Stânfolde Part 5 - Miscellaneous

A few other miscellaneous items from the character creation document...

Languages

Stânfoldish - ie, Common.

Zamarian - the empire to the East.

Benâthian - the empire to the West.

Elven – Language of the elves.

Dwarven – Language of the dwarves.

Hin – Language of the Hin.

Celestial - the language of Heaven, only available to those with ranks in Knowledge (Heaven).

Infernal – the language of Hell, only available to those with ranks in Knowledge (Hell).

Enochian – the secret language of the Angels, only available to those with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana).

Umbral – the language of the spirits, only available to those with ranks in Knowledge (Spirits).

Coinage

Pence – A small copper coin the size of a penny.

Saint – A small silver coin the size of a penny.

Spirit – A medium silver coin the size of a quarter.

Solar – A small gold coin the size of a penny.

Angel – A small platinum coin the size of penny.

(On the average, fifty coins constitute one pound).

In comparison to standard prices in various supplements, including the Player’s Handbook, a solar is the equivalent of a gold piece.  The rest follows naturally:

100 pence = 1 solar             10 saints = 1 solar                2 spirits = 1 solar                  1 angel = 10 solars

- or, in Gygaxian terms -

100 pence = 10 saints = 2 spirits = 1 solar = 10 angels

The Arcangels

Uriel, who rules the worlds

Raphael, who oversees the races

Michael, who is set over chaos

Saraquael, who is set over the spirits

Gabriel, lord of the hosts

Raguel, vengeance of the lord

The Map

Everything

I've shared all of the digital documents for the campaign in this Google Drive folder.

There's a great deal more in the notebooks. I may return and type some of it out at a later date.

Stânfolde Part 4 - Guilds

Guilds

(Guilds were a major part of the world, part of a network that helped defend the region from the demons to the north. Without a guild you had very limited access to feats and prestige classes. Each one had a separate writeup.)

Joining a guild or organization provides an adventuring mercenary with many benefits.  These benefits can range from access to training in feats to monetary bonuses when it comes to equipment.  In addition, most prestige classes are rooted within various organizational structures.  It is possible to not be affiliated with a guild, and guilds can always be joined later, but choices for advancement and growth will be limited.  Below is a brief write-up of each guild that may be joined at 1^st level; full write-ups complete with prestige classes and feats available will be provided separately.

The Astrologer’s Guild

Originally formed so that arcane spellcasters could hide their profession under a cloak of legitimacy.  The unofficial wizard’s guild of Sûthgeard, members still try to hide their art from prying eyes even though most are privy to their charade now.

The Bards

The Bards are similar to the Coven and the Speakers in that they aren’t an official guild.  Rather they are a loose organization of skalds and storytellers who share their knowledge and talents to each other’s benefit.  Anyone who tells a good tale can join, but Skalds make up the majority of the membership.

The Coven

More of a sisterhood than a guild, the Coven is what the witches of Stânfolde call themselves.  It is not an official guild but fills all of the same duties, even interacting with the Hiring Hall.  Non-witches can be considered Coven members, even males, as long as they are dedicated to the sisterhood’s goals and ideals.

The Chapterhouse

A mercenary guild formed by holy warriors allied to the Church.  Clerics and paladins make of the majority of its membership, but anyone able to wield a weapon can join if their faith is strong enough.

“The Guild”

The thieves’ guild of Sûthgeard.  They keep a tight leash on non-guild members operating in the city as the other powerful guilds could crush them easily if provoked.  The main reason they still exist is due to their front organization, “The Adventurer’s Guild”, which trains adventuring mercenaries in skills useful outside the city.

The Hospitalers

A religious mercenary guild somewhat similar to the Chapterhouse, save the Hospitalers specialize in healing.  Besides training mercenaries, they run hospitals throughout the land.  They are mostly comprised of clerics and paladins, but the occasional shaman, witch or non-spellcasting healer has made it into their ranks.

