Settings
(This was written to the players in our game, feel free to use it as you wish)
[anchor=0014 goto=0014]Basics[/anchor]
The game world we play in is divided into two regions, separated by a wide mountain range, that not only would take a month to cross on foot, but is also barren for all life, safe the demons rumored to be there. at the start of the story, everything is going one on the West side.
The East side of this world is much a typical DnD world where the rare high level characters are around level 12-14. and monsters are all the way up to epic level CR.
Everyone on the East side save a few selected Elves and Dwarfs believes the whole West side to be a barren wasteland, only habitable by demons worse than any evil known in the East. And the few Elves and Dwarfs that knows the truth have made sure that Dwarfs and Elves owns all the regions next to the mountains, making sure that nothing gets past, one way or the other! Why? Well because of the demons of course.
more in ÔÇ£The EastÔÇØ chapter
The West side on the other hand is inhabited mainly by humans, in fact, humans are so dominant that most believe the other civilised races to be a thing of either myth, legend or if anything the past.
Magic is not unknown but rare, rare to a degree where only the nobility and royalty may wield it or grant permission to wield it in the rare case that happens.
This law is most places upheld by a seasonal test of every people conducted in their birth town. if found to be a mage, on will be hunted by the law, and the punishment is hard and lethal, albeit the method varies from place to place.
Magic items are a bit more common than magic and actually not illegal to own or use (depending on the use of course), but still rare. no one creates magic items any more on the west side, no one knows how. and as a result of that, anything more powerful than the simplest cantrip will most likely already be in the hands of the nobilities.
More on this in ÔÇ£The WestÔÇØ chapter
[anchor=015 goto=015]Races:[/anchor]
First things first. The most important thing is the story, not what you are, but who you are.
Second, there are some races on one side of the mountains that are not found or are really rare on the other.
The known civilized races are:
Humans, by far the most numerous race on both sides of the mountains. humans fills all kinds of positions and functions it both nations.
Half elves, Some nobles of the nation Togen in the west claims to be of elven descend, barring that they are not true elves, half elves must have existed at some point for their claim to be true!
On the east side half elves are seen by far most elves as an insult to their bloodline, and if you ask them, they will deny they exists. but they do, in fact there is a whole community of them, but the location is a well guarded secret.when among humans they often pose as elves, and when among elves, well, they try to avoid that.
Physically and mentally half elves ranges between humans and elves to such a degree that some are indistinguishable from one of their ancestors race. but somehow, true elves always seems to know. the life span of a half elf is commonly between 70 and 130 years, but some have been known to pass just over 200 others seems to die of old age already at 50.
Elves, No elves are known to exist on the west side, so if any do exists, it is a mystery how they have survived for so long unnoticed. They are largely believed to be a thing of myths or legends among the common folk and a thing of the past among the royals.
in the East elves on the other hand are a common race, in fact three of the seven true nations in the east is ruled by elves, all of them being right up to the mountain range that separates the east and west. humans of the east sees the elves as aloof and as someone who think themselves better than all other. Dwarfs seem to have some unexplainable way of always keeping peace with the elves, even if the two races seems to disagree on all aspects of life.
The elves themselves can range much in personality, but it is true that a large fraction of them believes other races to be weaker and more impure than them. physically they stand about the same height as men, but is never seen to be either tall or suffer from lack of same.
Far most elves keep a fit and slender body no matter what their profession and background are. When it comes to war and magic elves seems to avoid its practice when possible, but if needed, most will soon realise why the elves refer to both as an art that should not be wasted on trivial matter! for the same reason, elven adventures are a rare thing indeed, and those few that are known are all seen as outsiders among their people, not worthy of a home or family. But should one fall to the darkness of death, he can expect the same burial as his ancestors.
Elves tends to take up only one hobby and profession, and applies its teachings to all other aspects of their up to 280 years long life.
Dwarfs, are believed to be a thing of legend or myth in the West, with one exception; In the nation of Togen the Royal history records states that Renwild and Gunnwild the last descendants of Orwild the dwarf, died only 81 years ago, both fell in battle according to the text, after serving in the royal guard for 92 years. Statues of the brothers stands in the capital of Togen, and some places, prayers are given to them in times of war and battle. but aside from that, none are known to exist.
in the East, this as with the elves is another matter. Dwarfs are found as merchants and blacksmiths in near all major cities and these are mostly liked by the common folk. and the three nations by the white top range that are not ruled by elves, are all ruled by dwarfs.
