World of Valefar, Adventurers Needed

[Jack_McSnatch]

I'm not running game for a while, so I figured I'd flesh out my custom world. It's way more interesting when other people have input, and more fun then puzzling it all out in my own head.

The challenge is, none of my players are gonna read a whole book's worth of fluff. They don't even do that with established settings. So, what I'm gonna do is decide what things have shaped the world thus far, how it's all still influencing the world, and how to fit the existing generic d&d knowledge into it. Stuff like how the planes work and that negative energy animates undead.

First age: Orcs, Neanderthals, Goblonoids, dinosaurs, and Aberrations. Primitive cultures formed around survival in a hostile environment. Good thing, cause that's gonna be a trend. The Illithids ended up way back here after their time travel shenanigans detailed in Lords of Madness.

Where'd aberrations come from? Why haven't they taken over the world yet? What else did the mind flayers do when they broke the universe?

Second age: The first planar invasion, when fey creatures and the dwarves of nidavellir claimed land. The elves basically showed up out of nowhere, promptly went "fuk yo sheet" and established a facist empire that ruled for 2000 years. Neanderthals evolved into humans. The 'lesser' races rebeled, kicked the crap out of the empire, but had some help thanks to inner turmoil and brewing civil war. Fiends start creeping in during this age.

How did a race with -2 con take over the world? What happened at the end? Why are there so many freaking elf subtypes, and why do they all hate eachother?

Third age: Zombies and the discovery of necromancy. Nidavellir dwarves devolve into regular old PHB dwarves. Everyone gets to enjoy the rampant power of necromancers. Undead of all kinds invaded the world. Newly acclimated dwarves develop respect for such power. Begin to utilize undead, and develop a system under necromancer kings that persists to this day. Tribal wood elves claim the Archwood, which consists of the entire southeast area of the continent, about the size of the united states.

What stopped the zombie apocalypse from happening? How is necromancy used today? What's so important about the Archwood that barbarian elves locked it down?

Fourth age: Demons, devils, and yugoloths, oh my. Fiends of all sorts invade the world simultaneously, almost like someone had planned it. But that's ridiculous, the forces of evil can't work together. No one knows what force unified them, they were a little more concerned with the roving bands of fiendish monsters. Celestials appear to engage their evil cousins, and the resulting war causes even more destruction. The Archwood gets locked down even tighter, but the barbarian elves now welcome anyone who isn't of the outsider or aberration types. The mysterious god 'Pelor' appears, unifies races, and pushes the fiends out. Good dragons are all but wiped out in the conflict. Tieflings form as a unified race.

The Burning Hate applies. Pelor is not all he seems. How has demonic invasion shaped the continent? Who united the Fiends and how did they do it? What got left behind when the demons got the boot?

The current age: The world is getting on track. Nobody is thriving, persay, dangers abound in the form of the usual d&d threats. The world needs every hero it can get, even the less than heroic ones. There are no spellcasters of above 12th level. Or, if there are, they aren't selling magic items at discount prices. (mostly to avoid a Tippyverse. Nothing wrong with it, the world just isn't supposed to be that well off.)

Where are they now? What does the socio-political landscape look like after it's been violated by demons? What kind of players are ruling nations, or toppling them? And where do all these damned cults keep coming from?

Any question, any order. I'm just brainstorming here.

[WhatThePhysics]

First age: Orcs, Neanderthals, Goblonoids, dinosaurs, and Aberrations. Primitive cultures formed around survival in a hostile environment. Good thing, cause that's gonna be a trend. The Illithids ended up way back here after their time travel shenanigans detailed in Lords of Madness.

Where'd aberrations come from? Why haven't they taken over the world yet? What else did the mind flayers do when they broke the universe?

The aberrations were brought there by the Illithids. The mind flayers also caused psionics to be a thing among the natives of Valefar.

Second age: The first planar invasion, when fey creatures and the dwarves of nidavellir claimed land. The elves basically showed up out of nowhere, promptly went "fuk yo sheet" and established a facist empire that ruled for 2000 years. Neanderthals evolved into humans. The 'lesser' races rebeled, kicked the crap out of the empire, but had some help thanks to inner turmoil and brewing civil war. Fiends start creeping in during this age.

