Campaign World 8

Normally I do not type a lot about my campaign world for a lot of my fantasy game stuff, but today, I will tell you eight things about my fantasy setting, which I have been working on and writing up for a while.  Note that these are the mainstays for my settings, and are not the full details:

Pendragon's Cauldron, the Hub of the Setting
A lot of my setting revolves around a big port city that grew from and old trade route taver/hostel from which the city got its name.  The city is, despite being between two nations, generally self-ruling, with a some-what elected City Council.  I say somewhat elected since mainly it's a plutocratic government.  Because of this, despite there being general protection, corruption is somewhat commonplace.  One thing, however, that makes this plutocracy better than others, is that the poor do not really go hungry or without shelter.  Sure, there is no guarantee that they are safe, protected, or healthy, but that sense of hospitality never left the city.  The city has a canal system that links it to a river that runs through the city, splitting one-third of the city off from the rest of it.  The river was constructed, but by whom they do not remember, seeing as it was there since the days when the city was just one tavern/hostel.

The Church of Illian, God of Light and Order
The setting generally follows a monistic religion that worships the god Illian.  Illian was at one time a minor deity in the pantheon until his cultus grew to be the largest (akin to the god Vishnu in real life).  Illian is said to be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent.  However, Illian is also said to only be one of these at one time, and is approached in the form of four different deities.  Illian the All-Powerful takes the form of a mighty Warrior-King, whom wields both a Sword of Power,  Illian the All-Knowing takes the form of a blind-seeress, blinded with a cloth around her eyes, and wields a Black Mirror that can see the flow of time itself.  Illian the Ever-Present takes the form of a pregnant mother, whom holds in her hands a chalice that never runs empty.  Illian the Beneficient is seen as a wise priest or sage, whom holds a Scepter that grants wishes.  While approached in these four forms, the worshipers remember that there is only One Illian, whom is said to take the form of a mighty Gold Dragon or Eagle.

Dwarves and Elves on an Empire Sized Scale... only conquered by Humans
The two main empires in my setting were once Dwarven and Elven whom, at one time were peaceful, during Orc and Goblin raids from a nearby land (the land fell to shit, so they were pushed to survival, the Orcs and Goblins really are nice people, see below) they entered into arguments that became all out warfare.  This lead to having them subsumed into the Empire of Amenthes.  Granted, now there is the Eastern and Western Amenthes Empires, but at one time it was really grand.  The Western Empire, inspired by the Elves and the more magic based and liberal population; and the Eastern Empire, conservative and built strong on tradition and Dwarven independence.  However, they are peripheral in my adventures, usually only the capitals of each being important.  The Western capital being Phildelos, once known to the Elves as Beth-Il (it's a really old city), and the Eastern capital being Camdros.

Orcs and Goblins aren't evil!
Once upon a time, they scratched a living in the Borderlands, a region near this desert.  However, during a time of desertification, they turn to bloody rituals devoted to a deranged, eldritch god.  For a time, in return for their worship and bloody sacrifices, the forgotten deity blessed them, but then the deity grew greedy and even more blood-thirsty, and the people staged a popular uprising again their priest-kings.  Because of this, Goblins and Orcs had caused their empire to fall, and turned to looting and pillaging to survive in some regards.  Despite this, they try not to kill, and if they have to, they try to do it as bloodlessly as possible, in fear of the possibility that the Forgotten God is still watching.  Many Orcs and Goblins also turned to civilization for protection, and lead very comfortable lives.

The Sea-Kin Kingdom and the Sahuagin Kingdoms under the sea
Under the seas near Pendragon's Cauldron are two small kingdoms that have been at war with each other for centuries, the Sea-Kin and the Sahuagin.  Both share claim to territory they both say are special to their respective Gods.  Both trade with Pendragon's Cauldron, which leads to very interesting adventures and incidents, making the Docks one of the most dangerous places in the city.

Entheart Forest and Blacknell Mire, regions of Opposites
Notice a theme in my main setting, there are a lot of opposites, and no place symbolizes that more than the differences between the Entheart and Blacknell.  The Entheart is a huge forest filled with life, said to have portals to different planes that fill it with life.  Blacknell Mire is a region full of death, and many necromancers travel here to find rare reagents to strengthen their spells.  Zombies and Skeletons walk the land, especially Undead Giant Crocodiles and Snapping Turtles.

The Order of Flametenders
The Flametenders is an order of combat nuns sworn originally to the Mother of Fire, and old Goddess that is still worshiped in some frontier towns.  The order today, for the most part is devoted to Illian the All-Powerful.  They are his brides, and thus learn to use the spear and the bow, to be the piercing rays of the sun (originally, they were the sacred weapons of the Mother of Fire).  They royally kick ass.  Besides being masters of combat, they are similar to the Geisha, where they are told many varieties of entertainment, seeing as how the Mother of Fire was also a Goddess of the Home and Mirth.  Despite being rededicated to Illian, the highest rank is still the Daughter of Fire, and some frontier abbeys do still have shrines to their patron Goddess.

Practical Magic
From Phildelos to Camdros, from the Dragonridge Mountains to the Sea, the world uses practical magic a la Mystara and Eberron.  As such, it is accurate to say this is a magitech world.