If you make friend of a Dwarf, you have a friend for life goes a saying in the east. among both humans and elves, the hospitality, kindness and honor of the Dwarfs are reknown. and it is not without reason. Far most dwarfs would rather shave off their beard then turn down a friend or family member in need, and that is not a thing they would do lightly. Gambling and festivals seems to come as a natural part of a dwarfs life, and if too long goes on without a good fest or at least good times on the local inn with friends, dwarfs seems to get grumpy and isolated.
But when the kindness and hospitality of the dwarfs has been named along their honor, one must also name their stubbornness, grudges and sometimes hatred that follows!
If you wish to make trades with a dwarf, prepare to haggle! Haggling seems to be a much enjoyed tradition among dwarfs, and while a dwarf will always be glad to take your gold, just paying what is asked is seen as a sign of being weird in a bad way or weak at best. so you must prepare to come again later, or the next day if you wish to make a good bargain. If you somehow manages to get on the wrong side of a dwarf, he will remember for a lifetime and so will his kids and following generations! luckily the hatred does not seem to pass one to your family, and even better, your lifetime is probably shorter than the dwarfs.
Of the physique of dwarfs is commonly that of a well sized barrel given a head, arms and legs. Dwarfs are wide in build, not necessary fat, but definitely big over the shoulders. the normal dwarf stands two heads lower than a human, but rare dwarfs are found that rivals the height of an average human. while dwarfs are pride and normally would say they are just the right size, these giants among them seems to enjoy much attention and affection.
they live to be over 150 years old normally, but it seems that there is no natural limit to it. If a dwarf gets well over 170, they tend to get crazy or even mad, slowly losing their mussels and weight along with their wits. The oldest known dwarf is Rowen the old, a hermit that lives in the most eastern mountains of known lands. he is said to be at least 700 years old, and filled with hatred for all things living or dead. if he is seen people report that they saw him walking around his cave, setting up one of his hundreds of deadly traps or throwing a corpse of an unlucky visitor out from a cliff nearby. This madness now known as the madness of the old hermit has lead to a tradition among dwarfs, if they live to be 149 years old, they will go to the coast where they have an agreement with the elves to sail them to the far north, where they will go in land on the edges of the wide top range, and here they will seek out a death in battle!
Other races are not accepted at this time, and no civilized versions of them is believed to exist. so a reason to play one of these needs to be rooted in a really good story and ability to continue it.
[anchor=016 goto=016]Classes.[/anchor]
does not exists.
that is the short of it. there are no classes, no Barbarian special abilities or Wizards spell list.
We wish to make a living world here. a living colorful world where words as levels and constitution checks are forgotten.
You can use Dungeon and Dragons, but only as a source of inspiration.
We would love, no! make that require that you make a short description of her talents and abilities or write it as parts of her background, or even better, both, and then show us in the game itself.
[anchor=004 goto=004]Magic and magic items:[/anchor]
In the regards of magic of any kind, you can expect magic to be as described in DnD or even if you have other sources like WoD we would like to hear you out. Just remember that there is a difference in how such things are accepted/viewed/avaliable between the west and east side of the world. and when using magic, we wants it to be a special feeling, a well described thing, a thing of wonder, we want it to be an art! if the spell is a horror scene from one of the greatests stage performances ever or a musical that makes lawyers weep is up to you
but how it works, where it comes from and such, well
In the West, it is believed that there are only 3 ways either by a bloodline with mages, by stalling (or been giving) it, or by making deals with devils. And according to believe, the law and more than 500 years of official records, only the nobility and royalty has magic in their bloodline, and thus, anyone not given magic by them must either have stolen it or made deals with devils to gain it, A crime punished most severely!
In the East there are many beliefs and theories of how magic appears in an individual, some say its the gods gifts, some that it requires years of study and others that it is randomly happening, but common knowledge will tell you that it is at least true that it can run in the family, be taken, given or dealt with devils to gain! as such, magic by it self is not illegal in most places here, it is its way of practice and source that determines its legal status.
