Difference between revisions of "Legends - A Realm of Legends"

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==A Realm of Legends==
 
==A Realm of Legends==
  
The Realm encompasses several hundred principalities, connected by wayportals and under the authority of the Empire. Each principality is ruled by a feudal lord, and these feudal lords in turn bend knee to the Emperor of Dragonthrone. Beyond the Realm lie other domains, some of whom are hold peace treaties with Dragonthrone, and others want to see nothing less than to lay waste to all its lands.
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The Realm encompasses several hundred principalities, connected by wayportals and under the authority of the Empire. Each principality is ruled by a feudal lord, and these feudal lords in turn bend knee to the Emperor of Dragonthrone. Beyond the Realm lie other domains, some of whom are hold peace treaties with Dragonthrone, and others want to see nothing less than to lay waste to all its lands.
 
 
For the most part Dragonthrone is defended by ordinary men, who stand in the armies of the realm and guard its borders against the empire’s many enemies. Amongst these brave defenders, however, there are those who stand above and beyond their peers in ability and determination. These are the champions of Dragonthrone – heroes all, and legends amongst men.
 
 
 
As a player character, you take the role of one of these Legends and must embark on epic quests beyond the abilities of ordinary men.
 
  
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'''EDITS: Clean up and breakdown needed
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'''
 
==Worlds and Domains==
 
==Worlds and Domains==
  
The realm encompasses several hundred principalities, and those listed below are but a few examples. Don’t forget that a character’s surname is also his principality of origin, so when selecting where your character is from you might want to pick a domain name that you like the sound of, or which particularly matches your background.
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Worlds and Domains
 
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The realm encompasses several hundred principalities, and those listed below are but a few examples. Don’t forget that a character’s surname is also his principality of origin, so when selecting where your character is from you might want to pick a domain name that you like the sound of, or which particularly matches your background.  
'''BLACKWATERS'''  – This city is surrounded by and half submerged in a black-watered lake. Legends say that once this was a proud and ancient city but in its hubris placed itself above the gods. The gods responded by flooding the city with torrential rain: rain which has not abated since. The noble families of Blackwaters still have not abandoned their ancestral home, but are hopeful that one day a hero may find a way to stop the rain, and allow the city to be reclaimed from the water.
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BLACKWATERS – This city is surrounded by and half submerged in a black-watered lake. Legends say that once this was a proud and ancient city but in its hubris placed itself above the gods. The gods responded by flooding the city with torrential rain: rain which has not abated since. The noble families of Blackwaters still have not abandoned their ancestral home, but are hope to one day find a way to stop the rain, and allow the city to be reclaimed from the water. Despite their current ill fortunes, the nobles of Blackwater are still famed for their mastery of intrigue and politics, and have managed to remain influential in the Realm despite the odds. Almost as great as their reputation for political mastery is their reputation for debauchery – it is often said that you have not truly experienced hedonism till you have visited the floating Pleasure Dens of Blackwater, and indulged in the drugs, sex games and other experiences on offer there.
 
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BLOODPACT – This smoke-wreathed domain of volcanic rock and dense jungles is the site of millennia of constant war between the Orcish Legions and the Stonetroll Tribes. The orcs are seemingly without number, suffering thousands of casualties every day but with new armies marching into the fray just as fast. The stonetrolls are sixty-foot tall warped giants, fewer in number but stronger and possessed of powerful regenerative capabilities. Happily neither Orc nor Troll seem capable of using the many Waygates that connect Bloodpact to neighbouring domains, so their threat is contained. The Empire of Dragonthrone has a permanent outpost in Bloodpact called the Fortress of Haven - from here it deploys nobles and military officers in training, allowing them to gain military experience against the undisciplined and technologically inferior orcs and trolls, leading expendable Penal Legion troopers in their sorties.  
'''BLOODPACT'''  – This smoke-wreathed domain of volcanic rock and dense jungles is the site of millennia of constant war between the Orcish Legions and the Stonetroll Tribes. The orcs are seemingly without number, suffering thousands of casualties every day but with new armies marching into the fray just as fast. The stonetrolls are sixty-foot tall warped giants, fewer in number but stronger and possessed of powerful regenerative capabilities. Happily neither Orc nor Troll seem capable of using the many Waygates that connect Bloodpact to neighbouring domains, so their threat is contained. The Empire of Dragonthrone has a permanent outpost in Bloodpact called the Fortress of Haven - from here it deploys nobles and military officers in training, allowing them to gain military experience against the undisciplined and technologically inferior orcs and trolls, leading expendable Penal Legion troopers in their sorties.
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BLOSSOMSONG – The forests surrounding this domain are a haven for pixies and fairies, teeming with diminutive fey. These creatures are masters of small magic and lovers of revelry, but extremely secretive and wary of anyone over two foot tall. The three Waygates in this domain are controlled by humans of Dragonthrone’s empire, who maintain small settlements in burnt and salted clearings within the forest. Travelling between the gates can be difficult though, and travellers are given a clear warning – stick to the path, or risk being forever lost.
 
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BRIGHTSKIES The domain of bright-skies is set in the side of a great cliff overlooking a vast blue ocean. The climate is pleasant and temperate, and several towns are set into the rock-face, balancing on ledges or living within shallow caves and short tunnels. The inhabitants of Brightskies have fully adapted to their perpendicular lifestyle, and find it quite amusing that visitors find their environment vertiginous. The “shark’s teeth” where the cliff meets sea is also a favourite site for young adventurers to prove their worth, as hostile sahuagin, merfolk and worse infest the jagged rocks and often need to be driven back from the edges of civilisation.  
'''BRIGHTSKIES''' – The domain of bright-skies is set in the side of a great cliff overlooking a vast blue ocean. The climate is pleasant and temperate, and several towns are set into the rock-face, balancing on ledges or living within shallow caves and short tunnels. The inhabitants of Brightskies have fully adapted to their perpendicular lifestyle, and find it quite amusing that visitors find their environment vertiginous. The “shark’s teeth” where the cliff meets sea is also a favourite site for young adventurers to prove their worth, as hostile sahuagin, merfolk and worse infest the jagged rocks and often need to be driven back from the edges of civilisation.
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BURNINGSAND - A harsh and barren desert for the most part, the Burningsand domain is doubly isolated from outside influence as its few Waygates are a long desert trek away from the narrow river that gives life to the heart of this land. Burningsand is well known as a place of hard men, who speak little but possess the burning intensity of their desert home in their eyes and hearts. Likewise, the emptiness of this domain lends itself well to introspection and revelation, and Burningsand has been the origin of more than one religious prophet or great philosopher, who have shaken the realm with their fiery words and zealous drive.
 