The Lancers

The spearman is the most basic fighting unit in all of Stânfolde.  Any spearman who wishes to be more than a man with a long pointy stick trains with the Lancers.  The Lancers are more of a training organization than a guild, but they do maintain some guild functions.  Very few adventurers come from the ranks of the Lancers.

The Outriders

There is no heavy cavalry in Stânfolde, but there is a light cavalry.  They specialize in both scouting and fast moving hit and run tactics.  Founded by the hin on their riding dogs, it has grown to include horseback riders, too.  While not a large generator of adventurers, there are some groups that find the skilled riding of a Outrider to be an essential part of a mercenary company.

The Speakers

Not formally a guild, the Speakers represent those who choose to honor the spirits as part of their devotion to Heaven.  They have their own hiearchy and function as a guild in most respects.  While Shamans make up the majority of members, anyone who respects their ways can join.

The Spellswords

Since arcane magic carries a stigma in Stânfolde, many practitioners of the art have taken up weapons to make themselves more socially acceptable.  The combination of martial and magical skills has made the Spellswords one of the most powerful and respected mercenary guilds.  Most wizards who wish to do more than study musty books join this guild, as does anyone with some interest in arcane magic.

The Whistling Death

Originally formed by various orders of secret archer brotherhoods, the Whistling Death has become an indispensable part of life in Stânfolde.  They provide training and mercenary bands to town militias and also produce talented archers who are key members of most adventuring mercenary companies.  Perhaps the largest mercenary organization in the land.

Stânfolde Part 3 - Classes

Classes

Due to the nature of the campaign, there are changes to the core classes that are available.  Some classes from the PHB have been changed or replaced, others have been eliminated completely.  Finally, there are some new core classes available that are more appropriate for this campaign.  The core classes that will be used are listed below along with comments about any changes and the role the class plays in the world.  (All classes have at lease Simple Weapon Proficiency).

Astrologer: Arcane spellcasters have hidden their skills within the cloak of astrology for ages.  Many now can combine their knowledge of the stars with computing actual magical effects.  Astrologers aren’t as adventure oriented as wizards, but their skills can be impressive if properly prepared.  (Uses Astrologer class from Occult Lore).

Avatar: Avatars are the mortal agents of the Heavenly Host, summoning down the wrath of Heaven on the unholy.  They cast divine spells like clerics, but specialize in the summoning of celestials and can even take on angelic forms at higher levels.  No one chooses to be an avatar, they are chosen by Heaven.  While they don’t have any specific place among the clergy, avatars tend to be respected no matter where they go as they bring the wrath of Heaven with them.  Many are allowed to be members of the Chapterhouse even if they don’t meet the martial requirements.  (Uses the Avatar class from Green Ronin's Avatar Handbook).

Cleric: The fighting priests of the Church, clerics are very common in the Stânfolde region.  While the less combative Ecclesiastic class is available, many members of the clergy are still clerics due to the great need for martial prowess in this region.  A change to the class is that the ability to turn undead is replaced with the ability to turn outsiders of an opposite good/evil alignment as there are no undead in this world.

Ecclesiastic: Not all the clergy is as talented at fighting as clerics are.  Those that tend to stay at home or in the city often become ecclesiastics, divine spellcasters that focus almost solely on their spellcasting abilities.  Note that ecclesiastic may not be multi-classed with cleric.  (From Netbook of Classes).

Fighter: Still the most common class, the fighter gains Intimidation and one other skill of the player’s choice as a class skill.

Martial Artist: Masters of exotic fighting styles.  There is a tradition in Stânfolde called Angel’s Fist where specially trained fighters and martial artists travel and challenge one another in a continuing quest to perfect their fighting style.  These fighting styles are taught by individual masters who often keep a retinue of students. (From Beyond Monks)

Rogue: The rogue is unchanged in rules and attitude from the Player’s Handbook.

Ranger: A consummate outdoorsman, the ranger has more in common with the rogue than the druid.  The ranger is fighting class, though he tends to focus more on stealth and skill than outright confrontation.  (Modified 3.5e ranger, on separate printout).