Arcane; this is the most widely known kind of magic, some say its a question of will and knowledge, some that it is inherited or even gifts and others that it must be taken.
Divine magic; while many believe in gods, and some holy warriors and nature worshippers do possess what looks to be divine magic, there is no telling if it is truly from the gods.
True naming; no mortal is known to posses the true name of another being. but there are few rumors and myths about Elves who knows the true name of items and natural materials. having a power over them that no other has.
Psionics; is an unknown idea in this world, and if anyone really wants this, it would fall in under the Arcane magic believed to be a question of will.
Elemental magic; This would fall under either the arcane or divine part above.
Animal magic; As elemental either under divine or arcane.
Necromancy: the magic of becoming and controlling undead. This magic is inaccessible except through secret and dark rites through which evil forces, often of the devils, are contacted and a bond is made. This magic comes with great power but demands an even higher price, which is the prime reason it fell out of use and was lost in the halls of history.
Resurrection: Death is permanent. Period.
Summoning magic: It is possible to use Arcane, Divine or Necromantic magic to call upon beings, even those of other planes. but how they get there is another question...
A ÔÇ£Call of the wolfÔÇØ spell would compel the nearest wolf to come to your aid, but it would have to run to you. A ÔÇ£Summon impÔÇØ Would do the same with an, but he too would have to get to you somehow, if you are lucky, the imp can cast planeshift and is one of the few half demons that has been on our plane so he can use it. but if not, he would have to fly here through a dimensional gate (see teleportation and dimensional travel above).
Demons and Angels cannot be summoned to our plane, as they cannot live here.
[anchor=005 goto=005]Teleportation and dimensional travel.[/anchor]
is possible, but there is the limit that you must know exactly where you are and where you wish to go. and by knowing exactly, I mean that you have must have traveled from where you are to where you want to be. if not, things can go horribly wrong with everything from a simple displacement to well multiple displacements!
So to get to another dimension you must have been there somehow, there are dimensional gates between the planes, but traveling them is connected with great risk, and not just because of the natives, but also the journey itself, and this risk seems to scale with the power of the traveler.
As an effect of this, outsiders of any kind are somewhere between rare and non existent on any plane.
Some one who have been to another plane before can try a planeshift like spell, but the location he would end up would be relative to the location he currently was on his home plane.
[anchor=006 goto=006]The world, what youÔÇÖd like to know[/anchor]
The first and most important thing to remember here is that in this game, you make just as much of the story as the GMs do. The reason this document is here at all is mostly to provide a framework for you to build on. The world layout is preset, but only to a degree, there is lots of space for a new town by the seaside, or an unknown monster roaming the tunnels and hallways of an underground civilization, lost many hundred years ago.
With that in mind, the most important thing in the world layout you must remember is the divide between east and west. We will cross this gap at some point in the story, but for now, everything should be considered part of the West and the way it is there, including your character and his items. and you should also read the other established characters before making your own, so that you may find out how yours will fit best in and at the same time stand out as a memorable and person!
[anchor=007 goto=007]The world we live in[/anchor]
For a basic layout of the world, please look into the ÔÇ£world mapÔÇØ above.
The world is divided into 3 parts. The East, A mountain range that goes from north to south and the West. This is not the whole world, but it is the known continent, and by most (All that we will encounter in the first book/game at least) is considered to be the whole reachable world.
The mountains is a huge barrier of near inhabited conditions, containing both deadly cold and dangerous passes, few resources and if legends are to believed, demons.
The West is a place with less than 1000 years of real know history but many thousand years of legends and myths. as a common rule, people here fear magic, if they believe it.
The East is in contrast a place with no distinguishing between legends and history, the existance of magic, elves and dwarfs is a fact of life known for many millennia, no matter what people think of it.
