404: Gameworld
A note on naming conventions for this map: Each settlement shown shares its name with a local landmark, such as a river or a forest or a chunk of hill country.
So, where you see the town of Shevyn, for example, it is located on Shevyn lake in the middle of the Shevyn river, etc.
Game Premise[edit]
Bjoranshor is a land of giants. Nearly every giantish clan is represented, each living and thriving in the environments that suit them best.
Despite this plethora of giants already dwelling in the land, however, many others have also settled Bjoranshor: elves, men, orcs, dragonborn, tieflings, and of course, smallfolk.
Yet only the smallfolk know they live in an already occupied land. The bigfolk are hard pressed to take notice of a giant stomping through their village fields or walking up out of the sea. And if they do notice in the moment, the event is quickly forgotten.
Only the smallfolk notice without fail. Only they remember.
And so it is, when trouble arises from any of the giant clans, it is the smallfolk who are left to set things right.
Where the Smallfolk Are[edit]
Smallfolk can be found throughout the Forsaken Coast, but a number of (nearly) exclusive smallfolk communities stand out.
Stead[edit]
The largest smallfolk settlement with the greatest variety of smallfolk is the hillcountry of Stead. Halflings hold the clear majority in Stead, and there is a sizeable contingent of Kenku, but any sort of smallfolk might be found living there.
The nearest giant settlements to Stead are a clan of salt giants off the western coast, and the firbolg who inhabit the highcountry to the east.
Being mischievous by nature, and the equivalent of smallfolk themselves among their giant kin, it was the firbolg shamans who laid the counterspell that protects the smallfolk from being subject to the Geas of Ignorance that clouds the minds of the bigfolk and causes them to ignore or forget the existence of giantfolk.
Faen[edit]
Faen is a community of gnome healers on the Faen river on the edge of the Maegwyd (Magewood in the trade tongue). Other smallfolk found in Faen are usually acolytes or patients, but the vast majority of the population is gnomish.
Rare in any settled land, the tabaxi may be found in their greatest concentration in the woods around Faen.
Forest giants and Oni dwell in the deep Maegwyd, far to the east of Faen. It is the Oni who laid the Geas of Ignorance on the bigfolk of the Forsaken Coast.
Shevyn[edit]
The second largest smallfolk settlement is Shevyn on the western edge of Shevyn lake on the the Shevyn river. Shevyn is a clear moiety of grippli and goblins with a substantial population of kenku and river halflings.
The nearest giant settlements are fog and bog giants that also make their home along the shores of the lake and river.
Haal[edit]
Far to the north, on the edge of the Torn stands Haal, a settlement as much carved into the mountains as it is built up around them, Dwarves rule the Haal with a respectable cohort of kobolds and goblins rounding out the community along with a small contingent of rock gnomes.
Many giant clans occupy the Torn, particularly stone, fire, dust, and cloud giants, but it is hill giants and ettin who dig their caves closest to Haal itself.
Other Communities[edit]
Bigfolk have their own towns and cities, frequently more densely populated than smallfolk sensibilities might prefer.
Nairn and Caerish[edit]
To the south, the sister cities of Nairn and Caerish (the first named for the great forest that stands nearby, the other named for the rocky clifflike isle it stands on) are home to the Tiefling/Dragonborn Federation. Dragonborn are responsible for building and military might, while the tieflings oversee government and trade.
Storm giants inhabit the coast, and wild giants of the Waste sometimes wander near.
Maegwyd[edit]
The jade city of Magewyd is the face of the elven nation, the majority of which live within the Maegwyd itself rather than the walls of precious green stone of the city proper.
This masterwork of stonecraft is said to be dwarven in origin, but no dwarf will speak on it, and the rockbrothers generally become sour of countenance when the subject comes up.
Forest Giants and oni dwell throughout the great Magewood.
Docent, Ja, and Aen[edit]
These three cities make up the nation of men and are easily the most heavily populated on the Forsaken Coast.
North of Docent live the clans of the steppe giants and their great steeds, while hill giants and ettins dwell in the lands around Ja and Aen.
Wild Giants[edit]
With the casting of the geas, most giants stand in agreement to interact minimally with the folk of the Forsaken Coast, but there are clans that stand apart. These are the most dangerous.
Eyrie[edit]
The Eyrie is a group of four islands just off the north coast of Bjoranshor and home to an elusive clan known only as the dream giants.
Blakfen[edit]
While not specifically giants, the Blakfen is home to a sprawling clan of greater trolls led by covens of hags and is most dangerous terrain to assay.
The Waste[edit]
Vast and unending, the Waste sprawls across the south of the world, a barren land ablaze with unbearable heat by day and a bone cracking chill by night.
Here, clans of sand giants and the mysterious caryatid make their home. It is said they are as unforgiving as the land they occupy.
