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Post by gamedave on Sept 9, 2013 18:53:23 GMT -5
The Savage Kingdoms are a collection of squabbling petty kingdoms and city-states. They are often isolated, separated by monster-infested wilderness. They are also often built amidst, and on top of, the ruins of earlier civilizations and the remnants of previous empires. They are a land of wild adventure, where a brave heart and a strong sword-arm can gain fortune and glory - or an early grave.
The key concepts of the setting are listed below.
The World is Big, Old, and Deep
In the world of the Savage Kingdoms, some peasants have never left their home village. An overnight trip to the nearest market town or the lord's castle is a significant event. No one is even sure of the extent of the Savage Kingdoms or how many there are. Maps are sketchy, incomplete, and often wrong. The world is Big. There is always a new land to explore, a new road to travel, a new horizon to seek.
The Savage Kingdoms are referred to thus because their inhabitants realize that they are young and raw compared to the earlier, more sophisticated civilizations whose remnants they see all around them. Many cycles of the rise and fall of nations, religions, empires, whole races and civilizations, have occurred. Even the most studious scholar has a sketchy and incomplete idea of the history of his own region, much less the world at large. The world is Old. There are always more mysteries to be solved, more secrets to reveal, more artifacts to be discovered, more histories to be recovered.
Underneath the Savage Kingdoms is an entire subterranean world of caverns and ruined passages. Some are natural formations, others the remains of previous civilizations. None are fully explored. The world is Deep. There are always more levels to find, deeper depths to delve.
Dungeons
The deeps of the Savage Kingdoms are usually referred to as dungeons. They may be unexplored caverns filled with strange creatures, the monster-infested ruins of a fallen empire, or the cursed temple of forgotten gods.
The folk of the Savage Kingdoms know that these dungeons usually contain wondrous secrets and fabulous riches - and horrific dangers. A few courageous souls are willing to brave the dangers, and journey into the unknown dark. Most never return, but those who do are often laden with riches and powerful secret knowledge. Or simple relief at having survived.
There are always new rumors to investigate, new treasure maps to follow, more legendary locations to seek out.
Adventurers
The folk of the Savage Kingdoms refer to those who explore dungeons as "adventurers". They are viewed as brave and glamorous - and more than a bit crazy. Most will die horrific deaths in dark places far from hearth and home. Some will rise to great wealth and fame. But even those never seem satisfied, always seeking new treasures and new challenges.
Adventurers don't quite fit into the normal social order. Commoners, women, foreigners, and outcasts who adventure receive a degree of respect and social access far beyond their normal station. Nobles who would never deign to speak to a mere peasant will fete that same peasant if he returns from a successful adventure.
But along with all of that is lurking fear and suspicion. Anyone who would risk body and soul for so uncertain a reward is obviously...not quite normal. And who knows what weird corruptions they have encountered in their delves into the dark, what evils they may awakened, what Things Mortals Were Not Meant to Know they have uncovered.
Adventurers are heroes who transcend the normal limits of their society - but will never quite fit in again.
Pathfinders
In the Savage Kingdoms, some adventurers are sell-swords, some tomb-raiders, and some are monster-slayers, but the most famous and respected are the Pathfinders. These brave (or foolhardy) men and women do not merely slay and loot, they explore, discover, and map. Those who would aspire to be Pathfinders constantly push forward the bounds of knowledge, exploring a world that is Old, Big, and Deep.
The Pathfinders are not a coherent organization. It is more of a title of respect bestowed upon adventurers who return to civilization with valuable information on the uncharted ages of the past, stretches of the wild, and depths of the world.
The Gods Work in Mysterious Ways
The Gods of the Savage Kingdoms are unknowable and remote. Certainly, Their priests claim to know and do Their will. Some of those priest can even perform miraculous magics in Their Name. But wizards and others can perform much the same magics, and most priests are simple scholars and counselors without miraculous powers. And the Gods never seem to appear or intervene directly.
In the Savage Kingdoms, priests of a god of healing are usually the kind, compassionate sorts they appear - but one can never be sure. Even the most venal and corrupt priest can serve for decades with none the wiser, drawing his miraculous powers in secret from a different source - or perhaps from the same, uncaring God.
And while there are a half dozen or so major Gods known and worshiped throughout the Savage Kingdoms, there are dozens of lesser known deities, some of which may or may not be different names for the same Being.
Most priests in the Savage Worlds, in fact, worship the Gods as a pantheon, rather than an individual Deity. Most priests identify themselves by their religious order rather than their God. However, it is not uncommon for a priest to have a patron deity, and priests who serve one God to the exclusion of all others are not unknown.
