[5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

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Davies
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[5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Davies »

Prelude

Thirty-two years ago, the world almost ended.

At that time, the Kingdom of Franz and its allies (the signatories of the Gallesi Treaty) were in the midst of a war to the death with the Grand Army of Darkness, which had ravaged the lands of the Degans and Sachen. The strategic outlook for the Gallesi was grim; despite the quality of their troops, they were outnumbered, and the leaders of the enemy forces had mastered new, magical methods of command, communication and control of their troops, giving them decided tactical advantages. The best hope was that, in the battle in the fields of Flwnders, the alliance would be able to hold the Army in check long enough to persuade the fairy queen of Llogres, and perhaps other rulers of Avilonia, that it was worth it to join the fight. But the cost of that diplomacy was expected to be very steep.

And then, just as the two great armies faced each other, miles to the south and west, a disaster beyond mortal imagination gripped the island of Atlantl, filling the sky with the ashes of its destruction, and in the same moment halting all mortal magic. Many of the forces of the Army of Darkness were only commanded with spells of domination, while many others were held in the Material plane only by spells of conjuration. Thus the enemy began to collapse in on itself almost immediately. As magic returned to the world, the situation began to reverse, but before it could do so completely and before wards to prevent teleporting were established, the Gallesian lord commander, Strongheart, led a raid by teleportation into the heart of the Army of Darkness, slaying the enemy's high command, the dread lord Warduke and his sorcerer ally Kelek.

Decapitating the Army sent many of its forces into flight, while others offered their immediate surrender. Anticipating that there would be many years of reconstruction ahead, Strongheart and his spiritual advisor Mercion extended a general amnesty to any survivors of the Army who would offer their parole to fight no longer. Somewhat to their amazement, some of the first companies to accept that offer were several clans of orcs, who claimed (and were demonstrated through truth-finding magic) to have been subject to domination while they fought for the Darkness. Despite the fell reputation of orc-kind, it became clear that these clans, at least, desired to live in peace.

So it came to pass that the Kingdom of Franz became one of the few nations where all four of the demihuman peoples of the west lived alongside humanity. It would be romantic folly to claim that the decades have been free of conflict between the various communities, or that there has been a total absence of predation by monsters and raiders, but such contention has never reached the level of civil war or insurgency. Nor has the Kingdom gone to war with any of its neighbors in all that time; the past three decades have been startlingly free of international dispute.

This has also been true in Avilonia, whose five kingdoms have achieved a level of accord unseen in previous centuries. How much that accord should be trusted in these islands of illusions is unknowable. The kingdoms of Espana, formerly wracked by internecine conflict between the Mauri and the Hyberi nations, have also known a sort of peace, in the form of a desperate struggle to recover from the much greater environmental damage caused by the destruction of nearby Atlantl, which has forced the two peoples to cooperate or face extinction. That struggle continues to consume all their efforts. The peninsula of Hetalia has also experienced a long peace, marred only by the struggles of some of the northern city-states to resist the influence of the Grand Church in Rum.

Of course, one of the consequences of this peace has been a reduction of the numbers of standing military forces that the nations can support. Many soldiers have thus been given their release, and no few of them have turned to banditry to keep themselves fed. Yet many more still have turned to the exploration of ruins, the hunting of monsters, and the investigation of rumor; the craft of the adventurer, in other words. Such mercenary wanderers, regardless of their origin, have found themselves more welcomed in these years than they have been before, and a vanishing few of them have risen to heights which inspire others to follow in their footsteps -- with most finding only nameless deaths.

How long will this established order continue? What of the lands beyond Western Aerope? When will the reasons for Atlantl's destruction become known? What implications does that secret have for the rest of the world? And what will your adventurers make of this world, or have it make of them?

Notes:

Primary inspirations for this 5th Edition game world -- with some ideas borrowed from 13th Age -- are The Epic of Ærth, setting for Dangerous Journeys: Mythus from which I'm taking the geography ...

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... and The Book of the Righteous from Green Ronin, from which I'm taking the pantheon, religions, and cosmology.