Paladin:  The paladin is unchanged from the Player’s Handbook.  They play a very important role in this world full demons and devils.

Shaman: In game terms, the shaman is a divine spellcaster but in reality he doesn’t cast the spells as much as coax his spirit allies to cast spells for him.  While more at home with nature than other classes, the shaman doesn’t worship it as she understands the spirits are awakened through the breath of God.  A change to the class is that angels may be taken as spirit companions along with normal spirits.  (Uses the shaman from Mongoose's Shamans).

Skald: The skald serves an important part of this martial society.  Through the skalds, a living record of the deeds of the past are kept to inspire to heroes of the present.  Skalds themselves are warrior poets, using the inspiration of the heroes from the past to make them effective combatants.  (Original class, on printout).

Witch: Unlike other arcane spellcasters, witches don’t experiment and play around with their Enochian spells.  Rather, they all cast from the same book, the Book of Shadows, which is said to have been given to them by Uriel in ages past.  While this claim is not disputed by the church, there is still some distrust from the peasantry as their magics are still arcane in nature.  The class itself focuses on subtle spontaneous spellcasting combined with ritual and natural knowledge.  (Uses the witch from the Green Ronin's Witch’s Handbook).

Wizard: Perhaps the most mistrusted of all the classes, wizards all cast their spells from the same magical language – Enochian, the angelic language of creation.  While what they do is not technically evil, it is considered the ultimate act of hubris by the church and there is a good deal of mistrust.  Most wizards learn to sling a sword along with spells to help their appearance.  The class itself has a slightly different spell list (due to the lack of necromancy) but is otherwise unchanged.

Stânfolde Part 2 - Races

Races

(I've only extracted the fluff part of the character creation document to save space. The original includes the racial bonuses if different from the PHB.)

There are several different races available in the Stânfolde region. While most of them can be found in the Player’s Handbook, there are significant enough differences that each race will receive a full write up below. This will include both descriptions of the race and their statistics.

One overall difference between the races of Stânfolde and those presented in the Player’s Handbook is that there is less friction and difference between the races. To give something of an idea of the difference, consider that a dwarf visiting an elf village will be less like an American visiting China and more like an American visiting Europe. There are common institutions shared between all the races so a human could go to a dwarf, elf or halfling settlement and expect to find common currency, language, religion and organizations. While the races do each have their own culture, they can all feel somewhat comfortable with each other.

Aasimar
While they don’t have a society of their own, the plane touched are very prevalent in these lands. Aasimars are those who can walk about in daylight as they are revered and respected for their celestial heritage. Much like their celestial ancestors, aasimar tend to be kind, honorable, and proud. They normally live among humans, often becoming heroes and leaders of their communities as they continuously strive to bring justice and prosperity to their mortal kin. Statistically, they are templates and not a race unto themselves. The following modifications are applied to an already existing racial template.

Dwarf
Among the races dwarves are best known for their hardiness, be it in battle, in their resistance of magic, or in their stubbornness of character. They share a love of justice and stone, carving their lands out of the caves beneath mountains and producing masterworks of weapons, armor, and jewels unmatched throughout the land. The heart of dwarfdom lies in the Thunder Mountains, and the farther one gets from there the more human-like the dwarves become, especially those from the Thûsend Hills.

The dwarves of the Thunder Mountains are a dour and serious sort. While they retain their love of craft and drink, martial and religious matters are considered even more important. The great loss their kin suffered first in the Black Mountains and then they suffered in the battle of Thunder Pass still weighs heavy on them. They are certainly capable of enjoying life – the greatest tavern songs are all dwarven – but when matters get serious they are famous for putting on their “killing face” and not stopping until the job is done.

There are two main dwarf-only territories in the Stânfolde region. The largest and most important are the Thunder Mountains where settlements sit both above and below the earth. The largest of these mountains, Mount Thunor, is their attempt to create as massive a dwarven city as existed in the Black Mountains and by far the larges of their towns. Conversely, the Thûsend Hills near Sûthgeard houses a smaller community dwarves that are mostly refugee clans from the Black Mountains. Along with the many dwarves who have taken up living in human lands they have become very human-like in their attitudes.

