valewyn-quest-blog

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The Anchor Mountains

The Anchor Mountains are a snowy region located between the swampland of the Moorback Bog to the south, the tranquil forest of the Elder Forest to the north. The Anchor Mountains are home to both the gnomes of Fliff and the Ironhide dwarves and is the location of the major city of Ironhide. The Mountains border the forest and swamp, making it accessible only by certain passes that are currently watched over by dwarven troops.

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The Magisterium

The Magisterium maintains a neutrality policy, since the King and Queen might take action against them if they regularly became involved in conflict. Nonetheless, it isn’t unusual to see the Magisterium ignore at least one or two mages serving either side of a dispute, either as a courtesy or as a way of not creating too much enmity against the Magisterium on either side.

The council of First Enchanters routinely convenes in the capital city of Haven to discuss Magisterium policy and to elect a new Grand Enchanter or Enchantress. Only those who are Wizards or Sorcerers are allowed to be in the Magisterium as Warlocks are banned.

The Magisterium provides for the new apprentices with standard issue robes, education, and room and board.

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Bilgebank

Along the coast is Bilgebank, a port town.

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Ashelwood

Hidden amongst the mangroves and willow trees in the swamps lies Ashelwood. A town among the swamp for wood elves.

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Highview

The city is very vibrant, colorful, and, because of its centralized position, and can be clearly seen from almost every place in the kingdom. Although the city is not as large as Haven, it's divided into three districts, only one being walled. The Highview Manor, renowned for its grandiose majesty, stands at the western edge of the city and is framed by the imposing Anchor Mounrain. The city is protected by the “Order” and Haven Guard.

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Lunika

Atop the massive cliffside lies the wondrous city of Lunika. The elegant bridges, beautiful groves, and leaf-covered pathways that dot the city’s landscape are testaments to the high moon elves’ reverence for nature. One of Lunika’s most notable structures is the stunning Lunar Temple, the center of worship.

Lunika is home to moon elves of all vocations. Lunika remains a symbol of the moon elves’ rich culture and glorious history.

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Undervoid

Not much is known about this place except that the dark creature Xavier is imprisoned here and the drow dwell here.

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Newacre

The home of the halflings, Newacre is a great little plae for farming and agriculture. 

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Sanbar

This desert city is a sandy location full of many dunes and buildings, which include palaces and shops located in the Gobaj Desert. The colors are deep and rich, with golds, reds, yellows, and blues. There is a river flowing through the center of the city, and along one edge is the Mirage Sea. Boats float in the river, and one might spot a magic carpet flying through the air. The city is decorated with jewels, fountains and palm trees, as well as modern statues of elephants.

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In the beginning of this realm, there was a great tree known as the Elder Tree. He was tended by a being known as Ravenna, the wisest of us all. There was a third being that existed as well named Xavier. He created the Grand Prophecy which had a specific verse that went with it: “The mirror will break, the horn will call. From the shadows I strike, the sky will fall.”

Ravenna was worried about this prophecy, so she battled him and locked him away in the deepest and darkest of holes later to be known as the Undervoid.

After everything was calmed down, the Elder Tree came up with a song, known today as “The Song of Creation” which created three Titans. The Dragons, rulers of the earth, cast fires at the castles of the giants. The Giants, rulers of the sky, stole water from the sea to build their great castle in the clouds. The Tritons, rulers of the sea, battered the Dragons with endless storms.

For a millennium, the creatures fought and the people watched in awe and terror; the Titans eventually tore the realm apart.

With the Elder Tree furious about his children ruining this world, he put them into an eternal sleep. Even Xavier slept in the Undervoid where he created things of shadow and would one day vow to lash out against the realm for putting him in there. 

After a long time of hard work and cooperation of all the races, the people of Valewyn built their land back up to what it is today.

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ARCHESPORE

Archespores look like gigantic, aesthetically unpleasing flowers with some of the traits of exceptionally cruel and bloodthirsty sundews. They are, however, far more dangerous that even the most colossal sundew. Their peculiar appearance makes them practically impossible to discern amidst other plants. By the time one draws close enough to realize what they are, it is often too late to flee.

