Excerpt from A Treatise on Orc Faith, by Professor Yorin Argirus Brunton

            Most people believe the orcs to be savages that possess strange rites and occasionally sacrifice captured bandits to primal gods. I have found in my time living amongst one of the three remaining orc clans outside of the Hobgoblin Empire, that the common beliefs are both true and false.

Excerpt from the Journal of Professor Yorin Argirus Brunton

15 Tytlan, 98 of the Age of Restoration
Day 72 of Excavation

          The workers have been asking for tomorrow off. They say that the winter solstice is a time to be with family to cherish those that survived the onset of winter and remember those that did not. While the ruins that we have been excavating are fascinating, I fear that if I refuse productivity will drop to an unacceptable level. With that in mind, I gave them tomorrow off with the understanding that they would return to work the following day.

Meresk Delas, the Plagued Port

Meresk Delas

LE large city

Corruption +5, Crime +5, Economy +1, Law +3, Lore +0, Society -2

Qualities holy site, pious (Kirapeny), tourist attraction, plagued

Danger 10

Demographics

Government magical (High Solar)

Population 19,428 (13,016 dwarf; 3,691 human; 1,943 gnome; 582 halfling; 196 other)

Notable NPCs

Most High Solar Galan Sunbeard (LN dwarf cleric 13)

Black Baron (CG human vigilante 7)

Herald of the Dawn (NE half-elf bard 8)

Marketplace

Base Value 8,000 gp; Purchase Limit 50,000 gp; Spellcasting 7th

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4

Tetsuor, the Deep One

Tetsuor, the Deep One

“A ship’s not just a rudder and some sails, that’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is…is freedom.”

 - Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Alternate Names: Brimwylm (halfling), Dayal Juul (elf), Morethivy (dwarf), Saevio (gnome), Tenutaz (orc)

Expanded Domains: Chaos, Exploration, Freedom, Luck, Travel, Water, Weather, Wind

Portfolio: fortune, freedom, journeys, lakes, oceans, water, weather

Recommended Music: www.listenonrepeat.com/watch?v=Et3CyRkkubE | www.listenonrepeat.com/watch?v=6LVP4usV4Jk

The Unbound Fleet

The Unbound Fleet

CN metropolis

Corruption +4, Crime +4, Economy +5, Law +3, Lore +3, Society +8

Qualities insular, notorious, strategic location

Danger 20

Demographics

Government council

Population 49,127 (18,176 halfling; 14,825 human; 6,912 dwarf; 5,228 gnome; 3,986 other)

Notable NPCs

Captain Evergrin of the Northstar (CN half-elf brawler 8)

Captain Zeni “Searat” Drynllas of The Unbound (CG half-elf fighter 6)

Commodore Riptide of the Bloody Tides (CE half-orc sea reaver [barbarian] 7)

Marketplace

Base Value 22,400 gp; Purchase Limit 150,000 gp; Spellcasting 8th

Minor Items nearly all are available; Medium Items 4d4; Major Items 3d4

Of Fleets and Silvers

NOTE: the following story is centered around sailors, so expect some crude language.

     “Captain Evergrin, The Unbound is on the horizon. We should arrive in an hour.”

     The former slave turned ship captain glanced up from his desk and waved off the cabin boy. Pushing his chair back, he stood with a groan as his back cracked and popped. Keeping the smirk off his face, he reached over and grabbed the hat that marked his status as captain of the Northstar. Giving it a slight twirl as he donned the hat, Captain Evergrin turned to look at himself in the mirror.

Lyc, the Great Calamity

Lyc, the Great Calamity

“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos.”

 - Joker, The Dark Knight (2008)

Alternate Names: Dofung (halfling), Draowg (elf), Emaas Barzam (dwarf), Furorem (gnome), Kanosz (orc)

Expanded Domains:  Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fur, Liberation, Madness, Murder, Trickery

Portfolio: anarchy, beasts, freedom, lies, murder, rebellion, traps

Recommended Music: http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=y9TQahWGK1I | https://www.listenonrepeat.com/watch?v=1zyhQjJ5UgY

Drynaryn, the Isolated City

Drynaryn

LN small city

Corruption +3, Crime -2, Economy +1, Law +4, Lore +2, Society -1

Qualities academic, insular

Danger 5

Demographics

Government overlord (Gonrenin Bellyg Dynugel)

Population 5,709 (5,481 elf, 135 half-elf, 93 human)