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CANDLEWHISPER – For the most part the domain of Candlewhisper is empty blasted and sterile black rock upon which no life will grow. The sun is visible only dimly through heavy grey clouds that never shed rain, and so the entire area is dry and chilly. Candlewhisper is significant though, as at the centre of this domain is a library complex that pre-dates the Empire itself. The librarian-monks themselves have something of the nature of the realm of them, being pale of skin, quiet in voice and slow of pulse. They believe that beneath the rock of Candlewhisper the god called The Endless is slumbering, and he is both the God of the Underworld and of Secrets. They believe that to speak or act too loudly in Candlewhisper is to invite his attention, and will result in inevitable death within a matter of months. They do not share the knowledge of the library easily, and the arcane cataloguing of the stacks means that it is virtually impossible to find a specific tome or scroll without their help. However, thanks to an ancient pact they are bound to provide assistance and lore to any who come to them with an offering of a written work or piece of arcane knowledge that they do not already possess. They have little interest in trivia or fiction though, and by their own code will reject any spurious works, but they have never been known to refuse a deal when presented with significant new lore, such as a new spell, ritual or history.
'''CANDLEWHISPER''' For the most part the domain of Candlewhisper is empty blasted and sterile black rock upon which no life will grow. The sun is visible only dimly through heavy grey clouds that never shed rain, and so the entire area is dry and chilly. Candlewhisper is significant though, as at the centre of this domain is a library-monastery that pre-dates the Empire itself. The library has the population of a small town and generations live and die within its walls, sustained by food and water summoned by the magic of the wizards that live there. Candlewhisper is an excellent region of origin for player characters who want to play High Wizards or Necromancers, though of course characters of other sorts may also originate from there.
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DEMONFORGE - A scar in the earth leading down into a dark abyss, the Demonforge periodically spews out hordes of gibbering spawn that surge towards the Waygates, seemingly intent of breaking out into the realm at large. To contain this threat, there are three Edgeforts, each with a thousand seasoned soldiers dedicated to driving the spawn back into the pit. The thousand soldiers are reinforced by twelve times that number in undead soldiers, sustained by the very energy of the pit they seek to contain, and raised from the numbers of the Edgefort's fallen. The undead, while fearless and numerous, require direction from living commanders, and so the Demonforge domain places a high value on training in war-strategy and tactics.  
 
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DRAGONTHRONE – This is the royal heart of the Empire, an entirely constructed island in a sea of coruscating arcane energy. By Imperial edict, all born there are of royal blood, and naturally only those of royal blood are permitted to procreate there, and then only by the direction and edict of the Emperor Athan Eserian of Dragonthrone. The native born of Dragonthrone claim direct descent from the Traveller, who in turn is a revered figure who legends claim created the Waygates, and founded the first civilisations. Most in Dragonthrone, of course, are not natives but rather servants of the throne from other domains, who are there only to work and attend the Imperial court. Dragonthrone is dominated by the rising spires of the Imperial Palace, which is surrounded by a halo of lesser (but still magnificent) forts and palaces that house the bureaucracy of the realm and the headquarters of the manifold organisations within the government. By edict, none of the buildings in the “Throne Halo” may exceed one third of the height of the palace proper, but as that edifice is a mile and a half high, that is not so much of a limitation. Indeed, these Halo Palaces far outstrip the architectural scale of most other realms, and in isolation would be considered wonders of the realm. Despite the size, opulence and presence of the Imperial Palace and the Halo, they are not considered the defining trait of Dragonthrone. Rather, the source of this Domain’s strength and empire is that it is the birthplace of Dragons. Some say that there are cave complexes beneath the palace and that this is where the dragons are born and bred. Others claim that the Throne Palace sits atop a nexus of unimaginable arcane energies from which the dragons are called into being. Others still believe that the Dragons are built, organ by organ, by cunning artificers within the palace grounds. Regardless, dozens upon dozens of Dragons dwell within the Domain varying in size from no greater than a small house to as large as a mountain, and all are subservient to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, bound inescapably to His royal will, acting at once as both a symbol of His right to rule, and the core asset upon which His empire is founded.
'''DRAGONTHRONE''' – This is the royal heart of the Empire, taken up entirely by the vast Imperial Palace and its surrounding grounds. By Imperial edict, all born there are of royal blood, and naturally only those of royal blood are permitted to procreate there, and then only by the direction and edict of the Emperor Athan Eserian of Dragonthrone.  
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DREAMSAND – An oasis paradise surrounded by a seemingly infinite stretch of lifeless desert, Dreamsand is a small domain but one which is rich with fae magic. Nothing here is quite what it seems, and reality has an almost mirage-like quality to it – an effect which is enhanced by the large amounts of hashish smoked by the locals here. Logically many things about this place make no sense… It never rains, yet the oasis is always lush and verdant. The locals have no sense of history, yet the architecture speaks of bygone ages. There is no real productive economy to speak of and only one barely used Waygate, yet the souk is always crowded with traders. Those locals that do leave Dreamsand often recall it only indistinctly, as if through the haze of emerging from a long sleep, and to outsiders they seem to carry a certain otherworldly quality to them.
 
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EVERRUIN - The domain's geography is mostly moor and meadow, bounded by mountains, dotted by crumbling ruins from a civilization that doesn't resemble anything anyone has encountered, but with statues and carvings of birds of all sorts commonplace. The “natives” of the land are primitive hunter-gatherers - it doesn't seem that they know anything about what the ruins are or who built them. Dragonthrone has established one town here (called “Stonedig”) but with little natural resources here save poor quality soil and moss-covered dressed stone, there is little to bring wealth or growth to the region.
'''FIREWANDER''' – On an obsidian rock that projects from a lake of lava is Firewander, a domain of oppressive heat and sulphurous smoke that once served as a prison mining colony, but became an independent Principality in its own right after Empress Eleia Eserian of Dragonthrone promised its inhabitants citizen status in return for their aid during the Orc Wars six hundred years ago. The citizens of Firewander have a proud history of martial tradition, especially favouring hammers and mining tools, and also are well known for their Pyromancers.
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FELLTHOUGHT – Fellthought is a giant maze of semi-transparent, silvery metal, sustained by the subconscious desires of alien gods. The influence of those eldritch minds creates an ever-shifting curved labyrinth of traps. When creatures in other domains sleep and suffer nightmares, their consciousness may be transiently sucked through to Psionscape where they may manifest in mutated and tormented forms, attacking any real, living creatures which they encounter. Dreamers may manifest here as well, wandering in a dazed state, and suffering the depredations and tortures of the creatures here, but returning to their waking minds if “killed” here. Entering For reasons unknown to the masses, entry to Fellthought is strictly forbidden by Dragonthrone, though rumours of gems and other treasures will often draw explorers there regardless.
 
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FIREWANDER – On an obsidian rock that projects from a lake of lava is Firewander, a domain of oppressive heat and sulphurous smoke that once served as a prison mining colony, but became an independent Principality in its own right after Empress Eleia Eserian of Dragonthrone promised its inhabitants citizen status in return for their aid during the Orc Wars six hundred years ago. The citizens of Firewander have a proud history of martial tradition, especially favouring hammers and mining tools, and also are well known for their Pyromancers.
'''HEARTSWOOD''' – This realm is a great forest, with trees many hundreds of feet tall and a society that is divided into canopy, branch and ground. It is a domain of wild and untamed life, and the Lord of the Principality is also the High Druid of the land. The forest-folk have learnt to build their villages and towns in the branches of the greater trees, and have also gained great renown in their bow-skill, which they employ to defend themselves against spiderkin, root goblins and other forest denizens.
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GLENHARROW - Glenharrow was long ago invaded by the Imperium of Ravenspear, but the highland clansmen of the domain long fort a war of defiant resistance against their occupiers. Three centuries ago when Dragonthrone made war against Ravenspear, the Glenharrow Clansmen agreed to join forces with their occupier's enemies, and with steel and iron provided by Dragonthrone they succeeded in driving Ravenspear out of the highlands forever. Since then Glenharrow has remained a feudal domain of Dragonthrone, but through an agreement and treaty made at the time of their alliance remains almost independent, exempt from Imperial tithe and tribute, and self governing in almost every way.
 
