The Three Worlds (Basic Info)

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The Three Worlds: A Primer and Introduction
Three of countless Prime Material worlds overlapping through the Deep Ethereal, the Three Worlds of Masor, Alli’ur, and Hondaro are full of cultures, kingdoms, and dangers. Caught in the grasp of an Age of Heroes, throughout all Three Worlds and more, heroes rise to shape the worlds. Good, bad, and every step in between these heroes through their acts define destiny itself and have influence to rival that of the gods themselves.

What are the Three Worlds:

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The Three Worlds are the central versions of the Prime Material plane. They are most completely in alignment with the Outer and Inner Planes, and most thoroughly connected and influenced by the gods as a whole. The Three Worlds remain in a stable alignment with each other, allowing ease of movement through the Deep Ethereal. Each of the Three Worlds is similar or identical in general geographical features, if one were to move from the Dwarf Wall mountains through the Ethereal to Alli’ur one would find themselves in the Dragon Ridge mountains. Even the coastline is almost identical, though travel must be careful near the coast as it can sway a few miles just like individual mountains may not match up between the three.

While geography is comparable, other factors are not necessarily. Separated by deific will for thousands of years and only reconnected a few lives of elves past, the Three Worlds have developed distinct inhabitants and culture. This means that not only is there a distinct difference in the nature of societies on these worlds, there are also differences in the subraces of common races found on each and even the races found on each world.

The Countless Worlds: Different from the Three Worlds in that they do not stay in a stable configuration with each other, the Countless Worlds fly through the Deep Ethereal moving closer and further from the center of reality. These worlds, like the Three Worlds, share common general geographical features but travel between them and other worlds, whether Prime, Outer or Inner Plane, is difficult; even when these are easiest and they are closest to alignment with the Three Worlds the relatively simple spells used to travel between the Three Worlds cannot function and more powerful magic must be used. Some Countless Worlds near periodically, their return to the Three Worlds well documented and known by sages; for through much of the time the Three Worlds were sealed from each other access to these worlds was possible. Others move more sporadically and only the gods know when they will again near if even they do.

The Fourth World: Certain texts tell of another world linked immovably to the Three. This Fourth World is the home of inhuman creatures bent on the conquest of all the worlds, sealed away by the actions of heroes long passed. Over time these seals have weakened and occasionally entities from this world have crossed over into the Three Worlds to work their evil will. From this world comes forth illithids, beholders, and other horrors that were not crafted by a sane god.

Crossing Between the Three Worlds:

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The Bridges: Massive structures of a substance unique across the Three Worlds, the Bridges are said to predate even the Pnakostic Empire. Though they were inactive for several millennia, and more than a third are inactive even now, these Bridges serve as massive permanent gateways between the Three Worlds large enough for twenty men to easily march abreast, and even the largest great wyrms to pass with ease. A Bridge disrupts teleportation that would pass through the region within miles of their location making it dangerous to teleport to a place where there is a bridge in between and impossible to teleport out of an area within a mile of the Bridge. All such attempts inevitably move you closer to the Bridge than they normally would. They have a similar effect on travel through the Ethereal, such attempts leading to being sucked through the Bridge when performed within a mile of it. It is possible to see through an active Bridge into the world on the other side. Even spells of the Ninth Circle are unable to affect the activities of a Bridge.

Gates: Smaller and less permanent than Bridges; Gates are large, long lasting natural passageways between the Three Worlds and occasionally nearby Countless Worlds. Some gates have been known to last for centuries, others a matter of years or in the case of those leading to and from one of the Countless Worlds days. Those gates which connect to the Countless Worlds may even change which world they connect to as one moves in or out of focus with the Gate. Gates have an effect on nearby ethereal travel, a gentle tug towards it which slows movement away from it; unlike Bridges they typically have at most minute effects on movement through the Astral Plane. Gates are visible to the unaided eye looking like a cloud of grey energy.

Portals: Short-lived and typically small passages between the worlds, portals naturally appear throughout the Three Worlds leading to nearby worlds. These portals are hazardous to travelers as unlike Gates they are not naturally visible, and due to their short lifespans and random appearance they are unmapped. There are spells to detect them, and thankfully the vast majority of portals are two ways. Some portals even require specific carried objects to activate them. Portals are visible in the Ethereal Plane, or even with magic to see in the Ethereal Plane, though to see one with See Invisibility is difficult (Spot DC 15, Spellcraft DC 20 to identify). They do not have a noticeable effect on travel through the Astral Plane, though will suck through adjacent ethereal creatures small enough to pass through.

Spells: Plane Shift (Lv 6 in setting) allows transport from one of the Three Worlds to another, and if used to travel to the same location even avoids its normal inaccuracy. When travelling to or from one of the Countless Worlds this transportation is made more difficult the further the world has moved from the Three Worlds, and explorers who wait too long to return home with such magic often find themselves trapped there. In addition there are weaker spells, with longer rituals, to travel exclusively from one of the Three Worlds to another.

The Planes:

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The Three Worlds uses the Great Wheel Cosmology as its basis.

The Outer Planes: The Outer Planes are relatively untouched, though the role of powerful outsiders is reduced and that of deities is increased. A god is the most powerful thing on the planes, except another god. That said the various Lords of the Nine, Demon Princes, and their celestial equivalents do still have a place. Not only are they the most powerful members of their respective species they have been granted, by the gods, jurisdiction over the planes they call home. While this jurisdiction is sometimes ignored, actively flaunted, or subverted, in this role an outsider lord can in fact stand against a god either by their own divinely bestowed right or when facing more powerful gods through the aid of opposing gods.

The Inner Planes: Theoretically use the 2nd edition arrangement of paraelemental and quasielemental planes, but they have never been the setting’s emphasis.

The Astral Plane: Connects the Three Worlds and other nearby primes to the Outer and Inner Planes.

The Plane of Shadows: Each Prime Material Plane has its own plane of shadows. The other planes are cut off from the Plane of Shadows completely.

The Ethereal Plane: Each Prime has its own ethereal plane and all ethereal planes connect to the Deep Ethereal. The Deep Ethereal is similar to the Astral Plane in nature, a great sea of grey which stretches out in all directions to infinity. Force of will and a clear idea of your destination can be used to navigate it to reach another Prime’s ethereal plane at the equivalent place that you left the other. While it is possible to move through the grey mists which make up the Deep Ethereal there are no reports of using such movement to emerge elsewhere into the Ethereal Plane.

Sardath: The Prison Plane of Sardath was created to hold those deities, now called Elder Evils, who fought on the losing side of the Deific War. Its nature is a secret from even the most sage mortals, though occasionally cults arise which serve its imprisoned inhabitants and seek to free them. The beings sealed within Sardath are largely horrific deities often incomprehensible by mortal minds which sought to erase the current world and replace it with primordial chaos once more.

Gods:

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The gods of the Three Worlds are divided into two major types, and further divided into various sub-pantheons. There are many gods drawing from worshippers on the various Countless Worlds and across the Three Worlds themselves. The gods of the Three Worlds are powerful entities, no mortal magic with the exception of Bale Magic can truly harm a god unless backed by another god of almost equal power. The gods are bound by series of rules, though, and have little ability to directly influence the world, and even they have limits (for example even gods with portfolios of the future and divination have trouble accurately predicting what will happen, especially in the Age of Heroes). Many of the gods draw their names from real world pantheons but beyond the name and sometimes some basic inspiration they have little to nothing in common with their namesakes.

Elder Gods: One of the two major classes of gods the Elder Gods are by far the minority. Many of the Elder Gods predate physical reality and although given titles like the Elder God of Magic, or Elder God of Time, the Elder Gods do not have dominion over a portfolio. Instead an Elder God is a primal force of reality and synonymous with their supposed portfolio. The Elder God of Magic is the wellspring of all arcane magic, the Elder God of Time is time itself, and the Elder Goddess of the World is quite possibly the entire multiverse. Elder Gods do not draw power from worshipers, or if they do such power is so inconsequential compared to that which they already have as to go unnoticed. It is said that an Elder God is as far beyond even the greatest of the gods as the greatest of the gods is above a mortal. No Elder God was born in the traditional sense, and their existences are fundamental to reality.

The lowercase gods: The gods themselves are far more active in the world for the most part; there are exceptions but even the most active Elder Gods are far less active than the gods. The gods are also far less fundamental, amongst their ranks are mortal heroes, as well as those born with the divine spark, and spirits which ascended to full godhood. The gods cannot directly intervene on the plane, and even within their own personal realms are limited in their interactions with mortals. The gods gain power from worship, and it is a necessary facet for ascendance of both mortals and spirits, although a god can also channel some of this power to others as a gift or reward or tribute. Many gods have formed themselves into miniature pantheons often based upon a share relationship, or race of their primary worshippers.

The Four Great War Gods: The four most powerful gods, the Four Great War Gods represent four different extremes. Tyr, god of honorable warfare and courage, represent the forces of Order when working towards the common weal. Enyalius, the god of domination and conquest, represents the use of law to segregate communities, to enforce hierarchies, and create tyrannies. Abaddon, the god of destruction, represents the pure destructive properties of chaos. Thor, god of heroic battle and storms, represents the individual choice and will to defend others.

