Locations

The setting is structured by three main concepts:

The Planes of reality, also called The Planes for short. These are dimensional pockets of vast lands inhabited by countless races and creatures.

The Paths: aetheric roads linking one plane to another. These roads vary in shape and substance, some are material and others are not. Some are visible, others are not. Countless roads are believed to exist, but it is also believed that only a fraction of those roads are known to the different races today. Navigators are in charge of mapping these roads.

Dark Fantasy:

Politics and society

* There is a high chance that there is an evil, expansive and genocidal empire, which nonetheless is a seemingly better alternative to the rest of the lot, if only for the fact that everyone is too afraid of The Emperor to try anything funny. Which means that if the emperor is weak or ill, then all bets are off. When democracies and republics exist, they are corrupt and profit-driven. Kingdoms and theocracies don't even need a description, and The Magocracy uses magic to Mind Rape the people into obedience.
* Wretched Hives of cities and The Dung Ages in the countryside is what you should expect of society. The lower classes are Medieval Morons, while the upper class are Evil Aristocrats. The slave trade is the main source of income, both in terms of taxes and population. Expect the cute, fuzzy, Weak-Willed ones to be targeted, such as Beast Men or Hobbits. Conscription into the army may be present, overlapping with an Army of Thieves and Whores. Often, Hobbes Was Right.
* The Horde (often hailing from the eastern edge of the map) vastly outnumbers civilization. There are many Always Chaotic Evil races there, and is either even worse than you'd expect, or the "good" guys aren't really better than them. Expect a lot of Rape, Pillage, and Burn when they go raiding. Good chance someone (on either side) will say "The Women Are Safe with Us."
* Of the Standard Fantasy Races, the elves are all stuffed-up jerks who have either sneaked off, devolved into fancy-eared humans, are horrifying abominations, or have been enslaved (the only kind who may thrive are the Dark Elves), the hobbits were the first to be subjugated or are just plain evil in the first place, the dwarves don't care about anyone else and thus shamelessly nickel-and-dime the other guys, and Humans Are Bastards and actively persecute the rest. Abusive Precursors, if any.
* If a Fractured Fairy Tale is being told, the darkest Alternative Character Interpretation possible will be used. Forget three little pigs building houses out of questionable materials because mum kicked them out, it'll be a horde of Orcs trying out new fortress designs so they have somewhere to store pillage from the village vs. a werewolf knight, or perhaps Puss in Boots is a shameless Con Artist Femme Fatale humanoid puma or cat-demon, or Little Red Riding Hood and the Woodsman are a serial killer husband and wife team.
* In terms of politics, often there's an endless conflict between the civilizations. Wars of extinction are not uncommon and entire Worldsnote  are often put to the sword to ensure victory. Otherwise it is a fight to be the new figurehead of the old empire that had fallen eons ago.

Religions and deities

* The gods are all assholes who pass the time eating prayer chips and drinking soul-booze while placing bets and trolling the helpless mortals, and The Legions Of Eldritch Abominations are mere days away from breaking into the Mortal Realm, if they aren't there already. A God of Evil is probably the only active one, unless the point of the story is that he doesn't need to, because people will jump at any opportunity to do harm anyway. Demonic Possession is quite common. May even have Devil, but No God, or an outright evil supreme god running the show. If there are no "gods" per se, the Celestial Bureaucracy/Council of Angels have more red tape than a ribbon factory. Alternatively, the eldritch abominations might be destroying both sides. In the most absolute worst, the universe is a Cosmic Horror Story.
* Any organized religion which is not a Corrupt Church or Religion of Evil is a Path of Inspiration. Expect Spanish Inquisition ripoffs run by Knights Templar, complete with a grimdark gothic Catholic theme, but turned up to eleven as a full-blown totalitarian State Sec. What else there is tend to be cults (often of Eldritch Abominations), paganic Scary Amoral Religions, or even more radical offshoots of the big ones. Often led by a Sinister Minister.
* The dead find staying buried a little boring, and resist any and all attempts to keep them buried, short of cremation or dismemberment. There might even be a region so full of undead that nothing and nobody alive and in their right mind goes there. In extreme cases, the undead form their own society, complete with an undying ruling class, standing army, and proletariat.

Heroes

* The very best you can count on is an Anti Heroic Knight in Sour Armor. There is a high chance of (likely more than a bit of Well-Intentioned Extremist, or just straight-out bad guy) Designated Hero, who will probably lose or end up as He Who Fights Monsters or a zombie anyway, no matter how hard he may Resist the Beast. If they're Giving the Sword to a Noob to Defy this, expect said Noob to fail.
* Even if you don't count in the Black-and-Gray Morality of the heroes, they spend most of their respite on having sex or getting drunk and violent and have a less than amicable working relationship with their comrades.
* If any hero has a shed of nobility to them, and refuse to do any of the above activities they are often depressed loners who feel that they are the only one in the world who believes in traditional High Fantasy values of goodness. Often they are hated and feared by the very people they protect. Yet they never turn their back on their values, and try to preserve the little goodness in Dark Fantasy worlds.
* The World Is Always Doomed. One may be able to Earn Your Happy Ending, but Evil Only Has to Win Once.

Sibling trope to Dungeon Punk, which can be just as grim and gritty, but Dungeon Punk has Magitek. See also Fantastic Noir. May be the result of a disruption in, or Evil's turn, on the Balance of Good and Evil.

**The Planes**

Plane 1

Plane 2

Plane 3

Plane 4

Plane 5