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Other influences, depending on how far I get in this, may include Parsantium: City at the Crossroads, Nyambe: African Adventures, The Nightmares Underneath, and Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting ... plus lots and lots of good old-fashioned D&D. (For example, there's a megadungeon beneath the streets of Paris -- erm, Paravon, sorry -- which isn't called Undermountain because there's no mountain in sight, but which might seem awfully familiar ...)

One step at a time, though.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Shock »

I had the action figures of your big heroes and villains! :mrgreen:
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

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Shock wrote: Sat Jan 26, 2019 3:33 pm I had the action figures of your big heroes and villains! :mrgreen:
Lucky! I only ever got to stare at the packaging in the stores.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

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The Date and Calendar

As reckoned throughout Aerope, it is the year 1019 AD (Anno Donatus), with the first year of that calendar being the first year after the death of the Emperor Conan*, who bequeathed to the Grand Church rule over the city of Rum and the peninsula of Hetalia, as well as asserting the supremacy of the Grand Church over all temples, eyries, foundations, basins, healing halls, sacred vineyards, scriptoriums, sacristies, courts divine, holy houses, lyceums, guildhalls and blessed hearths throughout the Hetalian Empire. (With the dissolution of the Empire, this authority is no longer legally valid, unlike the rule over the city and peninsula. But of this, more later.)

The calendar is divided into twelve months of thirty days, with each month subdivided into three decans of ten days. The months are associated with the twelve signs of the classical zodiac, with each of the decans associated with one particular planet (which, aside from the Sun and the Moon, are named for the five Gods of the Tree). At the end of each year, coinciding with the spring equinox, there is a five day long festival of renewal and reirth which is associated with the thirteenth sign of the zodiac. It is widely and correctly believed that the zodiac sign and the planetary influences of a given day affect magic undertaken on that day, but the effect is generally so small as to be made irrelevant by the many other influences on magic. (An apprentice learning a spell might find it easier to cast the spell for the first time on an appropriate day, but will eventually be taught methods to cast it regardless of the influences present.)

Code: Select all

Month           First Decan     Second Decan    Third Decan
Ram (R.)        Terak           Sun             Zheenkeef
Bull (Bl.)      Tinel           Moon            Mormekar
Twins (Tw.)     Morwyn          Terak           Sun
Crab (Cr.)      Zheenkeef       Tinel           Moon
Lion (L.)       Mormekar        Morwyn          Terak
Maiden (M.)     Sun             Zheenkeef       Tinel
Balance (Ba.)   Moon            Mormekar        Morwyn
Spider (Sp.)    Terak           Sun             Zheenkeef
Centaur (Ce.)   Tinel           Moon            Mormekar
Goat (Gt.)      Morwyn          Tenak           Sun
Jug (J.)        Zheenkeef       Tinel           Moon
Fish (F.)       Mormekar        Morwyn          Terak

In giving the date, a person would state that it is, for example, the seventeenth day of the month of the Goat in the year 1018. In written form, this would be typically abbreviated 17Gt/18, with the thousands digit of the year omitted. This calendar was developed in the 2nd century AD, and so there are no records from the first century that use such abbreviations. What will transpire in the 12th century, when it may be that records from the 12th and 2nd centuries might be confused, is for a future generation to determine.

* This occurred in the year 1090 after the founding of Rum, much as the death of a certain Emperor said to have made a great donation to a certain church took place in the year 1090 after the founding of a certain city. To some minds, this suggests that, had anything of particular note happened in the year 754 after the founding of Rum, with subsequent events dating from that point in history, the current year would be 1356 of that calendar. But as nothing of particular note happened in that year, such information is only for the very trivial-minded.

Languages

The language represented here as English is the so-called Common Tongue, which is known (to some degree) by most educated people throughout the West, and at least recognized by the rest. It is a somewhat archaic version of Alasiyan, the language in which most of the testaments of the Grand Church were written; to a speaker of modern Alasiyan, it sounds much like the language of the King James Bible does to speakers of modern English. The language represented as (bad) Latin is Hetalian, the language of the Hetalian Empire, which is still spoken throughout the peninsular region, with frequent local variation.

