Category:Regions

The Common Lands


The central region of Alduroum, it is considered the safest and most stable place around. Though it is still fraught with danger, the is the heart of human lands and the beacon for civilization. Halflings, Gnomes, Humans, Half-Elves, Duergar, and Wood Elves all originate from this region.

The major cities in the region are Trickletown, Witchearth, and Ganzorig Hall. These two kingdoms look over the well-fare of the their people, but have little power to enforce their law over regions such as the Wildwood, the Dimwood, Bloodfell Spire, and the Fellbog.

Whereas Trickletown and Gazorig Hall seek peace, Witchearth is a den of evil and sin. Anything can be bought in Witchearth. Just take care that you are not bought yourself. Any sort of knife work, devilry, or sin can be found or hired in the shoddily paved streets.

The Western Mountains
The mountains to the west of Isilsolar and north of Ganzorig Hall are considered to be the Western Mountains. These great peaks are home to the flagging Giant Kingdom, the Orc and Goblin burrows, the survivors of the Dwarven kingdoms, Kobold clans, and the Hobgoblin Kingdom of Rith'tik.

Of all the races that originate from this region, Dwarves are the weakest. Their people did not deal with the Fall well. Moradin, their patron deity, died very early. His death upset the nature of the lands and thrust the Underdark upwards into the higher caverns. When balance was finally restored, the evil of below now populated the hills, caves, and halls the Dwarves lived in. The eastern kingdom of Duraz'und (Kingdom of Stone) fell in the year 321 A.F. to infighting and assault from orcish clans. Yar'Ankor (the Western Domain) is the only ordered Dwarven kingdom left. Dwarves who venture the land carry a grudge that their people are dying off where so many are recovering.

The Western Mountains is also one of the few places that dragons are common. This reclusive species is few in number. There are rumors of green dragons that live in the Noxmarsh and Dhulkamas, but many forms of metallic and chromatic dragons have taken high peaks and deep caverns as their lairs. The Western Giant Kingdom is said to be ruled by an ancient white dragon named Glacieus, the Dragoness. The peak where the ruins sit have longed been buried in ice and snow.

Azuran


Consisting of the great desert to the south of the Western Mountains, this stretch of barren desert is extremely inhospitable. The humans of the Azuran Empire lay claim to it, but certainly have no way to enforce rule of law. The great temple city of Delo-Mardu lies haunted by nightmares from within. The naga guardians who once served its rulers are now in charge of maintaining the city. Where some Naga preserve their masters rule, others welcome evil creatures inside. Delo-Mardu is very dangerous and still fraught with traps protecting the wealth of millenia.

The former rulers of Azuran were people called the Zor. Erased from existence, no one knows where they went. They were mighty humanoids with blue skin who wielded powerful weapons. Allies with the Elves of old, the two cultures had a shared Pyramid architecture.

The Thri-Keen, a strange insect people, have made a home of a large oasis in the middle of the desert. Extremely xenophobic, they never allow outsiders to enter. They maintain a small clan of half-orcs as slaves and ambassadors to the outside world, as they cannot speak Common.

=== Dhulkamas === Meaning "Land of Pyramids", this region is spotted with mega-structures from before the Fall. The southern portion of the world, the continent is split between the Yuan-Ti and the reclusive High Elves. The Yuan-Ti were once elves who dwelled in the sweltering jungles. The Fall twisted them into terrifying snake hyrbids. They hate all life that is not their own and seek to expunge or subject all to their rule. They live in the ruins scattered across the Dhulkan Jungle.

The High Elves live in an area called the Sapphire Veil. Retreating from the outside world, they take care of their own people and cannot be bothered for the suffering of others. The elves lost much during the Fall and are dedicated to rebuilding that world. Chief among those losses is the Taum Lutheil, the Perfection Sapphires. A gift from their gods long ago, it gave Elven mages great power and allowed instantanoues communication among the gems. Not only a utility, it was a status symbol. The greatest favor given to a single people of Alduroum. The possession of this treasure defined the Elve's greatness over other races. After the Fall, only a few could be found. It is assumed many of these are scattered to the winds and in the wrong hands. Afraid to use them now, they seek the lands for these gems. They crave that respect and status once more.

Many Elves now are beginning to question to search for these, as they see their civilization stagnating in the face of constant war with the Yuan-Ti and the isolationist policies of their leaders.

Within the Sapphire Veil, the Elves have shrouded their towns and citadels with powerful magics that are designed to hide, decieve, and trick outsiders into leaving them alone. One who wanders the Sapphire Veil are said to enter a dream, rather than a real land. For everything they see is a trick. The most common deception is a spell that makes enhcnated places look like buildings from their own lands or common trees and hills.

The Yuan-Ti are the remnants of an ancient Wild Elf kingdom. Their forms twisted to snake-like monster, they are led by a monstrosity called the Anathema. A great serpent with many heads, it claims to be the Wild Elven leaders melded into one form. Warlike and vindictive towards their cousins, they stab into the Midland Quagmire with small patrols, killing travelers and elves alike. The Anathema forms plans that span over centuries from within the central pyramid of Dhulkador.