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HARVESTGRAVE – A city once stood in this domain centred on a single enormous pyramid, housing both its royal palace and generations of dead kings. This domain was blessed with dozens of Waygates, and archaeological evidence in other domains suggest that many millennia ago, the dominion of this domain was as large as the empire of Dragonthrone is today.  Now that culture and people are long gone, and the surrounding deserts have swallowed the city, burying it deeply in the sands.  Only the tip of the pyramid remains, and the excavated upper levels have revealed a trio of gates, all of which are placed in a single chamber, suggesting that this civilisation had the technology to build Waygates as well as use them. Needless to say there is really one industry that remains here, and it involves shovels! There are untold fortunes beneath the shifting sands - not just of gold and gems, but of lost technologies and knowledge long forgotten, and (if evidence is to believe) of buried Waygates that may lead to new domains long disconnected from the meta-civilisation of the Realm. Excavations have not even uncovered a hundredth of this civilisation yet, thanks to the multiple obstacles of banditry, unearthed stone guardians and the sheer enormity of the task at hand.
'''IRONFLAME''' - A single mountain comprises this domain, and it is inhabited by snakemen miner-artificers who pull out iron and other ores from the heart of the mountain and work it in their extensive forge complexes into weapons, armour and superior tools. It is widely recognised that Ironflame smiths are the best in the realm, and the Hundred Claws army of Dragonthrone itself is supplied almost exclusively by Ironflame armament contracts.
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HEARTSWOOD – This realm is a great forest, with trees many hundreds of feet tall and a society that is divided into canopy, branch and ground. It is a domain of wild and untamed life, and the Lord of the Principality is also the High Druid of the land. The forest-folk have learnt to build their villages and towns in the branches of the greater trees, and have also gained great renown in their bow-skill, which they employ to defend themselves against spiderkin, root goblins and other forest denizens.
 
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HEXWIGHT – This domain appears to be a human corpse within an iron sarcophagus, within which Waygates are embedded and an entire towns has been carved out within its torso. From the subjective viewpoint of the domain’s inhabitants, the corpse seems to be tens of miles long, though some theorise that this is in fact an ordinary size corpse and the Waygates into the domain magically shrink anyone and anything that passes into the domain. Parasites similar to maggots and worms (but from a human viewpoint, seemingly the size of elephants) crawl throughout the corpse and are a menace to any who venture too far from the town. Animated by dark magic, the corpse lies in torpor, but its flesh may gently pulsate, and occasionally noxious fluids may flow through it. Any who break free from the insides of the corpse may face undead mothlike creatures which fly around inside the sarcophagus. Within the corpse, its body fluids glow with a dull but eerie light. Outside the corpse but within the sarcophagus all is dark. Dark rituals calling upon the power of alien gods may work more efficaciously here, but journeying to Hexedwight is clearly dangerous. The primary export of this unpleasant domain is mined fat and protein, which is noxious but good enough for tallow wax or animal feed.
'''JOURNEYPASS''' – Journeypass is an unremarkable domain geographically, consisting as it does of a flat grassy plain bounded by gentle hills and intersected by a wide slow-flowing river, but it is a domain blessed with a surprisingly high number of Wayportals. As a result Journeypass has thrived on trade, and the plains hold three major cities and six smaller towns. The Lord of Journeypass is known to be fanatically loyal to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, and hails from a strong tradition of chivalry and knightly virtue. The common folk are somewhat more mercenary in attitude, but it is a rare citizen of Journeypass who does not feel some swell of pride when he sees the domain’s Warhost riding to battle with pennants flying.
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IRONFLAME - A single mountain comprises this domain, and it is inhabited by snakemen miner-artificers who pull out iron and other ores from the heart of the mountain and work it in their extensive forge complexes into weapons, armour and superior tools. It is widely recognised that Ironflame smiths are the best in the realm, and the Hundred Claws army of Dragonthrone itself is supplied almost exclusively by Ironflame armament contracts.
Because of the domain’s high population, many local folk use their nearest city or town as a surname while within Journeypass, and only adopt the surname Journeypass when travelling into other domains.
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JOURNEYPASS – Journeypass is an unremarkable domain geographically, consisting as it does of a flat grassy plain bounded by gentle hills and intersected by a wide slow-flowing river, but it is a domain blessed with a surprisingly high number of Waygates. As a result Journeypass has thrived on trade, and the plains hold three major cities and six smaller towns. The Lord of Journeypass is known to be fanatically loyal to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, and hails from a strong tradition of chivalry and knightly virtue. The common folk are somewhat more mercenary in attitude, but it is a rare citizen of Journeypass who does not feel some swell of pride when he sees the domain’s Warhost riding to battle with pennants flying. Because of the domain’s high population, many local folk use their nearest city or town as a surname while within Journeypass, and only adopt the surname Journeypass when travelling into other domains.
 
