What to tell the Player about my world first

## Quick Overview

The Game will mainly take place in what called The Stolen Lands, a Strip on Land between the River Kingdoms and Brevoy. You are tasked by a noble in Brevoy to settle a part of the Stolen Lands. Brevoy, the River Kingdoms are part of a Region of the World called Varisia.

## The World as the Campaign Starts

### The World at Large

There is one name on the lip of every ruler, **Ajax the invincible**, Ajax the Iron Saint, Ajax who conquered Aendrim, Graid and even the Old Infernal Empire of Cheliax. Binding even the **Elves of the Orchid Court** and the **Dwarfs of the Granite Wall Mountains** to servitude in exchange for self-rule, Ajax seems more like a storm that rages across the world than man. Seemingly taking the same route as the Caelians did in forging their empire, its seems only a question of time before he sets his sights on central Varisia. However with the re-awakening of the **Whispering Tyrant** and the formation of the Gravelands, perhaps the shores of Lake Encarthan will be left for the hungering lich instead.

The Worldwound has just been halted from its continues expansion as people and supplies from all over the world continue to bolster the Mendevian Crusade against the demonic incursion.

### Brevoy and the River Kingdoms

Brevoy is on the precipice of civil war, and everybody knows it. After the entire ruling family simply vanished into thin air, House Surtova has taken over a regent. With no sign of them coming back even 7 years later, rumor has it that Noleski Surtova will declare himself King of Brevoy. They have legitimacy through the marriage of of Choral to a Surtovan Princess, but everyone seems to be aware that the Aldori seek independence, since the ones they swore fealty to upon being conquered was House Rogarvia.

## Playable Races

These are small summaries of each race, there are more information on their individual page, and you can also ask my if you have any questions.

### Humans

You are a human, the most common and widespread races in Orden. Found in all of the corners on the world there is very little cohesion amongst yourselves are common. Humans are uncontestably the rulers of the world, and have been as such for as long as human memory stretches back. In the past humanity had empires spanning the world but know the world is splintered once more.

Humans have a natural sense that lets them smell the presence of magic, and sense nearby undead. Why humans are capable of this is unknown.

As humans you worship a large pantheon of gods, these gods being different among different cultures. Here are the Gods of Varisia that Kingmaker takes place in. Human gods are worshipped through their saints, each saint representing some aspects of the god they serve.

~~Other races view humans differently. The long lived races like Elves and Dwarfs find the humans short sighted and ignorant, though the Dwarfs tend to take a lighter view o humans compared to the Elves. The Elves views humans as mad, spreading their weird demented philosophy of Law and Civilization.~~

#### Version of humans

* The Gol - The Gol call themselves the first humans, and there is a lot of proof that back their claim up. They are a hunter-gatherer culture with a view of civilization similar to the Elves. Viewed as barbarians by the rest of humanity, they still persist, long after mighty empires have risen and collapse.
* Varisian - Normal medieval humans, your culture will depend on where you are from.

### Elves

You are an elf, the creation of the Celestials who left the world so long ago. Created as servants to the True Elves, you were given the stewardship of the Wodes when they left for Arcadia with Val. The Wodes you inhabit once spanned all of Orden, but now the are small and separated, cut through by roads and "tamed" lands.

The Wode elves (wood elf) are the hereditary enemies of the farming humans. But they are not the hereditary enemies of the barbarian humans, ie the Gol. Your home is a great Wode, a elf-haunted forest. Wodes remember the years before the Dwarfs came and imposed the Law of Time on Orden. Now effect follows cause, in an orderly manner, but the Wode Elves remember a time it was not always thus. And in the Wode time is still malleable, and frisky. Within your Wodes Elves are Ageless and eternal whilst outside aging so slowly its unknown if an elf has ever died of old age.

As an Elf you worship Val God of the Elves. In the Age of Creation Val created the Celestials who created themselves created you.

