Brief Essay on Djnosa Antjom - by Gabron Lyeshield at the Gnomish University of Ephemeral and Supernatural Studies

Discovered by Octevio Mescus Cresius during the archaeological rush early in Chor Kolav's history, the Djnosa Antjom is a seven foot obelisk with intricate carvings on each face. Unique among artifacts from the site, each of the faces appears to be written in a different language. Of the four languages, the only one known to scholars is unfortunately the most damaged with only the very top preserved.

The small surviving text was translated by Rinivor Swiftquill, the royal scribe of Chor Kolav at the time. Based on the translation, which according to later translators cut out much of the flowery language for a more simplified format, Scribe Swiftquill stated that the complete text was in part, if not entirely, a religious prophecy. Specifically, a prophecy about the end of the world.

Behind the Screen: Divining Divinities III - Plentiful Pantheons

So we've talked about randomly rolling to create gods, and we've talked about how demigods can fit into your campaign world. Today we're going to talk about pantheons and how they can be incorporated.

Something that a great many people seem to forget when dealing with fantasy pantheons is that the people in the fictional world don't look at the pantheon, pick a single god or goddess and say, "That's the god I worship!" They make offerings to all of the gods when appropriate. A traveling merchant would make offerings to a god of roads or of the sea before setting out on a venture regardless of whether that god was good or evil.

A Glimpse at Sylvanor Orcs

Silver for the mistress, gold for the maid.
Copper for the craftsman, cunning at his trade.
'Good,' said the Jarl, sitting in his hall,
'but iron, cold iron, 'is master of them all.'

—common orc poem

The orcs of Sylvanor are similar to their Green Coast counterparts yet very different in others. While both are tall and broadly built, Sylvanor orcs tend to have more and coarser body hair to the point that some have compared them to bears. Culturally the Sylvanor orcs seem to resemble the peoples of the Free Counties or Viridian Mere more than the Green Coast orcs.

Behind the Screen: Divining Divities II - Delightful and Devious Demigods

Demigods. Entities of power far beyond mortals and yet still nothing compared to the gods themselves. In ancient Greek myth they were the sons and daughters of the Olympians, and while undoubtedly other cultures had similar tales none ever became as well known.

Before using demigods in your campaign, the first question to ask is simple: should you?

Whaleden, the Frozen Port

Whaleden
TN Large City

Corruption +4, Crime +4, Economy +6, Law -4, Lore +5, Society +2

Qualities academic, prosperous, strategic location
Danger 10

Demographics

Government Secret Society (Silver Fangs)

Population 11,053 (4,089 humans, 2,210 halflings, 1,989 elves, 1,102 dwarves, 1663 other)

Notable NPCs

Mayor Bedric Wilfrod (LN halfling aristocrat 3)

Father Kisran (NE human cult leader mesmerist 6)

Tathan Longhook, Head Librarian (TN dwarf expert 5)

Marketplace

Base Value 11,200 gp; Purchase Limit 75,000 gp; Spellcasting 6th

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

The largest city in the known regions of Sylvanor, Whaleden rose to prominence entirely by happenstance. One of the first of the Sylvanor colonies, it was founded as a whaling settlement. Today it is the single largest trading port on the continent.

Behind the Screen: Fancy Festivals I

Tomorrow my fellow Americans and I will be enjoying Thanksgiving. As such, I thought it appropriate that this week's Behind the Screen be about festivals and celebrations.

There are a few key aspects to consider when putting together a festival for your game world: events, reason, and size. Events are fairly self evident, reason is why the festival is held, and size is both how many people come and how long it lasts.

Race: Rantar

So here's the first non-aquatic race native to our setting. The rantar are a race of, as a member of the Dungeon Master's Block called them, angry tiny gadget crafting creatures. Art is by the talented Leon.

Rantar

Behind the Screen: Divining Divinities I - Vaanti Wisesword

This week's Behind the Screen looks at one of the, in my opinion, most enjoyable parts of world-building: creating the gods. This time will contain my favorite method when I need a god and don't have anything that I need to tie into: randomly generated portfolio. While this can be used for any edition, the page that I will be utilizing is a list of domains from D&D 3.5.

On the Beast-Men of Sylvanor: Rantar

When going through the office of my predecessor, the late Professor Vergilius, I stumbled across materials from around the rise of the hobgoblin empire detailing a curiosity from an excavation in Sylvanor. The earliest piece was by now famed scholar Professor Brunton, a letter from his days as a field researcher:

Behind the Screen: Monster Making Madness I

In this next part of the Behind the Screen series, I'll be looking at homebrewing monsters. I know, not as original as making cultures, but you can never have too many viewpoints.

In this first part I will be going over the most simple way to create a homebrew monster with which to terrify your players. This method follows the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid), and it requires no playtesting balance issues, carefully adjusting AC or HP or CR, or possibly any mechanical aspects at all.

