the many islands. Less pleasing was
the active volcanoes served as fine homes for elemental creatures, which vexed
the region. The three interconnected towers were built and commanded by fire
Giants, who carved great channels to bring the lava from the volcanoes like a
waterfall, to power their great forges, furnaces and mines. Great and terrible
things have been forged there.[xxxiv]
Forest Ridges – All along the eastern edge of the
Deepwoods is a low rise of mountains and hills. Separating the merely wild
forests. The hills rise perpendicular to the Threshold Mountains, creating a
wild gap and above, irregular peaks above the trees with rocky ridges,
interspersed with riverine gaps. When it reaches the Nentir Vale, it rises sharply
to form the Cairngorm Peaks, with the stony uplands of the Orcs in the
Stonemarch to the west and the ravaged eastern downs. The coastal peaks
disappear into the Spearwood.[xxxv]
Forest Wall - The vast mountain range which
theoretically separates Adventia and Nangia. So named because the Elves
avoiding the southwards steppes thought the Spearwood stopped there and there
were only steppes beyond. Frequently confused with the Vidya Mountains
historically as a barrier to the Animal Nomads. This is the traditional genesis
of the Dwarves and prehistoric clans were found here during the Dawn Age. Now
home to Cavemen, Wild Elves and various Primal Spirit-worshipping Human tribes
who deal in furs and salt. Much goes south to Sughd or west to the cities of
the Long Lakes.
Frozen Shore – The Frozen Sea is an
elementally-chilled stretch of ocean which makes the western coast of Tronskal
even less inhabitable than before. Regular and massive storms can dump a foot
of snow in a single day, denying the soil. Yet the rich waters bring forth a
bounty of fish and debris from the Planes, enough to sustain cruel and communal
little towns like Flotsam and Andor. The Vikings and treasure hunters here have
even mastered the art of exploring the Elemental Chaos, entering the Sea of Howling
Souls to elsewhere. The tiniest sliver of the Feywild opens nearby.[xxxvi]
Gulltown – Where the Hundred Kingdoms of Adventia
meets the Sea of Ships, sits squalid Gulltown and shining Pelgaric. But for all
Pelgaric’s blue-clad splendor, it is simply another protrusion of the great
entrepot. Gulltown is where the Elven Merchant Fleets put in after returning
from Zakhara and where all the cargo and crew move. More people, cultures and
languages will be spoken in Gulltown than elsewhere in Adventia for hundreds of
years bar tarnished Punjar. And the communities there trace their ancestry across
the Known World. Anyone can be from Gulltown.[xxxvii]
Havens, The – The home of the Elven Merchant Fleets
and the destination of the choicest trade goods. The Havens sit on the Lune of
the Riverlands and has since the time of the Elven Empire. Streets and palaces
built with bronze tools hold libraries more ancient than many cultures and
accumulated magical gewgaws adorn the robes of the princes with their dusty
titles. Even the working manor houses and cottages show millennia of habitation
and love. The hinterlands are the shires of a more elfin sort of Halfling,
peaceful and worldly.[xxxviii]
Highmarch – The once populated borderlands that
abutted the lower Deepwoods. This place of rolling hills and light forests was
where the lumberjacks dared touch the primeval trees. A place where woodcutters
and wood-Fey mingled, and their progeny built decorated halls and white
castles. Looked on with suspicion by Elves and Humans alike, for the Highmarch
was a warrior’s march first and became such a sheep-choked fairy-tale only
after Nerath turned its eyes upon the ancient forest peoples. Since the War of
Ruin it has been neglected, a place of windy moors and lone sentries. A march
once more.
Hill Cantons – A sparsely populated borderland between
the Fenreach, Vidya Mountains and the Hundred Kingdoms. Long part of the kingdom
of Kindas, the region has long suffered for its constant proximity to Planar
worldfalls and openings. With the medley of otherworldly activity deemed, the
Weird. Following monsters and plague, the empire of Nerath settled many
independent-minded Eastermen there, who persist in eccentricity. Divided into
six cantons, the Weird increases southerly, ending in Marlinko Canton. Which
borders Kezmarok
via the feral shores, hosts the divine Ursine Dunes and the horrors of the Isles
of the Eld.[xxxix]
Horned Hills – The Field of Skulls leaves the ground
sparse like the Baklands. So, the ringing hills have been wind-worn into jagged
peaks. Tribes of primitive Tieflings reside here, refugees from Vor Rukoth and
other strongholds of Bael Turath. They are said to guard treasures ransacked
from their ancestral homes and secrets. But they are not a friendly people, and
never truly cowed by empires or kingdoms since. This does not trouble the
Dwarven city of Turak-Tol below.[xl]
Howling
Forest – The eastern edge of the Deepwood is much feared for many reasons, the
Forest Ridges echoing each night to battle. For here was part of the ancient
troll realm of Vadar and they still seek the sweet flesh of the citizens of
Shinaelestran. The city which appears on Earth from midnight to dawn. These
passes lead from the forest into the mud of the Trollhaunt. Forming a thick
barrier to the Hundred Kingdoms.[xli]
Hundred Kingdoms, Adventia – Due to the vagaries of
the common togue, there are two places with this name. In the heartlands of old
Nerath, all the petty lords who could not muster the force of arms or will to
bring the return of the king have transformed the rolling forests and hills of
civilization into a ceaseless mass of war and intrigue. Every lord down to the
baron can claim to be a king, subject only to force of arms and Gods. Here is a
land in need of adventurers to turn back the Age of Chaos and restore the
light.
Isles of the Eld – Recorded once in charts outside the
Ursine Dunes as an idyllic haven for divinities of nature. The once-named Misty
Island is now home to sickening forces under Planar worldfall. The few
survivors who have returned speak of the Eld, diabolists who fled when their
Earthly race began to transmute to Elves. Skulking on the alkaline and frozen
edges has warped them. And now they seek slaves to warp in turn. Shellacking
them, butchering them and transforming them as their mad artificers see fit.
Fortunately, they are few, and their grasp on this reality is weak.[xlii]
Jotunheimen Mountains - The spine of Tronskal
separates the deep fjords of the west and north from the forests. Long a
barrier to wind and trade, it remains the domain of Giants, Humanoids and
outlaws. Who strike out from them to raid the farmsteads of the Tronskalians.
Indeed, here the giants live in their full fallen splendour, building courts of
thralls and lackies, while entertaining alliances and mercenary offers from
foul places. Those monsters and men which cannot dwell in either mountain nor
farmland must pledge themselves to the Fey of the forested hills. Which
extracts much as a buffer.
