| 1 | [[WMG:[[center: [- ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' '''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragons Main Characters Index]]'''\ |
| 2 | ''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClasses Character Classes by Edition]]:'' 1st to 3rd ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFirstToThirdEditionCoreClasses Core]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherPreThirdEditionClasses Pre-3rd]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherThirdEditionClasses 3rd Other]]) | 3rd & 3.5 ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThirdEditionPrestigeClasses Prestige Classes]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThreePointFiveEditionNPCClasses NPC Classes]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFourthEditionClasses 4th]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFifthEditionClasses 5th]]\ |
| 3 | '''''Creatures''''': [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreatureTypes Creature Types]] ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesA A]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesB B]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesC C]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesD D]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesE E]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesF F]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesG G]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesH H]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesIToJ I to J]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesK K]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesL L]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesM M]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesNToO N to O]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesPToQ P to Q]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesR R]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesSPartOne Sa-Sn]], [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesSPartTwo So-Sy]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesT T]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesUToV U to V]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesUToV W to Z]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsBeholderkin Beholderkin]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDemons Demons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDevils Devils]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGiants Giants]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsMindFlayers Mind Flayers]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsYugoloths Yugoloths]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCrossoverCreatures Crossover Creatures]] \ |
| 4 | ''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDeities Deities]]'': Non-human Pantheons ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDemihumanDeities Demihuman Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGiantDeities Giant Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGoblinoidDeities Goblinoid Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsScalykindDeities Scalykind Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUnderdarkDeities Underdark Deities]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsElderEvils Elder Evils]]\ |
| 5 | '''''Playable Races'''''\ |
| 6 | ''Campaign Settings:'' Characters/DarkSun | Characters/{{Dragonlance}} | Characters/{{Eberron}} ([[Characters/EberronDragonmarkedHouses Dragonmarked Houses]] | [[Characters/EberronFaiths Religions]] | [[Characters/EberronNations Nations]]) | Characters/ForgottenRealms ([[Characters/ForgottenRealmsGods Gods]] | [[Characters/ForgottenRealmsFactions Factions]] | ''Characters/TheLegendOfDrizzt'') | Characters/{{Greyhawk}} ([[Characters/GreyhawkDeities Deities]]) | Characters/{{Mystara}} ('''Nations''') | Characters/NentirVale | Characters/{{Planescape}} ([[Characters/PlanescapeFactions Factions]] | [[Characters/PlanescapeRaces Races]]) | Characters/{{Ravenloft}} ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords Darklords]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheCarnival The Carnival]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheKargataneOfVallaki The Kargatane of Vallaki]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheFraternityOfShadows Fraternity of Shadows]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheGreatFamilies Great Families of the Core]] | [[Characters/RavenloftGods Faiths]]) | Characters/{{Spelljammer}} ]] -]]] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | !Nations of Brun |
| 11 | !!Nations of the Known World |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Nations originally introduced in ''X1: The Isle of Dread'' and then expanded upon in Gazetteer series located in eastern part of Brun |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [[folder: Atruaghin]] |
| 17 | !Territories of Atruaghin Clans |
| 18 | ->Head of the State: Chief Pokuwan Sleeps-With-Open-Eyes of Bear Clan, Chieftainess Tulabal Shadowfall of the Elk Clan, chieftainess Eyela Moonstalker of the Horse Clan, Chief Navaripa Dagger Tooth of the Tiger Clan, Talinguk Rolls-His-Canoe of the Turtle Clan. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Located on a plateau west of Darokin and southern coast beneath it, Atruaghin Clans consist of five isolated clans, that were unified by legendary hero and leader, Atruaghin. Upon ascending to Immortality, Atruaghin has risen the whole plateau up, to protect his clan from invading Orcs, and uplift to Immortality leaders of separate clans. They've been living in isolation ever since. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | * AbsoluteXenophobe: Tiger Clan wants nothing more but to exterminate other Clans, and then everyone else they come across. Even other followers of Atzanteotl aren't safe from them...which is actually par for the course for his worshippers. |
| 24 | * AppealToTradition: Basically Elk's Clan's whole stick, their job is to ensure everyone keeps up with tradition and teaching of Atruaghin. Considering Tiger Clan turned evil, Bear and Turtle Clan are absorbing cultures of their trade partners and Horse Clan is just itching for a way to get off the plateau, it's safe to say Elk Clan sucks at this job. |
| 25 | * APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: A relationship between Atruaghin and Dael Tiger-Stripes |
| 26 | * AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The name Atruaghin actually comes from Scottish language. Justified since the region was originally supposed to be based on Scotland, but this was changed via ExecutiveMeddling. The name is now explained as coming from the clans' unifier and patron Immortal. |
| 27 | * BornInTheSaddle: Horse Clan are great riders and buffalo herders, who live as nomads in the small area they inhabit, changing their camp for each season. |
| 28 | * BornUnderTheSail: Turtle Clan are the sailors who maintain contact with Ierendi and Sind, to the point their culture begins to be influenced by the two. |
| 29 | * TheClan: Remainder of the early draft, when the nation was supposed to be Scottish. Each Clan is also referred to as "Children of" their patron animal and is composed of several smaller tribes. |
| 30 | * EvilFormerFriend: How the rest of the Clans see Tiger Clan, who were their brothers and sisters before being corrupt by Atzanteotl, as well as how most of the Atruaghin pantheon sees Tiger Clan's patron, Dael Tiger-Stripes. |
| 31 | * EvilPlan: Tiger Clan is currently executing one - dig a tunnel into the Hollow World. Specifically, one that will connect to the elevator being built on the other end by their fellow followers of Atzaentotl, the Oltecs. [[OhCrap All hundreds of thousands of them.]] |
| 32 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of various Native American people, with Horse Clan being based on Cherokee, Tiger Clan on the Aztecs |
| 33 | * TheLancer: Horse Clan is the most warlike of the Clans and clearly tired of being trapped in the plateau. Their patron Immortal is the only one to ascend before and without Atruaghin's help, so he also holds little loyalty to him. |
| 34 | * {{Mayincatec}}: Tiger Clan. Clans as a whole are distant descendants of two such civilizations - Azcan and Oltec, who now reside in the Hollow World. |
| 35 | * MerchantCity: World Elevator, which was built by Darokin and Bear Clan to establish trade between two nations. It's reason for Bear Clan's riches and slow drift away from old traditions. |
| 36 | * NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Tiger Clan is paralyzed by a constant power struggle between the Chief, High Priest of Atzanteotl, and commander of the army. |
| 37 | * OrcusOnHisThrone: Tiger Clan cannot strike against the Bear, Elk, or Horse Clan, being separated by the very plateau the clans call their home. They have no such issue with the Turtle Clan, who is right next to them. Yet, despite their hatred for their brethren, they won't attack Turtle Clan. Some fans tried to give this an explanation, like marking the jungle between two clans as Fey territories the Tiger Clan cannot get through. |
