A New Start

Game Master sunshadow21

The untamed lands to the north and west present great opportunity, and also great risk, for those bold enough to make their own path.


Campaign Notes

Notable Gods

Quateros Visual Aids

Quateros Specific Languages:
Baric: rarely spoken outside of Baricyr, this language is far less developed than the other relatively new regional languages, since even within Baricyr, the individual communities are insular even to each other
Eesh: original language from the empire that once stood in the area of Belauth; basis for many of Tora’s languages; still primary language of Belauth to this day
Tunese: the language of the Tunoth; while one would expect this to be a mishmash of other languages, it’s one of the purest languages still spoken in terms of development and history; because of this, many believe that the original Tunese were mostly refugees from the same culture, though this cannot be confirmed
Zertian: language spoken in the Zeritas Confederacy; originally based loosely on Eesh

World Map

Tora:
the largest and least populated continent (this is where you are starting), also the least effected by the Time of Wild Magic, contains 3 of the havens, as well as numerous other more insular or newer regions; largely uneffected by The Time of Wild Magic, there are still several places that bear strange magical effects

The Zeritas Confederacy
The Zeritas Confederacy:
An alliance between several disparate refugee groups and the bronze dragons that inhabited the region, this region seems like a mess to outsiders, with a fair amount of turmoil on the surface (political turmoil is common, and private armies clash on a regular basis), but underneath the turmoil is a solid social structure and a remarkable alliance of disparate groups that have learned to work together. This strong alliance puts the Confederacy on the forefront of the rebuilding of the world and the still ongoing process of containing the magic let loose by the Time of Wild Magic. The Zeritas Sea also holds the distinction of being the battle ground where Zerit and Zerick finally faced off, as well as where Tula emerged. As such, worship of the Elder Gods is quite strong here. Its government consists of a monarchy that maintains power directly through the application of its professional army and by maintaining direct control over the assets of the nobility. Otherwise, it prefers to exert indirect influence by shaping and supporting nobles and organizations that carry out its wishes without directly appealing to the monarchy for open aid.

(Turvar)A stretch of mostly open farmland with gently rolling hills, and the occasional forestation on the western border of the Confederacy, this region has never fully integrated culturally. Lacking natural defenses that the rest of the Confederacy has, the residents have been forced to fend for themselves for most of their history, as the military of the Confederacy is designed around defensive measures that simply don’t work well on a wide open border. Despite this, there are many political and economic ties that keep this region from breaking off on its own completely. Allowed to govern itself for the most part, the Confederacy government maintains just enough direct influence to remind the region of the value of being within the larger entity. Otherwise, it prefers to let groups like the Aquayn Trade Alliance provide the majority of the reasons indirectly through the economy and cultural influence. Residents here don’t really hate the rest of the Confederacy, and there is little support for a full separaton, but they usually are indifferent to the rest of the Confederacy, preferring to live relatively isolated lives closer to those found in the Midrealms.

(The Wastelands)A stretch of land trapped by the western leg of the impenetrable and majestic Dragon Spine Mountains to the north, and the only slightly less imposing Barrier Mountains to the South, where forest filled valleys are filled with elves, and underground vaults hold dwarves, this parched stretch of land none the less managed to support a surprisingly large population of goblinoids, orcs, and half-orcs, refugees like the rest of the groups in the Confederacy, but pushed to the rugged edges of the region. While these races have started to integrate themselves a bit more fully in the southern sections of the Confederacy, their numbers remain the largest in the Wastelands, where tradition and pride of being tough enough to survive what many wouldn't still holds firm.

Belauth:
A great empire before the Great Conflict, it was devastated by the Dragon Civil War, and lost much of it's history as it was one of the first areas to be unwillingly drawn into that conflict that later spread to become the Great Conflict. However, the early devastation served to be a blessing in disguise, as it was passed over by the worst of the later phases of the Great Conflict and the Time of Wild Magic, and was able to piece itself back together as one of the Havens that people sought refuge in. While there is still an undercurrent of bitterness towards magic and the gods, most of the people here understand that they rebuild only by looking forward while learning from the mistakes of the past.

Baricyr:
Once the exclusive home of dragons, with it's population all but wiped out during the Dragon Civil War, the Mortal Phase caused a wave of displaced refugees looking for some place to survive, and this region surround on 3 sides by the Dragon Spine Mountains, and a protected bay on the 4th, was an ideal place for the defensive minded. Even today, this haven is the least inclined to take advantage of the peace to grow and prosper. The borders continue to be heavily guarded, and strangers are only let in under very strict conditions. While some have tried to bring progressive thinking to this haven, the strength of it's borders, and a refusal to let go of the bitterness of the past, ensures that any such attempt will be an extremely difficult up hill battle.