Humans and demihumans of the West speak a wide variety of languages.

Brythonic: Language of Cambry and Bretagne, also spoken in Llogres (though never in public, owing to royal decree). Distantly related to Goidelic, with influences by Degan, Tetsh, and Norden.

Degan: Language of the Degan, thought to be a dialect of Norden that is more closely related to Tetsh. With the decimation of the Degan, Tetsh is increasingly used in common speech, with the Degan language reserved for melancholy poetry.

Dwarven: Derived from Lithic (the language of the Elemental Plane of Earth). Although the written form of the language is always the same, the spoken form is subject to a great deal of regional variation, with frequent borrowing of terms from nearby humans. (The dwarves claim that they make these terms more precise -- rather than a cup being defined as 'as much can fill whatever cup you have handy', a dwarven cup is standardized so that every cup used in a given dwarfhold will have the exact same volume.)

Elven: Derived from Sylvan and sharing the same written form, this is of course the language of the elves. It is remarkably constant from elfhold to elfhold, and is even spoken in much the same form by the lausalfar and swartalfar of the north. According to some savants, learning elven involves learning a form of magic that enhances non-verbal communication, facilitating speech between different forms of the language. If so, it is a very subtle magic that defies all attempts at detection.

Franzesi: Language of Franz, spoken (with regional variations) throughout the lands of the Gallesi treaty. Distantly related to Hetalian.

Goidelic: Language of Eire, Orchadia, and the ordinary citizenry of Lyonesse. (The upper class of the latter nation speak their own, alien language.) Distantly related to Brythonic, with influences by Norden and (in Lyonesse) Lantlan.

Goblin: The language of the awnseleigh in the Feywild. It is unclear whether it or Sylvan is the original language of that realm, but Goblin is spoken by slightly more kinds of creatures.

Hetalian: Language of the Hetalian peninsula, spoken with many regional variations. Distantly related to Franzesi.

Hyberi: Claimed to be the oldest human language of Aerope, predating the spread of Hetalian. It is spoken throughout Espana.

Jotun: Language of the giants, with several dialects influenced by the various Elemental languages. Hill giants, the most commonly seen of their kind, typically speak a blend of Goblin and Jotun.

Lantlan: Language of Atlantl. This is still considered a living language, thanks to small communities of Atlantlan origin in Aerope, but it is likely to begin drifting from its origins within the years to come.

Mauri: Language of the people of Northern Afrik, influenced by Lybbosian and Lantlan. It is spoken throughout Espana.

Norden: Language of Nordemy, Norska, Swenska, and Tulla. Related to Degan and (more distantly) Tetsh. The Norden spoken in Nordemy is very influenced by Franzesi.

Orcish: Derived from the Femer dialect of Jotun and used as a common speech by many bandits and outlaws. Settled orcs typically maintain only enough of their native vocabulary to recite genealogical information, using human language the rest of the time. However, Orcish has been discovered to have quite a bit of poetic use, as one can easily make all orc words rhyme without disrupting their sense, facilitating a combination of rhyme and rhythm. (The effect is much like rap.) Savants have also discovered that Orcish contains the largest known collection of words describing the weather -- admittedly with no words for describing 'pleasant' or 'nice' weather.

Pech: A dead language, maintained only by scholars in order to read ancient documents. Savants have determined that it shows influences from Elven and Dwarven, but bears no similarity to any of the Kelltic languages, which is odd given the apparent origins of the pechs. Pechs in Llogres tend to speak Elven, those in Cambry speak Brythonic, those of Orchadia and Eire speak Godelech, while those of the continent tend to rely on Common above all else.

Sylvan: The language of the seleigh in the Feywild, believed to be derived from an ur-jin language lost ages ago. Much like elven, it is constant throughout the realms of the seleigh, and even awnseleigh typically can understand it, though they seldom bother to speak it.