Bloodlines: Many of the gods of the Three Worlds are related to each other; in fact all non-ascended deities are descended ultimately from either ascended gods or the Elder Gods. The child of two Elder Gods will always be born a full-fledged god, the child of an Elder God and a god will usually be so, and even the child of an Elder God and a mortal will usually be born a godling or at least a unique being of immense power. The child of two gods can be born either a god or godling, depending upon the power of the gods involved and no small amount of random chance though even then godlings predominate. The child of a god and a mortal is usually just a very power mortal, or an outsider, although some are born as godlings.

Godlings: Godlings are the children of gods who lack enough deific spark to become gods upon birth are instead born as beings of untold potential power. These godlings are fostered to mortals and kept unaware of their divine nature, allowed to expand to their greatest horizons under the belief that they are merely mortals, or perhaps the children of unions between mortals and powerful outsiders or elementals. Throughout their life a godling will be tested, and should they succeed at these tests they will be granted the right to ascend to godhood circumventing the usual need to amass worshippers and reducing the epic deeds required significantly.

Saints: Saints are the heralds and servants of gods, and are themselves powerful beings capable of granting limited divine magic. A saint is a being on the way to godhood, either a powerful mortal deemed worthy of godhood and on their way to ascension (most ascended gods were saints for millennia before becoming gods), godlings who proved not quite worthy in life and have been given a second chance as petitioners, and outsiders seeking a route to godhood. Saints watch after their patron’s interests and occasionally act as conduits for worship or granting of divine spells.

Magic:

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The Three Worlds has had millennia to grow accustomed to magic. It is a part of life for the inhabitants of the world even if the vast majority will never be able to use even the simplest spells or own a single magic item. Magic has traditionally been a difficult skill to master; even brilliant wizards would dedicate their entire lives to mastering a single spell of the 9th Circle and typically die soon after. In the Age of Heroes this has changed as heroes master in a decade what would take others a lifetime. Even so magic still plays a small part in the everyday life of most regions of the Three Worlds for now. The populace is aware of magic, and the governments make use of it in law enforcement and have laws about its use, but magic has not been technologized or ever successfully mass produced.

Arcane Magic: Arcane magic is drawn ultimately from Thoth the Elder God of Magic. Any creature capable of casting arcane spells, and many which only use spell-like abilities, ultimately draw their power from him. Thoth does not normally have a conscious control of this flow, instead it being manipulated by a combination of inborn talent and knowledge of the proper techniques to do so. Other deities of magic exist, most of which are the children of Thoth Arcane magic has traditionally been arduous to learn and even talented sorcerers could spend their whole lives and fail to master spells of the 9th Circle and amongst wizards the 9th Circle was almost the exclusive domain of the longer lived races such as elves and dwarves and even here many were aged to infirmity before attaining its secrets.

Divine Magic: Divine magic in the Three Worlds cannot come from belief in an ideal but only from the gods or other beings of great power imbued with the right by the gods and even then this power is limited. An outsider lord is only able to grant spells of a limited level, though a select few are capable of granting spells of the 9th Circle, though such outsiders are close to true gods in their power and rival demigods in their divinity. The same is true of spirits, even the most powerful spirits are incapable of granting 9th Circle spells alone. Some demigods even are limited to spells of the 7th Circle, though unlike even the strongest outsiders and spirits their priests are able to perform various religious rites which are the exclusive domain of the gods and their saints. This divine impetus to the power means that it comes more quickly than arcane magic, but also that the highest echelons of power come more rarely.

Druidic Magic: Druidic magic, although a type of divine magic, shares many similarities with arcane magic in that it is siphoned from an Elder God through natural talent and learned secrets. Ultimately, though, the flow of this power is more similar to other divine magic than to arcane magic but still it must be taken note of separately. Just like with other divine magic a practitioner must be in-tune with the will and nature of the deific source, in this case Gaia the Elder Goddess of the World; although due to their low level connection rangers can sometimes circumvent this requirement. The time taken to master druidic magic is similar to that of wizardry and an arch-druid is liable to be greyed amongst humans. Even elven arch-druids often seem to be middle-aged or older before their aging stopped.

Psionics: Psionics is treated as a type of magic on the Three Worlds. It is possible that, like arcane magic comes from Thoth, psionics comes from an Elder God of the Mind or Consciousness. It is far rarer than divine and arcane magic, though, and those who wield it are often distrusted. Psionic maturation is on a similar scale to arcane. On the Fourth World psionics is common, and the distrust it is held in can likely be traced to this fact.

Bale Magic: The forbidden magic of the ancient Pnakostic Empire, Bale Magic is said to be the one power available to mortals which allows them to rival the gods. Bale Magic is intensely addictive and corruptive, twisting the user into a being who craves power more than anything else. The power source behind Bale Magic is not directly one of the Elder Gods, or even the gods, but the energy released by tearing apart the fabric of existence. The power released in such feats can be astronomical and even the ages sealed Bale Liches whose power has waned in their prisons are potent foes to be feared. The greatest of the Bale Mages was Pnakost, legendary discoverer of Bale Magic and founder of the Pnakostic Empire which spread across all Three Worlds thousands of years before any other would obtain the power to cross freely between these worlds.

Subsystems:

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Martial Initiators: Martial initiators are common amongst heroes. Like magic such skill does not come easy to the common man, taking years of practice and training. Even so it is still somewhat quicker, though most common warriors lack the required talent and devotion with the blade simply becoming fighters. It is said that these martial skills were first learned by a hero during the height of the Pnakostic Empire to fight against the fell Bale Magic of its rulers.

Pact Magic: Very rare on the Three Worlds. Most vestiges are in fact the broken souls of godlings, outsider lords, and saints who fought in the Deific War and were shattered completely in the process. Unable to be cleansed of this destruction they were instead sealed into the planes themselves. Binders are persecuted by many priesthoods because they are not only pulling at the souls of the gods' dead children, many of these vestiges fought upon the losing side of the Deific War and their souls form part of the plane of Sardior and their use risks freeing the Elder Evils from their eternal prison. Another reason is that vestiges bring knowledge about the potential mortality of gods, and of the existence of Sardior with them; information which within the wrong hands could lead to the destruction of reality itself. To do: Go through and mark which side vestiges fought on, and which vestiges are something other than a dead warrior in the Deific War.

Incarnum: No one capable of using these powers is born on the Three Worlds. Somewhere amongst the Countless Worlds, though, is a cluster of worlds where such powers are common.

Truenaming: Bale Magic works on the use of truenames, but truename magic in its official form does not exist; even when playing No Optimization I knew it looked woefully underpowered.

Shadowcasting: Exists but has never come up. It is a very rare form of magic which most people would not recognize and would likely assume to be some form of evil arcane magic.

Invokers: Warlocks draw their powers from pacts or from Hecate the Goddess of Black Magic who bestows it as a fickle gift or curse. Dragonfire Adepts draw their powers from draconic blood. Both typically advance more quickly than most arcanists, though dragonfire adepts are slower than warlocks.

Resurrection:

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While resurrection is possible each death makes it harder to return. The majority of people cannot be resurrected, or at most can be raised once. Even heroes are typically unable to be resurrected more than 3 times. Revivify does not count against this limit as the soul has yet to depart fully.

Basic Maps:

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These maps cover the south-western portion of the continent. Scale on all three is 1 grid line is ~100 miles (I might be a mile off here and there) and the detail is really rather low.
Masor:

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Alli'ur:

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Hondaro:

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Bestiary: Players stay out. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...1#post13593551

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Masor:

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The baseline world, Masor is a "generic fantasy world". It has the core races in their most basic forms (high elves, hill/mountain dwarves, etc), and functions the most like the default assumed in the PHB. If Masor was said to have a theme it is fallen magical empires. Masor was the center of the Pnakostic Empire, and has had several empires rise and fall since then. Another theme is the of the central world as it is the closest to default and most likely to be used in the case of varied backgrounds. Even its climate is the closest to the default. Masor does have an odd trend in temperatures where unlike the other worlds which cool as you approach the northern reaches of the Southern Lands, Masor warms as you do so. This is because of the excess magical energy in the Badlands turning into heat. This means that of the region on the map, about 4 grid spaces down is the coolest region, though most of the map is temperate with the exception being the Badlands themselves which are Warm.