[anchor=008 goto=008]The mountains that divide us.[/anchor]
From north to south, a huge mountain range counts down the middle of the known continent, people on each side have lived without contact for at least 1000 years according to recorded history and legends. To cross over the mountains would take at least a month on foot. no one has yet managed to sail around them, and going under them, well, the dwarfs did build tunnels so they could walk the distance in only 1┬¢-2 weeks instead of a month.ÔǪ butÔǪ no one knows the way!
and there are no pass where all places are big enough for horses to carry you, except one, the ÔÇ£Never pass wasteÔÇØ is a quarter mile wide pass that leads all the way through the mountains, but no one, not even in legends or myth has ever passed through the pass. no one knows what is there, but the earth close to its entrance on both sides is near black, no trees grow there and birds fly around at great length. even the skies seems to be avoiding it!
The people in the West calls the mountains Silver spikes due to a phenomenon that looks like a silver colored aurora, that can be seen at night all year around for people who lives 4-5 days ride from the mountains. legend has it, that the light are the screams of demons that roam the range, hindering any man to follow the elves and dwarfs of myth and legend, by looking for him so they can kill them and free themselves.
On the East side people call them the White top range, and they can only be seen from close to or within either the dwarven or elven nations. The aurora is not visible from here, but so it the highest mountains in the range, covered year around in snow. a great wall with only few gates stretches from the coast in the north, and deep down into the south many weeks travel through an unforgiving desert. on these walls Elves and Dwarfs patrol night and day, looking out that none of the demons that are said to roam all land to the West comes to try and invade the nations of the east. people are not allowed the other way either.
[anchor=009 goto=009]The West[/anchor]
For a basic layout of the west, please look into the ÔÇ£002 the combined nationsÔÇØ in the library. when you have clicked it twice, click the ÔÇ£openÔÇØ button in the lower right corner, this way, when hovering over the map, you will see some yellow squares, these are comments with names of places.
ÔÇ£A thousand years ago, a great war plagued our lands and nations, magic and blood were spilled so the soil soaked in it! We humans wanted to control all nations, and after only a few years, the elves and dwarfs gave it to us! but at a cost, they left us here and took the magic and all its great wonders with them, they left to behind the silver spike mountains, and set Demons to guard the way!ÔÇØ - Old man Bergil, telling his sons children some of the legends of times long past.
The combined nations as all civilized areas to the are called when named together, is a land much close to our own mid-late medieval europe. the only true civilized people known to be here are humans. some few primitive tribes of monstrous humanoids do exist, but they are so rare that it can be five or ten years between any stories of kobolds stealing food and animals from a small village.
As any fantasy, there are of course also the magical legends and myths. in this area, magic is not unknown, but it is a rare thing possessed legally only by nobility and those they allow to wield it, but in general magic is feared and punished hard.
Elves and dwarfs are most places believed to be only myth or at best legends or old. but some do believe them to still exist.
The combined nations are in fact a combination of 3 nations and 11 self governed duchies.
The nations are:
Barkenver to the south West, a nation ruled by a king, queen and their 4 advisors of the people.
The advisers are appointed by the nobility, but must by law not own a official title. the amount of time an adviser is in office is up to the king and queen, but by law, they may only require one replaced each season, and the nobility can remove a chosen from office at any time.
Rennadeer to the North is a nation with a huge army, but barbarians from the north sea take up much of said armys time, so it is not an offensive nation.
Togen in the south is a nation ruled by its nobility, it is also the most superstitious nation, as well as the one that fears magic the leasts, it is however still punished just as hard. it might be of interest that two of its noble houses claim to be descendants of elves from before the big war.
Last is Gilfal, in difference to the rest, Gilfal is not a nation or kingdom, but a huge area divided into eleven self governed duchies. and while they are all much alike, strife and small border disagreements are common among them, but full out war is rare, as none of them are big enough to support it.
[anchor=010 goto=010]The East[/anchor]
For a basic layout of the east, please look into the ÔÇ£002 nations at the white top rangeÔÇØ in the library. when you have clicked it twice, click the ÔÇ£openÔÇØ button in the lower right corner, this way, when hovering over the map, you will see some yellow squares, these are comments with names of places.
[anchor=011 goto=011]The encounters of the world[/anchor]
Animals and plants.
Any animal that you could meet in the real world can also be found in this one. with addition of some that you would never find here. if a creature or plant possesses no intelligence above what they would in real life, and has no magic properties, it is considered plant or animal. if it is outside this, it is either a magical, mythical, or legendary plant, beast or the like.
