Summary of Aasha
Aasha is a land of intermixing ideas, peoples, and religions. Where people's ambitions are only tempered by their piety. It is a place where gods and religion a permeate the fabric of every people, society, government, yet the gods do not directly interfere in the affairs of mortals. The land is literally scarred from the struggles of different ideologies clashing against one another throughout history, all of these struggles mirroring the first mortal struggle, the
War of Ascension. In essence the past, present, and future of Aasha is driven by mortals' desire for the well being of mortal kind though all disagree on what happiness looks like for all.
Pre-Ascension
The Primordial state of Aasha was one of chaos, pain, and despair. The old, elder gods ruled with an iron fist, and created the mortal races to fulfill their diabolical fancies. They enslaved the mortals, pitted them against each other, and tortured them with disease, war, and pestilence. Eight younger gods had pity on mortal creation and banded together to free them from their misery. While they were successful in easing the pain of some of the mortals on Aasha, they could not completely defeat the elder gods. In a stroke of luck or a calculated move,
Typhon, the betrayer joined in the Eight to help expel the elder gods from heaven in entrap them so they could not harm mortalkind again.
The Eight Gods ascended to be the most prominent forces in the multiverse. See
Deities of Aasha.
Recent History
Recent history has been a relatively peaceful time on Aasha. The conquest wars of Camdyn have ended over a decade ago, and diplomatic relations between the various countries and city-states are stable. But that does not mean that continent will be free from conflict forever. Many forces are brewing together that may once again spill over to engulf the nations into conflict once again.
Summary of the Major Nations
The Holy Republic of Elysia
The Holy Republic of Elysia is a theocratic democracy long regarded as one of freedom and acceptance. Worshipers of each of the Eight form a council that direct the countries actions. It has long held views that all peoples regardless of their nationality, species, or religion is welcome here. However, recently the government has been largely influenced by the mob who desire to purify the populous, kick out foreigners, and return the country to its original roots of worshiping
Ravi and
Tsuki only. This sentiment has taken over much of the city displacing non-humans out of the city and is quickly gaining a foothold on the countryside.
The people of Elysia are generally some of the most pious on the continent. They are often participating in the rituals and rites of their respective religions, and their beliefs are generally the basis of every decision they make. Elysians tend to form close-knit communities that support those that find themselves in need that strive for self-sustenance. Elysians stereotyped as religious, friendly, charitable, salt-of-the-earth, but simple people.
Le Royume du Terdiore
Le
Royaume du Terdiore is a country of two countries. Its capital,
Havere is the jewel of the West and center for fashion and culture. It is the largest hub of trade and commerce on the continent.
However, Havere's financial and political success was partially built upon the the subjugation and exploitation of the nomadic tribes of Terdiore's deserts. The nomads have recently won their ability to govern themselves as a vassal state to the Crown of Havere their important caravans bring goods gotten from the sea and move them in-land. Without the caravans, Havere would be isolated from the rest of the continent geographically. Some of the royal families among the tribes recognize this and wonder if an even better arrangement could be had with the King of Havere.
The people of Terdiore are natural talkers, deal makers, and negotiators. The yern to leave their isolated country and see new places and meet new people. Many speak multiple dialects of common. The Terdiore, in general, enjoy the luxuries of life and often eat the best food and wear the best fashions available. The Terdiore are sterotyped as gregarious, snobby, sly talking, adventurous, and always have angle.
The Allied Dukedoms of Camdyn
The Allied Dukedoms is located on the Prarielands and is the breadbasket of Aasha. The rich and nutritious grain produced there is highly prized and is sold across the continent. This has brought the Dukedoms considerable wealth, but it has also brought bloodshed and war as local rulers on the plains fight to expand their territory and thus increase their wealth. The country ten years earlier has just ended its latest civil war where the six warlords banded together and conquered all on the prairie. They named themselves the Archdukes of Camdyn and rule as a confederation of small kingdoms.
While the various dukes are allies in war, they do not all share the same views in politics and the future of the young alliance. Thus the young new country of Camdyn is on shaky ground. Already the Fu Dao Empire is eyeing some of Camdyn's territory and might test the Archdukes' resolve.
The people of the Allied Dukedoms are tend to be stubborn, idealistic, and hard working. As a product of constant war, the Prairemen, as they are called, are unflappable. They believe that any problem can be solved with enough hard work. Culturally, Prairemen are are martial society every man, woman, and child is trained in swordplay and compete in athletic competitions. Prariemen are sterotyped as cold, honor-chasing, hard working, athletic, and territorial.