Order of the Black Arrow

Tarat gulped in breaths of air, desperately trying to refill his lungs after running as faster than he ever had. The day had started out so nicely too, he and his fellows had caught wind of a fat wagon train making its way through their stretch of woods. Best of all there seemed to be no guards.

The ambush started out well enough, the merchants stopped the wagon train when they rose out of the bush. That was when Tarat noticed that all of the merchants had the same, odd haircut, perhaps some sort of merchant's guild rule? Almost as soon as Yarvo began to tell the merchants how things were going to occur, an arrow with black fletchings buried itself in his throat. 

The merchants were all drawing black bows, knocking arrows, these were no merchants! Tarat dropped his crossbow and turned around to flee, catching sight of a monstrous spider crawling out from under one of the wagons as he did so.

Tarat didn't know how long ago that was, only that he could no longer run. He hoped that he had lost the merchants that were not merchants, he prayed to the Eternal Laughter, Erb, Tetsuor, and all the myriad of gods that he had heard of.

"Going somewhere?" a woman's voice dryly asked, the smirk obvious even if he couldn't see her. 

"Another bandit job finished, bag him and bring the proof back," a deep, male, possibly dwarven voice commanded.

The last thing that Tarat experienced was the exhaustion in his muscles as the arrow pierced his skull. The bounty hunters bagged his head and took the coin pouch from his belt before returning to the wagon train. The other "merchants" were in the process of preserving the bandit heads as proof, collecting arrows, or unstringing their bows. Another day, another bounty.

An infamous bounty hunting organization with a well-earned reputation for ruthlessness, the Order of the Black Arrow number surprisingly few for their influence and reach. Though no one knows for sure their numbers, some estimate that they have members in every part of the Green Coast and the Sylvanor colonies.

Originally founded in the year 326 of the Age of Expanding Coin as a bounty hunter's guild, the Order of the Black Arrow experienced a period of rapid growth. By the year 380 their ranks numbered in the thousands. However this period of prosperity was not to last, cultists to Lekorch, the Demon Lord of the Hunt, rose to positions of power within the Order. A small group within the Order noticed that the jobs they were receiving were becoming less and less about hunting criminals, and more and more about hunting those that angered anyone that could pay.

More than the change in targets, what unnerved this group was the growing attitude of treating targets like prey. The way that some of their fellows spoke, made them sound like predators instead of people. So this group met in secret, sharing their worries and concerns. They came to an agreement: they would work in secret to discover what had changed and fix it if they could. To identify each other at a glance, a specific hair cut and style was devised. Any with their hair cut and styled in this way could be trusted.

Thus they worked in secret, moving up the ranks until they learned the truth: all of the leaders were worshipers of Lekorch. Coming to a decision, the group settled on an appropriate way to deal with the demon worshipers and the hunters became the hunted. Hunting down the leaders one by one, the Order fractured and crumbled.

With the Order broken, the group that slew the demon worshipers chose to rebuild the Order but in a different form. Each of the four members went to a different part of the Green Coast and took on apprentices. Every five years they would meet to share the stories of their time apart, before returning. Those apprentices upon finishing their training were permitted to cut their hair in the same manner as their masters.

So the Order of the Black Arrow continued. No longer as open as it was in its founding, the only way to become a member of the Order is to be chosen as an apprentice of a current member. Today most members share a similar skill set, specializing in hunting, tracking, and archery while many take beasts as valued companions.

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

Behind the Screen: Cultural Queries Part II

Whereas last time we went over the basics of culture design, here we'll be getting much more into the nitty gritty. This is not an exhaustive list of questions to answer each and every facet of your fictional cultures, such a list would far longer and might even be impossible, but it is intended to help you flesh out and think about the culture you are creating.

Are any of these question prompts necessary? No. Will they help immerse your readers/players in your world? Most certainly.

Great Coast Games: Overview

First played in the year 608 of the Age of Dragon Fire, the Great Coast Games is a two-month long competition held between every major power in the Green Coast. Excepting the hobgoblin empire, every city-state and nation send representatives to win glory, prestige, and more than a little bragging rights for their homeland. The first Great Coast Games were held between Chor Kolav, Glastig, Argoport, and the Aetherian Kingdom, after an age of war.

Behind the Screen: Cultural Queries Part I

Welcome to the first of a tips and tricks series I'm calling Behind the Screen. Not the most imaginative name, but it fits.

This first series deals with creating cultures for worldbuilding. There are dozens, if not hundreds of guides out there on the internet but all the same I thought I'd share my thoughts on the topic. One of the most important, and in some respects least looked at, aspects of creating a fictional world is devising the cultures that reside within it.

In most homebrew settings that I have seen, the designers fall into a trap. It is an all too easy trap to fall into and it is one that I have gotten caught in more than once. Heck, I would be surprised if there wasn't an example or two in this very blog. The trap is to copy and paste a real-world culture into a fictional world. Sure, there are examples of cultures like the Dothraki from Game of Thrones that don't, but I'm not talking about million dollar entertainment projects.