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Post by gamedave on Sept 9, 2013 19:02:09 GMT -5
THE GRAND DUCHY OF ARND
The Grand Duchy of Arnd is a remnant of the fallen Deloessian Empire. Typical of the Savage Kingdoms, it is a mostly human land, with smaller populations of dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, a few half-orcs, and a smattering of other races. The less common races are concentrated in the largest towns, Segova, Rhellsmouth, and Waypoint, while the humans and halflings also live in scattered villages and farmsteads. In between the settled areas are areas of wilderness (and adventure!). The Grand Duchy is bordered to the west by the Ocean Sea, to the north by the Ironback Mountains, to the south by the Old Woods, and to the east by the vast wilderness known simply as the Wilds. Arnd has three main regions, the North March in the north, the Downs in the south, and the Mid-Lands in between.
The North March
The North March is the wildest area of the Grand Duchy, and is often considered by residents of the south to be part of the Wilds. To the north is the massive Ironback Mountain range. Running southwest from this range to the sea are the Dragonspur Mountains, while running southeast into the Wilds are the Trollspur mountains. The dwarven citadel of Karak Dorn is located in the Ironback Mountains, while smaller dwarven outposts are scattered through the three ranges. These mountains are also home to giants, orcs, trolls, dragons, and other monsters, which occasionally descend into the North March to rampage. In between the Dragonspur and Trollspur ranges lies the Vale of Shadows, a forested area inhabited by giant spiders, specters, reclusive elves, and woodland monsters of various sorts.
The people of Arnd know little of what lies beyond the Ironback Mountains. It is said to be a land of ice and snow, where harsh winds blow, inhabited by dragons, monsters, and barbarians known as the Sea Reavers. The Sea Reavers occasionally sail to the coast of the Duchy in their dragonships. Sometimes they come to trade; sometimes, they come to raid, pillage and plunder.
To the west, Waypoint, the largest town in the North March, sits on a promontory overlooking the Ocean Sea. The North and West Roads meet here, and it is the center of commerce in the north, such as it is. Dwarves from the Ironback Mountains, shadow elves from the Vale of Shadows, and Sea Reavers from the Far North all come here to trade, as do farmers and herders from across the North March. It also serves as a base of operations for adventurers exploring the Dragonspur Mountains, the Vale of Shadow, the Barrens, and the Saltmarsh.
To the south of Waypoint is an extensive low-lying area of saltwater marshes called the Saltmarsh. It is home to tribes of lizardfolk, monsters, and even a few humans. These marsh-dwellers, poor, dirty, and often deformed, are looked down upon by other humans in the Duchy. The only significant settlement is the village of Drywater, sitting on the coast, in the northwest corner of the marsh. There are rumors of half-sunken ruins in the marsh, including tales of an entire city in a tower, slowly sinking into the mire.
On the westernmost edge of the North March, in the foothills of the Trollspur Mountains and on the edge of the Wild proper, sits Northgard Keep. This lonely outpost is the most remote settlement of the Grand Duchy. It houses a company of soldiers and cavalry that patrol the Duchy’s boundaries. It also has what is effectively a thriving village market center in its outer bailey, with stables, a tavern, an inn, outfitters, and even a money changer. The keep often serves as a base of operations for adventurers seeking fame and fortune in the Trollspur Mountains, the Vale of Shadows, the Wild, and the Barrens.
The center of the North March is dominated by an area known as the Barrens. The Barrens is a chaotic landscape of rocky hills pushing up through sandy soil, with deep ravines, covered by scrub and pine. It is largely shunned by the civilized folk of the Duchy, as it has poor soil, scarce game, and poor quality wood. This, of course, makes it a haven for the poor and the desperate, outlaws, and monsters. These latter occasionally venture forth into more settled areas of the March.
The Mid-Lands
Located in a fertile plain between two rivers, the Mid-Lands is the bread-basket of the Grand Duchy of Arnd. Although the residents of the coast suffer occasional raids by Sea Reavers and sea monsters, and the residents of the eastern edge are menaced by monsters from the Wild, most of the Mid-Lands consists of peaceful farming villages and homesteads. Despite this bucolic nature (or perhaps because of it), a disproportionately large number of adventurers in the Duchy hail from this region.
The Downs
The southern half of the Grand Duchy of Arnd is occupied by the gently rolling hills and plains of the Downs. Although there are scattered farms throughout the region, much of it consists of meadows and pasturage, and it can take days to travel from one village to the next.
