Campaign Region: Background History, Races, Geography & Maps

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Argennian
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Campaign Region: Background History, Races, Geography & Maps

#1 Post by Argennian »

The Great War

The Great War, also known as the “War of Darkness”, has been over almost 20 years now. The major battles and skirmishes only lasted about three years in this region but saw massive loss of life on both sides. The halfling and gnome homelands were utterly destroyed. The Sylvan (wood) elf kingdom suffered greatly and almost perished. The noble Great Wood itself was mostly burned to the ground or otherwise consumed by the invaders. The High elves had already come to their cousin’s aid and the Wild elves then joined them. Not wanting to follow the fate of the halfling and gnome homelands, the dwarves and humans knew their kingdoms would be next, and so came forth to forge an alliance with the elves. Many halflings and gnomes had never stopped fighting and demanded to be included in the alliance. Although most of their kin had either escaped to other homelands in the south and west or perished, some still vowed to fight the rising specter of death from the east, whatever the cost.

The Eastern Empire was said to boast millions of darker-skinned humans, slight of feature and stature, but cunning and deadly in their arts and ambitions. Supposed descendants of an ancient warrior race of conquerors, they hold an iron grip over a distant yet massive continent and have made slaves or memories of every race and culture they’ve ever encountered. It’s said that even demi-humans of a strange and exotic kind inhabit their homelands. They came by way of the remote kingdoms of the orcs, goblins and other humanoid races to form an unusually dark alliance before marching on the region. The group called the Band of Nine was reputed to be evil lords of different humanoid races that had joined with the eastern conquerors. They launched a massive invasion against the inhabitants of the northern region and blazed their way ever closer. The Great Alliance was the only hope to stop them and save the people from certain extinction.

The war raged on, the allies eventually having to result to guerilla fighting and unconventional techniques to stay the invaders. Both sides surged and pushed back. The Band of Nine used not only fell and powerful magics to their advantage, but an endless supply of soldiers and physical might. Whether it was their desperation, incredible will or superior tactics, the alliance eventually stemmed and then turned the tide to their advantage. They drew the enemy into a final showdown in the Great Namblin Valley of the elven lands. The High elves’ breathtakingly-beautiful, golden-walled capital city just miles away, was used as a juicy apple ripe for picking and lured the Band of Nine and their main forces in. The allies had been purposely taking the defensive of late, a calculated tactic and ploy that allowed them to take the massive enemy army by surprise, completely surrounding and trapping them within the valley. Lord Karagonia, the human general, and Lord Amstillon of the High elves, pushed their armies to the front to hold them while Lord Durgeddin drove his dwarven shock troops and veteran mercenary battalions into the rear. Lord Travathas led the Sylvan elf and halfling archer battalions to the high sides of the valley and rained down what must’ve been millions of arrows. The enemy army was decimated, with most of the Band of Nine being slain that day as well. The allies were victorious and forced the retreat of those still living back to the humanoid lands and even their own lands to the east.

Incursions and isolated battles still occurred as the allies forced the easterners permanently back out of the region. But all in all, the war was finally over. The Great Alliance was allowed to be maintained in the form of a few outposts and towers that were built to watch the east. Other than that, any sort of long-term arrangement was not desired by all its members. Within the decade, the races were back to their own and rebuilding their lives. A general peace and a few trade cooperatives still existed but past borders were again enforced.




Bleak Seasons

Only one thing was for certain. The Age of Prosperity had been gone for well over a decade before it was officially rebutted as not being passed by the powers to be. The end of the Great War had indeed been a joyous time for all, but sadly, victory had come at too high a cost. The true extent and damage done could not easily be understood or measured at first but certain results became telling enough. First and foremost, the Great Alliance of men, elves, and dwarves ceased to be. Normally reclusive of each other before, these vastly different races had had no choice but to join together or be undone those many years ago by the deadly and seemingly-unstoppable forces of the infamous Band of Nine, or The Black Band of Death's Hand as they were more commonly labeled. No one argued that the gnomes, halflings and elves had suffered worst, as the majority of the fighting had been done upon their lands, laying waste to not only the Great Wood itself but much of their long-established and culturally-advanced civilizations. This fractured and separated the sub races of the elves and pushed them to the more remote and previously unoccupied regions of the Ancient Wilds. Their leaders tried to maintain peaceful relations and open trade with not just the humans but the dwarves as well, until inner conflict and power struggles between their noble houses soon consumed their path and focus. The dwarves, having lost their king in the Great Battle of the Namblin Valley, as well as many of their mightiest soldiers in the final engagements of the war, cared not for most trade nor formal relations and retreated back to their mighty kingdom nestled within the Grand Ranges of the Totallan Mountains, to rebuild lost glories and family lines that had been shattered and erased from mother time herself. The humans enjoyed a victory that hollowly-promised the rapid rebuilding of their lives and the false hope that they would once again thrive as they did in the golden years of the Age of Prosperity.

