Welcome

Welcome to the World of Derkomai

Derkomai is a fantasy world with a medieval technology level, approximately the size of Earth, created as a setting for role-playing games. Humans are not native to Derkomai, but arrived over 5000 years prior to the current date via a hibernation/generation ship called the Terra Nova. The landing ships dispatched from the Terra Nova all suffered catastrophic failures as a result of the Praxis Cogendi emanating from the Safirim, the deities of Derkomai. As a result, Humans lost all of their technology, and Derkomai is a technology-limited world. A legend called The Fall from the Stars describes those events.

On Derkomai, basic mechanical devices work, based on human, animal, water, or wind power. Objects constructed of metal are relatively rare, as the limited technology make extracting, refining, and working metals (especially hard alloys) difficult. Only basic metals (copper, tin, lead, iron) are known. Steel is very rare, but it is produced in some places. No electrical devices work. Gunpowder and explosives do not work. All of those things are proscribed by the Safirim of the Nop Derk Safir (the powers that control Derkomai).

Magic works (subject to the discretion of the DM/GM as needed for the campaign and rule set being used). See Foundations of Magic on Derkomai and Origins of Magical Locations on Derkomai for background and theoretical basis for how magic is envisioned to work on Derkomai.

Derkomai provides myriad settings of a multitude of types for campaigns and adventures, from large urban cities to unexplored, uninhabitated wastelands, thick tropical jungles to arctic tundras, vast mountain ranges to arid deserts to deep dungeons. Game masters can take their players anywhere in the world they choose - using what is there as-is, expanding on it, or even creating completely new cities, towns, villages, ruins, or dungeons, as they like.

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The Development of Derkomai

Derkomai began as a world some friends and I based our AD&D campaigns in while we were attending college over 40 years ago. After we all graduated and went off to pursue careers and have families, our days of playing D&D ended, but I kept all of the original maps and materials I created for the world. They sat on my bookshelf for years - decades - until I discovered World Anvil. I was so excited to have a place to put all of the maps, characters, and other materials that we'd spent so many hours playing D&D with. And so I began the process of converting all of the paper and pencil maps, characters, stories, etc. into digital assets, uploading them to World Anvil, organizing and expanding them.
Derkomai as it exists today on World Anvil has changed and expanded quite a lot from the original materials we developed so long ago. I've added a lot to the backstory of humans on Derkomai and added many more characters, species, locations, and stories, but the world itself, the geography, countries, and major cities are all basically the same. It's still the same world, and its purpose is still the same now as it was for us during our university days: a setting for fun, interesting, and imaginative role playing games. I hope some DMs/GMs running games now will want to use Derkomai as a campaign setting, and I encourage people to do so, developing their own stories and adventures based on and adapting the locations, characters, species, mythology, and so on that I've created for the world.

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Have Fun!

I encourage you to explore the Derkomai World Codex and maps. You can get to the Codex from the round menu over on the left. Read some stories and character articles. Maybe something will pique your interest or inspire you. Feel free to drop comments and questions. I will definitely respond. If anyone bases an adventure or campaign on Derkomai, I'd love to hear about it!
Have fun and enjoy exploring Derkomai!

Pete Nelson
Dedicated to Erik A., Mike and Ken G., and Steve S., my old AD&D group.

Derkomai globe by Peter Nelson (Zero Sum Games)

The World of Derkomai

Original Derkomai world map on graph paper by Peter Nelson The original world map of Derkomai

Original hand-drawn map of SW Derkomai by Peter Nelson The original large map of SW Derkomai

Original map of Southport by Peter Nelson The original map of Southport