Adara
Adara is a floating city ruled by the
The Mages' Guild. It slowly flies to every major city on the continent each year to "recruit" magic-adept children and train them in the schools of magic. The wizards believe that by training those who would use magic properly, they could avoid future arcane cataclysms like the one that created the Bloodlands.
The wide-spread adoption of children by the Mages' Guild is not seen favorably by any nation or people but to many it is seen as a necessary evil for the greater good of the continent. There are a few nations to these exceptions the first is the Gnomish city-state of
Gnomastra which has banned the Guild in their thier territory and have forbade the recruitment of Gnomish children to their ranks. The second is the Archduke of Camdyn which has installed an ancient device in his fortress that emits a city-wide anti-magic field. Both of these cities have been blacklisted by the Guild. One can imagine this unsettling political arrangement makes the other five Archdukes of Camdyn nervous.
The majority of the people of Adara are not from Adara although those who are native to the floating island have formed their own culture. Adarans tend to believe that all problems can be solved with a proper application of magic. They tend to be well-educated and studious, but at the same time naive to how the world really works. They are sticklers for the rules since the entire city is ruled by strict bureaucracy of the Mages' Guild. The Adarans are stereotyped as bookish, rules-worshiping, naive, and incredibly supportive of magic.
Fu Dao Guo
Fu Dao Guo is a sprawling matriarchal empire that has conquered all of the lands east of the Great Divide. The divide has physically and culturally isolated the empire from the western peoples of Aasha; however tales of the might of their military and craftiness of their statecraft have permeated the western states. So much so, that the western kingdoms fear the further expansion of Fu Dao Guo past the the great divide. The Daoish are often treated with weary and caution outside of the Empire's borders for fear that they are agents of the Phoenix Empress herself.
The people of Fu Dao Guo live in a largely collective culture where the needs of one never outweighs the needs of the community. Because of this, the Daoish have a great sense of duty to their homeland that often puzzles those who do not understand their culture fully. The Daoish are incredibly matriarchal to the point where men will oft times not express their opinions when a woman is present and will often agree with women out of duty. The Daoish are stereotyped as clever, polite, collective-oriented, and conflict avoiding.
Languages
Languages generally follow the rules laid out in the
Player's Handbook with the exception of human languages. Each of the major kingdoms (except Eysia) and some smaller communities of humans have their unique dialect. When creating a human or hybrid character, you may choose one of the following as a bonus language:
- Havercois - Spoken in Le Royume du Terdiore - French Analog
- Prariespeak - Spoken in the Confederation of Dukedoms of Camdyn - Spanish Analog
- Adaran - Spoken in Adara - German Analog
- Daoish - Spoken in Fu Dao Guo - Chinese Analog
- Jalwati - Spoken among the Nomads of the Burning Sands - Arabic Analog
Player Character Guides
Races and Species in Aasha
There is great disagreement about the origins of the mortal races of Aasha. Some religions pass down the tradition that they were created by a Deity known as the Creator who predated the emergence of the Archprisoned.
Others believe that the races were created by the Archprisoned themselves. The races and species of Aasha generally follow the guidelines found in the
Player's Handbook and other supplements. The following describes additional factors to consider when creating a character in Aasha.
Dragonborn
The dragonborn descend from the dragons who fought the invading giants during the
War of the Colossi. The dragons, after their victory, chose to turn the ancestral giant homeland into their own. It is now known as Dragonshearth. The mortal races tend to steer clear of Dragonhearth believing the dragons to be territorial - though that is far from the truth. The dragonborn have earned that reputation from the bloody expulsion of greedy dwarven or human companies landeding on their shores looking riches to exploit. The dragonborn settlements in the north form a natural defense against the vile and dark things that linger in the Deathfrost since the war. And very few mortals realize the great sacrifices have given to the southern countries in the name of their protection. In the main continent of Aasha dragonborn are rare to be found as most choose to stay in Dragonshearth. Those who do make it off of the northern continent, find work as mercenaries, soldiers, bodyguards, and adventurers.
