Placid Realms

> *"For all the grief they've given me, I'd never call any other lands home. Other places might be more cultured, or more unsettled, or more advanced, or more exciting, but they'll never have the charm of the Placid Realms. I've sailed rivers north, south, and west, and the seas of the east, and it's only made them more charming by comparison." - Captain Rodney Tyson, privateer in service to the Count of Cybel*
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**The Placid Realms** are a collection of nine states located in the eastern edge of the continent of Ocedon. As their collective name implies, they are lands largely uninvolved in such matters as international politics, major wars, or social upheaval. Historically, the Placid Realms have been independent nations since the fall of the Suel Empire during The Great Collapse. While distinct entities, the various counties and marches are often spoken of collectively due to their strong shared history and culture, and enjoy amicable relations amongst themselves.

## History

### A Placid Age

The human settlement within the boundaries of the Placid Realms dates back for millennia, as the Teutobrens were known to have settled among the Himmelsstürmer Mountains for centuries before the arrival of the Suel. The arrival of the Suel saw the region administered as the Theme of Placitum, a region largely used for its mineral wealth to feed the imperial need for steel and stone. For centuries, the region was administered by Sueloise generals that managed the regular incursions of orcs, kobolds, goblinoids, and Underdark threats while the commoners mined the lands. To the north, the lands that would become the Kingdom of Fife formed the northern border, and necessitated the construction of a pair of fortresses to guard against the barbarian menace. To the south, a single fort was necessary to safeguard the passage into what would become the Mercurial Realms. The eastern edges were the ports linking the halves of the Suel Empire, buffered by the Hesperides; these fringes were also home to dwarven and elven realms that caused some degree of friction with these imperial invaders over the centuries. To the west lay the more easily settled lands that would become the Verdant Realms of the present day.

During the days of Suel hegemony, the Theme of Placitum became a surprising religious center: the Church of Kord as it currently exists originated with the actions of the legendary Carolus Valens, who later founded the Grand Gymnasium of Göle. By virtue of both the holy heroics of the first High Atlas as well as an appealing theology of strength in a land rife with threats, the Kordian faith expanded greatly, becoming the dominant faith of the region and remaining the epicenter of religious development into the modern era. At the same time, the worship of Fharlanghn gained traction in Hersek due to the movement of men and materials through the capital, leading to the only established church to be raised in His name, the Church of the Annointed Wayfarers. To this day, the worship of Kord remains the predominant religion of the Realms, and Fharlanghn still commands a respectable following in Hersek. Other deities still maintained followings to a lesser degree, and the Teutobrens maintained their unique belief systems.

### End of an Era

After centuries of relative peace and stability, the Theme of Placitum was forced to face the tumult of The Great Collapse, and in doing so finalized the death of the once great Suel Empire. Following the defeat of Sueloise legions by the forces of Zigismund in the far west, the collapse of the First Kingdom of Varangia in the frigid north, and the loss of Suel itself due to tectonic shifts, the Suel Empire rapidly crumbled, various territories breaking off in a cascade of secessions. The Theme of Placitum represented the last foothold of Suel authority on Ocedon, and the final remaining territory nominally claimed by the Suel successor state, the Empire of Carthaginia. The last Strategos of Placitum, Macharius Placitus, did not recognize the authority of the Basileus of Carthage, and released his officers from his command, who would become the first Lords of the Placid Realms. Macharius Placitus himself did not maintain central authority over the realm, instead retiring as a private citizen. His various subordinates established the first regional dynasties, and became the noble houses of the land.

The fall of the central authority of the Theme of Placitum led to the gradual stagnation of the Realms, as the many mines and quarries of the region slowly were overrun by various monstrous races that had been kept in check by imperial armies, and the entrances to the Underdark became too much of a drain on the fledgling states to patrol. While town militias still guarded the borders of settlements and Kordian heroes would march against monsters to prove their strength, the whole of the region became far less productive, maintaining enough infrastructure for internal consumption and little else.