How did a race with -2 con take over the world? What happened at the end? Why are there so many freaking elf subtypes, and why do they all hate eachother?

The elves took over the world, because they were very smart, long lived tyrants. Their empire collapsed, because it's hard to rule over slaves while fighting on multiple fronts. All the elf subtypes were originally different castes, and their mutual hatred is due to generations of bigotry and envy that was exacerbated by the empire's collapse.

Third age: Zombies and the discovery of necromancy. Nidavellir dwarves devolve into regular old PHB dwarves. Everyone gets to enjoy the rampant power of necromancers. Undead of all kinds invaded the world. Newly acclimated dwarves develop respect for such power. Begin to utilize undead, and develop a system under necromancer kings that persists to this day. Tribal wood elves claim the Archwood, which consists of the entire southeast area of the continent, about the size of the united states.

What stopped the zombie apocalypse from happening? How is necromancy used today? What's so important about the Archwood that barbarian elves locked it down?

The zombie apocalypse was stopped by the combined efforts of divine caster fey, orcs, neanderthals, aberrations, and elves. Necromancy is mainly used for raising corpses into skeletons and zombies that provide free labor. The wood elves claimed the Archwood, because they worship the endangered Treants that call it home.

Fourth age: Demons, devils, and yugoloths, oh my. Fiends of all sorts invade the world simultaneously, almost like someone had planned it. But that's ridiculous, the forces of evil can't work together. No one knows what force unified them, they were a little more concerned with the roving bands of fiendish monsters. Celestials appear to engage their evil cousins, and the resulting war causes even more destruction. The Archwood gets locked down even tighter, but the barbarian elves now welcome anyone who isn't of the outsider or aberration types. The mysterious god 'Pelor' appears, unifies races, and pushes the fiends out. Good dragons are all but wiped out in the conflict. Tieflings form as a unified race.

The Burning Hate applies. Pelor is not all he seems. How has demonic invasion shaped the continent? Who united the Fiends and how did they do it? What got left behind when the demons got the boot?

Succubi caused a resurgence in wights, and bearded devils and pit fiends brought devil chills to Valefar. The fiends weren't unified, it just seems that way because the devils and yugoloths tried to take over the world before the demons could. Besides the wights and devil chill epidemics, the fiends left behind a bunch of cursed items and fiend worshiping cults.

The current age: The world is getting on track. Nobody is thriving, persay, dangers abound in the form of the usual d&d threats. The world needs every hero it can get, even the less than heroic ones. There are no spellcasters of above 12th level. Or, if there are, they aren't selling magic items at discount prices. (mostly to avoid a Tippyverse. Nothing wrong with it, the world just isn't supposed to be that well off.)

Where are they now? What does the socio-political landscape look like after it's been violated by demons? What kind of players are ruling nations, or toppling them? And where do all these damned cults keep coming from?

Where is who now? The socio-political landscape is a cross between "points of light" and "balkanize me". Nations are generally ruled and toppled by spellcasters, intelligent monsters, or their relatives/servants. The cults are a viral outgrowth of apocalyptic thinking, given history is littered with extraplanar invasions.

[Beastrolami]

I think the world you built is very interesting. My piece of advice is, if the players don't want to read lore, don't give it to them.

Give them the basics, good dragons are all but dead, the once proud elven race has splintered, Archwood is mysterious, Pelor is god, etc. Assuming all those ages/events happened over hundreds or thousands of years, much of the actual history is probably lost to time. Let the players make assumptions, and then throw mysteries based on your rich history to teach your players not to assume. Also, make knowledge skills important as they can be used to unravel these mysteries.

ex. have the party go through a dungeon, and underneath the dungeon is a cave with writing in... orcish? But this is an ancient elven burial ground, how is there an orcish cave underneath? etc. That's what I would do to get the party immersed, If they are playing a history based character and want to know, tell them, but if they want to play characters based in generic dnd lore, let them do that, and throw some curve balls at them.

(bit of a rant, hope it helps)

[Jack_McSnatch]

I think the world you built is very interesting. My piece of advice is, if the players don't want to read lore, don't give it to them.

