Thread: TARAK TALES BACKGROUND THREAD - WORLD MATERIAL (no comments)

World Overview - General The world, known as Earth, for the same reasons we have, has always been a place filled with magic and danger. The primal forces of the universe were more easily accessed here, and spiritual beings of immense power involved themselves directly with the populace. Since time immemorial, the world has known several species of humanoid, with the four most populous being the subterranean Dwarves , the nature-loving Halflings , the dynamic Humans , and the mysterious Elves . The four major races, and the various minor races, largely kept to themselves, fighting and trading and scheming for power and resources, the usual pastimes. Wars were frequent, and as magic was readily available, it was a common weapon. As much as two thousand years ago the records are incomplete after all this time, one battling empire summoned hordes of bestial creatures to use as expendable shock troops against its enemy. These creatures were horribly effective, and the opposing side had to summon creatures of their own. With the escalation happening so fast, it was inevitable that some of these beings would escape control, and turn on their summoners. The only winners of that war were the beasts, who swiftly spread into the countryside, and, as is the way of invading species with no natural opposition, multiplied outrageously, spurring further expansion until they roamed the entire known world. This was the Night Plague , and it ravaged the native cultures, springing into full power little over a millennia ago the lifespan of two ancient dwarves, is all. The elves disappeared utterly, seemingly overnight. The humans put up an excellent fight against the dark-loving monsters, but it soon became a conflict of numbers, and the creatures of the dark had the breeding advantage. The humans were pushed out of their towns and villages, the halflings were forced away from their rolling hills and comfortable hearths, and pretty much the only race of people that didn't have to move much were the dwarves, who frequently ended up housing and protecting the other refugees. Over time, the native species were able to find traction points, places where they could successfully resist the Night Plague. These places became the city-states that endured into modern times. The remaining natives cooperated as they had never done before, and the blending of the cultures eventually turned out to work quite well. The dwarves, besides their brawn and their innate skill with all things of the earth, brought the stability and cultural continuity provided by their extended lifespans as long as 500 years they became the keepers of the culture, the voices of experience that kept the culture from repeating the same old mistakes, although they also tended to reinforce traditions that worked in ancient times, whether or not they were still applicable. The humans, on the other hand, brought vitality, creativity, and, frankly, a swelling population to actually do most of the work for every suggested change that the cultural elders might deny, the humans could come up with three more, and argue them just as strongly as the first. Natural humans lived as long as 100 years or so, the shortest lifespans of the three major races, but they were also the most adaptable to changing environments and situations. The halflings, on the other hand, brought a balance between the other races, largely through their innate stability aided by their slightly-longer-than-human lifespans of up to 150 years, reminding all others of the simple, measured pleasures of home and hearth, good food and drink, and a bowl full of pipeweed every now and again through their uncomplicated worldview, the halflings ensured that neither of the other races went too far afield from the basic good of the community, and they also provided the awareness of the natural world that the other races were prone to ignore a role once filled by the vanished elves. The minor, less populous intelligent races added individual spice to the entire melting pot stew that civilization was becoming. The story is more or less the same the world over between the three of them, and whatever other incidental individuals from other species that threw their lot in with them, the original races have managed to make a working collaborative society out of their three differing cultural traditions. The specifics of each society varied with the locality, but almost everywhere, cooperation against the Night Plague became the rule of the day.