Within the individual Realms, the vestiges of Suel structure largely gave way to new modes of management. The former castellans of the fortresses at the borders became the Marquesses, and the remaining provincial leaders became Counts. All the Realms quickly established amicable relations with one another, allowing what little surpluses were produced to be traded easily within their borders. The newly independent Hesperian Orders on the shores charted their own course, providing the nearest market for goods and attracting adventurers with a sense of purpose to dedicate themselves to one of the saints.

The Teutobrens, who had carved out a relatively amicable relationship with the Theme of Placitum, quickly did the same with the new lords over the now sovereign Realms. While never assimilating, they did maintain their status as nominal subjects, and continued to send regular tribute, largely of livestock, in lieu of taxes. While the Placid Realms remained largely static in terms of development, they were still more advanced than the Teutobrens, and thus the regular visits of mountainous wanderers remained the same. Furthermore, the empire founded by the barbarian warlord Zigismund to the west became a new foreign factor, slowly bringing in more trade and strange visitors over the years.

### Wars Unwanted

After a millennia of peace, the Placid Realms, like the rest of the world, were drawn into the conflict that would eventually be known as The Great War Against Tiamat. Without any real reason to maintain standing armies, they contributed little in terms of actual troops, save for a handful Realm Guard regiments that marched against the few dragons that actually bothered to invade the region. Kordian heroes, on the other hand, did much in the fight, and many of them ventured west towards the heart of the conflict in the Zigismünderreich. Even the Teutobrens, normally content to sit among the mountains, descended to join the fray, goaded into crusading by their patron, Sëlwergott. While the struggle lives on in song and saga, it represents the only serious military event in the last 1500 years in the region.

After the Great War with Tiamat, life returned to normal for the most part, which was not to say easy, but at least predictable. The predations of swamp creatures, monsters from beneath the earth, and bestial tribes of savage humanoids raiding on occasion remained hallmarks of normalcy. Heroes still worshipped at gymnasiums of Kord and went adventuring, travelers and traders still knelt for Fharlanghn's blessed oil in Hersek, Teutobrens still occasionally ventured down the mountains, and life continued relatively quietly. While word of technological advancements, political upheavals, religious crises, and all manner of other events filtered into the region, little changed for the people, who were largely content with the status quo.

Most recently, the peace of the Realms was disturbed by the Great River War, a conflict unilaterally declared by the Kingdom of Fife in response to repeated refusals to pay recently imposed taxes on trade through the River Bolu. The Placid Realms had an unbalanced approach to war: while adventurers were common enough, and many officers of the Realm Guards and several court wizards had received excellent educations at institutions such as the Royal Fifian War College or those even further afield such as the Zweidorf Colleges of Magic or the Grand Library of Alagash, there were no standing forces in great number, nor veterans familiar with large armies to rely upon. Their only ally, the nascent Second Kingdom of Varangia, was a freshly born state barely coming to terms with the trappings of modernity, but opened a second front to the north of Fife to split their attention. Their auxiliaries, hired from the Necropolis of Alagash, were powerful necromancers and legions of the dead, but were cripplingly expensive to maintain for any extended period of time. The Placid Realms were not ready to win, nor to be erased.

The initial extravagance of the war soon gave way to more conventional fighting. The first great battle of the war, the Siege of Suthambria, was almost the end of the war, as the forces of the Placid Realms hoped to score a major strategic victory at the outset of war to force a quick peace process. Instead, the bloodhulks deployed as living siege weapons were felled, and then the catapults hidden within the nearby forests were eliminated, sparking a forest fire that almost destroyed their armies of panicking peasant conscripts. Within the first two months of conflict, the forces of Alagash were dismissed due to budget concerns, and the Varangians were stymied in a game of endless skirmishes spearheaded by Crown Prince Angus of Fife, while the hired auxiliaries of Fife, the Hesperian Orders, were released for similar financial reasons. The next two years of war were slow and conventional: masses of peasants crashing against one another, with professional soldiers at a premium, both sides employing limited cavalry and magical support.