Magical beasts.
Are one of the most common real ÔÇ£monstersÔÇØ in both the East and the West, not including humanoids and animals. Magical beasts can be a animal from a normal species that somehow has gained magical properties or are born with it such as the Jyrd (Deer) in the lexicon, and it can be a unique animal where the whole species has the same properties, such as a phoenix or dragon.
most magical beasts are no more intelligent or only slightly more intelligent than normal animals, with a few exceptions.
Living ÔÇ£intelligentÔÇØ plants.
Does exists, but with a note to the intelligence, there is no true intelligent plants in this world, only plants that react to their surroundings, deploy magic or the like. some plants may attack you if you get close, others might have a magical aura that makes animals want to find food for them or even be the food. but there are no plants that can plan ahead, make an army to take over the world or hold a conversation with you. If somehow an army of orcs with rotten green skin and flowers growing out of their ears starts to raid the nearby village, it is not a planned attack of the plant, it is at best the orcs still partly alive, that tries to serve a plant that has infected them with the need to feed it.
Monstrous humanoids.
Kobolds and others like that.. In the East they are a common problem. raids happens on a monthly basis and adventures enjoy many rewards for seeking them out to regain what they have stolen.
West they are not unknown, but mostly keeps to themselves in far remote places, and most in tribal like societies, worshipping nature/demons or magical beings.. The stray band of lizard riding kobolds that has an unlucky encounter with a town or a road patrol is a thing that happens only once every fifth year.. or even less often...
Except for thinking the humanoids to be ugly, different, dumb or such, most people would simply not know what to make of it if seeing one... but would probably run from it and call the guards...
ÔÇ£half breedsÔÇØ such as centaurs.
Does not exist. sorry, but no! this is a thing that both SGT and I (LAYF) feels strongly against. all the ÔÇ£I put a human head on a Beatles bodyÔÇØ or this is a goat, but it walks on two legs and carries lazer guns and the like is not an option, not as encounters and especially not as characters
ÔÇ£infectedÔÇØ such as vampires and werewolfs.
Are a group of one animal or other species, that through physical means has been infected with either the properties of another, or with a whole unique set of characteristics, including magical abilities. common for all of them is an unnatural desire for something of others to consume, be it blood of humans, the souls of children or the magic of elves. the needs are different from one type to another, but common for them all is, that by extracting their essence of choice, they in return risks infecting the target, and if they donÔÇÖt feed on the needed substance they go crazy.
None of the ÔÇ£infectedÔÇØ are dead or undead for the matter, they may possess weaknesses or abilities far above or strange from other mortals, but they are mortal and they need to feed and breath, or they will slowly go insane and die.
There are zombies of this kind, but they are not normal. the most normal kind of zombies are the living dead.
The living dead.
The living dead are a result of either ritual magic, deals with devils or magical diseases infecting the body of dead beings, be it animals or humanoids.
Of these the most common is the undead zombie. in difference to the infected the living dead do not need to feed to sustain animation, it is simply a carving or instinct many of them, but not all, have.
Those that are the result of a magical disease tends to be unintelligent instinct driven beings, whereas those who are reanimated through the use of rituals or deals with devils may come in all flavours.
Another difference is that living dead do not transfer their undead situation directly. some such as zombies do indeed have the ability to reinforce their numbers, but it is not by biting the living, it is by spreading their decease to the already dead. this is also why zombies of this kind is often seen in flocks;
If a person who has been in contact with a zombie dies relatively short after the encounter, there are a big chance that the disease is still on his clothings or skin, if he then gets buried in a graveyard, he will rise after a week or two, but at that point, he will have infected the rest of the bodies that are still held together in the other graves, and they will rise shortly after, making for the tell tale problem of first one zombie, then many.
In the East, both magically disease infected, ritually reanimated and those made through devil deals are a problem.
in the West only those made by disease and devil deals are known to exist.
Fay and fairies.
Are so rarely seen that it is believed that they do not fully live in the same plane as us.