Cozmology: Zarth, the God-Corpse

     The easiest plane to reach after the River of Dreams, the only entities that are regularly conjured to the Material Plane are fire elementals. Despite an inability to communicate with the natives, enough has been gleaned from the rare resurrected person and interviewing other outsiders to paint a picture of the plane.

     The first thing to be understood is that Zarth is massive, as can be expected of the corpse of a god. The most knowledgeable outsider interviewed, a demon under Zorutsok called Tarnathak, described traveling from ankle to knee as having taken him more than a year of traveling without pause. This considers difficulties due to terrain and his ability to outrace a warhorse. When asked why he had traveled to Zarth in the first place, Tarnathak’s reply was a toothy grin.

Languages in the Green Coast

Dozens of languages are spoken throughout the Green Coast, and most languages have distinct regional accents and even full-fledged dialects. Though the lingua franca is Aethron, frequently called the Common Tongue or Common, most races have their own languages that they prefer to use when with each other. In addition to the civilized races, the savage races have a myriad of languages and the races that live under the ocean waves also possess their own, unique means of communicating.

Green Coast Calendar

Even with much of the Green Coast’s history lost to time, a ­long and storied history has been recorded. Though several groups claim to have created it, most scholars agree that the current calendar was put into widespread use by the priestesses of Aelma. Each year has 367 days divided into 11 months. Each month has either 33 or 34 days, split by 7-day weeks.

The first month of the year, Chazron, begins the day after the summer solstice. The following months are Aesto, Noth, Dartos, Moros, Lethis, Krynik, Estas, Vorn, Aras, and Lystmel. Chazron, Dartos, Estas, and Lystem have 34 days while the remaining months have 33. Like our world, a week is seven days, though the names for the days of the week differ: Firstday, Mythday, Valeday, Wheatday, Stormday, Aleday, and Lastday. Below you will find a calendar for the current year: 1097 of the Age of Northern Expansion.

Akkardon: Port by the Storm

Akkardon

LG metropolis

Corruption +2, Crime +0, Economy +4, Law +4, Lore +3, Society +0

Qualities academic, prosperous, tourist attraction

Danger 10

Demographics

Government Overlord (King Sargoth IV)

Population 39,531 (12,639 merfolk, 10,673 tabemisu, 7,115 squoros, 3,953 zang, 3,162 koup’ira, 1,581 dohrnii, 408 other)

Notable NPCs

Royal Mystic Advisor Gilgorthanto (LG old bronze dragon)

Grand Hierophant Hamurbai (NG tabemisu medium 9)

Zikur Albyn, Head of the Blackfin Mercenary Company (NE zang barbarian 15)

Marketplace

Base Value 13,000 gp; Purchase Limit 75,000 gp; Spellcasting 6^th

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

The largest city outside of the koup’ira kingdoms in the Cyan Shelf, Akkardon is located within a large bay near two major currents from both the north and the south. The Trade Spires each stretch at minimum twenty feet above the surface, even during high tide, so as to facilitate the blue-haired surfacers that come to trade. The Royal Quarters also breaks the waterline, allowing them to sleep without fear of drowning.

     Despite what King Sargoth and the authorities would claim, several powerful crime syndicates operate in the shadowy depths of the city. A black market thrives, selling poisons, surfacer artifacts, and things taken from the dark depths of the ocean past the Long-Drop, where the Cyan Shelf ends and the ocean desert begins.

Race: Zang

Zang

Considered to be the fiercest warriors on the Cyan Shelf, the semi-nomadic zang roam the seas in large clans. Though many fear the zang due to their ferocity in defending their hunting grounds from any perceived trespassers, none would deny their dedication to fighting the sahuagin. On more than one occasion, a zang has boastfully claimed that the sahuagin would have overrun the Cyan Shelf centuries ago if not for the clans. Many scholars from elsewhere on the shelf agree.

A Letter to Admiral Tarath Longinus

To Admiral Tarath Longinus,

     Per your request, I have located a member of one of the many zang clans that is willing to speak with a surfacer. Finding one was much more difficult than I originally anticipated, and I am now writing to you from a mostly sunken city called, assuming that the translation potions are working correctly, Akkardon. From what I can tell it serves a similar role as Argoport, a hub of trade for the whole region. I’ve even seen two sea gnome ships meeting and exchanging goods.

Blood in the Water

     The nervous seaman looked over to his captain at the front of the boat, before cautiously asking the question that was at the forefront of his mind, "Cap'n, ya sure this is a good idea?"
     Turning his head so that his steely gaze locked eyes with the question asker, index finger pointedly stroking the hilt of his sword. The lone blue eye, like chips of ice for all the warmth they held, stared into the mud colored eyes of the ship hand, the only other acknowledgement of his question being a single raised eyebrow.