Tetsh: Language of Sachen and other states of the Electoral Empire. Distantly related to Norden.

Game Rules: Because of this linguistic diversity, any background, class ability or feat that grants you any languages grants that you double the stated number of languages. Communicating through Common alone gives disadvantage on the Charisma (Communication) check to make yourself understood.
Last edited by Davies on Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

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Technology

For the most part, arms and armor are entirely typical of Europe in the early 14th century, though frequently supplemented by magic that can make what would be inefficient and fantastical designs of both weapons and defenses into workable ones. The major exception to this is the relative scarcity of gunpowder weaponry, or smokepowder as it is also known.

Smokepowder was developed in Atlantl around the year 770. It is identical to gunpowder in all respects, except that it is normally inert. Only by 'charging' it with magic does it become a volatile substance, and the means by which it is 'charged' is tied to the practices of two magical disciplines -- that of the Alchemist*, who crafts bombs using the substance, and the more recently developed path of the Gunslinger, who uses explosions of the charged substance to expel projectiles ('shells') from their weapons. The ability of a Gunslinger to make these weapons function as they would not normally do so is referred to as 'the Spark'. The majority of those who possess the Spark are either trained as Gunslingers or never become Adepts at all, with only a tiny fraction managing to master another discipline and retain the Spark in the process.

Because of the rarity of individuals with the Spark -- they are no more common than Wizards or Clerics -- gunpowder weaponry has not, and likely will not, eclipse melee or pre-gunpowder ranged weaponry. Such troops are typically lone specialists, although the Kingdom of Lyonesse has fielded a number of units of riflemen in the past half-century, having introduced the anachronistic technique of rifling the barrel of a musket. The Spark also does not facilitate the use of smokepowder artillery, though there are Alchemists who have focused their efforts on the creation of cannons.

Rifling is not the only anachronism introduced by Lyonesse. Ships typical of another world's early 'Age of Sail' set forth from its harbors, and have been copied somewhat successfully by other maritime powers. Carriages drawn by two horses and stagecoaches drawn by four are in common use, and have spread elsewhere on the continent. Clothes typical of future eras have also been introduced, such as the bluejeans, the tuxedo and the bikini swimsuit. However, they have been utterly unable to import any electronic-based technologies, which cease to function -- sometimes dramatically -- when brought to this world.

Unbeknownst even to the savants of Lyonesse, there is another, even more technologically advanced civilization on the far side of the world from them, though rumors of the Teitoku Shogunate have not yet travelled this far west ...

* When a professional name like this is capitalized, it refers to what the game calls a character class. Uncapitalized alchemists do not possess the same magical talents as an Alchemist, but are able to create what are termed 'alchemical items' -- including (inert) smokepowder. The Alchemist character class is described in EN Publishing's A Touch of Class, while the Gunslinger will be introduced in a subsequent article in this series.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Woodclaw »

I'm always puzzled how much people seem so terrified of blackpowder weapons and go extreme length to ensure that firearms are stilla a somewhat magical or crazy difficult item to acquire.
Now this is the history nerd in me speaking, but early firearms didn't eclipsed older weapons overnight, it was a slow and gradual process, just another step in the arms race of old. Back in the 14th century producing a single gun was an art form. Back then mass production meant being able to create items in scores, let alone hundreds. The same goes for blackpowder, creating it wasn't a standardized process and it was costly as hell.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Davies »

Woodclaw wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:13 pm I'm always puzzled how much people seem so terrified of blackpowder weapons and go extreme length to ensure that firearms are stilla a somewhat magical or crazy difficult item to acquire.
Legacy of the early days of the hobby. Also the "bang you're dead!" idea lots of people have with guns doesn't really meld well with a hit point system.
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

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Davies wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:46 pm
Woodclaw wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:13 pm I'm always puzzled how much people seem so terrified of blackpowder weapons and go extreme length to ensure that firearms are stilla a somewhat magical or crazy difficult item to acquire.
Legacy of the early days of the hobby. Also the "bang you're dead!" idea lots of people have with guns doesn't really meld well with a hit point system.
That's one of those bits that I always found hilarious, we are willing to suspend disbelief enough to allow a man to roll out from what is essentially an magical artilelry shell (i.e. fireball), but not to think that you can survive being shot in a leg :P
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Neo-Paladin »

