#dndas lore

On the back of the map are the following notes:

MAGIC: It’s different here. Chaotic. Even spells that normally take but a moment’s thought and a flick of the wrist on my part now require concentrated effort to avoid unwanted...side effects. This land is magic incarnate, life with every particle in the air, arcane secrets laced underneath every breath.  THE THREE CURSED QUEENS: Ash, Blood, Bone. Avoid.

THE RIFT: a tear between the planes. Risk: ??? Could I get to the Astral through here? Could I see

PATH OF THE FACELESS ONE: right, left, left, through the dead end, right, right, left, center, left, left, left, left...can’t remember the rest. 仕方がない.

ARCHFEY: They aren’t just powerful elves, as the rumors had me believe. Archfey are...they’re beings beyond mortality, and they might take forms we are familiar with to look like elves or human or other comforting or alluring visages, but they don’t have to. The Faceless One, for example, is fond of appearing as a trickster fox spirit like the ones so often referenced in Sojin folk tales - kumiho, huli jing, kitsune.

THE GLOWING CITY: they don’t let mortals in. Unless, of course, they don’t know you’re mortal. Hmm. Explore later?

THE ELADRIN: Elves, but...they change with the seasons, or with emotions. (Elves but cooler. Ravi would find that amusing, probably.) All of the creatures here are so tied with the land, but the eladrin and archfey most of all. If you scar the face of a peaceful shepard, the land might develop a gaping crevice to mirror that. If you piss off a powerful fey, the wildlife around you might grow hostile.

And with it, the nights. 

Darkness.

The tides.

Blessed relief from the blistering heat of day. 

That was when I was a child. I haven’t seen the stars in over half a century, can hardly remember what a sunset looks like. You see, someone stole the moon from us.

They plucked it from the sky one night, the darkness shifting to a brilliant blue as the night’s herald was stolen from our sights. With its disappearance, many others also went - werewolves and other lycanthropes could no longer shift forms, vampires and creatures of the Underdark became trapped in their hideaways, and no one has seen a trace of the moon elves in all this time. The seas lay stagnant and rotten, animals have died out, and the sun has not moved from the sky - ever present, always there, always watching.

But this has become our new norm. This is the least of our problems. 

People are being stolen away from the coastal cities. The country is divided with political unrest. Horrifying mechanisms are taking over the Lonesome Bay’s island. Mercenary gangs are claiming cities and ravaging the roads. And amongst all of this, our country’s sovereign has gone missing.

Something is brewing just beneath the surface of all of this. Something big. I can feel it.

NYVARSTRA

TRUE NEUTRAL. Goddess of the Day, Light, and Fire. Champion of the sun, a dual-tempered goddess who stands for both nurturing life and destroying it. One of the three most ancient gods, she is said to take the form of a brilliant dragon of shifting colors of red, orange, and gold. Her holy days include the Summer Solstice and Allbright’s Day. Her holy symbol is a depiction of the blazing sun.

ARDRIN

LAWFUL NEUTRAL. Champion of Creation, Innovation, and Knowledge. Sibling of Nyvarstra, they created Aukera on the Material Plane while she breathed life into its inhabitants. Depicted as a large dragon of pale yellow, Ardrin’s only day of significant worship is Allbright’s Day, and their holy symbol is a large claw holding up the world.

LAOTENG

NEUTRAL GOOD. Goddess of the Night, Darkness, and Life. Herald of the moon, her and any powers she granted disappeared when the moon was stolen. She was typically depicted as a large silver-blue dragon with an underbelly the color of the moon. Her holy days were the Winter Solstice and the Day of Forgiveness, and her holy symbol was a depiction of the crescent moon.

YULONG

CHAOTIC NEUTRAL. Goddess of the Ocean, Storms, and life-giving Water. Typically depicted as taking the form of a massive sea serpent, daughter of Laoteng. Her moods shift like the ocean’s tides, placid and forgiving one moment and punishing the next. Her holy day is the Night of Endless Rains, and her holy symbol is a long serpent curled around a cresting wave.

DILONG

SO’JOH

The smallest of the three countries on the main continent, So’Joh was known for their thriving coastal cities and sea travelers, who often brought back wares from all over the world on their ships. In the past half-century many of So’Joh’s citizens have turned to magic or the innovations of their neighboring country, Gosha, to make ships able to navigate the skies or even brave the rotten grey waters of the world’s oceans. So’Joh’s capital, Nartai, is its most populated city, a colorful place best known for its massive outdoor marketplaces, thriving culinary scene, and an insidious criminal underbelly. 

So’Joh’s inhabitants often speak several different regional dialects of their native language, Sojin, as well as the languages of their races and the people they do trade with. (PCs native to this country gain 2 additional languages of their choice, along with the Sojin dialects.)

GOSHA

With a good portion of the country taken up by the mountains of Ardrin’s Range, the people of Gosha are a hardy and creative folk whose civilization is known for innovation and survival even in the most dire circumstances. The country’s capital, Bladerun, was once the home of a ruthless leader who conquered much of the country’s borderlands from its neighbors - but is now a place of mourning and remembrance for those that have been lost, hosting the continent’s largest cemetery and often serving as a place of pilgrimage for those from a variety of religions. 

Gosha’s two most populated cities, Dynafell and Calden, host massive schools of knowledge, with incredible and nearly impossible inventions being created by the students that journey to those schools. (PCs native to this country gain proficiency with 2 toolkits of their choice, and can pick 1 to start off with.)

BREO SHAR

The largest of Tabi’s countries, Breo Shar is a melting pot of the area’s other cultures and those that journey to the country’s shores looking for adventure, riches, or simply a new beginning. With the winding branches of the Viridian Maze, the beauty of the Still Isles, and the haunting presence of the Wastes all being found within its borders, Breo Shar is a marvel of the natural world in Tabi. The people of this country love to boast about its links to other cultures and all of the incredible places there are to travel to. 

It’s capital, Silva, is a strange mix of those interested in the occult and the country’s richest inhabitants, given the city’s proximity to both the luxuriant town of Rosefall and the Sea of Fading Spirits. (PCs native to this country gain proficiency in either Arcana or History.)

ASCEAU

A country ruined by past tribulations and all but abandoned compared to the flourishing populations of its neighbors, Aceau is haunted by the shadows of its past, filled with empty skeletons of towns and ancient keeps with shadows lurking inside of their walls. Its only two cities, Illici and Vetera, host small close-knit communities who are more than a little wary of travelers. Not many venture out to Asceau now that the oceans have gone stagnant and rotten.