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The Chronicles of Jakwin
Campaign Setting
This is the official campaign setting for my current campaign "Chronicles of Jakwin: Child of the Dragon" and any future games that take place in that setting.
The next post is a table of contents. Links will be forthcoming.
Table of Contents
The World
1. General Borders of Jakwin
2. Major Powers of Jakwin
History
1. Timeline
The World
The Chronicles of Jakwin takes place in the world of Erith Nagoa and is centered on the subcontinent of Jakwin. This subcontinent is on the northwestern corner of the continent of Sherea.
1. General Borders of Jakwin
Jakwin is seperated from the rest of Sharea by a tall mountain range known as the Impassables. It is believed that this mountain range has no safe passages and cannot be crossed except through underground passages, which are occupied by all manner of hostile subterranean creatures. Many believe that a vast desert is on the other side, although no one can say for sure.
Jakwin's southern border is defined by a sea known as the Central Sea. On the other side of that ocean is the continent of Ophir. This is a land that is considered strange to many in Jakwin, although the Empire of Ophir, which takes up most of Ophir's northern border, trades freely with most of Jakwin's nations.
Jakwin's western border is also defined by water, but in this case the body of water is an ocean so vast, no one knows what is on the other side. This is called the Western Ocean.
Jakwins' northern border is defined by a frozen ocean called the Icy Sea.
2. The Major Powers of Jakwin
The western coast of Jakwin is defined by two nations: Vala Alta and Vala Baya. The northern Vala, Vala Baya, is mostly Elven in population, while the southern one, Vala Alta, is mixed; the population has become split between Elves and Humans. They used to be one, Elven nation, but as they took in refugees from various wars, the nature of the southern lands changed so much that they split in a surprisingly peaceful manner.
East of the Valas is the Simath Forest, which is not an organized nation in any manner, but home to numerous woodland villages, some of which are dominated by Elves, some by Humans, and some by Halflings. Some of the larger cities have spheres of influence large enough to be considered city states.
In Jakwin’s central plains, there are three Human nations: Norine, Avenlo, and Sorence. Norine to the north is the least developed and is considered a lawless wilderness. Avenlo is home to a powerful, martial kingdom centered on a city of the same name. Sorence consists primarily of small farming communities protected by powerful lords. The Sheen River runs through all three to the ocean.
North of Simath Forest and Norine are the White Mountains, which is the home of the Dwarven kingdom of Dwallis. It’s probably the single largest kingdom in Jakwin; it’s the center of the entire Dwarven population. Even those who live in other lands consider Dwallis their home.
South of Sorence is a smaller mountain range, the Green Mountains, and south of that is a peninsula which contains the Human nation of Arthal. Arthal is made up of several dukedoms and is considered the cultural center of Jakwin. Artists, sculptors, inventors and masters of all crafts are drawn to Arthal, particularly the city of Varci.
Iwerpos is east of Norine, Avenlo and Sorence. Iwerpos was once part of Avenlo, as was Norine and Sorence. Iwerpos was lost much more recently and is trying to find its identity. Three distinguishing features are its thick forests, the long Turtle River that runs down its length from the eastern end of Dwallis, and the high number of Half-Orcs that call the nation home.
East of Iwerpos is the Urkas, a marshy moorland region that stretches from Iwerpos to the Impassables. The Urkas is home to several tribes of Orcs. Recently, they began organizing under the rule of the Eagle Tribe, and the High Chief of the Eagle Tribe has taken to calling himself the Orc King. There are still a few, very vocal holdouts, though, and the region threatens to break out in civil war.
Finally, there are the Impassables, which is the home of subterranean monsters and a Dark Elf kingdom. But surely, you wouldn’t be interested in going there, would you?
In the Central Sea are several temperate islands. Two of the largest are Sendval Island and Hewe Island. Sendval is known for its beautiful beaches, and Hewe Island is known for its sheep.
History
The History of Jakwin is divided into five major stages.