| 38 | [[/folder]] |
| 39 | [[folder: Broken Lands]] |
| 40 | !Broken Lands |
| 41 | ->Capital: Akrass |
| 42 | ->Head of the State: King Thar |
| 43 | |
| 44 | Area north of Darokin, south of both Glantri and Ethengar. Broken lands has been destroyed in a catastrophe caused by the accidental detonation of lost Blackmoor technology by Elves roughly 2700 years from the present[[note]]1700 Before Crowning, while modern time goes up to 1012 After Crowning[[/note]]. Now the area is populated by tribes of Orcs, Gnolls, Ogres, and Goblinoids, loosely unified under Orc King Thar. |
| 45 | |
| 46 | ---- |
| 47 | * BigBadWannabe: Thar would certainly ''want'' to rule Known World with an iron fist, but he's commanding a bunch of disorganised tribes, that each is a different flavor of a bad joke. |
| 48 | * CursedWithAwesome: Thar became a Nosferatu as a side-effect of an attempt at his life, but it left him even stronger and more powerful. |
| 49 | * DemotedToDragon: Thar may be a villain in his own right, but his forces are relatively weak, so much so that he can be bullied into assisting other villains in their ambitions more than making his own. |
| 50 | * EqualOpportunityEvil: There are members of species making demographics of Broken Lands among each tribe, even if they're nominally associated with a specific one. |
| 51 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Putting aside which cultures the individual tribes are trying to appropriate, Broken Lands also serves as a twisted parody of the 80's America. |
| 52 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: Thar's transformation into a Nosferatu was a result of a failed assassination by Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany. |
| 53 | * OurVampiresAreDifferent: King Thar is actually an Orc Nosferatu, a Mystara-specific kind of Vampire that loses usual weaknesses with age. |
| 54 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: At "most" generous reading of them, some of the tribes of Broken Lands are ''really'' into cultural appropriation. Of cultures they historically tried to oppress and conquer in particular. Ogres dress themselves in a poor copy of Sindi clothes, Red Orcs paint their faces red and are walking mockery of Atruaghin culture, while Yellow Orcs and some Hobgoblins do the same for Ethengar. Needless to say, the cultures they're doing this to tend to not appreciate it...and may pay well for heads of the appropriators. |
| 55 | * PunnyName: Names in Broken Lands tend to be on the silly side, with locations like Hobgobland, Burburbia, or Trollhattan. |
| 56 | * SignificantNameOverlap: Troll territories are called Trollhattan. So are completely unrelated troll territories in Norwolrd, glacial area far up north. |
| 57 | * UndergroundCity: Oinkmar, whose original creators were slain by Immortal Atzanteotl, has been now populated by Orcs. Despite being located beneath Broken Lands, these Orcs and their surface counterparts do not know about one another. |
| 58 | * RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany of Glantri ventured to Broken Lands and attempted to drain the life out of King Thar for assaulting a noblewoman from Boldavia. Unfortunately, Thar survived and became a vampire himself. |
| 59 | * VileVillainLaughableLackey: Thar himself is no joke. All of his minions and their commanders are different kinds of buffoons. |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[/folder]] |
| 62 | [[folder: Darokin]] |
| 63 | !Republic of Darokin |
| 64 | ->Capital: Darokin |
| 65 | ->Head of the state: President of the Merchant's Council Corwin Mauntea |
| 66 | |
| 67 | Plutocracy disguised as a republic, Darokin is the largest nation of the Known World, bordering Glantri, Broken Lands, Ethengar, Rockhome, Ylaruam, Thyatis, Karameikos, Five Shires, Atruaghin and Sind, while completely surrounding Aegmor (formerly Alfheim) on all sides. Darokin used this position to become the dominant merchant power on the continent, establishing trade routes across the Known World. |
| 68 | |
| 69 | ---- |
| 70 | * AmoralAttorney: Averted, through it may be a widespread belief among Darokin that's what lawyers are. The prevalent opinion in Darokin society is that a person who cannot defend themselves in court must be somehow shady, so even having a lawyer positions the court against you. |
| 71 | * ArmsDealer: Darokin isn't above selling weapons, but, unlike most examples of this trope, does not seek to benefit or outright provoke wars. In fact, prevalent belief is that war, even among other nations, is bad for business. |
| 72 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of XVI-Century Italy. |
| 73 | * BigGood: If not Darokin per se, then Darokin Diplomatic Corps - a whole organization of diplomats focused on defusing conflicts between not just Darokin but other nations of the Known World before they turn into outright war. |
| 74 | * CurbStompBattle: The so-called Elfwar was a monumental humiliation for Darokin forces and a huge blow to the power of the monarchy, paving the way to its decline and rise of merchants in the following centuries. Elves of Alfheim, allegedly, didn't even notice intrusion into their territories were a part of an organized military campaign. |
| 75 | * FantasticRacism: During the time of monarchy rule of Mirthas IV and Mirthas V was characterized by blaming Elves for all Darokinian problems, outright launching an Elfwar against Alfheim. |
| 76 | * FeudalOverlord: They rule areas on the borders of Darokin, so-called Borderlands, which require stronger grip for defensive purposes. Darokin Diplomatic Corps tends to intervene if any Feudal Lord is found abusing their position. |
| 77 | * {{Foil}}: To Mindrothad, a much more cutthroat merchant nation. |
| 78 | * IndenturedServitude: Very common in Darokin, through only legal when handed through official court sentence. |
| 79 | * IntimidatingRevenueService: Darokin maintains low taxes but everything is taxed, even barter, though the government struggles to collect taxes on that. Widespread belief that taxes will only stay low as long as everyone plays fair also makes a strong societal pressure against cheating on your taxes. |
| 80 | * MerchantPrince: Darokin trains a special class of wizards called Merchant Princes, whose magic focuses on protecting caravans and conducting business and who grow in power with their profits. |
| 81 | * ProudMerchantRace: More like Proud Merchant Nation, though Darokin is so human-dominated that they blur the distinction. |
| 82 | * TheRival: They have one in Minrothad, a nation that controls sea-faring trade. |
| 83 | * SingleSpeciesNations: Downplayed - despite bordering several nonhuman nations Darokin's nonhuman populations aren't widespread. This is explained by the fact that Darokin does border said nations - Elves, Dwarves and Hin can comfortably do business with them while living in their homeland or near the border, and don't settle far away unless they have a good reason to. Flood of refugees from Alfheim probably changed that. |
| 84 | * SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism: Somewhat between Authoritarian Light and Moderate Authoritarian. |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | [[folder: Elven Nations]] |
| 88 | !The Colony of Aegmor (formerly Kingdom of Alfheim) and Territorries of the Shadow Elves |
| 89 | ->Capital: Raffieton (formely Alfheim City) for Aegmor, City of the Stars for Territorries |
| 90 | ->Head of the State: Radiant Princess Tanadaleyo (formerly king Doriath of Clan Erendyl), King Telemon for Territorries |
| 91 | |
| 92 | A nation in West Darokin, surrounded by the Republic on all sides, but also close to Ylaruam and Rockhome. Alfheim was originally a desert, until Elves changed it with their magic, creating their forest home, after their motherland has been destroyed by cataclismic event known as Great Rain of Fire. Another group of Elves fleed from the same cataclysm to underground caves, adapting to harsh enviroment, becoming incredibly pale. Once Elves of Alfheim discovered those Shadow Elves, they initially offered to take them in and let them live on surface in Alfheim. However, upon realizing how huge the numbers of Shadow Elves are, they retracted the offer. Shadow Elves didn't forget them, sparking a bitter rivarly between two nations. During Wrath of the Immortals the conflict finally came to tragic conclusion - Shadow Elves corrupted Alfheim forest, turning it into enviroment they can live, but is actively hostile to its former inhabittants. Elves of Alfheim were forced to flee, flooding other nations with refugees. Renaming the nation to Aegmor, Shadow Elves moved in. |
| 93 | |
| 94 | ---- |
| 95 | * AbandonTheDisabled: Shadow Elves living underground have a commandment from Rafiel that those too old or disabled to be able to contribute to their society will be sent off to wander the caves until they die. Or so they think. In reality Rafiel will guide them to one of tribes of monstrous races like Orcs or Goblins and coat in illusions to make them look like one of them. Such individual usually has enough knowledge, experience and magical power for the tribe to see their value and take them in. |