Elf
The elves of the Luna Silva, or the Moon Elves, are often considered to be the “elder sons” of the races. This is more due to their longevity as it is not known which of the races, if any at all, was created first. Creatures of the forest, elves are renown for their woodcraft and skill with the bow. Everything they do seems to be touched with grace and beauty.

Moon elves see the glory of God in all his creation and choose to see life as a celebration of Heaven despite the pain in the world. Elven church services tend to be joyous events full of singing and even some spontaneous dancing – it is often joked that it is hard to tell a morning service from an evening revelry. It isn’t that they are never serious – a look at all the elven names in the Valley of the Dead will show what they are willing to risk and sacrifice when needed – it is more a matter of trying to find the light when trapped in the dark.

The Luna Silva home to many small elven villages that usually have public buildings and merchants on the ground and homes in the trees. While there is no equivalent to the dwarven Mount Thunor, the total elven population of the Luna Silva is about equal to the number of dwarves in the Thunder mountains. However, there are a larger number of elves mixed in with human settlements as they are often sought to teach archery to militias or called to duty in the clergy.

Hin
Sometimes called “halflings” by humans, the hin of the Stânfolde region are immigrants from the hin tribes of the Southern Waste who became more “civilized”. While considered somewhat uncultured and barbaric by the other races (who do not kill a boar and use its bones to make a knife as a coming of age ceremony) the fierceness they showed in battle during the war and the food they provide and has made them welcome members of society. Riding specially bred greyhounds and herding pigs on the plains, the hin have become a very common sight over the last few hundred years.

Hin are a very practical sort, in many ways more so than the dwarves. They have a firm belief in working hard and then playing hard – the work you do during the day, be it herding pigs or killing demons, ends with the day and at night you enjoy they fact that you aren’t working. Perhaps the greatest symbol of their mindset comes from their coming of age ritual. The young hin kills a boar and then must carve it in such a way that every part has a use – his first kukri is made from its tusks and his first mug is made from its tanned hide. Nothing is wasted, whether the use be for work or for fun.

The lands of the hin ranges from the Goodwine to the Brembur rivers – they roam the plains, herding their pigs from place to place. Recently they have been settling down more and penning the pigs in, but these settlements tend to either not last long or exist exclusively for the purpose with trading with others. Over the years, the hin have also learned not to graze on the land of farmers so there are currently few conflicts of that nature, but there is concern that as herds and farms grow that there may be trouble down the road.

Human
The humans of the Stânfolde region are often considered the “glue” that hold all the other races together. Their language is the common language, their towns are the center of cross-cultural exchange. While not endowed with some of the extraordinary abilities of the other races, humans remain a vibrant and active member in the goings on throughout the land.

Teifling
The tieflings are the offspring of humans and some lower planar denizen. This ancestry causes tieflings to often be shunned by respectable society, driving them to associate with those on the wrong side of the law. Often tieflings grow up with no family or close relations, and few tieflings feel the need to look after other members of their kind. Despite these obstacles, tieflings often have a strong personal drive to rise to positions of power, wealth, and respect. Statistically, they are templates and not a race unto themselves. The following modifications are applied to an already existing racial template.

Stânfolde Part 1 - Introduction

Here's an old campaign I successfully ran with a friend acting as co-DM. It was actually completed with the characters reaching 17th level and successfully sending Lucifer back to Hell. It was created out a desire to run a Diablo style game along with a lot of elements we wanted to add to the still somewhat new 3rd edition of D&D.

Below is the introduction to the setting. It actually ended up being somewhat incorrect and incomplete as we changes things about the setting while campaign progressed. Later I'll add the character creation document which is pretty much the only other collected source for information about the setting.

The map uses the central region from my favorite map and is specifically the original one mentioned in that post.

