Mists over the Musarde: Background Notes

[ewancummins]

''Cold Iron'' = meteoric iron

[ewancummins]

[quote="ewancummins"]Note on spell- Continual Flame

This spell fades over time.

[ewancummins]

The Shadow Rift: The Rift is much smaller in relation to other lands than shown on the canon maps [because I increased the size of the other core domains]. Thick, wild forests surround it. It isn't considered a 'country' but as a weird geographical feature. I've adjusted the flow of rivers, so that none are flowing up out of the Rift. That bothered me to no end.


Kartakass: Kartakass is the terminus of river trade along the mighty Musarde River. It's a sleepy little country, a rural backwater tucked into the great forests of the southern lands. In olden days, it was subject to Invidia, paying tribute and being treated almost as a conquered province.

Edit- See expanded Invidia notes on the preceding page.


Hazlan- Land of the Black Ziggurats! Hazlan is a weird place. The inhabitants are clearly human, but of a very different background than the other races of the main continent. At the heart of each city stands a fane of the Lawgiver- grim ziggurats of black stone faced with sheets of pitted iron. The land is the primary source of poppies used to make opium. It is one of the oldest civilizations of the Core, or rather, it is built on the bones of the older races that came before modern humanity.


Lamordia:

Lamordians tend to fall into one of three schools of thought about the 'origins of the world' question. These are:

Watchmakers believe that gods created the world, but have nothing to do with it now, as it runs itself.

Nebulogenesists, who hold that the Mists are the pre-existent primal substance of the universe, and everything in existence formed out of them through eons of natural processes. This is the prevailing scientific view.


A subset of Nebulogenesists believes that these natural processes may occur very rapidly, and that lands, animals , and peoples may appear to be generated quite suddenly. More than one scientist has vanished on the isle of Vechor while seeking support for this hypothesis.

Skeptics believe that current data are insufficient to draw any conclusions about the origins of the universe or the existence of gods and an afterlife. This is most popular with the cafe set in Neufurctenburg.


As for the way they view ''supernatural'' phenomena, here's one approach:

Gasists:

Some Lamordian scientists believe that ghosts and other incorporeal beings are actually just gas-based life forms native to the Mists. These aeroforms can therefore be trapped inside bottles- in theory.

[ewancummins]

The Great Upheaval/Grand Conjunction-


Old maps sometimes show countries weirdly distorted or out of place, although these maps are becoming increasingly hard to find for some reason. Normally, these faulty maps are simply assumed to be bad copies, or else perhaps reflections of political boundaries of past centuries.

Lands like G'Henna and Markovia are considered ancient history- or even just legends. The gypsies sometimes speak of these places as if such were well known to the previous generation, but few giorgios believe such gypsy lies.

The Year of the Great Upheaval was a time of floods, plagues, fires, earthquakes- as well as wars and unrest. Many superstitious folks view the events of that year as a sign of the gods' displeasure with sinful humanity. Some madmen claim that the gods stole away towns and cities- even whole countries. Sane folk scoff at such silly ranting, for surely people would have noticed such massive changes in the world. Surely they would have remembered. Where are the records?


No one but the gypsies and a few deeply-read scholars refers to the Year of the Great Upheaval as the Grand Conjunction- and the Vistani rarely speak that name in front of outsiders.

[ewancummins]

Various Beliefs about the Mists-


Please note that these tales and beliefs may or may not be true. Making the Know check means your PC is well acquainted with the story or idea, but it doesn't mean he knows whether it's literal truth or just a theory/legend.


