Tellus Primer

A Game World Primer

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide introductory information about the world of Tellus; this is essentially a "player's guide" to the campaign, "Heroes of the Vale", although listener's of our podcast may find this useful. Before I go into the world details, I want to start off by discussing my goal as a gamemaster, and to also set the tone for the game. I also want to state, I know this is my “baby”, and I will be the one to care the most about it. I just hope to draw you into this world as much as I can so that you will be invested in it too.

Fantasy is my first love as a setting, and Tellus is a fantasy world. It has plenty of magic, unusual races, monsters, ruins, a created world - key building blocks of “high fantasy”. It is also grounded in a lot of mundane details. Part of my “Fantasy - Reimagined” concept is to apply more real-world issues and limitations to the setting and rules. There will be a bit of resource management and a need for strategy. When I think about the world, my favorite word is verisimilitude. I want Tellus to feel “real”, even with the magic and monsters and it being a flat world. It is a living, breathing place that functions on its own rules, but it also shares many rules with the reality you know.

The tone of the game will always be influenced by the players. I personally strive for “serious fun”. I will play my NPC’s as real people. I avoid silliness but embrace comedy when it suits the situation. I won’t shy away from heavy topics, but this isn’t a grimdark world. There will be plenty to laugh at, but please do your best to embrace the moments that call for gravitas.

You need to know now, the dangers in the world are asynchronous to your character’s abilities. This means there are dangers out there that will kill you. There are challenges that you will need to run from, so that you can learn, grow, and come back to when you are ready. As the GM, I will do everything that I can to inform you of what your character knows and to telegraph the danger. If you get outnumbered, fall back. It is ok to retreat, and you will not be punished for it. If you run headlong into battle and get surrounded, your character will probably die. As a note to any listener's reading this, yes, this means our show is 100% unscripted, and there are no safety-rails in place.

Where are we starting?

All of your characters will be from Shepherd’s Vale, a wide valley in central Landon that covers 600 square miles. The “home town” is Ravenrock. There is a map and description of the city also. You should look at these at minimum. This is specifically for the Podcast characters. This may not be true for any following campaigns.

When are we starting?

The year is 3517, in the month of “Dayrise”. It is very early spring, when the mornings still have a hint of frost and the weather is unpredictable and cool.

Neat, so I have to learn a bunch of weird months?

Not really. There are 24 months though, you can find them under calendars, along with images of Tellus in its rotation. The thing to understand is, Cyrus, a.k.a., “the sun”, doesn’t rise and fall in the same spot, and except during the summers, there isn’t a mid-day sun overhead. This month it is farther north, leaving the day with a hint of gray.

What about days and weeks?

Thanks for asking! Each of the 24 months has 30 days and 3, 10-day weeks. The days of the week are derived from the dwarf alphabet (the human settlers adopted the dwarf calendar). The days are Oht, Te, Ju, Ohr, Elt, Erst, Knen, Tum, Ast, and Jest. No you don’t have to memorize this stuff.

So, is it true this is a flat earth?

Yes. The world of Tellus is a disc world. It was constructed by a cosmic being (at least that is what is believed). Cyrus spins around the disc on a fixed orbit, while the disc slowly revolves. Because the sun is fixed and the land spins, it rises and sets in different parts of the sky as the seasons change. The edge of the disc is called The Realstream, an impassible, churning river that flows in the opposite direction of the revolution. Any ship that has successfully sailed to the other side of the disc has not returned.

Are there moons?

Yes, there are two moons, each on their own orbit around the disc. One is white-gray, much like our own - it is called Lunas. The other is a light red color, akin to Mars - it is called Karos. Lunas orbits in a perpendicular pattern to Cyrus, whereas Kyrus is on a 45-degree angle, both of which are slightly elliptical. This means depending on the season, one moon will be closer than the other. Karos is “the red moon” and has a stigma of bringing bad luck. Most people believe that’s because there is an evil god locked up inside of it. The moons do not reflect light, as there is no horizon, but they do in fact generate a glow all on their own.

What do you mean there is no horizon?

The world is flat. That’s how horizons work. You can see farther on a clear day on Tellus than you can on Earth, but visual acuity is still limiting. Ok, technically the horizon is where the land and sky meet, but if you had a powerful enough telescope and a good long stretch of flat space, you theoretically could see into “space” looking horizontally. Yeah, it hurts the head just a little.

Can you summarize the history of the world in a paragraph or so?

Um, sure? There was an ancient proto-god that created the world, but the act of creation caused the creator’s destruction. The creator, or “Progenitor”, unraveled into Creation, and then later the first four gods (Uris, Axeos, Nalene, and Ogmus) came into being. These four gods created the Celestials, Infernals, Fey, and Giants (respectively). Axeos decided they wanted to control all of creation, and the others disagreed with this. Uris and Nalene destroyed Axeos, but the act of doing this caused them to also unravel. Ogmus created The World Pillars to stabilize creation, but this resulted in their unraveling too. All of this essence of creation swirled throughout the world; this resulted in many spontaneous creation events, including some sapient races and a variety of demi-powers. Eventually enough of this essence of creation coalesced into numerous weaker demi-gods who influence regions of the world. Eitvar, Isanna, Kyrgan, Numara, and Tobris are demi-gods who have shaped the history of Galtia. These five gods make up ‘The Pentacle’.