Give them the basics, good dragons are all but dead, the once proud elven race has splintered, Archwood is mysterious, Pelor is god, etc. Assuming all those ages/events happened over hundreds or thousands of years, much of the actual history is probably lost to time. Let the players make assumptions, and then throw mysteries based on your rich history to teach your players not to assume. Also, make knowledge skills important as they can be used to unravel these mysteries.

ex. have the party go through a dungeon, and underneath the dungeon is a cave with writing in... orcish? But this is an ancient elven burial ground, how is there an orcish cave underneath? etc. That's what I would do to get the party immersed, If they are playing a history based character and want to know, tell them, but if they want to play characters based in generic dnd lore, let them do that, and throw some curve balls at them.

(bit of a rant, hope it helps)

It does, thank you. It's still fun to build world though, lol.

The aberrations were brought there by the Illithids. The mind flayers also caused psionics to be a thing among the natives of Valefar.



The elves took over the world, because they were very smart, long lived tyrants. Their empire collapsed, because it's hard to rule over slaves while fighting on multiple fronts. All the elf subtypes were originally different castes, and their mutual hatred is due to generations of bigotry and envy that was exacerbated by the empire's collapse.



The zombie apocalypse was stopped by the combined efforts of divine caster fey, orcs, neanderthals, aberrations, and elves. Necromancy is mainly used for raising corpses into skeletons and zombies that provide free labor. The wood elves claimed the Archwood, because they worship the endangered Treants that call it home.



Succubi caused a resurgence in wights, and bearded devils and pit fiends brought devil chills to Valefar. The fiends weren't unified, it just seems that way because the devils and yugoloths tried to take over the world before the demons could. Besides the wights and devil chill epidemics, the fiends left behind a bunch of cursed items and fiend worshiping cults.



Where is who now? The socio-political landscape is a cross between "points of light" and "balkanize me". Nations are generally ruled and toppled by spellcasters, intelligent monsters, or their relatives/servants. The cults are a viral outgrowth of apocalyptic thinking, given history is littered with extraplanar invasions.

I like all of this, especially the part where aberrations help save the world. I'm also thinking that they broke it though. Their time travel caused the barrier between planes to fracture, allowing all these other jerks to slip in, undead included when a rift to the negative energy plane happened.

I meant where are the people in general. I haven't decided if they're still licking their wounds, or if the fiend invasion was way back and they've fully rebuilt their cities, or somewhere in between. I have come up with some nations though.

Artaxia; Or, the City That Never Dies. This city has existed since sometime in the second age, so people assume the elves built it. Nobody is sure, however, as it has been destroyed and rebuilt nearly a dozen times. The people are tenacious, and take pride in never abandoning their home, even under the siege of demonic forces. King Aramis Braud is the sole remaining heir. Unknown until shortly after the last invasion. He has a noble, kindly heart, but unfortunately doesn't know anything about politics or magic. The young king fears he may be in over his head, and his court fears he may be correct. The people, however, love their naive, innocent king.

The Free City; Not really a kingdom, and far from free. A city built entirely on trade, ruled by a cadre of self titled 'Merchant Kings' who either are mages, have mages on the payroll, or work for mages. Anything can be bought and sold here. The Merchant Kings are always concerned with backstabbing and/or one upping eachother. The people mostly just stay in line, and try not to get caught in the crossfire.

Kalador; The kingdom ruled by a dragon. A very old purple dragon named Axlmeranathyr has claimed the kingdom for his own, and he's... Actually doing a pretty good job. Very much on the Lawful side of lawful evil, Ax considers the kingdom, and its people, his horde. The old lizard has put his vast intellect into running the most prosperous kingdom, seconded only by the Free City. Ax is looking to expand his territory, and be the first kingdom to have more than one city to it's name. The people are unsure of their vicous energy breathing overlord, but their standard of living is the best in Valefar, so they can't complain too much... No really, they can't. Dragons have great hearing.

Barodur: Or Bitingstone, the dwarven kingdom. At least the most prominent one. These guys are still up in arms about demons. Gaining entry to their fortress is no easy task. The natives of Valefar tend to ne suspicious as is, but these guys take it to a whole new level. King Orengold is trying to get in on the trade game, but his council of clan leaders would all prefer to stay in the warded underground halls. Orengold fears that the drow may be trying to get in from below.