By the time the Placid Realms had started to gain a mastery of warfare, it was too far gone to win. Under the leadership of Lord Commander Wilhelm Straus, a new crop of talented arcanists was trained and deployed relatively quickly, and a strong body of veterans emerged under him that eventually cycled into other armies, distributing great talent. However, his forces were misdirected southwards, on the misinformation that the elite Fifian special forces known as the Hellfire Company were making a move northwards from Debrecin to reunite with the main army; in fact, they had never left their parent army for such an expedition. Straus' absence deprived the final bastions of the Realms of much needed expertise, as well as the whole of the Second Army of the Placid Realms. The city of Cybel was the last area in need of pacification, and had been decently fortified, including river blockades, the First and Third Armies manning the walls and clogging the streets with men-at-arms, and the Count of Cybel, Lord Bova, personally managing the defense from his tower. In the end, the Hellfire Company personally bested Lord Bova, and his escape was foiled by a third party: the Supreme Patriarch of Pelor, Baltazar Gelt, sent from the holy city of Nöln to help broker peace as an impartial mediator. His insistence on ending hostilities with a ceasefire angered Lord Bova, to no end, and the subjects of the Realms greatly, who felt betrayed, but the Supreme Patriarch claimed that he was acting as the Arch-Lector had told him: to end the pointless violence. That this did not take the form of helping the Placid Realms win, especially given that it was one of the lords of the Placid Realms, Lord Solaire, Marquess of Halynd and Bearer of The Holy Light, who had specifically invited the Church of Pelor to aid in the war, incensed many.

Within a week, peace was officially signed in Fife, to the consternation of the masses: the Kingdom of Fife would cease their attempts to collect taxes, and that would be all. Two years of brutal, unending war, grinding down the populations of realms unaccustomed to such brutality, merely to return to the status quo with no compensation, no great victory, not even an apology for starting such an unjust conflict. Worse still, the Fifians sought to embarrass the County of Cybel by attempting to have Lord Bova abdicate as part of the articles of peace, a ludicrous stipulation only disposed of after the King of Varangia, Jonne Rimeson, insisted that such a demand was inimical to peace. Two days after the peace was signed, Lord Commander Straus and his forces returned to his compound, Castle Totenkopf, and were informed of the peace signed in Fife. With the final army informed of the end of hostilities, the war was officially over, though peace did not bring any jubilation in its wake.

## Religion

### Kord

> *"Strong as your muscles may be, the greatest things you can lift are the souls of your friends." - Carolus Valens, High Atlas of Kord,* *The Canticles of Meliorism*
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The Church of Kord is the dominant faith across the Placid Realms, and has been for millennia. After the heroics of Carolus Valens, as well as his work to organize the faith, the Church has done well for itself. Every major city and sizable town has at least a modest temple to Him, known as a gymnasium. These are places of great discipline in the threefold dimensions of the individual, as proscribed by the faith: body, mind, and soul. Smaller gymnasiums may have a chapel, a reading room, and an exercise yard, while the Grand Gymnasium of Göle where the High Atlas leads the faith features two libraries, several rectories, and a great assortment of weights and challenges for the body.

Across the Realms there are monastic orders dedicated to Kord known as Mortifactors, who practice a personal religious discipline of intense denial and extreme self improvement. Their central dogma involves the mortification of the whole self, whereby all weakness is gradually expunged and inner strength alone remains. An order of Mortifactors will typically operate out of a Lodge located in a place a bit farther from civilization than a gymnasium, usually a smaller town or village, and earn their keep performing physical labors such as working the millstones in place of animals or elements, or serving as porters. Most Mortifactor Lodges have few members, usually under twelve, and individual Mortifactors may often be absent, either working to sustain the Lodge or perhaps on a pilgrimage to Göle. Their monastic garb is usually simple cloth shirts without sleeves, breeches, large belts, and fingerless gloves to afford them better grip when lifting.

The current High Atlas of Kord, Ronald Kohlman, is massive even by the standards of his fellow half-orcs. He has only led the Church for three years, but has proven himself to be extremely devout and active in his role as the head of the faith. He exalts all followers of Kord to better themselves at all opportunities, as well as to use their strength for the right purposes. Many aspiring adventurers seek the blessings of a Kordian cleric before going off into the world, and indeed the acolytes of The Brawler often are proactive in seeking challenges outside the walls of the gymnasium to test themselves, such as joining a town militia in hunting down a skrag or offering to accompany a group of adventurers for a brief task.

