The Bog - Primer (read this one first)

[nubz]

Sorry i disappeared again, guys. I'd rather not talk about it, i'll just grumble to myself that i must have been jack the ripper in my past life or something to deserve this shit.

THE BOG


I'll try to make this as simplistic as possible, without losing any of the extensive ideas that are already floating through my head. And because my head uses big words, i'll be kind enough to explain the ones you might not recognize. what can i say, i spent too much time as an ESL instructor. For those i got too lazy to write in the direct link URL for, go to http://www.yourdictionary.com and type it in yourself. its a wonderful habit to form, trust me. If there's one piece of advice i can give you young'uns, it is this. People are always getting mad at immigrants for crap like "you're in America now, learn to speak American". Well, in a manner neither loquacious nor verbose, i must tell you that it is ignorant of you. They speak two languages, maybe more. And of course I hope i'm using those words properly hehehe.


First off, as i said already, this is a traditional style D&D world. And as i said, it's my world. Now, it happens to be a fairly xenophobic world, so orcs don't inter-mingle with gnolls, elves keep to the paths less travelled (because they can), and dwarves sit high upon their mountain thrones hoarding treasures. humans are everywhere they want to be and do whatever they see fit, goblins stick to their little mobs (4-12 warriors attacking whatever they think they can beat), and kobolds will ambush anything that moves. Remind me to tell you more about kobolds once i start throwing them at you.


Now then, lets get started with the world building. On the west coast is a beautiful ocean, full of fishes and sunsets and there are even a fair amount of beautiful, peaceful islands out there. Looking west, when the last hint of sunlight has just faded from view and gives its stage up to the stars, you can glimplse the ethereal silhouette of a Castle in the Sky. This is the home of the Celestials, and they keep a lazy eye on the doings of their mortal playmates.

To the east lay the Mountains. they have no other name, unless you speak of them in a different language. But its still just the Mountains. Here Be Dwarves. Their kingdom is older than even they can tell you, and is riddled with all the troubles that may befall the Underdark. Mind you, the worst of the baddies are in the subterranean caverns below the mountains, and only stir when awakened. The dwarves are famous for their Crafts, though even they will admit, "They don't make 'em like they used to". Still, there are a few smiths worthy of song, and their heritage of Paladins is strong and true. The emphasis of this is on the royal family. Their blood flows with something . . . something more. The greatest kings are the greatest paladins, though they can only gain such prowess in great times of need. that has not been the case for nearly a thousand years. among the commoners, many hold true to the code of Chivalry, or follow the path of priesthood, but very few can attain divine right enough to brag about it.

The dwarves built a road, long ago. They claim it was before the time of Mankind. It is a beautiful combination of mystics and masonry. not a single crack has ever marred its rough grey surface, and all the years of travel have yet to wear it down. Where does it lead, you ask? Straight west, directly to the Bay.

Now, when they built the Way, the Bay was just a nice place to swim. No sharks ever went there, the Sea elves would frolic with the merfolk, and all was well. But, since it was such a wonderful, natural port for even the grandest of ships, Mankind settled there and made themselves a kingdom. So, the kingdom of men.

The City, as it is known, is what you would expect of a city. Anything and everything can be found there, for better or worse. From the slave traders hailing from the Ocean of Fire, to the exotic peoples of the Frozen North, if it exists, it can be found - for a price, naturally. They have no king, rather they consult all laws with the Council of Thirteen (they didnt realize it was an unlucky number until after the law was passed). The Thirteen always consists of the High Commander (leader of the town guard), the High Priestess of Pelor (the sun god), and an elf named Chance. the other ten range from slave traders to wealthy business folk, the occasional thief to silver-tongued bards. Heck, there's even Bob. Bob's a nobody, but everyone knows him. And, he's a nice guy, friendly, pleasant to be with, sort of an average joe. but he's not joe, he's Bob. (don't ask who Chance is, that comes later).

Now, somewhere to the south of the Way is the river Snake. It slithers its way from the Mountains to the sea, in a lazy casual sort of way. South of the river Snake are the grasslands, and the grasslands are home to the Orcs. So, even though its a great boating route, being a pleasant, not-too-fast river, there's always the risk of ambush, and people tend to fear for their lives when orcs are involved. bloodthirsty savages.

