Brave New World

The world is still young and largely uncivilized. Although some races have been here a long time, rise of civilization was hindered by war, famine or lack of desire to do so.   Out of all races, it is Dragonborn that are said to be the most advanced civilization, but they are confined to harsh, yet wealthy lands to the far south, on the continent of Darran. In the north, on the continent of Holudor, constant wars plague human existence. The lands of the Holudor are not all ruled by the human race, though; it is shared by humans, dwarves, elves, goblins, orcs, and other peoples and creatures.   However, the presence of magic provides an additional element of power to the societies. There are several nation states and many independent cities, with loose alliances being formed for defence or conquest. Trade is performed by ship or horse-drawn vehicle, and manufacturing is based upon cottage industry. The world consists of several large continents, where inhabitants of each know almost nothing of the other. There is also a vast subterranean world called the Underdark beneath the surface.   Religion plays a large part in the society, with deities and their followers being an integral part of the world. They do not have a passive role, but in fact interact directly in mortal affairs, answer prayers, and have their own personal agendas. All deities must have worshipers to survive, and all mortals must worship a patron deity to secure a good afterlife, or so it is thought. A number of diverse deities exist, some more, some less known. However, not all races display the same attitude towards divine forces. Unlike dwarves and elves, humans tend to be less religious or at least their reliance on godly powers is limited. That is not to say that humans are disbelievers, far from it. Nevertheless, there is this innate human desire to prove that human spirit trumps godly dependency.   Most lands of the fledgling world are unexplored and untamed. Magic is heavily valued in the higher circles and looked down upon with fear amongst common folk. Spellcasters are few and far between, especially in the north, where wars dominate the landscape. Some fight to expand to the uncharted, some amongst each other for pieces of land that is already known. Diseases decimate populations as healers are both heavily sought after and frowned upon for possessing demonic powers.