| 96 | * BothSidesHaveAPoint: Both Alfheim and Shadow Elves Gazeteers present solid arguments for either side of the conflict. It was unreasonable to expect Alfheim to food both their own citizens and Shadow Elves, when they couldn't produce that much food, and their initial offer was made without full knowledge of the situations. But also, Shadow Elves' lives underground were horrible and the way Alfheim handled the situation came across as incredibly dismissive of their plight. |
| 97 | * TheCorruptible: Atzanteotl, Immortal Patron of Corruption, is working overtime to lure Shadow Elves from Rafiel's towards himself. And considering he is behind corruption of Alfheim forest, he scored a great victory in a war over their souls. |
| 98 | * CruelToBeKind: Rafiel, patron Immortal of Shadow Elves, may appear as a strict and cruel, uncaring master. Most of that is deliberate on his part as he is working in secret to help Shadow Elves, and understands the life underground would be lethal without such strict guidelines. He is also working overtime to secretly ease some of that. |
| 99 | * CurbStompBattle: Darokin monarchs once waged war on Alfheim, the so-called Elfwar. Alfheim historical sources do not say a word about it because Elfwar was such a failure Elves didn't even realize it was a military operation and not just usual individual groups of humans butting into their forest uninvited. |
| 100 | * DarkIsEvil: Shadow Elven' King is the one to fully embrace evil, becoming bitter bastard obsessed with revenge on Alfheim. |
| 101 | * DarkIsNotEvil: As a whole Shadow Elves aren't evil. They're gullible, naive and fed propaganda, but average Shadow Elf is far from malicious. Their looks and means of living may however scare many people. |
| 102 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: Shadow Elves' corruption of Alfheim forest forced their bitter enemies to flee...meaning they spread the word of this treacherous act to every nation the refugees went, effectively turning all their neighbors against them. The magic they used wasn't tested and came from evil source and it's currently killing their forest. Not to mention what will happen once Fey Court of King Oberon notices what was done to their friends' beautiful forest. |
| 103 | * DomesticatedDinosaurs: Shadow Elves use as mounths underground creatures that closely resemble ptherodactyls. |
| 104 | * ElvesVersusDwarves: While Dwarves of Rockhome never particurally liked Alfheim Elves, their conflict was relatively minor. However, they came clashing with Shadow Elves a lot, due to mining crystals that the latter beleive contain souls of their future children. Rockhome was not thrilled to see Alfheim turn into Aegmor. |
| 105 | * EvilCounterpart: Shadow Elves have once taken in a group of Elves fleeing from surface after the catastrophe that created Broken Lands. Those Elves, known as Schatenalfen, then decided they hate living in caves and struck out on their own, eventually becoming corrupted into a race of albino Elves that literally get burned by light and blame Shadow Elves for their circumstances. |
| 106 | * {{Foil}}: To Elves and Drow of ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' and ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''. Their conflict is much more gray and Shadow Elves are incredibly pale, naive and bitter, unlike traditional potray of Drow as evil, dark or purple-skinned AlwaysChaoticEvil race. They've been also more succesful in taking land of their surface-dwelling cousins. |
| 107 | * NowWhat: Shadow Elves have finally realized their long pursued dream of returning to surface. They're now surrounded by nations who actively distrust them or are outright hostile, due to having pulled this stunt, and their forest is slowly dying. |
| 108 | * OrcRaisedByElves: One of Broken Lands invasions on Alfheim ended with large number of Orc prisoners of war, who actually decided Elves treat them better than their fellow Orcs. They were allowed to stay, and have since assimilated into Elven culture. It's unclear what was their fate after fall of Alfheim. |
| 109 | * PoweredByAForsakenChild: Shadow Elves believe magic crystals they find underground, that they can harness for magical power, contain souls of their future children. As such Rafiel instructed them to only use that magic in most dire need. [[spoiler: It's all a lie. In reality the crystals contain pieces of Radiance, making them potent for magic...and freaking ''radioactive''. Rafiel made up the story about unborn children to make sure Shadow Elves use it carefully until he can find a way for it to be safely harnessed]]. |
| 110 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Princess Tanadaleyo deeply cares for her people and prioritizes their good over her father's obsession with revenge. |
| 111 | * TheStarscream: Tanadaleyo is secretly scheming against her father. In a rare case, it's justified because the guy is only Shadow Elf who can be called truly evil, his resentment for Alfheim consuming any care he ever had for his people. |
| 112 | * JustForFun/SurprisinglySimilarCharacters: Without any evidence of it being deliberate, Shadow Elves are somewhat similiar to Shadar-Kai, through with much less bondage gear and shadow magic. They are pale, live in dark area, dabble in dangerous magic, are feared and misunderstood, worship being that poses as much worse than it actually is and may be as well heroic or antagonistic as DM needs. Fifth Edition even made Shadar-Kai a subspecies of Elves. Even one of official 5th edition books conflates the two as means to HandWave reintroduction of Farrow, a Shadow Elf living in [[TabletopGame/{{Planescape}} Sigil]]. In fact, if you would downplay their shadow magic, mechanic-wise Shadar-Kai in 5E feel much closer to Shadow Elves than the Drow, the usual go-to substitute. |
| 113 | * WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Radiant Princess Tanadaleyo is a runner-up for the title, her beauty and grace being able to sway even many who othertwise finds Shadow Elves creepy and off-putting. |
| 114 | |
| 115 | [[/folder]] |
| 116 | [[folder: Ethengar]] |
| 117 | !The Ethengar Khanates |
| 118 | ->Capital: The Golden Court of Xaritha (during cold months) and Chagon-Nah (during hot months) |
| 119 | ->Head of the State: the Golden Khan Moglai Khan |
| 120 | |
| 121 | Land of vast plains, populated by tribes of horse-riding people who are currently unified under their most recent Golden Khan - Moglai Khan. |
| 122 | |
| 123 | ---- |
| 124 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: Compared to the likes of King Thar or Hossadus, Moglai Khan isn't the worst choice of would-be world conquerors. |
| 125 | * ArchEnemy: Principalities of Glantri, due to their religious oppression, and Yellow Orcs who come directly from Orc tribes that threatened Ethengar in the past and are living mockery of their culture. |
| 126 | * AVillainNamedKhan: Leaders of each tribe of Ethengar take the title of Khan, with the one unifying them becoming the Golden Khan. Moglai Khan has clear world-conquering ambitions, placing him among BigBadEnsemble of the setting. |
| 127 | * BornInTheSaddle: Considering who they're based of, it's unsurprising that Ethengar are this. |
| 128 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of [[UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} Mongols]] under the reign of Gengis Khan. |
| 129 | * GhibliHills: Most of Ethengar, barring Land of Black Sand described below, is vast plains of either tall grass or beautiful flowers, to the point of being called respectively Sea of Grass and Sea of Flowers due to their sheer size and beauty. |
| 130 | * HordesFromTheEast: Ethengar's general aesthetic, but they come off as far more reasonable than most straightforward examples. |
| 131 | * HorseArcher: As you may expect, they're well-known for this. |
| 132 | * {{Mordor}}: The Land of Black Sand, surrounding the World Mountain, slapped right in the middle of Ethengar, is a dead area, where nothing grows and barriers between the material plane and the Spirit World are thinnest. [[spoiler: it was created by a nuclear explosion]] |
| 133 | * NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Moglai Khan is very clearly based on UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, with many events of his life being outright lifted off from his historical counterpart. |
| 134 | * WanderingCulture: While they're limited due to being surrounded by mountains, Ethengarians do not build cities, and tend to travel, only settling in camps, called yurts, on winter. The Golden Court is the only yurt that settles regularly in the same location each year, being the capital, and even it travels between two locations for winter and summer. |
| 135 | * WarriorMonk: Ten Thousand Fists of the Khan is an organization of those, unified under the goal of protecting and spreading worship of the Immortals. Interestingly, they aren't bound to a single faith - the Fists care only that everyone worships Immortals, not which, and tend to show up to defend all persecuted religions. |
| 136 | [[/folder]] |
| 137 | [[folder: Five Shires]] |
| 138 | -> Capital: Shireton |
| 139 | -> Head of the State: Council of Five Sheriffs |
