Please forgive this hastily and inartfully written introduction to tomorrow night's adventure. Some of this comes verbatim from notes I made for myself about the campaign setting, so it was never really meant to be read by anyone else but me. So, if it doesn't flow very well, that is why. For some reason, I just can't engage my "writer" gear today and get any good prose flowing. I did, however, want to give tomorrow night's players a brief introduction to the setting, so you'll have some idea of the world you're getting into, and maybe have a little bit more to work with on character concept and background. (Just for the record, I intend this to be the first outing into what I hope becomes a persistent 4e campaign setting).
Kelaturr
The defining characteristic of the world of Kelaturr is the geographic formation known as The Stone Sea. The Stone Sea is an immense mountain range that circles the entire planet, running north to south, and passing through both poles. The Stone Sea is quite obviously the result of some sort of magical cataclysm—it rises abruptly from the surrounding countryside and is constantly plagued by violent, unnatural storms. At no point is the range less than 500 miles wide. In those areas where it passes through the oceans, it consists mainly of rocky uninhabitable crags and is impassable by ship. Likewise, on land, there are no known land routes that cross the Stone Sea. On the continent of Eralon the Stone Sea forms the border between the vast wild western portion of the continent and the Kingdoms of the East, advanced and mostly peaceful nations known collectively as “The Settled Lands.” At certain points experienced crews pilot airships across the Sea, providing an important trade link between the Settled Lands and the isolated settlements of the West. Settlements in the Stone Sea are extremely scarce as it is a place of dangerous magic and evil creatures.
For years, the kingdom of Alastria has held a virtual monopoly on the trade that crosses the Stone Sea. The airship port city of Krynnsport is perhaps the most cosmopolitan city in the Settled Lands, where Tieflings and Goliaths rub elbows with the more common races of the Eastern kingdoms. Thanks to its control of the air routes to the West, Alastria is one of the wealthiest nations of the East.
This has, inevitably, led to jealousy amongst Alastria’s neighbors. Now, rumors are circulating that King Lerris of Solania is intent on forging his own trade routes across the Stone Sea. Intrepid adventurers from all across the Settled Lands are flocking to a tiny and remote village on the far Western frontier where Lerris is building what he hopes will one day be a trade hub that rivals Krynnsport. Surely, in the newly renamed village of Lerrisport there are ample opportunities for the brave and foolhardy to find adventure and wealth.
2 comments:
Had a lot of fun last night (even though we didn't use the homebrew, perhaps having a journey that brings us to Lerrisport isn't a bad thing. I really really like the idea built into your world though, something about it does it for me. It breaks up the vanilla of the typical high fantasy setting that is really only seperated from the real world by its inhabitants.
Having a feature as massive and defining as the Stone Sea just automatically creates a different perception of how a world fits together and how its societies will operate given this unusual geography.
For me, its hard to feel too fantastic regardless of how pointy my ears are if I can essentially see the exact same landscape I'm trekking through within a 3 hour drive of my apartment.
I'm glad you liked it. Expect more info on the world in the future, but some secrets will be kept and only revealed during gameplay.
From a meta-game point of view, one point of the bifurcated world was to give me a chance to, on one hand, create a detailed world, but still have vast wild areas wherein I could plop down pre-made Wizards adventures without disrupting any continuity.
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