General Information

For 40 years, I have travelled far and wide, and cartographed as much as I can the many lands and nations of this world. Yet I fear I would need another 400 to fully appreciate its magnitude.

— Talib Rasam Kharayit

The World of Eqiros

The World Eqiros is a vast. Exploring its lands is a task for one, if not many lifetimes. However, for those willing to traverse it, these lands teem with excitement, adventure, and intrigue.
Unbeknownst to all but the most observant of adventurers, the world is always changing. Those in the know are few, and those with the power to take advantage of these changes, even fewer.

The Landscape

Eqiros boasts a wide range of environments and biomes, from forests, to mountain ranges, to deserts, swamps, and more. The world is divided into several nations as indicated on the world map

Races

Many races in Eqiros have a deep history with the land. Though in ages past, these races were all separated geographically, commerce, advances in means of magical travel and inter-race relations mean its now a common sight to find a good mix races populating any built-up area. However, not all races are present in the same numbers.
While you're likely to find humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, gnomes, halflings, orcs and half-orcs wherever you travel, others will be less common. Goliaths prefer to stay within their tribes, with settlements in Nürvah and La'Boli. Dragonborn and other anthropomorphic races tend to settle in tribes roaming the many plains and mountains of the realms, and tieflings sometimes pop up whenever least expected. Rarer still are the genasi, the oldest of all races and likely the first mortals to walk the plane. Though descendant from the elementals that likely forged this world, few remain, overtaken by more common races.

Gods and Religions

Most in Eqiros follow worship one or a combination of The Cardinal 16

Magic and Technology

While practitioners of the arcane can be found in all nations, few practice in such a refined manner. Many seeking to advance in the craft either apply for a formal education in one of the great schools, find themselves an informal mentor, or, in the case of divine magic, dedicate themself to one such god or another.
Most arcane technology currently found around the world is derivative, having been adapted from old technology who's blueprints, plans or instructions have been lost since the War of Stones, fought over Vallius Stones, the power cells for all magic technology currently in existence. Once only available to the rich, the war brought knowledge of its creation to the mainstream. However, many who have tried are still unable to create true vallius stones; their work often breaking apart after limited use and requiring replacement or recharging. Only true masters have been able to create lasting vallius stones.

Calendar

Eqiros' Solar Calendar operates on a 360 day system divided into the following:

• 12 months a year
• 3 weeks a month
• 10 days a week
• 4 seasons of approximately 90 days a year

Eqiros' Lunar phases align on a monthly cycle, with one moon appearing in the sky for a fortnight, following by the other moon the following fortnight.
The months of the year are named numerically, while also symbolising the approximate season the month falls into:

1. Onesnow
2. Twofreeze
3. Threebloom
4. Foursprout
5. Fiveflower
6. Sixbright
7. Sevensun
8. Eightshine
9. Ninerain
10. Tenfall
11. Elevenseed
12. Twelvefrost

Days of the week:

1. Unday
2. Tuday
3. Triday
4. Forday
5. Fiday
6. Sibday
7. Sebday
8. Ocday
9. Noday
10. Decday

Time

Telling time is a simple affair in Eqiros, even in rural areas. Hours, minutes and seconds are used in larger towns and metropolitan areas where mechanical or arcane timekeeping methods are more prevalent, but rural areas will simply give rough approximations (dawn, midday, dusk, etc) depending on the sun or moon's position in the sky. Some rural towns and villages will have a sundial in or near the townsquare as a point of reference for villagers or townsfolk.

The State of the World

The year is 4542 PS (Post Schism). A thousand years of peace has reigned as nations have developed strong relations and prosperous trade routes with one another. However, tensions have slowly begun rising again. Peaceful times makes for complacent rulership, or worse, and some cities, even nations, have begun falling to an all too familiar foe: corruption. Additionally, certain factions in some nations have correctly identified the political unrest in their neighbours, and have begun planning takeovers within their own domains to capitalise on such divisions. Arcane schools, seeing such trouble on the horizon, have adopted different teaching ethos. Some have begun training their students in more combative magic styles, while others have eschewed combat entirely; there is enough trouble in the world without an arcane calamity to deal with.