Iconic Barbarian: Ragnoth Frost Serpent

Playing Ragnoth Ragnoth lives by a code taught to him by his uncle: “Die on your feet, or live on your knees.” By his understanding, a person that does not choose his own fate is a slave to those that would choose it for him. When utilizing his rage, he is imagining the presumptuous noble that thought to determine Ragnoth’s fate.

Ragnoth Frost Serpent        

Male Half-Orc Barbarian 1

CN Medium humanoid

Init -1; Senses darkvision; Perception +1

Defense

AC 13, touch 9, flat-footed 13 (+4 armor, -1 Dex)

HP 21 (1d12+9)

Fort +7; Ref -1; Will +1

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee scythe +4 (2d4+4/*4)

Ranged orc war bow +0 (1d12/*3)

Special Attacks rage (9 rounds/day)

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10

Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 13

Feats Toughness

Skills Acrobatics +0, Climb +4, Knowledge (nature) +6, Survival +5, Swim +4; Armor Check Penalty -3

Traits killer, savage*

Languages Common, Orc, Halfling

SQ fast movement*, orc blood, orc ferocity, intimidating

Equipment scythe, orc war bow, quiver with 80 cold iron arrows, hide armor, barbarian’s kit

* The effects of this ability have already been calculated into Ragnoth’s statistics

Far From Home

     He hit the ground with a loud grunt. Growling deep in his throat, Ragnoth pushed himself to his feet as his opponent tried to collect her breath. Tightening his grip on his polearm, Ragnoth rushed at the woman that had attacked him with the rest of the bandits she was with. Was.

     Out of a small group of three bandits, only the woman was left. That is not to say that they died easily. Ragnoth, their intended prey, was badly injured. Cuts covered his arms, one over his left eye effectively left him blind in that eye, three teeth had been knocked out of his mouth, his chest would be a mass of bruises in the morning, and from the feel of it at least one rib was cracked if not broken.

     The bandit woman raised her shield to intercept the point of Ragnoth’s war-scythe. Shifting his grip, Ragnoth changed the angle of his attack. Instead of striking at her chest, he targeted her legs. The tip of his blade bit deeply into muscle and nicked bone, causing a veritable fountain of blood to weep from the wound.

     Dropping to the ground with a scream of agony, the bandit woman tried in vain to staunch the blood seeping from her thigh. With a glare, Ragnoth pushed himself upright and wiped off the blood from his scythe using the tunic of the crying, panicking woman.

     “You thought three were enough to kill me. You were wrong,” Ragnoth growled at the soon to be dead woman as he hobbled further down the road; from the way his hip flared in pain with each step he must have twisted it one of the times that he was knocked down.

     If there was one thing that Ragnoth was good at, it was getting up when he was knocked down. He’d been doing it his entire life. First in the ring against his full blood peers, and then amongst the lowlanders in the southern lands.

     Admittedly, he thought to himself, not all the lowlanders were soft. The alfar Jadra is lethal with that curved blade of hers, and her mixed blood companion utilized a shield like it was a part of his body.

     The half-orc had encountered the two travelers on a road much like the one he hobbled down, nearly a year ago. He had been newly arrived in the Green Coast, having stowed away on a ship leaving Eszath for Argoport, and happened upon the camp that the elf and half-elf had made shortly after dark.

     The two companions offered to share their campfire, an offer which Ragnoth could scarcely refuse. Offering to share the tubers and root vegetables that they had scavenged, he in turn offered to share the brace of rabbits that he had shot just before stumbling upon their camp.

     While normally using one of his clan’s war bows would be deemed excessive to hunt rabbits, it was the only means of hunting the speedy animals. When he explained this to his dinner companions as the half-elven man stirred the meat and vegetables into a stew, Jadra asked to see his clan’s war bow.

     After carefully handing the bow to her, Jadra almost immediately concluded that the draw weight was impractically heavy for more than exceptional individuals. She was barely able to pull the arms close enough together to string the bow, and while she had the strength to draw the string back, her arm shook and her fingers were numb after releasing the string.

     Ragnoth decided not to tell her that he sometimes had difficulty with the draw weight himself. He did tell her that amongst the orcs in Sylvanor, being able to string and draw back the bow is a common, widespread rite of passage for both men and women. You were considered a child until you had the strength to make use of the bow. You weren’t considered an adult until you killed something like a bear or a caribou on a hunt with it.

     Shaking his head to chase away the memories, Ragnoth squinted his eyes to try to get a better look at the building off in the distance. It was getting late and he needed a place to either stay or camp for the night. It looked to be a farmhouse, so he could probably trade manual labor for a roof over his head while he slept. A plan in mind, Ragnoth picked up his pace to the farmhouse.