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LOSTMARSH – A vast swampy jungle basking in tropical heat, inhabited by lizardfolk, flesh-eating piranhas, giant alligators, constrictor snakes, venomous arachnids, scorpions, venomous snakes, flesh-eating flora and mummified undead in ancient stepped pyramids dating back millenia to an era when Jungleswamp was a far more habitable place, or perhaps mankind was hardier. Primitive humans may also dwell here, and though the domain is technically part of Dragonthrone’s Empire, it yields little by way of tithe or tax, and the only part that is patrolled and preserved is the main highway that runs between the domain’s two known Waygates.
'''RAVENSPEAR'''  – This large domain is hemmed in by pine-covered mountains but has in its valley basin vast open plains as well as cultivated farms and vineyards. It is centred on the city of Aeternum, which in turn was once the centre of an Imperium that once ruled over no less than two dozen Domains. The black raven banner of the spear-wielding legionnaires was once a much feared symbol of military might. However, three hundred years ago Dragonthrone's Empire smashed the Ravenspear Imperium through a combination of arcane and technological superiority, as well as far greater numbers and resources. Now Ravenspear is just one more vassal domain under the rule of Dragonthrone, ruled by a weak and ineffectual senate that kowtows to the distant throne.
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MAIDENBLADE - The waters of this lake-spotted domain are blessed by the Mother goddess, and women who drink of them in infancy grow tall, quick of mind and body and uncommonly strong. Boy-children who drink, however are likely to grow timid in character and naturally subservient. As a result of these strong women, the society is matriarchal, ruled over by women, but the women of the warrior caste observe a code of reversed chivalry, protecting the weaker males. The blessing to the womenfolk (and the curse to menfolk) in this realm seems to work only within the domain, so those males of enough will to leave home often find new strength beyond the Waygates.
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MIRRORMOON – Almost every domain in the Realm has a single moon in its sky, though on some it is obscured from view. Mirrormoon is unusual in that there seems to be a second moon there as well, identical to the first and moving in a mirrored orbit. Aside from this oddity Mirrormoon is an ordinary rural domain, typical of the many farming communities in the Realm, with rich soil, cultivated land that is taken mostly with wheatfields, a feudally governed population and a scattering of small towns and villages. No scholar has ever been able to work out why this domain has its second moon.
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NIGHTGLADE –Here all is forested, but all the trees are black and dead. No sun shines, nor even a clear moon, but only the stars. Lichens and undergrowth feed upon the dead trees and in turn are food for rodents, which sit at the bottom of a food-chain of sinister predatory animals. Nightmarish fey hack into the dead trees and eat the wood for food. The bark of some trees may have alchemical properties:- trees marked with bronze-coloured lichen may have poisonous bark, which the dark fey apply to their jagged weapons. These fey are not fully living but part-way to being undead. As they age they become less and less alike unto the living, eventually becoming ethereal creatures similar to banshees. Metal weaponry they obtain by bargaining with white-skinned gnomes who live among the dead roots of the trees and who dig deep beneath the soil to mine the rocks below. Part of the base-rock is volcanic in origin and a volcano may even erupt from time to time. Those fey who have not made contact with the gnomes often have obsidian weaponry made from obsidian gathered after volcanic eruptions. This domain is a tempting place to visit for herbalists, alchemists and assassins, especially those keen to procure the rarest of ingredients for deadly poisons.
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OWLTEMPLE – A former domain of Ravenspear’s Imperium, Owltemple is a civilised and peaceful land of white marble columns and balmy climates. It is famed partially for its philosophers and its fine olive groves but most of all for housing the Realm’s largest temple to the Lady – a goddess of the moon, the hunt, of owls  and of philosophical thought. It now enthusiastically swears loyalty to Dragonthrone, with its locals often stating that their change of Lord and Master has resulted a renaissance of new thought.
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PAGEFALL - The gentle climate, passive natives and relative isolation of this island domain made it an ideal place for contemplation and study, and so just two centuries ago the Imperial University bought up the domain and built campus and colleges upon it. The presence of the university has urbanised the island, and now it attracts both an intake of students and foreign trade. Those that gain degrees at Pagefall will commonly take the island name as their own surname, in place of their previous surname. Only nobles or those of notable families tend to ignore this tradition. Pagefall is a gathering place for academics of all sorts - it is perhaps most infamous for its College Arcane and the Engineering College, but as a centre for knowledge and learning in all fields, it is unequalled.
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RAVENSPEAR – This large domain is hemmed in by pine-covered mountains but has in its valley basin vast open plains as well as cultivated farms and vineyards. It is centred on the city of Aeternum, which in turn was once the centre of an Imperium that once ruled over no less than two dozen Domains. The black raven banner of the spear-wielding legionnaires was once a much feared symbol of military might. However, three hundred years ago Dragonthrone's Empire smashed the Ravenspear Imperium through a combination of arcane and technological superiority, as well as far greater numbers and resources. Now Ravenspear is just one more vassal domain under the rule of Dragonthrone, ruled by a weak and ineffectual senate that kowtows to the distant throne.
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RUSTMARCH - The landscape of this domain is a blasted ash waste over which cruel winds blow, shrieking between scattered and decaying towers of obsidian. Dotted across the lifeless expanses of this land are the dilapidated metal wrecks of once great war machines, seemingly the legacy of a technologically advanced war in ages past. The inhabitants of this domain can be found huddled in the ruins of the ancient metropolis, now reduced to a harsh and primitive lifestyle scavenging what they can from the bones of the old society and drawing what little sustenance is given from the unforgiving earth. They are warriors, every aspect of their culture is centered around the goal of cultivating soldiers for a war against an ambiguous and distant foe. The chieftains and lorekeepers of these clans speak that their ancestors were those who built the cities and the machines, and that their civilization was all but wiped out by a terrifying war against horrors that came through the Waygates. Though they have lost the vast scientific and magical knowledge of their forebears, they nonetheless prepare for the day that the horrors will return to finish what they began centuries ago.
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SCARLETTWOOD - Sparsely inhabited, this domain gains its name from the red-bark birch forests that cover most of its rolling hills. The pulp of this wood is considered to be excellent material for making durable paper, and the bark can be reduced to an excellent red-brown ink. As a result there is a single large monastery in the domain, that both operates as a business providing paper and ink to the realm, but also as a place of worship to the Old Scholar, a patron saint / demigod of learning and academia who is considered only a minor deity in other domains. Scattered around the monastery are numerous villages of peasants and woodsmen, all holding a tradition that the second born son of any family be sent to the monastery.
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SILKMARKET – Once called Wormswood, this domain’s forests have long since been cleared and the wild giant silkworms have been penned into farms. These silkworms are often as large as an ox, and their silk is well prized as one of the finest clothing materials in all the realm, equally suited to hardy adventurer gear or high fashion. The domain is given over almost entirely to this textiles industry, though the locals also produce all manner of less exportable goods, including “silksblood beer” and “silkcheese”. The lord of this land is called the Chief Fabricator by the locals, and has grown fat on the wealth of his worms. He is well known for his skill at the local fighting style, which uses double hook-ended staves to claw at and trip opponents.
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SKYBRIDGE – This domain is unusual in that there is no ground, but rather the Waygates are suspended in the air, with clouds moving past and a seemingly infinite drop below. In ancient times an innovating sorcerer engineer connected three of the gates with massive chain bridges, each just a few hundred yards in width and held onto the portals themselves with bands of starsteel and draketendon. Since that time the bridges have been permanently colonised, with villages suspended from ropes under the bridges, and netfarms gathering rain and sky-kelp to sustain them. The locals have tamed pterosaurs as mounts, and are considered to be amongst the finest archers in the realm, having grown accustomed to archery across improbably vast distances from positions of unstable footing.
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SORROWSTORM - Once a prosperous and civilised domain, Sorrowstorm was the location of arcane experiments gone awry some six hundred years ago, and since then has been ravaged by constant lightning storms that tear at and scar the earth, and render the domain almost uninhabitable. Worse still, the few survivors of the prior civilisation must battle daily against the swarms of Stormborn - dog-sized insectoid creatures that are driven by the storm's dark energy and which hunt men and livestock.
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TALONBLAZE – While the headquarters of the Hundred Claws is at Dragonthrone, its most vital tactical asset is undoubtedly Talonblaze. This intimidating land is surrounded by a mile high wall of magical blue flame, and within its boundaries is divided into equal areas of plains, mountains, swamps, jungle and ruined cityscape. Within this undoubtedly constructed environment the armies of the Hundred Claws train their troops, directing operations from the Gate Fortress at the centre, which is large enough to barrack up to twenty thousand men comfortably, and usually houses that many and ten thousand more. There are few non-military personnel within this domain.
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TOWERCLIMB - A single, massive granite tower a mile-across in diameter but extending as far as the eye can see up and down. The tower itself is mostly closed off, but with a single spiralling staircase that travels between levels. Only the dozen levels closest to the Waygates are inhabited by civilised folk- the others are known as the wilderlevels because of the dangerous beasts and races that occupy them. Every so often, someone goes off to seek the mythical top of the tower. Some return mad, some rich, and some not at all.
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THUNDERDEEP – This domain is one of many entirely subterranean ones, where the only light is from torches and oil lanterns, and where the main foodstuff is cave fungus and insects. Thunderdeep is so named because of the deep rumbling noise that passes through the caves every thirty seconds or so. Locals find it somewhat soothing, referring to it as the heartbeat of the earth, but visitors can find it drives them to distraction. Thunderdeep folk are well known for their patience and stoicism, and for their preference for darkness.
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TUNDRAHUE - This domain is wrought of ice layered for half a kilometre or so on top of an unlit sea of enormous depth, but it reflects a purple light emanating from its ever-present moon which hangs fixed in the sky. The moonglow varies in intensity. The brighter it gets, the more heat it sucks from the surface. Thus during the "daytime" when the moonglow is very bright, the surface is too cold for a human to survive there for any length of time. Fires are extinguished by the moon's power. At "night" when the moonglow is dim, a human can survive in warm clothing for several hours at a time. Beneath the surface are a network of tunnels left by the enormous lizardlike iceworms of Tundrahue, creatures of primitive intelligence which subsist off the ice itself. They are irritated by body heat which they can sense at a few hundred metres' distance within the tunnels. The iceworms when not roused to anger by body heat in their vicinity are very slow-moving and have left many abandoned networks of tunnels going deep beneath the surface. Small colonies of raker goblins with vicious claws have sprung up near the ocean boundary at the lower reaches of the ice. They have dug small fishing holes and ice-channels and subsist by fishing for the white-fleshed or luminescent jellyfish-like creatures, squid, mantises, octopuses and so forth which survive in the dark sea beneath.
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UPDOWN – In updown, gravity is somewhat unpredictable, moving in tides across, around and through this three hundred mile wide spherical domain. The locals have become accustomed to it shifting from one minute to the next, feeling the change in forces moments before it happens, and heading to different surfaces with flips and tumbles. Arcane experts have even discerned repeating patterns over time, and use them to pilot “droppers” across the hollow sky within the sphere. Predictably enough, outsiders tend to avoid visiting Updown if they can, which the locals appreciate, given how messy an outworlder vomiting can be in this environment.
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VILLEMASQUE - This domain consists of lands ruled over by the oligarchs of the city of Villemasque. Many hundreds of years ago the leading oligarch, Guildmaster Trolai le Pou, was so hideous that he took to wearing a mask at all times, and others out of courtesy or deference followed suit. Over time the wearing of a mask or other face-covering became not merely customary but mandatory by law and a power struggle is ongoing among the three leading associations of craftsmen who make and maintain the masks, namely The Guild of Maskmakers, The Company of the Veil and The House of Guises. It is rumoured that many of these masks have basic magical properties which must be replenished each week. A single craftsman can maintain many masks, but only within the magical walls of Villemasque is his craft efficacious. Elite citizens - those with magical masks - tend to have at least two masks so that a magical one can be worn at all times. Beggars wear rags over their faces, but everyone covers their face with something (on pain of being scalded across the face with boiling water, or worse).
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WHITEROSE – This domain is oddly named, for it is a hostile jungle domain inhabited by the primeval creatures that are called lizard-kings. A lizard-king is feral, carnivorous, powerful and the size of a small castle with powerful jaws and teeth that can break stone and steel. The domain is named not for these creatures, but rather for the sole material that makes journeys to this distant and terrible land worthwhile – the pollen of the white rose, which has healing properties so potent that a single flower can produce medicine that would cure an entire village of plague. The white rose will grow nowhere else, is only found a single flower at a time, and only in the deepest part of the lizard-kings’ territories, yet its pollen is regarded as one of the most precious substances in all the realm.
  