Alli'ur

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Dominated by the Hallowed Empire, Alli'ur is a drier world than Masor and a warmer one. Alli'ur is inhabited by great reptiles, dinosaurs that have been lost on Masor or Hondaro, and has the highest population of dragons. Much of Alli'ur is wrapped up into two major factions, the Hallowed Empire and the dragon armies of Gilgast the Red. While only border wars have begun thus far, neither force ready to risk everything in full-scale war, the two know that sooner or later war will begin in full. The Hallowed Empire itself is ruled by a great wyrm gold dragon, known as the Hallowed Emperor, who initially built the Empire over a millennium ago by carving it out of the lands controlled by the orcs. The Empire has since stretched beyond even its own ability to control and even with the aid of the most powerful wizards and priests of Alli'ur the Empire is growing too large to maintain efficiency and honesty.
The Hallowed Emperor once won over countries by granting aid, and the example of prosperity within the Empire. Now new countries enter due to need for that aid, need for that protection, and such aid is withheld from non-member states. Once the Empire seemed poise to stretch into Masor and challenge the corruption rising in Toyama, but now the Emperor has begun to order even private interests away from these areas. Part of this may be age, even for a gold wyrm the Emperor is old, part of this, though, is that the Empire has already expanded to the limits of his power to maintain and with full-fledged war on the horizon resources must be focused towards it and not vain attempts to expand control into other worlds. The Emperor has not, however, turned away from diplomatic dealings with these worlds and many forces realize that should the Empire fall Gilgast's hordes will not stop in Alli'ur and will not assimilate new regions peacefully. Should the Empire fall, Tiamat's forces will sweep across the Three Worlds and the Age of Heroes may end as nothing more than the precursor to the Age of Dragons.

Even so not all of Alli'ur is the Hallowed Empire. Near the southern coast is the lands of the coast elves. They are a culture, or perhaps subrace, of elves lost since adapted to a life at sea. They are not aquatic elves which swim, through the depths, but a proud culture of sailors, merchants and explorers. Lizardmen are also common in these southern regions, they are the wetlands of the world, including vast marshes where Masor has plains.

Hondaro:

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Hondaro is warmer and wetter than the other two worlds, covered in lush rain forests and wet lands. It is home to hengeyokai, kurobokuro, vanara, and its spirits have a closer relationship with mortals than those of Masor and Alli'ur. Its arcane magic, however, was stunted as the Nishano Empire rose up and overthrew the Pnakostic Remnant soon after Pnakost's disappearance. This not only means that the common tongue on Hondaro has changed unrecognizably compared to that of Masor and Alli'ur where the Pnakostic Empire stood for at least a thousand years longer, but that much arcane magic was lost. Arcanists of Hondaro traditionally turned to the spirits, augmenting their arcane powers with spirit guided gifts at the cost of obeying certain taboos. With the reopening of the Gates and Bridges, and ease of travel between the Three Worlds in the current era such magical knowledge has transferred easily.

Hondaro, like Alli'ur, is largely dominated in the South-West by a single empire. Where Alli'ur's is a coalition of allied states under the guidance of a single ruler but with each state maintaining a large degree of autonomy, Toyama is an isolationist regime where even transport of ideas and skills internally within the empire is restricted. Toyama operates under a strict feudal class system with a heavy emphasis on the warrior class.

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The Gods

The Elder Gods

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Gaia Elder Goddess of the World:
It is said that at the very least all the Prime Material Worlds are part of Gaia, and possibly both the Inner and Outer Planes as well. Gaia is also associated with nature, for all of nature springs from her. Though Gaia rarely cares for individuals under her care she is protective to life and the balance of the world; it is even said that she preserves a single member of each species that ever lived and grew somewhere on one of the Countless Worlds.

In her role as Elder Goddess of the World and thus mother of all living things, Gaia takes a relatively active role in mortal affairs. Many druids actively worship her and her clerics, few that they are, usually serve in protective roles.

Domains: Air, Animal, Earth, Family, Fire, Plant, Protection, Water, Windstorm
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Sickle.
Holy Symbol: An acorn wreathed in holly.

Thoth Elder God of Magic:
Thoth is unique among the Elder Gods in that he is also a god. Though only the Elder God of Magic, Thoth is enamored with knowledge and acts as its primary god, as well as a god of foresight, planning, and the intellectual arts. This means that Thoth has the most active priests of any Elder God, and his worship amongst mages makes him definitely the most revered and worshiped of the Elder Gods. To Thoth's priests the pursuit of knowledge is said to be more important than the ends to which that knowledge is put.

Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Oracle, Planning, Rune, Spell.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff.
Holy Symbol: An eye framed by two ibises on the cover of a book.

The Elder God of Power
Known also as the God of Koth, or simply Koth, the name of the Elder God of Power must not be spoken for even it carries power enough to kill a man. Koth is represented as one-eyed, and it is a bloody eye which he uses as his holy symbol. The Elder God of Power has a large priesthood in the theocracy of Koth, larger perhaps than any Elder God other than Gaia and Thoth. Where as those two are active in the lives of mortals, Power is not normally. Instead he watches, every so often nudging the pieces into conflict.

Domains: Strength, Conquest, Balance, Competition, War, Magic, Word, and Knowledge.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Spear.
Holy Symbol: A blinded eye.

Kronos the Elder God of Time
Rarely worshiped, Kronos is still a god which comes up commonly amongst communities of wizards and magical theorists. The Elder God of Time time itself is but the flow of his life-force and all others are swept along with it. He has few worshipers and those that exist are scattered, and he has fewer still priests. These priests often find themselves given onerous jobs, righting what will have gone wrong and ensuring what must go wrong does.

Domains: Time, Fate, Fate (Races of Destiny), Oracle, Renewal, Destruction, Balance.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Sickle.
Holy Symbol: An hourglass.

Erebus the Elder God of Darkness
Sometimes called the God of Evil Gods, Erebus is the first born and oldest of all beings predating even the primordial chaos. Some would define Erebus as absence of existence, but many theologians disagree; Erebus is not merely absent existence but also the corrupt side. Whether these theologians will ever discover the answer is unlikely, but there are things that can be said about Erebus. Whatever his nature in the beginning he is the creator of the yugoloths, a god whose twisted ideals shaped theirs. He is treacherous, destructive, and greedy but he seems to exult in the evil of mortals and gods. He does not act to destroy good, for without it there would be no contrast, instead he acts to embolden evil. He is believed to be the weakest of the Elder Gods, his original essence all but vanished from the world.

Domains: Evil, Darkness, Planning, Mysticism, Corruption, Trickery. May select the Gray Waste domain but it costs 2 domain slots.
Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Favored Weapon: Shortsword
Unholy Symbol: A seven fingered black hand grasping, often crushing, something white.

Primus Elder God of Order:
Primus the Creator and Master of the Modrons, the forger of all order in the multiverse. It is his existence which keeps the Great Wheel where it is, his existence that causes Summer to follow Spring and precede Autumn. Primus is not a god of laws, he cares not for human laws as long as Order is maintained. Anarchy and chaos repulse him, the overturning of natural law is his anathema. Many would think that this would make him opposed to wizards and sorcerers, for their arcane magic seems to break the laws of reality, but even this is accounted for in the laws which shape reality. Primus does not take mortal priests, nor care for mortal worshipers, instead relying upon his modrons to perform maintenance on Mechanus to ensure that order remains intact throughout the multiverse.

Domains: Law, Balance, Inquisition, Planning. May select the Mechanus domain but it costs 2 domain slots.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff.
Holy Symbol: A single arrow overlaying a gear.

The Dwarven Gods:

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Heimdall Soul Forger:
The creator of dwarves, a god of stone, metal, law and order. Heimdall has passed much of what was once his portfolio onto his children, letting Hephaestus take his place as lord of the forge, Hadur as champion in combat, and most recently Aidoneus take over his role as god of mining. Even so he remains god of stone and earth, and the giver of law and order throughout the dwarven nations. Heimdall is worshiped by dwarves as present in all things dwarven and with some rule over them all. While a smith may pray to Hephaestus or Creidhne, or a warrior to Hadur, neither will forget to include thanks to Heimdall either.

Greater Deity
Domains: Law, Good, Earth, Metal, Dwarf, Protection, Endurance, Craft.
Alignment: Lawful Good.
Favored Weapon: Warhammer.
Holy Symbol: A hammer over a shield.

Hadur, the Axe of the Gods:
Son of Heimdall and the Elder God(dess) of Power, Hadur is the dwarven god of war and said to be second only to Heimdall in power if not more potent in war than his father. As a god Hadur focuses on the role of the warrior to protect the people, and the need for order and discipline to fight efficiently. He downplays personal glory in combat, leaving such theatrics to his half-brothers Tyr and Thor, instead hammering home that no dwarf is an army and that only by working as a single unit can they hope to maintain a defense of their homes against all the creatures which swarm up from the depths of the earth to threaten them. Hadur is a well-loved god by the dwarves, and also the patron of constables and executioners in his secondary role as the enforcer of the dwarven laws.

Greater Deity
Domains: Good, Law, Dwarf, War, Strength, Protection, Metal.
Alignment: Lawful Good.
Favored Weapon: Dwarven Waraxe.
Holy Symbol: An axe held vertically in front of an anvil.

Ninhursag Queen of the Dwarves:
Wife of Heimdall, Ninhursag is goddess of motherhood, healing, family, and happiness. Despite being the daughter of an Elder God, in this case Gaia, Ninhursag is young, younger in fact than most of the dwarven gods and barely older than the dwarves themselves. It is said that the modern race of dwarves exists because of her desires and wishes, and that Heimdall's original race was one of living stone, a race so dour and stoic as to make even dwarves look emotionally open. Whatever the truth, Ninhursag cares for the dwarves, shepherding and protecting them.

Intermediate Deity
Domains: Good, Family, Protection, Earth, Healing, Pleasure.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Morningstar.
Holy Symbol: A braided rope with three knots.