The Pentacle – The Five Gods

Numarra

Some say that the voice of Numarra can be heard with each newborn’s cry, as a whisper of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees, or even through waves crashing onto the shore. Like the endless ocean waves, the changing of the seasons and the cycle of each day, Numarra is a constant that brings life into the wheel. Petitioners of Numarra celebrate the miracle of life and value the stability of tradition.

Nammu

Numarra is most commonly depicted as a maternal figure, but in coastal regions they are called Nammu, with depictions of a playful child in the surf or even a mermaid. Sailors claim that sightings of a brilliant green dolphin is also an aspect of Nammu and brings good luck and safe passage.

Mamuna

A third face of Numarra is Mamuna the crone. This version is aged and wizened; lizard-folk have their version of the crone, draped in moss, still associated with the teeming life in swamps and marshes.

Eitvar

Soldiers call upon Eitvar to aid them in battle and believe that Eitvar’s strength will fill them with valor. Others call upon Eitvar to seek retribution against those who have wronged them. Still others see Eitvar as a force of judgement. Images of Eitvar include a sword and shield emblazoned with a white wolf, or a sword and the scales of Justice, or a great bow that rains down arrows on the unjust. Petitioners who believe that they have seen Eitvar say they have appeared as a huge white wolf, either saving them by driving off a threat, or pursuing them for committing misdeeds. Claims of criminals being struck down by mighty, white-plumed arrows are a regular part of their mythology.

Kyrgan

Kyrgan is known as The Timekeeper, a god of law and death. Petitioners understand that there is an order to everything, we come from the circle, we return to the circle, and all that is between is perfect order and precious time. Images of Kyrgan almost always include an element of time, from a simple hourglass to massive clocks with spinning gears. Kyrgan is also known as the law-bringer, and it is believed that the oldest known laws were written by them. Most barristers are Petitioners who choose to walk a closer path with the law-bringer become scholars of mortal law.

Tobris

Tobris is the kind-eyed stranger, the helping hand, the traveler at the gate, and the spirit of progress. Dwarfs revere Tobris with their zeal to learn new things and to push the boundaries of knowledge and technology without losing sight of the beauty in their craft. Petitioners see Tobris in the form of unexpected aid, as peace within a storm, as shaking hands, and as lifting each other up instead of striking one another down. Travelers recognize Tobris as a gentle wind at their back urging them forward. Builders see Tobris as an arm and a hammer, giving them strength to work through the day.

Isanna

Isanna is the Queen of Chaos, The Laughing Lady, the trickster, the performer, the clever tongue and biting wit. When the unpredictable happens, Isanna is the laughter that abounds, relishing in the amusement of misfortune or celebrating a cunning victory or daring do. She is the leap of faith, rewarding those who ride out the storm, who take the chance despite the risk, and sometimes she is the fall.

What do people believe happens when they die?

Many cultures have different beliefs about death, but the most wide-spread belief is that souls return to the great circle and join with the memories of the Progenitor, for the followers of Law this is a joyful experience, but those who lived lawless lives, they are faced with the guilt of their actions and eventually experience dissolution. Eventually souls are rewarded by being born anew, along with an endless cycle of new souls coming out of the mainspring.

What is religion like?

Everyone knows that gods and powers are real. Well, they at least believe the gods are real. The gods of the Pentacle influence the world indirectly for the most part, but stories of divine intervention for the faithful abound. There are shrines and temples dedicated to the Pentacle, and there are shrines dedicated to individual gods. People may invoke any or all of the gods in their time of need, but the norm would be to invoke the one whose sphere of influence most corresponded to the need in question. Priests of the divine may speak at the temples, revealing wisdom that they have uncovered from the divinity, but these are less church services and more conversations. Religion has little to no influence in government or politics, and temples rely on alms or sacrifices to operate. There are some sects of more formalized belief. One example of these are the Barristers, followers of Kyrgan. They study law and are recognizable by their white robes and red symbols. Think of Barristers as “lawyers of faith” if that helps. They are well known, and feared, for always finding the truth.

There are also some monasteries devoted to Tobris. These are places for study and enlightenment, somewhat akin to religious universities and well known for their libraries. Before the printing press, most books were scribed at such places, though many still are, especially books that are “illuminated”, which is a fancy term for embellished or illustrated. Some of these priests are called Illuminators because of this.

The important thing to know is, gods are a part of the culture and people honor them and sacrifice to them. Most households will have small shrines or altars dedicated to one or more gods that they will say prayers at. It is common practice to sacrifice food or drink to the gods; pouring libations is the act of pouring alcohol out as a sacrifice or honor to a god. There are also holidays to honor gods, along with music and athletic competitions.

So, is it just the five gods?

No, but only the Pentacle seem to be present in the land of Galtia. There are other demigods about in the world, along with many other sentient and semi-sentient entities, that could be considered divine spirits. Some of these are benevolent, some bizarre, and some dangerous.

You mentioned Celestials and Infernals. Are these the typical fare?