The few encounters people have with them reveal them to be strange beings with some humanoid traits, that somehow seem to come out of nothing, and vanish the same, but, people never see it happening, you may see one come out of a room they know to be empty, or walk in behind a tree and not come out the other side, and upon inspection being gone it might happen in the short time you blink, but you will never see them appear or disappear.
When people try to interact with them, their reaction pattern is so strange and alien from ours that were it not for the tool or weapon like items they carry, one would think them unintelligent.
If you fire an arrow at one, they might just rip it out of their body, and start to look at it and around as if they have no idea what it is that is hurting, or where it came from.
And if you try to reach for them, or to be kind, they may just ignore you, may give you a broken arrow, in a way that seems weird to us such as throwing it in the air and expecting you to pick it up, or by set it in your hair. but they may just as well react hostile and eat your hand.
There seems to be no connection between the appearance of them and their behavior, one who looks kind of like a human may behave like a tree just standing still swaying in the wind, and one that looks like a dog may seem to carry tools or weapons and be una hunt with a plant as its hunting dog. there are really no way to predict how the individual fay may react. do there are tales of someone encountering the same fay twice, and in both situations, it was doing exactly the same.
Fay seem to be equally uncommon in the West and the East, but in the West they seem more hostile than in the east, the reason is unknown.
Deepdwellers.
Many dungeons and deep caves are host to monstrous humanoids, strange animals and magical beasts, and the legends of the dwarfs and some few adventures tell of something.. something more, dwelling in the deep.
Devils and Angels.
Do exist, but not any strong ones on this plane.
But first things first, Demons and devils are two different things in this world. Devils are beings from another plane with high powers and no way to survive on our plane. Demons you can read about in the section below.
Most of them require so much magic in the atmosphere that they could simply not survive here. the most lesser ones might be able to handle a few hours stay, but would soon be forced to return, or end up loosing all powers as their bodies require more magic just to function than they could ever get their hold on. there is one little guy who. nah Ill not spoil it.
Angels do not tend to interfere with our world, but Devils do make deals with mortals from time to time, granting them powers or wishes, but the price is always much higher than what is given in return. The reason for them to make these deals is no secret, the legends of it are so many on the east side that even the west side consider it a fact that devils give powers to mortals, so that they may slowly corrupt the world and one day invade it! For this reason, devil worshipping and dealing is seen as one of the worst crimes on both sides. and on the West side
This corruption is also the only reason Angels seem to ever mic in the affairs of our world, praying to them in battle or at the side of a sick persons bed never seems to yield any results, but myths tells of angels giving temporary power to individuals fighting things that has been helped by devils. This not seem to be out of love for the good, but rather just seems to be a personal agenda of the Angles.
Dealing with Devils are one of the three only ways to gain magic abilities according to common believes in the West.
It is also possible for an angel or devil to possess a mortal if some rituals are performed on both the target host and the being seeking to possess it, but these are rare happenings indeed, as the devil or angel will have no other powers than those of the target and their own knowledge, and if the target is salin before they can manage to get free ot the body, they seem to be slain along with them!
Demons: Demons are beings that once were something else, be it animal, human or even trees or stone. but that has by some today unknown magics been changed into something different... insane often.
With the exception of the demons in the mountain range, tales of them are rare indeed on the West side, but it do happen once every odd year or so that someone is found horribly molested and ripped apart in a way that must have been done by a demon, because, if a human or animal has done that, fear should truly be in our hearths.
in the East it is much the same except, the tales say that the demons are not only in the mountain range, but in all land to the west. and attacks by them are a bit more common, as is the weird trophy that adventures from time to time claim to be the remains of a demon they have slain!
Hightech Rats with lasers and dwarfs with snipers.
No, sorry! This is a fantasy world yes, and while we can accept the dwarfs being mechanically more advanced than humans, there must be a limit. the world is set in medieval times and already has magic. Too much tech and it would be steampunk, and while that is all good and fine, it is not the feel we are looking for. so no choppers or jetpacks!
[anchor=012 goto=012]Economy, Gold, silver, and trade goods .[/anchor]
Money makes the world go around an old saying goes. and that is also true in this one.
Both in the east and the west copper and silver are the most common material used in currency production. but other materials or even common goods and magic items are also commonly used as payment.