The Midrealms:
So named because of it's location between The Zeritas Confederacy and Belauth, this region is settled by those who seek a simple, quiet life. It also has a fair number of those who seek the overall benefits of civilization provided by the havens, but not the strict rules or the constant hassle that comes with living at the center of it all. Mostly a region of semi independent neighbors who look out for each other, there are no cities, but several decent towns, and the residents still maintain strong ties with both of their neighbors.

The Rocky Passage:
Extending eastward from the Confederacy, this rocky stretch of land that sits between the eastern leg of the Dragon Spine Mountains to the north and the Dragon Hills to the south, this region is prime mining country not officially controlled by any one region, but rather whose influence is shaped largely by the Confederacy. Despite the proximity to Baricyr, and containing the major entrance to this haven from the south, Baricyr's culture has little interest in caring about more than the small area around it's city.

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Quormet:
once the center of civilization on Quateros, this continent has been doubly cursed. First, it sank into the ocean, turning a complete continent into a large mass of islands; fortunately, it was extremely mountainous, so most people were able to survive and continue on as before after adjusting. The second calamity has yet to be fixed; when the Time of Wild Magic hit, it unleashed the energy built up in the huge number of magical items, portals to other planes, and sites, all of which were both common, and frequently powerful, throughout the sunken continent. While the survivors have been able to establish a ring of islands around most of the sunken continent, extremely wild magic still dominates the entire continent, and now rumors of sea monsters have complicated restoration efforts even further. The Quormet Perimeter is the only haven based on this continent, and houses the remnants of a once great and influential land that spawned many powerful empires.

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Mariki:
Once a single continent that spanned the world virtually from the north pole to the south pole, the same cataclysm that sunk Quormet split into two main parts connected only by a small isthmus. While there are large regions that were significantly effected by The Time of Wild Magics, the damage was on the whole restricted to smaller areas that were fairly easily contained, even if they have yet to be fully restored.

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Tunoth:
While not strictly speaking a single region, but rather a large collection of culturally connected settlements and forts scattered on the small islands and tiny end bits of the continents blocked off from other civilization, this culture is none the less a driving force on the world's seas and shorelines. A refugee culture like most of the current civilizations, there are conflicting stories of it's origins. Emerging during the Desperation Phase it survived mostly by pillaging and plundering the seas and coasts, but since peace was established, it has become more mercantile in nature, taking advantage of their ability to reach everywhere in the world, and having access to rare resources that can only be found in the isolated regions this culture calls home.

History
[The Elder Gods created the world, that much is still recognized by scholars everywhere, but little else from the pre Conflict era is still widely known, though fragments still remain scattered throughout the world.
The Great Conflict
A world changing event that most historians today can’t even determine its precise length, there are five main phases to this conflict that are universally recognized.

Dragon Civil Wars:
The first phase is the Dragon Civil War. While many theories abound about the precise details of what started this or even when it started; even the few dragons that survived aren’t entirely sure about the details. Most scholars agree that some difficulty between the two dragon gods at the time, Bahamut and Tiamat, exploded into something more than their usual scuffles. Even if this hadn’t spread any further than this phase, it would have been a world shaping event, as it slowly pulled in not only all the dragons, but many of their closest allies and neighbors. Tora, in particular, was altered tremendously during this time frame, as the giants took their northern empire to a different plane, triggering a number of physical and magical changes to the regions around them, and the dragons’ population plummeted, altering the ecosystem of the entire world. This phase culminated in a massive siege by Tiamat’s forces on Bahamut’s material stronghold, with both Bahamut and Tiamat disappearing after a bloody and ultimately indecisive contest.

The Divine Phase:
While relative peace followed the failed siege, and many seemed to believe that peace had been restored, there were signs that more trouble was brewing. The remaining dragons on both sides vowed vengeance, and cracks had been revealed within the ranks of the Elder Gods that would not be so easily covered over. The second phase, known as the Divine Wars, started slowly, but spread quickly when the remaining dragons appealed to the various Elder Gods to intervene on their behalf. As more of the gods got pulled into the conflict, their own conflicts were pushed to the forefront, and the conflict grew as more and more gods were pulled in, each with their own agendas. This phase did not directly involve the material plane, for the most part, so pinning down how long it lasted is extremely difficult. It culminated with a massive battle between Zerit and Zerick, two sibling with very different points of view, over what became known as the Zerit Sea. Zerick was driven off to a far off plane, and has yet to be seen or heard from since, and Zerit was believed to have died in the fight. In all, many of the Elder Gods, and an even larger number of lesser gods, were killed, severely weakened, or otherwise forced to withdraw to their own private planes; the remaining dragons, caught up in forces beyond their understanding or control, were almost entirely wiped out, and largely withdrew to a handful of enclaves scattered throughout the world, tired of conflict and world affairs, putting aside their differences in order to save the few that remained.

