Arden

Arden is a relatively young world. For thousands of years, the many races and cultures of Arden spread and developed their own civilizations. In the beginning, the gods that had helped to shape the world were deeply involved in the affairs of mortals, for good and ill. Sometimes, the gods clashed directly, but rarely in the material plane of Arden. Six centuries ago, after hundreds of years with decreasing interference by these deities, civilization was approaching early medieval European levels of technology and daily life, with most magic originating from the gods or other planes. Then, for unknown reasons, a war of the gods erupted and spilled into the material plane. Many devout mortals became involved directly. Many others were merely collateral damage as the war ripped apart the fabric of reality and the veils between the planes. Fighting was most concentrated on the western continent of Runa, which was nearly destroyed. On the eastern continent of Eor, damage was lessened, perhaps because many of the inhabitants of this region were less devout, more focused on science and innovation, and less willing to involve themselves in the gods' conflict. After over three centuries of fighting, the gods retreated. Little is known for certain about the cause of the initial conflict or its resolution; whether those responsible for bringing destruction to the material plane were defeated or simply forced to withdraw remains unclear. Deities of all alignments withdrew almost fully from the material plane and ceased all direct communication with their followers. Unlike periods of relatively minor divine interference in the past, mortals were now left with the impression that the gods no longer visited their plane at all. Divine powers were much diminished. Now, many still worship and pray to the gods, but most do not expect a clear response. Some believe the gods can still hear them. Divine magic wielders like clerics and paladins are fewer, but some still exist. Whether the power they wield truly comes from the gods anymore is unclear. For almost three centuries, mortals have rebuilt their civilization on Eor. In the wake of the gods' war, arcane magic is much more abundant. While scholars still debate what exactly happened during the war, it appears that magic is now native to the material plane, in a way it was not before. Magic academies have sprung up for those who can afford entry, and new magical technologies and conveniences have ushered in a renaissance era in the bustling cities of Eor. The subterranean cities of the dwarves and drow are some of the last remnants of civilization with a cohesive historical record from before the Fall and the Awakening, as the divine war and its aftermath are now called. Only the very oldest elves and drow remember first-hand what life was like before the Fall. On the continent of Runa, now called the Ruined Lands, small villages and trading posts have sprung up once again. Much of the continent is an unexplored wilderness with geography that bears little resemblance to pre-Fall Runa. Wild explosions of divine and arcane magics have not only reshaped the continent but also torn passages to other planes in some places and led to strange, magic-steeped features like a frozen jungle or an endless waterfall with no origin. Ruins of the old cities litter the continent. These sites may contain valuable records, pre-Fall knowledge, and important divine relics and weapons, but they are also some of the most changed and potentially deadly locations in the Ruined Lands, twisted by the magical combat that destroyed them.