1. The First Age (The Age of Elves)
1 FA: The World is created as an Eternal Garden. The Elves are created to watch over it.
~100 FA: Kelerius becomes the first Elven King.
~1000 FA: The cult that will later become the Drow starts worshipping the stars as gods.
~5000 FA: By this time, the elves are completely split into 6 sub races: High Elves, Wood Elves, Wild Elves, Aquatic Elves, Grey Elves and the Drow. The First Testament of the Lauralession, the Elven Bible, ends at about this time.
6115 FA: The city of Shiar Nal is established.
7213 FA: The Dark Elves become confined to the Impassables after a long war with the High Elves.
9987 FA: The Obsidian and Golden Swords are forged, rising the conflict between Elves to the point where it threatens the balance of Nature.
9988 FA: Just before the Two Swords can be used against each other in combat, the gods step in and put the Elves in a “state of eternal slumber, until such time as the gods deemed the world ready for their return.” The Two Swords are lost to history. The Second Testament of the Lauralession ends here.
2. The Second Age (The Age of Dwarves)
1 SA: An unknown amount of time passes between the two ages. Finally, the Dwarves are created.
~100 SA: A Grey Elf mine is discovered in the White Mountains and the Dwarves begin excavating it. Mining begins to become popular among Dwarves.
1054 SA: The great Dwarven King Dwallis consolidates all the mines in the White Mountains into the Kingdom of Dwallis.
1205 SA: The first monsters of the deep are discovered. The mines leading to them are closed off.
1206 SA: Some curious dwarves sneak their way into the deep and are never heard from again.
~2500 SA: The Deep Dwarves have become so adapted to life inside the mountains they live their whole lives inside it.
4625 SA: The Duergar Dwarves, the descendants of the missing Dwarves, emerge from the deep and begin fighting their cousins.
4625-5630 SA: The first Hill Dwarf communities are established by refugees from the Mountain Wars.
5932 SA: The Hill Dwarves receive what will be their last communication from the Mountain Dwarves for over 1000 years.
7211 SA: The Hill Dwarves receive a communication from the Mountain Dwarves declaring victory over the Duergar. The two sub-races resume trading.
8326 SA: The Duergar return, stronger than ever. The war escalates to the point where it begins to threaten the balance of Nature.
8327 SA: The gods step in just as the Dwarves are about to exterminate themselves and are put into the same state of slumber as the Elves.
3. The Third Age (The Age of Humans)
1 TA: Another unknown amount of time passes between two ages. Finally, Humans are created.
1-5176 TA: Not much is known about this time, except for a few, vague legends. As such, this is known as the Age of Myth. At some point in this time, the city of Thrall is built. It remains only a small power in what is now Arthal for the rest of the age.
5176: Ares Steelsword goes on a bloody reign of conquest throughout Jakwin. Under the Steelsword Empire, the first histories began to be written, and some of the oldest surviving Human art is created. The contradictory nature of these histories leaves some modern scholars wondering if any of them are true.
6259: The Steelsword Empire falls, leaving several patchwork nations in its wake.
7023-8134: The first Orcs appear in the east. Their number increase at a rapid rate. Most of the gods are mystified at their appearance, as they did not create them. 8135: The gods put Humans into the same state of slumber as Elves and Dwarves to protect them from the Orcs, which are bent on their destruction.
4. The Fourth Age (The Age of Orcs)
1 RA*: The Orcs ransack and occupy the now-empty cities of Humans.
1-4561 RA: It would be pointless to try and figure out the history of this time. The Orcs made no records, but their own oral traditions indicate that several Orcish kingdoms rose and fell so quickly that it would be impossible to keep track of them all. Meanwhile, the Gods tried to figure out where the Orcs came from. The Orcs worship a god they know nothing about who calls himself Mor Dardan.
4562: Mor Dardan reveals himself; it is an alias for one of the old gods whose original name is lost to history. He declares himself the Supreme God and reveals that all the previous derailing of races was part of his scheme to dominate the gods. With no worshippers, the other gods cannot compete with Mor Dardan, who now has millions of Orcs at his command (throughout the world, not just Jakwin).