### Fharlanghn

> "Godspeed and Good Luck" - Common Fharlanghni Blessing
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The Church of Fharlanghn is surprisingly popular in the Placid Realms, largely due to their history as the crossroads of the Suel Empire. The County of Hersek may be the only province in the world in which the Dweller on the Horizon enjoys a religious majority, and his only true church, the Church of the Annointed Wayfarers, sits in the capital city. Many travelers passing through Hersek stop to try to be blessed with the application of sacred hazelnut oil by one of His clerics, perhaps even the Great Pathmaster himself, currently the half-elf Heian Morganstern. Many of His clergy also double as teamsters, cartographers, or local historians. Many also sell small tokens known as Path Pendants, which are worn on necklaces or bracelets to mark where one has trod before. The Church tries to involve itself whenever people need to go from one place to another, and their clergy typically maintain a small shrine, usually by the busiest road into a town, for those hoping to leave offerings or receive a blessing.

### Other Faiths

Ehlonna and Obad-Hai enjoy a modest following across all the nine Realms, largely due to the presence of the Circle of Laurels, which has united druids across the region since time immemorial. Some non-druids venerate them as well, especially in more rural villages. Bog wardens in particular are drawn to their worship for professional reasons.

Pelor has a small but persistent following in the north, most especially in the March of Halynd, the Realm closest to the Holy City of Nuln. His temples are few and far between compared to Kord, but his faithful are hardly given a second glance by the general public. Fort Hadley is a common stop for pilgrims going north towards Nuln.

Wee Jas is an acknowledged, but hardly celebrated, deity across the Placid Realms. Few openly worship the Stern Lady, though many celebrate her holy day, All Souls Day. Her clergy are scarce, and Her followers few, but every major population center appreciates having one of the Ruby Sorceress' flock to handle final arrangements.

Heironeous is considered a god for foreigners and paladins, and while not shunned, He enjoys practically no worship in the Placid Realms. However, He does at least enjoy toleration and open curiosity, a luxury not shared by his half-brother Hextor.

St. Cuthbert is a curiosity among the Placid Realms. While most locals find His religion stuffy and strict, families that can trace a lineage back to the Zigismünderreich occasionally maintain His faith. These are few and far between, though the Realm Guard often has a few devout Cuthbertines in the ranks.

Boccob is a god for only the most serious and clinical of arcanists, and even among the court wizards across the Realms He enjoys few devotees. Not even a chapel to him is known to exist in all the Nine Realms.

Olidammara is treated less as a deity and more as a sort of odd trickster spirit. His woship is unheard of, though many will invoke His name in mild oaths or sayings before acts of recklessness, legerdemain, or general roguish behavior.

Evil faiths are practically unheard of in the Placid Realms, to the point where the average peasant will be unable to name more than Hextor and perhaps the foul god of the nearest threatening tribe of goblinoids, orcs, or other monstrous humanoids.

The Teutobrens of the Himmelsstürmer Mountains have a unique religious culture quite different from that of the regular peoples of the Placid Realms. Many venerate their guardian dragon, Sëlwergott, almost as a god, and shamans devote themselves to him. However, many also speak of the Platinum Dragon Bahamut as a god, leading to confusion. Whether the Teutobrens see Sëlwergott as a god, an avatar of Bahamut, a divine intermediary, or something else is poorly understood by outsiders, and something the Teutobrens themselves hardly discuss.

## Culture

### Communalism

While there is hardly any great sense of loyalty to a higher lord most of the time, the average citizen of the Placid Realms is keenly aware of the nearest towns and villages. While most settlements strive to be as self-sufficient as possible, they are close-knit and eager to trade and support one another as necessary. Towns neighboring one another may band together to push back against a particularly aggressive orc tribe, people may travel from one to the next for their skilled services, and caravans of pilgrims will often run a small circuit of clustered settlements before traveling to a religious center. In smaller villages especially, even tasks such as daily meals can be a communal effort, with all the women of a village collaborating to make enough bread and soup for the evening when all the men finish working.