VENOMOUS TENTACULA

The Venomous Tentacula is a green, spiky, toothsome plant with mobile vines that try to grab living prey. Venomous Tentacula expels venom from its shoots, and its spikes are deadly. Its bite is highly venomous and can prove fatal.

DEVIL’S SNARE

Devil’s Snare is a plant with the magical ability to constrict or strangle anything in its surrounding environment or something that happens to touch it. Struggling or resistance to Devil’s Snare will cause the plant to exert a greater force of constriction.

DREAMSHADE

It grows in thorny bushels that ooze a liquid poison. In its natural form, the poison causes excruciating pain in the victim for a prolonged period, with a slow death. In a concentrated dose, Dreamshade still affects the victim quickly, but causes the person to expire at a faster rate. Dreamshade can be found in dense jungles.

BORO GROVE TREE

The spore flowers grow on trunks of Boro Grove Trees, and they exude a purple-pinkish cloud of fog that gives off a fragrant perfume. Those that inhale the scent are plagued with almost instant amnesia and are drawn into a lively stupor of wanting to stay in the Boro Grove. If the person stays in this state after a short period of time, he or she will begin turning into a Boro Grove tree.

CRIMSON CROWN

It is used to communicate across barriers, even through spells. It is also known to be poisoned. It has only been found to grow near swamps.

NIGHTROOT

They are native to Elder Forest, and have the magical property of giving whoever ingests them visions of their worst fears, which only disappear when the fear is conquered.

ELDER TREE

This magical tree is the oldest in the realm and is said to have created magic itself. Hidden away, only those of pure heart have been able to find it.

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ACROMANTULA

An Acromantula is a species of giant spider, native to the Dark Forest, particularly the Black Hollow where it has its own colony. These giant spiders have a taste for flesh and some are capable of speaking the common language.

BANSHEE

Old gossips claim Banshees are the spirits of women stuck between life and death due to traumatic experiences. Their wails and howls are considered ill omens of imminent, inevitable death, though they are said not to attack the living themselves. Most often they appear in the form of pale, tear-streaked women with shriveled faces and wrinkled, corpse-like bodies.

DRAGON

Dragons are scaled, fire-spewing creatures that come in different shapes and colors. All dragons are capable of flight, even the one who don’t have wings. Dragons reproduce by laying eggs. The mother protects the egg by building a nest and curling her tail around the egg. When a female dragon builds their nest, they seem to prefer to scorch all the earth around it to mark their territory and to fill the nest with silver or gold treasures.

The magic present in dragon eggshells allows people to stop aging. Dragonscales are used as an ingredient in memory potions and dragon breath from an unhatched dead dragon egg can be used for waking up a person who has lost their magic.

FAIRY

A Fairy is a small human-like creature with large insect-like wings, which are either transparent or colored. They possess diminutive intelligence, and live mainly in woodlands or glades of the Enchanted Forest.

The fairy is a vain creature, and will often allow itself to be used as decoration. Due to their vanity, fairies are almost constantly grooming themselves. They possess a weak brand of magic that allows it to evade its predators. The fairy cannot speak; instead, it makes a high-pitched buzzing noise to communicate with its fellow fairies, but they are able to laugh. Their wings are used as an ingredient in certain potions; removing their wings, while it will not kill them, tends to cause them extreme annoyance, as it does not play to their vanity.

Fairies can lay up to fifty eggs in one go, laying them on the underside of leaves. The eggs hatch into brightly colored larvae, and, at six-to-ten days, they spin themselves into a cocoon. They emerge a month later as adult fairies.

GHOUL

Ghouls are hard to describe. In part, they resemble humans – yet on the whole, they are the utter negation of all that is human. Though they have arms and legs like men, they walk on all fours like dogs or badgers sometimes. Though they have eerily familiar faces, one searches them in vain for any sign of sentiment, reason or even a spark of consciousness. They are driven by one thing and one thing only: an insatiable craving for human flesh.

GIANT SQUID

As their name indicates, Giant Squids are huge sea creatures and are the rarest species of squid. Giant Squids are able to produce an ink which can temporarily paralyze any magical being.