Nope! Of course not. The tagline wouldn’t be Fantasy: Reimagined if all you got was the typical fare now, would it? Celestials and Infernals are races of beings created by the gods purposefully. The Progenitor created the world, but didn’t really have a chance to appreciate it, or create anyone else to appreciate it, or even maintain it. That’s where the old gods came in. They recognized that the world needed care. Axeos created the Infernals to work in the bowels of the earth, in a place called Hadea, or the World Engine. Knowledge of this is scarce. There aren’t firsthand accounts. There are, however, accounts from magicians having conversations with infernals.

The Celestials are “the first ones”. They were created to tend to the earth, as in, where you live now. They were the first caretakers, and they built the first cities, and left behind mysterious ruins and powerful artifacts, because their civilization was destroyed when the old gods waged war with each other. The surviving celestials fled to Lunas - that’s right, the moon, and they live in a place known as Empyria. Mortals don’t get to go there and hang out either, but sometimes celestials make appearances, particularly when infernals manage to escape Hadea to cause trouble. You see, the infernals were not happy with their lot in life. They were given an eternity of toil to keep the world running, while the celestials were given a life in the sun. The infernals have always wanted what they couldn’t have, and any chance one of them gets free, problems quickly follow.

Everywhere is somewhere.

There aren’t elemental planes, or levels of hades, or any number of other bizarre places of existence. There is the world, and it exists in space and time. There is a shadow world, that is to say, a shadowy version of this world just out of sync, a place where the dead go before rejoining the cosmic wheel, but even the shadow world is “here”, mostly. Other than that, there is one other “place” of sorts, but not a place in the way we understand it. Magicians call it the “in between”. They describe it as a pocket-space where they can use magic to put things. Some think of it as two-dimensional space, but that is too confusing to understand, and either way, it doesn’t appear to be possible to go there, or really understand it, but if you ever find magic that distorts the relative size of things, it is probably using the in-between to do this. Outside of these two spatial concepts, everything else is here, or over there, but not elsewhere. Meaning, given the means and the time, you could walk there, or fly there, or burrow there.

Ok, I see what you are doing. What about elemental planes?

Nope. But magical elements were used in creation, but these elements already existed, meaning there weren’t just giant vats of elemental fire sitting around or what not. Although Cyrus is theoretically a giant ball of elemental fire. If you are looking for a plane of fire, there it is, moving across the sky. Also in fact, there are creatures that live there, and magicians claim that these beings even have created a massive City of Brass. If only there was a way to get there. The Realstream, the raging river that runs along the edge of the world, is believed to be elemental water, which is like regular water, but, more elemental? What that means is unclear, but it does have properties that do bad things to wooden ships ill-prepared for it. So again, everywhere is somewhere.

What is magic like, and how prevalent is it?

Magic is an energy that exists throughout all of creation. It ebbs and flows, moves in lines (called Ley Lines), sometimes it pools, and sometimes there are voids. It can be chaotic and unpredictable, but magicians have learned how to harness this power and bend it to their will to create or destroy. Magicians use a combination of words, gestures, and objects to focus this energy, called mana, to cast spells. Magic is prevalent, and weak magic is ubiquitous. In fact, maybe a third to half of just about everyone is able to, and eventually does, learn a spell or two. These are very minor magics that aid in simple tasks, from mending clothes to lighting lamps. Some people have greater gifts and will go and train under magician masters either as apprentices, or at schools. It is common for villages to send the most promising kids to school to learn magic that would benefit the village, and after their training these fledgling magicians will work for the village to pay off the debt for their education.

How common are magic items?

Now this is a good question. Simple magic items are common, they are useful tools, not great works of power. Even these cost a typical person a month's wages, so for most people they are luxury items, usually procured for their utility.

Who can make magic items?

Magicians. Only trained magicians know the secret of imbuing items with their own essence to bind spells to the items. It is a risky and exhausting process, and it is why there are not unlimited amounts of potent items everywhere.

What about alchemy?

Alchemy is not magic, but it frequently produces magical results. Alchemy is the skill of combining herbs or other rare ingredients to make stuff. The most common alchemical product is the potion. In Adventure’s Edge, magicians do not imbue spells into potions. Potions are created by combining ingredients, either grown, or harvested from magically active creatures - a.k.a., monsters. That means often the most valuable treasure you will find on a monster is its gizzard, or whatever piece contains the essence to make a potion.

What should I know about the races?

Start by reading the core book descriptions. That tells you the physical nature of the races. But they don’t exist in a vacuum (which oddly enough, may not exist, but no one knows what is outside of the air bubble called the “Aether”.) I digress.

Fun fact. As this is a created world, the races are created races. Meaning they came into being, fully formed, and given the tools to survive by the gods (except for certain exceptions). They were also created in specific parts of the world, not scattered across the land like seeds. This is important because they didn’t evolve, and they have unique homelands, meaning you won’t find all the races everywhere in huge groups.

What is the monetary system? The usual?

The primary coin in circulation in Westernesse (the human kingdom) is the copper penny (penny is short for Pentacle, which is the symbol on the reverse side). There are five common penny faces, those being the wolf, dolphin, hourglass, arm & hammer, and the laughing lady. Pennies are about half an inch in diameter, one-twentieth of an inch thick, and there are 250 pennies to the pound.

The next denomination is the silver crown, or “crown”. The primary face of the crown is Aelfward Payne, the first governor of Westerness, and the reverse is the royal crown. Crowns are an inch across and roughly an eighth of an inch thick. There are 25 crowns to the pound.