Plus, people kind of ignore what being hit with a sharp blade can do to you, too. Armor was invented for a reason...
So, yeah, I personally have nothing against fantasy with firearms. In a world with magic, firearms would be a great way to even the odds against spellcasters. Remember that bladed weapons were still in use in the military up until WW1. Plus, when the enemy is right in your face, you will be damn grateful for that trusty sword!
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Arkrite »

For me the rise of gunpowder just seems to indicate the inevitable decline of monsters and magic.

As was noted a bullet can be just a lethal as a sword can be, the real trick is that a bullet will punch clean through plate armor while not many other weapons can make that claim.
Most attacks were meant to capitalize on the armor's weak points rather than punch through.
As soon as that becomes a possibility two things start to happen. One is that armor becomes less useful as it's still heavy, expensive, and cumbersome but now doesn't protect you from nearly as many threats.

This means knights start to go on the decline with chainmail probably being the heaviest thing people would wear, and only if there was still a large amount of people using knives and swords.

Add to this that guns are also remarkably easier to learn how to use effectively then almost any melee weapon in existence.
Sure it doesn't take much to learn how to use a spear, pointy end goes in opponent, but to use it well? You'd need to learn how to handle the weapon, proper footwork to maximize your defensive and offensive capabilities, how to counteract different weapons you might encounter.

For a gun, it's basically you learn two moves. You pull the trigger, and you reload. Maybe while moving, but probably while stationary. And then it's just a matter of learning to change your aim for distance.

It doesn't require nearly the same amount of time investment that you would to learn how to fight with sword.

So now a random villager can be as deadly as the trained knight who needs a lot of time, money, and training.

From a mechanical standpoint I'd pretty much just put down guns as negating armor and possibly giving bonuses to hit if they train to use a gun over most other weapons.


And at this point it also make a lot of the non-intelligent animal style monsters less threatening. Now you can do a significant amount of damage to a creature from range and still punch through any armor they might be relying on to defend themselves.

This does lead to an interesting and terrifying thought of "Orcs with guns" (waaagh) and Goblins with guns and explosives....

The other thing I start thinking is that with gunpowder and the explosives that start getting made after it, Mages start losing their damage dealing niche.
I mean how many years do you need to spend to learn how to cast a few spells each day vs a gun and some explosives?

After a while mages might start getting relegated to unique spells that technology can't provide solutions for. Which could be good or bad depending on how easy it is for mages to learn these spells. In a D&D style setting considering how high level they might need to be to get those spells you might see a large decline in magic.

Or you might just see mages focus on spells that block mundane usages of fire, thus stopping most guns from working and make any army not using a mage destined to fail miserably.


But for me I always kind of look at the rise of gunpowder being the decline of magic and monsters. It just gets easier to use technology over training to use magic, and guns start making enemies who were too powerful to face suddenly less of an insurmountable threat.
But all these things can be mitigated or negated entirely depending on the setting and how things work in said world.

... Sorry, I just honestly love these kinds of discussions. ;~)
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Neo-Paladin »

True...at least for a time. Eventually, as new materials become available (and just think how much more quickly this could go if magic and technology could be combined) you will see more lightweight body armor making a return (spider silk from giant spiders anyone?)...
However, what might stop a bullet will not always stop a knife...

Hm, I am kind of reminded of the personal forcefields from Dune...
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Re: [5E] World Building Ex Miscellanea

Post by Davies »

The Pantheon

The Lords of Heaven can be divided into five groups, based on the point in which they were created in the mythology.

The Nameless One: Creator of the universe and of the four Old Gods. According to the mythology, he* withdrew from creation before the three younger Old Gods fully awakened. Some religious scholars in Lyonesse draw parallels between the Nameless One and the remote gods of their alien world's religions. Other scholars, perhaps corrupted by the knowledge of the Great Old Ones, claim that the Nameless One is merely a mask for one of the elder gods.