'''SILKMARKET''' Once called Wormswood, this domain’s forests have long since been cleared and the wild giant silkworms have been penned into farms. These silkworms are often as large as an ox, and their silk is well prized as one of the finest clothing materials in all the realm, equally suited to hardy adventurer gear or high fashion. The domain is given over almost entirely to this textiles industry, though the locals also produce all manner of less exportable goods, including “silksblood beer” and “silkcheese”. The lord of this land is called the Chief Fabricator by the locals, and has grown fat on the wealth of his worms. He is well known for his skill at the local fighting style, which uses double hook-ended staves to claw at and trip opponents.
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WINTERWATCH A series of ice fortresses watching over a cold sea, the domain of Winterwatch is unusual in that it has only one single Waygate out of it. The forts are designed to guard this Waygate against the threat of the Fomori… foul eyeless creatures that periodically raid from the sea, riding longships made of bone. The current Castellan of Winterwatch is named Freya “Iceheart” of Winterwatch, who wields a double handed blade carved from the heart of a glacier, and whose swordskill is matched only by her hatred of the fomori.
  
'''THUNDERDEEP''' – This domain is one of many entirely subterranean ones, where the only light is from torches and oil lanterns, and where the main foodstuff is cave fungus and insects. Thunderdeep is so named because of the deep rumbling noise that passes through the caves every thirty seconds or so. Locals find it somewhat soothing, referring to it as the heartbeat of the earth, but visitors can find it drives them to distraction. Thunderdeep folk are well known for their patience and stoicism, and for their preference for darkness.
 
  
  

Latest revision as of 10:26, 7 August 2009

A Realm of Legends[edit]

The Realm encompasses several hundred principalities, connected by wayportals and under the authority of the Empire. Each principality is ruled by a feudal lord, and these feudal lords in turn bend knee to the Emperor of Dragonthrone. Beyond the Realm lie other domains, some of whom are hold peace treaties with Dragonthrone, and others want to see nothing less than to lay waste to all its lands.

EDITS: Clean up and breakdown needed

Worlds and Domains[edit]