On the North border of the kingdom is the river Serpent. It is much the same as the river snake, but for a few changes. It does not flow from the mountains, its poisonous waters seep from the Dead Marsh. So, it is even less hospitable, noted by the ten metre swath on either bank where plants cannot grow. The dwarves have a saying, when they really don't want to do something: "I'd rather swim the Serpent to the Shore." Meaning, they'd rather die.

The dead marsh is an interesting tale in and of itself. It is said the evil black dragon Smaug, more ancient than the world itself, was killed by all the Gods, good and evil. His grave was just a smoking crater in the earth, from where he spiralled from the heavens to smash headfirst into the hard, unforgiving earth. (the earth didnt like smaug either, he was evil). Now, you'd think that would be the end of it. No, not so simple. As his body rotted away, the vile wickedness of his self seeped into the surrounding landscape, poisoned with his unholy Will. rumours have it his heart still beats somewhere in that marsh . . .

Though the dead marsh is located at the base of the Mountains, it does not stretch all the way to the western shore. beside it is the Dark Forest. Its not really that dark, in fact its not unlike the forest that lay between the City and the Mountains, but for one slight difference. North of the Serpent, the big ugly monsters reign supreme, namely the Ogres. Yea, theres some trolls, and the occasional owlbear, but any and all sentient races write on their map, "ogres live here". And noone wants an ogre knocking on their door, so noone in their right mind lives there. Mind you, it has been told that centaurs are to be found over there, but I can explain that one away easily enough. Around my house, there's lots of bears and cougars. as the saying goes, "You don't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than the other guy." So, as it stands, even the slowest of centaurs are faster than the fastest thing on two legs.

Now, back to the land you are in. So, there's the Shore on the west, the Mountains on the right, and the Snake and Serpent south and north respectively. What does that leave you with? well, there are rolling hills on the eastern bit, flat, fertile farmlands on the western bit, and a whole lotta forest in between. Yaay forest encounters, my favourite. Tee Hee. I guess i should give some descriptions of how big the land is, so . . . it takes a fortnight to cross from Serpent to Snake at the narrowest point, lets say add a day at the wider points. Two if you've got a wizard in the group complaining that all his years climbing library stairs never prepared him for this. That was easy. Now then, lets say its a little wider the other way. If you are travelling the Way, the beautiful road that it is, it takes, oh, 20 days from the Dwarven gates to the City Gates. (and the dwarven gates are a day still from their actual kingdom, paranoid buggers) If you're trekking through the wild parts, lets add ten more days.

That was easy. Now, for some of the troubles you'll run into. At the Northwest tip of the land, where the Serpent poisons the sea, the Gnolls reign supreme. there aren't that many of them, but being a hungry lot as they are, they tend to leave the bones of whatever they eat wherever they ate it. So, once you're in their territory, you can tell. But by then it may be too late. (insert horror movie theme song here) And, on the far side (that being southeast) is the Fortress. Known as Hob to its occupants, it is home to the Hobgoblins. Being such a war-frenzied race, it is no surprise that, even though it is built out of wood, they reside on the most impregnable fortress ever devised. It would be a great pleace to plan their attacks and prepare for world domination, but luckily they spend as much time fighting amongst themselves as possible. So, between battles of supremacy, battles of honour, and the good ol' "You talkin to ME?", they keep their ranks fairly thinned. Of course, rumour has it that the lastest to steal the crown is quite the warlord . . .

That was fun stuff. Now, everywhere else, everything can be found. probably only goblins for the first little bit - wonderful cannon fodder that they are. parasites too. they live everywhere from stolen badger dens under the ground to stolen nests high in the trees. otherwise, gnolls and hobgoblins cant be told to stay put; bugbears, owlbears, rabid animals, and the occasional haunted cemetary will add delight. i'm not telling you what the main quest is just yet, because that might spoil the fun. though you might pick up a hint or four if you paid attention.

i'll go on to write about the Heroes of the land later, and that'll explain a few more things, but not really because they're mainly just cool. as for population stuff, thats not too important, i rolled a d20 twice to figure out how many towns are around, and they'll be randomly dispersed in between the borders i have set. i've made 5 so far, that leaves plenty for you. Mind you, just because i have set the borders doesn't mean your character has to be from between those four lines. if you give a good enough story (odds are you'll have travelled by boat, if you expect me to believe you came from somewhere by foot you got some explainin' to do) you can come from wherever you want.