This glossary is a primer for various key terms, places, NPCs etc. related to my campaign world. Various posts contain scenarios and other elements set in that world. Below you will find brief descriptions alongside suggested substitutions. For any other fluff in the posts not explicitly mentioned you can probably just take it out. If you want an explanation of something not included here, please send me a message. Posts set in or related to the world can be found here:
A
B
Black Unicorn – The Avatar of the Roiling Stone of River and Lake. Bonded to the Lord of Gallow by tradition and ultimate Lord of all the stones. Url-kass seeks ultimately to kill the Black Unicorn to break his protection over the lands. Each roiling stone that is damaged or destroyed weakens him.
Bondur Azkramund – Dwarven High Priest of the Town of Gallow and covertly a worshipper of the void entity known as The Mother. In league with Url-Kass and a member of Clan Blodrail a fallen deep dwarf clan. Substitution: Just don’t mention him or make him a henchman of you BBEG
Brotherhood of the Claw – A local huntsclan and one of the lower tier of huntsclans more generally. Known to specialise in capture and hunting of winged creatures.
C
Clan Blódrail – A clan of fallen dwarves separated from the main lines of Golvor centuries ago. Primarily residing in the deep earth, they worship the void entity known as the Mother. Their eyes are sensitive to light so they often replace them with clockwork versions. Substitution: Duergar, which is basically what they are anyway.
The College – The state church of Ivhalor, a country on the eastern end of the Wormroad. Its priests follow the main pantheon of the world and spread its message wide across the continent.
D
Dreamworld / Dreamlands / Dreamways – The plane of dreams and thoughts that come to and from those who slumber. Closely connected to the Fey Realm and interlinked with the other main planes: the material, astral and ethereal.
E
F
Feymara – The goddess of the Hunt, woods and the wilds. Known as the Widow due to the death of her husband. Traditionally, Kings and Queens were symbolically wed to her. Still worshipped by hunters and arboreal cultures. Substitution: change this to a god important to a PC so they can encounter a defiled altar for anger.
G
Gallow – The local town and focal point of many campaign events. It sits around 40 miles south of the western edge of the Wormroad, a great trade route. Substitution: whatever your PCs’ main base of operations is
Goblinoids – In this world Goblins, Orcs and Hobgoblins form a triumvirate of related peoples. They are not inherently evil and goblins have ancient bonds to dwarves. All three races are intimately connected to the ethereal plane, experience reincarnation and often worship ancestors rather than gods. Substitution: Dwarves or Gnomes or just have the tower built by an old culture. You may need to adjust the poetic inscription slightly.
Guidestone – Each roiling stone has an associated smaller stone held on a necklace. They provide minor magical powers and function as keys or wards in some areas.
H
Huntsclan – Incorporated group of hunters. Most Huntsclans have a presence in Stok, the largest city to the west. The clans form a parallel power structure to the military there and ostensibly share power with them.
I
J
K
Kadalaki – One of the animal peoples found in the world. They somewhat resemble anthropomorphic lizards. This worlds equivalent to lizardmen.
L
Lonrualain – Goddess of light and the sun. A tragic and aloof figure who gazes lovingly onto the world during the day but at night gazes despairingly into the void. Also associated with the elemental power of fire, anger, love and duty.
M
Mamra – One of the animal peoples found in the world. They somewhat resemble anthropomorphic buffalos. They are this world’s equivalent of Half-Orcs.
Marawyd – A vast primeval forest that covers the middle of the continent. Home to a variety of peoples, ruins and mysteries. Sometimes referred to as the ‘forgotten state’. Attempts to pacify it during the Mamran occupation of the south failed and its peoples were left to their own devices.
Mesta / Masta – A mineral compound and addictive narcotic that can boost the power of spell casters. However, its side effects are problematic. Whilst granting long life and the of potential prophetic visions, prolonged users may die without it. Particularly prized by the Dour Elves of the west.
Momo – A member of the powerful Longshadow Family. An ancient criminal syndicate based in Stok. He is based in Gallow and is their representative there.
The Mother – One of the terrible entities from outside the world feared and hated by evil and good gods. Akin to a lovecraftian entity who has previously menaced the material world. The Mother is associated with Mindflayers (her first offspring) and Children of the Mother (slithering trackers, her second offspring). Substitution: easy change to an evil god or figure from history like a slumbering Lich
N
Neren – One of the animal peoples found in the world. They somewhat resemble anthropomorphic mice, rats or other rodents. Substitution: Halflings
Nightscale – A magical disease that slowly turns the sufferer into a partially aquatic zombie. Strong willed individuals who are infected can become carriers of the disease who can control weaker sufferers.
