World Information & Lore
The kingdom of Zummaer is prosperous, but rather small, compared to its neighbors. Libriroth is the largest kingdom, but is currently struggling with a shortage in resources.
A lot of history has been forgotten, due to a catastrophic event. It's commonly referred to as "The Burning." Memory of the event itself is rather fuzzy, but most know it was a series of terrible and uncontrollable fires, that leveled entire kingdoms. Some areas of the land never recovered from it, and remain heavily scorched and blackened. Many records were burned beyond saving, and countless people died.
No one really knows what sparked the fires, though...
Religions
There are a smattering of pantheons and different religions. Each race has it's own unique mythos and gods, some benevolent, and some not.
(A more in-depth list will go here, but for now, feel free to make up religions and such, if you so desire! Some kingdoms practice their own religions, that didn't originate from any of the races.)
Magic
It's
very uncommon for people to have the capacity for learning magic, but not completely impossible. There are only a few "accomplished" mages, who have learned to cast a good handful of spells.
Magic itself is not frowned upon in the least bit. It's a very new and strange art, that still needs heavy researching. Generally, people are cautiously curious about it.
It's unknown if people can be born with magic or not, since it's such an uncommon thing.
Magic in itself is extremely difficult to learn—and to cast, in some cases. Casting a spell requires a lot of concentration, and a focus item. Almost anything can be used as a focus, but gemstones seem to be the best option (for those that know much of anything about magic.) A lot of magic requires pre-planning, and certain items and/or ingredients.
Word-based spells are especially hard to learn, or even control, since the magic is only being channeled through one's voice. A word-based spell could fizzle out into nothing, or end up overly powerful, if the caster doesn't have a good grip on the spell's details and the cast-word's overall meaning.
Regenerative/healing magic or abilities are currently off limits, or at least impossible to control. It's a very finicky type of magic, since not many people actually understand how it truly works.
There aren't really any recorded categories for magic. It's very loose and freeform, and doesn't really adhere to any hard element-types.
Races
- All the races are very diverse in appearance, skin tones and builds rangingly wildly.
- Almost all races can procreate with each other, and thus, many can be half- of just about any race. (i.e, half-orc, half-elf, half-drow, etc.)
- Dragonborn and Tabaxi seem to be the only ones that are unable to procreate with any other race.
- Tiefling are the only race that are able to procreate with any race. Strangely though, tiefling traits are always dominant in the offspring—regardless of the other parent's race. Why exactly, is largely unknown.
- Humans - The most abundant race. Humans are sometimes referred to as the "jack of all trades" race, due to their versatility, but scattered nature. They don't seem to have any clear origins, alongside the elves.
- Elves - The second most abundant race. Elves live up to 400 or 500 years, but can't explain why. They don't know much of anything about their origins, but some have theories that they came from the "general direction of uncharted wilderness."
- Dwarves - There are two offshoots of dwarf: those from under the mountains, and those from the valley. Not much is known about mountain dwarves, as they're very secretive, but believe heavily in bloodlines and lineage. The valley dwarves are a lot more open, but are just as clueless about the mountain-dwarves as any other race. Valley dwarves are known for being naturally good with animals and the land, and are commonly farmers.
- Orcs - Once a nomadic race, orcs have paved the way for many of today's architecture and smithing methods. They're a tough sort of folk with a strong honor code.
- Drow - Often referred to as "dark elves," this race seems to be an offshoot of the avrage elf, but with gray, silver, and purple-ish skin tones. Some believe they came from underground, but their history is just as muddled and foggy as the other elves'.
- Tieflings - A curiosity to be sure, tieflings are a rare sight to behold. They are believed to stem from magical origins, of... some kind. It's pretty vague. Tiefling traits are so wildly varied, they could come from anywhere and everywhere.
- Tabaxi - An uncommon sight for sure, these cat people are a very initiative folk. They're commonly found in nomadic family groups, or on their lonesome. Their appearance can resemble that of a common house cat's, or be similar to fabled "big cats." They have retained a bit of their history, and know that they originated from a far off land of jungles and deserts. How far away are these jungles and deserts? They have no idea.
- Dragonborn - No one knows anything about these dragon-people—not even the dragonborn, themselves. Their history has been lost, forgotten, or was never there at all. The only thing people know about them, is that they're tall. Taller than most orcs, some say. Their scales, depending on the hue, affect what can and cannot hurt them. A molten red dragonborn would be completely immune to fire, for example. For some reason, they don't seem to be able to breathe any kind of magical element, like their supposed ancestors.
Mounts
Each player character has a mount, to help traverse the wilderness. In this world, there are quite a few creatures that are used as mounts...
• Big Horn Sheep are a pretty common option for those with very little money. Decently unruly, and much slower than any other mount. Prone to falling over when frightened.
• Horses and Mules are a common and decently cheap mount. Very balanced mount.
• Giant Canid mounts are decently uncommon, and a lot pricer than a horse. Extremely smart. Some breeds are easier to train than others. Loyal and strong, but require a meat-based diet. These huge canines come in many shapes and colors.
• Deer/Elk are a much more rare mount, since they're very difficult to tame and train. They're extremely pricey, but very nimble. Usually pretty skittish.
Your "starter" mount can come from anywhere, depending on your character's background. Catching a mount by one's self is pretty uncommon, but not impossible.
If your character did not have a mount before they started this journey, they have the option to pick a horse from the stables, before they set off into the wilds.
Creatures
There are plenty of species that roam this world, some much more dangerous than others.
Adventurers don't usually have to worry about common woodland beasts trying to attack them... there's a whole slew of truly aggressive creatures, that they really need to look out for.
Known Creatures
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Creatures of Myth
There are legends of dragons, but that's really all they are. Legends. Stories. The shape, size, and color of these beasts range wildly throughout the tales, so many believe the accounts are false. No one has seen a "true dragon" in... ages. (dragonborn don't exactly count as "true dragons.") Many think, if dragons were alive at some point, they've either died out, or simply left any civilized areas.
Achilles / Steven
