Yoerth

WELCOME TO YOERTH, an ancient world with multiple large continents that has witnessed the rise and fall of several great empires, born calamitous ruin and perhaps even been abandoned by the Gods themselves. Frozen wastes at the North and South poles, continent spanning jungles, mountain ranges so vast they appear to be a frozen ocean of stone, seas of sand, and primordial forests so old that daylight never reaches the ground through the many layers of dense canopy. Spread among these wildly varying landscapes are the great cities of Man, the Dwarven holds of mountains and valleys, the dwindling ruins of the last great Elven empire deep in the forests, nomadic clans of Orcish herdsmen on the plains and the Goblin fen-towns carved into natural cave systems.   We find ourselves in the continent referred to most commonly as “The Old World,” where the EMPIRE OF MAN has ruled for over 2000 years, having been founded by SIGMARTHUR, bearer of the sacred sword of power DURENDAL, who united the fractious barbarian tribes of man and forged an alliance with the Southern Dwarf keeps, repelling an invasion by the OGREMAN EMPIRE to the southeast, followed a few years later by again repelling an invasion, this time the arch-necromancer NAGASH from the Southern land of KHEMRI.   The Empire is experiencing a period of rapid economic, scientific and cultural development, and despite having lost control of the world’s largest shipping port, MARIENBURG, the Empire is still counted as the most eminent power in this part of the world. The Empire’s military might can reach out to the magic blasted NORTHERN WASTELANDS and south through the BADLANDS to the doorstep of Khemri, and with the addition of Dwarven AIRSHIPS special expeditions are able to travel to faraway lands such as IND, CATHAY, and NAGGAROTH, home of the Dark Elves, to name a few possible destinations. The Empire is also currently the only power to have mastered the use of gunpowder, having obtained the secret from Cathayan traders several centuries past, and have put their cannons to good use since. In the last two decades, further advances have allowed for limited success in miniaturizing the cannon into man-portable firearms, with rumors of genius inventors producing self-loading repeat-firing hand cannons.   The two main forms of trade a citizen of the empire will encounter are both in the forms of caravans, which roam from town to town and city to city, facilitating the trade of goods back and forth while also selling their own wares. The Dwarven caravans are compact affairs of heavily armored and reinforced wagons and carriages, all pulled in one long chain, pulled by large Iron Golems in the shape of massive stallions. By contrast, the caravans of the Saurians tend to be a few extremely large elaborate multi-story wagons that serve as both living quarters and retail space, with each cart serving one particular function (ie Blacksmith, Grocer, Tavern, etc.) These caravans are pulled by massive Brachiosaurus and always attract a trail of children eager to see the massive docile beasts.   Magic, once feared and distrusted in ancient days by the humans, has now become common enough that the average peasant would recognize obvious spellcasting. Wizards, taught through and licensed by the Imperial Academy of Magic, had long held eminence in the Empire, and though being few in number were always very powerful politically. But in recent centuries, the increasing occurrence of Sorcerers has lead to a democratization of magic in some ways, with the Academy finally forced to accede to popular pressure in the creation of a bachelor program for licensing and accrediting Sorcerers. Warlocks, however, enjoy zero protection under Imperial law, and must operate in secret for fear of attracting Witch Hunters who patrol the Empire investigating and eradicating magical threats to the land and the people. These warrior-priests are few in number, and are constantly perishing in the pursuit of their calling.   To the West lies the former Imperial land of BRETTONNIA, a feudal kingdom seemingly fairytale perfect and ruled by a wealthy aristocracy of chivalric knights. Partially between Brettonnia and The Empire sits the Elven stronghold of ATHEL LOREN, greatest of the remaining Ulthuanian outposts. To the South and Southwest lie TILEA and ESTALIA respectively, collections of independent city states and fortress chains defending the coastlines from Norscan and Dark Elf raiding parties. To the direct south, a scattered collection of microstates ruled by banished nobility, bandit kings, mercenary companies and Orc tribes called THE BORDER PRINCES. Further south than that lie the open wastes of the BADLANDS, where only the hardy Orc clans, desperate madmen and the undead can withstand the harsh elements. Further still the continent ends in a land bridge to the ancient tomb empire of KHEMRI, haunting the Great Desert of Nehekhara. Over the great mountain ranges of the East lies the remnants of the once massive Ogreman Empire, who still occasionally rattle their sabres and raid a border outpost or two. To the Northeast the forested hills and rolling plains of windswept KISLEV, perpetually the frontline between civilization in the South and the chaotic wasteland and perpetual barbarism of the Chaos Wastes to the North. Across the Sea of Claws lies the collected realms of NORSCA, ruled by fierce warrior clans of sea-going raiders who make their living raiding and slaving the coastlines of the south, all the way to faraway Qurom and Ind. To the North beyond that no one knows, for no sane man has ever gone there and returned. 5 years have passed since the GREAT CHAOS INCURSION swept down from the northern CHAOS WASTES into the civilized lands of Kislev and The Empire, both of which are still in recovery. Hostility festers between neighboring lands who were until so recently allies, the economic disparities between nobility and the peasantry has increased civil discontent. In the disorder of the rebuilding process, several large organizations and influential individuals have been making bold moves to further consolidate their financial and military power.   In this land, on the roads and through the forests, atop the mountains and underneath them, ADVENTURERS ply their ancient trade. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes are joined by Orcs, Goblins, Saurians and numerous other races, seeking relics in the ruins of the past, protecting the powerless from the evils of monster and man, fighting the unheralded battles that keep civilization from falling into chaos.