Dwarves
The Dwarves are a hardy race who anciently built their vast kingdoms under the ground and in the mountains. In ancient times, two sprawling kingdoms existed: The hill dwarves of the
Trystire Penninsula built the Zil'Mulbrut Kingdom; and the mountain dwarves who built their Vatr'vot Kingdom among the rugged mountains of the Great Divide. During the
Dwarven Civil War, a mass exodus of mountain dwarves fled the Vatr'vot kingdom before it was ultimately destroyed. The majority were accepted as refugees in Zil'Mulbrut while others chose to live above the ground among the surface races. Decades after the civil war, civil unrest caused the Zil'Mulbrut Kingdom to dissolve. All that is left of the once great Dwarvish Kingdoms are a loosely allied chain of city-states in the Ridgeback Mountains of the Trystire Penninsula. The most prominent of them is
Ironmar the former capital and seat of power of old Zil'Mulbrut.
Dwarves of the Ridgeback Mountains
The Dwarves of the Ridgeback mountains include all of the Dwarven cities located in the Ridgeback Mountains between the countries of
Elysia and
Royaume du Terdiore. They are proud of their heritage and exert great effort in preserving the old ways of the two kingdoms. However, the mixing of the clans from the both Ancient Dwarvish Kingdom has caused strife between the hill and mountain Dwarf. Regardless of the clans' ancestral heritage, all dwarves consider themselves the first defense against their dark cousins the
Duergar who live deep underground.
If you character is from the Ridgeback Mountains consider the following: Does your family's clan a historical clan of Zil'Mulbrut or a refugee clan from Vatr'vot? Do you believe that the Dwarves should reunite under a singular crown or remain separate self-governing holds? Why did you leave your dwarven hold? What is your relationship with the Duergar? Did your clan help to defend the holds against them?
Surface Dwarves
Many Vatr Mountain Dwarves did not make the long journey to Trystire and chose instead to dwell among the surface races. While the majority live in
Fu Dao Guo,
Camdyn, or
Elysia, many others have since wandered as far as Le
Royaume du Terdiore and the Elvish Kingdoms. These Dwarves through the generations have slowly forgot much of the old ways and have adapted the culture of their adoptive country. To the Dwarves of the Ridgeback mountains, they are looked down upon for not upholding Dwarvish culture and not wanting to restore their kingdoms to their original glory.
Because they are minorities in the places they choose to live, surface-dwelling dwarves live in very close-knit clans who have fought to earn a new life among the other surface races.
When creating a surface Dwarf, consider the following. How has the culture of your adopted country mixed with your dwarvish heritage? What has your family clan found to do as an occupation to survive? Do you live near them? Do you enjoy your life as a minority or do you pine to join the greater dwarven zeitgeist in the mountains? How does your national loyalty interplay with your heritage?
The Duergar
The duergar are the exiled remnants of the dwarves who fought on the side of the Archprisoned during the
War of Ascension. Their time deep underground has changed their culture and their physiology compared to the mountain and hill dwarves. They historically, still worship the Archprisoned and have often times tried to invade the lands above them. This has particularly soured the duergar's relationship with other dwarves as the hill and mountain dwarves have been the first ones to defend the surface lands from durgar attacks.
Lately progressive duergar, albeit very rare, have forsaken the worship of the Archprisoned and have turned to the Eight. They long to reform both the culture of their duergar brethern and the other mortal races' views of the them.
Elves
The elves are the first mortal races to be created. There is no proof, but none of the other races contend that point. The elves live long lives, have longer memories, and because of that fact often think of the other races as children. The elves, with the delicate features, were a favored by the Archprisoned during their dominance over Aasha. They allowed the elves to build a vast, large civilization that spanned the entire continent. When the
War of Ascension commenced, the elves were the first ones conscripted to fight the forces of the Eight. Millions of elves were slaughtered fighting on both sides of the war, and every single one of their beautiful cities were ruined or destroyed by the conflict. In fact, the War of Ascension was the downfall of the great elven empires of the past and the rise to the younger mortal races.
After the war, those who fought on the side of the Archcastigate were exiled into deep underground. Those who remained to the surface tried their best to rebuild what they had. Almost extinct, the elves gathered their few numbers to the cradle of their creation, Q'Manelothor, in the northwest. It took hundreds of years but the elves managed to restore their capital city of
Alatyalin to something resembling its former glory.
During the reconstruction of the Q'Manelothor, there was a theological schism among the elves. A large group started worship of the goddess
Melikki and left Alatyalin to form their own societies among the trees.
