TPK Dungeons

Ord Rakkir

Regional Appendix

  • Gorthal, WesterMarch, Kherim, West Port, South Fort, Theocracy of Rothga, Theocracy of Flame, Pirate Isles, Brymedia, Darphia, Naveria.

  • Vale of Shadows, North Guard, Stone Holm, Ogre Lands, Goblin Tribes, Horse Tribes, Ilbar.

  • Xoltic, Ull, Klesh, Nis, Deep Rainforest, Burning Sands.

  • Disnath, Isle of Dreams, Toronia, Mithral City/TrogBane/DarkWall, Bleak Wood, Great Wood.

  • Plains of Bast, Barzai Nomads, Green Lake.

Ord Rakkir Gazetteer Index

Nations, Realms, & City-States (A → Z)

  • Barzai Nomads – Horse-riding human and gnoll raiders, mercenary light cavalry.

  • Brymedia – Aasimar kingdom of paladin-lords and celestial priesthood.

  • Darphia – Half-elf monarchy known for healing music.

  • Disnath – Dark, soot-covered industrial city ruled by merchant guilds.

  • Goblin Tribes – Confederation of goblins, bugbears, gnolls, ogres, ogre mages.

  • Gorthal – Half-ogre/human magocracy of five wizard colleges, slave-based economy.

  • Horse Tribes – Nomadic half-elf matriarchies, hostile to outsiders.

  • Ilbar – Half-elf/gnome magocracy, council of sages and dreamers.

  • Isle of Dreams – Magocracy of 42 ageless wizards, jade towers and slave farms.

  • Kherim – Satellite human city under WesterMarch, infamous for assassins.

  • Khoroth – Island plutocracy run by merchant princes and thieves’ guilds.

  • Klesh – Vast jungle/marshland ruled by serpentfolk and black dragon kin.

  • Mithral City, TrogBane, and DarkWall – Half-elf/elf empire of slave legions.

  • Naveria – Republic ruled by council and gladiatorial kingship.

  • North Guard – Fireblood dwarf kingdom trading with Flame.

  • Pirate Isles – Confederacy of corsairs under 13 legendary captains.

  • South Fort – Source of lotus-grain alcohol.

  • Stone Holm – Mountain dwarf kingdom trading with Mithral City.

  • Theocracy of Flame (Melgor) – Human/fire-genasi theocracy ruled by an efreeti.

  • Theocracy of Rothga – Human theocracy of Set, yuan-ti and naga influence.

  • Toronia – Half-elf/human magocracy famed for its wizard college.

  • Ull – Reptilian-dominated city of lake merchants and cult of Dagon.

  • Vale of Shadows – Elven land guarded by giant eagle riders and arcane archers.

  • WesterMarch – Half-orc/human monarchy with strong gladiatorial culture.

  • West Port – Trade hub, black galley shipwrights.

  • Xoltic – Desert underfolk kingdom of tunnels, lizards, and sahuagin raids.

Geographic Features (A → Z)

Deserts

  • Burning Sands – Home to sand dragons and marruspawn.

  • Xoltic Deserts – Ruins swallowed by sand, sahuagin raids from the sea.

Forests & Woods

  • Bleak Wood – Dark forest of bugbears and forest giants.

  • Great Wood – Ancient, whispering forest of oaks and fey.

Jungles

  • Klesh – Tropical jungle and marshes, serpentfolk, black dragons.

  • Nis – Tropical serpentfolk jungles, ancient ruins, degenerate tribes.

Lakes & Seas

  • Green Lake – Aboleth cleric of Dagon, kuo-toa, and corrupted coastal villages.

  • Kessan Sea – Central inland sea, piracy, sea monsters, sahuagin cities.

  • Lake of Tears – Floating halfling reed-rafts and dire otters.

Mountains

  • North Guard – Fireblood dwarf kingdom, emeralds and copper mines.

  • Ogre Lands – Highlands with ogres, giants, and gnome miners.

  • Stone Holm – Mountain dwarf kingdom, rubies and silver mines.

WesterMarch

Realm of half-orc kings and human champions, where the roar of the crowd is the heartbeat of the state.

Capital: WesterMarch
Population: ~52,000 (30,000 humans, 18,000 half-orcs, 4,000 others)
Government: Monarchy (warrior-kings chosen through trial and combat)
Religions: Gorum, Kord, Cayden Cailean
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, Chaotic Good
Languages: Common, Orc, Giant
Common Classes: Fighter, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Gladius, shield; breastplate

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Arena Veteran (Fighter/Barbarian) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls made in front of a crowd or audience.
   ○ Bloodsong (Bard) — Once per day, when using bardic performance, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A gladiator’s token (worth 3 gp) and a battered shield marked with arena scars.

Overview: WesterMarch is a land where the arena is the crucible of honor, power, and politics. Its kings are warriors first and monarchs second, chosen through contests of strength and endurance that prove their right to rule. Half-orcs thrive here, their might and ferocity admired rather than feared, while humans stand beside them as equals in the bloodied sands.

The culture of WesterMarch is steeped in martial tradition. Children grow up mimicking gladiatorial duels, and festivals revolve around tournaments that last for days. Nobility is less about birth and more about triumph, with gladiators rising to high office, or even the throne itself, if their victories inspire enough loyalty.

Adventurers from WesterMarch carry the fire of spectacle with them. They are fearless, eager to test themselves, and hungry for glory. Wherever they travel, the memory of the arena echoes in their stride, and they seek to prove—again and again—that they were forged in blood and applause.

Ilbar

Realm of sages and dreamers, where half-elves and gnomes weave magic through art, philosophy, and prophecy.

Capital: Ilbar
Population: ~34,000 (16,000 half-elves, 12,000 gnomes, 6,000 humans and others)
Government: Magocracy (council of sages)
Religions: Nethys, Desna, Irori
Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good
Languages: Common, Elven, Gnome, Sylvan
Common Classes: Wizard, Bard, Oracle, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Quarterstaff, shortsword; robes or padded armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Dream-Speaker (Oracle) — Once per day, after waking from sleep, you may roll twice on a Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion) check and take the better result.
   ○ Arcane Artisan (Wizard/Bard) — +1 trait bonus on Craft (jewelry, painting, or sculpture) checks, and one of these Crafts is always a class skill.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A small book of aphorisms or dream-records (worth 5 gp).

Overview: Ilbar is a land of tranquil gardens, painted halls, and quiet libraries where philosophy and magic are pursued with equal devotion. Half-elves and gnomes blend their traditions into a society that prizes learning, artistry, and prophecy. Dreams are considered as valuable as logic, and the ruling council of sages often consults both visions and scholarship before rendering judgment.

The people of Ilbar are gentle by reputation but not naïve. Their illusions and enchantments conceal as much as they reveal, and the republic’s defenses lie in misdirection, diplomacy, and a network of prophetic oracles who foresee threats before they arrive. Visitors often remark on the surreal beauty of its jade mosaics and shifting dream-gardens, which can leave outsiders unsettled as often as inspired.

Adventurers from Ilbar are guided by curiosity, visions, or the pursuit of art. Whether they are scholars seeking hidden truths or prophets haunted by troubling dreams, they bring a mix of creativity and insight to any company they join.