Although still ruled by the aging but supposedly-benevolent King Karagonia the Second, the worst of humanity came to the forefront not long after the war. Corrupt officials took office and solidified power, as they all cunningly do. Soon the separation between the rich and wealthy nobility and the huge, needy, starving and mostly sick population of the poor, common folk saw a virtual near extinction of the former common or middle class. Many of those suffered to live outside the city's walls fell victim to a horrible plague that swept through the many miles of tent cities and shanty towns surrounding Karagonia. The massive, unbreachable gates of walled city were sealed and the people scattered to the wilderness to survive, hoping to escape the plague. Only when all the dead were finally burned and buried did folks begin to return to their old homes. What they returned to was an oppressed population living under the jackboot and cruel whims of the nobility and ruling class. The surrounding area had long since been overhunted of all game and many farmers’ crops were seen to suffer ill for any and all reasons, known and unknown. Slavers from the south suddenly appeared and seemed to operate among the common populace with ever-increasing impunity. Roving gangs and crime lords began to further oppress and take advantage of the people. Any cries of revolt were quickly silenced and all hope of things ever being good again was lost to despair. That was until the Hands of Balance came to be.

It started off small at first. A little bit here and a little bit there. No one had dared believe that such things could happen, let alone actually be happening. Corrupt merchants and officials began having unusual accidents and suffering loses. Foodstuffs and supplies began walking out of the stores of the rich to find their way to the common folk that needed them most. The massive trade caravans from the south became less and less frequent and more heavily-armed, as they commonly began arriving with less merchandise than they came with and getting home with fewer profits than they sold their wares for. Heck, even the slavers from the south became a thing of the past and were not seen again for years. In addition to all these strange phenomena, a large number of the local tax collectors began disappearing, never to be seen again. Rumors circulated that some had left the area with the “king’s money” to live a life of luxury abroad. Most of them just ended up being found face down and long-past in the massive and seemingly unending "Great Sewer of Secrets", as it was called, deep below the mighty capital city. For a short time, people began to entertain hope again. Many of the common folk not only welcomed but sheltered and protected the secretive yet kindly members of The Hands. They were regarded as folk heroes and even avatars for the benevolent gods of old by the ones they helped. They stole from the rich and gave to the poor and what more noble a cause can there be, especially to the people that really needed their services? The authorities were kept at bay for a long time and things got better for most. That was until the secret police that served the nobility eventually got the break they had not only been long waiting for but had secretly instigated many months previous.

It was in the first days of the Summer Festival that the king’s forces struck. Simultaneously, just after dawn throughout the city and surrounding areas. Houses, farms, businesses, churches and even one of the noble homes were raided. People were taken into custody and “evidence” was gathered. The cries of the people rang out as the captured members of the Hands of Balance, some guilty, most innocent, were paraded through a puppet court proceeding and summarily executed, their dead bodies hung from the battlements of the inner keep for all to see. Once again, hope was lost and bleak seasons came again upon the masses of common folks that feared for theirs and their children’s futures. The king’s forces, known as the King's Eyes or the Eyes of Blood never stopped rounding up, questioning and making permanently missing those they even suspected of knowing something or having relations to the band of ancient-time robin hoods. Other sinister occurrences began to take place as well. The slavers from the south again returned to operate within the region. Whole villages of people would disappear, never to be seen again. Orc, goblins and other humanoid raiders suddenly began skirmishing with outlying communities, pushing further and further into the lands surrounding Karagonia proper. The king, now venerable in age and obviously being manipulated by those around him, paid lip service to protecting his people but appeared to do little to quell these factors, furthering the rumors that they were all in league with each other. Darkness fell once again upon the minds and hopes of the masses. Save maybe only those whispered rumors of a new hope to the west…

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Argennian
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Re: Major Races of the Region

#2 Post by Argennian »

Races

The major races of the northern region are the dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings and humans, as well as humanoid tribes of goblins, hobgoblins, and orc. The humanoid lands lie to the east of the other races and have not been seen much since the end of the Great War. Most of the other races reside and maintain their own homeland areas within the region and, other than occasional trading amongst each other, again keep to themselves for the most part.