The Old Realm


The Northwestern most region, this land has the most intact relics of the time before the Fall. The major cities and fortresses are Isilsolar, Nephus, and Agony's Mark.

Isilsolar, the Golden Kingdom of Man, is a great fortress city led by Celine, a celestial being from before the Fall. Though not an actual island, it is called so because it is an island of light in a sea of darkness. They see themselves as the guardians of mankind and of all good in the world. It is their mission to shield the Common Lands from the corruption that seeps from Agony's Mark. Their armies are great, their mages wise, and their swords sharp. They single handedly hold back the creatures of the mountains, the evil of the Noxmarsh, and the denizens of Nephus.

It is a military culture where every boy and girl is raised with a sword. There are noreservations about gender as they see every human as a soldier to be used. The price of being the defenders of mankind is great. They are raised in the Church of Celine and the city is led by a Theocracy where Celine is at the head of the church.

Nephus was once a great city of man. Where Isilsolar was a city of arms, Nephus was a city of profit. Great docks and markets were trading places of the entire realm. After the fall, the city was reformed as it had been. However, a disease began to spread among the people. A terrible phage that transformed them into monstrously evil toad creatures, mages soon established that the Slaad must have slipped from the plane of Limbo into the city during the Fall. The outbreak could not be contained and it fell. Isilsolar destroyed both bridges leading out of the city and has held a quaratine over the city for 500 years.

Nothing lives int he city besides the Slaad. There are rumors of human survivors, but it is a hard reality to imagine. Led by a Death Slaad named Xix, they toil and work to find a way to move west. Hemmed in by the Shining Knights, the sea to the south, and the Noxmarsh to the East, they are trapped. The massive amount of dead in the city spawned many undead out of the despair. Shadows, wraiths, zombies, and skeletons all arose. They were mindless and uncontrolled until the appearance of Mordimer, the King of Bones. Declaring himself a patron of the dark lady Shar, the Slaad found a foe they were both weak to and could not infect with the Chaos Phage. An uneasy peace rests across the city between the two evils.

Agony's Mark is a great fortress that stands amid the Noxmarsh. It is a great mystery. Built long before the Fall, some evil now exists within. All rumors speak of the Mad Architect, Cedric Carn. A wizard, ages old, who once was a servant of the old gods. No one knows how he is alive, but the stories say he still is. Guarded by terrifying constructs and experimental creatures, he toils away at strange tools and works of his own invention. Entering the fortress uninvited is to call for death's embrace.

Little else is known other than that Cedric Carn bows to no god or king and has no loyalty to any crown.

The Noxmarsh that surrounds Agony's Mark is a toxic waste of bogs and foul water. Every creature and plant is poisonous and some say the water is too polluted to walk in safely. Crossing the Noxmarsh is a dangerous gambit at best and a sure death at worst. Insect, oozes, and the undead are the only inhabitants.

The Roughlands


The Roughlands are untamed and largely unknown. Part of the Eastern Reach, this is the farthest charted part of the world.

Inhabitants of this area vary widely, with no single faction being able to claim dominion.Adventurers and traders are common to find, often on the rocky road to Vaupas. Word says a small town exists on the road to Mistcap Peak, but many do not return from that journey. The Pockle Tracks are riddled with barbaric races and monsters. From the many elevated vantage points, sentries can see their prey for miles to come.

The Kingdom of Taurea


Taurea is a secret kingdom kept away from the world. Buffered by the Restless Stretch and the vile Crawling Lands, it is very difficult for ideas, trade, and value to move between the lands here. Led by a dogmatic monarchy that keeps its people under an iron foot, almost nothing is known as true about Taurea.

The Crawling Lands


The eastern part of the Noxmarsh, the poisons die off but the insect swell in number. Every part of this swamp is infested with buzzing, biting, and stinging life. The only exception are the sulking Meenlocks, servants to a powerful creaturfde found within the Wailing Hive

The Restless Stretch


The Restless Stretch is a woe-begotten land cursed by perpetual undeath. Radiating from a rock buried deep in the earth, the Deathfont. Some say it fell from the skies long ago. Others say an evil necromancer summoned it with his last breath. This artifact forces the dead to rise. There is no peace in death save for cremation. Even then, there is the chance the spirit will be dragged into the Shadowfell, to return and haunt its loved ones.

A variety of villages are scattered throughout the land, no true capital or leader holds power or governorship. They bargain and trade for survival. The most dangerous job in the Stretch is the position of Caravan Guard. These caravans are the lifeblood of the land. They carry supplies from mines and forests to villages to more villages. They carry large stocks of goods, which means risking the dangerous wilds. Ghoul hives, silents shadows, shambling zombies, and militant skeleton gangs all regularly patrol for victims. This does not begin to touch upon the countless variety of nameless horrors that cannot be categorized.