Hephaestus Master of the Forge
Firstborn child of Heimdall and Ninhursag, Hephaestus accredited as possibly the greatest smith of the gods. Known as the Artisan of Communities, Hephaestus is accredited with having taught dwarves the art of forge. Known as the second kindest of the dwarven gods, Hephaestus is also a disruptive god by the standards of the dwarven gods always seeking new ways things to make and always seeking new ways to improve his craft; in this way he is also the dwarven god of invention. Many dwarves forget that Hephaestus is also the god of fire, and his priests serve as fire fighters in the rare case of a fire in a dwarven city.

Intermediate Deity
Domains: Good, Community, Fire, Metal, Craft, Protection.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Warhammer.
Holy Symbol: Two hammers crossed in front of an anvil.

Nergal the Soul Slayer
The god of greed and pride, Nergal is the god of those evils which most easily take root in dwarven kind and an eternal foe to the dwarves. The son of Heimdall and one of the seven original tome archons. His mother grew vain, and wished to be the Queen of the Heavens and urged Heimdall to declare war upon Tyr and to take the Seven Heavens as his own and rule as the supreme god of Law and Good. Heimdall cast her from him not knowing she was carrying his son, and her corruption led her to fall to Gehenna. Nergal was accepted by Heimdall, and despite his greed which went as far as to covet Heimdall's bride, was treated well as son and family. It was only when Nergal performed such an act as to cause the original dwarves to need to be recast that Heimdall finally lost his patience exiling Nergal from his court. Now Nergal is talked about only in whispers by dwarves, and he takes the role of the tempter and the enemy of the dwarven people. Even the dark dwarves carry little love for Nergal. He is worshiped by goblinoids, especially in regions where they clash with dwarves, as the Enemy of the Dwarves, and god of the Darkest Cavern.

Intermediate Deity.
Domains: Pride, Greed, Death, Evil, Darkness, Cavern, Hatred.
Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Favored Weapon: Heavy Mace.
Unholy Symbol: An ankheg headed mace.

Aidoneus the Golden One:
Son of Heimdall and Ninhursag, the youngest of the major dwarven gods, Aidoneus is the god of miners, and the wealth of the earth. Aidoneus is the only one of the major dwarven gods to have been born as a godling and have experienced life as a dwarf. This has left him with an understanding and care for the little things of dwarven life. He cares for strong stone which makes building their homes possible, and steel which makes their lives prosper, but most commonly he is worshiped as god of wealth. Not a greedy god, Aidoneus shares his great fortune freely, blessing the dwarven people with his favor and love.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Good, Law, Earth, Metal, Cavern, Commerce, Wealth.
Alignment: Lawful Good.
Favored Weapon: Light pick.
Holy Symbol: A pick with a hammer head on the other end.

Volturnus the Drowner
The demigod of underground water, Volturnus is the son of Heimdall and a goddess of the sea. Volturnus is a dour god, who rules over lakes and rivers found beneath the surface. The dwarves fear him, as much as they recognize their need of his blessings, and he is known by them as the Drowner and god of floods. Volturnus is not a murderous god, though, and as long as treated with respect and worship is typically well-favored towards mortals, but a dwarven fortress which neglects his worship for long is in danger of flooding, one which gives him his proper due (which often consists of a single holy day each year) is likely to find new springs and sources of clean water.

Demigod
Domains: Water, Earth, Cavern, Blackwater, Darkness.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Trident.
Holy Symbol: A broken rock from which flows water.

The Gnomish Gods

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Lugh the Cunning
The creator of the gnomes, Lugh is a god of humor, mischief, and illusion. The son of Hadur, dwarven god of war, and Deiopea, fey goddess of beauty, Lugh inherited a talent for magic from the fey gods and the knowledge of the secrets of the earth from his dwarven heritage. Lugh is also a god of knowledge, and learning, urging his worshipers to uncover ancient secrets that have been lost or secrets never before claimed by mortal or god.

Intermediate Deity
Domains: Good, Gnome, Trickery, Illusion, Earth, Knowledge, Magic.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Light Pick
Holy Symbol: A half-closed eye within a half-closed eye.

Nuada the Adventurer
The son of Lugh, Nuada is the god of adventure, wanderer lust and burrowing mammals. Never known to stay in one place long, many are the tales about Nuada's time as a godling before the half-mythic Loss. Nuada provides the meat for many stories of heroism amongst the gnomes and serves as an inspiration towards adventurous gnomes throughout the Three Worlds.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Chaos, Good, Animal, Courage, Travel, Gnome
Alignment: Chaotic Good.
Favored Weapon: Quarterstick
Holy Symbol: A badger with a feathered cap.

Creidhne the Craftsman
The primary dwarven god of magic, Creidhne is the younger brother of Lugh and well respected for it. Creidhne serves as the primary gnomish god of the forge, and in something of a friendly rivalry of sorts with his uncle Hephaestus with each making grander and grander tools to put the other to shame. In tales told by the dwarves Creidhne is usually Hephaestus's assistant, or using his cleverness to overcome some goblin plot against Hadur. To the gnomes Creidhne plays the role of Lugh's somber brother, the straight man in many tales Creidhne is presented as a good learner and worker but, at least compared to his brother, slow on his feet and without cleverness. Even so both races respect him, to the dwarves Creidhne represents all the good that can come from magic, and to the gnomes Creidhne represents the craftsman and his skills.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Craft, Magic, Good, Earth, Metal, Rune
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Heavy Pick.
Holy Symbol: Three linked rings with a shaded crescent in the center ring.

Fand the Beautiful:
Gnomish goddess of rain, rivers, and the sea, Fand is the daughter of Pontus and Deiopea making her the half-sister of Lugh. Fand is remarked as a beautiful and gentle goddess, whose water brings a promise of renewal to the gnomish people.

Demigoddess
Domains: Renewal, Good, Charm, Water.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Net.
Holy Symbol: A conch shell within a water drop.

Danu the Clever:
Wife of Lugh, Danu is the gnomish goddess of inspiration and creativity. Danu is a patron of the gnomish crafts, and of pranks teaching the skills and arts that a gnome will need to prosper in gnomish society. Danu takes the role of the matriarch due to her position as Lugh’s wife, though if anything she takes it less readily than her husband takes to the role of the somber patriarch preferring instead to push the limits and boundaries of roles and positions. Danu herself was born a mortal, a gnomish performer of skill to make her legendary. Story tells about how Lugh, in the guise of a mortal, tried to trick the gnome maid but time and time again she saw through his tricks. Over time the god is said to have fallen in love with the gnome lass and when she died acted as her patron for sainthood from which point she rose to godhood.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Good, Gnome, Trickery, Chaos, Travel, Song
Alignment: Chaotic Good.
Favored Weapon: Sling.
Holy Symbol: A fiddle with five stars arrayed in a pentagon.

Daire the Giver:
Son of Lugh, Daire is a god of plenty and fertility. Daire is known for his generous nature, and is said to have, as a godling, quested across the worlds to find Gaia herself and beg her to bless the gnomes with the bounties of the woods. This led to Daire becoming the god of agriculture, and plenty upon his ascension to full god. Daire is also the god of festivals and feasts, a god whose generous nature is said to be unrivaled by any other even amongst the gods of the gnomes. Daire, as a god and as a godling, is always one to put the community first, encouraging brotherhood throughout and good will towards your fellows. Daire represents not carousing and hedonism, but of bonding with your fellows and strengthening the community. Daire is also worshipped by dwarves as the god of agriculture and edible fungi, a large staple of the dwarven diet.

Intermediate Deity
Domains: Law, Good, Plant, Community, Pleasure, Windstorm.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Favored Weapon: Scythe
Holy Symbol: A pair of dice showing a flagon and a bushel of wheat (or a mushroom)

Buarainech the Flaw in the Gem:
Buarainech’s nature is debated. Some stories place him Nuada’s son from an ill-advised tryst on a Lower Plane, others say that he is some sort of evil shadow to Lugh. Whatever his nature, to the gnomes Buarainech represents the flaw in every plan, if the other gods blessed them with their favor Buarainech curses them with misfortune. Buarainech is a petty god, the god of discord, spite, and arguments. That is not to say Buarainech is not a cunning god, or one lacking in cleverness, he is often Lugh’s rival in myth and tale after all. Where Lugh, Nuada, and Dana use their cunning to entertain and defuse a hostile situation with sudden laughter, Buarainech uses pranks and trickery to infuriate and turn friends into enemies. Buarainech is also worshiped as a gnomish war god, and his ability to spread discord throughout the enemy is appreciated even if his tendency to do so to friend is despised.

Intermediate Deity
Domains: Chaos, Evil, War, Trickery, Misfortune (see below), Hatred, Competition, Illusion.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Favored Weapon: Light Pick.
Unholy Symbol: A closed eye within a half-closed eye.