Notable NPCs

Dryn Efydd Bwahyl of the Telfnyr Rhonyn (LG elf fighter 5)

Headmaster Morwal (LN elf wizard 4)

Andu “Black-Eye” Goryyn (CN half-elf rogue 5)

Marketplace

Base Value 4,000 gp; Purchase Limit 25,000 gp; Spellcasting 5th

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6

Technology in the Green Coast: An Overview

Technology in the Green Coast has seen several advances in the last few decades. Boats that travel up and down the Black Ash River are powered by steam engines, armies have been broken by balls of stone launched at them with a crack of thunder and a cloud of smoke, advances in clockwork have allowed for timepieces that fit into a pocket, and a movable-type printing press reduces the time to copy a book from days to hours. All either put into use or invented in the last thirty years.

Zarth, the Dead

Happy Halloween! In celebration we are providing an early post, featuring the god of death: Zarth.

Zarth, the Dead

“Zarth is dead, but what is death to a god? For even dead gods can still dream.”

 - A priest of Zarth, preaching to villagers

Alternate Names: Cwalu (elf), Hal (dwarf), Maer (gnome), Tab (halfling), Ukh (orc)

Expanded Domains: Curse, Death, Evil, Fire, Law, Nightmare, Trickery

Portfolio: curses, the dead, dreams, fire, judgment, nightmares, pacts, rot, undead

Recommended Music: Old Tristram | Cathedral of Tristram

Magic in the Green Coast: An Overview

Magic is a powerful and mysterious force within the societies in the Green Coast. Sometimes accepted, sometimes feared, magic can be sorted into three different forms: arcane, divine, and psychic. Each of these three forms behaves vastly different, and follows different underlying rules.

Andel, the Iconic Investigator

Playing Andel:

     You could be described as a high functioning psychopath. You do not form emotional connections with others and when people are hurt by your words or actions you feel no guilt or remorse. You have no regard for law and order, but matching wits with criminals is more of a challenge, and thus more fun, than the guard.

A Stranger from a Strange Land

     Andel gazed at a rather off-looking human woman, thoughts running through his mind as he examined the odd woman. At a casual glance the only things that seemed odd about her would be her immense height at roughly six feet one inch and the shocking red hair, which was kept in a braid with the sides of her head shaven. A closer look however showed many other things that raised questions about her.

     Her skin was pale, and what initially appeared to be faint black and green tattoos spread from her neck over her cheeks and across her forehead. However, those tattoos (if that is indeed what they were) followed the veins and arteries. He had seen humans with her hair color before, all from a far off land over the eastern ocean, but none of those humans had her markings. While it is possible that she was part of an organization that marked their members as such, he could not think of any possible reason for doing so that would not be better served with an actual design.

Argoport, the Trade Capitol

Argoport

CN metropolis

Corruption +6, Crime +6, Economy +7, Law +3, Lore +2, Society +5

Qualities prosperous, strategic location, tourist location

Danger 10

Demographics

Government council (the Trade Princes)

Population 29,341 (16,430 humans; 5,868 halfling; 2,727 dwarf; 1,434 gnome; 2,882 other)

Notable NPCs

High-Magus Cyrus Millikan (LN human wizard 11)

Prince Nostriano (LN human aristocrat 4)

Shadowmask (unknown halfling)

Marketplace

Base Value 25,600 gp; Purchase Limit 150,000 gp; Spellcasting 6th

Minor Items nearly all are available; Medium Items 4d4; Major Items 3d4

Staves of Scales and Blood

Welcome, fellow Dungeon Masters, to our first adventure designed for the setting of Ruins of the Forbidden Elder. You may use this adventure as is, import it into your own setting, or pick and choose things to use for your own adventures.

This adventure is designed for a party of four first level Player Characters. At the end of the adventure the PCs should be a third of the way to second level.

Staves of Blood and Scales

Adventure Background

In the county of Lyndeshyr, north of the Black Ash River, a bounty has been placed upon the kobold den near the village of Ashfall. The kobolds have become unusually bold, attacking caravans and outlying farmsteads, stealing and kidnapping. The most recent attack was on the caravan from Argoport bearing Count Byron’s father-in-law: Trade Prince Nostriano. In addition to the bounty Ashfall is offering of fifteen gold per kobold head, Count Byron is offering fifty gold for information of Nostriano’s whereabouts and one hundred gold for the safe return of his father-in-law.

