Altum

Five hundred years ago, the Dominion of Light crumbled and fell. This was caused by what is now called the Great Cataclysm: a massive battle that scarred the world in ways that are still visible today.   The Cataclysm completely "burned out" magic in Altum for a hundred years. Even once magic began to heal itself and flow back into in the world again, it was a slow and patchy recovery. So, after the more immediate recovery from the Cataclysm, the people of Altum - especially the humans and halflings - began working on technological solutions. This jumped the world into an era close to what we would call the Age of Sail (1500s - 1700s).   The nations of Altum have rebuilt themselves. But without the unification of the Dominion, they scheme and plot against each other. Though outright warfare is rare, territory, power, and money all ebb and flow like the tides.   But the people of Altum have no idea of the ancient dangers that sleep beneath the waves...