| 140 | --> Current Members: Delune Darkeyes of Heartshire, Jaervosz Dustyboots of Seashire, Multhim Greybeard of Highshire, Maeragh Littlelaughs of Eastshire, Sildil Seaeyes of Southshire |
| 141 | |
| 142 | |
| 143 | Land of Halflings, called Hin, located south of Darokin and west of Karameikos. Hin have suffered many tyrannies and as such developed a highly decentralized society, more a loose federation of allied nations than an unified country. |
| 144 | |
| 145 | ---- |
| 146 | * {{Arcadia}}: The general vibe of Five Shires, though the Hin are willing to pay for such idyllic lifestyle with blood, not necessarily their own. |
| 147 | * ArchEnemy: Principalities of Glantri for experimenting on Halflings, Broken Lands due to past animosity with the Orcs and Baron Von Hendriks for raids on their lands in the present - the latter actually gets eventually overthrown by invading Halfling army, once they get sick of him, after ''Wrath of the Immortals''. The Hin do not let go off grudges easily. |
| 148 | * CallToAdventure: It's part of Hin puberty. A young Hin is expected to experience the Yearning - an insaitable drive to leave home and see the world. It is only after travelling and having adventures enough to satisfy it, that a Hin can either return to Five Shires as an adult, or settle in a new home they found on the way. |
| 149 | * CastingAShadow: Blackflame looks like burning shadow and has abilities that enhance stealthiness, like making the armor lighter and silencing its noises. |
| 150 | * {{Counterspell}}: Within the borders of Five Shires any Hin of level 5 or higher can, upon seeing a spell being cast, just yell "No!" and either shut it down completely or limit the spell's power. |
| 151 | * EliteArmy: The Fangs are smaller units led by experienced heroes, considered the elite fighting force of the Shires. |
| 152 | * ElvesVersusDwarves: Arguably their conflict with Dwarves is a closer example to this than the one Dwarves have with actual Elves. |
| 153 | * FantasticRacism: Due to having occuppy Hin in the past, Orcs get shot on sight and a Dwarf caught wandering the streets alone after night is all but openly asking to get stabbed. |
| 154 | * FeudalOverlord: Five Sheriffs effectively serve this function. |
| 155 | * {{Hobbits}}: Though they differ from the trope namer due to their love for adventure and are much more militaristic. |
| 156 | * InHarmonyWithNature: Hin developed such a bond with the land of Five Shires they all gain an ability to counterspell within its borders. |
| 157 | * TheSheriff: Harkening back to the word's origin as an English title, rulers of each Shire are called Sheriffs. |
| 158 | * TechnicolorFire: The most sacred relic of the Hin is Blackflame - a deeply held secret energy that manifests as a black flame and can be used to enchance their weapons and armor. |
| 159 | * TraumaCongaLine: History of Five Shires is riddled with being conquered by other races, or ruled by petty tyrants. Only recently they managed to develop a more lasting form of freedom and stability. Fans of ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' Gnomes will not be surprised to learn Ed Greenwood wrote Five Shires Gazetteer. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | [[folder: Glantri]] |
| 162 | !Principalities of Glantri |
| 163 | ->Capital: Glantri |
| 164 | ->Head of the State: Council of 13 Princes |
| 165 | -->Current members: Prince Jaggar von Drachenfels of Aalban, Princessa Donna Carnelia de Belcadiz y Fedorias of Belcadiz, Princess Juliana Vlaardoen of Berdghoven, Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany of Boldavia, Prince Urnahid Krinaga of Bramyra, Princess Carlotina Erewan of Erewan, Princess Dolores Hillsbury of Fenswick, Prince Brannart [=McGregor=] of Klantyre, Prince Jerek Virayana IV of Krondahar, Prince Malachie du Marais of Morlay-Malinbois, Prince Kol XIV of New Kolland, le Prince Magicien Ettienne d'Amberville of Nouvelle Averoigne. Formerly: Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill, Innocenti di Malapietra of Caurenze |
| 166 | |
| 167 | Also known as Kingdom of Magic, Glantri is a nation of wizards and magic users located west to Ethengar. While a melting pot of cultures and people, Glantrians are unified in their love for intrigue, scheming, hatred for Alphatia, Ethengar, Hin and dwarves and general isolationist tendencies. Glantri is also known for their Secret Crafts - methods of magic that empower certain schools beyond the usual ability |
| 168 | |
| 169 | ---- |
| 170 | * ArchEnemy: Are this to Ethengar Khanates, Empire of Alphatia, Five Shires and Kingdom of Rockhome. Glantri does not make friends easily. |
| 171 | * CoolGate: There was a portal connecting Glantri to La Terre - a world from works of Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith. Both d'Ambervilles and [=McGregors=] fleed through it to escape witch hunts...except [=McGregors=] blew up the portal behind them, which d'Ambervilles never forgave them. |
| 172 | * FantasticRacism: Every Dwarf or Halfling caught in Glantri is going to be experimented on and killed to uncover the secrets of their anti-magical abilities. Gnomes are tolerated, through watched carefully due to their connection to Dwarves. Same goes for Hsiao, race of giant owls that are disliked for their respect of Immortals. |
| 173 | * IllegalReligion: All religion except the Church of Rad (which officially [[ExactWords isn't a religion but a philosophy]]). Glantri treats being a Cleric on equal grounds with high treason. While they had to eventually allow some Clerics in, to help with growing undead and lycantrope problems, those guys still require permits and are heavily taxed. |
| 174 | * TheMagocracy: One of two in the setting, smaller but more complex and developed than Alphatia. The two hate each other. |
| 175 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: Secret Craft of Draconomancy allows users to harness power of dragon souls and even become dragons. Jaggar von Drachenfels secretly used it to best and briefly steal power of Daimond, [[DragonsAreDivine Immortal patron of Lawful Dragons]]. Dolores Hillsbury meanwhile is secretly Synn the Night Dragon - an undead entity created as a mockery of dragons. |
| 176 | * OurElvesAreDifferent: Belcadiz Elves have strongly assimilated into Glantrian culture, while Elves of Erewan broke off from them to preserve the ways of their motherland in Alfheim. |
| 177 | * OurLichesAreDifferent: Brennart [=McGregor=] is a lich of Radiance, created a different way than a usual Lich. |
| 178 | * OurVampiresAreDifferent: Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany is a Nosferatu, which are similar to regular vampires, but with age begin to lose typical vampire weaknesses. |
| 179 | * OurWitchesAreDifferent: Secret Craft of Witchcraft grants abilities associated with typical witches, but some believe it is secretly supported by one of the Immortals. |
| 180 | * SecretSocieties: All over the place, with Secret Crafts and Brotherhood of Radiance being merely tip of the iceberg. |
| 181 | * WizardingSchool: The Great School of Magic is possibly THE greatest school of magic in the Known World. Of course the students tend to backstab their rivals and friends to advance. |
| 182 | * WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Donna Carnelia is a runner-up for the title and many believe she would be the unquestioned winner, wasn't it for her [[HairTriggerTemper personality]]. |
| 183 | [[/folder]] |
| 184 | [[folder: Heldan]] |
| 185 | !The Heldannic Knights (formerly Heldannic Freeholds) |
| 186 | ->Capital: Freiburg |
| 187 | ->Head of the State: Hochmeister Wulf von Klagendorf |
| 188 | |
| 189 | The only nation mentioned in X1 to not receive its own Gazetteer. Originally populated by tribes of fishermen that did not recognize any authority above them, Heldannic Freeholds have eventually been conquered by militant order of knights worshipping Vanya, Immortal of War, Victory and Conquest. The conquerors took the name of the region, and have been ever since known best for antagonizing Alphatian explorer, Pince Haldemar. |
| 190 | |
| 191 | ---- |
| 192 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: Heldannic Knights began in Hattia and, as such, were influenced by Thanatos, but would later purge many of those influences under guide of Vanya. They're still expansionist, imperialistic, fanatical, zealous tyrants, but they aren't anywhere near as vile as the other organization tracing their roots back to Hattia, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Storm Soldiers]]. They are, however, far more competent and dangerous. |
| 193 | * ArtifactOfHope: How the Knights see Star of Vanya, source of their flying ships. The people conquered thanks to these flying ships [[ArtifactOfDoom have a different opinion]]. |
| 194 | * ChurchMilitant: Heldannic Knights are directly based on religious knightly orders that would pop up in real life around the time of the Crusades, especially the Templars and Teuronic Knights. |
| 195 | * CoolAirship: Thanks to discovering of an Star of Vanya, the Knights managed to build a small fleet of flying ships, stylized to look like giant eagles. |