The end of the Divine phase is important for several reasons. First, it marks the earliest date that is more or less universally accepted, with 0 NT (New Time) set to correspond to the battle between the new siblings, at least with the commonly accepted Haven Calendar, and anything before that recorded as AT (Ancient Time). The current year, as viewed by the Haven Calendar, is about 2000 NT.

The Mortal Phase:
As the gods tired of the war, and Tora started the long process of rebuilding, a new problem was created for the world, as refugees from Tora flooded the other continents, and those who still sought war were forced to go underground. Most were hoping that the devastation of Tora would serve as a warning to the rest of the world, and indeed it did in a way, but the leftover magic and technology introduced to the mortal followers as part of the indirect war the gods waged against each other did not go away, and it fueled a rapid expansion of empires, magic, and technology that was horrifying in its own way. This phase lasted for about 500 years as several major empires established themselves on Quormet and Mariki until someone on Quormet found a way to mix magic and technology in such a way that its creator could shape the world itself. Used first to sink what was at the time the largest empire on Mariki into the sea, almost splitting the continent in two, it backfired when the group that developed it lost control, and ended up sinking the entire continent of Quormet. Not only did this devastate Quormet, but it opened up many portals to other planes, triggering the next phase.

The Outsider Phase:
As outsiders of all kinds crossed over to the material plane, the conflict took a nasty turn for the worse. While the devastation wrought up to this point had been massive, the majority of the participants, aside from Zerick and his followers, had still recognized that endangering the very existence of the world was a very bad idea. Now, there were participants who not only had the means, but the motives, that allowed for the introduction of ever more powerful magics and technologies as once more the gods and dragons were forced into a conflict most did not want. This phase somehow managed to as long as the previous phase, as time and again, some world altering or destroying scheme was brought down before it could reach deployment stage. It was eventually doomed to happen, however, that something bad was going to happen, and when it did, it was far worse than anything that anyone could have imagined.

The Time of Wild Magic:
Around 1000 NT, the inevitable happened, someone tried to carry magic a bit too far, and triggered a magical release so strong that even the Elder Gods temporarily lost control of the forces that bound the world together. Quormet was devastated, as hundreds of thousands of artifacts exploded, enshrouding what remained of the continent in a magical haze that continues to this day. Mariki was only slightly less effected, with large portions suffering a similar fate, and even Tora, which factored little in the Mortal and Outsider phases, was effected, as ancient magic left behind by the giants and others were triggered. Chaos reigned for several centuries until a new force emerged from the remains of the ancient battle between Zerit and Zerick. Tula, a new goddess born out of Zerit’s energy, arose out of the sea, in 1500 NT, and started to build a coalition to kick out the outsiders out and retake control of the wild magic that still was common throughout most of the world. Her efforts culminated in the Treaty of the Dragons, which was negotiated and signed in the very place of the siege that was responsible for the spreading of the conflicts beyond the dragons. Signed in 1783 NT by all the remaining Elder Gods, dragons, the Havens, and the primary outsider groups, the treaty formalized the Haven Council, which had been around as an informal body for about 100 years at this point, created formal groups to contain and heal the areas of wild magic that still remained, as well as seal and guard portals to the other planes.

The Current Time:
Most dragons are still hiding in their enclaves and hidden nooks. The one exception is the bronze dragons, who by sheer luck, had their breeding grounds in what is now known as the Zerit Sea. The lingering protection of Zerit after her battle shielded the bronze dragons from the worst of the damage of the intervening phases, and they were the first allies Tula sought out when she emerged. The gods are starting to recover, and once more show themselves. Mortal memories are short, and those now living are increasingly willing to turn to the gods for help once more. Wild magic still remains, but the on going efforts have progressed far enough that most of Tora is unaffected, and the areas of Mariki are at least contained. Only the continent of Quormet remains mostly uncontained, with only a small perimeter of islands along the edges inhabitable.