The third primary coin is the Gold Royal. The face of the Royal is the image of the current monarch when it was minted, and include, in order of minting, Isolde Payne, Baldwin Payne, Regina Payne, Francis Payne and Joseph Payne. The reverse is an image of the bridge at Kingsbridge. Royals are slightly smaller than crowns, and half as thick, but weigh about the same.

There are 100 pennies to the crown, and 10 Crowns to the Royal. Laborers earn 4-6 crowns per day, craftsmen 8-12, and merchants and specialists might earn 25 to 50 a day, whereas enchanters could earn 150 a day or more.

Race and Culture - what you should know about each race in Westernesse

I’m playing a dwarf, what do I need to know about them?

This isn’t Middle-Earth. It is “dwarfs”. You like to make things. Or grow things. Or both. Dwarfs are native to Galtia, specifically northern Galtia. Tobris created the dwarfs a bit over 6,000 years ago in “THE FIRST HALLS”, a quasi-mythical place that every dwarf, 100%, believes is real, and none of you have seen it.

The dwarfen people are from the mountains. They built vast cities below the earth using gifts of Tobris to grow food, and mine, and craft. Your hearths burned bright with drops of elemental fire, the lightless lakes provided fish, and the magic “Sunstones'' illuminated your homes and growing halls. You discovered the secrets of mithril and magic, you laughed and sang, and believed the world was yours for thousands of years. And then the goblins came.

The dwarfs don’t know where they came from. Distant tunnels below, but the first meeting did not go well. Goblins like shiny things, and they very quickly desired what the dwarfs had, and the world changed fast. The dwarfen people never knew war. Yes, dangers lurked below, monsters prowled the darkened halls and the deepest lakes, and the dwarfs could handle their own. But they weren’t ready for the onslaught of the goblins. They came by the thousands. It is a bloody history, and there are many books about it, such as “The Exodus”. About 2,000 years ago the dwarfs left their homeland, and everything they knew, and came into the sunlit world. They met the elves and displaced the giants and rebuilt their lives and culture from scratch. They founded three kingdoms and slowly spread out and recovered from their losses.

Dwarfs were always makers, but the new world changed them. They perfected weapons of war and pushed themselves to create even deadlier gadgets, all the while building a society of hope for the future. Determined to never be displaced again, for centuries they spoke of reclaiming their lost lands. But then one day, the last dwarf born below died, and the lost land became stories. Now the dwarfs sing and build again, easily fending off any goblin encroachments, which if one thing remains, is the hatred for goblins burned into them.

When the humans arrived on the eastern shores, the dwarfs were naturally wary. A lot has happened since then. The humans came, a deal was made, and they settled in the western lands of Galtia, where the dwarfs had explored but only sparsely settled. Perhaps if they had known just how many humans would come, or how prolific they would breed, they might not have been as friendly. It’s been over three hundred years now. The humans have their own western kingdom, the dwarfs have their eastern kingdoms, and there is peace. Many dwarfs have intermingled with the humans, which of course, includes your family, which came here a generation ago for reasons of their own. Growing up in Shepherd’s Vale has meant growing up in predominantly human land; there are dwarfen villages outside of the vale, and you’d like to see them at some point. You have heard that the village of Whistle is lovely.

The important thing, this is your home. These are your people. You may live far longer than those that you call friends, but it doesn’t change how you feel about them.

I’m playing an elf, what do I need to know about them?

Elves are an ancient race, and the longest lived of the mortal races. Generations of humans come and go in their lifetimes. This leads to a feeling of detachment, as it must, because any non-elf will age and die, as will their children, their children’s children, and more, in one elfs lifetime.

Elves are creatures of magic, with a powerful bond to nature, specifically trees, and even more specifically The One Tree, the Godtree, Sylvarel. Only elves can truly understand the interconnectedness of nature and the world the way they do. Dwarfs may have a profound connection to physical earth, but that connection is purely elemental compared to an elf's connection to Sylvarel. They can reach out and feel each other’s lives through this vast network, which is why elves will always prefer to be close to forests or wooded areas.

Elves build their settlements in the trees, intertwined with nature instead of laying claim to it. They are harsh judges of the way other races treat nature as a resource to be exploited and are not above intervening in situations where the offense against nature is too egregious.

Elven culture is insular by nature, and they keep their songs and secrets close, and the places where they live closed off. Those who stray too far into elven territory may only get a single warning shot, and those that ignore the red fletching may not live to see the next.

Speaking of secrets, there was a secret, a very dark secret, that came to light twenty years ago when a massive fleet of elven ships and gnoll mercenaries landed on the western shore of The Duchy of Gilmore. The following events will be detailed elsewhere, but when the war was over and the plague died off, the Kingdom of Westerness had questions and would not take a red fletching for an answer. That is how the people of Galtia learned about the Unrooted.