Flidais the Light in the Gem
The daughter of Thor and a dwarven godling that failed to make it to full godhood, Flidais is the demigoddess of gemstones, and luster. Wife of Aidoneus, Flidais is worshiped by the gnomes as the primary goddess of wealth taking the foremost role from her husband in dealings with them. By both gnomes and dwarves she is recognized as a goddess of beauty and of good fortune; if a miner finds a patch of gemstones it is often seen as a sign of having come into favor with Flidais. Flidais is also in charge of the discipline of gnomish mines.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Charm, Wealth, Cavern, Law, Good, Luck.
Alignment: Lawful Good.
Favored Weapon: Light pick
Holy Symbol: A gem marked with the sign of a lightning bolt.

Urdlen the Destroyer:
A monster as much as a god, few know why Urdlen is considered a gnomish god despite his place in Abbadon’s train of followers. Urdlen takes the form of a hairless mole-creature, and is a god of senseless waste and destruction. His is a hunger for destruction which scares the gnomes, but even they cannot deny that a part of him exists in their hearts; who has never felt the urge to destroy. Legends say that Urdlen was once a gnomish god, before he committed some crime which caused him to be cursed into his current form by an Elder God. Urdlen is said to have a special hatred against pieces of art, both manufactured and naturally occurring gemstones.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Cavern, Evil, Chaos, Destruction, Entropy, Fury.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Favored Weapon: Battle-Axe
Unholy Symbol: A mole head with an X across the forehead.

Halfling Gods:

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Mercury the Guide of Souls
The head god of the halflings, even the gods cannot say from whom or what Mercury sprung. Mercury is a god of travel, of adventure, wanderlust, and death. Despite his godhood over death Mercury is not a cruel god, instead teaching that death is only another journey. To his followers a life that is less than full is a life wasted, and every moment is meant to be lived to the full.

Greater Deity
Domains: Travel, Chaos, Good, Luck, Repose, Celerity, Halfling, Courage.
Alignment: Chaotic Good.
Favored Weapon: Rapier.
Holy Symbol: Two snakes entwined about a rapier.

Minerva the Maiden of War
The halfling goddess of war, and of order, Minerva cautions the halflings teaching that battles cannot be won through force of arms alone and often the best battle is the one not fought. She acts to protect the halflings from battle, and their own foolish desires. Minerva is perhaps the least popular of the halfling pantheon amongst the nomadic halflings, her role as the cautioning words of wisdom garnering her few followers, but she has become an important war god in the train of Ra and the pantheon of the Hallowed Empire. She also acts as a goddess of strategy, and planning.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Law, Good, Trickery, War, Planning, Protection.
Alignment: Lawful Good.
Favored Weapon: Shortspear.
Holy Symbol: An owl with two spears crossed behind it.

Astrapios the Lightning Bearer:
Astrapios is the eldest son of Mercury and a powerful creature known as a thunder bird. Astrapios is known as a god of the weather and the wind, as well as lightning. He is prayed to for good weather for traveling, and also in hopes of plentiful resources in the lands ahead of them. Astrapios is a god of travel as well, patron of guests and halfling caravans know that to mistreat a guest is to risk Astrapios’s disproval and ire. Astrapios also chides the halflings should they prove poor guests, and it is for this reason that halflings make sure to restrict their activities when within the towns of humans and other races.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Good, Storm, Air, Travel, Community, Summer.
Alignment: Neutral Good.
Favored Weapon: Longbow.
Holy Symbol: An eagle roosting on a thunder bolt.

Autolykos the Clever Thief
One of Mercury’s twin sons, Autolykos is known as a trickster without equal except perhaps amongst the gnomish pantheon. Autolykos is the halfling god of clever wits, rogues, lies, and thieves. Autolykos encourages his followers to use their wits to overcome obstacles, but also to always strive to top each other in acts of daring and bravado; for Autolykos it is not merely enough to steal but to do it with such skill and elegance that it becomes an art form all to itself.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Chaos, Trickery, Pride, Halfling, Greed, Planning.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Whip.
Holy Symbol: A raptor head with coins over its eyes or in place of them.

Agon the Able
Autolykos’s twin, Agon is the god of competition and upward struggle. Agon is a god of overcoming obstacles, of meeting challenges and of all forms of sports and competitions. Agon is also the patron god of those who struggle against impossible odds, pressing on against certain defeat. Agon serves as the god of hope and victory, but also the god of false hope and hubris. Agon represents the temptation to overstep one’s limits and push beyond where one should strive for, even as he represents the ability to push one’s limits further and attain new mastery.

Lesser Deity
Domains: Competition, Courage, Pride, Strength, Celerity.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Favored Weapon: Sickle.
Holy Symbol: A two-faced raptor.

New Domains:

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Conquest
Granted Power: Whenever you fell an enemy in melee you gain a +1 profane bonus to melee attack and weapon damage rolls per enemy felled in this action until the end of your next turn; keep track of bonuses gained separately for each round meaning an enemy felled the next round does not increase the bonus. For example you are a 15th level cleric with this domain and the cleave feat and take a full attack action, your first attack reduces an enemy to -1 hp knocking it out until the end of your next action you gain a +1 to melee attacks and damage. With your cleave feat and second attack (both made at +1) you reduce another enemy to -1 hp, this means your last attack is made at +2 and so are all attacks the next round. If on the next round you reduce another enemy to -1 or less hp you gain no further bonus that round but next round would still have the +1 to melee attack and damage.

Spells (those marked SC come from the Spell Compendium, CM indicates Complete Mage and CC indicates Complete Champion, PHBII indicates Players’ Handbook II)
1st: Divine Favor
2nd: Healing Sting (SC)
3rd: Ring of Blades (SC)
4th: Divine Power
5th: Meteoric Strike (PHBII)
6th: Spiritual Guardian (CC)
7th: Adamantium Wings (CM)
8th: Stormrage (SC)
9th: Lash of Force (CM)

Misfortune:
Granted Power: 1/day as a free action usable outside of your turn you may force 1 target to re-roll a single d20 roll and take the worse of the two rolls.

Spells:
1st: Bane
2nd: Curse of Ill Fortune (SC)
3rd: Unluck (SC)
4th: Spell Vulnerability (SC)
5th: Mass Curse of Ill Fortune (SC)
6th: Harm
7th: Greater Bestow Curse (SC)
8th: Shifting Paths (SC)
9th: Energy Drain

Song:
Granted Power: Perform is added to your Cleric (or priest) skill list. You gain a +3 bonus on all Perform checks.

Spells:
1st: Sonic Blast
2nd: Sound Burst
3rd: Sonorous Hum
4th: Battle Hymn
5th: Love’s Lament
6th: Sonic Rumble (uses DF instead of a Focus)
7th: Holy Word
8th: Lion’s Roar
9th: Wail of the Banshee.

[Zaydos]

Reserved for Pnakostic Empire.

[Zaydos]

Nations of the Worlds:

The Cloud Peak:

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The Cloud Peak Mountains: Much smaller than the Dwarf Wall which divides the western coast from the rest of the continent, the Cloud Peak mountains are the tallest mountains in Masor. The land is rough and its most valuable resources, those metals found within, are controlled by the dwarves which dwell beneath its surface. Aboveground the region is a land inhabited by giants, trolls, and even dragons. Scattered human settlements dot the valleys of the great mountains, founded by peasants fleeing their overlords in the east or taken as slave stock by the dragons inhabiting the mountain peaks.
Races of the Cloud Peak Mountains:
 Dwarves: The main humanoid inhabitants of the Cloud Peak Mountains. They lack a centralized government, instead living in various fortress-cities which are autonomous. The dwarves of the Cloud Peaks also organize themselves into extensive clan systems, built by marriage and birth. A dwarf’s first loyalty is to clan, not city and these clans stretch throughout the entire range. With the exception of specific clans the dwarves show little interest in the outside world.

 Humans: Though the surface is dominated by giants and trolls some human settlements do exist in the mountains of the Cloud Peaks. Many of these settlements were founded by Kothian peasants fleeing the terrors of their forest for the alien terrors of the Cloud Peaks, or by humans brought as slave and cattle for draconic overlords.

 Goliaths: Scattered goliath tribes live on some the middle range peaks of the Cloud Peaks. They worship the spirits of the region and the god Kavaki. The goliaths live in loose tribes doing their best to avoid the more dangerous races of the mountain. They do not always succeed and many tribes are enslaved by giants or dragons.

Dwarf Clans:
• Clan Bolverk: Specializing since ancient times in the construction of magical goods, and in the use of magical arts some would call “dark” or “black” magic. Clan Bolverk works with these arts and often their loyalty to the dwarven people is questioned, but in times of danger they stand firm alongside their brethren wielding magic that other dwarves would forbid themselves.

• Clan Biflindi: Traditionally followers of Hadur, the dwarven god of war, Clan Biflindi have an honorable tradition of the front line warriors of the Cloud Peaks. A perpetually small clan due to their losses in war, Biflindi has a strong tradition of courage and integrity. Biflindi have close relations with humans on both Alli’ur and Masor, allying themselves with those they see as standing by the cause of justice.

•Clan Golðaðr: The master smiths of the Cloud Peaks, clan Golðaðr is known for the quality of their metal and stonework; many of the most powerful items enchanted by Clan Bolverk require base materials of such detailed and precise craftsmanship that the enchanter-clan cannot make them and must instead buy such items from clan Golðaðr. Golðaðr is a wealthy clan, and its merchants are well known and trusted throughout the Cloud Peaks. Even dragons have been known to trade with them fairly less they risk that no further artisans of such quality come near them again.