Kaddas – A self-declared kingdom that does not seek
the imperial title but rules for the many different cultures of central and
eastern Adventia. It holds Four Winds, the trade city which connects the
northern and eastern highways. Kaddastrei,
the metropolis and capital and fortified Blackwall which holds the road toward
the Lands of the Water Cat and the Hill Cantons.[xliii]
Kakhabad – The desolate lands spill along the northern
edge of the Sea of Ships, filled with monsters and Animal-Nomads with nowhere
else to go. The vermin pit at Earth End. The Dawn War brought forth chaotic
energy to warp the land, which has never properly subsided. Not even the day
and night are consistent here. The western portion is dominated by the Alkavanti
Hills and the treacherous Jabaji River. Bridged only at Kharé. Then comes the
Baklands, populated by stands of unwholesome plants. Only when the Forest of
the Snatta and Vischlami Swamp rise to the Forest Wall does normality return.[xliv]
Karkoth – Seven thrones for seven kings make the
Karkothi Throneholds, known elsewhere as the Dark Empire of Karkoth. Still as vicious as when their
tribes swept forth. They claim kin to the Shifters of the Spearwood yet are
Human. Their undead armies hold a dozen lands in thrall, enforcing their
demands for tribute and new conscripts. Goliaths, Drow, Dwarves, Half-Orcs,
Tieflings, Minotaurs and other Humanoids are common. For while the Karkothi are
not numerous, they excel and binding monsters, men, spirits of the dead and
shadow. Feverishly now, for the cult of the chained god is worshipped openly.[xlv]
Karkoth,
Lands – Marhad is High Thronehold and meeting place. Bay-bound Dolthkarin, a port
of Vikings. Claiming the petty domain of Pohjola.
Gormad lies inland rising, the Vault of the Drow below. Grey March is where
nomads rear their charges, the petty land of Kurich is gifted to the favored
khan. Groaning Tower is a bastion of dark magic, the necromancy which fills its
legions. Kharsk is a slave breadbasket and commands the lower Long Lakes.
Surthguard guards and exploits its fen-drowned foe, for the dead are restless.
Tyarmur guards the Mistcrowns and the Pass
of Tyarsk to the broken lands of Kakhabad.[xlvi]
Kell – A duchy in what is left of old Nerath. Adjacent
to the Nentir River and far from Tounil or another major settlement, the duchy
has spent its modern days acquiring baronries through subterfuge or conquest.
Indeed, one might say it is an almost a Kingdom, and should it declare itself
one, it will be claiming Nerath restored and the house of Kell justified for
all wars to come.[xlvii]
Kharé – The Cityport of Traps. Controlling river trade
from Lake Lumlé and the lucrative fish
trade. A camp of river pirates became a village then city, Kharé became a
magnet for the ne'er-do-wells of the Baklands and the Alkavanti Hills. Their
lawlessness gave rise to an elaborate system of traps devised by the
inhabitants to protect themselves from the criminals who roamed the streets.
The first stop of eastbound caravans or rivercraft, Khare is ruled with
merciless violence by its merchant guild and nobles. The bridge is the sole point
where the river is crossable.[xlviii]
Kincep Mansion – Beyond Endon lurks the rotten ruin of
a once respected manor house. The Kinceps were nobles who did little of
importance and asked for only what they believed their station needed. Except
for the belief that each generation should start from a small inheritance and
earn a living. Disaster and misfortune wiped out the young and age claimed the
survivors. The manor is merely a gloomy haunt for any man or beast which dares
to lurk and bedevil passersby.[xlix]
Kindras – If Nera was the core of Nerath, then Kindras
was it’s close second. Militarily powerful, it was all the eastern lands
between the now Hundred Kingdoms to the coasts of Zakhara and the Forest Wall. Influencing
Nerath’s code of laws and still inspiring many of the sophisticated traditions
of the Eastermen. Kindrasan soldiers made up the majority of Nerath’s army and
so both fell to the jaws of the Gnolls. Now a few cities and independent
subjects, linked by roads beset by bandits and monsters. Some dare to dream of
a new kingdom.[l]
Kezmarok –
The current Ween name for the once great city, capital of glorious Kindras.
Commanding the entrance of a vital canal into the Fenreach, the peninsula has
suffered a peculiar invasion. For half a millennium, the Turco-Fey have
besieged the city, creeping closer at a pace of centuries. Severing the
surrounding fortified ports that provide the city. In the past, the Fey came
and went during celestial phenomenon, seen as occasional raiders. Since the
fall of Nerath, they are permanent. The old monarchs had long discarded the
capital, and the lower classes have fled, only mercenaries and shabby nobility
remain.[li]
Kravenghast Necropolis – Long in the Age of Chaos,
without order and law, a band of evil built a small city in a soon-blighted
valley, deep in the Dawnforge Mountains. Little is known save they were led by
a necromancer called Kravenghast. Living sacrifices were performed on the
framing mountain and the mangled remains piled in a central unhallowed
cemetery. The trapped undead and the dark arts made the valley as sodden in
necromantic influences as the Shadowfell. It took all of five years for the
cemetery to swallow the homes and there to be no living left. Let it not stir
again.[lii]
Lake Lumlé – See Long Lakes
Lendleland – A province of Karkoth that has suffered
greatly under its master’s disposition. Lendleland has been under the thrall of
Animal Nomads following the breakup of Nerath. A resurgent Karkoth saw fit to
recognize their conquering claim and seek their homage. Ruled by a Kha-Khan from
the scarlet throne of Pollua, there is a strict caste system, dominated by horse
riders. Though Forest Wall barbarians have free reign due to their assistance. Besides,
their already fine and intelligent horses from before. Lendleland draws its
income from mining and fishing around the Long Lakes and the lumber of the
Spearwood.[liii]
Lipid Valley – Between deadly Deepwoods and feral
Tronish Sea lies a wooded valley, the most northern tip of the Forest Ridges
where the river runs acutely north-west to the waters. This natural pass is one
that the Northmen ancestors of the Hundred Kingdoms passed through in Antiquity
and the Dwarven road still holds firm. Sheltered from the true Deepwoods by the
rocky rises. Lost in the Greentide, it was reopened by Osric I who literally
carved the Kingdom of Dungeonland at its civilized entrance from the mount,
Fisher’s Rise. Still mostly controlled by the orc chief Gorbag, the Lipid
Valley Maniac.
