Brave New World
From Darkness, Light
Thousands of years ago, Elishar created the plane of Celestian and all its inhabitants. He linked his home to Celestian and found Celestian linked to the Plane of Wind. Beyond that plane existed another plane of limitless emptiness.
Elishar created Aereth, a world of light and living creatures. He gave its inhabitants the spark of life and stepped back to see what they would do with their world. They built shining cities, practiced powerful magic, and flourished.
But a terrible blackness appeared in the heavens over Aereth. The Darkstar heralded the coming of Toldoth, god of darkness. Toldoth had long hungered in the empty darkness, but possessed no ability to create. It studied Elishar, and built its own mockeries of the planes the god had touched. When it had sufficient power, Toldoth struck at the world of Aereth.
Shadows fell across the land, and Elishar’s creation fell under the evil god's sway. Elishar wept for his lost creations and his anger burned against Toldoth. He lit the heavens of Aereth with the positive, life-giving rays of Shar, the silvery sun. Beneath its blazing whiteness, darkness was banished.
But still Elishar's creations did not turn back to him. They turned their back on the light and fled deep underground to escape its rays.
Elishar and Toldoth struggled mightily for control of Aereth, battling with outsiders, elementals, and genies as well as the people of Aereth. In the end, neither triumphed and the lands were devastated. Elishar ruled the day but Toldoth held sway over night.
Elishar brought forth new creations and Toldoth sought to corrupt them. Elishar blessed his people with divine magic, and Toldoth turned it to evil whenever possible.
For three thousand years, the followers of Elishar and Toldoth fought across the face of Aereth and throughout the planes. A last terrible battle ended with powerful magic sealing off northern Aereth from the other lands. Whether Elishar sealed in evil or Toldoth walled off the forces of good from final victory remains unclear. The Unknown North has been shut for one thousand years.
But today, the veil has lifted.
Brave New World
You once believed in Anbegriffon, Krarvell, and the New World. But now, with the veil of secrecy and sorcery lifted from the Unknown North, reality stands revealed. Krarvell is actually the world of Aereth. Anbegriffon is the city of Cyros. The New World is the Unknown North.
Nothing about the city has changed, except its name. You still created the treaty between the merfolk and the Great Kingdom. And the locathah still await you as envoys.
Armed with a partial map of the known world of Aereth, however, you are now going to be one of the first adventurers to enter the Unknown North in a thousand years. You will need every alliance and every skill you possess in the years to come.
From a backwater city on the edge of civilization, Cyros is about to be thrust center stage as the new frontier city of exploration and development. The Halfling Harbor Encampment will be the first place travelers and explorers will stop before heading into the Unknown North.
You are about to create the new legends of your world, the world of Aereth.
Continent of Krarvell
The southern section of the continent of Krarvell is home to all the races of the Player's Handbook along with the aasimar and killorian. The Great Kingdom is an empire that encompasses the entire south of the continent.
Lirean Sea
The Lirean Sea teems with life. The Great Kingdom has long sought to have the sea elves join the kingdom and help oppose the sahuagin who prey on shipping, but so far the elves have declined.
The Seven Kingdoms of the Great Kingdom
Aasimar, dwarves, elves, gnomes, humans, and killorians founded the Great Kingdom three hundred years ago. The Shining Crusade, a company of adventurers, was instrumental in the founding of the GK. Halflings joined the GK fifty years ago.
The GK promotes cooperation, exploration, and defense for its members with crusaders of the SC leading the way. Despite a strong influence of religion, the GK does not require members to worship Elishar, god of light. The Great Kingdom is divided into seven kingdoms each ruled by its own leader. Every seven years, the kings vote in a new Overking from the next race, with each race providing an Overking in order.
The Overking provides a deciding vote for the Great Council of Kings in the case of ties, can overrule any law (and be overruled by a two-thirds majority vote), and is the supreme commander of the Shining Crusade. The leaders each have a seat on the Great Council and command their own Council and kingdom forces.
A new kingdom can join the Great Kingdom only with the endorsement of the Shining Crusade and a two-thirds majority vote. A unanimous vote of the Great Council can also admit a new kingdom, bypassing both the Overking and the Shining Crusade endorsement.
The GK is ruled by an Overking but each race also controls its own kingdom. Aasimars and Simar humans have a theocracy, Criestine humans and killorians an empire, dwarves and gnomes form clans, the elves are set up as a tribe, and the halflings have a democracy. The GK is a monarchy with the Overking’s power kept in check by the Great Council. An Overking serves for seven years and then a new Overking is chosen from another race in order.
Empire of Crieste and the Criestine Colonies
Home to Criestine humans and mercs (half-orcs), this empire once held sway over many of the other lands that now form the Great Kingdom.
The Freeholds
From freeholds in the Dragonspire Mountains, the Amthor dwarves now control the key eastern border of the Great Kingdom. Across the Dragonspire Mountains, followers of Toldoth control the realm of Sarmanthia and remain a constant threat.
Isle of Nos Caen
Followers of the Force of Nature call this isle home. Human druids, killorian spiritualists, and other hardy inhabitants make their homes on the island.
Kalia
A sprawling realm of forests, Kalia is home to the green and gray elves of the Great Kingdom. Blademage training can be sought in the realm.
Kingdom of Uthur
Devastated in the Dragonfall Wars against their ancient enemies the kobolds, the gnomes of Uthur slowly rebuild. Many stonehunter gnomes leave the kingdom to explore other realms.
The Theocracy of the Lance and the Free Cities of Leherti
Always beacons of tolerance and hope, the Theocracy is home to aasimar, Simar humans, and many half-elves. Knights have a sacred connection to the theocracy. The Theocracy began as small monastery devoted to Elishar. The holy men believed that the following of law and goodness represented the lance of Elishar.
The realm is governed by his Holiness, the Bishop, who rules with the blessings of the Theocrats, holy men and women currently numbering thirty-three. The Theocrats are served by three sects.
The Gray Guard. Demon hunters, vampire slayers, evil dragon stalkers. The Gray Guard is often depicted as being made up of madmen willing to do anything to stop the spread of evil. Whether this is true or not, the tormented souls that make up the Gray Guard always stand ready to take on dangerous new evils rising from the shadows to threaten Aereth.
Members of the Gray Guard may take the prestige class of gray guard found in Complete Scoundrel .
The Knighthood of the Lance. Knights serving Elishar, these holy warriors fight evil wherever it can be found. Their headquarters is in Brighthawk Castle.
Order of the Chosen. This sect provides ambassadors to meet with other realms. Many ambassadors are priests. Their abbey is located in Arvale City.
Thire
Curious halflings travel across the Great Kingdom and into the Unknown North, but many still call Thire home.
Next Month
Thinking ahead to Ranser the Great Red Wyrm got me thinking about the next big build, that next portion of Crossroads that I need to design to support future game play. I realized that the world building will come in three parts.
Next month, I'm going to give the basics of each of three areas I'm going to be building for Crossroads. The exploration of new lands and new people will stem from these three adventure arcs that I see in the future for the campaign that Crossroad’s supports.
The last two arcs involve reclaiming a cathedral and fighting in a crusade. The lead in for both of those campaign builders will be Count Strahd and the castle from which he rules. Castle Ravenloft.
Shine on,
Charlie