It is a story every elf knows, and it is their greatest shame. There was a schism, and a group of elves became dissatisfied with the Queen’s rule; it started with a college of wizardry unlocking ancient arcane secrets, and a sudden insatiable thirst for power that led to a calamitous experiment. This group of wizards tried to utilize their connection to The One Tree to draw forth the power of creation itself, and Sylvarel responded by severing their bond to the tree in a massive arcane backlash. It is said that everyone in the city was severed, whether or not they played a direct part in the experiment, and the city itself was struck down. Only one of the Unrooted, as they were soon called, could possibly explain the trauma of being cut off the way that they were. It is said that they pleaded their case before the Queen, but there was nothing she could do; they had disobeyed her decrees, and their disloyalty, failure, and curse was theirs to bear. And so, they left. They built ships and sailed west, not to be seen again for a thousand years. The elves do not fully know why the Unrooted returned. They know more than non-elves, and some have suspicions, but the common knowledge is that the Unrooted wizards tried “something” at the World Pillar, and whatever it was, much the way that they were originally severed, there was a backlash that killed everyone and everything within a hundred miles. No one knows the actual death toll - conservative numbers put it at two-hundred thousand humans, elves, and gnolls. That failure stopped the war, and the Unrooted survivors fled in the remaining ships, leaving behind the gnolls and the gutted remains of the Duchy of Gilmore.

The elven homeland is in northeastern Galtia, in the great forest of Aelfheim. Deep in that forest grows The One Tree, something that few, if any, non-elves have ever seen. Most elves live there in the great forest, but some have scattered in small pockets across Galtia. Some do it to watch over the other races, intervening to protect the forests where they deem fit. Others stand permanent guard to prevent anyone from ever finding the city of the Unrooted. And those remaining few choose to live near the humans, perhaps out of curiosity or wonder at the determination of these short-lived creatures, watching to see what they do next with what little time they have.

I’m playing a gnoll, what do I need to know about them?

Gnolls are not native to Galtia. In fact, they have only been here about twenty years, and they came here specifically with the intent to conquer the land. Right off, this creates a bit of difficulty when it comes to current relations with the other races present. But let’s back up.

Gnolls are from Enbar. Most people do not know this. Gnoll cubs learn of the wild savannas of home, the dense jungles, the jagged mountains that block the cold winds, the beating sun, and the countless untamed beasts that roam. Here the gnolls were born, not by the will of a god, but by the beating heart of the land itself. Wild and savage, the gnolls fought their way to the top with tooth and claw, moving about the plains as nomads, ever on the hunt. This was the life of the gnolls.

When the elves came to the northern shores in their black ships and powerful magic, the gnolls were amazed, but then saw them as a threat to be eliminated. These wizards wanted their land, they wanted to build cities, and hew trees from the forests, and mine minerals from the mountains. The gnolls would not be cowed by their sorcery and they fought these intruders, but in the end they were beaten. Instead of destroying them though, the elves sought a partnership. They showed them magic, and gave them the secrets of steel, and for generations they brought them up from primitive savagery and trained them to be an organized and deadly military force. Then when the time came, they made them promises of a new land that they could once again tame for themselves, just across the sea. Once again, the elves built their ships, perhaps the greatest fleet ever made, and the unrooted, along with fifty thousand gnolls left their homeland, sailing thousands of miles to land on the shores of Galtia.

The unrooted didn’t take into account how much time had passed for the younger races, that there would be an entire human kingdom in their way, but it didn't matter. They set upon the Duchy of Gilmore with the greatest army ever fielded and crushed everyone in their path. But that is part of another story. What came out of this conflict brings us to the present. The gnolls were promised a new homeland. They came with their mates and pups, expecting to find another untamed wilderness. They instead were handed blood and death, and eventual abandonment by their Unrooted masters. The broken army of the gnolls fled the field after the great explosion. They were soon faced with a harsh winter and unfamiliar land, along with new and dangerous creatures preying on them. But they persevered. For they are gnolls.

After the war, most of the surviving gnolls fled south, leaving the lands of Gilmore and moving along the foothills west of Landon. Uninterested in fighting tooth and claw with the army of Landon, they continued south and settled in the plains north of Wyrdood. Those that went farther south into the wood learned about the red fletching the hard way. The elves were unkind to the gnoll encroachment and showed no mercy. With hostile nations on two sides, a wasteland to their north, and the ocean to the west, they dug in and began building shelters to survive the winter. The land was rich with game and natural resources, yet unexplored by the humans and dwarfs. And in a blink of an eye, twenty years have gone by. The gnolls have thrived. Some still test the elves. Some raid the humas to the east. Some explore the ruins to the north. But most have focused on building anew in this place that is their home, for they have no ships and no means to return from whence they came.

If you are a gnoll, you value strength and cleverness. Gnoll society is matriarchal, but gnoll warriors are primarily male. Gnolls are fiercely loyal to their pack, and gnoll young are raised by the village more so than family units. Gnolls like the open plains, where they can see long distances, and relish chasing down their prey. The world is full of sights and sounds, but gnolls relate to the world and its scents more than anything else. You will always be the first one in the room to smell something of interest. You will sniff at the air, always on the lookout for food or danger. The world is filled with hunters and prey, and you are a hunter.

Not all gnolls made it south after the war. Small bands sought refuge in the hills, and some slipped into Landon lands. These isolated bands did not fare well, cut off from the rest with no resources, they had to survive by raiding and stealing. Trying to negotiate with the humans and explain that the war was a misunderstanding was not an immediate option. For a gnoll to be accepted, there must be an interesting story to tell. Perhaps a warband met their untimely end, but someone spared a cub and returned with it either due to mercy or curiosity? Or maybe a small group stayed hidden, only to prove themselves as potential allies in a surprising situation. These are questions to be answered before proceeding. For the rest, gnolls have a reputation that will be difficult to get past, one well-deserved.

