The Known Realm

NOTE: These are major points that will play into the story.  Smaller towns and places can be made up as starting points; some will be made up on the fly as the story unfolds.

Great White North: A frozen wasteland unexplored by peoples of the Known Realm.  Considered either wild or the domain of the Vikeron people.

White Dagger: Capital of the Vikeron people, who are said to be the offspring of humans and frost giants.  They are a savage, war-loving people known to conduct raids on Neverwinter and surrounding towns, but they have been dormant for at least the past fifty years.  Some believe they are preparing for a large-scale assault, though no one seems brave enough to conduct an reconnaissance.

Neverwinter (purple): Formerly an affluent kingdom unto itself, this cold city is now the dominion of the Cold Skull Gang, a group that rules the surviving people with an iron hand and conducts raids on southern cities and then hides in its fortified capital.  The Gang has been known to conduct business with the Five Fingers of Laurynvale, but their dealings have been fraught with deceit and long-held grudges.

Dragon Peak (red): Formerly the High Elf city of Perillion, Dragon Peak is now the home of Zangura and the other Scarlet Sisters, as well as a revolving door of other dragon allies.  It has become a hot, desolate place littered with stolen treasures and the remains of great buildings.  Lesser peoples enter it at their peril.

Littlemoor (purple): Formerly the chief residence of the Halflings, now a slave colony where the indigenous people, among others, are bought and sold for work.  It, like the remnants of the kingdom of Laurynvale, falls under the combined rule of the Five Fingers.

Laurynvale (purple): Formerly a large, relatively prosperous kingdom ruled by half human, half elf blood, it is now the metropolis of crime, owned and operated by a loose confederation of gangs known as the Five Fingers.  The Five Fingers – which includes the Slip Witches, the Crocs, the Hollow Eyes, the Sewer Rats, and the remnants of the Grim Hand Gang – have divvied up the city and the slave colony that now exists where Littlemoor once stood.  They continue to raid the surrounding areas, but largely keep to their own fiefdom.

Shallow City (green): Formerly a capital of fashion, commerce, and pleasure, it is now under the dominion of the Orcs, who have re-purposed the trading ships that littered the area into vessels of war.  It now functions as a sort of second capital to the unified Orc Horde.

Cliffs of Grumbaar (green): An inhospitable natural phenomenon that is considered by many to be the birthplace of the Orcs.  It has now become the capital for the unified Horde.

Orc Territory (green): After the Schism in the Pantheon and the fall of many of the more “civilized” kingdoms, the Orcs began to expand into the remaining lands and have now increased their territorial holdings by over 400%.  What exactly has unified the Horde is not known to outsiders, but there are some who believe dark and powerful magic is behind it.  Whatever the case, their strength and numbers are growing every day.

Seran’Vine (black/white): The land of the Wood Elves, a forest of remarkable magical power and secrecy.  Now that the High Elves are scattered and the Drow continue to fight amongst themselves, Seran’Vine is the last remaining bastion of Elven civilization.  Neither the dragons nor the crime families nor the rising Orc Horde have attempted to take Seran’Vine, but the Orcs have successfully seized both major tributaries leading into the forest, which is sure to prompt a conflict at some point, though the Elves have, as usual, remained quiet throughout the Orc expansion.

LaSelle Island: A land of tremendous wealth, prosperity, and stability, it has remained largely untroubled by the upheaval on the mainland, preferring to shroud itself in even more mystery than usual.  In the past, its geographical position allowed it to conduct trade with the Elves, the major kingdoms, and the Spice Aisle by way of Stonebeach, but that may change what with the Orc Horde developing a stronger naval presence.

Shatter Gulf: A devastating stretch of water that is the focal point of several weather anomalies, Shatter Gulf is renowned for destroying even the finest ships.  Sailors traveling between Stonebeach and LaSelle Island avoid it at all costs, and it is often considered the reason the Orcs have taken so long to develop quality ships of their own.

Jagged Isle: Located in the center of Shatter Gulf, this Isle is a huge mystery, as few people have been on it and lived to tell the tale.

Uran Oasis: A land of tremendous beauty and magical power, it sits in between two great forces, the Orc Horde and the Spice Aisle, yet, remarkably, it remains largely unspoiled.  It is considered the home of many a notable magical creature, which makes it a popular destination for top-class hunters – though few have emerged with anything worth boasting of.

Stonebeach (yellow): A large, highly cosmopolitan port city where trade rules.  Unlike the crime capitals of Laurynvale and Neverwinter, it is very heavily regulated by a central business bureau and considered one of the fairest and most balanced places in the Known Realm.  It is the southernmost point of the Spice Aisle and the center of naval trade in the region.