GOBLIN

Goblins are short and fair-skinned. They have very long fingers and feet, dome shaped heads and are slightly smaller than dwarves. Some have dark and slanted eyes. Unintelligent, these creatures tend to strike first, ask questions later.

GRIFFIN

Griffins were once only found high in the mountains, where they would hunt marmots and wild goats. When dwarves encroached on their lands, however, griffins soon discovered a new source of much more plentiful and easier-caught prey: cows, sheep and shepherds.Though still wary of main roads and towns, these half-eagle, half-wildcat creatures have gone from rarities to oft-encountered pests known throughout Valewyn.

MERMAID

Mermaids are aquatic creatures with the head and upper body of a human and the tail of a fish. They are able to breathe air while out of water. Mermaids are known for their hypnotic, powerful singing voice, which can lure ships to their death. They can be the most dangerous creature in all the seas and some believe worse than a giant squid.

NYMPH

Be sure to distinguish between naiads and dryads, species of Nymphs that take great offense at being mistaken for one another. Naiads are seductive water spirits you’ll need to appease in order to cross certain rivers, but watch out - they bore quickly, and what naiads don’t have use for, they drown. Dryads, on the other hand, are aloof arboreal spirits who live amongst the trees. If you ever win them over, dryads can help you navigate Valewyn’s more obstinate woodlands.

TROLL

A Troll is a magical creature of prodigious strength and immense stupidity. Trolls are grouped in the taxonomical genus Troglodytarum. They  are humanoid, ugly, slow-witted, aggressive creatures. Despite their aggressiveness, they are relatively easy to trick, as trolls are not known for their cleverness.

VAMPIRE

Only a mutual thirst for blood links higher vampires to their distant and much more primitive cousins. Higher Vampires are, in fact, much more similar to humans than to those bat-like blood slurpers. They not only resemble us in appearance, but also share our intelligence and behavioral patterns. This means they do not squat in distant forest or hide in the shadows. On the contrary, they are particularly fond of cities, where they live out deceivingly normal lives. Yet all these similarities should not blind us to an essential difference: unlike men, higher vampires are immortal. Those who have faced them in combat and survived can be counted on one hand. It is our good fortune that higher vampires are extremely rare – and not all are dangerous to humans, elves, and dwarves alike. Though they do have a taste for blood, they do not need to drink it to survive. Some higher vampires have renounced feeding on humans altogether and do no harm to anyone, but others give in to their desires. A person who braves fighting a higher vampire must bear in mind that he faces a monster endowed with incredible strength, one able to manipulate men and animals, turn invisible and transform into a giant bat - and furthermore one which it is nearly impossible to kill. In other words, even an experienced monster slayer should think twice before accepting a contract on one of these creatures, even if half a kingdom and a princess’ hand is in the offing.

WEREWOLF

A werewolf is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, becomes a fearsome and deadly near-wolf. This condition is caused by infection with lycanthropy. Werewolves appear in the form of a wolf but, there are distinctions between them and regular wolves.

A mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will seal the wound and allow the victim to live on as a werewolf, although tragic tales are told of knowing victims begging for death rather than becoming werewolves. The Wolfsbane Potion allows the werewolf to keep their human mind during transformation.

A werewolf cannot choose whether or not to transform and will no longer remember who they are and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed. Despite this, they are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting to their human form.

WILL-O’-THE-WISP

Brightly colored orbs of magic, Will-O’-the-Wisps are often found in the Elder Forest. It is said that if you bring it back to its home, it will answer a question for you.

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Dragonborns

Born of dragons, as their name proclaims, the dragonborn walk proudly through a world that greets them with fearful incomprehension. Shaped by draconic gods or the dragons themselves, dragonborn originally hatched from dragon eggs as a unique race, combining the best attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.

Proud Dragon-Kin

Dragonborn look very much like dragons standing erect in humanoid form, though they lack wings or a tail. The first dragonborn had scales of vibrant hues matching the colors of their dragon kin, but generations of interbreeding have created a more uniform appearance. Their small, fine scales are usually brass or bronze in color, sometimes ranging to scarlet, rust, gold, or copper-green. They are tall and strongly built, often standing close to 6½ feet tall and weighing 300 pounds or more. Their hands and feet are strong, talonlike claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand.