Long Lakes, The – The great
rivers of the Lands of the Water Cat form long thin lakes when they stopper and
change. Along and on these lakes form cities and fortresses of timber. Some
were built by Vikings, others merely conquered by them. Yet for centuries they
have formed the heart of agricultural lands before the Forest Wall. Lake Lumlé
in the south, Long Lake against Pohjola in the north, the rest come from the
rivers; Bolgas, Chernozavtra,
Eren,
Kyslev and Prag. Though few remember Nerath over
Karkoth, they were happier places then, where decay was a curse and not power.cra[liv]
Maelstrom – A monster lurks at the mouth of the
Tronish Sea. A great whirlpool casts down vessels and longboats, and whips
endless storms to flood Tronskal, Wuffmark and the whole of the Riverlands and
Deepwoods with rain. Such ferocity requires cunning sailing and does much to
hone the skills of Vikings. For those Primal-worshipping clans along both
shores, it provides a ready source of fish, bird eggs and wrecks to make their
lives.[lv]
Mampang Fortress - Although several have tried, no
warlord has ever truly ruled the wastelands of Kakhabad. One attempt by an
archmage was from his fortress high in the southern Forest Wall. Known as the Zanzunu
Peaks or High Xamen. This fortress was described by later adventurers as being
built into ancient Dwarven tunnels leading below the mountain. It is likely
they extend all the way into the Underdark and so form a secure connection for
the Goblinoid tribes of the surrounding mountains and southern Low Xamen hills.[lvi]
Marlinko –
Prosperous due to south-bound traders, the capital of the canton of the same
name, exists in a trance-like dream-logic, even for the region. Divided into
four contrados around a great black structure, the far older tomb of the town
gods. Here is the last urban stop before the Fenreach and the clearing house
for the easily accessible Planar worldfalls that surround it. The side-effect
is the city is home peculiar forms of madness and merchandise. Which may boil
over as the Weird temporarily overwhelms the city and the spirits of its
inhabitants.[lvii]
Marlinko
Canton – The largest and most-southernly of the Hill Cantons. It is almost
fully immersed in the Weird that suffuses the Hill Cantons. Every village seems
to seek to outdo one another in some special custom or eccentricity, often
aping the capital in exuberance. Planar entities take on seemingly nonsensical
additions and ruins of Dawn War structures lie crumbled in the hinterland. The
region is centred on the Ostrod river basin, which is twice enriched by a rain
of what many swear is divine blood. Certainly, the Vidya Mountains do not see
this rain.[lviii]
Merindaelion,
Barony of – East of the Elsir Vale and south of Orodaum is an expanse of deep
green forests and sparkling white sands. A thousand years prior, Elvish
Solaneillon declined under Gnoll attack. Human tribes were recruited. Four
hundred years was bought, and it was a Half-Elf who reunited the north with the
emerald blade. Despite occasional Yuan-ti attacks, it is patchwork of small
fiefs of varied title, including elven lords, free towns and a dread crossing
to the Feywild. Piratical merchants to neighbours, the Kingdom of Tithinia and
Duchy of Solandir. The ruined Sea Elf kingdom of Thaliessal lies offshore.[lix]
Merrendral's
Hall – There are relatively few settlements within the Deepwoods, and many are
little more than the halls and homes of lords who range the surrounding
forests. As the Elves and Halflings command a section of the Riverlands, so do
halfling s serve elves within the tree line. These servants ae treated with
less respect than is wise, and when the castle was seized by errant knights and
Goblins. It was the halflings in the secret servant passages who drove the
interlopers out and secured a generational rumour the place was haunted.
Ownership and the forest trail are still in question.[lx]
Midnight Sea – The extent of the Sea of Ships beyond
the Fenreach. See Sea of Ships.
Monster Coast, The – In Antiquity, the Sea of Ships
was surrounded by the footsteps of heroes, the city-states they served and the
monsters they fought. Half-tamed and roiling, the age of empires pushed
monsters tribal and lonely to the hinterlands. Only with the coming of the Age
of Chaos did they return. The War of Ruin has emptied Neraths heartlands. Nera
is squatted in by Gnolls, and the islands off the coast are filled with
disorganized cities. No roads now link west and east and it is feared
monstrosity with again creep over the Western Reaches and down the Hill
Cantons.
Moonfall Mountains – North of the great mesa of
Murgmar, across the Harsmad Hills, stands one of the Goblinoid ranges of the
Altaran Peninsula. Though, they were too disorganized to be a threat to the
dusty frontier. United only by their cult of Bane, the Hand of Naarash. By accounts,
they have seized the only local settlement of note, Adakmi. Centre and refuge
of the settlers and clans, where the waters drop from high, and now sweep the
frontier. Demanding compliance or death and loot all the same. Stories say they
marshal in an old Giant temple high above, the Pillars of Night.[lxi]
Murgmar – A dusty mesa rises from the south-western
Altaran Penisula. More influenced by Adretia
than northern Giants and Orcs, seeing themselves as akin to nearby Aesheba.
Maintaining colonies and subjects across the edge of the Desert of the
Desolation especially large Kharavas.
The city is warrenlike and feeds itself by fields and pastured made arable by
Goblin engineering and its extorted underclass. Ruled by the Great Murg, a
hugely fat bugbear that gladly sells young, aggressive Hobgoblins and bugbears
into the Iron Circle’s service. Only those who enter the place on Iron Circle
business are truly safe. [lxii]
Napina – A small town in the Western Reaches located
on a broad lake in the northern foothills of the Threshold Mountains. It
remains a prosperous logging, mining and fishing settlement. This has endowed
it with a fine keep, stone walls and a generous garrison even now. The only
concern are those Ogres and Giantish tribes, many who have picked up the
worship of Bane.[lxiii]
Nagomanti River – Small and quiet, it winds its way
through the Forest Wall to meet its sister, the western mountain-hugging
Kharabak River at the Sea of Ships. This is the boundary, though not noted by
many between Adventia and Nangia. It is here in the depths of Antiquity, a
group of Drow came though the dust-laden tunnels of the first Dwarves to build
a confederation along it and name a Prince. The Animal Nomads are now more
organized. The drow live scattered across kharabak and remember the moon again.[lxiv]
Necropolis of Sűrűerdő – In Antiquity, the Korlathi
learned to show inequality in death by laying great kings in Dwarven-hewed
tombs than give ashes to the wind. This is said by the Elves to be the moment
they no longer were korlathi but became ancestors. Regardless, a great tomb in
the Vidya Mountains remained until it became an occasional haunt for vampires,
from which they much vex the living. Sűrűerdő is a nearby village of otherwise
little regard.[lxv]
Nentir Vale – Above the Hundred Kingdoms is the
sparsely inhabited valley of the Nentir River, where the Spearwood ends between
Dawnforge Mountains and Forest Ridges. Ravaged by Dragons, the wild tribes
served many powers while the Minotaur city of Saruun Khel ruled in cruelty
betwixt the Dwarves, the Elves and the Orcs. Bael Turath and Arkhosia settled competitively,
and fighting devastated the region. Only when Nerath established the frontier
did settlements start among the downs. Ten years after Nerath fell, the orcs came
from the Stonemarch, the Bloodspears destroyed again, leaving their biggest
city Fallcrest a mere thousand souls linking Hammerfast and Moonstair.[lxvi]
Nocturnus
– In Nocturnus anything goes. A circular valley within the Lands of the Water
Cat was a crater created by the corpse of a dead Primordial from the Dawn War, the
Pit. Bedecked in statues and once known as Vilifos, Maladon, Demonchalice and
Tyran, half a mile wide and two deep, riven with four canyons. The land and the
city is stained. All sins are priced here in indulgence fees and open
unwholesome trades. Undead may become citizens and zombies in tunnels are the
defence. The seven lords live in fortress-estates along the rim and many are
thought to be undead.[lxvii]
Olenvale –
Along the northern coast of the Riverlands, beyond Wuffmark and Ambrosia’s Dyke
lies a dozen coastal villages and hamlet centred upon the town of the name.