While village life is the backbone of peasant life, communalism is the backbone of cultural life. Regular regional fairs see people from towns and villages congregate to buy, sell, and work, as many settlements do not have all the skilled labor necessary. These fairs can last up to a week, and oftentimes are the sole source of income for skilled craftsmen and tradesmen, from blacksmiths selling months worth of iron goods and tools, to butchers helping far flung farmers slaughter and process their animals into stable foodstuffs such as sausages and jerky, and many more such trades being plied in a short time. In some cases, this is also a time of partings and reunions, as aspiring apprentices will go and seek a skilled artisan to study under, and hopefully return to his village in the future with his new skills. For many, however, the allure of life in a larger settlement may be too powerful, and they will instead only visit on occasion rather than live among their former neighbors.

### Swamp Culture

The geography of the Placid Realms is more swampy and marshy than most nearby lands, and as such the material culture of the Realms is unique. Many villages exist throughout the marshlands rather independently, interacting with their immediate neighbors and perhaps being totally unaware of their ruling Count or Marquess. Swamp life is usually quite close to nature, with agriculture and diet being largely influenced by the nearest bog.

Most villages or towns in the swamps will have someone responsible for tending to the local bog. This person, known as a bog warden, bog lord, or bog lady, is often a druid. Whether or not they are a spellcaster or not, their duty is to maintain the local bog, which is a rich source of local natural resources. A bog warden is never appointed, but often they are apprenticed by the previous warden. It is not an official position of any kind, but a respected community service.

Swamp agriculture is unique, and flavors much of the local culture and cuisine. A unique form of red berry, known as bogberries, grows easily in the marshy waters, and local citrus tends to grow year round on the water's edge. Alligators, bog cephalopods, softshell mud crabs, swamp clams and other shellfish, catfish, and other delicacies are common fare. Boars and waterfowl are commonly picked off by skilled bowmen or trappers by the banks of a marsh, and the reeds jutting out of the water are used for many local crafts. Alligator skin clothes, reed flutes, bogberry wine, and fried catfish are considered staples of peasant life in the marshlands.

### Druidic Tradition

The Placid Realms have been host to a large circle of druids, known as the Circle of Laurels, for over three millennia. This circle has exercised control of nature throughout the region since before the coming of the Suel, and continues to be a respected and welcome presence in the region. While few druids ever deign to live in a city, the swampland villages may harbor one of their number, and they do occasionally visit more civilized quarters if there is a disturbance.

The Circle of Laurels has a long history, and quite mixed. During the Great War with Tiamat, they summoned storms to stymie the advance of the dragons across the sky. However, a few centuries later, they united to bring about an end to a drought through a great ritual, causing a deluge that lasted for forty days. In the end, entire villages had vanished beneath the waters. To this day, sunken towns lie hidden across the land, tempting adventurers and harboring all manner of monsters, bandits, and savages. Overall, the residents of the Placid Realms respect their druids, and the powers that be give them wide berth and due caution.

## Politics

### Counties and Marches

The Placid Realms are divided into nine Realms, each a former subdivision of the ancient Theme of Placitum from the days of the Suel Empire. Each of these Realms is in turn host to a handful of larger cities and countless smaller towns, villages, and smaller settlements. The Realms are either Counties or Marches, reflections of the older subdivisions. Counties, ruled by a count, are the more numerous type of Realm, while Marches are the more prestigious and scarce type of Realm. Marches have historically been host to border fortresses, originally to preserve the old Theme of Placitum against foreign invaders, and thus were considered a higher responsibility to maintain. To this day, the Marches are more highly regarded, their noble Houses held in higher esteem, and their names listed first among the Realms in deference to traditional order of peerage dating back to Suel times.

The Nine Placid Realms are:

The March of Debrecin, The Bulwark of the South

The March of Halynd, The Solar Bastion

The March of Hunyad, The Iron Knuckle

The County of Brighton, The Doorway to the West

The County of Cybel, The Swamp Heartland

The County of Göle, The Center of The Faith

The County of Hersek, The Crossroads of The Realms

The County of Mamaros, The Teutobren Frontier

The County of Phraxos, The Ghost of The Empires

### The Teutobren Situation

The Teutobrens of the Himmelsstürmer Mountains have been a presence for thousands of years. Technically their territory belongs mostly to the County of Mamaros, but in reality they live as a wholly independent people. Their villages and towns are scattered among the peaks, and their High Chief, Edur Baro, speaks for them as a people. While a Count may send the tax man, it is the High Chief who allows goats and stone to flow down the mountainside.

