World

A Brief World History

  • The First Age: The seven old gods of creation formed the world through voice and rod, and named it Alvena. Then they set to creating all manner of life on its surface. After years of micro-managing their creations they began to realize that their children were too reliant upon them and would never achieve godhood as they had, and so they began to distance themselves from their creations, scattering themselves to the stars to watch and wait, leaving instructions to guide mortals in their absence.
  • The Age of Wyrms: The greatest creations and once servants of the old gods subjugated other mortal races in the absence of the creators, and brought about the age of wyrms. Over time the pride and hubris of the wyrms grew ever greater and their rule ever unkinder, until the age of wyrms was brought to an end when the gods tilted the balance of power, stripping the great wyrms of much of their power and instructing mortals in the ways of magic so that the wyrms would not be able to hold humanity in its grasp forever.
  • The Age of Kings: As the age of wyrms came to an end, the tribes of humanoids split apart from one another and formed great kingdoms across the lands, that were often isolated and xenophobic in nature. Many of the longer lived species like the elves flourished during this time, and the knowledge of magic was now fresh in the minds of those across the world. From kingdoms rose to great empires and much of the surface of the world was eventually covered in grand places of wealth and power. However, pride and hubris were the downfall of their wyrm masters so too would it be the downfall of the once slaves.
  • The Demon Wars: Neglecting the instructions left by the creators, the nations began dabbling in magics deemed unsuitable for the young races at the time. The high elves upon their floating cities began contacting other planes of existence, where they encountered the denizens of Hell. The devils and demons that resided in this new land were shrewd and feigned friendship with the elven lords, seeing the wealth and magical wonders that the world had to offer. Aiding the elves in their studies and teaching them many more secrets of the planes, they eventually gained the trust of the elven council who constructed several magical gates to connect their worlds. That was when the denizens of hell made their move and flooded into the world as conquerors. At the end of the war, the world survived and the forces of hell were pushed back but at a heavy cost.
  • The Age of Ascension: After the demon wars, the great nations of the world were largely destroyed. Cities in ruin, the technology and magic of the age of kings lost in the terrible destruction of the previous global wars. The world had been reset in a sense as the price for not heeding the old gods warnings. Nature reclaimed the cities of the past and new smaller states and civilizations began to bud in their wake. Dragons re-emerged from their slumbering hiding places to find the world once again fresh for the pickings, new threats lurk from between the stars, and the forces of hell conspire for a second attempt at the weakened world. Yet in this post-apocalyptic age of ruins, the world is now ripe for a time of adventure. As civilization struggles to reclaim the world and the lost wonders of the past call to those with an adventuring spirit, the old gods look on with interest as this would be the time of the greatest heroes Alvena had ever seen. Perhaps this would be the age where their children would ascend to meet them.

Trade and Currencies

Despite the many setbacks to the peoples of the world, commerce and trade continues to thrive where possible. Coinage and trade goods serve as the bulk of wealth distribution throughout the known world. Copper and silver are the most commonly traded hard currencies in the world and what most civilians are used to dealing with in the day to day, though among the adventuring class and nobility gold or even more precious materials are often exchanged with as little thought.

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Coinage: Coins and the like follow a standard based on weight (fifty coins to the pound). As a result, coins that are not the correct size for their weight are quickly subjects of scrutiny (so prestidigitation and similar magics makes for poor counterfeits), and most merchants routinely break coins to check their purity (broken coins are easily restored en mass with mending). A positive result of this standardization is that most people can use currencies of nations all over with little trouble as to most gold is simply gold, though where the money is coming from may sometimes raise questions about a trader's origins or loyalties.

Many countries and especially large settlements have their own names and prints for denominations of coins. For example, in the city of Wyrmspire, coins are often referred to as drakes (copper), wyrms (silver), tyrants (gold), and heroes (platinum) with images of dragons and heroes that felled them. Elsewhere in the Kingdom of Omas, coins are typically minted with kings and saints on them and referred to as copper, silver, and golden crowns, with platinum saints.

Other denominations of coins exist by region and their individual culture nicknames and descriptions are included in their entries where available.

Other Currencies: While coinage is the most common form of trade good it is far from the only one. Many people and groups trade in goods and livestock, and gems are a valuable commodity both for the fashionable and the magically inclined. Due to crystals and gems having functional purposes in the creation of magical items the weight and cut of gems tend to follow certain standards that make gems a popular alternative to metal currencies for the especially affluent traveler (especially among adventurers who cannot be bothered to carry many pounds of metal around with them).