Such a precarious place is part of the coastal roads that wind through
Greentide and Viking encampments to Fisher’s Rise. The protection of this knot
of civilisation is a mighty Dragon, for which the communities pay greatly in
coin and cattle.[lxviii]
Outer Islands, The - All along the coast of the
northern Riverlands lies disparate and small islands beneath the churning skies
of the Maelstrom. Populated by suspicious and closed Westermen or their
Tronskalian invaders, these isles remain culturally backward, linguistically
difficult and even more clannish. Primal worship contends in a three-way
struggle with Endon and Tronskal bishops.[lxix]
Orodaum,
Confederacy of – The Sapphire Sea is the coastal stretch of the Western
Reaches. These small cities and towns fare for themselves unless seriously
threatened as they are rumoured to be by aquatic foes. West to east they are
Sabronport, Pellen, Briddek, the small yet more magnificent capital of Seryth
Orodaum, Sulla and smallest Kapram. Pellen is the major entrepot for caravans
heading west overland to Brakmar. West further are the fog-shrouded peninsulas
that mark the border of the reaches with the Altaran Peninsula. There lies the
hidden Dwarven city of The Shrouded Crags, which is not a member.[lxx]
Peridane’s Fall – A small city in the wooded Western
Reaches, frontier of the once empire of Nerath. Built around the tomb of a
paladin who perished from the act of slaying a terrible dragon. Tragically
however, though the city was destroyed by the half-devilish child of the first
Dragon after the empire’s collapse. Though that dragon has been recently slain,
little remains. On the surrounding plateaus were twenty-four towers built by a
resident wizard noble. They didn’t do much but may not yet be plundered.[lxxi]
Phalanzia – Some claim to be a kingdom, when they are
but a city-state and all towns within a day’s travel. Such is the case of
Phalanzia, a remote sovereignty on the coast of the Midnight Sea, beyond the
Fenreach. On the ill-traveled coastal road that leads from the Hill Cantons to
Analand, it subsists on petty trade. The nearby ruins of Harrack Unarth remain
a far more enticing view for their decayed splendor.[lxxii]
Plish – As the Threshold Mountains irregularly slope
down towards the Hill Cantons, the pre-Vidya plains and forests, one passes the
Holy Mountain. This mountain dominates the sky, so square is it and snow-capped
even at the height of summer. Clinging to the lake at its base is the town of
Plish, a haven along the road with still working mines, though less without
need. They worship a great fish that they say lurks beneath the mountain. Others
say the water rise from the bottomless Underdark, which in turn fills their own
river and lake.[lxxiii]
Pohjola – Also known as Járnviðr or Ironwood, this is
the western edge of the Spearwood which stretches across the Artic Ocean. This
wood is the fear of Tronskal, for it is home to werebeasts and witches, and the
tribal bands of Shifters which vex down to the Nentir Vale. Yet good furs come
from here and Primal magic, encouraging settlement along its rivers. Extending
down into the Long Lakes. Karkoth claims some origins here from its Dawn Age
Witch-Queen and deems not to spend the effort to tamper. Preferring to let
Vikings and Avaat Mahn
extract its wealth.[lxxiv]
Port Blacksand – The City of Thieves on the Catfish
River is as old as it is rotten. First settled by wanderers as Carse. Devastated
by plague in the last Age of Chaos.
It was also ruined as all the Riverlands was forced to unite against Humanoids
and Giants from beyond the Stonehome Mountains. The ruins were swiftly occupied
by pirates, and lordship has passed more by violence than anointment. Humanoids
and even some Fey have moved here under the current pirate lord, who seeks
loyalty and cruelty equally. The hinterlands are a patchwork of villages and
monster-haunted wastes, leading to Firetop Mountain.[lxxv]
Pravarum
– Standing as brave since Antiquity, Pravarum is one of the last true cities
left in old Nera, now returned to the Monster Coast. Balancing the required
flow of luxuries to sustain its sophisticated population with the constant need
to defend against the surviving Gnoll packs. It retains much of the knowledge
of the past, and amid it’s universities, is the renown former adventurers’
guild of ancient wisdom. The Grand Assemblage of the League of Eternal
Discovery is as ostentatious in customs as its name. Yet comprises of some of
the most experienced arcane researchers, explorers and adventurers in the
world.[lxxvi]
Prospect Hill – In the principality of Kurich, a
half-frozen land within Karkoth, stands a rumor. An old fort, first used by
bandits then by villagers has become occupied once again by the cruel and
greedy. Prospect Hill now all but rules the surrounding area, the bandit
leader, a Tiefling named Chevkos having brought forth a Dragon to destroy the
local militias. Such a force might
imperil Kuirch, which will not harm Karkoth. As such a realm prefers to let
reign, so long as they ultimately swear loyalty.[lxxvii]
Punjar – The Tarnished Jewel. At the tip of the Altaran
Peninsula is a sandy collection of rotting alleys and bazaars, enveloped by a
black swamp. Such is one of the great trading cities in the Known World.