### Kings in the North

To the north of the Placid Realms lie the Kingdom of Fife and the Second Kingdom of Varangia. Relations with the Kingdom of Fife preceding the Great River War were largely amicable, with commerce flowing freely between them. The River Bolu carried goods down southward, and well-trod overland routes were plentiful. Furthermore, many talented members of the Realm Guard units trained at the Royal Fifian War College in the arts and sciences of warfare, including arcane magic. Since the war began, relations have been sour. By contrast, the Second Kingdom of Varangia, a very new player on the world stage, is held in rather high regard. The Varangians were invaluable allies to the Placid Realms, and are considered culturally fascinating by their southern allies. The fair-handedness of King Jonne Rimeson, which smoothed over peace talks, was considered a gesture of friendship beyond what was expected. The bards of Varangia, known as skálds, are seen as curious beings straddling the line of truth and legend.

### Western Wandering

The immediate lands to the west of the Placid Realms are known as the Verdant Realms, and have a similar background as descendants of the Suel Empire. However, they were part of a younger administrative division, the Theme of Veritum, which split much differently from the Theme of Placitum. Unlike the Placid Realms, the Verdant Realms did not develop much sense of commonality with one another, viewing themselves as simply neighbors rather than codependent entities like the Placid Realms. For this reason, many travelers visiting from the west find the level of cohesion among sovereign realms curious, while those traveling westwards are often taken aback by how insular the Verdant Realms appear by comparison.

Further west, the lures of knowledge and faith drive traffic in items, ideas, and individuals. To the northwest lies the holy city of Nöln, from which the Church of Pelor is centered. The Bardic College of Stratford in the Principality of Avon in the west draws many talented young artists, and also sends many young apprentices towards the Placid Realms as part of their education, collecting tales and music from afar. To the far west, the Zigismünderreich is the greatest nation of mankind upon the continent of Ocedon, and the Zweidorf Colleges of Magic remain the most esteemed school of magic on the continent. While many talented arcanists visit Zweidorf to learn, there are some Imperials who immigrate to the Placid Realms for a simpler way of life, often putting their skills as warriors or mages to work as adventurers, courtiers, or guard commanders. The Necropolis of Alagash, seat of the Grand Library and countless tomes of lore, occasionally draws devoted scholars, but many find the journey too daunting or the city itself too terrifying a place to visit.

### The Southern Mosaic

To the South, the Mercurial Realms present the greatest uncertainty in the political life of the Placid Realms. The Mercurial Realms number in the dozens, most barely larger than a few cities and outlying villages, many being mere city-states. Their position as great commercial partners has fostered millennia of good relations in general, but the precise arrangement is constantly shifting. The Mercurial Realms bicker amongst themselves in varying border disagreements, trade disputes, and regular wars. With each change of administration and redrawing of borders, the Placid Realms must readjust their trade agreements.

In times of war, the many states of the Mercurial Realms are apt to hire foreign mercenaries to complement, or even lead, their rather small standing armies. Oftentimes, groups of retired adventurers will form companies, usually leading young warriors who view mercenary work as marginally safer than adventuring. Occasionally, a regiment of Realm Guard gets hired out to a state, bringing the guardians of a County or March experience and wealth, and offering the employer a level of professionalism and dependability uncommon among regular mercenaries. These hired Guard units, known as Condottieri, can not be bought off in the middle of a war like a private mercenary company.

### Memories in the East

To the east, the Empire of Carthage represents the last remnant of proud Suel. The Placid Realms enjoy decent relations with Carthage, trading freely if not frequently with Carthaginian merchants. The County of Phraxos enjoys slightly closer relations, as their ruling house is a cadet branch of the Imperial House of Paleiologos. Further afield lie the Spice Islands and the distant lands of Ore'ham, though what little is known of these lands comes from Carthaginian merchants.