Worlds and Domains The realm encompasses several hundred principalities, and those listed below are but a few examples. Don’t forget that a character’s surname is also his principality of origin, so when selecting where your character is from you might want to pick a domain name that you like the sound of, or which particularly matches your background. BLACKWATERS – This city is surrounded by and half submerged in a black-watered lake. Legends say that once this was a proud and ancient city but in its hubris placed itself above the gods. The gods responded by flooding the city with torrential rain: rain which has not abated since. The noble families of Blackwaters still have not abandoned their ancestral home, but are hope to one day find a way to stop the rain, and allow the city to be reclaimed from the water. Despite their current ill fortunes, the nobles of Blackwater are still famed for their mastery of intrigue and politics, and have managed to remain influential in the Realm despite the odds. Almost as great as their reputation for political mastery is their reputation for debauchery – it is often said that you have not truly experienced hedonism till you have visited the floating Pleasure Dens of Blackwater, and indulged in the drugs, sex games and other experiences on offer there. BLOODPACT – This smoke-wreathed domain of volcanic rock and dense jungles is the site of millennia of constant war between the Orcish Legions and the Stonetroll Tribes. The orcs are seemingly without number, suffering thousands of casualties every day but with new armies marching into the fray just as fast. The stonetrolls are sixty-foot tall warped giants, fewer in number but stronger and possessed of powerful regenerative capabilities. Happily neither Orc nor Troll seem capable of using the many Waygates that connect Bloodpact to neighbouring domains, so their threat is contained. The Empire of Dragonthrone has a permanent outpost in Bloodpact called the Fortress of Haven - from here it deploys nobles and military officers in training, allowing them to gain military experience against the undisciplined and technologically inferior orcs and trolls, leading expendable Penal Legion troopers in their sorties. BLOSSOMSONG – The forests surrounding this domain are a haven for pixies and fairies, teeming with diminutive fey. These creatures are masters of small magic and lovers of revelry, but extremely secretive and wary of anyone over two foot tall. The three Waygates in this domain are controlled by humans of Dragonthrone’s empire, who maintain small settlements in burnt and salted clearings within the forest. Travelling between the gates can be difficult though, and travellers are given a clear warning – stick to the path, or risk being forever lost. BRIGHTSKIES – The domain of bright-skies is set in the side of a great cliff overlooking a vast blue ocean. The climate is pleasant and temperate, and several towns are set into the rock-face, balancing on ledges or living within shallow caves and short tunnels. The inhabitants of Brightskies have fully adapted to their perpendicular lifestyle, and find it quite amusing that visitors find their environment vertiginous. The “shark’s teeth” where the cliff meets sea is also a favourite site for young adventurers to prove their worth, as hostile sahuagin, merfolk and worse infest the jagged rocks and often need to be driven back from the edges of civilisation. BURNINGSAND - A harsh and barren desert for the most part, the Burningsand domain is doubly isolated from outside influence as its few Waygates are a long desert trek away from the narrow river that gives life to the heart of this land. Burningsand is well known as a place of hard men, who speak little but possess the burning intensity of their desert home in their eyes and hearts. Likewise, the emptiness of this domain lends itself well to introspection and revelation, and Burningsand has been the origin of more than one religious prophet or great philosopher, who have shaken the realm with their fiery words and zealous drive. CANDLEWHISPER – For the most part the domain of Candlewhisper is empty blasted and sterile black rock upon which no life will grow. The sun is visible only dimly through heavy grey clouds that never shed rain, and so the entire area is dry and chilly. Candlewhisper is significant though, as at the centre of this domain is a library complex that pre-dates the Empire itself. The librarian-monks themselves have something of the nature of the realm of them, being pale of skin, quiet in voice and slow of pulse. They believe that beneath the rock of Candlewhisper the god called The Endless is slumbering, and he is both the God of the Underworld and of Secrets. They believe that to speak or act too loudly in Candlewhisper is to invite his attention, and will result in inevitable death within a matter of months. They do not share the knowledge of the library easily, and the arcane cataloguing of the stacks means that it is virtually impossible to find a specific tome or scroll without their help. However, thanks to an ancient pact they are bound to provide assistance and lore to any who come to them with an offering of a written work or piece of arcane knowledge that they do not already possess. They have little interest in trivia or fiction though, and by their own code will reject any spurious works, but they have never been known to refuse a deal when presented with significant new lore, such as a new spell, ritual or history. DEMONFORGE - A scar in the earth leading down into a dark abyss, the Demonforge periodically spews out hordes of gibbering spawn that surge towards the Waygates, seemingly intent of breaking out into the realm at large. To contain this threat, there are three Edgeforts, each with a thousand seasoned soldiers dedicated to driving the spawn back into the pit. The thousand soldiers are reinforced by twelve times that number in undead soldiers, sustained by the very energy of the pit they seek to contain, and raised from the numbers of the Edgefort's fallen. The undead, while fearless and numerous, require direction from living commanders, and so the Demonforge domain places a high value on training in war-strategy and tactics. DRAGONTHRONE – This is the royal heart of the Empire, an entirely constructed island in a sea of coruscating arcane energy. By Imperial edict, all born there are of royal blood, and naturally only those of royal blood are permitted to procreate there, and then only by the direction and edict of the Emperor Athan Eserian of Dragonthrone. The native born of Dragonthrone claim direct descent from the Traveller, who in turn is a revered figure who legends claim created the Waygates, and founded the first civilisations. Most in Dragonthrone, of course, are not natives but rather servants of the throne from other domains, who are there only to work and attend the Imperial court. Dragonthrone is dominated by the rising spires of the Imperial Palace, which is surrounded by a halo of lesser (but still magnificent) forts and palaces that house the bureaucracy of the realm and the headquarters of the manifold organisations within the government. By edict, none of the buildings in the “Throne Halo” may exceed one third of the height of the palace proper, but as that edifice is a mile and a half high, that is not so much of a limitation. Indeed, these Halo Palaces far outstrip the architectural scale of most other realms, and in isolation would be considered wonders of the realm. Despite the size, opulence and presence of the Imperial Palace and the Halo, they are not considered the defining trait of Dragonthrone. Rather, the source of this Domain’s strength and empire is that it is the birthplace of Dragons. Some say that there are cave complexes beneath the palace and that this is where the dragons are born and bred. Others claim that the Throne Palace sits atop a nexus of unimaginable arcane energies from which the dragons are called into being. Others still believe that the Dragons are built, organ by organ, by cunning artificers within the palace grounds. Regardless, dozens upon dozens of Dragons dwell within the Domain varying in size from no greater than a small house to as large as a mountain, and all are subservient to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, bound inescapably to His royal will, acting at once as both a symbol of His right to rule, and the core asset upon which His empire is founded. DREAMSAND – An oasis paradise surrounded by a seemingly infinite stretch of lifeless desert, Dreamsand is a small domain but one which is rich with fae magic. Nothing here is quite what it seems, and reality has an almost mirage-like quality to it – an effect which is enhanced by the large amounts of hashish smoked by the locals here. Logically many things about this place make no sense… It never rains, yet the oasis is always lush and verdant. The locals have no sense of history, yet the architecture speaks of bygone ages. There is no real productive economy to speak of and only one barely used Waygate, yet the souk is always crowded with traders. Those locals that do leave Dreamsand often recall it only indistinctly, as if through the haze of emerging from a long sleep, and to outsiders they seem to carry a certain otherworldly quality to them. EVERRUIN - The domain's geography is mostly moor and meadow, bounded by mountains, dotted by crumbling ruins from a civilization that doesn't resemble anything anyone has encountered, but with statues and carvings of birds of all sorts commonplace. The “natives” of the land are primitive hunter-gatherers - it doesn't seem that they know anything about what the ruins are or who built them. Dragonthrone has established one town here (called “Stonedig”) but with little natural resources here save poor quality soil and moss-covered dressed stone, there is little to bring wealth or growth to the region. FELLTHOUGHT – Fellthought is a giant maze of semi-transparent, silvery metal, sustained by the subconscious desires of alien gods. The influence of those eldritch minds creates an ever-shifting curved labyrinth of traps. When creatures in other domains sleep and suffer nightmares, their consciousness may be transiently sucked through to Psionscape where they may manifest in mutated and tormented forms, attacking any real, living creatures which they encounter. Dreamers may manifest here as well, wandering in a dazed state, and suffering the depredations and tortures of the creatures here, but returning to their waking minds if “killed” here. Entering For reasons unknown