Governed by a careful equilibrium of crime, traditions and power. The city is
mercenary enough to be a major port of the Iron Citadel, where slaves distant
or unwanted are managed by the former slave-warrior caste. An innovation picked
up from the city’s occupation by the Mamluks. The first to declare independence
and so triggered the break-up of Nerath’s Adretia.[lxxviii]
Rethmil – Oldest and freest of Adretia, the south east claims
three thousands years of history. Its Hyarthan Knights, astride their dragonnes
have kept the western coast free of the iron Circle’s monstrous incursions and
plots. From Arkhoisan self-governance they melded spell and sword producing
respected knightly orders and wizardry academies. A century of war and intrigue
with Nerath ended with a puppet ruler and the knights banished. Dragon-destroyed
Auger rebuilt as Safyre. Reverse in the Age of Chaos to their agrarian decadence
and noble scheming. Yet now they must turn against their isolationism and seek
feelers to the Nerathi successors.[lxxix]
Ruislip –
Largest of the Outer Islands, this rain-drenched land is kept free of the
Maelstrom’s rotting dampness by the constant shifting portals to the Feywild,
regularly bringing too bright sunlight for a few days. Tronskalian settlers
dominate their coastal towns while the Fey-blooded Ruis, a manner of Westermen,
raise cattle and farm inland. The nobility claims descent from as many heroes
as they can. In the heart of the bogs and forests is Astrazalian, greatest city
in the world for half the year and a ruin inhabited by the hubris the rest.[lxxx]
Rivenroar
– A ruined castle some eight hours march from Brindol in the Elsir Valley. Once
home to the now- deceased
family of the same name, it remained a crypt for other local families. Many
rumours of unwholesome practices have been levied due to this. The one reason
this keep, of all the ruins is deserving of a mention, is to warn of its
reputation as a bandit or Goblinoid shelter.[lxxxi]
Riverlands – To the west of the Deepwood, in what was
the mundane estates of the Elven Empire, lies a wet land of five rivers,
winding to the Endless Blue. At the mouth of each river is a city and behind it
a hinterland of similar character. First and southmost is Port Blacksand, the
city of thieves on the Catfish. Then Brakmar, the infernal city on the
Enflammee. The twin cities of floating Sanctaphrax and Undertown on the
Edgewater. The Havens, center of the Elven Merchant Fleets on the Lune. And
Endon, the city of kings on the Burl.
Sanctaphrax and Undertown – The oddest city of the
Riverlands is the spire-bedecked, floating rock and the smoke-choked undercity,
the hinterland compressed. The Elven Empire once recorded a modest earthmote
atop a sea-cliff, but no longer. Sanctaphrax is the domain of sky and weather
scholars, endlessly studying and bickering in their university-city. Undertown
is a mass of foundries and scheming merchant houses, exploiting the smaller
earthmotes to build flying ships. There is no rest or sympathy here, the
Scholar-Knights of the living earth have been driven off, the Goblinoids have
forsaken their Gods. The polluted river and mire stretch to the Twilight Woods.[lxxxii]
Sarthel –
The city of silver to the east of the Nentir River as it reaches the Sea of
Ships at Gulltown. The peninsula plateau runs along the Draco Serra, the
eastern branch of the Threshold Mountains. Once an outpost of Bael Turath, only
after centuries was it incorporated in Nerath. Gold is king, and fuels
mercantile empires and the foundries of silver jewellery. The rich Blackvale
gives produce, yet the river and Lake Sarn is not navigable, needing a coastal
road to Pelarbin. The peninsula is otherwise infested with Gnolls and the city
is in the grip of the Iron Circle.[lxxxiii]
Selduria –
The Elven term for all lands to the east of the Vidya Mountains and the Dawnforge
Mountains. This does include all of Nangia but not the coasts of Zakhara or the
Desert of Desolation, which the Elven Empire considered to be held apart by the
mountains and so accessible to them.[lxxxiv]
Skull Fields – The road from the ruins of Vor Rukoth
connects to the Nerath’s highways via the Ruby Road of Antiquity. Where it
passes along the Alkavanti Hills, which shelter Vor Rukoth to the north, the
land becomes steppe as the blood rock renders the ground infertile. Such magic
comes from the numerous battles fought during the Arkhosian-Bael Turathi wars.
The restless dead lie uneasy. Except yearly as the phantoms mark the victory of
Dhuryan Flamebrow, who marched to die at Vor Rukoth’s walls.[lxxxv]
Spearwood – Tall pines stab the sky and bears prowl
around them. Such is the mane of Continents, stretching from haunted Ironwood
to beyond the Forest Edge, named by the Elves in their folly. The forests hide
many tribes and Humanoids, concentrating the farmers along the rivers and Long
Lakes to make cities of wood and chiefs like kings. All manner of woodland
treasures is wrested from the tribes of Wild Elves, Animal Nomads, Eastermen, Shifters,
Cavemen and Orcs by sword or exchange. Such a wide land breeds fear of the
woods and ambition to tame them and all others.
Standing Stones, The – The border between Wuffmark and
their nominal lord in Endon is a plain and on that plain is a large circle of
stones. These stones were first a temporary shrine to the Primal spirits but
have in turn been adopted by them. Earth and storm spirits are attracted here
and not a few Dwarves and Goliaths make the trek to Human and Elven country to
worship here. The nearby town hosts a large divine temple in turn for other
forms of required worship.[lxxxvi]
Stonehome Mountains – West of the Elsir Vale and the narrow
Westwood, lies the short yet high range that separates Orcish land from the
central Altaran Peninsula. Technically the same massifs as the Moonfall
Mountains, the Hobgoblin-controlled Harsbad Hills blocks the orcs between. The
only above-ground pass is through the Dwarven stronghold of Bordrin’s Watch.
Which in turn protects the once-dwarven and now merely filthy city of Overlook
and other ruins of the first post-Giant kingdom. The anchor of trade which
keeps this western-central part of the peninsula from a backwater.[lxxxvii]
Stonemarch, The – An alternative name for the northern
peaks of the Forest Ridges. (See Forest Ridges)
Sundered Chain, Monastery of the – High in the
Stonehome Mountains stands a temple dedicated to Moradin, creator of the
Dwarves. Constructed centuries ago to house an elite fighting force. It both
helps protect the pass and preserves the memories of the hardships endured at
the hands of the Giants. Training initiates in the fighting arts useful for
battling these foes. Those who train there gain both pride and honor on top of
an excellent education in religion and combat. Fittingly, it was built below
The Hammer, a peak that loosely resembles a downturned one.[lxxxviii]
Tessount’s
Folly – A failed copper mine in the northern cliffs of the Threshold Mountains.
Above the Aufeis River valley. Many rumours have emerged of lost tombs,
artifacts gold and terrible monsters. Such talk might be folly or truth. It
will be found out sooner than later.[lxxxix]
Therund, Barony of – Stretching along the march and
marsh of the Nentir River is another oversized title of the Hundred Kingdoms.