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From the Journals of Algren Twinbraid

My name is Professor Algren Twinbraid, a researcher and archaeologist from the University of History in Eszath. I do not know if anyone on the surface will ever read these entries, but I still feel the necessity of recording my thoughts and experiences.

Cosmology: The River of Dreams

By far the largest of the planes, some scholars feel that it belongs within a separate category, for it defies most attempts at fitting the definition of a plane of existence. No creatures summoned from it can describe it to researchers, so scholars are forced to extrapolate what they can from the bits and pieces that ancient texts describe and the rigors of conjuring its inhabitants.

     Like all planes, there are creatures that call it home. The most well-known are the water elementals, entities composed entirely of the stuff of the plane. Unlike the other planes, very few permanent settlements exist. These settlements act as neutral grounds between the inhabitants of the planes of Urzalak and Yinnola. On rare occasions, the largest of these settlements see fiery visitors from Zarth’s corpse on some mission that takes them away from their home. Some scholars theorize that the nature of the River prevent any such settlements from forming, the River reflects the minds that inhabit it after-all. Despite this malleability, or perhaps because of it, the River follows no consistent logic outside of the more stable settlements.

An Introduction to the Planes

Pay attention apprentice, today we will begin your studies into the Art of Conjuration. No, you will not be summoning an Archdevil or a Solar, though I understand the excitement. My master Tobias caught me sneaking into the Summoning Chamber more than once. Oh the lectures I received.

     I digress, we will begin with an overview of the planes of existence. Seeing as how I recruited you from a farming village, I would assume that you are not familiar with the term? Calm yourself apprentice, that was not an insult. Allow me to fill you in on a secret: I was raised born to a blacksmith. I understand entering a world so different than what you are used to.

Kyrnash, Lady of the Forest

"How would I describe Kyrnash? I would say that she is all that is nature. She is kind, she is ruthless, she is cruel, she is motherly; basically, if an adjective applies to the world outside of cities, it applies to her."
  - Old Growth Edric Greenbeard

Alternate Names: Hellededd (elf), Soliturae (gnome), Tasagdo (orc), Wegleas (halfling), Zerloi (dwarf)
Expanded Domains: Animal, Decay, Earth, Fire, Growth, Plant, Seasons, Water, Weather
Portfolio: animals, forests, seasons, stone, volcanoes

Knowledge (religion) DC 10:
The eldest of Aelma and Erb's children, Kyrnash shaped the lands when the world was forged. Known as Lady of the Forest and Mother of Beasts, Kyrnash designed and created nearly every animal after she created the wilds. She tore water from the sky to fill lakes, pulled the mountains from the ground, created predator and prey. Prayers are made by hunters for her grace, and settlements of all sizes make offerings of incense and the destruction of axes and saws to avert her wrath. It is said that villages that do not make acceptable offerings to Kyrnash find their crops suffering from blight, decaying when they should be flourishing.
     Acolytes dedicated to Kyrnash are called Saprolings, and upon finishing their training they are elevated to Growths. The highest ranking members of Kyrnash's followers are Old Growths, sometimes called Archdruids by outsiders. In art, Kyrnash is most frequently depicted as a black-haired woman clothed in rustic leather with a hunting bow. Often birds and small forest animals such as squirrels and foxes are depicted either next to her or on her shoulders.

Scholarly Theories: Sylvanor Minotaur

To the Esteemed Mage-Scholar Annuwyl Aethlyn of the Wainryn Royal Academy of The Art,

I write to you, this seventh day of Aesto, to document my findings thus far on what some of our colleagues have dubbed "the Sylvanor Minotaur." I can understand why some would call it that, though this northern variety of the breed is far more horrible to behold than the ones further south.

Picture, if you will, a creature that, were it to stretch itself upright, stands nearly thirteen feet tall from the top of its skull to the bottom of its hooves. If you add the antlers, then it stands closer to sixteen feet tall. Despite its height, which normally is around ten feet due to a stooped posture, I would be surprised if it weighed more than two hundred twenty pounds! The thing looks to be positively starving, despite eating an entire cow, bones and all, in the span of ten minutes!

I digress, the anatomy of this creature is astounding! Despite seeming to be skin and bone, it possesses strength similar to it's Green Coast cousins and is much more agile. In addition, its hands possess a mere three digits: two fingers and a thumb. Each is topped with a vicious claw, which I have seen rend boiled leather like it were parchment. A certain kind of low-quality steel seems to work best at stopping its claws for some reason, perhaps it doesn't like the feel of the metal?

Its head is long, perhaps two and a half feet, and for all intents and purposes looks like the skull of a stag. The biggest difference is in its eyes, white glowing specks of light surrounded by pits of darkness. While not the most obvious difference, that distinction belongs to the rows and rows of sharp, shearing teeth, something within those eyes...I can only describe it a torturous, maddening hunger. If you were to walk down the back allies of Argoport and look into the eyes of the homeless that hadn't eaten in a week, you would not see even a fraction of the hunger contained within those otherworldly eyes.