Isle of Dreams

An island of jade towers and eternal sorcery, ruled by ageless wizards who bend reality to their whims.

Capital: None
Population: ~27,000 (all human wizards, apprentices, and slaves)
Government: Magocracy (council of 42 immortal wizards)
Religions: Nethys, Boccob, Pharasma
Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Evil
Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal
Common Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Dagger, quarterstaff; none

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Tower-Bred Wizard (Wizard) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Spellcraft checks.
   ○ Slave’s Resilience (Cleric/Sorcerer) — Once per day, reroll a failed Fortitude save against fatigue or exhaustion.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A slave-brand charm (worth 2 gp) or a fragment of jade etched with runes.

Overview: The Isle of Dreams rises from the sea in a haze of magic and mist, its jade towers gleaming above terraced fields worked by countless slaves. Forty-two ageless archmages rule here, their decrees delivered through veiled servitors and enforced by enchantments woven into the very stones of the island.

Life for commoners is harsh and brief, bound to the labor of sustaining the wizards’ luxuries and experiments. For apprentices, survival is measured in magical aptitude and political cunning; those who fail are consumed by their masters’ arcane designs. Outsiders are rare, usually arriving as indentured servants, sacrificial offerings, or ambitious spellcasters daring to seek forbidden lore.

To adventurers, the Isle of Dreams is both peril and promise. Its libraries hold grimoires older than empires, and its rulers deal in secrets traded for lives. Those who depart carry strange scars and stranger powers, forever touched by the island’s dreamlike tyranny.

Vale of Shadows

Elven refuge of mist and mountain, guarded by giant eagles and warriors whose arrows strike like moonlight.

Capital: Eryndor
Population: ~29,000 (20,000 elves, 6,000 half-elves, 3,000 others)
Government: Council of elders and war-chiefs
Religions: Corellon Larethian, Sehanine Moonbow, Ehlonna
Alignment: Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, Neutral
Languages: Elven, Sylvan, Common, Auran
Common Classes: Ranger, Wizard, Druid, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Longbow, longsword; elven chain

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Eagle-Bonded (Ranger/Druid) — Once per day, you may gain a +4 trait bonus on Perception checks while in elevated terrain or flying.
   ○ Moonlit Archer (Fighter/Wizard) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls with longbows made at night.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — An eagle-feather charm (worth 3 gp) and a finely crafted bowstring.

Overview: The Vale of Shadows lies cradled between sheer peaks, veiled by mist and shadowed by evergreen forests. Its elven guardians are famed for their eagle-mounted patrols, soaring high above the clouds to watch for intruders, while their arcane archers keep vigil at the valley’s borders. Outsiders who stumble into the vale often never leave, their passage judged by arrows before words.

The elves live in harmony with the land, building dwellings in the cliffs and trees, where light and shadow mingle in haunting beauty. The giant eagles are not beasts but allies, revered as kin and guardians, their wings carrying messages and warriors across the mountains. Magic is woven into the vale’s defense, ensuring that even the boldest invader finds only confusion and peril.

Adventurers from the Vale of Shadows embody this mix of grace and vigilance. Some are eagle-riders carrying their people’s honor abroad, others are archers whose arrows never miss, and still others are wanderers drawn by the moonlit mystery of their homeland. Wherever they go, they carry the high silence and keen sight of the vale.

Kessan Sea

Storm-lashed inland sea of piracy and monsters, where black galleys prowl and sahuagin cities brood beneath the waves.

Capital: None (dotted with ports and pirate havens)
Population: ~61,000 (28,000 humans, 12,000 half-elves, 8,000 sahuagin, 6,000 dwarves, 7,000 others)
Government: None (fragmented between pirate captains, city-states, and sahuagin rulers)
Religions: Besmara, Dagon, Norgorber, sea-spirits
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil, Neutral
Languages: Common, Aquan, Elven, Sahuagin
Common Classes: Rogue, Fighter, Bard, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Cutlass, crossbow; studded leather

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Sea Reaver (Rogue/Fighter) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls when fighting aboard a ship.
   ○ Storm-Singer (Bard/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may reroll a failed Profession (sailor) check.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A sailor’s kit: coil of rope, grappling hook, flask of rum, and dice set (worth 5 gp).

Overview: The Kessan Sea dominates the central map, a vast expanse of restless waters linking ports and empires alike. Its storms are legendary, its tides treacherous, and its monsters all too real. Sahuagin empires thrive in drowned cities below, waging eternal war with surface sailors, while above the waves pirates and corsairs clash with merchant fleets.

The sea is a highway for trade and a graveyard for the unwary. Its waters are thick with black galleys from West Port, corsairs from the Pirate Isles, and warships from rival states. Rumors speak of krakens, ghost ships, and islands that rise and vanish with the tide. Every captain has a tale of the Kessan’s hungers.

Adventurers from the Kessan Sea are salt-soaked wanderers, mercenaries, and raiders who thrive on risk. Whether born to piracy, cursed by shipwreck, or sworn to protect merchant fleets, they embody the chaos of waters that will never truly be tamed.

Xoltic

Buried kingdom of tunnels and scales, where desert underfolk dwell in darkness and fight off endless raids from the sea.

Capital: Xoltic (subterranean)
Population: ~31,000 (20,000 underfolk, 6,000 lizardfolk, 3,000 sahuagin, 2,000 others)
Government: Clan councils beneath the earth
Religions: Rovagug, Dagon, elemental earth cults
Alignment: Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral
Languages: Terran, Aquan, Common, Undercommon
Common Classes: Ranger, Sorcerer, Cleric, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, short sword; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Tunnel Hunter (Ranger/Fighter) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks underground.
   ○ Scaled Survivor (Sorcerer/Cleric) — Once per day, you may gain resist 5 fire or cold for 1 minute.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A desert waterskin (worth 2 gp) and a carved obsidian knife.

Overview: Xoltic lies beneath the burning desert, its people carving warrens and halls beneath dunes that shift like the sea. Known as underfolk, they are reptilian, scaled, and adapted to survive in lightless tunnels where stone meets sand. Fierce raiders from the Kessan Sea—sahuagin and their kin—drive them further inland, forcing Xoltic to defend itself with relentless vigilance.

The city’s subterranean markets bustle with strange trade: carved obsidian, salt crystals, and lizards bred for meat and burden. Above ground, ruined towers sink into sand, whispered to be relics of a lost empire. The underfolk treat them as watchposts, useful only until they vanish beneath the desert.

Adventurers from Xoltic emerge scarred by their realm’s brutal survival. Many are warriors who honed their skills in claustrophobic tunnels, clerics who whisper to the earth itself, or sorcerers with bloodlines infused by desert heat. In all, they carry the resilience of those who have endured the crushing weight of sand and shadow.

Horse Tribes

Nomadic matriarchies of the plains, half-elven riders who live and die by the bow and the herd.