4562-5876 RA: Some of the gods align themselves with Mor Dardan, seeking to gain power through worship. Soon, the Orcs now have a dozen gods, but Mor Dardan is the chief god.
5876-8078: The First War of the Gods. Some of the remaining Gods find they can gain worshippers away from Mor Dardan, and soon every god has Orcish worshippers. Since they are now on more equal footing, the Gods of Darkness, as they are called, are soon defeated and locked away. The remaining gods destroy those Orcs who didn’t believe in them and put the rest into slumber.
The Fifth Age (The Last Age)
1 HA**: What happened between the Fourth and Fifth Age isn’t known for certain. One thing that is certain is that Halflings were created. In fact, the Halflings render the Fifth Age as the Sixth Age, claiming there was a lost “Age of Halflings” that scholars do not recognize. There are no surviving histories or archeological findings to back up their claims; however, it is certain their nomadic culture was well developed before the Fifth Age started. The Sleeping races were reawakened, along with any number of new “monster” races added into the mix. The gods decided that diversity was key in keeping any one god from getting too powerful, and this is why the made the world the way they did. They also cut off mortal access to magic.
1023-2190 HA: Conflicts between the races over which lands belong to who reach their boiling point and the Wars of the Races begin. Finally, the Treaty of Thrall is signed and all races reluctantly agree to it.
~2300 HA: At some point around this time, the Gods of Darkness return through unknown means. Also, the city of Avenlo is established on the unclaimed ruins of Shiar Nal.
2349-5225 HA: The Second War of the Gods. The Gods of Light win in the end by fusing together to form the All God, Dycatar. He banishes the Gods of Darkness to a plane unreachable by mortals. The magical fallout of the battle results in mortals being able to use magic again.
~5225 HA: Many sorcerers and wizards start using their magical talent to rule over other mortals.
5375: A sorcerer named Quandan, backed by Thrall, begins organizing wizards and sorcerers into the Mage’s Guild. The Guild forbids using magic to rule. They encounter much resistance.
~5400: Clerics and other divine casters start becoming more common, and they back the Mage’s Guild in their attempt to regulate magic.
6405: The last Sorcerer-King, Narull the Conqueror, is dethroned.
6523: Thrall officially takes the title Empire; through their efforts to help regulate magic, they’ve reaped the benefit of becoming the largest nation in Jakwin.
7643: The Empire of Thrall falls, leaving behind patchwork nations. Avenlo begins its expansion.
7891: Avenlo reaches the height of its power.
8132: Avenlo loses Norine in a rebellion. The region becomes lawless.
8346: Avenlo loses Sorence to another rebellion. Sorence proves more stable, with its own king and nobility.
8450: A mysterious sorcerer known as the Necromancer bands together the Orc tribes and various other monster races into a single army, centered on a stronghold in the Urkas he calls New Thrall. Using this power, he launches a surprise attack on Avenlo.
8450-8455: The Necromancer’s War. Many of Avenlo’s noble families become extinguished, and more are weakened. Avenlo goes through four kings, all of whom are killed in battle. Finally, Ulrin takes the throne and ends the war. Iwerpos separates from Avenlo as a result of the war.
8456: King Ulrin orders the Avenlo Guard to take out a rebellion within the city. Another noble line is ended as a result. The Obsidian Sword is found by the Drow, but it is stolen before they can use it.
8460: The Orc King begins consolidating power, vowing to never let his people be used again as they were by the Necromancer. King Ulrin establishes the Royal Guard, an organization loyal only to him.
8470: Present day. King Ulrin is in a veiled war with Avenlo’s Council of Nobles for control of the country. The town of Westvale in Iwerpos is destroyed by a mysterious being that some are calling The Soulless. The Orc King now controls most of the Urkas, but a few tribes still resist him. The Elves and Dwarves mostly keep to their own affairs. In Arthal, the great inventor and artist Leonus is becoming famous.