Your friend and colleague,
Mage-Scholar Rhydian Llewelyn of the University of Eszath

Argovas, the Trade Prince

"It has been five years to the day that our fair town was founded, let us celebrate!"
  - last sober words of the day by Mayor Brimbol of Mudshire

Alternate Names: Ceapuna (halfling), Civimerc (gnome), Kereskizac (dwarf), Khudirgen (orc), Maswareid (elf)

Expanded Domains: Artifice, Community, Earth, Law, Metal, Nobility, Toil, Trade, Travel

Portfolio: affluence, alcohol, brewing, civilization, gold, rule of law, trade, wealth

Knowledge (religion) DC 10
Called the Trade Prince and Count of Coins, Argovas is one of the most widely revered of the deities in the Green Coast. Brewers and merchants from the Veridian Mere as far north as Sylvanor make regular offerings in his name for safe streets and good business. Taverns pour the first pint a night into a glass that isn't drunk to honor his gifts. Nobles make regular offerings of wealth to the Church to encourage their works.
     In art, Argovas is often depicted surprisingly simply. A clean-shaven human male working in the sun, torso bare. The priests of Argovas are called Laborers, the acolytes Tools, and the knights that swear their swords to him are called Coins.

Halflings in the Green Coast

A few decades ago, the halflings were second only to humans in their numbers. These days, while still numerous, their population has been decimated by the hobgoblins. Despite this, the halflings of the Green Coast have managed to bounce back with surprising speed and adaptability.

Maidanaa, the Matron

“The Lady beseeches us to care for our families and communities, and to beware those that hide in the shadows. Beware the well-meaning heretic, who seeks to replace the voice of truth with the lies of falsehood.”

—    Crescent Moon Artain to his constellation

Alternate Names: Anyold (dwarf), Eksah (orc), Ileumel (elf), Luna (gnome), Mona (halfling)

Expanded Domains: Chaos, Community, Family, Good, Healing, Love, Protection, Rage, Restoration

Portfolio: childbirth, devotion, fertility, healing, kinship, marriage, motherhood, the night sky, wrath

Reports of Heretics

High Justicar Varain read through the reports on his desk after a day of purifying the corrupt and the heretical. Several inquisitors had managed to purge a cult masquerading as followers of The Lady. Good, the priests of the other gods may be sloppy in purging the heretic from their ranks, but the servants of The Lady would not be so lax.

Crazy Drink!

     Yorin sat in the galley with the ship’s non-gnome crew as they ate hunks of cut bread smeared with some kind of foul smelling butter. The crew were for the most part ignoring the professor, sitting in an out of the way corner nursing a mug of a sweet tasting wine that the crew were drinking. Occasionally one would glance his way before turning back to his fellows.

Magic Items in the Green Coast

The art of enchantment is a highly respected and sought after skill in the Green Coast, yet at the same time many view its higher ranked disciplines with a large measure of caution and wariness. Nearly six centuries ago, scholars devised a ranking system based on the strength of the enchantments within the item, how long the enchantments would last, and how hard the enchantments are to dispel. Taking the names from an almost extinct language, the ranks from least to greatest are: pramos, dwoteros, trijos, quethrtos, and pentos.

An Introduction to the Sea-Faring Gnomes

An Introduction to the Sea-Faring Gnomes

Written by Professor Yorin Argirus Brunton

While spending time in Glastig on holiday to study the Under-Road, I was fortunate enough to be present when one of the trade shipments from the east arrived. Such an occasion was not one that I could bear to miss, so I made my way to the docks to question the sailors. This paper is a condensed version of the chapter on them that will be in my next book.

Yalma, the Blind Judge

"The man that passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. If you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

—    George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Alternate Names: Aequitas (gnome), Cyfamd (elf), Dema (halfling), Igazvedo (dwarf), Khagaal Yol (orc)

Expanded Domains: Glory, Good, Honor, Law, Leadership, Nobility, Protection, Resolve, Strength

Portfolio: honor, guardians, law, leadership, justice, protection

NPCs: Captain Evergrin

“I’m no man of honor/Myself is my true king/But somewhere deep within me/The bells of conscience ring.”

— Halfman’s Song, by Miracle of Sound

Playing Evergrin

Despite the crude, cocky façade he portrays, Evergrin is at his core a broken individual. He uses crude humor and a display of arrogance to keep people at arm’s length, trying to prevent anyone from getting close enough to slip a knife between his ribs. His childhood as a slave left scars deeper than the ones that give him his name. Ultimately, though his only loyalty is to himself and he wants to believe that he is a selfish and self-serving individual, some kernel of goodness still resides within him.

Gnomes of the Green Coast

One of the most widespread of the races in the Green Coast, the gnomes are simultaneously among other races and yet separate. Though small in stature, the organizations they create have wide reaching influences. Found everywhere yet rarely the center of attention, when you ask anyone what they think of gnomes, the response is normally, “A little eccentric, but otherwise I don’t give them much thought.”

