The World

Firstly, a brief introduction to the known world. Two suns shine down upon the continent of Gournia, and each is worshipped as a god (or taken to be representative of a god by the more sophisticated). Mira, the Golden Sun, is the source of warmth and light and is the “Good” god. Azun, the Red Sun, sheds little light and no warmth, and is the “Evil” god. A year is the time it takes the World to orbit the Gold Sun, and a cycle the time it takes to orbit the Red Sun, being 27 years. The first year of the campaign is the first of the Cycle of the Phoenix.

Here is an introduction to the political entities who contest with each other to rule the world. Those who worship Mira are described as being Good aligned, those who worship Azun are Evil, those who follow neither of these faiths or who are pagans are described as Neutral.

The Empire of Acheron (alignment: EVIL) is the archetypal Evil Empire, ruled by the Sorcerer Priests of Azun. Their magic, and the knights of the Empire’s human nobility, are its main weapon. They are supplemented by various barbarian mercenaries and sorcerous beasts. The common people of the Empire, however, are so downtrodden that they are of little use in a battle.

The Caliphate of Quorm (alignment: GOOD) lies on the western edge of the Great Desert. It was founded centuries ago by a prophet who converted the human nomads of the desert to Mira and led them to conquer the fertile coastal lands. However the Great Prophet’s teachings do not accord with the worship of Mira as practised in the southern Kingdoms, where the people of Quorm are considered heretics & schismatics (even worse than being pagan in the eyes of some!). They retain enough of their nomad heritage that their main troop type are Riders, supported by infantry archers. They have no objection to using magic.

The Emirate of Djerbil (alignment: GOOD) lies on the eastern edge of the Great Desert, and has a similar ethnic heritage to Quorm. It also follows the same religion and the same Great Prophet. Between these two nations is the Holy City of Khazi, birthplace of the Prophet, and of great political importance to them both.

The Land of Nordheim (alignment: NEUTRAL) is the home of a fierce race of barbarian warriors, fond of such old fashioned sports as raiding, pillaging and world conquest. Think of them as Vikings. They have a fondness for horny helmets, but they aren’t much into magic and their homeland doesn’t suit horses, so their main troop type is Blades.

The Plain of the Centaurs (alignment: NEUTRAL) is the home of five tribes of centaurs, who live a nomadic lifestyle herding cattle on the rolling steppe. The “cities” on the steppes are actually the temples to their pagan gods at the heart of each tribe’s territory. Centaurs fight, not surprisingly, as Riders, although their nobility sometimes have enough heavy armour to be classed as Knights.

There are three Dwarven nations. The White Mountain Dwarves (alignment: NEUTRAL) and the Grey Mountain Dwarves (alignment: NEUTRAL) live in mountain ranges in the north. The latter are sometimes known as the Forgotten Dwarves because they spent so much time out of touch with their southern relatives that some came to doubt that they really existed. Unlike the dwarves of the south, the northern dwarves are pagans, and by dwarven standards they are “barbarians”. Of course, even dwarven barbarians are a pretty organised lot. The Iron Mountain Dwarves (alignment: GOOD) are (in their own opinion) much more “civilised” than their cousins in the far north. They are certainly the most technologically sophisticated nation, and are Mira worshippers. Dwarves have a lot of prejudices. They have an ancient feud with the Elves, whose origins are lost in time, and a mutual hatred with Orcish nations. They also detest dragons, and any nation which employs a dragon will earn their antipathy. Dwarves are great ones for delving beneath their mountain homes, and underground highways run beneath the mountains between some of their cities. The strength of their armies is in Blades and Spears, supplemented in the case of the Iron Dwarves by Artillery, and Shooters with arquebus.

The Theocracy of Voy (alignment: GOOD) is culturally not dissimilar to its eastern neighbour the Kingdom of Albion, being a feudal human nation. In Voy however the rulers are a fundamentalist sect of the clergy of Mira, headed by their High Cardinal. They are fanatically religious and will have no dealings with those that deny the True Faith or who dabble with evil magic. In particular they have an abiding enmity with those nations who, while claiming to worship Mira, follow the teachings of a false & heretical prophet (Quorm & Djerbil).

