Legends - A Realm of Legends

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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.

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.

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 hopeful that one day a hero may find a way to stop the rain, and allow the city to be reclaimed from the water.

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.

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.

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. All those with the surname Dragonthrone also bear the family name Eserian, who was the legendary First Emperor of the Realm. Player characters who choose this as their region of origin must take a Major Advantage in Prestigious Family Name to represent this tie, and may not take Feudal Domain. The Fabulous Wealth advantage is also recommended, but not compulsary.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

To create a new domain (which is strongly recommended for more creative players) bear in mind the naming traditions of the Realm. A domain name will tend to be two words merged into one, which describe the domain in some way. For the most part Domains have borne the same name for so long that most can’t remember who named them. In others, explorers may have uncovered the Domain more recently, and given the place a name that seems appropriate.

Credits

This page by Asklepios

Notes

Style/layout rewrites needed. Full formatting