Orlag, the Keeper of Secrets

“So much knowledge has been lost to the ages, it is our job to recover what has been forgotten or die trying.”

—    Professor Agrippo Gorinus Fludinus, high priest of Orlag

Alternate Names: Cyfrin (elf), Eruditio (gnome), Gealdor (halfling), Meduuts (dwarf), Tudok (orc)

Expanded Domains: Air, Artifice, Earth, Exploration, Knowledge, Language, Rune

Portfolio: divination, history, knowledge, language, restoration, ruins, secrets

Knowledge (religion) DC 10:

God of knowledge both known and hidden, Orlag is beseeched by scholars, researchers, and archaeologists alike for blessings and insight. Known as the Keeper of Secrets and Archivist of the Gods, it is said that Orlag knows all that there is to be known and that no secrets can be kept from him.

     Orlag is most often portrayed in art as a weathered human male with a trimmed goatee and mustache in rough clothes suited for long digs. No temples or churches to Orlag exist, but every library, museum, and archaeological dig site has at least one alter for prayers.

NPCs: Ghoran Karzin Zorthak

“If all I was interested in was killing, I would have stayed in the academy as a boy. What motivates me isn’t killing, it’s killing with style.”

— Ghoran Karzin Zorthak to a young hobgoblin boy

Using Ghoran

Above all else, Ghoran is a showman. Everything he does is done with panache and style. He regularly takes insults, verbal jabs, and such with a returning volley of quips intended to mock in such a way that the target is unsure if they have been insulted.

The Coliseum of Zrukal-az Bashzith

Though gladiatorial combat is a staple source of entertainment throughout the hobgoblin empire, the largest and most extravagant arena is easily the Coliseum in the empire’s capital. Construction began five years after the ancient city was conquered by the hobgoblins, and even with slaves working on construction nonstop it still took six years to complete.

Moros, Mother of Blood

Moros, Mother of Blood

“I have heard some refer to war as being similar to the Nine Hells. Having experienced both, I can say that these ignorant souls are so wrong. Only those suited for it go to the Nine Hells, whereas war spares no one.”

—Illuyin Deileddyf, High Archmage of Wainryn

Alternate Names: Byrnwiga (dwarf), Dusnain (halfling), Gwaeful (elf), Pugnatas (gnome), Veru (orc)

Expanded Domains: Chaos, Evil, Glory, Heroism, Liberation, Revolution, Strength, War

Portfolio: battle, combat, free will, glory, revolution, strength, victory, warfare

Recommended Music: Furious Retribution, Massive Assault

The Viridian Mere, Home of Old Black

A massive swamp to the south of the forest that houses the last elven city-states, the Viridian Mere was central in the founding of modern elven society. Today it is home to countless tribes of lizardfolk and hundreds of human villages. The Viridian Mere’s entire history is in the shadow of a great wyrm black dragon named Bastovexigarriv.

Aelma, Lady of Light

"Your heart weeps for your brother, but do not despair. Though he has given to temptation, do not give into fear. Bonds of blood are stronger than many realize.”
  - Aelma to Yacob, the protagonist and title character of the play King of Dawn

Alternate Names: Apria (orc), Brelauhines (elf), Kirapeny (dwarf), Scimeria (halfling), Solnys (gnome)

Expanded Domains: Charm, Family, Good, Knowledge, Light, Love, Lust, Magic, Protection, Sun

Portfolio: diplomacy, family, guardians, light, lore, magic, purity, sex, the sun, wizards

Recommended Music: Into Sunlight

Knowledge (religion) DC 10:

Known as the White Archmage, Mother of the Gods, and Lady of Light, Aelma is the god of light magic and all that it entails. Aelma taught the mortal races all forms of magic that protect, guard, and enchant.

     Aelma is the estranged wife of Erb. When her husband’s cruelty grew too great for her to bear, she cast him away. She teaches her followers to bring light to the dark regions of the world in the hopes that one of her followers may find her estranged husband. Her exact reasons for such are a matter of lively and enthusiastic debate.

     Temples dedicated to Aelma only accept women as acolytes and priestesses. Second only to the churches of Maidanna, the priesthood of Aelma is the most sought after for performing marriages. In art, Aelma is typically depicted as a beautiful woman in a simple white dress with the sun behind her head.

Korrin, the Iconic Psychic

Playing Korrin

     While more intelligent than nearly everyone around you, you don’t rub it into their faces. A life on the streets showed you that people like that didn’t live for very long. Allies are a requirement for survival, but you know that today’s ally could become tomorrow’s enemy.

A Psychic in Argoport

Dark laughter echoed in Korrin’s head as he awoke. Another dream, another nightmare. The least that Nirrok could do was let him have a peaceful sleep every now and then. Still, it was early morning, and a rumbling stomach told him that it was time to scrounge up some breakfast.