Locations

The Prime World

  • Wyrmspire: A giant mega city inside a dead volcano, with a giant mega dungeon beneath it.
  • Sylvantha the Darklands: A fallen kingdom governed by noble houses, where vampires stalk the night.
  • Omas Kingdom: The "Kingdom of God", a prosperous nation ruled by King and Church where black magic is forbidden.
  • Gosha: A massive empire with a penchant for militarism and slavery, rivaling their old enemy the Omas Kingdom in power.
  • Eterna Colonies: Colonial settlements on the prime content, ruled by the dead in the service of lich pharaohs in the distand land of Eterna.
  • Ferry Lands: An unofficial nation of towns states running along the course of the great Dale River.
  • Falingrand: A vast wilderness land in the cool northern reaches of the continent, ruled by barbarian tribes that have resisted conquer by outsiders for generations.
  • Gray Wastes: An empire of the dead ruled by an immortal king. Once a source of endless conflict for the living, these lands have grown eerily silent after the demon wars but nothing is ever truly dead in the wastes.
  • The Thrones: Once the empire of the great dwarf king who ruled over all the dwarf lands, the empire was shattered with the death of the king during the demon wars. The king's heirs put aside the tradition of choosing the next in line to continue the war. After, none felt it right to ascend to the throne, and broke into sister states sharing a common goal but governed by seven great dwarf clans who trace their lines back to the high king of old.
  • The Green Sea: A giant forest that spans for hundreds of miles without end at the center of the continent. Named for its appearance from the skies, likened to an ocean of leaves. These forests have lasted through many cataclysms and its said no soul has ever explored its entirety.
  • Glass Forest: Along the edge of the deserts west of Gosha is the glass forest. Great crystalline spires and growths that rise up from the sands, taking on shapes and appearances almost like plants. Strange creatures dwell here, and they say that the very stones may speak to those who listen.
  • Perai Desert: The Perai desert spans across the southern side of the prime continent, connecting east and west. Largely considered an uninhabitable place, it is none the less home to some small communities, and is the homeland of the nomadic astrologers the sand elves. Many wondrous things are said to be hidden in the mirage-filled sands of this hot and arid place.
  • Bastion: A metallic city that landed in the Perai desert, from the planet Yen, not long after the demon wars. Its inhabitants are strange psychics from a broken world, coming to lick their wounds and prepare to defend this world from those who took their own. Thought strange and perhaps even distrusted by the natives of Alvena, the inhabitants of this world are their last hope to stop the void tapestry's conquest of this plane of existence.

Oceanic

  • Scarred Islands: A great archipelago that seems to scatter between the prime continent and distant lands, with many tribes and civilizations dotted across them. Trade routes, pirates, cannibals, and ancient dragon cults are but a few of the exciting sites one might find on the islands. It's also the birthplace of surfing and the worship of the oceanic goddesses Keiga and Ursula.
  • Okurimono: An crescent island to the east of the prime continent, where shogun lords lead clans of samurai against one-another, where mystic spirits slip between worlds.

The Distant Lands

  • Tabaria: Far to the east on the continent of Gelun, Tabaria, more commonly known as the beast kingdoms is ruled by tribes of humanoid animals, such as gnolls, gator-folk, lion men, and more. Their great kingdoms raise stone temples seemingly to the sky, and rule over vast numbers of human slaves.
  • Eterna: Eterna is a great walled city that spans many miles, created by a lich queen from a time before the demon wars. This city located in the most inhospitable place she could find serves as her proving ground for a perfect society that uses magic to free mortals from their mortal woes and direct their restless energies into more productive concerns.
  • Ziggura: Ziggura is the greatest human nation of the distant lands, and was barely impacted by the demon wars for being out of the way and of little concern compared to the more advanced forces of the prime continent. Now in a curious turn of events, its relative lack of destruction during that age means that it is now the technological giant of the world (less for moving forward and more for failing to step back). A nation that combines magic, steam, and combustion to create wondrous clockwork gadgets like horseless carriages and locomotives.

Beyond the Clouds

  • Constellation: The last remaining sky city of the high elves, Constellation still orbits the planet, and is the one place in the world where the ancient magitechnology was never lost. It has become particularly isolationist after the demon wars, largely ignoring the circumstances of their land-bound kin.
  • Planet Yen: The star-kin's homeworld that was overrun by terrible alien powers from beyond the darkness of space. Now all but devoid of its original inhabitants, it is a staging point where celestial horrors such as aboleths, neothelids, and their warped creations plot their next conquest.
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