The blood of a particular type of dragon runs very strong through some dragonborn clans. These dragonborn often boast scales that more closely match those of their dragon ancestor—bright red, green, blue, or white, lustrous black, or gleaming metallic gold, silver, brass, copper, or bronze.

Self-Sufficient Clans

To any dragonborn, the clan is more important than life itself. Dragonborn owe their devotion and respect to their clan above all else, even the gods. Each dragonborn’s conduct reflects on the honor of his or her clan, and bringing dishonor to the clan can result in expulsion and exile. Each dragonborn knows his or her station and duties within the clan, and honor demands maintaining the bounds of that position.

A continual drive for self-improvement reflects the self-sufficiency of the race as a whole. Dragonborn value skill and excellence in all endeavors. They hate to fail, and they push themselves to extreme efforts before they give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn.

Though all dragonborn strive to be self-sufficient,  they recognize that help is sometimes needed in difficult situations. But the best source for such help is the clan, and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races—or even from the gods.

Home

Sanbar

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Tieflings

To be greeted with stares and whispers, to suffer violence and insult on the street, to see mistrust and fear in every eye: this is the lot of the tiefling. And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus—overlord of the Nine Hells—into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable.

Infernal Bloodline

Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tieflings have large horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle’s, and some spiral upward like an antelopes’ horns. They have thick tails, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are solid colors—black, red, white, silver, or gold—with no visible sclera or pupil. Their skin tones cover the full range of human coloration, but also include various shades of red. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.

Self-relient and Suspicious

Tieflings subsist in small minorities found mostly in human cities or towns, often in the roughest quarters of those places, where they grow up to be swindlers, thieves, or crime lords. Sometimes they live among other minority populations in enclaves where they are treated with more respect.

Lacking a homeland, tieflings know that they have to make their own way in the world and that they have to be strong to survive. They are not quick to trust anyone who claims to be a friend, but when a tiefling’s companions demonstrate that they trust him or her, the tiefling learns to extend the same trust to them. And once a tiefling gives someone loyalty, the tiefling is a firm friend or ally for life.

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Halflings

The comforts of home are the goals of most halflings’ lives: a place to settle in peace and quiet, far from marauding monsters and clashing armies; a blazing fire and a generous meal; fine drink and fine conversation. Though some halflings live out their days in remote agricultural communities, others form nomadic bands that travel constantly, lured by the open road and the wide horizon to discover the wonders of new lands and peoples. But even these wanderers love peace, food, hearth, and home, though home might be a wagon jostling along a dirt road or a raft floating downriver.

Small and Practical

The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.

Halflings’ skin ranges from tan to pale with a ruddy cast, and their hair is usually brown or sandy brown and wavy. They have brown or hazel eyes. Halfling men often sport long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches even more so. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes, favoring bright colors.

Halfling practicality extends beyond their clothing. They’re concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering.

Kind and Curious

Halflings are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.

Halflings are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.

Blend into the Crowd

Halflings are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, or elves, making themselves valuable and welcome. The combination of their inherent stealth and their unassuming nature helps halflings to avoid unwanted attention.

Halflings work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether halfling or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.

Pastoral Pleasantries

Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much land beyond their quiet shires. They typically don’t recognize any sort of halfling nobility or royalty, instead looking to family elders to guide them. Families preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires.

Many halflings live among other races, where the halflings’ hard work and loyal outlook offer them abundant rewards and creature comforts. Some halfling communities travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home.

Adventuring in Valewyn

Halflings usually set out on the adventurer’s path to defend their communities, support their friends, or explore a wide and wonder-filled world. For them, adventuring is less a career than an opportunity or sometimes a necessity.

Subraces

The two main kinds of halfling, lightfoot and stout, are more like closely related families than true subraces. As a lightfoot halfling, you can easily hide from notice, even using other people as cover. You’re inclined to be affable and get along well with others. In Valewyn, lightfoot halflings have spread the farthest and thus are the most common variety. Lightfoots are more prone to wanderlust than other halflings, and often dwell alongside other races or take up a nomadic life. As a stout halfling, you’re hardier than average and have some resistance to poison. Some say that stouts have dwarven blood. In the Valewyn, these halflings are called stronghearts, and they’re most common in the south.