Ancient History

In the time before, all the world was a paradise surrounded by dreams and Heaven.  Man and beast lived in harmony and they all feared and worshiped the Creator and his magnificent Silver City.  However all was not well in the City as one of the seven chosen of the Creator, Lucifer, led a rebellion against his Lord and his brothers.  The reasons for this rebellion is unknown, perhaps not even Lucifer knows any more.  However the archangel and his followers were cast down from the Silver City in Heaven and they fell towards earth.

Lucifer and his followers pierced the world, going through it, and emerged on the other side. Where he passed he left corruption. The mortal realm there was blasted, the low spiritual realm turned dark and the realm of dreams turned to nightmare. Mortals now found themselves surrounded by both dreams and nightmares, light and dark spirits.

Still the Fallen went downwards until he found himself in a place the opposite of heaven.  It was barren and empty save for he and his followers.  Unrepentant and full and rage at his Master, Lucifer swore vengeance – swore to one day to return to the Silver City as lord and master.  What began then is what is known as the Eternal Conflict – Lucifer’s continual attempt to make his realm of Hell more powerful than that of Heaven.  This ongoing war is fought in dreams, in the spirit world and in the realms of man.  Sometimes it tips in the direction of one or the other, but never has one side ever some close to claiming victory.  For those on Earth, many have chosen sides in the Eternal Conflict and some have even made a difference.  For most, though, they simply live their daily lives unaware that a battle rages about them and hope to end their time on earth in peace…

Recent History

                Over one hundred years ago the Kingdom of Stânfolde was an important nation.  Sitting neutrally between two mighty empires who were continually at odds with each other it was made incredibly rich with trade.  Nestled comfortably between the Goodwine and Sylfren rivers, it was also blessed with rich farmland and natural resources.  Its leaders were wise and the people pious.  At least for a while.

                The major trading city of Caldhâm was the capitol of the kingdom and trade center between the two empires along the connecting river.  About five hundred years ago King Anandarân declared that he had made a deal that ensured that the kingdom would be prosperous forever more.  He stopped attending church services and rumors began that he was leading some dark ceremonies himself.  Civic leaders began to join him – those who refused disappeared.  The countenance of the people of Caldhâm darkened.  Churches began to close or mysteriously burn down.

                In the southern city of Sûthgeard, the leaders of the church and government grew greatly concerned.  The darkness that seemed to have overtaken Caldhâm seemed to be growing.  The dwarves of the Thunder Mountains reported that nothing had been heard of their kin in the Black Mountains for months and the elves of Iggath had likewise disappeared.  The south began to mobilize for war.

                And war did come.  Small skirmishes between cultists and strange beasts and demons began to occur throughout the south.  As the civil war formalized and battle lines settled, it was determined that few of the original inhabitants of the north still lived.  The army that the south now faced seemed to be comprised wholly of monsters and demons and it was massive.  They completely ignored the Old Road and headed across land towards Thunder Pass, only sending a token force to Brembur Ford.

                The leader of the southern armies, a dwarf named Tharam from the Thunder Mountains, proposed a bold plan.  The army of the dwarves, reinforced by the bows of the elves, would hold Thunder pass alone.  The bulk of the army would quickly defeat the foes at Brembur Ford and then come from behind to smash the enemy.  This was executed just as planned – the dwarves and elves held the pass for three days at a staggering loss of life, but when the main army arrived from behind the demon hordes had no chance.  Those that weren’t slaughtered fled to the Darkwood and the south was saved from the immediate threat.

Modern Times

                Today, there is no more Kingdom of Stânfolde.  The land was so shattered by the war that only the city of Sûthgeard remains along with various other small towns and villages.  All “civilized” life resides south of the Brembur River save for New Edor which is little more than a remote fortress.  North of the river are monsters, demons and worse.  Continual military force is needed everywhere to counter the constant demonic appearances that seem to arise.  Only through the effort of tireless individuals is the land kept from falling into eternal chaos…

Aberrations - Part 3

Factions

The Old Faith - Essentially druidic nature worship. They focus on the element of Life. There is no actual hierarchy but followers are welcoming of each other and do what they can to aid in times of trouble.