The Kingdom of Albion (alignment: GOOD) is a human feudal state of knights & barons, and its armies are largely composed of Knights supplemented with peasant conscript infantry. Its people worship Mira, whose clerics are available to counter evil magic, but they are not so fanatic as to entirely forego the use of magic themselves. The land of the Halflings lies within Albion, and while this race make poor soldiers, they are excellent scouts.

The Republic Of Kregmire (alignment: GOOD) rules the fertile lands around the Inland Sea. They are humans, and Mira worshippers, but fairly cosmopolitan in their views on such things as the use of magic. They have rejected feudalism for a republican state, and the main strength of the Republic’s army lies in its citizen-soldier spearmen. Its Spear legions are well drilled and motivated.

The Barbarians of Hibernica (alignment: NEUTRAL) are humans who live in scattered settlements and hill-forts in the forests & hills. Their culture emphasises heroic individual combat, and they fight as fierce irregular Warbands and charioteers. They are pagans, worshipping a variety of gods, and their druids have some magical lore to call upon.

The Kingdoms of the Wood Elves (alignment: GOOD) and the High Elves (alignment: GOOD) lie in the South. The elves are an ancient and sophisticated people, with much arcane lore, and tend to be condescending & arrogant towards “lesser” races. They have a long racial feud with the Dwarves, and a mutual antipathy with the Orcs. Their armies have a variety of troops, but they are especially noted for their skill in archery and with magic. The High Elves have armoured Knights as well. Various magical creatures such as Dragons and Ents will assist them (especially the Wood Elves) on occasion.

The Kingdom of the Dark Elves (alignment: EVIL) lies in the far East. These are elves who, ages ago, turned from the light to the worship of Azun, and are thus sundered from their Mira-worshipping kindred. However their conversion to evil has only served to deepen their prejudices towards “lesser” races, and they are just as hostile to Dwarves and Orcs. Their armies are not very different from those of the High Elves (although they are more inclined towards close-order armoured infantry), but are especially noted for their skill with dark sorcery.

The Pteor (alignment: NEUTRAL ) are a strange race of bird-men, who inhabit fantastic mountaintop cities in the mountains of the far north. Some say that the vanished Titans built the cities, and that the Pteor are the degenerate ancestors of some servitor race, although the Pteor themselves believe they are the Children of the Sky Goddess. They fight as flying warbands. and often raid their neighbours. Despite being generally barbarians, they possess a number of powerful magical artefacts, perhaps a gift of their patron goddess. The Pteor are the only race to be able to regularly field entirely airborne armies.

Tribes of Orcs can be found in two places; in the east around the desolate Dragon Hills (alignment: EVIL), and in the south around the Red Mountains (alignment: EVIL). Although usually warring amongst themselves, the Orcs can manage to unite against other races if they have to. Their warbands are of variable quality, but their ferocity in battle is legendary, and they are often supported by other fell races, such as ogres and wargs. The Dragon Hill orcs are often assisted by the dragons from which the region takes its name. They have a particularly strong hatred of the elves & dwarves.

The Saurians or Serpent People (alignment: NEUTRAL), are an ancient reptilian race, surviving now only in an archipelago of islands in the south-east. While they are today a shadow of their ancient glory, they remember enough of their ancient arts to be powerful. They worship old, forgotten gods (at least their gods seem to have forgotten them as they never manifest). The Dragons still remember who they are though, and in their age-old, crumbling cities they breed creatures from an Elder time. Their infantry fight in cold-blooded, close-order precision.

Finally, in the far north is the desolate and silent Land of the Dead. At its heart stands the Citadel of The Nameless Necromancer, the lich-king who rules the Unquiet Dead. To the Dead, alignment is irrelevant. The crime of the living is life, and their sentence is death. Now, the time long foretold has come. The stars are in alignment. The dead shall rise up, and the Nameless One will lead them across the face of the world to destroy all that is living.