The Old Gods: The gods created by the Nameless One or described by the Prophecies thereof.

Kador: The first creature created by the Nameless One, he was given dominion over fire and trusted to give it to all those that came after him. He was corrupted, however, and became convinced that he was the rightful king of the universe. Kador ended up in a war with the gods, resulting in his imprisonment in Hell. He now goes by the name Asmodeus, the god of fire, power, lies, and vengeance.

Rontra: Goddess of the earth, plants, farms, dirt, gems, metals, farmers, miners, and all others who revere the earth. She is the second eldest of the gods created by the Nameless One; only Kador is older. Rontra is the embodiment of all the lands of the material plane. She is considered the grandmother of creation.

Urian: God of the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the winds, freedom, and salvation. Urian is the the incarnation of the heavens and the winds. He is kindly and gentle, but also gives in to the stormy side of his nature from time to time.

Shalimyr: God of the waters, sailing, fishing, and all other mortal endeavors that rely on the water. He is the personification of all the waters of the material plane. Wild and untamed, he despises arrogance and pride in all other beings, while largely ignoring his own arrogance and pride.

Eliwyn: The Tree of Life that sprouted from Rontra where she and Shalimyr met. Eliwyn bore five fruits, from which came the Gods of the Tree and the jin. She was destroyed in Terak and Tinel’s war, and, when reborn, had a number of other fruits, from which were born the mortal races of creation.** While Eliwyn is a 'deity' as she is revered and honored by druids and similar faiths, she is not a 'god' as she possesses no self-awareness.

The Gods of the Tree: The gods who were either born as the fruit of Eliwyn or came into being in response to her destruction.

Morwyn: Goddess of healing, wisdom, peace, forgiveness, mothers, childbirth, and mercy. As sole survivor of the the first war of the gods, she raised up her brothers and sisters, healing them of their madness, and was recognized by them as Queen of Heaven. During the autumn and winter, she is married to Mormekar; during the spring and the summer, she is married to Terak.

Terak: God of the god of the body, valor, war, physical struggle, brotherly unity, and battle. He fought a war with his brother Tinel to determine who was eldest; both lost. He believes the greatest force in the world is the unification of people into nations and armies; if the many band together against those who would harm them, much good is possible. His heart is divided between whether the good that can come of this, or simply the unification itself, is most desirable.

Tinel: God of magic, knowledge, the mind, secrets, truth, science, magicians, those who rely on or admire magic, scholars, scribes, the inquisitive, and seekers of truth. He fought a war with his brother Terak to determine who was eldest; both lost. He suffers from a strange malaise; for the most part, he believes in the potential for good that can come from an individual's pursuit of knowledge, but there are times he seems to care only for the acquisition of knowledge at any cost. He is married to Zheenkeef, and is unaware of her constant infidelity.

Zheenkeef: Goddess of inspiration, intuition, wine, madness, invention, internal turmoil, creativity, tragedy, prophecy, oracles, half-wits, and geniuses. She committed suicide in the wake of the first war of the gods, but was raised up by Morwyn. She has never quite forgiven Morwyn for this, and the two goddesses clash every bit as frequently, if often more covertly, than Terak and Tinel. While married to Zheenkeef, she has had many affairs with Shalimyr and other, lesser known entities of creation; the beings known as titans are the children of these relationships.

Mormekar: God of death, rebirth, the dead, the dying, those who destroy undead, those seeking rebirth, and the reborn. Created in the moment of the deaths of Terak and Tinel, he joined with Morwyn to raise up the fallen gods as well as the Tree of Life.

The Gods of the Womb: The gods born as children to the Gods of the Tree.

Maal: God of justice, law, the dead, the afterlife, retribution, lawyers, magistrates, judges, and all others who make their living through the law, or have a special love for it. Son of Morwyn and Mormekar, he was dubbed the first Champion of Heaven for defeating the Mother of Dragons during the Second War of the Gods, but has passed that title to Darmon. Husband of Naryne.