Coins and stable currency.
the value of this currency depends on the weight of the coinage. but the common rule is:
1 small copper coin = 1 apple in value.
1 big copper coin = 6 apples. or one dark rye bread (called a commoners bread)
1 small silver coin = 4 dark rye bread, 1 light wheat bread or a simple metal tool such as a fire poker or arrow head.
1 big silver coin = 5 light wheat bread or a ÔÇ£specially madeÔÇØ metal tool such as a pincer, a scissor one the required much metal.
1 gold coin = 12 specially made tools, a sword or 1 years pay for a soldier.
the gold coin had only 1 standard size most places, as its value was too big to risk mistakes in trade.
In the West, known as the combined nations, we use the naming of coins as follows:
small copper = copper head or a head.
big copper = copper crown or a crown.
small silver = silver head.
big silver = silver crown.
gold coin = most places name their gold coins after the current regent of the area, since his name is often portrayed on the coin. another name is ÔÇ£A mans worthÔÇØ due to the coin being the same as a years pay for a soldier.
An interesting thing to note is that if two regents are at war or at bad odds with each other, it is not uncommon for one to outlaw the coin of the other (usually only the gold and silver), in the best cases confiscating any such coins found, and in the worst punishing the owner for treason.
it may also be noted that special soldiers, such as cavalry or army officers would earn more. typically 1 gold a year for each year of service. with some upper limit set around 10-15.
Another type of stable currency is what is called a Rod.
A rod is mostly used by merchants that travels between nations, to avoid the risk of accusation should one regent decide to attack another.
A rod is a very accurately made staff or ÔÇ£stringÔÇØ of either copper, silver or gold (the later being really rare) and takes up the value of 10 times the big coins of the same material.
Each rod is made with a core of either wood or other light material such as a string of yarn, and is cut into 20 sections of equal size and weight that can be taken apart by breaking or cutting the core. thus 1 section is worth half the value of a big coin of the same size.
The average value of coinage is 20% less in the east than in the west, due to the higher access to both magic spells and magical tools.
Goods, Gems, jewelry and magic items.
Goods are a common item to use for trade, but both Gems, Jewelry and rare or magic items can also be used as a commodity, but only right in the places, unless you are willing to trade for less than ideal value.
A good idea if the possibility is available to you is to find someone who specializes in the goods you carry. that, or you need to be good at haggling. the second best option is probably to sell it at a marchants or adventurers guild, these are often available in any capital and some big cities!
[anchor=013 goto=013]Time line[/anchor]
> -12.000 Beginning
> -12.000- to -10.500 Creation
> -10.000 The creator decides to make the dragons
> -10.000 to -6.000 Dragons run the world by their energy
> -6.000 Dragons go to sleep
Ôëê -3.500 Digging down reveals dragons
Ôëê -3.500 to -2.000 elf/dwarf build Ulzirgist
Ôëê -3.000 Humans revolt and becomes ÔÇ£civilizedÔÇØ
Ôëê -1.400 Dwarfs go bad (some)
Ôëê -1.250 Humans start to go bad
Ôëê -1.200 Elves+dwarfs fight to correct but fails (elven magic :S)
Ôëê -1.000 The fall/Silver Rope debacle
Ôëê -1.000 Splitting of east/west (no trade/communication/etc)
= -800 till present Recent history
- pressent time Our game time
In the beginning of time itself there was nothing in our plane, it was an empty void! But then came the creator! and out of nothing it pulled earth and sky, fire and ice! It created the world we now live in with all there is! But it was a static world, never changing, never what the creator wanted it to be at all.
So it created the twelve dragons to make the world spin, to make the trees grow, animals age and the seas rise and fall. So great was the power of the first dragons that even when they went to sleep, the world kept changing and forever spinning!
Millennia passed and all was well in the world. The elves and dwarfs raised to build kingdoms of untold beauty and size with the help of their human servants. But the dwarves dug deep, so deep that they revealed two of the sleeping dragons, they did not know this, but this should change the world forever!