#### Versions of Elves

* Wode Elf (wood elf) - You are a member of the Thorn Court, the Last Great Court. Not the only court remaining, but the last court that still maintains the size, stature and influence of the great elven empire of the past. The wodes elves favor chaos, the chaos of nature, of green things growing wild. To the elves the chaos that twists and corrupts and is unnatural, they call discord."
* Eladrin (high elf) - High Elves, or as they would call themselves the Eladrin, lorekeeper or librarian in their language. They also live in the Wode. The live in and around the ruins of the fallen city, Erranis. Literally fallen was one of the Sun Elves floating cities.

### Dwarfs

You are a Dwarf, one of the Elder races. Created by Ord, Ord who created the world. Famed miners, craftsmen and fighters the Dwarfs have occupied the mountains and the caves beneath them for millennia. In the past there were two Dwarf kind, but the steel Dwarfs were long ago wiped out by the elves, setting of the Ancestral enmity between the two of you. Like Humans and unlike Elves, you are a lawful race, though by sticking to the mountains and the underground you a lot fewer conflicts with Elves compared to the Humans.

Stone Dwarfs once lived entirely underground, having been created from the hard bedrock by Ord himself. For hundreds of years the Dwarfs lived there until they received a command from Ord, seek the sky above. Unsure exactly what a sky was, the Dwarfs dutifully obey and begun digging up. This started what is known in Dwarf History as the Quest for the Sky. The Dwarfs left what would one day become the Underdark and headed to the surface, where they began to build their holds in the mountains.

Dwarfs are very similar to the stones they live among, stubborn, resilient and unmoving. Dwarf culture is highly conservative, with any progress in thinking taking hundreds of years. This means that Dwarfs culture and thinking has changed remarkably little in the millennia's.

You worship Ord, God of the Dwarfs, God and Maker (in Dawi God and Maker is the same word) of Stone and Earth. You might also worship Ords Siblings, Kul, Aan and Myr. Kul, the god of Fire and Magma, who together helped create the Dwarfs, but being the Patron God of the Azer, the Fire Dwarfs. Aan the God of Air, Sky and Hurricanes. Myr the God of Water, Sea and Rain.

### Gnomes

Originally created by the Eldest in the Feywild, for reasons lost to time the Gnomes went on mass exodus, leaving the Feywild for the Mundane world.

Gods?

Famed for clockwork?

### Halfling

You are a Polder, though more commonly referred to as Halfling. Long ago your race was created by the Beastlords of Kham as slaves and servants. By then the Beastlords were arrogant and decadent, sure of their superiority over the beings they could create. You proved them wrong as you rebelled and throw off your chains. Now free you integrated pretty seamlessly into Human society, adopting many of their customs, as well as their gods. Today its not entirely uncommon that even a small backwater village might have a Halfling living in it.

### Orcs

You are an Orc, a chaotic humanoid race. Overall you are similar to humans except you are chaotic. You live with nature, you do not try and tame it. You don't follow rules for the sake of the rules. No one leads because the laws demand it, they rule for they are the most suited.

You like to fight, for its a way to prove your strength and prowess. Might makes right, if you are strong enough to take from others, it is yours.

You worship GorkaMorka, the twin-headed god of the Orcs.

### Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins were created at some point in the past, likely by a wizard, to serve as the perfect soldiers. By combining the savagery and reproduction of a goblin with the discipline and thinking of a human, the Hobgoblins became feared adversaries. What happened to the wizard that created them has been lost to time, but the Hobgoblins remained. Spreading and forming their own band and tribes, that more resemble mercenary companies. Like goblins the reproduce asexually and have no gender, though they can not grow in numbers as quickly as the goblins can.

Hobgoblins don't have a patron god and generally don't worship one, though some bands have taken to worship of gods, often the human ones from the region they are in.

### Goblins

Not sure, will depend on if someone wants to pick one.

### Uncommon Ancestries

All uncommon Ancestries without a summary will be written if you want to play as one of the races, though I would like to discuss it first so we are on the same page.

## Non-playable Races

There are some races that don't exist in my world and you can not play. If you desperately want to play one of these races, talk to me and we might be able to work something out, but no promises. If only want the mechanics of one of these races I'm sure it can be reskinned.