Parts of Darkon:
Beyond the Mists lays the realm of the afterlife, an enormous city of ghosts, ruled by kings of the ancient world. Living men may voyage there and return, or so say the ancient tales.
Know Religion. Local DC 20

Gnomish mystical tradition:
The Mists are the breath of the Demiurgos, the primal god-entity who created the Land and all that is in it. The Demiurgos has left his creation now, but his foggy exhalations yet linger.
Know Religion DC 25


Hazlani folklore:
The Mists are the home of little mist-imps- nasty creatures who love to play pranks on humans. Mist-imps will steal a pie if it is left out, lead sheep astray, and other things of that nature. They are rarely dangerous, but there are larger, more dangerous mist-creatures as well. These should be avoided. If you see someone or something emerging from a fog, it is best to avoid contact until you can be certain he or it is a solid being of the mundane world- and not some creature of the Mists.
Know Local DC 20

widespread among mapmakers and travellers:
The Mists are like a great sea, in which the Land is a fixed point in the center. Some islands are rooted in place like the continent, and some drift slowly through the mists, borne by invisible currents.
Know Geography DC 15

Invidia: The Mists are a veil over the true world- covering the lands and waters of the gods' creation. When the gods will that men should settle a land, they withdraw the veil and allow it to be perceived easily by men. The gypsies are thieves who stole from the gods the power to see through the misty veil. Thus are they accursed , doomed to wander the Land forever and never return to their lost homeland, a place which the gods have warded and sealed against entry.
Know Local/Religion DC 20

[ewancummins]

[The Nocturnal Sea:]

IMC- This body of water is known as the Shrouded Sea, because of the characteristic thick fogs that drift across its waters. Low lying clouds often blot out the sun. Navigation is more difficult than on the Sea of Sorrows, and traffic is consequently less in this sea than in those western waters.
The Shrouded Sea is NOT a place of eternal night .
The Border Mists are very active here and hard to tell apart from the ordinary sort of fog.

[ewancummins]

Houserule:



Knowledge Local is specific to a given domain- it doesn't cover the whole world. The skill may be taken multiple times, each time with a different domain as the focus.

It often offers some overlap with other knowledge foci at the basic level. A synergy bonus of +2 may apply, at the DM's discretion, to any other Know check if Know Local is 5 ranks or more.

The skill still offers a synergy bonus to Gather Information checks [rank 5+] - and that bonus isn't domain specific.

[ewancummins]

The Great Lodestone, the Tower of Iron, Northpoint Isle, etc

It has long been known that certain stones, lodestones, are attracted to the north for some mysterious reason. Why this is a matter of much debate among natural philosophers throughout the land.

Lamordian scientists have noted that near proximity with large bodies of iron tends to distort the north-seeking properties of lodestones and compass needles. This observation has led to the notion of a great mass of ''tellurically charged'' iron must reside someplace north of the main continent, and that it is this iron-mass towards which compass needles are attracted. This hypothetical mass of iron is sometimes called the Great Lodestone.

Dementlieuse philosophers who have tackled the question of 'what is North'' have come up with a bewildering variety of theories. One of the more bizarre models suggests that North is merely a concept created by human minds, and that compasses only point that way because everyone agrees that they should.


Sailors on the Shrouded Sea have relied heavily on the compass since its introduction to the region, because navigation by the heavenly lights is so often frustrated by the gloomy skies and heavy fogs over those waters.

The mariners of Armeikos recount legends of Northpoint Isle, an island 'at the end of the world.' It's supposedly inhabited by a race of beautiful immortals, and also by monsters of legend that guard the happy island from unwanted intruders. Some tales even claim that the gods themselves visit this place from time to time, to dance in its lovely gardens and sylvan glades. The wine of Northpoint Isle is magical in nature, so all the bards claim, but its exact properties vary from one tale to the next. Liffite cartographers often mark their maps with an arrow at the top, indicating the direction of Northpoint Isle. No known Mistway leading to the island has been charted and verified, so adding it to a map is the equivalent of writing 'here be dragons' or 'Terra Incognita' in a blank spot along the edge of a map.

Within the Vaasan branch of Church of the Lawgiver there is an old tradition that the Lawgiver maintains a great Iron Tower in the ''Uttermost North'', which he is wont to visit at times when he leaves his heavenly abode. His Black Seneschal rules the Tower, and this sinister figure will deal out a doom worse than hellfire to any mortal man who enters the Tower of Iron uninvited. Few are invited.