to the masses, entry to Fellthought is strictly forbidden by Dragonthrone, though rumours of gems and other treasures will often draw explorers there regardless. FIREWANDER – On an obsidian rock that projects from a lake of lava is Firewander, a domain of oppressive heat and sulphurous smoke that once served as a prison mining colony, but became an independent Principality in its own right after Empress Eleia Eserian of Dragonthrone promised its inhabitants citizen status in return for their aid during the Orc Wars six hundred years ago. The citizens of Firewander have a proud history of martial tradition, especially favouring hammers and mining tools, and also are well known for their Pyromancers. GLENHARROW - Glenharrow was long ago invaded by the Imperium of Ravenspear, but the highland clansmen of the domain long fort a war of defiant resistance against their occupiers. Three centuries ago when Dragonthrone made war against Ravenspear, the Glenharrow Clansmen agreed to join forces with their occupier's enemies, and with steel and iron provided by Dragonthrone they succeeded in driving Ravenspear out of the highlands forever. Since then Glenharrow has remained a feudal domain of Dragonthrone, but through an agreement and treaty made at the time of their alliance remains almost independent, exempt from Imperial tithe and tribute, and self governing in almost every way. HARVESTGRAVE – A city once stood in this domain centred on a single enormous pyramid, housing both its royal palace and generations of dead kings. This domain was blessed with dozens of Waygates, and archaeological evidence in other domains suggest that many millennia ago, the dominion of this domain was as large as the empire of Dragonthrone is today. Now that culture and people are long gone, and the surrounding deserts have swallowed the city, burying it deeply in the sands. Only the tip of the pyramid remains, and the excavated upper levels have revealed a trio of gates, all of which are placed in a single chamber, suggesting that this civilisation had the technology to build Waygates as well as use them. Needless to say there is really one industry that remains here, and it involves shovels! There are untold fortunes beneath the shifting sands - not just of gold and gems, but of lost technologies and knowledge long forgotten, and (if evidence is to believe) of buried Waygates that may lead to new domains long disconnected from the meta-civilisation of the Realm. Excavations have not even uncovered a hundredth of this civilisation yet, thanks to the multiple obstacles of banditry, unearthed stone guardians and the sheer enormity of the task at hand. HEARTSWOOD – This realm is a great forest, with trees many hundreds of feet tall and a society that is divided into canopy, branch and ground. It is a domain of wild and untamed life, and the Lord of the Principality is also the High Druid of the land. The forest-folk have learnt to build their villages and towns in the branches of the greater trees, and have also gained great renown in their bow-skill, which they employ to defend themselves against spiderkin, root goblins and other forest denizens. HEXWIGHT – This domain appears to be a human corpse within an iron sarcophagus, within which Waygates are embedded and an entire towns has been carved out within its torso. From the subjective viewpoint of the domain’s inhabitants, the corpse seems to be tens of miles long, though some theorise that this is in fact an ordinary size corpse and the Waygates into the domain magically shrink anyone and anything that passes into the domain. Parasites similar to maggots and worms (but from a human viewpoint, seemingly the size of elephants) crawl throughout the corpse and are a menace to any who venture too far from the town. Animated by dark magic, the corpse lies in torpor, but its flesh may gently pulsate, and occasionally noxious fluids may flow through it. Any who break free from the insides of the corpse may face undead mothlike creatures which fly around inside the sarcophagus. Within the corpse, its body fluids glow with a dull but eerie light. Outside the corpse but within the sarcophagus all is dark. Dark rituals calling upon the power of alien gods may work more efficaciously here, but journeying to Hexedwight is clearly dangerous. The primary export of this unpleasant domain is mined fat and protein, which is noxious but good enough for tallow wax or animal feed. IRONFLAME - A single mountain comprises this domain, and it is inhabited by snakemen miner-artificers who pull out iron and other ores from the heart of the mountain and work it in their extensive forge complexes into weapons, armour and superior tools. It is widely recognised that Ironflame smiths are the best in the realm, and the Hundred Claws army of Dragonthrone itself is supplied almost exclusively by Ironflame armament contracts. JOURNEYPASS – Journeypass is an unremarkable domain geographically, consisting as it does of a flat grassy plain bounded by gentle hills and intersected by a wide slow-flowing river, but it is a domain blessed with a surprisingly high number of Waygates. As a result Journeypass has thrived on trade, and the plains hold three major cities and six smaller towns. The Lord of Journeypass is known to be fanatically loyal to the Emperor of Dragonthrone, and hails from a strong tradition of chivalry and knightly virtue. The common folk are somewhat more mercenary in attitude, but it is a rare citizen of Journeypass who does not feel some swell of pride when he sees the domain’s Warhost riding to battle with pennants flying. Because of the domain’s high population, many local folk use their nearest city or town as a surname while within Journeypass, and only adopt the surname Journeypass when travelling into other domains. LOSTMARSH – A vast swampy jungle basking in tropical heat, inhabited by lizardfolk, flesh-eating piranhas, giant alligators, constrictor snakes, venomous arachnids, scorpions, venomous snakes, flesh-eating flora and mummified undead in ancient stepped pyramids dating back millenia to an era when Jungleswamp was a far more habitable place, or perhaps mankind was hardier. Primitive humans may also dwell here, and though the domain is technically part of Dragonthrone’s Empire, it yields little by way of tithe or tax, and the only part that is patrolled and preserved is the main highway that runs between the domain’s two known Waygates. MAIDENBLADE - The waters of this lake-spotted domain are blessed by the Mother goddess, and women who drink of them in infancy grow tall, quick of mind and body and uncommonly strong. Boy-children who drink, however are likely to grow timid in character and naturally subservient. As a result of these strong women, the society is matriarchal, ruled over by women, but the women of the warrior caste observe a code of reversed chivalry, protecting the weaker males. The blessing to the womenfolk (and the curse to menfolk) in this realm seems to work only within the domain, so those males of enough will to leave home often find new strength beyond the Waygates. MIRRORMOON – Almost every domain in the Realm has a single moon in its sky, though on some it is obscured from view. Mirrormoon is unusual in that there seems to be a second moon there as well, identical to the first and moving in a mirrored orbit. Aside from this oddity Mirrormoon is an ordinary rural domain, typical of the many farming communities in the Realm, with rich soil, cultivated land that is taken mostly with wheatfields, a feudally governed population and a scattering of small towns and villages. No scholar has ever been able to work out why this domain has its second moon. NIGHTGLADE –Here all is forested, but all the trees are black and dead. No sun shines, nor even a clear moon, but only the stars. Lichens and undergrowth feed upon the dead trees and in turn are food for rodents, which sit at the bottom of a food-chain of sinister predatory animals. Nightmarish fey hack into the dead trees and eat the wood for food. The bark of some trees may have alchemical properties:- trees marked with bronze-coloured lichen may have poisonous bark, which the dark fey apply to their jagged weapons. These fey are not fully living but part-way to being undead. As they age they become less and less alike unto the living, eventually becoming ethereal creatures similar to banshees. Metal weaponry they obtain by bargaining with white-skinned gnomes who live among the dead roots of the trees and who dig deep beneath the soil to mine the rocks below. Part of the base-rock is volcanic in origin and a volcano may even erupt from time to time. Those fey who have not made contact with the gnomes often have obsidian weaponry made from obsidian gathered after volcanic eruptions. This domain is a tempting place to visit for herbalists, alchemists and assassins, especially those keen to procure the rarest of ingredients for deadly poisons. OWLTEMPLE – A former domain of Ravenspear’s Imperium, Owltemple is a civilised and peaceful land of white marble columns and balmy climates. It is famed partially for its philosophers and its fine olive groves but most of all for housing the Realm’s largest temple to the Lady – a goddess of the moon, the hunt, of owls and of philosophical thought. It now enthusiastically swears loyalty to Dragonthrone, with its locals often stating that their change of Lord and Master has resulted a renaissance of new thought. PAGEFALL - The gentle climate, passive natives and relative isolation of this island domain made it an ideal place for contemplation and study, and so just two centuries ago the Imperial University bought up the domain and built campus and colleges upon it. The presence of the university has urbanised the island, and now it attracts both an intake of students and foreign trade. Those that gain degrees at Pagefall will commonly take the island name as their own surname, in place of their previous surname. Only nobles or those of notable families tend to ignore this tradition. Pagefall is a gathering place for academics of all sorts - it is perhaps most infamous for its College Arcane and the Engineering College, but as a centre for knowledge and learning in all fields, it is unequalled. RAVENSPEAR – This large domain is hemmed in by pine-covered mountains but has in its valley basin vast open plains as well as cultivated farms and vineyards. It is centred on the city of Aeternum, which in turn was once the centre of an Imperium that once ruled over no less than two dozen Domains. The black raven banner of the spear-wielding legionnaires