High Elves of Q'Manelothor
The high elves that returned to Q'Manelothor after the War of Ascension found it ruins. The beautiful spiraled towers and blooming roofs of there homeland were all a faded memory. They rededicated their efforts to
Ravi who had first helped mortals earn their freedom and started on the millennium-long work of rebuilding their civilization. The high elves do all in their power to try to convince elves of all kinds to return to their native lands, and believe that it is an elf's duty to elvenkind to live in one of the rebuilt elven cities. Since starting the restoration the ancient capital of Alatyala has been the seat of high elf culture and power with most of the city's central quarters restored or repaired.
The High elves seen themselves as the successors to the ancient elven kingdom to strive to preserve all of the knowledge and skill that the ancient elven kingdom once possessed. However, too many elves fell during the War of Ascension, and unfortunately, the elves will not reach the same heights of art, culture, technology, or industry in many generations. The help accelerate their progress, the elves created the
Circle of Sages to go forth to gather knowledge of all sorts and bring it back to the elven kingdom.
High elves tend to loyal and nationalistic to the rebuilding of the elven kingdoms almost to a fault. They are long-lived and so older elves act and treat those of other mortal races like children at times. However, if one were to befriend a high elf, they would be the most loyal of friends. High elves are slow to act and take long periods of time to deliberate to ensure that the proper decisions and actions are made. They cannot afford to lose any elf or elven artifact or ruin at any cost.
Wood Elves
Several centuries after the start of the restoration of Alatyalin, the elves sent a group of scouts beyond the Elven Veil to find more cities suitable for restoration. The scouts found the ruins of the ancient city of
Maitos overgrown and reclaimed by the
Taurelilomea Forest. There among the roots and branches of the Elder Trees(species), was an ancient library which held historical treasures. These elves decided to make Maitos their home dedicating the city to
Melikki and incorporating the large trees as part of the fabric of the city. These elves broke off from the High Elves on the other side of the Veil and became the Wood Elves.
The Wood elves are much less interested in rebuilding their ancestral lands as they are trying to build a new society that fits in the new world while still paying homage to the knowledge, skills, and histories of elvenkind. As such, the wood elves have settled in other forest areas away from Q'Manelothor as far away as the frigid southern forests of the Trystire Penninsula to the far eastern forests of Fu Dao Guo.
Gnomes
Gnomes have an insatiable curiosity and a high pension for innovation and invention. Being the smallest of the mortal races, gnomes have long abhorred others literally and figuratively looking down on them. As such they have always found ways to compensate for their short stature using an impeccable wit or an incredible intelligence. There is a saying that "there's no problem a gnome can't talk his way out of," and, in general, that is true. The gnomes for generation offered their services as diplomats to foreign countries, and sold their innovations to neighboring countries.
In recent years, this has drastically changed and gnomish relations have soured greatly towards the other nations. Eight years ago, Zilmastra, one of the two gnomish cities, was conquered and subjugated by Fu Dao Guo. In response to invasion, Zilmastra's sister city
Gnomastra closed up their borders and became highly isolationist. This led to the gnomish falling out with the
The Mages' Guild, and the embargo of magic in the city.
Not to be deterred by the "arcane shackles of the Mages' Guild," the gnomish quickly developed new technologies that replaced that which was once handled by magic. Their biggest innovations: the coal-powered steam engine and the arcane battery.
The steam engine was a miracle at first. Soon Gnomastra was the industrial envy of the continent whose steam engines could do the work of hundreds in a single day. But the engines had its flaws. Each engine billowed its contribution to "The Fog" - large black clouds of soot and ash that covered the city and its surrounding countryside. Thousands of gnomes became ill and the city became a dark, foggy, and dirty. To escape the environmental disaster put on by the engines, thousands of emigrants left Gnomastra for a better life in other countries.
The arcane battery was a magical device that bred a new type of magic user, the artificer. Artificiers trapped arcane energies into glass cells and used them to simulate the casting of spells.
Gnomastra Gnomes
Gnomastra gnomes are hardy and natural engineers and tinkerers due to their proximity and daily use of steam engines. Due to thier hardy nature, the rock gnome subclass particularly thrives in the city where most toil in steam powered factories and mills. While friendly, they are very guarded about protecting the gnomish race and keeping novel gnomish technologies away from the hands of other nations. Gnomastra gnomes are generally weary of magic and and magic users. They believe that life can be lived without the constant interference of magic and by extension the influence of the Mages' Guild.