     The Blackhorn Tribe of kobolds has lived within the ruins of an ancient temple that have been long since picked clean by archaeologists and scavengers. Before they were a mere nuisance, stealing the occasional sheep and farming tools on rare raids, but somehow they have gained access to a strange mutagenic ability. This has emboldened the kobolds far beyond what is usual for their kind.

     Thus far the kobolds have kidnapped fifteen people, ranging from young farm hands, merchants, milk-maids, to the Trade Prince. While Count Byron is the only one offering a monetary reward for the return of a kidnapped victim, the rest would surely be willing to offer free food and lodgings when the characters are passing through their villages.

Erb, the Darkness

For our first post providing more detail on the deities in the setting, we’d like to provide a shout-out and thanks to LudicSavant for providing inspiration for the layout of our deity posts as well as being okay with us using his general layout. A few of the domains within the Expanded Domains section are actually Subdomains, which are modified versions of the main domains.

Erb, Lord of Darkness

“There is a spark of power within you, mortal. Are you foolish enough to let others hold you back from your potential?”

- excerpt from the play King of Dawn, where Erb is tempting the brother of the protagonist

Alternate Names: Deorc (halfling), Kharidet (orc), Tenevris (gnome), Thudwyll (elf), Varetsleg (dwarf)

Expanded Domains: Blood, Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Magic, Repose, Smoke, Undead

Portfolio: ambition, blood, magic, potential, power, ritual magic, sacrifice, self-improvement, self-realization, sorcery

Recommended Music: Mirror of the Night

Glastig, the Unbroken City

This post covers the second of the three major Dwarven city-states in the Green Coast: Glastig

Glastig, the Unbroken City

LN large city

Corruption +4; Crime -5; Economy +2; Law +8; Lore +4; Society +2

Qualities academic (military academy), insular, superstitious

Danger 10

Demographics

Government overlord (military dictatorship)

Population 10,762 (7,425 dwarves; 3,196 humans; 141 other)

Notable NPCs

High General Wolrym Valeshorn (LN dwarf fighter 5)

Hierophant of War Carin Undermine (TN dwarf cleric of Byrnwiga 6)

Grand Tinkerer Aeroth Riverlyn (NG human expert 3)

Marketplace

Base Value 8000 gp; Purchase Limit 50,000 gp; Spellcasting 6th (Divine) or 4th (Arcane)

Minor Items 3d4; Medium Items 2d4; Major Items 1d4

Orkil, the Iconic Bard

Here is the iconic bard: Orkil Aklothulga.

Playing Orkil:
     Orkil has a bright, cheerful demeanor intended to put those around him at ease. He uses charm and humor as both a barrier and a disarming tactic. Though he is not opposed to pleasurable company, his heart will always belong a woman he left behind.

Svelk-Rozgum: World-Birth

     Orkil bowed with a flourish as the tavern erupted into applause. Thaleod ul Anlyn¹ was always a popular tale in elven cities such as this one. Even better, he was now skilled enough in the main elven language that he was able to sing the entire tale without any laughter from his audience.

     With a pleased smile, Orkil descended the stairs to the side of the stage as a young elven lady headed up. Taking a seat at the bar, Orkil ordered a glass of middling quality wine and listened to the soft voice of the elven lady as she sang Alarhad Gyer Gharia², an old song of bittersweet love. A little gloomy after his tale of valor, but a good song none the less.

Chor Kolav, the Crater City

This post covers one of the largest political powers in the Green Coast: the city-state of Chor Kolav. For a description of what the various modifiers and numbers represent, please see this page.

Chor Kolav

LG large city

Corruption +2; Crime +2; Economy +3; Law +4; Lore +3; Society +3

Qualities academic, pious (Kereskizac), prosperous, strategic location

Danger 10

Demographics

Government autocracy (monarch)

Population 19,849 (15,680 dwarves; 1,786 humans; 992 gnomes; 595 halflings; 796 other)

Notable NPCs

Glaive-General Jarki Runesword (LG dwarf fighter 4)

King Haukur Steelbrow (LG dwarf aristocrat 5)

Lorekeeper Kaeso Atius Colias (TN gnome bard [archaeologist] 4)

Marketplace

Base Value 10,400 gp; Purchase Limit 75,000 gp; Spellcasting 5th (Divine) or 4th (Arcane)

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4

Why Pathfinder?