[ewancummins]

More notes on domains...

Hazlan cont..: Hazlan uses Vaasi as a trade language and as the only approved liturgical language for the state religion (Church of the Lawgiver). Vaasi is not the native tongue of the country, however. The Mulan elite retain the use of their own speech, used amongst themselves and in the writing of profane texts. The Rashemi majority once spoke their own distinct language, as well, but it has fallen out of common use in modern times. Government policy has long favored Vaasi and discouraged the ancient Rashemi speech.

Hazlani architecture is of several styles. The squat and humble houses of the common folk are much as they were long ago, but the dwellings of the wealthy and the public buildings have undergone changes in style. The very oldest buildings include ziggurats and obelisks, as well as squat courtyard houses of stone. More recent styles show a Vassan influence: domed temples and palaces, decorated with intricate mosaics. The traditional Hazlani obelisks have transformed into minarets added to the domed buildings, a feature absent in Nova Vaasan buildings.

[In essence, Hazlani architecture might be seen as a mixture of Ottoman, East Roman, and ancient Near Eastern features.]

[ewancummins]

Darkon notes, expanded:


Il Aluk is a city of the living, but fully half of its ground is reserved for the dead: the grand Necropolis of Il Aluk. Adherents of the Eternal Order believe that sending the dead here to rest- or even just to be prepared and blessed by the priests, will secure additional favors for the departed, in the afterlife. The Necropolis is a huge district of graveyards, tomb-vaults, ossuaries, temples, etc underlain by a twisting network of catacombs. The priests of Wee Jas dominate the life, such as it is, of the dead-city, operating out of the mighty House of the Ruby Queen at the center of the vast mortuary complex. The dead from all across the kingdom are sent here to be embalmed, buried, cremated,etc. The priests charge a fee for their services, but they happily accept payment in kind.

[ewancummins]

House Rules for Profession and Craft skills



Profession and Craft are now open to all base [PHB] classes as class skills. This is retroactive, so any Pro/Craft cross class payments already in play may be adjusted and the points spent on other skills.


Profession skills of five ranks or greater may offer a +2 synergy bonus to certain other skills in specific situations. The DM will determine when to apply this. Example; Profession: Hunter may provide a bonus to Survival rolls for tracking a wild animal in a natural environment.

[ewancummins]

IMPORTANT NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY, PLAYER KNOWLEDGE, ETC

Ravenloft: a castle in Barovia- which your PCs have never even heard of unless they are reasonably conversant with Barovian history or geography. NO ONE CALLS THE WORLD RAVENLOFT.
The World, the Land, or the Land of the Mists are the usual names.

Core: The Continent or the Mainland. No one calls it ''the Core.'' That's an out-of-game term.
I differ from the 3E materials in that respect, cleaving instead to older canon.

Clusters: This is a strictly out of game term. No one in-game uses it.

Demi-plane of Dread: another strictly out-of-game term. No one calls it that. Only a handful of scholars, steeped in dark lore, understand that the Land of Mists is a 'demi-plane.' Azalin knows it, but your PCs do not.

Darklord: an out of game term. Only wizened sages and wild-eyed occultists guess that such beings exist.

Dark powers: an out-of-game term, although sages may refer to mysterious 'Powers of the Cosmos', 'Lords of Fate' and other such fancies of the academic mind.

Powers Checks: a game mechanic. never called 'powers checks' in play. 99% of people think of failed powers checks as warnings from the gods, the results of ill-wrought devilish bargains, physical mutations, madness, or the effects of curses.

Outlander: common term in some countries for 'foreigners.' This often encompasses both those from exotic island domains and those from other worlds.

Other planes- you don't even really understand that they exist w/o Knowledge: the Planes. This applies to RL natives, mainly. Knowledge of the Planes is a cross-class skill for all native PCs, unless a prestige class gives one access. 1st level PCs may not have any ranks in it.