Ngoka – One of the animal peoples found in the world. They somewhat resemble anthropomorphic frogs or toads. Their life spans are considerably longer than humans.
O
Old Mother Oak – An ancient, powerful dryad and queen of Plathyg Forest. Avatar of the Roiling Stone of the Woods and sister of Sorrownut and Night Willow.
Ovchi – Plains elves more numerous to the south in the middle of the continent. Known for their mastery of horses and horse riding. Often found in Stok trading horses and competing in equestrian games.
P
Q
R
Roiling Stone – The key artefacts of the campaign. Five stones were created in the deep past to reinforce the surrounding lands against intrusion from the Void. Each elemental stone is associated with one of the landscapes around Gallow. Url-kass seeks to control or destroy these to hasten the assault of the Mother upon this world. Each stone has an associated immortal avatar who is reponsible for protecting it. Substitution: Your McGuffins or a minor magical item reward in the case of the guide stone. Guidestone’s main function here is simply to stop the animated armour. They have broader uses in the campaign but that is not so relevant. You could have PCs find a command word for the armour or make it a prayer to an important god.
S
The Shudder – A powerful alhoon, previously in service to the Mother but one of the group of her children who betrayed her. Ancient, wise and scheming, its plots play out over hundreds of years. Recently re-awoken from a long slumber.
Sipofu – One of the animal peoples found in the world. They somewhat resemble anthropomorphic caecilians mixed with axolotls. Their lifespans are considerably longer than humans but they have little memory of their periodic ‘rebirths’.
Stok – Large city of hunters and trade hub around 120 miles as the crow flies from Gallow. Maintains some control over the trade on the Wormroad.
Strazj – The purple dragon, protector of the Astral Shell. The thirteen eyes that watch the dark. The god most associated with fighting void creatures and ensuring the safety of the world. Neutral in outlook and accepts followers from all courts of the gods. Good and evil gods alike pay Stradj a soul-tithe to re-enforce the patrols that combat void intrusions into the astral plane.
T
Tlaskon-Moro – One of the last Goblin strongholds to exist under the middle mountains. Long since abandoned after the destruction of the Rune Engine that powered its forges and arboretums.
Tramoc and Filam – Two would be hunters who suffered a mishap on their initiation hunt to Spider Plunge Cavern earlier in the campaign.
Troglodytes – Easily substituted for any other species, villains or nearby threat
U
Ucannus – The god of metalwork, the forge and craft. Often depicted wearing half plate armour and carrying a giant forge hammer. His bare left arm is covered in intricately crafted bracelets and rings. According to myth he accidentally gave birth to the evil god Voelick when he attempted to forge the Great Cage that would contain all evil. He is also known to share a bond with Stradj and actively oppose the void incursions and provide weaponry for Stradj’s followers.
Url-Kass – Troglodyte sorcerer and dark prophet. Worshipper of and blessed by the Mother. Seeks to lay claim to all the lands south of the Wormroad, although his ambition is endless. Substitution: A BBEG or one of his henchmen. The PCs should get a vague idea of his capabilities from the accounts of his appearance. In the case above they also find out that he already possesses one of the Roiling Stones.
V
Void Egg – An ancient blackstone, crystalline egg. They supposedly fell to earth as meterorites. Each contains the essence of Child of the Mother which must be implanted in a host to hatch. This process nearly always kills the host. Substitution: Similar monster egg or treasure item, could contain trapped spirits of evil doers. If you dont want to use them as here consider making Nloko simply mind controlled instead.
Void Rift – A tear occurring in the protective Astral Shell around the world. Ordinarily such tears are sealed by the gods before anything to terrible occurs. However, under certain circumstances a thread of that tear may touch down on the material plane. Magic or other means force the threads deep into the fabric of the world or hide them from the gods’ sight. When such an event occurs Void creatures sally forth and wreak havoc on the world.
W
Wissthalath – A devil of shadow and deceit. A servant of the evil god Utama and one of their key lieutenants. Trapped on the material plane and later trapped under the mountains near Gallow. At one point, they were the Avatar of the Roiling Stone of Shadow.