Varadania; The Garden of Sin. You can buy anything in the Free City, but only in the Garden can you DO anything. This city caters to the darkest desires of those who visit, from sex to gambling to cold blooded murder. Anything goes in this mageocracy, ruled by the powerful and charismatic sorceress, Lilith. Few know that the most powerful mage in the land is the titular mother of succubi. Taking control of the mage ruled country and turning it into fantasy Las Vegas is only the first step in her long, long running plan, but in the meantime, she has to deal wil all the whiny, squabbling mortals. Her and Ax have proposed a plan for an inter-city transit system, and are currently trying to convince other rulers.

Tiefling nomads; The players are probably gonna run into this group a lot. There's a lot of hate for tieflings and it isn't hard to figure out why. Still, these unfortunate people struggle by, hoping to find a land to call their own.

On wood elves: You know vanilla elves. I don't have to tell you about the tree hugging hippies. High elves see the superficial qualities of nature, and think themselves enlightened because they know flowers are pretty. Wood elves scoff at the vegan jerks. These guys have lived in the giant forest with the dire versions of those cute animals. They've seen how cruel and savage nature can be, and they've embraced it. They hunt, they eat meat, and they take any excuse to celebrate, from birth to death to victory or even a lose. They very much seek to enjoy life while they have it. The kukri is a common household item for wood elves, due to its uses as a tool, more than its value as a weapon. Wood elves tatoo their faces and bodies in intricate patterns that tell of their accomplishments. People are still permitted in the outskirts of the forest, but if you go too deep in, expect to be met by a bunch of these barely clad muscular elves, and their dire wolf pets.

[Jack_McSnatch]

Just thought of something else to add. Survivors from the distant illithid ruled future. Rebels attacked the mind flayers while they were breaking time, but the illithids had an inkling of a clue of what they were doing. The rebels did not. When the time travel happened, those who were assaulting the squids got caught up in it, and thrown into all points in space and time. So, you totally might see a grizzled space veteran walking around with a partially charged laser rifle.

[WhatThePhysics]

I meant where are the people in general. I haven't decided if they're still licking their wounds, or if the fiend invasion was way back and they've fully rebuilt their cities, or somewhere in between. I have come up with some nations though.

Why not a mix? Some places went relatively unscathed, others were utterly decimated, and many fell between the two extremes.

Artaxia; Or, the City That Never Dies. This city has existed since sometime in the second age, so people assume the elves built it. Nobody is sure, however, as it has been destroyed and rebuilt nearly a dozen times. The people are tenacious, and take pride in never abandoning their home, even under the siege of demonic forces. King Aramis Braud is the sole remaining heir. Unknown until shortly after the last invasion. He has a noble, kindly heart, but unfortunately doesn't know anything about politics or magic. The young king fears he may be in over his head, and his court fears he may be correct. The people, however, love their naive, innocent king.

How did Artaxia survive and recover from the fiendish invasion? What's Braud's species, and how did he ascend to the throne? What does the line of succession look like now? Who's contesting his rule, and who's plotting to replace him?

The Free City; Not really a kingdom, and far from free. A city built entirely on trade, ruled by a cadre of self titled 'Merchant Kings' who either are mages, have mages on the payroll, or work for mages. Anything can be bought and sold here. The Merchant Kings are always concerned with backstabbing and/or one upping eachother. The people mostly just stay in line, and try not to get caught in the crossfire.

What types of mages, and how powerful are they? How do they organize the local government? Are mages more common there, compared to other cities and regions? Can you literally buy anything, or are there some goods and services even the Merchant Kings won't tolerate being on the market?

Kalador; The kingdom ruled by a dragon. A very old purple dragon named Axlmeranathyr has claimed the kingdom for his own, and he's... Actually doing a pretty good job. Very much on the Lawful side of lawful evil, Ax considers the kingdom, and its people, his horde. The old lizard has put his vast intellect into running the most prosperous kingdom, seconded only by the Free City. Ax is looking to expand his territory, and be the first kingdom to have more than one city to it's name. The people are unsure of their vicous energy breathing overlord, but their standard of living is the best in Valefar, so they can't complain too much... No really, they can't. Dragons have great hearing.

How long has Axlmeranathyr ruled? What does Kalador's line of succession look like? Can magic be freely practiced, or are there certain restrictions?