Capital: None (wandering clans)
Population: ~36,000 (20,000 half-elves, 10,000 humans, 6,000 others)
Government: Matriarchal clan councils
Religions: Desna, Erastil, Gorum
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral
Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan
Common Classes: Ranger, Druid, Barbarian, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Composite longbow, lance; leather armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Steppe Rider (Fighter/Barbarian) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Ride checks, and Ride is always a class skill.
   ○ Sky Dreamer (Druid/Ranger) — Once per day, you may reroll a Handle Animal or Survival check; you must take the second result.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A light riding horse, bow scabbard, and traveler’s garb.

Overview: The Horse Tribes roam the windswept plains in endless migration, their lives tied to their steeds and herds. Each clan is led by a matriarch, whose authority rests on her wisdom, prowess, and the blessings of the spirits. Men fight as warriors or serve as herders, but women command in council and battle alike.

They are famed as horse-archers, their composite bows raining arrows from a distance before closing in with lances. Outsiders who trespass upon their lands find themselves swiftly surrounded, harassed, and driven off—or slain and stripped for spoils. Yet the tribes are not without honor: guest-right is sacred, and alliances may be forged with those who respect their ways.

Their shamans and druids commune with sky and steppe, guiding migrations and blessing foals. Desna’s stars, Erastil’s hearth, and Gorum’s bloodlust all find worship here, reflected in the balance of wanderlust, kinship, and war. Adventurers from the Horse Tribes often leave on quests of vision or vengeance, bringing with them the unmatched skill of the saddle and bow.

Goblin Tribes

Savage confederation of outcasts and monsters, where strength and cunning bind uneasy allies.

Capital: None (scattered tribes and strongholds)
Population: ~70,000 (30,000 goblins, 12,000 bugbears, 10,000 gnolls, 8,000 ogres, 5,000 hobgoblins, 3,000 ogre magi, 2,000 others)
Government: Tribal confederation of warlords
Religions: Lamashtu, Rovagug, Maglubiyet
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Goblin, Gnoll, Giant, Common
Common Classes: Barbarian, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, shortbow; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Tribal Skirmisher (Rogue) — +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks in natural terrain.
   ○ Savage Hunter (Ranger) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls against animals or humanoids.
   ○ Brutal Raider (Barbarian) — +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A crude fetished totem or charm (worth 1 gp) and a bone-handled dagger.

Overview: The Goblin Tribes are a chaotic patchwork of goblins, bugbears, gnolls, ogres, and stranger kin, bound together by bloodlust, opportunism, and sheer survival. No single leader holds sway for long; alliances shift as often as raids are launched. Warlords rise through cruelty and conquest, only to be cast down by rivals in bloody succession.

Despite their savagery, the tribes are pragmatic in their brutality. Ogres lend muscle, gnolls hunt and scavenge, bugbears stalk and ambush, and goblins swarm with reckless fury. Ogre magi and shamans whisper dark counsel, shaping tribal destiny in the names of Lamashtu and Rovagug.

To civilized neighbors, the Goblin Tribes are a constant menace, raiding villages, burning caravans, and enslaving the weak. Yet adventurers sometimes emerge from their ranks: rogues who flee cruel chiefs, hunters seeking greater prey, or warlords ambitious enough to carve a name beyond the wastes.

Khoroth

Isle of intrigue and shadow, where merchant princes and thieves’ guilds weave fortunes from gold and betrayal alike.

Capital: Khoroth City
Population: ~35,000 (20,000 humans, 7,000 half-elves, 5,000 halflings, 3,000 others)
Government: Plutocracy of merchant princes
Religions: Abadar, Norgorber, Calistria
Alignment: Neutral, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Elven, Halfling, Infernal
Common Classes: Rogue, Bard, Cleric, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Rapier, dagger; leather armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Guild Enforcer (Fighter/Rogue) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
   ○ Golden Tongue (Bard/Cleric) — Once per day, you may reroll a failed Diplomacy check.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A signet of a thieves’ guild or merchant house (worth 5 gp).

Overview: Khoroth is an island of masks, markets, and midnight bargains. Its harbors glitter with merchant galleys, but behind every gilded coin lies a dagger waiting in the dark. The merchant princes rule not through crowns but through wealth, their influence bought and sold like any other commodity. Beneath them, thieves’ guilds hold the true pulse of the city, ensuring no fortune is gained without shadowed cost.

The streets of Khoroth are a labyrinth of stalls, taverns, and secret doors. Smugglers thrive on its docks, courtesans and spies trade whispers for gold, and mercenaries find endless work guarding one coin lord’s hoard against another’s schemes. Here, every promise has a price, and every alliance is temporary.

Adventurers from Khoroth are steeped in this culture of intrigue. Rogues and bards walk comfortably in the shadows, clerics of trickster gods find ready converts, and fighters sharpen their blades for the next contract. Wherever they go, the lessons of Khoroth follow: trust no one, and let wealth and wit be your weapons.

Ull

Lake-born city of reptilian merchants and drowned cults, where Dagon’s name is whispered in every ripple.

Capital: Ull
Population: ~27,000 (14,000 lizardfolk, 7,000 humans, 3,000 yuan-ti, 3,000 others)
Government: Merchant councils under priesthood influence
Religions: Dagon, Set, local water-spirits
Alignment: Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil, Neutral
Languages: Draconic, Aquan, Common, Yuan-ti
Common Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Rogue, Ranger

Regional Arms & Armor: Trident, net; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Dagon’s Blessing (Cleric/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may breathe water for 1 minute as if under a spell effect.
   ○ Lake Raider (Rogue/Ranger) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Swim checks, and Swim is always a class skill for you.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A net weighted with lead beads (worth 5 gp) and a carved idol of a tentacled god.

Overview: Ull is a city raised half from the waters of its great lake and half from the swamp-choked shores that surround it. Lizardfolk dominate its councils of trade, bargaining with caravans and rivercraft alike, but the true power lies with the cults of Dagon. Beneath its piers and reed-shrouded shrines, sacrifices vanish into the depths, where whispers promise gifts in exchange for blood.

Merchants thrive here, dealing in fish, pearls, and strange swamp-brews, yet all commerce is shadowed by the cult. Outsiders are tolerated, even welcomed, so long as they enrich Ull—but many vanish after too long in the city, dragged down by scaled hands to feed the lake. Yuan-ti priests slither in back chambers, weaving serpentine agendas into Dagon’s watery dominion.

Adventurers from Ull often carry the mark of the deep: cold eyes, damp skin, or a whispering voice that comes in dreams. Whether willing cultists or uneasy outcasts, they bear with them the shadows of the lake and the ever-hungry gaze of Father Dagon.

Troglodyte Kingdoms (“Here Be Dragons”)

Labyrinthine caverns where troglodyte tribes bow to dragon overlords, their stench and savagery matched only by the terror of their masters.

Capital: None (scattered caverns beneath the mountains)
Population: ~39,000 (30,000 troglodytes, 5,000 lizardfolk, 2,000 kobolds, 2,000 others)
Government: Tribal chieftains under dragon tyrants
Religions: Tiamat, Lamashtu, elemental dragon cults
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil
Languages: Draconic, Undercommon, Common
Common Classes: Barbarian, Sorcerer, Fighter, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Stone axe, spear; hide or bone armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Dragon’s Servant (Cleric/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may reroll a failed saving throw against fear.
   ○ Cave Stalker (Fighter/Barbarian) — +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks made underground.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A carved dragon fang talisman (worth 4 gp) and a pouch of cave moss rations.