| 196 | * TheEmpire: The Knights are basically a splinter group of Empire of Thyatis, who decided to reject stagnation and decay and start a new Empire bent on conquest. |
| 197 | * EvilVersusEvil: The Knights' encounter with Miyoshima Empire went down badly really fast. Which is probably better for everyone else, as any conflict between two nations means they aren't jumping anyone else's throat. |
| 198 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Original Heldannic people were directly compared to medieval-age Icelanders, while Heldannic Knights take the most from Templars and Teutonic Knights. |
| 199 | * TheFundamentalist: The order is fanatical in spreading Vanya's worship, to the point of being aggressively intolerant of other religions. They're on a good way to entirely uprooting worship of the Norse Pantheon in the region, which greatly soured relationship between Vanya and said Pantheon. |
| 200 | * InTheBlood: One of the most accomplished Knights is Anna van Hendriks, a relative of well-known Mystaran villain Ludwig Van Hendriks. |
| 201 | * KnightTemplar: Heldannic Knight's default mindset and approach. Considering they were largely inspired by the TropeNamer, it's to be expected. |
| 202 | * LaResistance: Many such groups exist currently, fighting a losing battle to stop the Knights' effort to eradicate original Heldannic culture. |
| 203 | * OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: As to be expected, many of original Heldanns formed rebel groups trying to drive the knights out. |
| 204 | * OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Many rebel groups took to lycanthropy to gain a fighting chance against the Knights. It gotten so bad the Knights began hiring mercenary groups of lycanthropes natural enemies, the Lupins, to weed them out. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 | [[folder: Ierendi]] |
| 207 | !Kingdom of Ierendi |
| 208 | -> Capital: City of Ierendi |
| 209 | ->Head of the State: King and Queen |
| 210 | |
| 211 | Nation that began as a Thyatian penal colony but would later rebel and establish independence. Ierendi is a multi-island nation that is known both for their tourism... and powerful navy. |
| 212 | |
| 213 | ---- |
| 214 | * AdventurersClub: The aptly named Adventurer's Club is a mixture of this trope, AdventureGuild, and a union. |
| 215 | * BigGood: Effectively one for the Sea of Dread between their Adventurer's Club and their navy. They're even called Guardians of the Sea. |
| 216 | * CoolShip: The Ierendi Fire Ships are considered the most powerful naval vessels of the known world. |
| 217 | * DoWellButNotPerfect: During the annual Royal Tournament you generally want to show yourself from your best side, but you don't want to overshadow everyone else so much it is undeniable you should have won the whole thing. Winning the tournament means being crowned king or queen for a year, which prevents you from adventuring. Doing just good enough to grab the attention of any faction or organization like Adventurer's Club, on the other hand, can open to you many opportunities. |
| 218 | * ElectiveMonarchy: What in practice Ierendi rulership is. Every year the new king and queen are crowned through the people who scored highest points in a Royal Tournament. Except the Tribunal scores the tournament in secret, meaning they effectively vote on who would win. |
| 219 | * FantasticRacism: Ierendi hate Kara-Kara, distant cousins of Orcs, who love trying to appropriate Ierendi culture, always making a mockery out of it. |
| 220 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of Hawaii and Pacific Islands. |
| 221 | * GoodCounterpart: Ierendi Fire Mages are this to Magian Fire Worshippers, with Glantri's Fire Elementalists being the neutral ones. |
| 222 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted, as there is a second guy named Bargle, just like the well-known villain from Karameikos, living on the islands. |
| 223 | * PlayingWithFire: Fire Mages of Ierendi are part of the reason why they're the dominant military power in the Sea of Dread. |
| 224 | * SouvenirLand: Ierending as a whole is the biggest tourist attraction in the world. |
| 225 | [[/folder]] |
| 226 | [[folder: Karameikos]] |
| 227 | !Kingdom of Karameikos (Formerly Grand Duchy of Karameikos) |
| 228 | ->Capital: Mirros (formerly Specularum) |
| 229 | ->Head of the State: King (formerly Grand Duke) Stefan Karameikos |
| 230 | |
| 231 | Originally known as Traladara, the land has been conquered by the Empire of Thyatis and then perceived as poor and wasteful place to rule. That changed when Emperor's personal friend, Stefan Karameikos, offered to exchange his incredibly rich Duchy for these territories and greater autonomy. Grand Duchy of Karameikos eventually became fully independent, becoming the Kingdom of Karameikos. |
| 232 | |
| 233 | ----- |
| 234 | * AristocratsAreEvil: Baron Ludwig Van Hendriks, as well as noble families within the Veiled Society. |
| 235 | * FantasticRacism: Traladaran absolutely hate Gnolls, who were an occurring threat through most of their history. |
| 236 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Traladarans are an amalgamation of medieval Eastern European cultures. |
| 237 | * FirstTown: Taken to an extreme, as Karameikos is the first ''nation'' of Mystara, being the place where all of the original Basic series of modules, intended for beginner players, were located, including ''TabletopGame/KeepOnTheBorderlands''. |
| 238 | * ForTheEvulz: As far as we know this is the entire motivation of Bargle the Infamous and a lot of the time it seems to be Van Hendriks' as well. |
| 239 | * GodEmperor: There is a growing heresy within the Church of Karameikos that sees Stefan Karameikos as the reincarnation of Halav, the nation's greatest hero and patron Immortal. |
| 240 | * TheGoodKing: Stefan Karameikos is generally portrayed this way, though he too has his blind spots. |
| 241 | * HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Stefan's FatalFlaw is his inability to ''not'' see good in people, to the point Van Hendriks can get away with many of his atrocities simply because Stefan refuses to believe someone could be this ridiculously evil and dismisses all accusations as lies. |
| 242 | * NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast: Black Eagle Barony's capital is named ''Fort Doom''. |
| 243 | * RedBaron: Baron Ludwig Van Hendriks, the Black Eagle. |
| 244 | * RiteOfPassage: The Shearing, a Traladaran tradition, demands that each child born in Karameikos, regardless of station, upon reaching the age of eighteen leaves their home for a year and lives on their own, without any help from their family and friends, often learning useful skill at their first job. Stefan Karameikos has endeared himself to Traladarans when he forced all three of his children to participate. |
| 245 | * SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Karameikos is one of few nations that outright bans all forms of slavery. As such an organization known as the Iron Ring poped up to secretly perform illegal slave trade. |
| 246 | * UnfortunateName: Specularum, capital city of Karameikos, has been renamed to Mirros once writers realized what the original name means. |
| 247 | [[/folder]] |
| 248 | [[folder: Minrothad]] |
| 249 | !Minrothad Guilds |
| 250 | ->Capital: Minrothad |
| 251 | ->Head of the State: Guild Master Oran Meditor |
| 252 | |
| 253 | Plutocratic federation of islands between Thyatis and Ierendi, Minrothad is a nation of traders and guilds, that effectively controls the sea trade, known for their cutthroat attitude. |
| 254 | |
| 255 | ---- |
| 256 | * AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Minrothad doesn't care if you are a hero or a villain or what quest you are on, adventurers' defining trait in their eyes is that they carry big purses. |
| 257 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: Minrothad is portrayed negatively in comparison with Darokin, but they still come off as borderline saints when compared to Thyatis, Ethengar, or Alphatia. |
| 258 | * BornUnderTheSail: Minrothad are excellent sailors, as is expected by a nation founded by patron of trade and sailing. |
| 259 | * CapitalismIsBad: Compared to Darokin at least, Minrothad exemplifies what a merchant nation would become if you removed any moral obligations beyond profit motive. They still come off as much better than any of existing or wannabe empires. |
| 260 | * CastFromMoney: Basically power of the Merchant Princes in a nutshell. |
| 261 | * DirtyBusiness: Minrothad is most likely to contract adventurers to protect their own bottom line. Sometimes it means taking down a villain, but other times it means discreetly dealing with people who may be good and innocent, but still make Minrothad's business harder. |
| 262 | * {{Foil}}: To Darokin. Minrothad is much more ruthless in protecting their profits and way more prone to unethical actions. |
| 263 | * MegaCorp: Minrothad is closest you can get to one in a fantasy setting. |
| 264 | * MerchantCity: Pretty much every Minrothad city, but they take it to extreme with Trader Island, which is their main trading hub, where the capital is located. And yes, it is indeed a whole island. |