The barony comprises of riverside settlements which tax traffic from the Nentir
Vale and offload it eastward across the lesser-named ironwoods. The capital is
Brightstone Keep high on a bluff and the last port north is Moonstair, where
the barrier to the Feywild is thin. A thousand souls also trade when the moon
is full and the stars clear with the Eldrain castle-city of Celduilon a few days across the threshold. The Howling Forest rises west, and
the trolls remember old Vardar.[xc]
Three Corners – As the old trade road winds its way
from the Nentir Vale to the Lipid Valley, the last bastion of settlement lies
against its western flank. Silvery Lake houses a Dwarven town called Broken
Anvil and the Human town of Treeline. Below them in the Deepwoods is the face
of the Greentide, a Goblinoid band called the Skewed Rat Tribe. Though the
Goblins war with the other two, they are not fanatics driven by calls from
beyond to lay waste. So, a sufficiently well-guarded or tributing force may pass
quickly.[xci]
Threshold Mountains – The range which marks the
division between old Nerath and the western Hundred Kingdoms and the Hill
Cantons. High yet not thickly forested, it is again the haunt of Humanoids,
Dragons and formerly Pagan tribes. The main passages were The Via Draco in the
west and Durgen’s Pass in the east, where it adjoined the Vidya Mountains.
Named for a Dwarven warrior who reclaimed a lost city which tolled the pass.
Though such times are now lost to dragon-fire. Kaddas is to the northeast of
the range and the Whitewall valley terminates the pass.[xcii]
Tomb of the Tiefling Empress – Once empress of Bael
Turath, Nemeia chose to be buried in the arid lands of the Altaran Peninsula’s
mountainous heart. That being the borderlands where her presence would help cow
the restless. She was interred with a tomb befitting her rank, with many rooms
and her magical items. Including her signet ring, which was linked to the devil
who served or commanded her in life.[xciii]
Tounil – In the west of Nerath’s early conquests,
there dwells a most ancient city, that has stood since the time of the Elven
Empire. Tounil was like many Elven colonies. A central plaza containing the few
essential buildings, the houses of those Elven Castes who served it and other
caste homesteads blended into the forest. After the empire and Korlathi,
starker divisions occurred. Beyond the house ring were now Human farms. Tounil
is a thriving merchant city, the old city surrounding an independent elven city.
Which has become jammed with ornate libraries and temples befitting generations
of largess by Tounil’s citizens.
Trispan – The capital of the Highmarch, Trispan
remains a critical stop into the Western Reaches of the Deepwoods. Once Trispan
was a fair-sized city of its own, the guardian of the woodland edge and
unofficial heart of Adventine Half-Elves. First the Gnolls of the War of Ruin
laid waste to it, then the petty wars that followed devolved it into a
backwater. Now it is merely a market town among its proud remnants, a faint
beacon in the darkness.
Tronish Sea – The long and irregular body which
separates the Riverlands and the northern edges of the Deepwood from Tronskal
and Pohjola. Part of the Endless Blue, it is rich in fishing and pirates, the
ferocious Vikings being the most famous. Many bases and hidden coves still dot
the islands along Tronnish coast. Following the examples of the Elven Merchant
Fleets, the sailors of these rough waves can carry themselves across the Known
World and back. Unfortunately, the abundant life attracts sea serpents and
Giants in their tree canoes, eager to attack ships and villages if weakness can
be felt.
Tronskal - The high, cold north is a great peninsula
that encompasses the Tronish Sea. While known as hostile and full of savage
Vikings, the Jotunheimen Mountains bar the winds of the Whale Sea and even the
west coast warms. Ancient Trond was home to the northmost Dwarven Empire of
Deep Darkness, whose influences are still felt amount the Northmen. With
eastern Tronskal tributaries to Karkoth, the Pagan jarldoms engaged in regular
raiding and colonisation in the last Age of Chaos, until Roderick and Anneli
brought Systematic worship and Nerathi hegemony. The systematic bishops formed
the nucleus of interior communities.[xciv]
Turak-Tol – Beneath the Horned Hills is a recent
Dwarven city, even for Humans, at half a century old. Burgeoning, despite not
having contacted the surface or the Northern Empire of Deep Darkness for
decades after its founding. There are dark rumors as to why. Few under the
Vidya Mountains to the east will say, except the small tribe was banished for
being Duergar-like. Nearby Vor Rukoth, lawless and treasure-filled, is where
most visit.[xcv]
Twilight Woods – The most horrible place on the Earth.
A cursed forest which bulges from the Deepwoods to nearly reach Sanctaphrax and
Undertown. It must be some emanation from the chaotic Feywild as the Elven
Empire makes no mention of it. It is always twilight, driving all except birds
mad with hallucinations. One cannot die there, not even of starvation or
injury, cursed to roam as immortals. The one property that attracts the
Scholar-Knights, the Stormchasers is that lightning bolts crystalizes here to
form gems of great volatility or weight depending on how bright they are lit.[xcvi]
Ursine Dunes – Along the coast of Marlinko Canton is a
spectacular sight of enormous red-sand dunes rising so high as to be seen from
hours away. Fine-grained, the dunes are nigh-unclimbable without care and
hearty constitution. The interior is barely more manageable. Wind-blasted and
home to a few plants, the surrounding sickly sweet sea drives through a maze of
hull-smashing sandbars, and a strange timelessness pervades. The benighted
Isles of the Eld lie offshore. The dunes are home to two demigods, Medved and
his feared distant pirate cousin Ondrj. Medved has become somewhat of a patron
to War-Bears, who make annual pilgrimages.[xcvii]
Vidya Mountains – Storm-tossed
and snow-capped, these mountains mark the traditional border between the
civilized lands of Adventia and its forests and steppes beyond. The Korlathi
once lived along here during early Antiquity, though horse-riding Animal Nomads
have since settled into agriculture and adopted Elven-dominated high culture.
Here lies the mountain chimneys and forges of the Western Empire of Deep
Darkness, the supposed high king of all dwarves in Adventia. Its granite peaks
shelter the Hill Cantons and a terrifying number of vampires and werewolves
alike, apparently drawn to all the lightning and abandoned border castles.[xcviii]
Vor Rukoth – Beyond where the Fenreach gates the
Midnight Sea, lies a teeming ruin. Vor Rukoth was the City of Forges, a jewel
in Bael Turath’s crown and ruled by the sister of its last Human and first
Tiefling emperor, Lady Najala. Always geologically unstable, the paranoia of
its diabolist ruler grew as the war dragged on. Threatened by an Arkhosian host,
she brought forth indiscriminate death in the Day of Devils. She still reigns.
Though reopened only recently, it has returned to being the center of slavery,
piracy and diabolic horror. Devils still stalk the streets among bandits and
treasure-hunters.[xcix]
Warwood – A forest of about a hundred acres between
Trispan and Tounil. Famously, as Nerath was roiling from the Gnolls of the War
of Ruin, foul forces took advantage of the chaos. Here, a paladin of the Raven
Queen challenged the monstrous leader to single combat to death and dispersal. Both
perished, and any dead condemned to haunt the forest for blood. The creature of
the Far Realms was buried in a tomb, the paladin’s body commanded to the care
of the Monastery of Ravenwood, some forty miles distance by Archreisis the
Exarch. Some say the paladin was a villain himself.[c]
Water Cat, Lands of the – All the lands to the east of
the Hundred Kingdoms, where the rivers flow from the central highlands, the
Forest Wall, the Dawnforge and the Vidya Mountains. So named for their
habitation by large catfish, which can drag a grown man down and supp upon him.