•Clan Tuladr: Like Clan Biflindi, Tuladr follows Hadur the god of war and fights along the front lines. The two clans have had a long history of kinship, and tend to stick together. The important dividing line is their stance on outsiders. Where Biflindi supports humans and others that they deem as “just” or “noble”, clan Tuladr promotes isolationism, withdrawing from interaction with other races and focusing on defending the dwarven homesteads and only the dwarves.

•Clan Galvarið: Clan Galvarið turns from the dwarven reliance upon stone and steel and instead looks towards potential allies in the form of the animals and magical beasts of their mountain homes. Galvarið is one of the oldest clans, its history stretching back into the roots of the dwarven past, but its members are known for undwarf-like behavior spending too much time above ground and away from civilization.

•Clan Duvarðr: Clan Duvarðr is said to be the oldest clan in the Cloud Peaks. It is the clan of miners, and architects of the dwarven cities and held in high esteem by the dwarven people. Clan Duvarðr has little connection with humanoids, but are amongst the dwarves who work most closely with stone giants which are sometimes hired to aid in mining.

Monstrous Cultures of the Cloud Peaks:
• Orcs: The orcs of the Cloud Peaks are a rarity. Worshippers of Conand, the god of the orcs, they fled to the Cloud Peaks when their neighbors on Alli’ur fell to the Hallowed Empire’s forces. This transplanted species found their small numbers too few to carve out a place in the Cloud Peaks and they were beaten back by the dwarves and goblins, and enslaved by giant and dragons.
• Goblins: The goblins of the Cloud Peaks can be divided into the tunnel dwelling mountain goblins native to the Cloud Peaks and the forest dwelling goblins which have immigrated from Mirrith and Morrit. The mountain goblins have all but died out, driven from their homes by the dwarves, on the surface they have mostly bred into the forest goblins altering the culture slightly from that of the forest goblins of Mirrith; leading to a mixture of worship of the goblinoid pantheon and the beast spirits commonly worshipped in Mirrith. On some of the snowcapped peaks a third type of goblins exists, the descendants of mountain goblins who were forced out of their homes long ago.
• Giants: Giants populate the surface of the Cloud Peaks. Powerful mountain giants slumber in deep sleep that has lasted decades or centuries only occasionally stirring as hunger drives them. Hill giants roam the lower valleys, degenerate descendants of the mountain giants which still slumber within. Higher up, but well beneath the snow line, live the stone giants. These giants sometimes trade with the dwarves either serving as mercenaries or labor in exchange for dwarven goods. Once you reach the snow line, though, you reach the domain of the frost giants who perform sweeping raids down the mountains gathering slaves from those foolish enough to roam on the surface. Above even the frost giants dwell the cloud and storm giants, but few venture to these peaks.
• Trolls: More dangerous in the valleys and mid-reaches of the mountains than even the hill giants, the trolls prowl the mountains and the tunnels beneath them looking for food, and slaves. They are the sworn foes of the dwarves who have grown to hate trolls and kill them on sight; even those poor souls unfortunate enough to have trollish blood fall prey to this unrelenting hatred.
• Ogres: Found in the tunnels beneath the surface and scattered throughout as second-class citizens amongst the giant tribes. Ogres are enemies to the dwarves, brutish and selfish subsisting primarily by raiding.

Monsters of the Cloud Peaks:

• Dragons:
• Tatoosh:
• Mountain Spirits:

Cultural Feats of the Cloud Peaks:

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Arts of the Bolverk:
You have been trained in the magical arts of the Clan Bolverk, learning to eek out the full potential of magic items in your possession.
Prerequisites: Member of Clan Bolverk, Arcane Caster Level 3+, Spellcraft 6 ranks, Wis 13+.
Benefits: All magic items used by you, including both worn items and use activated items, have their caster levels increased by 2 (this cannot raise an item's CL to above 20 unless its CL is already above 20 or your character level is above 20).

In addition Use Magic Device is always a class skill for you and you may use Wisdom instead of Charisma for the purposes of Use Magic Device.

Craft of the Golðaðr:
You have learned the crafting skills of the legendary Golðaðr craftsmen.
Prerequisites: Member of Clan Golðaðr, Skill Focus (Craft any one), Craft (any one) 6 ranks.
Benefits: When crafting you double the result of all Craft checks for determining the rate at which you complete work, or how much money you make during a given week. In addition you may lower the DC of any Craft check to create an object by 10 (this reduces the speed at which you complete it but greatly increases the intricacy of things you can make).

Craft is always a class skill for you.

Battle Arts of the Tuladr:
You have learned the combat styles of the Tuladr which aids you in bringing down larger foes.
Prerequisites: BAB +2, Power Attack, Str 15+, Con 15+
Benefits: Whenever you take a -2 or more to your attack roll to power attack you gain +1 to melee attack rolls for 1 round. If you take a -5 or greater penalty to your attack roll from power attack you instead gain a +3 bonus to melee attack rolls for 1 round.

Whenever you Power Attack a giant, you deal additional damage equal to the penalty you took to your attack rolls for Power Attack. This bonus is not from Power Attack and is therefore not multiplied with Leap Attack, Frenzied Berserker, or for wielding a two-handed weapon, conversely it technically applies to light weapons.

Faith of the Biflindi:
Following Hadur's example you fight bravely and boldly for the dwarven people learning to combine pure martial prowess with the strength that your faith gives you.
Prerequisites: Aura of Courage, 1 or more Stone Dragon maneuver, Member of Clan Biflindi.
Benefits: You add your initiator level to your paladin level to determine your effective level for Lay on Hands and Turn Undead if you have that ability, this may not increase your effective level for either ability to greater than your Character Level. In addition you count Paladin levels at full for the purposes of determining your Initiator Level.

While in a Stone Dragon stance you may use Constitution for Divine Grace and Lay on Hands instead of Charisma.

Galvarið Taming:
Growing alongside the animals of the mountain from a young age, dwarves of Clan Galvarið learn early on how to deal with both wild and trained animals.
Prerequisites: Member of Clan Galvarið, Survival 3 ranks, Handle Animal 5 ranks.
Benefits: You gain Galvarið Empathy with a bonus equal to your character level plus your Charisma modifier. This functions as Wild Empathy, except that it only works when dealing with animals, magical beasts, or aberrations with Int 1 or 2, and which occur naturally in a subterranean or mountainous environment. Like with Wild Empathy you suffer a -4 to checks dealing with Magical Beasts and Aberrations. If you already have Wild Empathy you also gain a +2 synergy bonus to Wild Empathy checks.

In addition the time needed to rear a wild animal that is native to the mountains or underground is halved, and the time required to teach an animal a trick (or train it for a general purpose) is halved if the animal was raised by a member of Clan Galvarið.

Duvarðr Engineering Training
You have been trained in your clans techniques for building mines and the great underground structures of the dwarves.
Prerequisites: Member of clan Duvarðr, Stonecunning, Profession (Miner) 5 ranks.
Benefits: The range of your Stonecunning increases by 10-ft and the racial bonus from it also increases by +2.

You gain a +2 bonus to Profession (Miner) and Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) checks. In addition both skills are always class skills for you.

Prestice Classes of the Cloud Peaks:
Bolverk Runecrafter

The Gnomish Lands of Nelpino:

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South of the Hallowed Empire, touching upon the Sea of Doves, is the gnomish realm of Nelpino (marked Gnomes on the Alli'ur map). This region is hot and dry, a land of salt and stone and brush-grass. Too hot for most crop plants, at least not without more water, the area is mostly barren except near the rare rivers connecting the marshlands to the east to the sea. Nelpino itself is a small ridge, rising up from the sea to the west and the lower marshlands to the east, a row of rocky hills which seem almost lifeless at first glance. The region is best divided into four. The eastern border, where rains are heavier and the hills give way to marshland, the rivers, where nutrients wash in from the east along with a steady flow of water forming bands of verdant life, the coast to the west where the sea provides its bounty, and the majority of the country, rocky hills where life is hard.

It is these hills which belong to the gnomes. While they dwell throughout the country, and build their largest settlements at the western and eastern edges or along the rivers, it is the hills where most of the gnomes live if only because the proliferation of life at these places extends scant miles at best and the vast majority of the land is relatively barren. Despite this the gnomes have a relatively good life, able to live unmolested by the outside world. That is not to say Nelpino is free of monsters, but between their illusions and less magical means of hiding their homes the gnomes are relatively safe from these terrors, though few gnomes would travel alone overnight. In fact a gnome who knows how he is going can travel the country without ever sleeping outside, going from friendly homestead to friendly homestead. The most common travelers are traveling bards who know how to use their illusions and magic to the best of their ability to avoid monsters. The oldest homesteads have ancient illusions placed covering their entrances, placed upon them in years passed by such traveling bards. While it is possible to find such wards with simple spells to detect magic, the gnomes have learned how to overcome such methods and developed specialized spells to hide the auras of illusion magic.