Home

Newacre

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Half Orcs

Whether united under the leadership of a mighty warlock or having fought to a standstill after years of conflict, orc and human tribes sometimes form alliances, joining forces into a larger horde to the terror of civilized lands nearby. When these alliances are sealed by marriages, half-orcs are born. Some half-orcs rise to become proud chiefs of orc tribes, their human blood giving them an edge over their full-blooded orc rivals. Some venture into the world to prove their worth among humans and other more civilized races. Many of these become adventurers, achieving greatness for their mighty deeds and notoriety for their barbaric customs and savage fury.

Scarred and Strong

Half-orcs’ grayish pigmentation, sloping foreheads, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, and towering builds make their orcish heritage plain for all to see. Half-orcs stand between 5 and 7 feet tall and usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds.

Orcs regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Other scars, though, mark an orc or half-orc as a former slave or a disgraced exile. Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of humiliation or of pride, recounting their past exploits and injuries. Such a half-orc living among humans might display these scars proudly or hide them in shame.

Mark of Gruumsh

The one-eyed god Gruumsh created the orcs, and even those orcs who turn away from his worship can’t fully escape his influence. The same is true of half-orcs, though their human blood moderates the impact of their orcish heritage. Some half-orcs hear the whispers of Gruumsh in their dreams, calling them to unleash the rage that simmers within them. Others feel Gruumsh’s exultation when they join in melee combat—and either exult along with him or shiver with fear and loathing. Half-orcs are not evil by nature, but evil does lurk within them, whether they embrace it or rebel against it.

Beyond the rage of Gruumsh, half-orcs feel emotion powerfully. Rage doesn’t just quicken their pulse, it makes their bodies burn. An insult stings like acid, and sadness saps their strength. But they laugh loudly and heartily, and simple bodily pleasures—feasting, drinking, wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing—fill their hearts with joy. They tend to be short-tempered and sometimes sullen, more inclined to action than contemplation and to fighting than arguing. The most accomplished half-orcs are those with enough self-control to get by in a civilized land.

Tribes and Slums

Half-orcs most often live among orcs. Of the other races, humans are most likely to accept half-orcs, and half-orcs almost always live in human lands when not living among orc tribes. Whether proving themselves among rough barbarian tribes or scrabbling to survive in the slums of larger cities, half-orcs get by on their physical might, their endurance, and the sheer determination they inherit from their human ancestry.

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Half Elves

Walking in two worlds but truly belonging to neither, half-elves combine what some say are the best qualities of their elf and human parents: human curiosity, inventiveness, and ambition tempered by the refined senses, love of nature, and artistic tastes of the elves. Some half-elves live among humans, set apart by their emotional and physical differences, watching friends and loved ones age while time barely touches them. Others live with the elves, growing restless as they reach adulthood in the timeless elven realms, while their peers continue to live as children. Many half-elves, unable to fit into either society, choose lives of solitary wandering or join with other misfits and outcasts in the adventuring life.

Of Two Worlds

To humans, half-elves look like elves, and to elves, they look human. In height, they’re on par with both parents, though they’re neither as slender as elves nor as broad as humans. They range from under 5 feet to about 6 feet tall, and from 100 to 180 pounds, with men only slightly taller and heavier than women. Half-elf men do have facial hair, and sometimes grow beards to mask their elven ancestry. Half-elven coloration and features lie somewhere between their human and elf parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race. They tend to have the eyes of their elven parents.

Diplomats or Wanderers

Half-elves have no lands of their own, though they are welcome in human cities and somewhat less welcome in elven forests. In large cities in regions where elves and humans interact often, half-elves are sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own. They enjoy the company of other half-elves, the only people who truly understand what it is to live between these two worlds.

In most parts of the world, though, half-elves are uncommon enough that one might live for years without meeting another. Some half-elves prefer to avoid company altogether, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in contrast, throw themselves into the thick of society, putting their charisma and social skills to great use in diplomatic roles or as swindlers.