| 265 | * MerchantPrince: Just like Darokin they have an actual class of wizards called Merchant Princes, whose power grows the more money they amass and whose magic is focused on protecting and transporting goods and ensuring prosperous trade. |
| 266 | * OurElvesAreDifferent: Sea Elves of Minrothat, unlike those of other D&D worlds, do not possess natural ability to swim and breathe underwater. They are called that due to being excellent sailors and, in fact, have a bit of a bitter rivalry with actual underwater Elves, Aquatic Elves. They're also known for being very pale, comparable with Shadow Elves. |
| 267 | * ProudMerchantRace: Less a race and more a society, as Minrothad accepts guild members of any race, as long as they're willing to work. |
| 268 | * ThievesGuild: It's an official guild in Minrothad, the one that is most likely to actually carry out any unsavory deeds necessary to protect Minrothad's trade. |
| 269 | [[/folder]] |
| 270 | [[folder: Northern Reaches]] |
| 271 | |
| 272 | Three nations located on northeastern Brun, north of Rockhome and south of Heldannic Knights. They were once one nation, but Ostland's favoritism towards people of their islands over those in inland colonies made them break out in a rebellion. |
| 273 | |
| 274 | !!Northern Reaches as a whole |
| 275 | * FantasyCounterPartCulture: Of the Norsemen. |
| 276 | * GrimUpNorth: Where it starts for the Known World. Though, somewhat ironically, it then goes up and up some more. |
| 277 | * HornyVikings: Their general aesthetic, though the individual kingdoms get more complicated. |
| 278 | |
| 279 | !Kingdom of Ostland |
| 280 | ->Capital: Zeaburg |
| 281 | ->Head of the State: Queen Yrsa |
| 282 | |
| 283 | the original nation that once ruled all of Northern Reaches. Nowadays they're the pirates and raiders, though they appear to be falling under the influence of Thyatis. After ''Wrath of the Immortals'' King Hond Dark-Eye perished, leaving his wife on the throne. |
| 284 | |
| 285 | * BornUnderTheSail: Best sailors out of the three nations. |
| 286 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: As a nation Ostland can ally with whoever is strongest, pays the most or promises most riches to reap, it has strained their diplomatic relationships in the past. |
| 287 | * GrayAndGrayMorality: During times of King Hond, neither Queen Yrsa nor High Priest of Odin, Asgrim the Bowed, had bad intentions for the nation, but they ended up clashing over their conflicting vision of it, pulling Hond in opposite directions. |
| 288 | * HornyVikings: Played straight, as they're the raiders and pirates from the north. |
| 289 | * InternalReformist: Queen Yrsa has always been pushing towards modernization of the kingdom |
| 290 | |
| 291 | !Soderfjord Jarldoms |
| 292 | ->Capital: Soderfjord |
| 293 | ->Head of the State: Warleader Ragnar the Stout. |
| 294 | |
| 295 | Alliance of independent Jarldoms that recognize no king above themselves and only recently managed to elect someone to lead them as a united force during time of war. |
| 296 | |
| 297 | * AHouseDivided: They spend most of the time infighting or trying to resolve individual conflicts. |
| 298 | * HornyVikings: Usually too busy infighting to do any riding, but can still be dangerous when needed |
| 299 | * NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Any chances they could become a real political power are squabbled on their internal conflicts. The council of jarls is paralyzed as no one will ever vote for anything that could put their own Jarldom at disadvantage or give their rivals too much power. |
| 300 | * SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Officially slavery is illegal, but many jarls manage to skim the law and effectively have "unofficial" slaves. Such Jarls are despised and hated by all others. |
| 301 | |
| 302 | !Kingdom fo Vestland |
| 303 | ->Capital: Norrvik |
| 304 | ->Head of the State: King Harald Gudmundson |
| 305 | |
| 306 | Vestland has separated itself from Ostland in a rebellion led by Ottar the Just. Since then the nation has evolved and is now turning from old ways toward a rising merchant power, that soon Darokin and Minrothad may need to take as a serious competitor. |
| 307 | |
| 308 | * BornUnderTheSail: They're as good as Ostlanders, making Minrothad eye carefully their trading ships. |
| 309 | * DoomedByCanon: Adventure ''Crown of Eternal Glory'' is set in Vestlant but depicts it as a more traditional standard fantasy kingdom, with English names. Nothern Reaches Gazetteer tries to explain it as being set in 1150 years in the future, meaning that's how much Northern faith and culture have to last in Vestland. |
| 310 | * HornyVikings: While they may be keeping the aesthetic, they move away from raiding and pillaging in favor of trade. |
| 311 | * MerchantPrince: What King Harald wants his line to become. |
| 312 | * SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Vestland has a harsh ban on all forms of slavery. |
| 313 | |
| 314 | [[/folder]] |
| 315 | [[folder: Rockhome]] |
| 316 | !Dwarf-Kingdom of Rockhome |
| 317 | ->Capital: Dengar |
| 318 | ->Head of the State: King Everast XVI |
| 319 | |
| 320 | Located north of Ylaruam and east of Ethengar, Rockhome seemingly lies in two valleys between vast, monster-filled mountain chains. In reality, it consists of vast underground tunnels and halls. It is, of course, a nation of Dwarves. |
| 321 | |
| 322 | ---- |
| 323 | * AntiMagic: Dwarves are strongly resistant to magic, at the cost of being unable to use it themselves, unless it's lend to them like with Clerics. |
| 324 | * ArchEnemy: Dwarven colonists in Glantri were blamed for spreading a plague and executed. This and current Glantrian policy to experiment on every captured Dwarf to discover secrets of their magic resistance, has earned the Principalities deep hatred of Rockhome. Dwarves of Rockhome often lend their services to Ethengar Khanates, building siege engines for its new attempts to conquer Glantri. |
| 325 | * CivilWar: Got hit with one after ''Wrath of the Immortals'', when legendary Dwarf-Golem Denwarf returned, promising to lead Dwarves to greatness. Some of the clans followed him, while others remained loyal to King Everast XV |
| 326 | * ChurchMilitant: Buhrodar Clan traces their origins to such a group, Buhrat-hrodad or the Order of Golden Battle, and believe Rockhome should be TheTheocracy. |
| 327 | * TheClan: Dwarves are separated into seven clans, each with their own specialty. |
| 328 | * CombatByChampion: The Rockhome civil war was resolved through leaders of both sides - Denwarf and Everast XV - dueling each other alongside six chosen warriors each. Everast's eldest son Bofin was the sole survivor. |
| 329 | * ConflictKiller: Invasion of Orcs is what made Dwarves loyal to Everast XV and followers of Denwarf to join forces, after which they decided to resolve their conflict with a duel. |
| 330 | * ElvesVersusDwarves: Their enmity with Elves of Alfheim was mostly downplayed, as it consisted of a gang of Dwarves, the Thorns, that would sneak into Alfheim to mess things up for Elves. Played straight with Shadow Elves, however, who hate the Dwarves for mining and using crystals that Shadow Elves believe host the souls of their unborn children. |
| 331 | * OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Notable for being the ''second'' dwarven race in the Known World, created to be more resistant by Immortal Kagyar, after the original Dwarven race was killed off by the plague. |
| 332 | * ProudIndustriousRace: Downplayed, as most of Dwarven industry is still only beginning to rise. |
| 333 | * PunnyName: Clan Everast's name means "High Mountain" and it's also the name shared by ruling line of kings. Apparently, humans keep mispronouncing it as "Everest". |
| 334 | * SoleSurvivor: Everast XVI got the crown by being the only dwarf standing after assisting in the duel between his father and Denwarf. |
| 335 | * UndergroundCity: Their specialty, with the capital of Dengar being divided between the stronghold built into the side of a mountain and a "lower city" underneath it. |
| 336 | [[/folder]] |
| 337 | [[folder: Thyatis]] |
| 338 | !The Empire of Thyatis |
| 339 | ->Capital: Thyatis |
| 340 | ->Head of the State: Emperor Thincol 1st Thorion |
| 341 | |
| 342 | Declining Empire that traces its birth to the rebellion of tribes conquered by Alphatian Empire. Current time measurement unit in the Known World is divided between Before Crowning and After Crowning, referring to the crowning of first Thyatian Emperor. |
| 343 | |
| 344 | ---- |
| 345 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: Most of the Known World is not to keen on having Thyatis as neighbors, but they're better than Alphatia, and conveniently placed between it and said rest of the Known World. Taken to extreme by the fact that even Thyatian ''slavery'', based on Roman customs, looks outright humane next to Alphatia's tendency to casually work thousands of slaves to death. |
| 346 | * AntiMagicalFaction: Downplayed - Thyatis isn't bigoted against magic as a whole, but naturally positioned as an enemy of Alphatia, a whole empire of wizards. |