Here the mighty Long Lakes emerge as mere widenings. Home of Korlathi-descdent
Goons, now the Weenies, this land has been repeatedly invaded by Animal Nomads.
The vast lands are dominated by kingdoms ruled from wooden trade-cities.
Dominated once and now again by dread Karkoth, the glorious provinces of Nerath
passed like a dream.
Western Reaches, The - The south-flowing hills between
Nerath and the Riverlands has seen the tread of many wanders. The Tuathan must
of passed through and if not, Westerman have, skirting the Deepwoods to the
north. The merchants of Antiquity and the legions of empires have left their
mark, with Nerath being the closest memory. Long a cultural meeting point, the
Occitants fear the Age of Chaos. Nearth has again sunk into the Monster Coast,
cutting eastern roads. The Deepwoods and mountains are ever hostile, the
Riverlands divided and the ancient cities like Fallax menaced by pirates,
warlords and the undead.[ci]
Whale Sea – The Adventine name for the abutting part
of the Artic Ocean, touching the bleak lands of northern Tronskal, Pohjola and
the Spearwood, the exact shape shifts due to the winter pack ice that coves it
for months. The sea is abundant in fish, seals, whales, and more rarely polar
bears. There is much conflict on the sea between Tronskalians, Riverlanders,
the odd Sea-Man and their shamans and Giants who set out from the fjords and
islands for their own purposes. The Vikings of Tronskal claim to have followed
the rime to mythical islands and green lands.
Whitewall, Upper – A small, independent city located
in the upper valleys of the Vidya Mountains. Once sacred to Kord and Melora
under the Korlathi, it is now a market and crumbled fortress. It regulates the
old road beneath, connecting the Lands of the Water Cat to the flatter north of
the Hill Cantons.[cii]
White Plume Mountain – In the hinterlands of Port
Blacksand, where monsters dwell. Among tangled thickets, many Gnolls and rumors
of an undead Dragon. But above that is a lonesome volcano. Here is where an
ancient yet unknown wizard, called Keraptis built his amusing dungeon, service
tunnels and mastered the fallen paladin turned vampire Ctenmiir the Cursed, to
guard it. He who sought longevity over his faith.[ciii]
Witchlight Tree – Beyond the
Forest Ridge, where the Elven forests begin, an ancient tree stands. Long dead,
its dry branches still stretch to the sky and its hollow truck towers over the
surrounding forest. On the nights of the full Moon, glowing wisps of light
descend the hollow. From the trees emerge elves and Shifters to stand beneath.
They claim to receive the blessing of the forest spirits.[civ]
Witchwood, The – A stretch of the primeval forest
which remains despite the habitation of the Elsir Vale. Even at the height of Nerath,
this stand remained close-knit and insular, the Elves and Eladrin living
together in a continuous but dispersed community. Only since the destruction
caused by the Red Hand of Doom, have the locals emerged to trade with the wider
Altaran Peninsula.[cv]
Wuffmark – The northern coasts, moors, and forested
hills of the Riverlands north of the Burl. Since the end of the Elven Empire,
the land has been contested by first wild tribes of Westermen and Northmen with
brief periods of distant empires, then increasingly depredated by Vikings from
across the Tronish Sea. It reached the point when King Aelfwine of Endon
promised the whole northern coast to a Viking who would prevent others from
coming. Rolf Longstride came to be duke of a wolf-haunted wasteland, Wuff-Mark. Now a civilized, if arrogantly chivalrous
land of adventuring landless knights.[cvi]
Yevn Raeach – On the borders between the feuding clans
of Tronskal and bleak Karkoth stands a town and a ruined castle. Castle Korvald
was funded by a knight-errant, who came with Roderick and Anneli to convert the
Pagan Northmen. They succeeded, and in building the castle, secured the forests
against the Frozen Skull Orcs of the Jotunheimen. Twenty years after its
construction, a larger orc force besieged it, sheltering the entire town. After
months, the castle was ruined, the town’s heroes slain but the Frozen Skulls
broken and fleeing into the mountains, to disperse there. The ruins remain a
celebrated monument.[cvii]
Ylsinar – A wretched port city, a far cry from its
glorious days as a rival to Gulltown. It serves what is left of old Nera and
the Monster Coast with its natural harbor and road. Ylsinar is virtually
controlled by its feuding gangs. These gangs in turn are rumored to have all
manner of inhuman patrons, though several are just bravado. Worse are the
sandstone caverns of the previous cities lie on the outskirts, which
periodically spill forth undead. Requiring the city elders to hire adventurers
to temporarily suppress them.[cviii]
[i] Inspired by
the German RPG Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye), which named it’s Not-Europe +
ME “Adventuria”
[ii] See many
creatures and references in 4E, most relevant (4E Player’s Handbook pp.3-5,
p.13; Dragon Magazine #387 pp.15-16; The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea
p.6, p.63, 4E Monster Manual 3, p.186)
[iii] See Hero of
the Feywild pp.7-9
[iv] Imaria is
named after Charles R. Saunders' Imaro & other "sword &
soul-esque" fiction
[v] Originally
the Black moon was going to be a Mars analogue and the Purple Planet of Dungeon
Crawl Classic. But two moons seemed more interesting. Then I found the source
material had an obscure mention in Dragon Magazine #382 pp.102-105 for a second.
Therefore, a hidden black moon draws on the moons of the old Dragonlance
setting. The comet element is derived from Diablo 3 where Tyrael falls from
Heaven as a blazing comet. And from the twin-tailed comet of Warhammer Fantasy.
[vi] Derived
from a deliberately obscure entomology from Naga, the most prominent feature as
the elves considered dragons and serpents to be bad.