Darmon: God of travelers, tricksters, rogues, joy, laughter, good fortune, trade, merchants, diplomacy, messengers, jesters, scouts, rebels, and thieves. Son of Tinel and Zheenkeef, there are supposedly one thousand and one tales of how he earned the title of Champion of Heaven (or possibly defended it.) Loves Canelle, but has never won her love in return.

Aymara: Goddess of love, music, passion, romance, marriage, lovers, musicians, artists, and bards. Daughter of Tinel and Zheenkeef. Wed the elven king Aragos in a previous age, and by him had seven demigod children, patrons of the seven types of musical instruments known to antiquity.

Korak: God of smiths, artisans, carpenters, masons, and laborers of all variety. Son of Morwyn and Terak, he is a particular patron of the dwarves, who regard him as the Master of Every Trade. Sought to win the heart of Thellyne, but ultimately chose to give her freedom.

Anwyn: Goddess of the hearth, the home, housewives, servants, peasants, and small folk of all variety. Daughter of Morwyn and Terak, she is particuarly beloved of the pechs. Where most of the gods appear larger than a human, she appears taller than a pech, causing her to seem rather short by mortal standards, though she appears as a mature adult. Has no idea how rumors about her having a thing for white-haired boys with more nerve than brains got started.

The Three Sisters: The youngest gods of the pantheon, of mysterious origin.

Naryne: Goddess of nobility, royalty, kingdoms, leadership, rulership, kings, queens, and nobles -- and, from a modern perspective, of medieval stasis. She is not well-regarded in most republics, and has made her low opinion of Lyonesse unequivocally clear. Wife of Maal.

Cannelle: Goddess of victory, athletics, competition, raw physical strength, glory, running, games, athletes, and competitors. Her greatest desire is to surpass Darmon and become the Champion of Heaven, and she regards his victories over her as trickery and knavery. Plus he won't take 'stop flirting with me, idiot' for an answer.

Thellyne: Goddess of the woods and woodcraft, including hunting, trapping, tracking. She is well-loved by the elves, but has never sought much in the way of worship or adulation. Was once romantically pursued by Korak, and wasn't happy about it ... but his unexpected choice to stop pursuing her has surprised her, and she feels a certain wary regard for him that she doesn't quite understand.

The Pentacle: The best known of the forces of evil.

Asmodeus: God of lies, power and fire. Ruler of Hell, and destined King of the Universe. Architect of a plot intended to throw down the Pantheon. Allied with Naran, and to a lesser extent Canarak and Thellos.

Canarak: God of violence, rage, bloodlust, carnage, brutality, savagery, and murder. Allegedly the creator of the orcs, though this is diputed. Allied to some degree with his brothers Naran and Thellos, but secretly in league with Tiamat, intending to claim her as his bride.

Naran: God of cunning, tyranny, pride, slavery, plots, villainy, and conspiracies. Self-declared leader of the Three Brothers, viewing Canarak and Thellos as weapons against Asmodeus when the time of final battle comes. Unaware of Tiamat.

Thellos: God of gluttony, selfish desire, greed, and lust for things and people. Tempted by both Asmodeus and Tiamat, he ultimately intends to transcend both of them as well as his brothers Canarak and Naran, to become the supreme power of evil.

Tiamat: Supposedly the incarnation of the Abyss, also rumored to be the reincarnation of the Mother of Dragons. Her true origins are a mystery even to the gods themselves. What is known is that she rules much of the Abyss, with other demon princes as her tributaries.

* 'He' is used solely for convenience; virtually no account of the creation speaks to the idea that the Nameless One is a gendered being as mortals would understand it.

** Traditonally, there are five fruits, of which four become humans and other mortal races; however, other lands have mortal races every bit as soul-bearing as humans, dwarves, elves and pechs, and orcs have demonstrated that they also possess souls. What this means for this particular myth is unclear. Has the mysterious fifth fruit hatched sometime in the historical era?
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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