[ewancummins]

Paridon, continued:


Agriculture-
The Zherisian countryside is a checkerboard of farms, sheep walks, and woodlots. Most of the land is under intensive cultivation. Potatoes are the most common crop. The soil is nearly played-out in some locations, and over-grazing has turned once lush grasslands into scrubby 'barrens.'

In the city of Paridon, urban greenhouses, dovecotes, and rooftop gardens supplement the produce of the outlying farmlands.

Food is expensive and the poor often subsist on very meager diets. Meat from wholesome sources is rarely eaten in the slums. Mutton is the reserve of the rich. Fish from the river are eaten, but overfishing has reduced the stocks so that they are no longer plentiful.

Wool for clothing is not cheap, either, and only a wealthy man wears a nice tweed suit. The poor and even the middling sorts must make do with much repaired cast-off clothing. The truly indigent wear little more than rags.


Weapons:

Paridon's City Watch wears coats of mail and carries pole arms. The city-state can no longer afford to produce or procure very large quantities of guns, powder, and shot.

The wealthy can afford good quality flintlock or wheel lock guns, sometimes imported. Everyone else must make do with archaic weapons, improvised weapons, crude pot-iron 'handgonnes', etc. Men called 'ironmongers' craft and sell arms to anyone who needs them, criminals most certainly included.

[ewancummins]

Languages- This list is not all-inclusive.

Akiri
Avergnite ( similiar to Low Mordentish)
Balok
Brossel (Wat's native tounge- similiar to archaic Darkonese- includes some Mordentish words)
Darkonese Common
Dwarvish
Elvish - spoken in Darkon
Falkovnian
Farellean
Forfarian
Gnomish
Grabenite
Halfling
Invidian (possibly evolved from a mixture of Balok and Mordentish)
Lamordian
Luktar
Mordentish dialects, high and low
Old High Mulan
Old Kartakan
Patterna
Pharazian/Phiraz
Rajian
Rokuma
Sithican
Sourangien
Tepestani
Thaani
Vaasi
Voros
Wyrm-tongue ( Draconic, a dead language known only to a few scholars of magic and esoteric lore)
Zherisian

[ewancummins]

Geographical notes:


The map looks a bit different. I'm working, on-and-off, on a proper map for y'all, but here's a basic rundown of changes:

Take the Post-GC map and make the following modifications;

A small peninsula sticks off the lower part of Valachan/Sithicus, projecting west. This is Farelle. My version of Farelle is based on the recent QtR article, with some changes of my own design.

A narrow strip of the Sea of Sorrows extends south down the western border of Valachan, connecting the north shore of the Farelle peninsula with the main body of the Sea of Sorrows and giving Valachan a coastline. The coast is mostly rocky beaches with no good harbors. Heavy fogs are common in this region.

In the misty region to the south of Sithicus, there are forests said to be home to ogres (yes, I got this idea from another forumite- I will give credit when I find his name).


Most of what used to be Arak is badlands or chaparral. This is a debatable country, with claims advanced by both Darkon and Nova Vaasa. It looks the same as on the canon maps, only the political boundaries are fuzzy.

The Shadow Rift is much smaller in proportion to surrounding countries, but is still a pretty large canyon. It borders Tepest to the west.


The remaining space that is covered by the rift on canon maps (Markovia and G'Henna on the original map) is the mountainous wilderness of the Northern Balinoks. This is a no-mans-land between the eastern and western countries. Drakov is the only one in recent times who's tried to conquer it all. His armies met with disaster: floods, landslides, night attacks by strange monsters, bandits raiding the supply lines, etc. There are many stories of subhuman monsters living in the mountains. Scattered villages of pioneers, bandit hide-outs, mining camps, and isolated monasteries are the closest things to civilization in these high and inhospitable mountains. The ornery settlers and bandit tribes will join forces against outsiders, and have done so in the past.