The Alucain - Users of draconic elemental magic. They also try to act as a "civilizing" influence upon the region. In some places they are welcomed as heroes and sages. In others they are seen as arrogant newcomers.

The Voidtouched - Not an organization per say but the voidtouched often stick together. Sometimes it is in ghettos of large cities and sometimes in wandering caravans. Some suspect them of having a secret network to aid their former masters and that increases the distrust.

The Bardic School - This school was established in Suthgeard in order to uncover and preserve the lost knowledge and civilization of the humanoid peoples. They often acts as a unifying force and are called upon as mediators when the Alucain aren't trusted by one of the parties.

The Beholders

The beholders weren't all killed. Many still lurk in the dark corners of the land. Now that they are toppled from power, they have withdrawn into the factions that more reflect their nature. (FWIW I'm not sure if these groups were my own creation or from the PDF that inspired me. The brief notes make me think the latter.)

The Consuming Eye - The Beholders who simply want to exist for their own comfort now that they no longer have any responsibilities.

The Eternal Vigil - Beholders who are holed up like survivalists and waiting for the final assault to begin.

The Final Forge - Beholders that wish to regain their lost empire.

The First Eye - Acts the their shock troops.

The Flesh Reborn - Beholders who seek to replace Life with Void in the world.

The Dominion of Revelations - The Oracles who wait and watch.

There are also still beholder cults who await their masters' return. They befriend the aberrations that roam the land and seem to have a special touch with them.

The Dragons

The dragons are not idle. They have dominated the lands to the east in various ways, splitting the region up into various draconic holdings. While the metallic rulers are more benevolent than the chromatic tyrants, it is not lost on the humanoid who live there that they have thrown one set of shackles off for another.

In the West, the dragonborn act as the ambassadors for the dragons. While many do no know it, they are there to prepare the west and it more amicable to draconic rule. Once the dragons arrive they may not be pleased with the way they have been used.

Adventures and Conflicts

Adventurers are needed in this world to keep the horrors created by the beholders at bay, at the least. There are many ruins that need to be explored and cleared for rehabilitation (any many treasures left behind by the beholders.) Beyond that there are many conflicts that can be used to create adventure seeds and motion within the world.

The Alucain vs. the Old Faith - While these sides are not in direct conflict there is a good deal of tension. Suthgeard and the Iron Ring doesn't trust the dragons. The Alucain think the Old Faith wasn't strong enough to gain freedom and isn't work preserving.

Persecution of the Voidtouched - The voidtouched are a tricky problem. Those with a more religious bent consider them innately corrupted but more practical minds see they have free will and chose to rebel. It doesn't help that some ARE still in secret service to their old masters.

Beholders in the Shadows - Various groups of the old masters scheme for their return, revenge or just their own inexplicable purposes. They are threat that exists in every shadow, but they also are one than is intelligent enough to be reasoned with.

Encroaching Dragons - The dragons are coming. Some are benevolent, some are tyrants. All of them are coming to establish themselves are rulers. The Alucain seek to prepare the western lands for this in as peaceful a way as possible, but it is likely Suthgeard and the Iron Ring will never be persuaded. Can the humanoid people retain their freedom?

Final Thoughts

In the big picture of games and game world it is somewhat generic but I think this world would make for a nice change-up for regular players of D&D. Additionally it comes with some built-in world events that can be used to create shorter campaigns with definite goals (which is a good thing for some groups).

Aberrations - Part 2

Places

(These refer the the western portion of this map.)

North and South Alor

Alor was an influential kingdom before the beholders took over. It still isn't united like it used to be but the city state of Micelburg has enough influence over the area that it probably won't be long before they decide they're worthy of calling themselves a kingdom again. The Alor region is very dragon friendly and intolerant of the Void. They were directly aided by the Council of Alucinor and still feel beholden to them. While respectful of the Old Faith, especially in the outlying regions, Micelburg itself has become much more urbane and commerce oriented. They profess to be practical in all things but they're successful enough to afford the luxury of driving out any eye-kin in the area. The city of Micelburg is a monument to independence as they have torn down all of the aberrant architecture and replaced it with a city of human and elven design.