### Half-anything

There are no half-half races in my world other than single instances in history. Different races can not have children with each other biologically, so for them to have children together they must turn to the gods. If the gods approve they child will have to chose which race it will grow up to become at an early age (age 8-10). They they grow up to be 100% human or elf for example.

### Goloma

Weird and doesn't fit my view of the world, will need convincing.

### Conrasu

I have trouble imagine these things doing typical adventure stuff, so you'll need to sell me on the idea

### Rare Ancestries and Heritages

All rare ancestries will require talking to me about it so that we are on the same page about everything.

## The area of the game

The game will mainly take place in the the Stolen Lands, The River Kingdoms and Brevoy. It is the Stolen Lands that you are sent out to settle by Brevoy. These lands are on the border between Brevoy and The River Kingdoms.

### Brevoy

Brevoy is a country in the north of Varisia, along the shores of the Lake of Mists and Veils. Bordered to the West by Numeria, the South-West and south by the River Kingdoms and to the East by Khemhara, though the border is separated by the Khemra Mountain range that separates Varisia from Khemhara.

Brevoy as a country came into the existence when Choral the Conqueror conquered the rival neighboring countries of Issia in the north and Rostland in the south, combining them in the newly christened Brevoy with him as its ruler. The Ruling House of Rogarvia was established and ruled over Brevoy for 220 more years until the event known as "the Vanishing" occurred. All members of House Rogarvia simply disappeared leaving no trace. House Surtova, former rulers of Issia currently rules as Regents, waiting for any signs of House Rogarvia returning.

### The River Kingdoms

The River Kingdoms is not one unified country, rather its a collection of petty kingdoms and city-states that commonly fight amongst themselves. The only thing that seems the unify them is an outside threat. A generally lawless land were outlaws can flee to law low, in fact, many kingdoms have be built by ambitious bandit kings. Few of them remain today, as the rulers rarely last long, their realm often not lasting much longer.

The few laws that do exist in the River Kingdoms are knowns as the Six River Freedoms. These are:

1. Say what you will, I live free.
	* Basically freedom of speech. You are however not free from the consequences of your words, and insults will often provoke a fight. That said, criticism of government is common and to crack down on it would be extremely unpopular, and likely see the ruler disposed sooner rather than later.
2. Oathbreakers die.
	* Making an oath is a huge deal for the people of the River Kingdom (where trust is hard to come by, and earned in blood), and this freedom grants the people of the kingdoms leave to persecute anyone person that breaks an oath. Riverfolk who take on oaths usually keep them, or die trying.
3. Walk any road, float any river.
	* This freedom prevents the river kingdoms from blocking travel over land and water, including charging tolls for passage.
4. Courts are for kings.
	* One of the most basic freedoms of the River Kingdoms, this one holds that all laws within the river kingdom are flexible, and that rulers of a kingdom may do as they wish. Visitors to a river kingdom -- be they king or commoner -- are bound by the (often arbitrary) laws of that kingdom.
5. Slavery is an abomination.
	* Escaped slaves are an important fact of life in the River Kingdom. A slave that escapes to the River Kingdoms is considered truly free. By some estimates, more than a third of all people living in the River Kingdoms are either escaped slaves or children of escaped slaves. Thousands of slaves make their way to the River Kingdoms annually and fiercely defend their newfound freedoms.
6. You have what you hold.
	* This freedom draws the moral distinction between stealing and robbery. In the River Kingdoms, it is more preferable to face your robber, to be allowed the opportunity to resist (and perhaps to repossess!). It is acceptable (and perhaps worthy of praise) to take what you want by force, though to do so sneakily will likely get frowned upon.

### The Stolen Lands

The Stolen Lands are the strip on lands bordering both Brevoy in the North-East and the River Kingdoms in the South-West. Despite repeated attempts to build something lasting in the region, in the end, without fail the land devolves into chaos and anarchy. You have been tasked with settling a specific part of the Stolen Lands called the Narlmarches and its eastern surroundings. It is currently home to a bandit king called the Stag Lord, who controls all the bandits in the region. There are also said to be home a few scattered villages and homesteads, but its a dangerous region, and travelers prefer to go around if possible.