When creating a Gnomastra gnome, consider your relationship with magic. Are you weary of its use or do you consider the magic taboo a gnomish overreaction? Why did you leave Gnomastra, and the fortunes there? How do you feel about those who left the ancestral gnomish lands to live in mostly human dominated countries?
Zil Gnomes
Before the invasion of Fu Dao Guo, the was not a lot of cultural differences between the Gnomastra and the Zil Gnomes of Zilmastra; however in the short years since Zilmastra became a vassal state of the Phoenix Crown, and more of Zil Gnome culture has been merging with those of the Daoish. Zil Gnomes generally come from the Forest Gnome subrace; consequently, loyalist Zil Gnomes are counted among the most elite diplomats and spies for the Daoish Empire.
But not to be undone, the Separatist Zil gnomes use their skill in state and spycraft to disrupt Daoish control over Zilmastra. While at first the separatists were thought to be patriots and defenders of gnomish ideals and patriotism, now they are officially labeled as enemies of the Phoenix Crown, and have lately started to struggle to keep membership among the general Gnomish population.
When creating a Zil gnome, consider the following? What was your occupation while you lived in or near Zilmastra? Did you support the crown or did you sympathize with the separatists?
Refugee Gnomes
There was a time when the gnomish chose to live in their ancestral homelands, but since the invastion of Zilmastra and magic embargo (and consequent rise of the Fog) in Gnomastra, many Gnomes have a reason to leave their homelands and make a life somewhere else. Refugee gnomes can be found in every city trying to carve out their own lives in the new cultures they find themselves in. Many use gnomish innovation to improve the gnomish status among the other races while others choose to integrate culturally into their new adopted homes. When creating a refuee gnome consider why your family left gnomish lands. What is your relationship and ideas about Zilmastra or Gnomastra? How were you treated in your adopted lands?
Halflings
The halflings have no homeland to call their own. Historically, they were nomadic following temperate weather from season to season. Often visiting new countries to trade. With the expansion of the many human kingdoms, halfings are more and more finding that they are not welcome where ever they want to rest their caravaans for the night. Many halfling tribes are starting to band together to try to carve out their own place in Aasha that they can call thier own while others are deciding to leave the Motherwagons and nomadic life, and live a new life in a major city.
As a coming of age ritual new adult halflings leave their Motherwagons to find themselves for two years after which they decide whether to join back to their Motherwagon join another Motherwagon or forsake nomadic life all together.
Orcs
According to myth, the orcs were the front line warriors in the The Eight's army during the War of Ascension. So many orcs were lost, that they were almost completely extinct. After the war, the orcs were allowed to roam, hunt, and gather where the pleased, but time marched on, and many of the mortal races forgot the the orcs' noble sacrifice. Humans multiplied quickly and gobbled up as much land as they could for use in agriculture. Slowly the human kingdoms forced the orcs into lands they did not want to claim for farms: the dense jungles of the Verdant Coast, the ghost filled, abandoned halls of the Great Divide, and the demon cursed plains of the Bloodlands.
While many Orc tend to be very territorial and isolationist, others have chosen to open up and interact with their neighbors. Some enterprising elves or humans have good relations with progressive orc tribes and have even had children with them.
Half-Elves, Half-Gnomes, Half-Orcs
Generally, the mortal races tend to stick to their own race; however, there are times when mortals of different race become star-crossed lovers and foster children that are a mix of two or more of the races. In general, hybrids live among one of their parent's race, although there does exists small communities of half-orcs, half-elves, and half-gnomes that have developed their own culture and society.
Humans
Humans are the most diverse and prolific race in Aasha. They are adaptable, social, curious, and adventurous. The culture of humans usually depends on what nation they hail from, and often, that may not even matter at all. Humans compared to many of the other races live relatively short lives, and so to elves and dwarves humans tend to be rash, short-sighted, and childish. Humans like elves evolve to the environments in which they settle, and so humans can vary widely depending on where in Aasha they are from.
Tieflings
Tieflings are rare around most of Aasha, but are most common in the Bloodlands where progenitors of their race were first summoned by the blood mages, and then helped the Mages' guild to undo the damage the blood mages did. Since the conclusion of the Blood Wars, many tieflings have choosen to settle in small communities in the Bloodlands. Because of their demon or fey blood many fear tieflings and have unfair stereotypes towards them.
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