I’m playing a goblin, what do I need to know about them?

Goblins are a loathsome race of creatures, disliked and even hated by nearly everyone. It doesn’t matter if any one goblin socializes and follows the cultural norms, breaking through the barriers of prejudice will be a significant barrier. You will have lived your life being looked down upon, both physically due to your short stature, but personally too. The core book covers goblins as a whole, and how there are some goblins that have found a niche in human society as ratcatchers, sewer cleaners, or any other dirty job. The important part to note is, only humans have accepted goblins in this way; dwarfs will not tolerate goblins. The weight of history is too much to bear, even with every living dwarf being a generation or more removed from the goblin wars. This may be one of the larger strains between human and dwarf relations, as the dwarfs simply do not understand how any humans can tolerate goblins in their cities. Furthermore, the goblins that have separated from the larger branch of goblins to find a place in human lands probably did so out of need or desperation. Goblin society is harsh and predatorial, and the ones who have left it would be considered ‘weak’ by their kin; there is no going back for them, and a goblin traveling in the company of non-goblins would be considered prey just as much as the company they are keeping, with the best they could hope for being a quick death, but the most likely outcome would be suffering at the whim of their attackers beforehand.

What this means for roleplaying a goblin is, it requires additional story planning with the other players in order to be true to the setting. Ideally, no other players will be playing a dwarf, and if this is the plan, then the two players should discuss the relationship between these characters and how it came to be. This isn’t meant to be creatively stifling, as playing a goblin can be a rewarding experience, but to maintain internal consistency with the setting it is important to understand the setting and have clear expectations about how the world perceives goblins. Even a goblin hero will always be a goblin first.

I’m playing a human, what do I need to know about them?

Eitvar is the patron god of humankind, and they originated somewhere in the land of Cathan, a huge continent (actually two large, adjoined lands including Persea) many times bigger than Galtia. Humans have already had their own storied history as they spread across the lands given to them. Tribal by nature, it was less than a thousand years before any sense of them being one “people'' was lost. They formed city-states, expanded, founded kingdoms and then warred with each other. Some became nomads, spreading across plains into horse clans. When the land could not contain them, they built ships and set sail, dying at the mercy of the waves and weather by the tens of thousands before finding distant shores. Now nearly two-dozen unique kingdoms sprawl across the distant continent, the largest being the Cathan Empire. Never satisfied, and ever eager to see what is out there across the water, they eventually reached the shore of eastern Galtia and introduced themselves to the dwarfs about three-hundred and fifty years ago.

Eventually more settlers came, trade was established, deals were made, and humans began settling in western Galtia. The dwarfs took to calling them Westlanders. The humans spread and built, taming the wilderness where they could and founding settlement upon settlement. The land had bountiful riches, and the story may sound familiar. Almost one-hundred fifty years after that founding, the colonies declared their independence from Cathan and its greedy Emperor. All things considered; it was a remarkably short war - about six years. It didn’t help that, though the dwarfs refused to take part in the war, they also refused passage through their lands, forcing the Empire to navigate around Galtia with limited ports to land in. The Cathan Empire was at a disadvantage - the oceans are treacherous and only easily passable half the year, and half-way through the war they lost over a hundred ships in a massive freak elemental storm. This essentially broke the back of their navy, at least for a time, and other matters at home forced them into a ceasefire. Many believed that they would resume their claim on the new lands after a year or two of recovering, but that never happened. For nearly two decades there was little communication with the homeland, but then a new Emperor took the throne, and a somewhat cold negotiation reopened the trade routes. Attitudes were tense for decades, but these days the two nations, while not truly allies, are no longer rivals.

There is more to know about the Kingdom of Westernesse and the Duchies, but this is about the humans themselves. They are fiercely independent, hardy, and adventurous. They have braved down the dangers of the wild and built a civilization from the ground up. There are still plenty of frontiers filled with monsters, but they build their towns to protect against these dangers.

The humans of Galtia have been highly influenced by the dwarfs; they adopted their calendar, they have learned their language, they celebrate some of their holidays, and they have proven to be both trade partners and military allies against the Unrooted invasion. Human society is strongly egalitarian when it comes to gender roles, and while there is a divide between the nobility and commoners, most people do not equate rank to the value of one’s life.

Fun Fact: The cultural norm for surnames is a mix of profession (Baker, Smith, etc.) and location (estates, cities, locale names, etc.) and when a couple weds, the expectation is that both families provide a dowry, and the family that gives the most to the marriage is generally the name that both party’s take on.

I’m playing an ottrali, what do I need to know about them?

Ottrali are a young race, in fact, they are the youngest race (but they don’t actually know that). They are also one of only a few races that were NOT created by a god, at least, not directly. Earlier I mentioned the first gods unraveling, and their god juice flowing through creation. Some of this essence triggered creation “events” around the world. One such event transformed a large number of otters into the ottrali. Unlike many other races, the ottrali weren’t greeted with a guiding presence to explain the world to them, or give them tools, or teach them language, or anything. The first ottrali were actually discovered by some curious fey, if the legends are to be believed, and these benevolent fey showed the first ottrali what they needed to know.