Nelpino is singularly rich in diamonds, a fact attributed in myths to it being blessed by Flidais or even the goddess’s birthplace. The gnomes trade these diamonds to the coast elves and the Hallowed Empire in exchange for goods, and in large part a steady stream of imported food, as such the diet in Nelpino contains many imported foods. The relationship is not all good between Nelpino and the Hallowed Empire; as the Hallowed Empire expanded the orcish hordes fled before them and that meant that four hundred years ago the orcs reached Nelpino. It was a time of darkness in Nelpino, the orcs rooting out gnomish homesteads to loot, plunder, and use for their own. The gnomes managed to fight off these dregs of the orcish hordes, but many of the gnomish elders still remember these days and blame the Hallowed Empire’s carelessness for the Three Months of Flame.

The gnomes of Nelpino fiercely defend their independence from other nations, always making sure not to become reliant on foreign powers. Even, though, they import large amounts of their food, every homestead has extensive tunnels beneath it for the purposes of fungus farming growing a rather bland mushroom known as nelfearo (loosely translated it means “staple”). This mushroom has great cultural importance, replacing the wheat in Daire’s holy symbols within the country and serves as a daily foodstuff and the basis of their heavy ales. The gnomes of Nelpino perhaps can trace their distrust to other humanoid species to their long time neighbors, the orcish hordes which once ruled much of the land north of them, and with which there was little love lost. The lizardfolk to the east do little to improve matters, as every few decades they invade gnomish settlements in the verdant regions to the east or beside the rivers. Masor’s kingdom of Morth has traditionally had little to do with the gnomes of Nelpino, meanwhile the isle of Shadowcleft often raids Nelpino’s coast looking for bodies to place into eternal slavery only furthering their distrust of the big folk. Toyama takes an isolationist approach to the gnomes and they are happy to keep to themselves.

In the southern reaches the gnomes are more outgoing when dealing with other humanoids, and hide their homes less thoroughly. Not only did they traditionally have less dealing with the orcs to the north, they have allies to the west and east in the form of the coast elves and high orcs of Alli’ur. These combine to make them friendlier to outsiders. They also have the nation of Jorri’une to deal with instead of Shadowcleft and Morth, a country inhabited by a variety of humanoid races and which is quite happy to trade food and other supplies for Nelpino’s diamonds.

Religion in Nelpino: The gnomes of Nelpino worship the traditional gnomish gods, Lugh receiving praise as the patriarch of the gods. Daire the Giver, acting as he does as the god of their primary food staple and patron of the celebrations all the more necessary to keep the thinly spread community cohesive, and Flindais the Light in the Gem, patron goddess of Nelpino’s diamonds, take the second and third role and it is said that Nelpino is specially blessed by both gods. Fand the Beautiful, goddess of the water, is regulated to a more minor role, as the powerful ocean spirit, Crossopterygi, which dwells in the sea to the west has long since taken Nelpino into his personal protection. Nuada, also, is regulated to a more minor role, as the importance of adventure is downplayed; even so he takes the special role of patron of the Hearthwanderers. Urdlen, the gnomish god of destruction, is especially reviled in Nelpino, and cast in the role of enemy of Flindais whose gems he hates.

Outside of the core gnomish pantheon there are still other gods who are important. Aidoneus as the god of commerce and husband of Flindais is important to the gnomes of Nelpino due to his role in their dealings with other countries which while not a true necessity goes quite far towards improving their lives. Volturnus is well pleased with the gnomes of Nelpino, as throughout the barrens of the country every household holds a shrine to him in hopes of sustaining his favor and a steady supply of spring water. Hadur, though, is strangely unfavored his position of primary gnomish war god usurped by Camellus of the Fey Court who is favored by their coast elf allies.

Religion doesn’t dominate the lives of the Nelpinonian gnomes. The gods are remembered and prayed to, but it is considered each gnome’s personal duty and not something for others to interfere with. Priests do exist, and are respected for their devotion to the community in their roles as healers and intercessors with the gods. The priests of Daire are especially important due to their role in orchestrating the Gnome Meet.

The Hearthwanderers: A number of travelers, usually bards and illusionists, the hearthwanderers move from homestead to homestead ensuring that the illusory wards, and those spells which hide the auras of these spells are also strongly active. The Hearthwanderers also act as the main news service in the country, bringing information from across the region. Few Hearthwanderers stay anywhere for long, instead staying only for a day or two at any cluster of homes. Hearthwanderers bring tales of the dangers they faced as well, and warnings about the dangers that brew within or bordering Nelpino.

The Gnome Meet: The greatest festival in Nelpino, the Gnome Meet occurs only once every six years during the Year With No Star and lasts for three weeks in the month of Huskarl, celebrating the survival of the worst of winter and the coming spring. Free to eat what remains of their stored food with the promise that a new fungus crop will be ready for the harvest when it’s done, gnomes gather from across the country to the mountain of Flindaisastir which is situated in its center. In addition to three weeks of celebration, the Gnome Meet also serves as a time for deciding new laws, ruling judgment on feuds, and deciding if a certain path needs to be followed by Nelpino as a whole. So for the twenty-one days of the Gnome Meet cases are judged, and the course of the country is debated, and for twenty-one nights there is a series of feasts, contests, and celebration.

Contests range from sparring matches with padded weapons, poetry competitions, and even recitals of gnomish myths that can easily take all night to listen to. Of the contests, though, none is more respected than that to determine the Phantasmographist Extraordinaire. This contests challenges those in attendance to create illusions which are more beautiful than life, more enthralling, and more perfectly crafted, yet still such that even the gnomish audience cannot disbelieve their truth. It is not a test of illusory power, so much as skill and craftsmanship, and the contest often ranges for the full 21 nights. On the last night of the Gnome Meet the Phantasmographist Extraordinaire is crowned, awarded recognition for his skill and excellence. It is said that, many thousands of years ago when the gnomes of Nelpino still had kings, this was a contest by which the king was crowned and even in this modern age the Phantasmographist Extraordinaire’s position is one of universal respect throughout the nation and even amongst gnomes throughout the Three Worlds.

The Gnome Meet is also the place where young gnomes go to seek a spouse. Living in scattered and usually interrelated homesteads, gnomes of Nelpino have few choices for spouse amongst their own homestead, so instead eligible gnomes go to the Gnome Meet to try and court their future spouse. This serves the secondary purpose of linking distant homesteads and forming an alliance of blood throughout the country. It is for this purpose that it is common to see the holy symbol of Deiopea, and small charms to call her favor worn by many gnomes attending the Gnome Meet.

[Zaydos]

Calendar of the Three Worlds:
The Three Worlds functions on an Earth-like calendar with 12 months which are 30 days each, a 28 day lunar cycle, and weeks divided into 7 days.

The Months:
{table]Name|Masor|Alli'ur|Hondaro|the 4th World
Blaidd|Spring|Winter|Summer|Autumn
Engill|Spring|Winter|Summer|Autumn
Huskarl|Spring|Winter|Summer|Autumn
Cythraul|Summer|Spring|Autumn|Winter
Hamra|Summer|Spring|Autumn|Winter
Draigg|Summer|Spring|Autumn|Winter
Eryr|Autumn|Summer|Winter|Spring
Vleermuis|Autumn|Summer|Winter|Spring
Dal|Autumn|Summer|Winter|Spring
Cysgwr|Winter|Autumn|Spring|Summer
Leabhar|Winter|Autumn|Spring|Summer
Coroni|Winter|Autumn|Spring|Summer[/table]

The Zodiac of Months:

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Even on a world of magic like the Three Worlds astrology is far from perfect. These signs have little, or no effect, on the vast majority of those born under them, but occasionally the spirit of the constellation does impart part of its nature on someone born under it (will be represented by feats once I've made them). For the most part, though, this is simply superstition.

• Blaidd the Wolf: Marked by the constellation of the wolf in all three worlds, those born in this month are said to be filled with vital energy. Prone to pugnacity they are also thought to have a connection to the natural world and an earthy insight into happenings.
• Engill the Celestial: Said to share some of the perfection of Upper Planar beings, those born under Engill are said to be talented in a variety of fields, and to excel at what they aim for, but are prone to disastrous vanity and overconfidence.
• Huskarl the Serpent: Said to grant the gift of foresight and patience. Those born under Huskarl are thought to be clever planners and tacticians capable of managing several plots at once.
• Cythraul the Fiend: Surprisingly not associated with evil, the sign of the fiend is associated with great physical stamina and strength. Unfortunately it is also said to mark dimwits and fools.
• Hamra the Hammer: The sign of the hammer is said to bestow those born under it with honesty and an honest desire to serve and protect others. Unfortunately it is also said to come with a short and violent temper.
• Draigg the Dragon: Associated with avarice and greed, except in the Hallowed Empire, the sign of the dragon has positive aspects as well. If Huskarl is the strategist, Draigg is the tactician. Those born under the dragon are quick-witted, able minded, and calm under pressure though one ought to pay them well.
• Eryr the Griffon: Associated with a great and cunning intellect, as well as the capability of learning vastly powerful magic, the sign of the griffon is still not considered one of the most beneficial signs. Of course this is due to its downsides, for those under this sign are said to be cursed with social ineptitude and a general lack of companionship. So a man born under the sign of Eryr might grow to be the greatest archmage in his kingdom, but still never manage to woo a wife despite his power and wealth.
• Dal the Bear: Blessed with common sense and patience with the failings of others, those born under the sign of the bear are considered to be the most stoic of all. Of course their stoicism comes at a cost, when a child of Dal does show emotion it is with the boundless force of a volcano eruption or a hurricane.
• Cysgwr the Sleeper: A double-edged sign, those born under Cysgwr are sometimes called lazy and other times efficient. It is agreed, though, that they do not care to spend more time at work than necessary. Those born under the sleeper are also said to be experts in the arts of speech and seduction.
• Leabhar the Book: The sign of learning and erudition, those born under the book are said to be the greatest sages of the Three Worlds. While highly intelligent they are also generally accepted as being absent minded and easily distracted.
• Coroni the Crown: The sign of emotion, those born under the Crown are said to be passionate so that only a child of Dal in the throes of an emotional fit can surpass them. The Crown does not only indicate a passionate individual, but one with a skill and talent at manipulating the passions of others. The sign is also associated with ambition.