Highland Heath

The highlands were lightly touched by the beholders as the population was low. The hills were a refuge for followers of the Old Faith and it is very strong in the villages here. Beholder eye-towers still dot the landscape in remote areas and the cities still make due with some large rounded doorways but much has been torn down and replaced with simple wooden structures for the time being.

Alucinor

A island of material element worshiping elves and humans with a high dragonborn population. Their stronghold is at Arbor Turris and houses the Council of Alucinor where the plans for the revolt were hatched. The people who live here are almost considered to be a breed unto themselves, haven taken in so much draconic teachings and power, and are referred to as Alucain. A monument called Sol Fala appeared here before the revolt and is said by the dragonborn to be a monument to their masters and proof that they belong in the land.

Middlond

This area is mostly controlled by the city-state of Suthgeard. A rugged place at the border of civilization, the people of this region saw little help from the Alucain and suffered a great deal of loss during the revolt. The Suthgeardians take whatever help is available and use whatever they can get their hands on. The Old Faith is strong here and use of Void magic is tolerated, as are eye-kin. Suthgeard itself is still largely of aberrant design with humanoid touches - towers that originally had 10' round holes in the floor instead of staircases now have makeshift wooden stairs, massive 10' round doorways are nailed shut with smaller doors cut out of them.

The Iron Ring

The dwarves never fell to the beholders and held fast in their keep of Nurognurtz. When the revolt began they crossed the southern waste and gave aid to rebels in Middlond when the Alucain didn't. Now that the beholders are gone they have retreated back into their keeps, though now they have expanded out into what had once been the kingdom of Ridnath and use it as their bread basket. A caste system has evolved where miners, smiths and other more dwarfly professions are treated like lords over those who farm and work outside. The dwarves have never cared much for the Old Faith and practice their own form of elemental worship which they keep closely guarded.

Carrdun, Hargaldor and beyond

These lands are wild, frightening places where all sorts of abominations lurk. Many think the beholders retreated to this area. Other say it is simply the dumping grounds for their failed experiments. It might be both.

Stanfolde

This area was completely destroyed during the beholders' last gasps. All the non-void residents of these places were killed and the buildings were terribly damaged. Strange aberrations wander about the ruins. It is not considered a safe place to be, but it may one day need to be reclaimed.

Lands to the East

Beyond Stanfolde are borderlands where few people lived to begin with. It is unknown what lies beyond. The dragonborn say that the people there who survived have also begun to rebuild under the tutelage of the dragons.. This has been confirmed by some travelers who have made the perilous journey back and forth. There are rumors that things are not so rosy, but travelers who have those tales to tell can never seem to be found after making their supposed claims.

Next time the conflicts and underground currents of the setting...

Aberrations - Part 1

I have really sensitive eyes. Eye exams are a traumatic nightmare. Even thinking about eyes makes my own eyes water. Why the hell did I create a beholder setting?

All locations referenced are on the western portion of this map.

Metaphysics

There are six elements and their respective planes - fire, earth, air, water, life and void.

Beholders are of the Void and Dragons are of the four material elements. The fey are of Life.

There is no pantheon of gods, only the "old faith" embodied in the worship of life and nature.

Elementalism, or dragon magic, calls upon the four material elements. One cannot practice void and draconic magic at the same time.

History

The campaign history begins with the domination of the "good" races (humans, elves, dwarves and halflings) by beholders. The eye tyrants forced them to see to their needs and to act as their playthings. The ultimate goal of the beholder empire was to eventually replace all life with Void. A whole new race was created, the eye-kin, as part of this attempt. Massive cities twisted in odd shapes to fit the variety of aberrant beholder forms were built along with towers and laboratories.