Dwarves
The dwarves mostly all reside within the Totallan Mountain ranges, to the southeast of Karagonia. There have been rumors of their existence in the Throkmar Mountains, as well as the coastal mountain ranges that border the Bay of Ghosts, but these have never been confirmed. Their known sub-races include mountain and hill dwarves, as well as deep dwarves, sometimes known as Duergar. The dwarves claim to be the first of the races to come forward from the primordial mists of the Age of Birth. Their massive underground kingdom within the Totallan range is said to boast hundreds of mines, architectural wonders and other incredible subterranean phenomenon. They maintain a defensible outpost city named Doormak, also called the “Dwarven Door City” that lies at the foot of the Totallans, and is the entrance to their underground home. The dwarves do not inspire or openly encourage it, but trade is allowed within the walled city for all others that would come to buy and sell goods and wares. Some dwarves have ventured forth and went out to make their own way, mostly among the human civilizations in and around Karagonia proper.


Elves
The elves mostly all reside within the Greater Elven Lands, located to the north and east of Karagonia proper. Their known sub-races include High elves, Sylvan elves, also known as Wood elves, and Wild elves. The High elves live in the central area of these lands and have an incredibly advanced civilization. Their knowledge of all things ancient and arcane surpasses all. They number more than any of the other sub-races and still do venture forth from time to time in order to trade with the humans and other races in and around Karagonia. The Sylvan elves live in the eastern regions of the Greater Elven Lands. Most of their homeland residing in and around the Great Wood was destroyed during the war, but they continue to endure and rebuild. The Wild elves reside in the north and western regions of these lands, in a place called the greater Kalas Forest, and are the most reclusive of the three.


Gnomes
The race of gnomes hail originally from a homeland in the hills nestled at the foot of the easternmost reaches of the Totallan Mountains. There is rumored to be an offshoot sub-race of the gnomes that are technologically and scientifically advanced, but this has never been confirmed. Their kingdom was the first one set upon by the advancing armies from the east and was utterly destroyed many months before the official start of the Great War. Most of the gnomes that resided within this long-lived heaven were able to escape to other locations where it’s said they maintain hidden populaces in the hills surrounding the Western Daboo Forest and mountainous regions beyond. Gnomes are said to be long-ago cousins to the dwarves and are seen as being more technically proficient but any dwarf will most likely dispute this. Gnomes can be found in Doormak and also in and around the Karagonian region.


Halflings
The halflings come from many different homelands, the oldest known and largest of which is located east of the Greater Elven Lands. This particular homeland in the low hills and fertile fields to the east was thoroughly decimated by the humanoid and eastern army just months before the actual start of the Great War. Most of the halfling population that resided there had migrated from their homes before the main invasion occurred and relocated to other homelands and lesser kingdoms they have in both the Throkmar and Eastern Daboo Forests. The halfling sub-races include kin cousins of the Stout, Hairfoot and Tallfellow variety. Many can still be found throughout the Karagonian region, most of them with some form of military experience. In fact, halflings of all types are known to have ventured far to the south, and even west, to explore and search for remote and fertile places to settle.


Humans
The humans of the region live mostly in Karagonia and the scores of villages and hamlets that surround the great walled city for miles and miles. There are known to be at least three sub-races of humans, the ones foreign to the region being the smaller, slight-featured easterners and also a large, darker-skinned cousin that hail from the southern continents. The humans of this region consider King Karagonia the Second as their official ruler, although the love and loyalty of the populace is questionable at best. The humans appear to be the most active of the region’s races. They are active explorers, merchants, traders and workers everywhere within the region and beyond. The humans enjoy regular trade relations with their kin to the south and every other demi-human race that resides within the region.


Humanoids
The various species of humanoids in the region, such as the goblin, hobgoblin, orc, gnoll, bugbear and ogre races, all maintain remote homelands and kingdoms east of the other races, in the coastal mountain regions near the eastern seaboard. They all took part in supplementing the eastern armies that attacked the other races of the region during the Great War. Some say it was their hatred of the dwarves and the elves that drove them during the war, while others say they had had no choice but to join the easterners or be destroyed and assimilated in kind. Other than an occasional sighting or even remote incident, these races apparently stay mostly to themselves now and have not been seen in the region in any large numbers since the end of the war.

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