Overview: Beneath the mountains stretch the endless caverns of the Troglodyte Kingdoms, a realm of darkness, filth, and scales. Here, savage tribes of troglodytes swarm in the service of dragons, their rulers and gods. These dragons—red, black, or green—demand tribute in flesh and gold, and their minions obey with slavish zeal.

The air is rank with the reek of troglodyte warrens, while subterranean rivers glisten with strange fungi and lurking horrors. Lizardfolk and kobolds cling to the fringes, surviving by alliance or subjugation. To outsiders, this underworld is a nightmare maze, where every tunnel may lead to a dragon’s lair or an ambush by cannibal tribes.

Adventurers from the Troglodyte Kingdoms are rare, often outcasts, slaves who escaped their dragon overlords, or half-mad cultists seeking to spread draconic dominion above ground. Whatever their path, they carry with them the brutal lessons of life under the shadow of dragons.

Pirate Isles

Scattered haven of corsairs and cutthroats, ruled by no king but the sea and the strongest captain afloat.

Capital: None (thirteen pirate strongholds)
Population: ~41,000 (25,000 humans, 6,000 half-orcs, 5,000 half-elves, 5,000 others)
Government: Confederacy of thirteen pirate captains
Religions: Besmara, Norgorber, Gorum
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil, Neutral
Languages: Common, Orc, Elven, Aquan
Common Classes: Rogue, Fighter, Bard, Ranger

Regional Arms & Armor: Cutlass, crossbow; studded leather

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Sea Raider (Rogue/Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on Profession (sailor) checks.
   ○ Deck Duelist (Bard) — Once per day, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Acrobatics checks when balancing or fighting aboard a ship.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A dagger with a sharkskin grip and a purse of 1d6 gp in plundered coin.

Overview: The Pirate Isles are scattered across the Kessan Sea, jagged rocks and hidden harbors sheltering a confederacy of corsairs. Thirteen legendary captains rule from their strongholds, bound by tenuous oaths of alliance and rivalry in equal measure. When they muster together, fleets of black sails blot the horizon; when they quarrel, the seas run red with brother’s blood.

The isles thrive on plunder, smuggling, and raiding coastal towns. Law exists only in the articles of each crew, enforced by the captain’s cutlass. To outsiders, the Pirate Isles are a menace; to those desperate or bold enough to join, they offer freedom unmatched by any kingdom.

Adventurers from the Pirate Isles are born of salt and steel, skilled sailors and fearless raiders. Some are loyal to a captain’s banner, others strike out alone, but all carry the swagger of those who live by the sea and die by it.

Stone Holm

Mountain mines of ruby and silver, where dwarves trade their treasures near and far.

Capital: Stone Holm
Population: ~42,000 (38,000 mountain dwarves, 2,000 gnomes, 2,000 others)
Government: Monarchy (King under the Peaks)
Religions: Torag, Moradin, Abadar
Alignment: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Neutral
Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Common
Common Classes: Fighter, Cleric, Paladin, Ranger

Regional Arms & Armor: Waraxe, crossbow; chainmail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Ruby-forged (Fighter/Cleric) — Once per day, you gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against fear.
   ○ Silver-Eyed (Paladin/Ranger) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Appraise checks involving gems or precious metals.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A polished ruby shard or silver ingot (worth 5 gp).

Overview: Stone Holm rises high in the mountain ranges, its halls echoing with the ring of hammers and the chant of miners. Vast ruby veins and silver seams fuel its prosperity, traded in gleaming caravans to neighboring realms. Dwarves of Stone Holm take great pride in their craft, their word, and their endurance in the face of hardship.

The kingdom maintains close bonds with Mithral City, exchanging arms and ore for protection and alliance, though never surrendering its independence. Its legions are clad in chainmail and wield axes and crossbows, marching with unshakable discipline to defend their mines and mountain passes.

Adventurers from Stone Holm carry the strength and stubbornness of the peaks. Whether warriors sworn to protect their kin, clerics hammering out justice, or wanderers seeking fortune, they embody the unyielding will of the mountain.

Toronia

Magocracy where wizard-kings and sages carve their destinies in glyphs and runes.

Capital: Toronia
Population: ~47,000 (25,000 humans, 12,000 half-elves, 7,000 elves, 3,000 others)
Government: Magocracy (Council of Archmagi)
Religions: Boccob, Nethys, Wee Jas
Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Neutral, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Infernal
Common Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, Bard, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Quarterstaff, dagger; no armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Arcane Collegiate (Wizard) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Spellcraft checks.
   ○ Scroll-Singer (Bard/Cleric) — Once per day, you may roll twice on a Knowledge (arcana or religion) check and take the better result.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A college signet ring (worth 5 gp) and a spell scroll of 0-level cantrips.

Overview: Toronia is famed across the world as a bastion of magical learning, its great colleges and ivory towers glittering above the city. Here, the practice of wizardry is not a privilege but a civic duty, with even the humblest citizen expected to master rudimentary spells. The archmagi rule as both governors and mentors, weaving law and magic into a single tapestry.

The city thrives on magical innovation and trade in arcane goods. Apprentices crowd libraries filled with ancient grimoires, while battle-mages duel in courtyards to prove their mettle. Outsiders flock to Toronia seeking tutors, scrolls, or simply the prestige of its academies, though few rise far without paying steep costs in gold or service.

Adventurers from Toronia are almost always steeped in magic, whether as wizards groomed by the colleges, clerics shaped by divine study, or bards who blend spell and song. Wherever they roam, they carry with them the unmistakable pride of a city that believes itself the font of all true arcane wisdom.

North Guard

Dwarven kingdom where fire runs in the veins of smiths and warriors alike.

Capital: Emberfast
Population: ~38,000 (34,000 fireblood dwarves, 2,000 humans, 2,000 others)
Government: Monarchy (High King under the Mountain)
Religions: Torag, Moradin, Surtur
Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good, Neutral
Languages: Dwarven, Ignan, Common
Common Classes: Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Paladin

Regional Arms & Armor: Warhammer, battleaxe; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Forge-Blooded (Cleric/Fighter) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against fire effects.
   ○ Molten Scholar (Wizard) — Once per day, you may treat a fire spell as though it had +1 caster level.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A small ingot of copper or emerald ore (worth 5 gp).

Overview: North Guard is a realm of fireblood dwarves, a people said to carry ember in their hearts and sparks in their breath. Their halls are carved deep into volcanic mountains, where forges thunder day and night, turning veins of copper and emerald into works of enduring craft. Traders from distant realms come seeking their wares—armors hardened in flame, gems infused with elemental glow, and weapons meant to last lifetimes.

The kingdom is disciplined and resilient, its warriors clad in scale mail and its clerics bearing the hammers of Torag. Fire magic suffuses their rituals, both sacred and practical, and their smiths weave runes of heat and stone into every strike of their hammers. They maintain steady trade with the Theocracy of Flame, exchanging ore and arms for knowledge of fire.