[vii] See Manual
of the Planes pp.7-12
[viii] See Underdark
pp.11-12
[ix] See Al-Qadim:
Land of Fate Box Set
[x] See Dragon Magazine #402 pp.35-40
[xi] Inspired by
Fighting Fantasy, The Shamutanti Hills, name from Draconomicon: Chromatic
Dragons pp.52-53
[xii] Based on
Offa's Dyke
[xiii] Inspired by
Fighting Fantasy, The Shamutanti Hills
[xiv] See Dungeon #156
pp.70-105
[xv] See Draconomicon:
Metallic p.71
[xvi] See The Judges Guild Modules – The
Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor
[xvii] See I6
Ravenloft and Open Grave p.210, Dragon Magazine #416 pp.4-10
[xviii] See Open
Grave pp.72-79
[xix] Inspired by
Bramkar from Dofus/Wakfu
[xx] See Dungeon #156 p.9
[xxi] See Open
Grave pp.56-63
[xxii] See
Conquest of Nerath board game, Dungeon Magazine #187 p.36, Hammerfast
supplement
[xxiii] Inspired by
the self-same Deepwoods from the Edge Chronicles book series
[xxiv] See Dyson’s
Delves Volume 1 pp.4-39
[xxv] See Welcome to Dolmenwood
[xxvi] See Dungeon
Magazine #157 pp.82-103
[xxvii] Inspired by Martial Power p.65
[xxviii] Inspired by
Girl Genius Comic Series
[xxix] See Red Hand of Doom, Martial
Powers 2 p.114, Draconomicon: Chromatics pp.158-165
[xxx] See Magical
Industrial Revolution p.7, 19 for the recent past and the rest for its future
[xxxi] See Primal
Power p.120
[xxxii] See textbox
in Martial Power 2 p.126
[xxxiii] See Draconomicon: Chromatic
Dragons pp.238-239
[xxxiv] See Revenge
of the Giants pp.124-151
[xxxv] Inspired by extending
the Nentir Vale map from the 4E DMG south.
[xxxvi] See Revenge
of the Giants pp.90-97
[xxxvii] Elements of
Pelgaric are inspired by Bonta from Dofus/Wakfu
[xxxviii] Based on
the Grey Havens and Eriador from Lord of the Rings
[xxxix] See The
Hill Cantons Compendium p.2
[xl] See Vor
Rukoth p.5
[xli] See Heroes of the Feywild pp.11-12
[xlii] See Misty
Isles of the Eld
[xliii] See Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons
p.65, textbox in Psionic Powers p.39, example cities in Cityscape
[xliv] Inspired by
Fighting Fantasy Kharé - Cityport of Traps, The Seven Serpents, The Crown of
Kings
[xlv] See Dragon Magazine #399, pp.15-20
[xlvi] See Dragon Magazine #399, pp.15-20, Dragon
Magazine #403 pp.38-43, Adapted the name Kurich from Draco Metallic p.92
[xlvii] See
Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons p.65
[xlviii] See
Fighting Fantasy, Kharé - Cityport of Traps
[xlix] See Dungeon
#156 pp.46-69
[l] See Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons
pp.70-71, otherwise inspired by the Greek speaking lands of Byzantium and the
Eastern Roman Empire
[li] See Hill Canon Compendium II p.3
[lii] See Open
Grave pp.96-103
[liii] Inspired by
Lendleland, mentioned in Fighting Fantasy: Sorcery series
[liv] Inspired by Eastern Europe, in
particularly Russia and the rivers are named after cities from Kislev in
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition. The Long Lake is from The
Hobbit. Lake Lumlé is from Fighting Fantasy: The Shamutanti Hills pp.22-23
[lv] See Primal
Power p.131, and the word maelstrom being Scandinavian in origin
[lvi] See
Fighting Fantasy, The Crown of Kings
[lvii] See the
module Fever Dreaming Marlinko
[lviii] See the
module, What Ho, Frog Demons
[lix] See Dragon Magazine #401 pp.1-5
[lx] See textbox in Martial Power 2
p.129
[lxi] See Dungeon
Magazine #155 pp.29-59
[lxii] See Dragon
Magazine #402 p.4
[lxiii] See Dragon
Magazine #366 pp.55-60
[lxiv] Mentioned
in and Inspired by Fight Fantasy, The Crown of Kings
[lxv] See Dungeon
Delve pp.66-71
[lxvi] See 4E DMG,
4E Dungeon Master’s Kit, almost all the modules, articles and lore in 4E
[lxvii] See Open Grave p.20
[lxviii] See Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons
pp.64-65
[lxix] Based on
the outer islands of Scotland and their long associations with the Norse
invaders.
[lxx] See Dungeon #158 pp.54-82
[lxxi] See Dyson’s
Delves Volume II, pp.27-30
[lxxii] Inspired by
Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons p.58
[lxxiii] See Holy Mountain Shaker p.4
[lxxiv] Inspired by
Finnland as seen by the Norse.
[lxxv] See Advanced Fighting Fantasy –
Blacksand!, Midkemia Press - The City of Carse for old name
[lxxvi] See Draconomicon Metallic Dragons
p.68-69
[lxxviii] See Dungeon
Crawl Classic Punjar: The Tarnished Jewel
[lxxix] See Dragon magazine #405 pp.44-49,
Safyre is from Dungeon Magazine #164 pp.36-118
[lxxx] See Ruslip from Wolves on the
Coast, with scale increased to 24 miles per hex
[lxxxi] See Dungeon #156 pp.20-45
[lxxxii] Inspired by
Sanctaphrax and Undertown from the Edge Chronicles book series
[lxxxiii] See Dragon Magazine #398 pp.1-6
[lxxxiv] Term from
Conquest of Nerath Board Game
[lxxxv] See Vor
Rukoth p.5
[lxxxvi] See Primal
Power p.120
[lxxxvii] See Dungeon
Magazine #157 pp.4-55
[lxxxviii] See Dragon
Magazine #157 p.27
[lxxxix] See Dungeon #157 pp.56-81
[xc] See P1 –
King of the Trollhaunt Warrens pp.4-7
[xci] See Revenge
of the Giants pp.88-89
[xcii] Inspired by
Draconmicon: Chromatic pp.102-109
[xciii] See Dungeon
Delves pp.36-41
[xciv] Very
clearly Scandinavia as the tendency to just copy Earth regions is too easy, the
bishoprics is key to medieval Sweden and Norway, as apart from the large
coastal trading centers, inland settlements were foundered around churches. And
I wanted to avoid just doing nothing but Vikings.
[xcv] See Vor
Rukoth p.5
[xcvi] See The
Twilight Woods from The Edge Chronicles book series
[xcvii] See
Slumbering Ursine Dunes
[xcviii] Hammer
Horror’s Carpathian Mountains
[xcix] See Vor
Rukoth pp.2-3
[c] See Dungeon
#155 pp.60-92
[ci] Started as
space-filler but decided on an Occitan theme.
[cii] Inspired by
Draconomicon: Chromatics p.57 and Whitewall from Greg Stafford’s Glorantha
[ciii] See S2
White Plume Mountain, Fighting Fantasy – The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Open Grave
p.202
[civ] See Primal
Power p.119
[cv] See Arcane
power p.74
[cvi] Based on Normandy
in France but might also correspond to Danelaw in England.
[cvii] See
Draconomicon: Chromatics pp.94-101
[cviii] See
Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons pp.62-63, vaguely implied in Draconomicon:
Chromatic Dragons p.199, Open Grave pp.64-71
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