| 347 | * TheCycleOfEmpires: Currently in Phase III, the Decline. It may change [[spoiler: With Alphatia gone]] after ''Wrath of the Immortals''. |
| 348 | * EqualOpportunityEvil: Emperor Thincol famously lifted many limitations for women, allowing them to join the army and fight in arenas and held offices, after his daughter won a gladiatorial tournament disguised as a man. |
| 349 | * TheEmpire: One of two that drive central political tension of the Known World. |
| 350 | * EvilVersusEvil: Thyatis is by no means a good nation, but every other wannabe emperor or conqueror of the Known World has to account for them and be wary of stepping on their toes. They are basically the only thing stopping Alphatia from conquering the Known World as well. |
| 351 | * FascistButInefficient: Storm Soldiers are very on the nose Nazi stand-in, to the point of their name's acronym being SS. They have next to no real political power and are mostly treated as canon fodder, with even Thanatos considering them at best a source of amusement. |
| 352 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Thyatis itself is a mixture of ancient Roman Empire and Bizantine Empire, with a bit of feudal Europe. Hattians are based off the Prussians, Ochalea on a mixture of China and Korea, Pearl Islands on Pacific Islanders and Hinterlands on the Gauls or Celts. |
| 353 | * GladiatorGames: Arena of Thyatis is the place of greatest gladiatorial enterprise in the Known World, employing both slaves and professional paid gladiators. Emperor Thincol himself started as a Gladiator. |
| 354 | * GladiatorRevolt: Amusingly one that saved the empire - during the last Alphatian attempt at conquering Thyatis, at the verge of success they were repelled by a sudden revolt of gladiators, whose leader would then go to become the new emperor of Thyatis. Another one happens in the adventure ''Legions of Thyatis'', though if [=PCs=] survive long enough for Thincol to show up, he will stop it by giving gladiators their demands, as he started in the arena himself. |
| 355 | * MilitaryAcademy: Unlike Glantri or Alphatia, Thyatian school of magic is run like this, putting emphasis on safety, discipline, and pragmatism. |
| 356 | * NearAndDearBabyNaming: Emperor Thincol named his daughter Stefania, after his best friend, Stefan Karameikos. |
| 357 | * SweetPollyOliver: Stefania Torion pulled this off to win an important gladiatorial tournament, prompting her father to adopt more equal-opportunity policies for the Empire. |
| 358 | [[/folder]] |
| 359 | [[folder: Yaluram]] |
| 360 | !Emirates of Ylaruam |
| 361 | ->Capital: Yaluram |
| 362 | ->Head of the State: Sultan Mohammed al-Khalim |
| 363 | |
| 364 | Desert land placed between Thyatis in the south and Rockhome in the north, mosteast of Darokin. In the past the tribes of Ylaruam were colonized by both Thyatis and Alphatia and suffered in their never-ending wars. This changed with raise of Suleiman al-Khalim, who has unified the tribes and overthrew both occupants, establishing Confederated Tribes of the Emirates of Ylaruam. Nowadays al-Khalim is revered as the patron Immortal of the Eternal Truth faith, national hero and philosopher. |
| 365 | |
| 366 | ---- |
| 367 | * ArabianNightsDays: Their general aesthetic. |
| 368 | * CaringGardener: Ylarai are well-known for their gardens, and their grand goal is turning their country in a nation-sized one. |
| 369 | * DesertBandits: Regular bandits, Nithian tribes and of course The Desert Scourge - the problem got so bad Grand Vezir is now hiring adventurers to run decoy caravans to lure in and ambush the raiders. |
| 370 | * EvilChancellor: Played with. DM is instructed to decide or roll whenever current Sultan is good or evil, while being told his Grand Vesir is always the opposite. |
| 371 | * EvilCounterpart: Magian Fire Worshippers are this to Fire Mages of Ierendi, with Glantrian Fire Elementalists being neutral ones. |
| 372 | * EvilIsBurningHot: Magian Fire Worshippers are a dangerous and outlawed sect, that mastered fire magic. |
| 373 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of the Caliphates, while Nithians are one to [[spoiler: Ancient Egypt]]. |
| 374 | * FirstTown: Emitates of Ylaruam's Gazetteer was infamous for having an incredibly detailed first town...while leaving large part of the whole nation as basically blank canvas. |
| 375 | * {{Foil}}: To Hule. While they both are strongly coded in Islamic tropes, Ylaruam is at worst isolationist, while Hule is imperialistic. It is said that whenever new Sultan is crowned in Ylaruam, Master of Hule tries to court him to aid his world-conquering ambition. Regardless of which faction he belongs to, each Sultan so far has basically told the Master to go fuck himself. |
| 376 | * LizardFolk: Unique kind of lizardfolk - Sis'thik - are such notorious plague threatening caravans, they became known as the Desert Scourge. |
| 377 | * NatureEqualsPlants: al-Khalim's goal left for his followers to accomplish is the Garden in the Desert - complete transformation of entire desert of Ylaruam into green, fertile area. [[spoiler: Thankfully neither he nor any of his followers knows this land once was just that, but Elves of Alfheim used magic that turned it into a desert to help their own forest grow.]] |
| 378 | * NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Suleiman al-Khalim is more than strongly inspired by both Prophet Muhammad and Suleiman the Magnificent. |
| 379 | * SeaOfSand: Most of the landscape. |
| 380 | * TakeAThirdOption: When having to establish a canonical Sultan for Ylaruam after ''Wrath of the Immortals'', ''Poor Wizard's Almanac'' decided to solve the problem of the Grand Vezir always being the moral opposite of the Sultan by making the Sultan's defining trait be indecisiveness. |
| 381 | [[/folder]] |
| 382 | |
| 383 | !!Nations of Savage Coast |
| 384 | Savage Coast is a name for area of Brunn west of the Known and Outer World, covering coasts of Western Sea and Gulf of Hule. |
| 385 | |
| 386 | [[folder: Aeryl ]] |
| 387 | [[/folder]] |
| 388 | [[folder: Almarrón]] |
| 389 | [[/folder]] |
| 390 | [[folder: Ator]] |
| 391 | [[/folder]] |
| 392 | [[folder: Belladynne]] |
| 393 | [[/folder]] |
| 394 | [[folder: Cimmaron]] |
| 395 | !Cimmaron County |
| 396 | ->Capital: Smokestone City |
| 397 | ->Head of the State: Duke John of Wain |
| 398 | |
| 399 | Formerly paart of Guadalante, that has been conquered by Almarrón and then broke free in a rebellion lead by self-appointed General Cimmaron. They established thier own nation, named after their leader, but are on friendly terms with Guadalante and only their strong sense of individuality and independence prevents two nations from unifying. |
| 400 | ---- |
| 401 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of Texas. |
| 402 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: It's ruled by Duke [[Creator/JohnWayne John of Wain]]. |
| 403 | * TheGunslinger: The trademark of this nation. |
| 404 | * SwordAndGun: General Cimmaron famously would lead his men to battle wielding a flintlock in one hand and a red steel sword in the other. |
| 405 | * WeirdWest: It's basically a setting of a western packed into middle of cursed fantasy land. |
| 406 | |
| 407 | [[/folder]] |
| 408 | [[folder:Cay ]] |
| 409 | [[/folder]] |
| 410 | [[folder:City States ]] |
| 411 | Five City-States located on the Gulf of Hule, they're bitter rivals who come together against invasion attempts from Hulean forces. |
| 412 | |
| 413 | !Hojah |
| 414 | ->Capital: Skhodar |
| 415 | ->Head of the State: Margrave Bosit Hojah |
| 416 | |
| 417 | Island-nation and a City-State, Hojah deals mostly with sea trade with Western Sea nations. |
| 418 | |
| 419 | * BigGood: For the Western Sea, due to their strong fleet. |
| 420 | * MerchantCity: They deal with sea trade. |
| 421 | * TheRival: To Slagovich |
| 422 | |
| 423 | !Nova Svoga |
| 424 | ->Capital: Nova Svoga |
| 425 | ->Ruler: Stefan Karvich, Regent to Margrave Anya. |
| 426 | |
| 427 | Agricultural nation sharing extensive border with Hule. |
| 428 | |
| 429 | * AChildShallLeadThem: Current Margrave, and last surviving member of royal family, Anya, is five. |
| 430 | * TheManInFrontOfTheMan: Regent Stefan Karvich, who is currently in charge until Anya comes of age. |
| 431 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted. Not only we have two guys named Stefan, they rule two nations in eastern part of their respective coast on opposite ends of the same continent, in a Easter-Europe-inspired region. Kinda downplayed by how Savage Coast tends to play as its own, separate setting most of the time. |
| 432 | * RegentForLife: As far as we know, averted, Stefan is loyal to the throne. |
| 433 | |
| 434 | !Slagovich |
| 435 | ->Capital: Slagovich |
| 436 | ->Head of the State: Margrave Miosz II |
| 437 | |
| 438 | The richest of City States, Slagovich enjoys convenient geographic placement in which every trader willing to do bussines with nations of Savage Coast has stop there, or risk catching Red Curse or going through hule. |
| 439 | |
| 440 | * TheGoodChancellor: Stavro, Miosz' uncle, personal advisor and capain of the Knights of Halav. He's the main reason Miosz survived to be 24, despite Hulean and Inheritor efforts. |
