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.