Ottrali are native to Galtia and it is the only place that has any population groups of them as far as anyone knows. With that said, the Ottrali have existed for several thousand years. They didn’t have written language or books for a long time.

Ottrali have spread throughout the rivers of Galtia. They build their homes in interconnected groups of sturdy, baked-clay domes, always on riverbanks or lakeshores. Each “village” is called a holt, which ottrali see as one extended family. Once a holt grows too large for the local area to sustain them, a family group will depart during a separation ritual. This group will then journey along the river to find a new unoccupied stretch to call home.

Ottrali can be fierce, frenetic, friendly, and ever curious about the world. It is not unusual for the boldest ones to stray from the holt in their youth, generally not too far, but sometimes latching onto other groups. For generations this would have been fey, as the elves, though intrigued by the furry beings, could never see them as equals. When the dwarfs surfaced, the ottrali were quick to greet them. It was with the dwarfs that the ottrali formed the strongest partnership. As the dwarfs expanded across the lands, the ottrali found ways to be useful, and it wasn’t long before they started the first river trade. Initially it was a matter of a group of ottrali swimming and pulling simple rafts with goods, but as the years passed dwarf ingenuity stepped in and helped create more advanced boats (that the dwarfs themself were not interested in crewing). Within a few hundred years or more this continued to evolve into the first true paddle riverboats, powered by simple steam engines. Now today, hundreds of these craft ply the rivers of Galtia with joyful ottrali leaping about the ships, playing music, shouting, and swinging on lines dressed in flowy, bright colored clothing. They move goods all over Galtia, and the many holts that own such vessels have become quite prosperous.

I’m playing a troll, what do I need to know about them?

Trolls are an enigmatic race of explorers from the land of Thule. Much of Thule is a colder climate than Galtia, and Trolls have well adapted to the land of ice and snow. The patron god of trolls is Kyrgan, and their legends tell of the Hills of Creation where they were fashioned from dirt and stone and given life. They wandered the tundra for a thousand years, learning about every stone, cleft, every bush and tree, every stream, lake, and blade of grass. They transitioned from wandering to building towns and cities, learning the arts of husbandry, taming mammoths and snowy owlbears.

Trolls eventually took to the seas, crafting massive longships, sailing their coasts and eventually traveling to distant shores, and in some cases, the bravest of trolls made landfall in Galtia. There aren’t clear records, and no one was around when the first trolls arrived, but most trolls think they got here a good four hundred years ago. If any elves or fey saw their arrival, they kept their distance. These first settlers built villages dotting the shores, but few followed in their wake, and fewer still make the journey anymore. It is rare to find a troll these days who has seen their homeland, and those that have returned home invariably stay there. Eventually these scattered clans of trolls moved inward, preferring the highlands with its cooler air, raising goats, brewing ale and hunting wild game. The trolls of Shepherds Vale made their way here two-hundred years ago, settling in the ‘Northern Jaw’ of The Dragon’s Teeth hills. When the humans arrived some fifty-years later it took time to establish warm relations, but the trolls proved to be able guides of the region and taught the first settlers their secrets of husbandry, and the humans were a great source of much needed trade.

Trolls are prone to extremes, going from serious to boisterous with little notice. They laugh loud and hard, and they work even harder. They are brave to a fault, probably the most honest people you will ever meet, and they don’t mince words. Troll society is clan based, and trolls have a complex system of honor that few outsiders can readily understand. A troll can brush off an insult to himself, but any insult to his family or clan will be addressed and atoned for, then and there, in words or blood. It took a while for the new arrivals to understand this, and more than one outsider has made that his last lesson.

Can you tell me about the Kingdom itself?

I thought you’d never ask! I’ll try to keep it brief, but there is a lot to know, and much of this will come up in the campaign. The Kingdom of Westernesse is a Constitutional Monarchy. About thirty years after the war for independence from the Cathan Empire, the existing nobles who were functionally serving as governors and stewards drafted the Charter of Rule. This founded the kingdom and elevated Duchess Isolde Payne to be the first Queen. The kingdom comprises three duchies, Gilmore, Landon, and Lyonesse, and each of the duchies comprises numerous earldoms.

There are many significant people, but what you should understand is, twenty years ago there was a foreign invasion that practically destroyed the Duchy of Gilmore, and while the invasion was repelled (aided in no small part by an arcane catastrophe), it was immediately followed by a deadly plague that only affected humans, and that which proceeded to kill off half the country in two years before mysteriously dying out. Between the war and the plague, the kingdom was left in turmoil, and laws in the Charter made replacing various rulers difficult.

The Duchy of Landon comprises five earldoms, the Earl of Highside, Earl of Kent, Earl of Oldhaven, Earl of Hornburg, and Earl of Scatterby. The Duke of Hornburg died from the plague, as did King Joseph Payne. A reagent, Leonard Gorney, acts in the duke’s stead for two more years, after which his son Turbert will be named Duke. Four of the five earldoms have seated earls, but the Earl of Kent, which Shepherd’s Vale lies within, does not have a seated earl; The former earl, Sir Cuthbert Glenham died in the war. There has long been political pressure for one of the knights at Kent Keep to claim the title.