| 441 | * {{Magitech}}: Slagovich operates a magical elevator they use to control which ships come in and out of their city. It operates by leading ships into undeground shaft, collecting payment fee, then locking the entrance and opening portal to plane of water, filling the shaft with water and lifting the ship up to the city. |
| 442 | * MerchantCity: Slagovich is ''the'' place where all traders from rest of Brun go if they have to deal with Savage Baronies and vice-versa. It's free of Red Curse, has access to land and sea and located in a way that lets you avoid going through Hule or into Red Curse-infected lands yourself. |
| 443 | * TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Every other City-State desires nothing more than to conquer Slagovich. Each is also painfully aware that other three would tear to shreds anyone who tries first. And Immortals take them if they'd let Hule have it. |
| 444 | * PraetorianGuard: Knights of Halav, personal guard of the Margrave. The only people allowed to wear Red Steel Armor. |
| 445 | |
| 446 | !Zagora |
| 447 | ->Capital: Zagora |
| 448 | ->Head of the State: Magrave Munte III |
| 449 | |
| 450 | Zagora inhabits a small valley and shares large border with Hule. |
| 451 | |
| 452 | * BigGood: On the land, Zagora provides armeis that defend City States from Hulean invasion |
| 453 | * [[ProudWarriorRace Proud Warrior Nation]]: They have large number of warriors, due to sharing border with Hule that would gladly conquer them. |
| 454 | |
| 455 | !Zvornik |
| 456 | ->Capital: Raska |
| 457 | ->Head of the State: Margrave Galben Zvornik |
| 458 | |
| 459 | The poorest of the City-States. |
| 460 | |
| 461 | * GeneralRipper: Heir of the current Margrave is a glory-seeking warmonger. Which is not great, considering his father is 87. |
| 462 | * TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone: Galben's son would gladly uproot long peace with other City-States to fufill his childish dreams of conquest. |
| 463 | |
| 464 | [[/folder]] |
| 465 | [[folder: Dunwick]] |
| 466 | [[/folder]] |
| 467 | [[folder: Eusdria]] |
| 468 | [[/folder]] |
| 469 | [[folder: Garona]] |
| 470 | [[/folder]] |
| 471 | [[folder: Guadalante]] |
| 472 | !Estado de Guadalante |
| 473 | ->Capital: Ciudad Huelca |
| 474 | ->Head of the State: Don Crístobal "El Barbudo" de Bigotillos y Copetez and his wife, Doña Catalina de Bigotillos y Narvaez |
| 475 | |
| 476 | A Oligarchy that gives vast power and freedom to nobility, well known for their strong sense of individuality and wandering adventurers, the Gauchos. |
| 477 | |
| 478 | ---- |
| 479 | * ConflictKiller: To an outsider it may seem Guadalante is just a bunch of tiny fiefdoms of squabbling nobles ruling from their haziendas, and thus, easy picking. Any would-be conqueror finds out pretty fast that nothing makes the people come together as fast as an invadion. |
| 480 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: To Mexico |
| 481 | * TheGunslinger: The Gauchos always carry a dagger and a pistol. |
| 482 | * SombreroEqualsMexican: Typical looks of the Gauchos include sombreros and ponchos, even if neither is actually named. |
| 483 | * SouthOfTheBorder: General vibe and aesthetic of Guadalante is Mexico, but neither modern nor ancient, aiming rather towards XIX-Century. |
| 484 | * SuperheroCapitalOfTheWorld: A fantasy equivalent. As a nation Guadalante is characterized by a huge number of adventurers of all kind, with the Gauchos being most common, but far from the only type. One could even say wandering heroes are their main export. |
| 485 | |
| 486 | [[/folder]] |
| 487 | [[folder: Herath]] |
| 488 | !The Magocracy of Herath |
| 489 | ->Capital: Asgamoth |
| 490 | ->Head of the State: Wizard-King Yahav IV "The Watcher," |
| 491 | |
| 492 | Herath is nation of secretive, closed of magic-users that hide a deep secret and may have connections to the Red Curse that plagues the land. [[spoiler: The population is actually composed of shapeshifting [[SpiderPeople Aranea]]]]. |
| 493 | ---- |
| 494 | * TheAtoner: They digilently held back the Red Curse for centuries to atone for causing it's existence. |
| 495 | * BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler: In order to blend in with other races, Aranea are taught from childhood they are effectively two beings in one body. Some take it too far, however, to the point they no longer can assume aranea form in presence of humanoids and vice versa and carry no memories from time spent in one form into the other.]] |
| 496 | * GiantSpider: [[spoiler: A nation of those.]] |
| 497 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: When Mages learned the Chameleonmen of Wallaras discovered their secret, they tried to erase that knowledge with magic from theeir whole nation. They overshoot so hard they wiped out all of Chameleonmen's memories, effectively sending entire species back to the stone age overnight. |
| 498 | ** FromBadToWorse: And then [[DragonsAreDivine Great One]], patron Immortal of Wallaras found out about it. He proceeded to command ''every dragon in the world'' to unleash their full fury upon Herath, effectively carpet bombing the entire civilization back to the stone age as well. ''Then'' he created a species of dragon-wasp hybrids that reproduce by incubating their eggs inside living beings, that later burst out of host's body, and unleashed it on Herath after making sure [[spoiler: aranea]] are their favorite victim. And to add insult to injury, he spilled his blood over whole area, making everything magical, just to render Hearthian trademark detect magic spell useless. Which mixed with other curses in the region, creating the Red Curse. |
| 499 | * {{Foil}}: [[spoiler: Aranea]] are another one to the Drow on other worlds. Drow are corrupt Elves who worship ChaoticEvil goddess Lolth and live underground, while [[spoiler:Aranea]] are [[spoiler: giant spiders who can shapeshift into humans]] who worship LawfulEvil Immortal Arachne Prime alongside a pantheon of good and neutral Immortals, being especially liked by [[TricksterGod Korotiku]]. In fact, one of later editions established there is a tribe of them in remote part of [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Faerun]], seemingly only to showcase how much Lolth struggles with swaying them to her side. |
| 500 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: They cast curse to erase memory of their secret from the whole nation of Wallaras, accidentially causing chain of events that devastated whole region. |
| 501 | * OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:The secret to Aranea shapeshifting is that they're essentially giant spiders infected with curse of being were''humans''.]] |
| 502 | * SealedEvilInACan: Hearth's web of magic has been holding Red Curse at back for centuries, limiting it to a small area within their nation. When The Day Without Magic happenned, the wab failed and the Curse quickly spread to most of the Savage Coast. |
| 503 | * SpiderPeople: [[spoiler: The population is actually made of Aranea, whose true form is that of a giant spider with upfront appendages splitting to resemble human hands.]] |
| 504 | * SplitPersonality: May happen to [[spoiler: aranea who go too far into posing as a humanoid, to the points humanoid and aranea form develop separate sets of memories. |
| 505 | * ThisWasHisTrueForm: [[spoiler: Averted. Revealing their secret to anyone is such a taboo for aranea they won't revert even if slain in human form, forcing themselves to keep the charade even in their dying breath.]] |
| 506 | * WalkingSpoiler: Good luck talking about this nation without giving out their big secret. |
| 507 | |
| 508 | [[/folder]] |
| 509 | [[folder: Jibaru]] |
| 510 | [[/folder]] |
| 511 | [[folder: Narvaez]] |
| 512 | [[/folder]] |
| 513 | [[folder: Nimmur]] |
| 514 | [[/folder]] |
| 515 | [[folder: Renardy]] |
| 516 | [[/folder]] |
| 517 | [[folder: Robrenn]] |
| 518 | [[/folder]] |
| 519 | [[folder: Saragorn]] |
| 520 | [[/folder]] |
| 521 | [[folder: Shazaks]] |
| 522 | [[/folder]] |
| 523 | [[folder: Texarias]] |
| 524 | [[/folder]] |
| 525 | [[folder: Torreon]] |
| 526 | [[/folder]] |
| 527 | [[folder: Vilaverde]] |
| 528 | [[/folder]] |
| 529 | [[folder: Wallaras]] |
| 530 | [[/folder]] |
| 531 | |
| 532 | !!Nations of the Outer World |
| 533 | Outer World is a FanNickname for nations of Brun that were not introduced in ''X1'' ', but in other products, often having much less information about them as a result. |
| 534 | |
| 535 | [[folder: Denagoth]] |
| 536 | [[/folder]] |
| 537 | [[folder: Ghyr]] |
| 538 | [[/folder]] |
| 539 | [[folder: Hule]] |
| 540 | [[/folder]] |
| 541 | [[folder: Graakhalia]] |
| 542 | [[/folder]] |
| 543 | [[folder: Sind]] |
| 544 | [[/folder]] |
| 545 | [[folder: Wendar]] |
| 546 | [[/folder]] |
| 547 | [[folder: Wyrmsteeth]] |
| 548 | [[/folder]] |
| 549 | [[folder: Yavldom]] |
| 550 | [[/folder]] |
| 551 | |
| 552 | !The Empire of Alphatia |
| 553 | |
| 554 | !Island Nations |
| 555 | |
| 556 | [[folder: Oceansend]] |
| 557 | [[/folder]] |
| 558 | [[folder: Ochalea]] |
| 559 | [[/folder]] |
| 560 | [[folder: Pearl Islands]] |
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