## Ecology

### Demographics

The Placid Realms are overwhelming human or half-human. The Sueloise settlers were all human, and the intervening millennia have allowed for humanity to spread far and wide. Contact over time with orcs, elves, and even giants has allowed for half breeds of these races to exist, and in some cases even breed true, for generations. Indeed, many times there is less concern for the race, and more for the age of the community: a half-giant bred from a line of half-giants will arouse less suspicion than a half-orc whose father still runs among the tribes.

High elves live throughout the Realms, though in no great number. Most who do are living in small family groups in forest outposts. Some other elven subraces, such as Wood Elves and Wild Elves, flourish in small tribes or warbands, particularly in the mighty black pines of the Claviculum Nigrum which run along the coast. Groups of elves in settlements are rare, but individual elves in towns are common enough, many times one who got "lost" during a trading trip and sired half-elf children somewhere.

Dwarves are surprisingly uncommon, given the presence of the Himmelsstürmer Mountains. The Dawi find no home in those mountains, for reasons they are not keen to discuss. Small families of dwarves, usually connected to a clan in Karak Bolu or Vulkhund Ziflin Varr, exist in the cities, and are valued for their skills. Subraces, such as deep dwarves, are relatively rare with the exceptions of seacliff dwarves and dream dwarves. The seacliff dwarves maintain a seaside hold, Vulkhund Ziflin Varr in Mamaros, while the dream dwarves have been inhabiting the region for millennia, closely tied with Circle of Laurels, and maintain stacked stone structures known as cairns.

Gnomes, like dwarves, are scarce in the Placid Realms. Those who do lay down roots there typically do so in larger settlements, as the wilds are host to many kobold tribes that would happily steal into a village in the night to abduct one of their ancestral foes. For those who catch the adventuring bug so common in the region, this can be the great challenge: to go to an occupied mine or cave complex and fight the dragonkin within. The most famous gnome in the region within the last century, Adelbert Eckhardt, was one such hero who launched a personal war against any such hovels he could find with a small group of followers. Eckhardt's Crusade, as it was later known, ended with him and his remaining followers vanishing somewhere in Cybel. The largest concentration of gnomes is a small section of the dwarfhold Vulkhund Ziflin Varr in Mamaros, which features a small community of them, with families sometimes staying for scarcely two generations, and others moving in to replace them.

Halflings enjoy a comfortable life in the Placid Realms. Caravans snake their way across the countryside, and travelers of all kinds find their way across the lands. Some families have even carved out a permanent place for themselves in Hersek, establishing centuries-old caravan companies, where family elders manage affairs from home and the youth travel in service to kin. Beyond Hersek, halfling caravans remain common, but nowhere else have halflings truly planted themselves in such numbers.

### Environment

The Placid Realms are decidedly more swampy than most. While other lands may have an occasional marsh, the Placid Realms are dominated by large stretches of wetlands. Many uniquely adapted species have arisen that are peculiar to the region, usually swamp variants of more common creatures. Bog octopus, mud squid, mud mussels, swamp scallops, swamp oysters, mud clams, catfish, swamp sturgeon, crayfish, mud prawns, and the elusive bog cuttlefish are all examples of the diverse aquaculture of the region.

Agriculturally, the Placid Realms are somewhat underdeveloped. Farmers grow grain, such as wheat, rye, and barley, but livestock is scarce, as most areas are plentiful in game and fish. Villages may raise a dozen cows or chickens for milk and eggs, but land suitable for agriculture is simply too precious to waste for large animal husbandry operations in most areas. Boars, waterfowl, and even exotic fare such as alligator are plentiful. Most people tend small home gardens for potatoes, onions, carrots, and other vegetables, forage for herbs and spices, and hunt or fish to add to the diet. With the help of a bog warden in rural areas maintaining groves and bogs, fruit such as citrus, bogberries, and other delicacies like marsh medlars, pears and apples enrich the diet and form the basis of wines, ciders, and spirits. Many areas have communal food storage, where villagers freely give and take, often collaborating to prepare large quantites with minimal waste; a single house may struggle to grow enough vegetables for soup, but a village can feast for a night by the labor of a hundred sharing hands.