Adventurers from North Guard often carry this fiery legacy, their tempers as fierce as their loyalty. Whether smith, soldier, or mage, they walk with the certainty that their craft and courage are the truest gifts of the flame.

Theocracy of Flame

Realm of fire-genasi and mortals, ruled by an efreeti who wields absolute authority.

Capital: Melgor
Population: ~36,000 (20,000 humans, 10,000 fire-genasi, 4,000 half-orcs, 2,000 others)
Government: Theocracy under the Flame Sovereign (efreeti overlord)
Religions: Surtur, Kossuth, elemental fire cults
Alignment: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, Lawful Neutral
Languages: Ignan, Common, Dwarven, Infernal
Common Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Fighter, Wizard

Regional Arms & Armor: Scimitar, spear; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Firebrand (Cleric/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may add +1 damage per die on a fire spell or fire-based channel energy.
   ○ Ash-Forged (Fighter/Wizard) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against fire effects.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A vial of volcanic ash (worth 2 gp) and a flame-etched holy symbol.

Overview: The Theocracy of Flame, known to most as Melgor, blazes in both spirit and stone. Its blackened temples and glowing braziers dominate the skyline, each devoted to fire’s destructive and purifying aspects. At its heart reigns the Flame Sovereign, an efreeti whose word is law and whose wrath is legend.

The people of Melgor live under strict codes of service, sacrifice, and flame-worship. Fire is sacred: it cooks their food, fuels their forges, and consumes their enemies. Dissidents are branded as heretics and cast into pyres, while the faithful are rewarded with protection and power. Though oppressive, the theocracy thrives through trade in weapons, enchanted ash, and fire-forged goods.

Adventurers from Melgor are marked by fire in body or spirit. Some are zealots carrying their god’s flames abroad, others are exiles who fled the efreeti’s rule, but all carry within them the unquenchable hunger of the fire that forged them.

Barzai Nomads

Mercenary skirmishers of the plains, feared for their light cavalry and endless raiding.


Capital: None (nomadic tribes)
Population: ~24,000 (10,000 humans, 10,000 gnolls, 2,000 half-elves, 2,000 scorpionfolk)
Government: Tribal Chiefs (loose confederation of warbands)
Religions: Gorum, Lamashtu, the Green Faith
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil, Neutral
Languages: Barzai (spoken only), Common, Gnoll, Terran
Common Classes: Barbarian, Druid, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Short composite bow; light armor

  • Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):

    • Plains Raider (Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on Ride checks.

    • Horse Raider (Barbarian/Fighter) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Ride checks, and Ride is always a class skill.

    • Spirit Horse Caller (Druid) — Once per day when you cast summon nature’s ally to call a pony, light horse, or heavy horse, the duration is 1 minute/level instead of 1 round/level. If the spell would summon multiple creatures, all summoned equines gain this extended duration.

    • Additional Gear (all common classes) — A light warhorse with riding saddle, saddlebags, and bedroll.

Overview:
The Barzai Nomads are infamous across the plains for their mounted archery, ruthless raiding, and mercenary traditions. Human and gnoll tribes compete with one another as fiercely as with outsiders, making war a constant fact of life. Each tribe is led by a chieftain, but shifting alliances mean no single leader commands all Barzai. Their homeland is dotted with ruined fortresses and collapsed mines from forgotten kingdoms; the nomads see them as convenient camps, but care little for their past.

Barzai cavalrymen sell their services as mercenary light horse, and their steeds fetch high prices from city-states in need of scouts or raiders. Gnoll packs fight with savage fury, while human and half-elf horse-archers harass enemies with deadly precision. The scorpionfolk of the southern tribes dwell half within, half outside the nomad culture—sometimes feared, sometimes revered as chosen of Lamashtu.

Adventurers from the Barzai are often exiles, mercenaries who abandoned their tribe, or ambitious warriors seeking greater fortune. To outsiders, they are both admired for their unmatched horsemanship and reviled for their predatory raids.

Darphia

Kingdom of healing song and elven grace, where music mends both body and spirit.

Capital: Darphia
Population: ~41,000 (28,000 half-elves, 10,000 humans, 3,000 elves)
Government: Monarchy
Religions: Corellon Larethian, Sarenrae, Shelyn
Alignment: Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral
Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan
Common Classes: Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Longsword, shortbow; chain shirt

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
Healer’s Melody (Bard) Once per day, when you use inspire courage, one ally within 30 ft. also heals 1d4 hit points.
Song of Mercy (Cleric) You gain a +1 trait bonus on Heal checks, and Heal is always a class skill.
Additional Gear (all common classes) A finely crafted harp or flute (worth 25 gp).

Overview: Darphia is a tranquil realm where song and sanctity intertwine. Its royal court is renowned for bardic healers, whose music eases pain as surely as a priest’s prayer. Half-elves make up the majority of the population, bridging elven artistry and human adaptability into a culture that prizes both beauty and compassion.

Temples of Shelyn and Sarenrae rise alongside concert halls and open-air theaters, while wandering choirs serve as healers, diplomats, and chroniclers of history. The monarchy rules lightly, leaving local councils and guilds to govern daily affairs, but Darphian kings are seen as patrons of the arts as much as sovereigns.

Adventurers from Darphia often leave with harp or blade in hand, seeking to carry their kingdom’s harmony into lands troubled by war and despair. To allies, they are merciful and kindhearted; to enemies, they are resolute, wielding both music and steel in equal measure.

Disnath

Soot-stained city of smoke and coin, where industry chokes the sky and guilds rule the streets.

Capital: Disnath
Population: ~62,000 (47,000 humans, 8,000 dwarves, 5,000 half-orcs, 2,000 gnomes)
Government: Merchant Guilds
Religions: Abadar, Asmodeus, Torag
Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Orc, Gnome
Common Classes: Rogue, Fighter, Alchemist, Wizard

Regional Arms & Armor: Shortsword, warhammer; studded leather

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
Guild Enforcer (Fighter) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
Smoke Scholar (Wizard) — Once per day, you may ignore the effects of smoke or ash for 1 minute.
Additional Gear (all common classes) — A set of artisan’s tools (worth 5 gp) and a soot-stained cloak.

Overview: Disnath is a city forever under a pall of smoke, its forges, mills, and workshops never ceasing. Wealth flows through its merchant guilds, who hold power above nobles or priests, their banners flying higher than any crown. Progress is measured in iron and soot, and the city’s wealth is rivaled only by its grime.

Dwarves and humans built the first furnaces here, but half-orc laborers and gnome tinkers keep them running. Guildmasters command private militias and fleets of spies, enforcing contracts with both coin and cudgel. Corruption is commonplace; bribery oils the gears as much as grease.

Adventurers from Disnath are often rough-edged pragmatists, used to surviving in alleys filled with soot and backroom bargains. They carry with them the relentless ambition of their city, and whether through invention, steel, or cunning, they seek to claim a greater share of the world’s wealth and power.

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Guild Enforcer (Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
   ○ Soot Scholar (Wizard) — Once per day, you ignore the effects of smoke or ash for 1 minute.
   ○ Back-Alley Doctor (Alchemist) — +1 trait bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — Artisan’s tools (5 gp) and a soot-stained cloak.