     Aethrin should be setting up his market stall, and he had just enough silver pieces to buy a piece of beef that he could trade for some oysters from Paakiga. After he finished breakfast he needed to find some more work, all while avoiding Karn and Varto.

Wainryn, the Elven Port

Wainryn

CN large city

Corruption +4, Crime +1, Economy +4, Law +4, Lore +3, Society +0

Qualities prosperous, racially intolerant (half-elves), strategic location,

Danger 10

Demographics

Government overlord (King Andullyn)

Population 12,504 (6,126 elves; 3,126 humans; 2,501 half-elves; 751 other)

Notable NPCs

Captain Jadryll Wainyll (LN half-elf fighter 4)

Mage-Acolyte Tarn (LE human sorcerer 2/cleric of Erb 2)

Tanlyn of House Taradlym (NG elf swashbuckler 3)

Marketplace

Base Value 11,200 gp; Purchase Limit 75,000 gp; Spellcasting 6th

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

One of the two ancient elven city-states remaining, Wainryn has accepted outside influence far more readily than their trade partner at the opposing end of the river that links them. Serving as one of the major trading ports of the Green Coast, Wainryn sees goods and wealth from all over the known world and beyond.

Slavery in the Green Coast

Most were probably expecting this to be in last week’s post, but its deserving on a post of its own.

The hobgoblins are infamous for their practice of keeping members of other races as slaves. The only races that are not kept as slaves are gnomes and halflings. The noble families amongst the northern gnomes have an agreement with the hobgoblins: the gnomes remain free to conduct their archaeological digs while the hobgoblins get any magical items found after they have been cataloged. Halflings on the other hand are not seen as being worth the expense and are simply killed or fed to the warbeasts.

Dreams of Empire: Hobgoblins in the Green Coast

We’ve danced around them up to this point, but now we’re biting the crossbow bolt and talking about the hobgoblins and boy is it a big one.

Hobgoblins have resided in the northern plains and north-eastern mountains for longer than any can remember. Raiding, pillaging, and worse in their nomadic warbands, every so often a leader would arise that had the potential to unify the disparate tribes. In the past, these leaders suffered the fate of all hobgoblin leaders: assassination.

     The traditional means of promotion amongst hobgoblin warbands was to kill and replace their superior. As a result, most attempts to unify into a group larger than a warband have collapsed upon themselves due to infighting. This changed with the rise of Imbatur Thraz.

     A charismatic youth, Imbatur Thraz left his warband seeking out answers to questions of faith that plagued his mind. Where he went no one knows, what is known is that upon his return he was covered in ritual scars and carrying a spear with a charred, blackened haft and a head made from a black stone that glowed with an inner crimson light.

    His and other warbands listened as he told them of the trials he endured, weeks without food and water, slaying beasts with nothing but a sharp stone as a knife, before he found a cave. Within this cave was a boulder, upon which his spear was imbedded. Silver light from Zrukal, the elder and larger of the twin moons, shined through a hole in the ceiling, illuminating the spear. As he approached the spear, a voice whispered to him.

     Take the spear, unite all the land under my light. Be my Herald, and none shall stand against your will.

     The voice could be none other than Zrukal himself, guiding the young hobgoblin. How could any refuse the orders of a god? Thus, he pulled the spear from the stone and returned, to forge the bickering warbands into an empire that would cover the world. Beginning with the Green Coast.

The Free Counties

North of the Black Ash River, lie the remnants of the Aetherion Kingdom. The largest kingdom in the history of the Green Coast before the rise of the hobgoblins collapsed more than one hundred fifty years ago, and the twelve southernmost counts managed to maintain control over their lands. The twelve noble families continually scheme and plot against one another, only to join forces the second an outside force threatens one of them.

Race: Koup'ira

Here’s the first of our setting’s custom races, in addition to everything you’d expect to find in a Core Rulebook write up there will also be a sample PC at the very end. Art for this post was done by the talented Russell Tuller; check out his other material on DeviantArt.

Koup’ira

A Brief Preliminary Treatise on the Koup'ira

A Brief Preliminary Treatise on the Koup’ira

Written by Tiberius Clodius Faustinianus

While I was in Argoport preparing to travel to Sylvanor to study the otherworldly creatures that call it home, I witnessed a most curious sight. A group of four creatures that looked like nothing less than human-sized, upright shellfish dragging nets of fish up onto the docks. One of the dockhands was kind enough to inform me that these giant crustaceans are a race called koup’ira. They trade fish and pearls for red meat and copper-rich alloys, and will swiftly correct anyone that confuses them for beasts.

My transport wasn’t due to leave for several days, so I decided to take the opportunity to learn about these strange entities. As the sun began to set, I drank a potion to ensure that I could understand them and set about questioning the koup’ira.