While trees are plentiful, wood is not as common a building material as other regions, largely due to risk. Monstrous beasts, savage humanoids, and lurking horrors infest the trees, and this steers people away from woods. While it is wholly necessary for some things, such as barrel making and fire starting, it is less popular for buildings and crafts. If one has to risk life and limb for raw materials, they would rather guard a small quarry of durable stone than roll the dice every time wood begins to rot.

Mineral wealth is abundant across the Placid Realms. During Suel times, the Theme of Placitum contributed greatly to the Sueloise treasury, pouring vast amounts of bouillon into the imperial mint. Stone of all kinds, from lowly granite to fine marble, can be found and mined. Even with the majority of mines abandoned and left in disrepair, many residents still maintain a few to provide for themselves. The rocky soils near old quarries are ideal for growing potatoes, which are a native crop some early chronicles of Suel settlement refer to as "mealstones". Some areas have noticeably red soil or rocks due to iron deposits.

### Monsters and Beasts

The Placid Realms are host to fearsome creatures and savages beyond counting. Perhaps most common are the raiding orc tribes that span the whole of the realms. An unchecked menace since the times of Suel, orc tribes are ruled by the strong, united by force of arms and shattered into trifling warbands when pushed back by the Realm Guard or destroyed by infighting. Every few centuries, a truly powerful orc, a so-called "biggaboss" rallies orcs in numbers unseen outside of nightmares. Some humans, hoping for unbridled adventure without moral strings attached, join a tribe for the freedom to despoil. Many generations of half-orc sprang forth from unions between orcs and so-called "smolboyz", many more than those born of captives and concubines. Half-orcs, known as "gitbois", "tendafootz", or "propaboyz" among the tribes (each with slightly different meaning) can carve out a place for themselves, or leave for the human settlements, usually either drawn to the exotic idea of stability and development, or disgusted by the orc way of life.

Goblinoids are another common threat, usually organized into hierarchical chiefdoms where a strongman, usually styling himself as Warlord or War Chief, leads goblinoids in great number, delegating responsibilities to various lesser Chiefs and occasionally siring children to succeed them. Goblins and hobgoblins usually form the backbone of leadership, with bugbears as brute force tools. Typically, chiefdoms will prove rather stable unless crushed absolutely or undermined by backstabbing by those who covet leadership.

Gnolls are a less common threat, but still exist in number acoss the Placid Realms. Oftentimes they occupy caves or abandoned hamlets, and thrive away from the gaze of civilization. Many tribes of gnolls exist without any regular contact with civilization, instead surviving off of local fauna. For those living near trade routes, civilized races are simply a more dangerous variety of game.

Kobolds are a pest of uncertain number. Usually occupying mines abandoned since the days of the Theme of Placitum, their numbers are difficult to measure. Raiding parties are uncommon, but rural hunters caught in kobold traps are common enough. Especially by the foothills of the Himmelsstürmer Mountains, kobolds are more active, usually scouting the region and fleeing at the first sign of notice.

Lizardmen and fey share an uneasy coexistence in the marshlands. With the exception of the druids of the Circle of Laurels, they are suspicious of civilized folk, though not hostile. Many are fiercely territorial, seeing the swamps as a rare example of a land largely unchanged since time immemorial. While they acknowledge the changing spirit of nature, they are still opposed to relinquishing what they see as the last living piece of a primordial past.

Giants of all kinds call the Placid Realms home. True giants of all kinds were once more common in years past, though adventuring has reduced their numbers greatly. Still, many half-giants preserve the memory and spirit of their ancestors. Lesser giants, especially trolls and ogres, are exceedingly common, and come in enough varieties to entice the most eager dwarven slayer.

The horrors of the Underdark are a real threat to the surface world in the Placid Realms. Many dank caves hide passageways to the deepest, blackest underworlds, and all the threats they offer. Illithids, drow, and all manner of aberration lurk beneath, occasionally lashing out to feed on the surface. Some scholars speculate that the only reason the extant threats have not overwhelmed civilization in the region is because the horrors below regularly cull the monsters above.