Overview: Disnath is a dark industrial city whose furnaces and foundries never sleep. Merchant guilds run everything—courts, guards, docks—and fortunes are made in spidersilk, masterwork arms, graftwork, and the flesh trade. Soot drifts like snow across crooked streets; at night, skulks and ghouls prowl the alleys while duergar hammers beat beneath the cobbles.

The city’s elites are ruthless magnates propped up by mercenary enforcers and tireless constructs. Cult whispers curl through the slums—Pazuzu’s promises, Dagon’s dreams, Zon-Kuthon’s exquisite agonies—while Droskar’s creed of toil justifies the ceaseless grind. Outside the lamplight, the ruined temple district breeds shadows and worse, and “accidents” are a favored tool of business negotiation.

Adventurers from Disnath are hardened pragmatists: smugglers, fixers, inventors, and cutthroats who thrive amid smoke and bribes. They bring sharp tools and sharper instincts, and they rarely ask who owns a chain so long as it holds.

Ogre Lands

Highlands of giants and ogres, where strength is law and gnome miners cling to life among monsters.

Capital: None (scattered strongholds and caves)
Population: ~33,000 (12,000 ogres, 8,000 hill giants, 6,000 gnomes, 4,000 half-ogres, 3,000 others)
Government: Tribal dominance (chieftains and warlords)
Religions: Lamashtu, Rovagug, Gorum
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Giant, Common, Gnome, Orc
Common Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Ranger, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Greatclub, javelin; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Bone-Crusher (Barbarian/Fighter) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage rolls with greatclubs.
   ○ Tunnel Survivor (Ranger/Gnome) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A crude talisman of bone or stone (worth 2 gp) and a sack of dried meat.

Overview: The Ogre Lands sprawl across rugged highlands where sheer cliffs and broken valleys shelter tribes of ogres, hill giants, and their kin. Strength rules here—chieftains rise through brutality, and entire tribes are enslaved or devoured when power shifts. The gnomes of the region endure in hidden mines and fortified burrows, extracting gems and metals while fending off monstrous raids.

The land is bleak and violent, with smoke rising from feasting fires and the echoes of boulders hurled in endless skirmishes. Outsiders seldom pass through without paying tribute in steel or blood. Yet mercenary bands sometimes hire ogre shock troops, and gnomish traders smuggle out precious stones at great risk.

Adventurers from the Ogre Lands are either hardened survivors or ambitious marauders. Whether born giant, gnome, or somewhere in between, they are marked by the harsh lessons of their homeland: only those who fight endure, and only those who endure are remembered.

Theocracy of Rothga

Serpent-shadowed theocracy where Set’s coils tighten around humanity, guided by naga whispers and yuan-ti priests.

Capital: Rothga
Population: ~40,000 (28,000 humans, 6,000 yuan-ti, 4,000 naga, 2,000 others)
Government: Theocracy (high priesthood of Set)
Religions: Set, Dagon, Lamashtu
Alignment: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil
Languages: Common, Draconic, Abyssal, Yuan-ti
Common Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Rogue, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Scimitar, spear; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Serpent’s Tongue (Cleric/Sorcerer) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Bluff checks, and Bluff is always a class skill for you.
   ○ Poison-Blooded (Rogue/Fighter) — Once per day, you may reroll a failed saving throw against poison.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A serpent-etched holy symbol and a vial of snake venom (worth 5 gp).

Overview: The Theocracy of Rothga coils like a serpent around the hearts of its people. Temples to Set dominate every city square, their spires shaped like fangs, their altars forever slick with offerings of blood. Yuan-ti and naga advisors whisper to the high priests, ensuring their god’s will is enacted with ruthless precision.

Life in Rothga is marked by rigid hierarchies. Humans make up the bulk of the populace but serve the serpentfolk and their chosen high clergy. Heresy is punished with public sacrifice, while devotion is rewarded with power, status, and poisoned gifts. Cults of Dagon thrive in the swamps and river deltas, tolerated so long as they do not challenge Set’s primacy.

Adventurers from Rothga carry the mark of serpents—silver-tongued, venomous, and secretive. Whether zealous clerics, ambitious sorcerers, or rogues steeped in intrigue, they bring with them the dark cunning of a realm forever under Set’s shadow.

South Fort

Frontier stronghold of red stone, famed for its harsh alehouses and the lotus-grain liquor that flows from its fields.

Capital: South Fort
Population: ~14,000 (12,000 humans, 1,000 dwarves, 1,000 others)
Government: Military governor under WesterMarch
Religions: Cayden Cailean, Gorum, Erastil
Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Good
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Orc
Common Classes: Fighter, Ranger, Cleric, Rogue

Regional Arms & Armor: Longspear, shortsword; chain shirt

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Lotus-Drinker (Cleric/Rogue) — Once per day, you gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against poison.
   ○ Fort Skirmisher (Fighter/Ranger) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls made while wielding a longspear.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A flask of lotus-grain liquor (worth 2 gp).

Overview: South Fort is a dusty frontier settlement of red sandstone walls, established as a supply base for WesterMarch but grown into a rough-and-ready city of its own. Its fertile riverbanks yield a peculiar grain from which the locals distill their infamous lotus liquor—harsh, addictive, and highly prized in taverns across the region.

The fort is a haven for mercenaries, adventurers, and traders willing to risk the dangers of the frontier. Its streets ring with the clash of blades and the laughter of drunkards, while the watch keeps only the loosest order. To many, it represents both opportunity and ruin, depending on how deep one drinks of its cups.

Adventurers from South Fort are often hardened brawlers or rough-edged wanderers, marked by the fort’s frontier spirit. They are quick to fight, quicker to drink, and carry the tenacity of those who thrive at civilization’s ragged edge.

West Port

Trade hub of black galleys and darker deals, where every dock hides a dagger and every captain a secret.

Capital: West Port
Population: ~44,000 (28,000 humans, 7,000 half-elves, 5,000 dwarves, 4,000 others)
Government: Merchant council dominated by shipwright guilds
Religions: Abadar, Norgorber, Besmara
Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Aquan
Common Classes: Rogue, Fighter, Bard, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Cutlass, dagger; studded leather

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Dockside Tough (Fighter/Rogue) — +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks.
   ○ Black Galley Crafter (Cleric/Bard) — Once per day, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Craft (ships) or Profession (sailor).
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A black galley shipwright’s token (worth 3 gp) and a smuggled flask of rum.

Overview: West Port thrives on trade, piracy, and shipbuilding, its black galleys renowned across the Kessan Sea for their speed and strength. Merchant princes and shipwright guilds pull the city’s strings, while dockside gangs enforce their will with quiet blades. To walk its waterfronts is to step into a hive of commerce where fortunes are made and lives are cheap.

The city’s lifeblood is its shipyards, where hammers ring day and night and contracts are inked in both coin and blood. Merchant caravans and pirate flotillas alike find service here, with few questions asked so long as the gold flows. The council’s authority is fragile, with rival factions of traders, smugglers, and corsairs vying for supremacy.