was once a much feared symbol of military might. However, three hundred years ago Dragonthrone's Empire smashed the Ravenspear Imperium through a combination of arcane and technological superiority, as well as far greater numbers and resources. Now Ravenspear is just one more vassal domain under the rule of Dragonthrone, ruled by a weak and ineffectual senate that kowtows to the distant throne. RUSTMARCH - The landscape of this domain is a blasted ash waste over which cruel winds blow, shrieking between scattered and decaying towers of obsidian. Dotted across the lifeless expanses of this land are the dilapidated metal wrecks of once great war machines, seemingly the legacy of a technologically advanced war in ages past. The inhabitants of this domain can be found huddled in the ruins of the ancient metropolis, now reduced to a harsh and primitive lifestyle scavenging what they can from the bones of the old society and drawing what little sustenance is given from the unforgiving earth. They are warriors, every aspect of their culture is centered around the goal of cultivating soldiers for a war against an ambiguous and distant foe. The chieftains and lorekeepers of these clans speak that their ancestors were those who built the cities and the machines, and that their civilization was all but wiped out by a terrifying war against horrors that came through the Waygates. Though they have lost the vast scientific and magical knowledge of their forebears, they nonetheless prepare for the day that the horrors will return to finish what they began centuries ago. SCARLETTWOOD - Sparsely inhabited, this domain gains its name from the red-bark birch forests that cover most of its rolling hills. The pulp of this wood is considered to be excellent material for making durable paper, and the bark can be reduced to an excellent red-brown ink. As a result there is a single large monastery in the domain, that both operates as a business providing paper and ink to the realm, but also as a place of worship to the Old Scholar, a patron saint / demigod of learning and academia who is considered only a minor deity in other domains. Scattered around the monastery are numerous villages of peasants and woodsmen, all holding a tradition that the second born son of any family be sent to the monastery. SILKMARKET – Once called Wormswood, this domain’s forests have long since been cleared and the wild giant silkworms have been penned into farms. These silkworms are often as large as an ox, and their silk is well prized as one of the finest clothing materials in all the realm, equally suited to hardy adventurer gear or high fashion. The domain is given over almost entirely to this textiles industry, though the locals also produce all manner of less exportable goods, including “silksblood beer” and “silkcheese”. The lord of this land is called the Chief Fabricator by the locals, and has grown fat on the wealth of his worms. He is well known for his skill at the local fighting style, which uses double hook-ended staves to claw at and trip opponents. SKYBRIDGE – This domain is unusual in that there is no ground, but rather the Waygates are suspended in the air, with clouds moving past and a seemingly infinite drop below. In ancient times an innovating sorcerer engineer connected three of the gates with massive chain bridges, each just a few hundred yards in width and held onto the portals themselves with bands of starsteel and draketendon. Since that time the bridges have been permanently colonised, with villages suspended from ropes under the bridges, and netfarms gathering rain and sky-kelp to sustain them. The locals have tamed pterosaurs as mounts, and are considered to be amongst the finest archers in the realm, having grown accustomed to archery across improbably vast distances from positions of unstable footing. SORROWSTORM - Once a prosperous and civilised domain, Sorrowstorm was the location of arcane experiments gone awry some six hundred years ago, and since then has been ravaged by constant lightning storms that tear at and scar the earth, and render the domain almost uninhabitable. Worse still, the few survivors of the prior civilisation must battle daily against the swarms of Stormborn - dog-sized insectoid creatures that are driven by the storm's dark energy and which hunt men and livestock. TALONBLAZE – While the headquarters of the Hundred Claws is at Dragonthrone, its most vital tactical asset is undoubtedly Talonblaze. This intimidating land is surrounded by a mile high wall of magical blue flame, and within its boundaries is divided into equal areas of plains, mountains, swamps, jungle and ruined cityscape. Within this undoubtedly constructed environment the armies of the Hundred Claws train their troops, directing operations from the Gate Fortress at the centre, which is large enough to barrack up to twenty thousand men comfortably, and usually houses that many and ten thousand more. There are few non-military personnel within this domain. TOWERCLIMB - A single, massive granite tower a mile-across in diameter but extending as far as the eye can see up and down. The tower itself is mostly closed off, but with a single spiralling staircase that travels between levels. Only the dozen levels closest to the Waygates are inhabited by civilised folk- the others are known as the wilderlevels because of the dangerous beasts and races that occupy them. Every so often, someone goes off to seek the mythical top of the tower. Some return mad, some rich, and some not at all. THUNDERDEEP – This domain is one of many entirely subterranean ones, where the only light is from torches and oil lanterns, and where the main foodstuff is cave fungus and insects. Thunderdeep is so named because of the deep rumbling noise that passes through the caves every thirty seconds or so. Locals find it somewhat soothing, referring to it as the heartbeat of the earth, but visitors can find it drives them to distraction. Thunderdeep folk are well known for their patience and stoicism, and for their preference for darkness. TUNDRAHUE - This domain is wrought of ice layered for half a kilometre or so on top of an unlit sea of enormous depth, but it reflects a purple light emanating from its ever-present moon which hangs fixed in the sky. The moonglow varies in intensity. The brighter it gets, the more heat it sucks from the surface. Thus during the "daytime" when the moonglow is very bright, the surface is too cold for a human to survive there for any length of time. Fires are extinguished by the moon's power. At "night" when the moonglow is dim, a human can survive in warm clothing for several hours at a time. Beneath the surface are a network of tunnels left by the enormous lizardlike iceworms of Tundrahue, creatures of primitive intelligence which subsist off the ice itself. They are irritated by body heat which they can sense at a few hundred metres' distance within the tunnels. The iceworms when not roused to anger by body heat in their vicinity are very slow-moving and have left many abandoned networks of tunnels going deep beneath the surface. Small colonies of raker goblins with vicious claws have sprung up near the ocean boundary at the lower reaches of the ice. They have dug small fishing holes and ice-channels and subsist by fishing for the white-fleshed or luminescent jellyfish-like creatures, squid, mantises, octopuses and so forth which survive in the dark sea beneath. UPDOWN – In updown, gravity is somewhat unpredictable, moving in tides across, around and through this three hundred mile wide spherical domain. The locals have become accustomed to it shifting from one minute to the next, feeling the change in forces moments before it happens, and heading to different surfaces with flips and tumbles. Arcane experts have even discerned repeating patterns over time, and use them to pilot “droppers” across the hollow sky within the sphere. Predictably enough, outsiders tend to avoid visiting Updown if they can, which the locals appreciate, given how messy an outworlder vomiting can be in this environment. VILLEMASQUE - This domain consists of lands ruled over by the oligarchs of the city of Villemasque. Many hundreds of years ago the leading oligarch, Guildmaster Trolai le Pou, was so hideous that he took to wearing a mask at all times, and others out of courtesy or deference followed suit. Over time the wearing of a mask or other face-covering became not merely customary but mandatory by law and a power struggle is ongoing among the three leading associations of craftsmen who make and maintain the masks, namely The Guild of Maskmakers, The Company of the Veil and The House of Guises. It is rumoured that many of these masks have basic magical properties which must be replenished each week. A single craftsman can maintain many masks, but only within the magical walls of Villemasque is his craft efficacious. Elite citizens - those with magical masks - tend to have at least two masks so that a magical one can be worn at all times. Beggars wear rags over their faces, but everyone covers their face with something (on pain of being scalded across the face with boiling water, or worse). WHITEROSE – This domain is oddly named, for it is a hostile jungle domain inhabited by the primeval creatures that are called lizard-kings. A lizard-king is feral, carnivorous, powerful and the size of a small castle with powerful jaws and teeth that can break stone and steel. The domain is named not for these creatures, but rather for the sole material that makes journeys to this distant and terrible land worthwhile – the pollen of the white rose, which has healing properties so potent that a single flower can produce medicine that would cure an entire village of plague. The white rose will grow nowhere else, is only found a single flower at a time, and only in the deepest part of the lizard-kings’ territories, yet its pollen is regarded as one of the most precious substances in all the realm.

WINTERWATCH – A series of ice fortresses watching over a cold sea, the domain of Winterwatch is unusual in that it has only one single Waygate out of it. The forts are designed to guard this Waygate against the threat of the Fomori… foul eyeless creatures that periodically raid from the sea, riding longships made of bone. The current Castellan of Winterwatch is named Freya “Iceheart” of Winterwatch, who wields a double handed blade carved from the heart of a glacier, and whose swordskill is matched only by her hatred of the fomori.

Credits[edit]

This page by Asklepios

Notes[edit]

Style/layout rewrites needed. Full formatting