Barodur: Or Bitingstone, the dwarven kingdom. At least the most prominent one. These guys are still up in arms about demons. Gaining entry to their fortress is no easy task. The natives of Valefar tend to ne suspicious as is, but these guys take it to a whole new level. King Orengold is trying to get in on the trade game, but his council of clan leaders would all prefer to stay in the warded underground halls. Orengold fears that the drow may be trying to get in from below.

Why hasn't Barodur moved on? What goods and services can Orengold provide, and what are they looking for in return? Is there a unanimous isolationist sentiment among the clan leaders? How is Orengold keeping the drow at bay?

Varadania; The Garden of Sin. You can buy anything in the Free City, but only in the Garden can you DO anything. This city caters to the darkest desires of those who visit, from sex to gambling to cold blooded murder. Anything goes in this mageocracy, ruled by the powerful and charismatic sorceress, Lilith. Few know that the most powerful mage in the land is the titular mother of succubi. Taking control of the mage ruled country and turning it into fantasy Las Vegas is only the first step in her long, long running plan, but in the meantime, she has to deal wil all the whiny, squabbling mortals. Her and Ax have proposed a plan for an inter-city transit system, and are currently trying to convince other rulers.

How does Lilith keep control? Why haven't the destitute left for saner pastures? Who knows, or has suspicions about, Lilith's true identity? What sort of transit system is being proposed, and what direct benefits do Lilith and Axlmeranathyr expect from it? Which rulers are still on the fence, and which are adamantly against it?

Tiefling nomads; The players are probably gonna run into this group a lot. There's a lot of hate for tieflings and it isn't hard to figure out why. Still, these unfortunate people struggle by, hoping to find a land to call their own.

Does everyone hate tieflings, including other tieflings? Where are their largest populations, and what measures are they taking to creating their own society?

On wood elves: You know vanilla elves. I don't have to tell you about the tree hugging hippies. High elves see the superficial qualities of nature, and think themselves enlightened because they know flowers are pretty. Wood elves scoff at the vegan jerks. These guys have lived in the giant forest with the dire versions of those cute animals. They've seen how cruel and savage nature can be, and they've embraced it. They hunt, they eat meat, and they take any excuse to celebrate, from birth to death to victory or even a lose. They very much seek to enjoy life while they have it. The kukri is a common household item for wood elves, due to its uses as a tool, more than its value as a weapon. Wood elves tatoo their faces and bodies in intricate patterns that tell of their accomplishments. People are still permitted in the outskirts of the forest, but if you go too deep in, expect to be met by a bunch of these barely clad muscular elves, and their dire wolf pets.

Where do high elves lives? What about the other subtypes?

[Jack_McSnatch]

How did Artaxia survive and recover from the fiendish invasion? What's Braud's species, and how did he ascend to the throne? What does the line of succession look like now? Who's contesting his rule, and who's plotting to replace him?

Artaxia relied a lot on an existing infrastructure of old ruins beneath the current city, some of which lead to outside exits. Trade continued in this undercity, and some daring rogues even collected important things in the city while the fiends inhabited it. After the fiends went away, the citizens started rebuilding, with a few remaining government officials, probably an elf or two, which I'll get into a bit further down. They rely on agriculture, and livestock for their income. They're most well known for breeding good horses, and using gentle repose to transport farm fresh goods. Braud is human. He was elevated to the throne because the one remaining elf remembered where he was hidden. The line of succession is... Awkward. Braud is still young, he's unsure of himself and he has yet to choose a wife. There isn't a lot of inner opposition to his rule, but most people in the court are looking to manipulate him. Ax has his eyes on the kingdom, since building an entirely new city takes time and resources.

What types of mages, and how powerful are they? How do they organize the local government? Are mages more common there, compared to other cities and regions? Can you literally buy anything, or are there some goods and services even the Merchant Kings won't tolerate being on the market?