Adventurers from West Port are as varied as its streets: smugglers, sailors, mercenaries, and wanderers with more ambition than loyalty. They learn early to keep one hand on their blade and the other on their purse, for in West Port, trust is a currency no one spends lightly.

Brymedia

Radiant stronghold of celestial bloodlines, where law and light guide every step.

Capital: Brymedia
Population: ~80,000 (50,000 aasimars, 23,000 humans, 5,700 half-celestial humans, 1,300 halflings)
Government: Monarchy
Religions: Heironeous, Yondalla, Pelor
Alignment: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good
Languages: Common, Celestial, Draconic
Common Classes: Paladin, Fighter, Cleric, Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Broadsword, throwing axe; half-plate

  • Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):

    • Paladin’s Oath (Paladin) — You begin play with a suit of half-plate armor. At 4th level, you may return to Brymedia to receive a light warhorse through a formal rite.

    • Heart of Light (Cleric) — You roll twice on saving throws against fear.

    • Additional Gear (Paladin only) — Half-plate at 1st level; ceremonial light warhorse at 4th level (as above).

Overview:
Brymedia is a shining bastion of law and mercy, its marble temples and orderly boulevards testaments to a lineage touched by the heavens. The royal line claims ancient pacts with celestial patrons; aasimars are common, and half-celestial scions often rise as paladin-lords or high clergy. Festivals of light punctuate the calendar, and knightly orders patrol roads and borders with ritual precision.

Though hospitable to the faithful and the law-abiding, Brymedia can feel rigid to free spirits. Courts are scrupulous, oaths are binding, and honor is currency. Its armies are disciplined and brilliantly equipped, with chaplains and crusaders serving beside mortal levies. Halfling guilds—favored by Yondalla—keep trade honest and granaries full, while human craftsmen and scholars thrive under predictable laws.

Adventurers from Brymedia carry the weight of expectation: to uphold justice, to protect the innocent, and to be the first into danger when darkness gathers. Even those who chafe at ceremony often find themselves measured by its high ideals when the swords come out.

Gorthal

Half-ogre magocracy of brutal colleges, where spell and steel are tested in the gladiatorial pits.

Capital: Gorthal
Population: ~55,000 (25,000 humans, 15,000 half-ogres, 8,000 ogres, 7,000 others)
Government: Magocracy (five wizard colleges)
Religions: Boccob, Nethys, Set
Alignment: Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil
Languages: Common, Giant, Draconic
Common Classes: Wizard, Fighter, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Gladius; chain shirt

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Arcane Gladiator Training (Wizard) — You gain proficiency with the gladius.
   ○ Pit-Forged Gladiator (Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on damage rolls with the gladius.
   ○ Additional Gear (Fighters and Wizards) — One free weapon of choice and a college brooch (worth 1 gp).

Overview: Gorthal is ruled by five wizard colleges, each a fortress-academy where power is earned in lecture halls, dueling rings, and gladiatorial pits. Half-ogres, prized for their strength and resilience, dominate the warrior caste, while human mages climb through ruthless scholastic rivalries. To survive in Gorthal is to endure both study and spectacle: even apprentices are hurled into arena bouts to prove their worth.

Slavery underpins the economy. Captives, criminals, and the unlucky fill the mines, fields, and forges, fueling the ambitions of the colleges. The slave markets are as much a stage for politics as the pit fights, where rival archmages wager lives on the outcomes.

To outsiders, Gorthal appears a city of contradictions: a place of high wizardry and low brutality, where arcane libraries sit beside blood-soaked arenas. Adventurers from Gorthal often carry scars of both—scholars hardened by the pit, gladiators touched by magic, and wanderers shaped by a culture that demands victory at any cost.

Kherim

City of shadows and daggers, where whispers of assassination are as common as the tolling of bells.

Capital: Kherim
Population: ~19,000 (15,000 humans, 2,000 half-orcs, 2,000 others)
Government: Vassal city-state (under WesterMarch)
Religions: Norgorber, Vecna, Set
Alignment: Neutral Evil, Lawful Evil, Neutral
Languages: Common, Orc, Undercommon
Common Classes: Rogue, Assassin, Bard, Fighter

Regional Arms & Armor: Dagger, short sword; leather armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Knife in the Dark (Rogue/Assassin) — +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks in urban environments.
   ○ Poisoner’s Trade (Rogue/Alchemist) — +1 trait bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks when creating poisons.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A black hooded cloak and a concealed dagger (worth 2 gp).

Overview: Kherim is infamous as a city steeped in treachery, where politics, commerce, and murder are hopelessly entangled. Though technically a satellite of WesterMarch, it functions with near autonomy, its rulers maintaining their grip through guilds of assassins and networks of spies.

By day, Kherim’s markets bustle with exotic wares, its caravans carrying silks and spices to distant realms. By night, alleys echo with the whisper of blades, and contracts are signed not with ink but with blood. It is said no ruler in the region dares speak against Kherim, for fear their life will be forfeit before dawn.

Adventurers from Kherim often bear the city’s reputation with them—stealthy rogues, silent killers, or mercenaries whose loyalty is for sale. To some, they are necessary evils; to others, they are the embodiment of betrayal. Few can claim to hail from Kherim without others watching their back.

Khoroth

Island of merchants and thieves, where wealth flows like water and every deal has a hidden blade.

Capital: Khoroth
Population: ~31,000 (20,000 humans, 6,000 half-elves, 3,000 halflings, 2,000 others)
Government: Plutocracy (merchant princes and thieves’ guilds)
Religions: Abadar, Norgorber, Besmara
Alignment: Neutral, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Halfling, Elven
Common Classes: Rogue, Bard, Fighter, Wizard

Regional Arms & Armor: Cutlass, short sword; studded leather

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Guild Blade (Rogue/Fighter) — You gain proficiency with the cutlass.
   ○ Silver-Tongued (Bard) — +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A purse with 10 gp in assorted foreign coins.

Overview: Khoroth sits astride busy sea lanes, its harbors teeming with ships flying a dozen flags. Officially governed by a council of merchant princes, the true power lies in the shadows—thieves’ guilds, smugglers, and corsairs who hold as much sway as any prince. Every bargain carries risk, and fortunes are won and lost on a single contract.

The city thrives on trade both legitimate and illicit. Exotic spices, stolen relics, forbidden tomes, and black-market slaves pass through its markets. Assassins and spies walk openly in the bazaar, plying their trades under the guise of merchants. Outsiders are welcome so long as they bring coin, but trust is a currency few can afford.

Adventurers from Khoroth are often wanderers lured by profit, smugglers looking for bigger scores, or exiles driven out after a deal gone sour. They carry the guile and grit of their city, always weighing risk against reward, and never forgetting that betrayal can come from the friend pouring your wine.

Klesh

Endless jungles and fetid marshes, where serpentfolk and black dragon kin rule in shadow and scale.

Capital: None (ruined serpent temples reclaimed by jungle)
Population: ~29,000 (12,000 serpentfolk, 6,000 humans, 5,000 lizardfolk, 3,000 dragonkin, 3,000 others)
Government: Tribal theocracy (serpentfolk dominance)
Religions: Set, Dagon, Lamashtu
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Neutral
Languages: Draconic, Common, Abyssal, Aquan
Common Classes: Sorcerer, Druid, Ranger, Barbarian

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, blowgun; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Fang-Touched (Sorcerer) — +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks; Draconic is always a class language for you.
   ○ Jungle Stalker (Ranger/Druid) — +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks in forest or swamp terrain.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A serpent idol talisman (worth 3 gp) and a set of bone-carved dice.