Years:

While different nations on the Three Worlds use different dates to mark the start of their calendars, the current year is often marked by one of the Wandering Stars, or by the absence. This divides the calendar into a series of 6 years.

These years are in order: the Swift Star, the Bright Star, the Bloody Star, the King Star, the Old Star, and the Starless Year. There are two special cases. The first is that Masor lacks the Bloody Star in its sky and instead replaces it with the Year of the Missing Star. The second is Pnakostic Astrology which marks the Starless Year as the Year of the Bleak Star.

Astrology of the Wandering Stars:

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Year of the Swift Star: Said to govern agility and reflexes, those born in the year of the Swift Star are thought to have a greater tendency towards professions such as courier, archer, or thief.

Year of the Bright Star: Associated with charm, social influence, and sorcerous talent. Those born under the Bright Star are thought to be charming, persuasive, and beautiful, and tend towards professions such as courtier, diplomat, or bard.

Year of the Bloody Star: Associated with strength and combat. Those born under the Bloody Star are thought to be masters of war and battle. Those born under it turn towards careers in the military, gaining prestige as great warriors or great generals.

Year of the Missing Star (Masor): Where Alli'ur and Hondaro have war regulated by the Bloody Star, on Masor it goes wild due to the lack of the star. Associated with rampant warfare, and senseless battle those born under the Missing Star are said to be the greatest and most furious of warriors turning towards berserk rage and brute force.

Year of the King Star: The King Star governs wisdom, insight, and observation. Those under the King Star's sway are said to make wise decisions and fair judgment. They tend towards professions as judges, healers, and priests.

Year of the Aged Star: The Aged Star governs longevity, health, and stamina. Those born under the Aged Star are said to live longer and more active lives than others. It is associated with a variety of professions, though especially monks and druids.

Year With No Star: The Starless Year governs intellect, knowledge, learning, and black magic. Those born under the Starless Year are thought to learn quicker, but also have an inclination towards treachery and power hunger. The professions it is associated with are wizards, necromancers, and lore keepers.

Timeline:
Tomb of Pnakost: Begins the Year of the Swift Star in the month of Hamra.
The Eye of Koth: Begins the Year of the King Star in the month of Vleermius.

[Zaydos]

Well open to posting. Comments, critiques, advice, requests for more information. I have more details on, well pretty much everything, saved somewhere on my computer but since it was written when I was rather young and I won't subject you to it in its original form I'm having to re-write all of it so I'll focus on re-writing the stuff people want more information on first so go ahead and ask, it'll make me

[Crisis21]

I'd actually like to see a few dragon-class beasts populating these worlds.

That is, these creatures are not dragons, but those who know of them speak about them in much the same tones.


My personal suggestion is Thunderbirds. Massive toothed avians who command the elemental powers of storms. Good or Neutral aligned, capable of traveling as fast as lightning when moving long distances, and often the messengers of the gods.

One magical item you might like is Eagle Stones. These mystical stones can restore life to any creature (within a time limit - the body can't have decayed too much). They are found in the brains of Thunderbirds.

So, to get an item that can revive anyone who just died, you have to kill a thunderbird.

[Gnomish Wanderer]

Nice work, Zaydos, I like your world building. And you've totally insrpied me to start my own world building! Wooo. Watching this for updates.

In regards to the Thunderbirds: I'd make sure the stats for the beast were at least CR13 and it cost several thousand gold to process the Eagle Stone into a resurrecting capable force no matter what setting they were in for 3.5 balance.

[Zaydos]

Well I do have an idea where to put them (actually two places though one is on the eastern half of the map which I've never finished) but as for CR, I'd say CR 15 with Treasure: None would balance the item.

The logic being a CR 15 creature ought to give 22,000 GP of treasure, this way the item is now a use-activated item of something between Resurrection and Raise Dead (Resurrection would place it at just under 15,000 GP) or can be used to replace the material component of True Resurrection as an alternative option should you find a priest with such capabilities.

Of course, I'll probably make them even stronger to put them more on the scale of legendary creatures aiming towards CR 18ish, or with "Young" "Adult" and "Elder" categories and give them either other harvest-able organs (I like power components) or something. Make them war with the white and silver dragons that share their mountain peak homes.

[Zaydos]

List of Additions since initial post:

1. Actually remembered to add summaries of the Three Worlds.
2. Added nation summary (the Cloud Peaks) including 4 dwarven feats for dwarves of the Cloud Peaks to add some mechanical difference to the clans (which hopefully works with the fluff to better differentiate the clans).
3. Added information on the 6 most important Elder Gods.
4. Added calendar giving vague details of the astrological importance of the various months and years.

Partially completed:

1. Moon sign feats to represent the effects of the moon on the magical nature of the people of the Three Worlds
2. Tatoosh: A variant name for the thunderbird got the mechanics for elders done, but still need to stat the younger stages and fluff them all.

[Crisis21]

Well I do have an idea where to put them (actually two places though one is on the eastern half of the map which I've never finished) but as for CR, I'd say CR 15 with Treasure: None would balance the item.

The logic being a CR 15 creature ought to give 22,000 GP of treasure, this way the item is now a use-activated item of something between Resurrection and Raise Dead (Resurrection would place it at just under 15,000 GP) or can be used to replace the material component of True Resurrection as an alternative option should you find a priest with such capabilities.

Of course, I'll probably make them even stronger to put them more on the scale of legendary creatures aiming towards CR 18ish, or with "Young" "Adult" and "Elder" categories and give them either other harvest-able organs (I like power components) or something. Make them war with the white and silver dragons that share their mountain peak homes.

I'd suggest the "Young", "Adult", and "Elder" categories personally.

I like them as Good/Neutral aligned because it presents a fairly significant moral dilemma for non-Evil players, especially Good-aligned players, to harvest Eagle stones from them, or perhaps even use them. "You can revive the slain innocent child, but you must slay a noble creature to do so" sort of thing.

A few other things sometimes attributed to Thunderbirds in mythology:

Massive size: I've heard parallels with the Roc for how amazingly big some can get ('blot out the sun'). Certainly something for the "Elder" category I think.

Human form: I came across a myth once that said Thunderbirds could take human form by shedding their feathers like a blanket. The downside of course being that they couldn't return to their birth form if it was stolen from them. I doubt that it could turn anyone other than the true owner into a Thunderbird, but it's another potential magic item. The biggest trick is that it has to be stolen while the thunderbird is in human form since no one except the thunderbird themselves can 'remove' it in this fashion.

[Zaydos]

Added the tatoosh (it's in the bestiary which I gave its own thread, there's a link at the bottom of the 1st post now and here http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...1#post13593551 If you're playing in one of my games please don't look at the bestiary.)

Also added:

• Dwarven gods
• Gnomish gods
• Halfling gods
• Information on a gnomish country
• A PrC for the clan Bolverk.
• 2 new cleric domains.

[RufusCorvus]

I like your use of real world gods for the pantheons, even if most of them are obscure. Name recognition helps keep reader interest when deities are concerned. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of names and summaries without any kind of meaning, history, or personality built into them.

This is what happens with your zodiac. I have two suggestions: either find a real-world analogue or stand-in (like Fenrir for your wolf, as an example) or just call them by what they are (The Wolf). Both of these will mess with your months, but I've found most people can't be bothered to remember fantasy time-schedules anyway.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Looking good Zaydos.

I may have to get round to building my own world at some point.


Just so you know, if you want to add Stalker Gnoll (Since I'm using it in one of your games) to your list of races feel free to do so.


A suggestion for a Dragon Teir monster: A huge rock-like animal, such as an Ox, that according to folk tales is the living will of the mountain.

This monster's hair can be spun into a thread so strong that it can make unbreakable rope and virtualy weightless armour.

[Crisis21]

I recently found a really cool name for a legendary weapon. Here's the source. Thought you might get some use out of it.

Nurmetya: Bane of Morons

Sure, it might not inspire the same kind of awe as 'Bane of Dragons', but you can bet that it come in handy more often.