Only two places, the elven Isle of Alucinor and the dwarven Iron Ring, stood fast against the beholder's rule. When a massive war began in the east against an enemy powerful enough to level entire cities, these two bases acted a staging points in the revolt of the western lands. A new race of people claiming to have been sent to aid the revolt, the Dragonborn, were also useful in teaching the ways of the material elements and established a school on Alucinor. Between the onslaught in the east and the revolt in the west the beholders were forced to yield and flee to wherever they could hide.

Game Elements

Using the bried outline above we can suss out the following rule elements (3.5 edition D&D).

Races

Humans, elves, dwarves and halflings each play their normal roles though the elves of Alucinor are very religious and the dwarves of the Iron Ring are survivalist bastards.

Dragonborn are welcomed in many places as saviors but some people are suspicious.

Eye-kin also rose up against the beholders and for that they aren't killed on sight. They have varying degrees of acceptance throughout the land.

Monsters

Aberrations are everywhere, not only beholder-kin but their many horrid experiments breeding in the wild.

The Fey were annihilated when the beholders took over and the few survivors are now treated like lesser gods.

There are no real races of humanoids aside from the player races.

There are no angels or demons, only elementals.

Corporeal undead exist, but they are corpses filled with Void and positive/negative energy doesn't play a part.

Dragons... are mentioned later.

Classes

There isn't really divine or arcane magic per say so this is a chance to break out all the non-standard 3e classes:

Fighters and rogues exist because why wouldn't they?

Druids are the new clerics which means healing isn't as easy as before.

Neutral paladins (Avengers?), Rangers, Scouts and barbarians of course.

The Warlock and Hexblade can exist as willful channelers of Void magic. (I've got a invocation using Hexblade variant sitting around somewhere...)

The Dragon Shaman and Dragonfire Adept for some draconic goodness.

The Elementalist from Occult Lore for what the dragonborn teach.

The Minstrel (a magic song only bard I've got somewhere) and Skald (a warrior only bard).

These are the basic, brainstormed elements of the setting - the building blocks. The actual setting itself will continue in Part 2...

Aberrations - Introduction

The last setting was recent enough to exist in Evernote. Now I'm breaking out the notebooks.

Let's see - first is a few pages notes for a new Omega story. Not appropriate. Next is the massive Kill Your Gods game... I actually may convince our group to let me run that, assuming I'm ever allowed behind the screen again, so I'll hold off. Next is... beholder world!

Okay, a little background. Years and years ago I found a map of a little region that was called either Stanfolde or Middlond. It was just a single portion of the map I linked to. I found this map to be evocative of a story, one where all civilization beyond the river had fallen. A friend and I came up with a Diablo-like setting of with fallen kingdom, an army of demons and Lucifer's attempted return to the world. Probably the best campaign I've been involved in and it actually ended when it needed to. If I run out of non-used worlds to talk about I might post it.

Anyways, since the little piece of map we had was only a little piece, we had to wave away what was beyond it. What's to the east? An empire of wealth beyond your imagining. What's to the west? Another fabulous empire. The north? Hordes of barbarians. To the south? Halflngs. Cannibalistic halflings.

After the campaign was over Kristian Richards of Crooked Staff Productions posted more of the region that the map came from - about half of the area was done in the same style now. I immediately began thinking of more things to do with these new maps. One was to expand the Stanfolde campaign into a larger world, but that seemed a little boring.

I had just read a book on beholders - sadly I can't remember which one - that focused on them being of the Void. I drew some inspiration from that, combined it with the fallen empires feel of the maps and came up with what is below. In the larger scheme of things it probably isn't all that original but it was fun to come up with. In coming posts you may notice that this map sees a lot of work. In fact, assume any setting that doesn't specify a map to be using some form of this one. I love it that much. Kinda feel bad that none if it lines up with the intents of the original creator.

That's enough blabbing about stuff you probably don't care about. So much that'll make this an "introduction" post and start the actual setting separately. How do I write blog?