In the center of the Downs, where the High Road crosses the River Rhell, is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Arnd, the city of Segova. It is the largest city in the Duchy, home to the Ducal Palace, the Grand Cathedral, and the Tower of High Wizardry. The West Road becomes the South Road here, at a natural river harbor on the River Rhell, the largest river in the Duchy. Segova is the center of trade and commerce for the Downs, and the Duchy as a whole. Its monthly market fair draws visitors from across the Duchy, and foreign lands as well.
The port town of Rhellsmouth is the second largest settlement in the Downs. Offering a better harbor than Waypoint to the north, it is the main center of sea-borne commerce for the Duchy. It has a reputation as a rather wild and lawless place, particularly on its extensive docks. It also has the largest proportion of non-humans of any settlement in the Duchy, including even goblins and orcs, adding to its unsavory reputation.
There are several other areas of interest in the Downs. In the southeast corner, on the border of the Wilds, sits the haunted ruins of Southgard Keep, which has been abandoned for over a century. Adventurers occasionally make forays into these ruins in search of lost treasures, and have reported it is inhabited by ghosts and monsters of all descriptions.
In the north of the Downs is an area known as the Blasted Heath. It is widely regarded as cursed, and most travelers will go several days out of their way to skirt around it rather than cross it. It is too large to cross in a single day. Those few brave (or foolhardy) souls who have crossed it alive have reported that while merely weird and forlorn in daylight, at night the moon seems to hang unnaturally large and menacingly close in the sky, ever-present despite the phase and times of moonrise and moonset that should obtain.
In roughly the center of the Downs is the legendary Black Spire, a huge twisted tower of an unknown black substance. It has long served as a lair for monsters, cultists, and evil of all descriptions. Its underground extensions are said to be the size of a large city, with passages linking it to networks of caverns far underground that underlie the whole of the known world. The few military expeditions sent to clean it out have uniformly met with disaster. It has become legendary among adventurers as an "endless dungeon" - and also as the deadliest in all of Arnd.
In the south of the Downs are the Barrows. These low hills all seem to be artificial, and contain the burial chambers of a number of fallen empires. Adventurers occasionally venture here to loot a rich tomb, but such tombs are invariably guarded by fiendish traps, and their occupants tend to object to being disturbed from the eternal rest...
To the south of the Downs is the massive forest known as the Old Wood. Covering hundreds of square miles, it is a dark and forbidding place, where huge, centuries-old oaks seem to bring the weight of their age pressing down upon travelers. It is inhabited by faeries, elves, magical beasts, and more monstrous creatures. The High Road neatly bisects it, but even travelers who do not stray from the path can feel the sense of resentment from the forest for their intrusion.
To the south of the Old Wood lies the Kingdom of Colwynn, and land of scattered farms and rolling plains, much like the downs, famous for its mounted knights. Much of the Grand Duchy of Arnd’s trade is conducted with Colwynn, either along the High Road, or by sea. The King of Colwynn considers Arnd to be a subsidiary and refractory duchy, but it has been centuries since there were any formal ties between the two lands.
The High Road The most visible remnant of the Deloessian Empire in the Grand Duchy of Arnd is the highway known as the High Road. Its engineering is beyond the capabilities of the current inhabitants of Arnd,who struggle even to maintain it. It maintains a continuous level for its entire length, cutting through hills, and supported by levies and viaducts in low-lying areas, with spectacular brides crossing valleys and gorges.
The High Road comes north from the Kingdom of Colwynn through the Old Wood to the city of Segova. This section is known locally as the South Road, and the section between the Old Wood and Segova is the best maintained in Arnd. However, the section that passes through the Old Wood is only sporadically maintained by Arnd or Colwynn, and is deteriorating.
From Segova, it turns northwest and continues through the Mid-Lands and the North March to Waypoint on the coast. This section is known as the West Road. It is generally fairly well maintained, but some sections of viaducts and bridges have begun to collapse.
From Waypoint it turns due east and continues across the length of the North March, extending into the Wild beyond Northgard Keep. This section is known as the North Road, and it is in such poor repair that it becomes impassible to vehicles and beasts of burden at several points. It extends for a few days' ride beyond Northgard Keep before it falls into utter ruin and disappears. Tall tales and legends abound as to where it used to lead in ages past.
Dungeons As is typical in the Savage Kingdoms, there are numerous dungeons to be found throughout the Grand Duchy of Arnd. The Black Spire and Southgard Keep are a sort of "eternal dungeon" that always seem to restock with monsters and treasures. Other, smaller dungeons are most often found in the wildest areas: the Wilds, the Vale of Shadow, the Barrens, the Ironback Mountains, the Saltmarsh, and the Barrows. As most of these locations are in the North March, so are most adventurers. However, dungeons can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places. A number of dungeons have been found under Segova, for example - even under the Ducal Palace itself!