Spice Aisle (yellow): A column of land that stretches from Stonebeach to Bright Mountain, it is considered a free zone where merchants and craftsmen of all kinds can buy and sell at leisure.  Located between the Known Realm and the as yet uncharted territories of Punjabar and Soa-Teran, it is “ruled” by a collection of Overloads who protect their investments ferociously.  Though it may not be as chaotic as Laurynvale, it is much more brutal than Stonebeach; thieves and fools beware.

Drogsheim (brown): A kingdom built in what was once a wasteland by a collection of lower-level nobles supporting the soon-to-be royal Drogley family, Drogsheim is arguably the most stable kingdom in the region, but that is largely to do with the brutal way in which the royal family enforce their control.  Constant vigilance is highly valued since it is surrounded by Orc Territory, other kingdoms, Bright Forest, and Uran Oasis and thus quite vulnerable.  Unfortunately, it also depends greatly on trade to get the necessary amenities, meaning its people tend to be poor and its trade policies tend to be strict.

Blackplane (brown): Like Drogsheim, Blackplane rose up from the chaos as a relative oasis of calm, though unlike its neighbor, it has tended to maintain a more open policy, particularly when it comes to pleasure.  Sharing a border with the Spice Aisle means access to a great many amenities; unfortunately, it also means being taken advantage of by the Aisle’s many crafty Overlords, who have effectively put Blackplane into their pocket by getting its people hooked on an assortment of drugs and alcohols.  They also depend very much on Blackplane when it comes to trading in flesh.

Wanderbelt (brown): Like Laurynvale before it, Wanderbelt has found relative stability and prosperity through the allegiance of two key races: the Humans and the Dwarves.  Many of the Dwarves are renegades and outcasts from the Seven Clans of the Rock, and have sought patches of land of their own.  They have intermarried with Humans, themselves looking for stability after the Schism, and have established joint rule over their young kingdom.  Of the three new kingdoms in the region, they are no doubt the wealthiest thanks to an impressive stock of Dwarven valuables, but this creates tension between the two main factions, with many of the Dwarves viewing their Human counterpoints as free-loaders. 

Bright Forest: After being heavily burned in the lead-up to the Schism, Bright Forest has rebounded well and grown in size and mystique.  Once a haven for gangs, witches, and even Dragons, it is now treated with great awe and even suspicion by the peoples near it, with only Pixies, Gnomes, and, rumor has it, some Elves calling it home, at least in numbers.

Dwarf Territory (blue): After nearly a thousand years of relative peace, the Seven Clans of the Rock have begun to war among themselves again.  High upon their hills and deep in their mountains, the Dwarves have stirred up old grudges and created some new ones as they try to come to terms with their new world.  Threatened by the new kingdoms at their border, ever-suspicious of the mysterious peoples in the East, wary of the rising Orc Hordes in the South, and certain that the dragons will come from the West for their valuables, the Dwarves consider themselves an endangered species.  Rather than band together, though, the Clans of Grimstone, Rubyhammer, Brightforge, Highpeak, Thunderaxe, Greathill, and Darkore all have their own opinions and, in true Dwarf fashion, will not rest until those opinions are obeyed.

Bright Mountain: Shrouded in mystery and renowned for its magic, the Mountain is where many a traveler, adventurer, and poet goes for bounty and guidance.  Like Uran Oasis and Bright Forest, few people get exactly what they are looking for out of the Mountain, except for the elusive Monks of the Order of the Lotus, who have considered the Mountain their home for thousands of years.

Punjabar: A strange and mysterious nation spread out over the great plains to the East, the Punjabar people largely keep to themselves, though they do trade heavily in the Spice Aisle.  Some in the West consider them an imminent threat, especially in such uncertain times, but they have yet to make any sudden moves.

Dragon Isle (orange): A secluded island that is home to the Dragonborn, the long lost children of earliest Dragons, Dragon Isle is carefully avoided by all who pass near it.  The land itself is desolate and inhospitable, largely thanks to the efforts of its residents, and the food sources are becoming strained.  Also strained are the already frayed relationships between the various species of Dragonborn, all of which have their own clan divisions to contend with.  The return of the Dragons on the mainland has stirred the pot significantly, with many of the chromatic Dragonborn eager to join their forebears, while others are skeptical and even actively resistant to a reunion.  The metallic Dragonborn, who are as rare as their own creators, are mostly keen to join the fight against the Dragons, while some remain suspicious of the other peoples and are content to leave them to their own purposes.  Despite these divisions, many of the Dragonborn share a kinship with each other, all of them being descendant from a much more powerful and largely negligent race, not to mention being so far removed from the rest of the world.