Elves and dwarfs together build two impressive labyrinths inside dungeons that reached far down towards the dragons, in 1.500 years the elves worked on the top of the prison not meant to keep anyone in, but everyone out! adding magic and spells to keep it forever lasting! The Dwarfs worked on dungeons beneath it, adding traps and places to keep deadly animals and beasts to release when the project was done, but it was forever growing and never finished.
And while the Elves and Dwarfs build, their human servants was set to clear the caves below for any dangers that may destroy the prison or awaken the dragons! But the humans were exposed to the energies of the dragons too much and for too long. and they changed, they evolved, they gained magic of their own and they revolved against their masters to be free!
The humans triumphed! Elves and dwarfs agreed to help them build nations of their own both in east and west, and with that, piece again rose in the lands of old! no longer were humans pets of the Elves and dwarfs, but friends on equal footing!
More than a thousand years later, a unknown dwarf clan of the bloodlines first to reach the dragons began to change, not by body, but by mind, they hatched plans, and they began to create new items, items with gold and gems from the mines of the dragons! and they sold them to the humans in the west, for the humans was easy to lure!
The items started to change man, and man became corrupted and aggressive, so aggressive that he began to rage war with spells against the Dwarfs and elves. So was the plan of the unknown Dwarf clans, to go to their kings and tell them ÔÇ£See, the humans cannot be trusted! He is free but he wages war against us still!ÔÇØ
But the Kings of Dwarfs would not destroy and imprison man again, they wished to aid them! So they turned to the elves and asked for help again, this time to save man from the darkness that lived in him, to show him the light of peace! and the elves agreed, One Elven Lord of a now unknown house Came with all his mages, and they tried to wave a spell to calm man again, so that they may talk to them and keep pease!
Yet as the spell started to take hold in man, it was clear that something was wrong! While many were calmed and laid down arms again, not all was good, because the greatest mages of man started to change, and soon did also the average mage among them! And when they changed, it was not just in mind, but also body, they started to twist and warp into monstrous forms! The first Demons of men was created!
Soon demons roamed the lands, killing human, elves and dwarf alike! and while all fought back, the Elves and dwarfs soon gave up and wanted to flee past the mountains into the east where there were no reports of demons! As they fled over the mountains, The dwarfs mined free the silver and mithril on their way, rising statues and inscribing runes as they were instructed by the elves!
And the elves turned on the top of the mountains and started to chant, they made a ritual so strong that its magic was fueled by the pure metals in mountain! A great veil of silvery light flew up into the sky from all along the mountain range, and the silver and mithral in the mountains began to shine with a pale silvery light, as the elves continued to flee, the one unknow Elven lord and his sworn seven protectors kept watching.
The plan seemed to work, as the first of the demons started to follow, the silver veil formed long ropes and leached unto them, binding them so they could not follow! Cheering The elven lord and his men began to turn, but then they heard it! Screams and cries for help! Some of the humans that they believed to have been lost had followed them, trying to also flee! It was horrible, as they got to close the demons in the silver ropes jumped at them! Flying skin from flesh! Some of the humans defended themselves and their families with magic and was close to make it to the other side, Then the worst thing imaginable happened!
The veil again started to form silver ropes, and the Elven lord could only watch as they leached unto the human mages, holding them, and as their families tried to drag the free, they began to change! The elven magic mixed with the corruption in them and turned them to demons, ripping the heads and hearts from their own! The Elven Lord and his sword seven decided to never let anyone, human, elf or dwarf know the horrible truth!
When the Elven lord reached his kin and the dwarfs on the other side, he told them that the veil had worked, that it had stopped the demons that followed, but also that he was sad to inform that he had seen the west start to burn, that the last living things down there was lost to the corruption, that nothing but demons lived there anymore!
And so, most of the West history was lost along with its greatest mages! many magical beasts had fell to the demons before the last was slain! Slowly, human began to regain strength in the west, slowly he recovered, but what truly happened he does not know, only the Poem of the fall is left to tell some of the truth!
The Dwarven clan that had started the corruption was never identified or even suspected, maybe they have all subcome to madness, or maybe, they still walk among us to this day!
The linage of the elven lord and his sworn seven are still among us, who they are are unknown, but it is them who makes sure that the wall along white top range is forever defended, and that no one, Demon, men, dwarf or elf will pass it!