The Giant Kings Virtually nothing is known of the beings called the Giant Kings. They left behind little except a number of enigmatic statues and monuments throughout Arnd which have long since fallen into ruin. The statues depict what seem to be somewhat stylized humans, but at far larger than human scale. It is an ongoing debate among scholars whether the Giant Kings were merely humans who favored out-sized statues, true giants with a far more sophisticated culture than the brutes known today, or something else entirely. These ruins are not associated with any known treasures, so they are usually ignored by adventurers except as exotic scenery. However, scholars sometimes sponsor expeditions to gather information on particular ruins to bolster an pet thesis, and monsters have been known to lair amid the rubble.
Standing Stones Throughout the Grand Duchy of Arnd are mysterious standing stones, which come in two basic types.
The first type is a solitary stone - a cairn, obelisk, or stele. They are almost always a single stone of either an unknown type, or of a type quarried hundreds of miles away. These stones usually have arcane writings and symbols in an unknown tongue, and often have mystical properties. Activating a solitary standing stone can bestow magical gifts, or release a bound demon, or worse. Adventurers often try anyway.
The second type of standing stone is a circle. These stone circles are typically composed of known but rare stones quarried far from the circle's location. Unlike the solitary stones, the stones in circles are plain and unadorned, and do not seem to have any innate magical properties. However, under the right conditions, they can often empower magical rituals, and magic users often feud over stone circles with known ritual benefits.
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Post by gamedave on Nov 26, 2013 9:32:27 GMT -5
WRESTEN VILLAGE
Wresten Village is the easternmost holding of the Barony of Corvery in the North March of the Grand Duchy of Arnd. It is a small farming community located at a strategic location, next to a bridge where the North Road crosses the Wresten River.
The community is notable for its piety and dedication to the teachings of the local Druid circle, headed by the half-elf Faunra. She is aided by Harker, a human hunter with an unrivaled knowledge of the wilderness in the area. There is also a small church, administered by a Celestine priest, Father Aedelweiss.
Most villagers come to the church for funerals and a few holy days, but go to the Druid circle for births and baptisms, weddings, and most other religious activities. The most important holiday in Wresten Village is the Harvest Festival, which lasts for a full week in the autumn.
Wresten Village is enfeoffed to a gnomish engineer, Sir Poshment Glockenspiel, who was knighted for his services to the Barony. Sir Poshment has taken to his task with typical gnomish glee, and has overseen numerous engineering projects, including an extensive irrigation system driven by clockwork pumps. The section of the North Road near the village is among the best maintained in all of the North March.
There are several other notable persons and points of interest in the village. Brun, a half-orc, is one of the wealthiest farmers in the village and serves as captain of its militia. Chak-Chak, a tengu, runs the village's small trading post. Keelah is a prominent young artist who is also known for her love of old books. Mother Marra, a halfling, runs Wresten's inn and tavern, the Rest Inn, and is well known for knowing everybody well. Sheriff Holt keeps the peace in the village; he is known to be a drunk, but has also driven off desperate bandits and orc raiders with nothing more than a hard stare. Talathel, a dusk elf, is the village smith; originally from the Vale of Shadows, little else is known of him, even his face, which is always hidden in the shadows of his cloak when he ventures from his forge.
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Post by gamedave on Dec 10, 2013 14:07:59 GMT -5
The Barony of Corvery is located in the North March, in the northeast corner of the Grand Duchy of Arnd. The barony mostly consists of small farming villages, between the Vale of Shadows to the north and the Barrens to the south, neatly bisected by the North Road.
The seat of the barony is Castle Corver and the small town surrounding it, Corverton. It is located in a strategic location, roughly in the center of the barony, where the North Road crosses the Shadow River flowing south from the Vale of Shadows.
The largest settlement in the barony is the large town of Shadowford, on the banks of the Shadow River just south of the Vale of Shadows. Shadowford has a strategic location for the lumbering industry in the Vale of Shadows. However, that industry frequently brings it into conflict with the dusk elves who live in the vale and do not recognize the authority of the baron. As a result of centuries of conflict with dusk elves, shadow fey, and other denizens of the Vale of Shadows, the populace of Shadowford is notorious for their intolerance of elves and their superstitious nature. Dark rumors also circulate that a fell being from the Vale has made Shadowford its hunting ground.
On the far eastern edge of the barony lies Wresten Village, a small farming community. It is fairly unexceptional, save for its remote location. East of Wresten Village, the only sign of civilization is Northgard Keep - beyond that is the unexplored Wild.
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