I think it mostly consists of full arcane spellcasters, with the majority being generalist wizards between 5th and 9th levels, with the most powerful being level 11. The city is divided into various territories, but all of them run on some generally agreed upon laws like "no killing, no stealing, no summoning demons," sensible stuff. Some of the money pulled in from each king's territory goes into one large pot, which is then divided up to cover city planning costs and such. The real power in the city, even greater than the wizards, are the accountants. The city wouldn't last without them sending the money where it needs to go. Mages are slightly more common than most of the other places, but especially item crafter mages. There's a pretty fierce market for magic items, but its more everyday use magic than the stuff adventurers use. Every mage is trying to make their mark on history with some blow up magical invention, some of which blow up in all the wrong ways. The kings allow most everything from drugs to slaves to prostitutes and gladiator rings, but they don't like anything to do with demons. They already went on that ride and it was terrible. Likewise, cursed items are bad for business, they try to keep those off the market, if only so people keep buying more stuff. You also can't find thrill-murder services like in the Garden.

How long has Axlmeranathyr ruled? What does Kalador's line of succession look like? Can magic be freely practiced, or are there certain restrictions?

Ax has been running the country for the better part of a century, but the concept of subtlety is stupid to him. He tends to order people in no uncertain terms, rather than request or suggest. He is planning a succession, as he knows he won't live forever, and the idea of being a dracolich makes him physically sick. He has three children he's in the process of rearing, but he's unhappy with the results so far. One has good force of personality, but is dim witted and selfish. Another has brains and willpower, but she's too busy being a sadistic bitch to run a successful country. The last is exceptionally clever, and even what humans would call "nice." Unfortunately, he's a spineless, simpering, people pleaser. Ax likes magic overall, and completely expects it to bring his kingdom into a new age, but a mage too powerful is a threat to him and his rule. He doesn't allow destructive magic, summoning, or any sort of planar travel within city limits. Necromancers need a special license to practice.

Why hasn't Barodur moved on? What goods and services can Orengold provide, and what are they looking for in return? Is there a unanimous isolationist sentiment among the clan leaders? How is Orengold keeping the drow at bay?

Barodur has yet to move on because it was hit the hardest. Despite Orengold's best efforts, the clan leaders have spread propaganda suggesting that the surface world is an apocalyptic hellscape, with demons and monsters waiting around every corner. They aren't completely wrong, of course, but they have blown it out of proportion. The dwarves and Orengold can actually offer a lot more than just armor and weapons. In fact, those aren't even on the list. You have to be a trusted friend to the dwarves before they'll outfit you for battle. However, their mastery of the earth means they can take the most barren, dried out patch of land, and turn it into thriving farmland. They can provide gemstones and valuable ores, and their own mystic knowledge. As for what Orengold wants in return, he doesn't much care, he just wants his people to get back in the surface. He feels they can't hide under their rock forever. So far, his suspicions of drow are unfounded, but he has guards patrolling the lowermost stations, looking for anything out of place. All of this has led the public to think Orengold is paranoid old kook.

How does Lilith keep control? Why haven't the destitute left for saner pastures? Who knows, or has suspicions about, Lilith's true identity? What sort of transit system is being proposed, and what direct benefits do Lilith and Axlmeranathyr expect from it? Which rulers are still on the fence, and which are adamantly against it?

Lilith keeps control with a few methods. Mundane seduction is her go-to, since she can turn off her energy drain. If that doesn't fly, charm or dominate work wonders. If neither work, she's more than happy to kill off the offender, and replace them with polymorphed succubus or incubus spies. Some of them do actually leave, but a lot of them make up the infrastructure of the city, serving as waiters, cashiers, busboys. These citizens are fairly well protected, as the most dangerous services (like thrill murder) are provided by convicted criminals. There have been lots of people who suspect Lilith of something, but they've either been killed or converted for the most part. A small circle of mages know her true nature, and are on her payroll. There's a destitute, half crazed man wearing tattered priests garb that is trying to convince people that she's a demon lord. He has some believers, but Lilith allows him to exist because his insane raving leads more to pity him, than to devote themselves to him. The transit they've proposed is an underground tunnel system, traversed by lightning rails. It's a subway. Lilith is expecting a tourism boom, which means more people under her ever expanding thumb. Ax is expecting more trade at faster rates, since the theoretical rail system could cut a weeks travel down to less than a day. Braud and the Merchant Kings are on the fence. Braud and his advisors aren't sure they can trust a dragon, or the ruler of Sin City. The Merchant Kings want to know that their investment will pay itself back, and they would prefer it benefit them more then Ax. The dwarves and wood elves are 100% opposed. The dwarves would sooner shave their beards and shatter their axes than ally themselves with a dragon, and the elves basically feel the same way, with the added caveat of "we don't want you in our forest anyway."