The Kingdom plods on, taxes are collected, but it is not running efficiently. Corruption is rife, there are not enough knights, and many of the roads are dangerous now between the threat of banditry and encroaching monsters.

Can you clarify noble titles and how to address nobility?

The King or Queen is a hereditary position that goes to the firstborn, or crown prince/princess. You should address them as “your majesty”. The king/queen’s spouse is called the High Consort and should be addressed as “your highness”. The crown prince/princess should also be addressed as “your highness,” whereas any other children would receive the honorific of Lord or Lady.

The duke or duchess is addressed as “your grace”, and their children also receive the honorific “Lord” or “Lady”, but the firstborn gets “Lordship” or “Ladyship”. Only the firstborn inherits the title, and other children do not pass down any honorifics or titles.

Earls are referred to as Count or Countess, or My Lord, My Lady. The eldest is referred to as Viscount until assuming the full title. Other children of Earls have no titles, but in polite society and certainly in the company of the peerage they are referred to as Lord or Lady, but once they marry it is acceptable to drop the honorific (unless of course they have a new title through marriage.)

There are people of wealth who have been granted the title of Viscount, versus those that inherit the position of Count. This is the only time that a Viscount will not become a count, which creates a legal loophole, as children of Viscounts do not become Viscounts. This type of noble title is almost always appointed in exchange for political favor or money, particularly when the kingdom needs to raise capital. These viscounts also are addressed as Lord/Lady.

The lowest hereditary title is Baron/Baroness, also referred to as Lord/Lady. Barons are large landowners within an Earldom (or County). The eldest will gain the Baron title, and it is appropriate to address them as Lord/Lady, but any other children do not receive such honorifics.

Only knights are referred to as Sir, regardless of other titles. Knighthood is not hereditary, and can only be granted by a Duke/Duchess or King/Queen, and is almost exclusively a military title. Knights are granted estates, albeit very small ones.

Non-noble landowners are called Freeholders, future landowners (those working off a debt in exchange for land) are called Leaseholders, and all the secondary children of Freeholders are called Stakeholders. (This is due to a law in the Charter of Rule which states that all non-noble property must be split equally between children, which prevents large amounts of land being owned by small amounts of non-nobility). Stakeholders can sell their stake back to the eldest, but these transactions must be legally recorded transfers of wealth.

Any non-knights acting as mercenaries within the kingdom are called Freelancers.

Whew, that was a lot! I thought you weren’t going to write 200 pages. Anything else I should know about Tellus?

Ok, here are some random facts that you should know which might help your frame of reference.

1. Tellus is a created world, and it’s only about 10-15 thousand years old. There aren’t fossil fuels. No coal, no oil/natural gas, that type of thing. There are peat bogs (which some exist in Shepherd’s Vale). The whaling industry harvests whale oil, but it can be expensive. The most common oils for lamps and general use are olive oil, fish oil, and whale oil.
2. Gunpowder has not been discovered. However, there are canons. They don’t use gunpowder. They use tiny drops of elemental fire and water, also expensive, but wonderfully volatile. No one has made a hand cannon capable of containing it though.
3. No one has invented fireworks either. Sad. :(
4. Are there gems then? Yes. Diamonds and other precious gems for our purposes have the same expected properties, but they were not created by time and pressure. They are hardened bits of creation essence. Physical manifestations of magic. Which is why they are the primary ingredients for magic items, and the primary reason magic items cost so much. If you find a ruby, or emerald, or whatnot, it’s mostly valuable because you can make something magical from it.
5. The dwarfs discovered Mithril long ago but are the only ones who know the secrets of mining and working it. Fun fact: Mithril is really titanium. But it’s mithril.
6. What’s on the other side of the disc? No one knows. Yet.
7. You said everywhere is somewhere. So where do the gods hang out? Great question. Here! The general belief is, at the center of the disc is the Omphalos, the center of the world, and various other names, and there atop a great mountain is where the gods reside. Is it true? The answer is unclear. But explorers have tried to find the Omphalos, and have seen a distant mountain, but it appears to be locked in place, like the end of an axle with the wheel spinning around it. Between the torrential waves and towering, jagged reefs, ships tend to get destroyed quickly.
8. What are these World Pillars you mentioned? Towering onyx pillars, crystalline in formation, that stand 3,000 feet tall. There is one in far western Galtia, near where the capital of Gilmore once was. Stories tell of others around the world. They are mysterious and impenetrable.
9. The Great Way is a 1600 mile long highway made out of “moonstone”, a dull-white stone with a slightly-roughened surface, just enough to provide good traction but a smooth ride. It is 30-feet wide, extremely hard, and dimly glows at night making it easy to navigate after dark. It has always been here, and most believe it was created by the celestials thousands of years ago. Each end hangs out over the sea, suggesting the land was different once, and it is also broken in two spots between Lyonesse and Mirnbohr, where the ground presumably raised up from the original elevation. The dwarfs created switchbacks to connect the lower road to the upper road.
10. There are many ancient ruins, also presumably left behind from celestial civilization. They are not all explored, and those that have contained magic, mysteries, dangers, and death.

Ok, so is that it?

I don’t know. What else do you want to know?