     This setting is built with the assumption that the group playing it will be using the Pathfinder RPG.
     Our reasons for doing so go beyond the fact that it is the system that we use. After the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game made the move to 4th edition, Paizo decided to try their own spin on the 3rd edition. The result was Pathfinder, which many have said that it is what 3.5 should have been.
     Pathfinder corrected many imbalances in the game that we enjoyed, and introduced several things that we didn't know we wanted. We didn't have to sell or throw out our old books, and there was more to come.
     The best part was something that we only discovered relatively recently. Paizo generously places all the material in the core Pathfinder line on their website in a handy reference document and an app roughly six months after it is initially published. While we encourage you to buy a hardcopy of the books if you haven't already, in order to play you only need an internet connection or an android/tablet.
     If you do not like Pathfinder, or have another system that you prefer, and still want to use material from our setting then by all means do so. Just know that any mechanics that comes up in a post will be intended for Pathfinder.

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If you like my work and want to support me, check out my homebrew race book here.

Setting Theme

Think of the stories published during or set in the 1890s to the 1950s. Think of The Mummy, of Pellucidar, Lovecraft, Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian, and Zorro. This was the era of Pulp. This is where the theme of Ruins of the Forbidden Elder can be found.

The theme of the setting is Mystery. Not the mystery of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with his famous Sherlock Holmes, but the mystery of lost ruins and ancient secrets. Ruins from dozens of different civilizations can be found throughout the world, and treasures both mundane and magical can be discovered within. The greatest treasure however, is the recovery of knowledge that has been lost.

Every major civilization in the world has lost their history. No matter where you go, the historical record only goes back so far. In the Green Coast, the earliest records are around one thousand years old. In Sylvanor, records were only kept when Green Coast settlers arrived in the region, seeking to farm the vast forests for their lumber.

Any piece of history recovered is a priceless treasure, one that archaeology guilds spend exorbitant amounts to try to recover. In the Green Coast, these guilds are typically headed by gnomes and they send agents to follow up on any whispered rumor of ancient ruins or sites.

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If you like my work and want to support me, check out my homebrew race book here.

The Green Coast

Made using Fractal Mapper 8

     The stretch of land known as the Green Coast, called such for its fertile and thick layer of topsoil, is under siege. The lands to the east of the dwarven city-state of Glastig have been steadily conquered over the last forty years by a hobgoblin empire, no longer a horde but disciplined and directed. 

Our Goal

     The primary goal for this setting is to create a world to share with gamers beyond our circle. We have played fantasy RPGs for many years, drawing inspiration from all kinds of genres. This setting is our attempt to give back, and inspire other gamers all around the world.
     Our inspirations includes the varied lexicon of fantasy such as Tolkein, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert E Howard, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Alan Moore, Timothy Zahn, and many others.
     This world is one of Pulp adventure and exploration. Heroes and villains alike scour lost ruins in search of ancient secrets, not only for powerful artifacts and magic but simply to rediscover a lost history. While hero and villain delve into ancient cities, prince and pauper both may receive horrifying, confusing visions.
     Our exploration into the setting begins on the Green Coast, a stretch of land on the continent of Atnor. From here we will spread out to explore the rest of the world of Yoreth.

Dengina, the Iconic Rogue

Here is the iconic rogue: Dengina.

Playing as Dengina:

     Dengina is a good man at heart, and filled with guilt for killing a child. He has dedicated himself to atoning for everything that he did for the Brotherhood, and does all that he can to help people. That having been said, his childhood in the Brotherhood still heavily influenced his outlook on life. He doesn't trust nobility or government officials, and only trusts clergy that are out and about with the common folk.

Jadra, the Iconic Fighter

Here is the Iconic Fighter: Jadra Nelymyn

Playing as Jadra:
     Jadra believes strongly in justice. Those that hurt others will receive a fitting and just punishment. While some confuse justice for vengeance, Jadra has thus far managed to avoid that trap. However she has a tendency to not think things through, and rush in to solve problems before analyzing the situation.

Dolmar, the Iconic Cleric

Here is our iconic cleric: Dolmar Redhammer.

Playing Dolmar:
     Dolmar is a surly, jaded dwarf who loudly declares no interest in the adventuring lifestyle. When pressed on why he is traveling as part of an adventuring party, he defends himself by saying that he's seen enough fools rush into battle and get themselves killed.

Hanabek, the Iconic Sorcerer

Here, we present the iconic sorcerer: Hanabek.

Playing as Hanabek:
   Hanabek has a youthful exuberance and a deep loyalty to his friends. If said friends are big grouches, he will try to lighten the mood with a joke or two.

Legal Information

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

System Reference Document, © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson

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