Does everyone hate tieflings, including other tieflings? Where are their largest populations, and what measures are they taking to creating their own society?

No, tieflings are actually a pretty tight knit group, and are always welcoming of their own kind. Braud wants to allow the tieflings in, but his advisors are against it, mostly due to the reactions they fear from the people. Ax doesn't see them as a threat, but doesn't let them in cause he doesn't need riots. The Free City and the Garden let them in, but the humanoid trafficking turns them off, and they can sense demonic influence in the Garden, though they don't know it's Lilith. The Tieflings have built a semblance of a culture based on one thing. "Everyone hates us cause demons are *****, right? So let's maybe not be like demons." this leads a lot of tieflings to be honest to a fault, goodly to the point of foolishness, and quite possibly the friendliest group you'll ever meet. Some aren't fond of this manner of thinking. They stick with the group for the added safety, but they don't think they should have to prove they aren't baby eating monsters by acting like idiots. Still others feel that it's pointless to settle down, and that a life on the road is more fulfilling. The biggest group of tieflings travels between the cities much like gypsies. The various caravans are actually part of one big single group that reforms every few months in basically the middle of nowhere to trade supplies and catch up. Each one travels further out with each new trip, looking for a place with suitable resources to support a settlement. They've found a mostly intact city that would be perfect... If it weren't infested by monsters. Other than that, they don't really have a plan. They're already know how to travel, but other than that there isn't much the lot of them can produce economically. They just want walls around them and roofs over their heads.

Where do high elves lives? What about the other subtypes?

High Elves have more or less integrated with urbanite culture. There are some small individual settlements, but many kingdoms see the value in such long lived employees, especially as record keepers. Grey Elves are super secluded in the ruins of the greatest elven cities, frost elves stay on the mountaintops, wild elves are almost unheard of. Drow still live underground (they wrote a whole book on that after all), but a number of splinter groups have settled on the surface. One group has even found acceptance in the deepest, darkest parts of the Archwood. The wood elves welcomed them a bit tentatively, but they've proven a valuable part of the loose knit forest community. Other subtypes I may have forgotton exist in the environments they usually exist in.

[Jack_McSnatch]

Okay so I've done some thinking and decided to rewrite a couple things. Lilith, instead of ruling her own kingdom is a merchant queen. The kingdom she ruled will be replaced by Teimar. Basically the same idea of a mageocracy, arcane college and all that. They like the subway idea.

More on my mind lately are other races and their place in the world. Namely, a thread got me thinking about Orcs. I don't mind enemy races, but they come from somewhere. Here's the loose thoughts I've piled together.

Gruumsh has proven himself a weak and ineffective god. Between him losing to Corellon, the elven empire making them a slave race, the undead, and the demons, the orcs are done with him. The orcs have no great kingdoms or prosperous alliances, only a fractured, oral history that suggests they've never had such things, all because their god is a massive prick. This thoughtline has resulted in two divergent philosophies.

Some tribes stick to the old ways, insisting that civilization is for the weak. These guys are your raiding, pillaging, chaotic evil orcs.

More common lately are nature worshipping tribes, cautiously looking to make alliances and become a larger part of the world. Fire worship especially is common among these orcs. The main tenant being best phrased as "Every orc has a fire in their heart. You must tame this fire, or it will consume you." These orcs are chaotic neutral. A couple of these tribes live in the Archwood. The relationship between them and the wood elves is strained, but more or less friendly. The orcs leave the wood elves alone, the elves leave the orcs alone, and everybody gets on fine, so long as they never set eyes on each other.

Orcs favor martial classes above all else, but orc rogues and mages are not unknown. Druids and Clerics make up the bulk of orcish casters, but War Hoelers, orcish bards, are common. Every tribe has at least one war howler, as these are the historians. The race has a proud tradition of hexblades, but only the most elite are chosen for this extensive training. Orc wizards are extremely rare, and would presumably enter the rage mage prestige class. There are no orc duskblades.

Aaand that's what I got. It's pretty bare bones right now. Thoughts? Suggestions?