Overview: Klesh sprawls as a tangle of swamp and rainforest, its canopy broken only by the toppled ruins of serpent temples and the occasional dragon’s lair. Serpentfolk priest-kings and black dragon spawn dominate the land, ruling through fear, poison, and ancient magic. Their subjects—lizardfolk, enslaved humans, and beastkin—struggle under the weight of their cruel masters.

The land itself is perilous: rivers writhe with crocodiles, insects spread disease, and carnivorous plants devour the unwary. Yet within the danger lie riches—rare herbs, alchemical resins, and the secrets of serpent sorcery. Outsiders who venture in rarely return unchanged, if at all.

Adventurers from Klesh are often hardened survivors or ambitious cultists, bearing the venom and shadow of their homeland. They wield knowledge of poison, stealth, and jungle craft, forever marked by the dark, primeval power of their birthplace.

Naveria

Arena-born republic where freedom and rulership are won in the sands of the gladiatorial pits.

Capital: Naveria
Population: ~44,000 (28,000 humans, 10,000 half-orcs, 6,000 others)
Government: Republic with gladiatorial kingship
Religions: Gorum, Cayden Cailean, Kord
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, Chaotic Good
Languages: Common, Orc, Elven
Common Classes: Fighter, Barbarian, Bard, Rogue

Regional Arms & Armor: Gladius, trident; breastplate

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Arena-Blooded (Fighter/Barbarian) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls made while flanking.
   ○ Crowd’s Favor (Bard/Rogue) — Once per day, you gain a +2 trait bonus on a Charisma-based skill check made to influence a crowd.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A gladiator’s token (worth 3 gp) and a set of battered armor.

Overview: Naveria is a republic like no other, its politics intertwined with spectacle and blood. Senators debate laws by day, while by night champions duel for favor in grand arenas where the people’s cheers decide fates. Leadership is not inherited but earned in combat—gladiatorial kings rise from the sand, rule briefly, and often fall just as quickly.

The people of Naveria value courage, freedom, and flair. Gladiators are celebrities, their names sung in taverns and etched into stone, while the republic’s militias emulate their heroes with ferocity. Outsiders often mistake Naveria for chaotic or decadent, but its citizens see their way of life as the truest form of democracy: rule by the strong, cheered on by the free.

Adventurers from Naveria bring with them a taste for risk and a hunger for fame. Whether they fought in the arena or grew up in its shadow, they know that fortune favors the bold—and that glory is only real when others are watching.

Nis

Steaming jungle of serpent ruins and degenerate cults, where every shadow coils with venom and madness.

Capital: None (ruins claimed by serpentfolk)
Population: ~21,000 (9,000 serpentfolk, 6,000 humans, 4,000 degenerate hybrids, 2,000 others)
Government: Fragmented cult-tribes
Religions: Lamashtu, Set, Dagon
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil
Languages: Draconic, Abyssal, Common
Common Classes: Sorcerer, Druid, Barbarian, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, shortbow; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Snake-Kin (Sorcerer) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks, and Bluff is always a class skill for you.
   ○ Jungle Haunt (Druid/Barbarian) — Once per day, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Survival checks to track in jungle terrain.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A serpent idol fetish (worth 3 gp) and a necklace of fangs.

Overview: Nis is a suffocating land of tropical jungles riddled with the ruins of a fallen serpent empire. Ancient ziggurats crumble beneath strangling vines, yet cults and serpentfolk shamans still conduct profane rites within their vine-choked halls. The human tribes who dwell here are half-mad with fever and superstition, often in thrall to serpents or warped into degenerate hybrids.

Disease, venom, and lurking beasts make Nis a place few outsiders dare to tread. Crocodiles, hydras, and swarms of venomous insects infest the rivers, while serpentfolk rulers enslave mortals to dig in the ruins for lost relics of their empire. The deeper one goes, the more reality seems to twist, dreams merging with waking visions.

Adventurers from Nis are often survivors of cultic oppression or chosen of serpentine bloodlines. They bring with them the poison, secrecy, and strangeness of their homeland, leaving others uneasy but never underestimating their cunning.

Mithral City, TrogBane, and DarkWall

An elven-half-elven dominion of slave legions, where gleaming walls and iron discipline mask a heart of conquest.

Capital: Mithral City
Population: ~95,000 (50,000 half-elves, 30,000 elves, 10,000 humans, 5,000 others)
Government: Magocracy with military legions
Religions: Corellon Larethian, Hextor, Vecna
Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral
Languages: Elven, Common, Draconic
Common Classes: Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, Ranger

Regional Arms & Armor: Longsword, glaive; scale mail

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Legion Drill (Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls when fighting in formation (adjacent to an ally with the same feat or trait).
   ○ Slave-Master’s Whip (Cleric/Wizard) — Once per day, you may treat a whip as a magic weapon for 1 round.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A slave-brand token (worth 1 gp) and a military insignia.

Overview: Mithral City, TrogBane, and DarkWall are the pillars of a powerful elven and half-elven empire, ruled with iron precision. Mithral City shines as the capital, its white towers built on the backs of slaves; TrogBane stands as the bulwark against troglodyte hordes; DarkWall looms as a fortress on the marches, its garrisons ever-ready for war.

The empire sustains itself through conquest and slavery, fielding legions of disciplined warriors supported by arcane might. Slave labor fills the mines and fields, while the armies march under banners of glory and control. To dissenters, the state is merciless, yet to its citizens it promises security, order, and prosperity.

Adventurers from the empire often bear the hallmarks of this harsh discipline—veteran legionnaires, spellcasters drilled in military academies, or fugitives fleeing the yoke of empire. Whether loyal or rebellious, they carry the weight of an empire that demands obedience, and they are forever marked by the legacy of its walls and chains.

Plains of Bast

Savanna of sun and claw, where wemic tribes and lion-worshiping humans revere the dire lions as living avatars of the goddess.

Capital: None (tribal encampments)
Population: ~22,000 (11,000 wemics, 9,000 humans, 2,000 others)
Government: Tribal councils of shamans and chieftains
Religions: Bast, Erastil, Gorum
Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Wemic, Celestial
Common Classes: Barbarian, Druid, Ranger, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, scimitar; hide or leather armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Lion’s Fury (Barbarian/Fighter) — +1 trait bonus on attack rolls made during a charge.
   ○ Pride’s Healer (Cleric/Druid) — Once per day, when casting a healing spell, you may reroll one die of healing and take the better result.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A lion-tooth charm (worth 2 gp) and a hide cloak.

Overview: The Plains of Bast stretch wide beneath a relentless sun, where wemics—lion-bodied, man-torsoed hunters—roam alongside human tribes bound in devotion to the goddess Bast. Dire lions, considered divine avatars, move freely through camps and herds, guarded and honored as kin. Tribes follow their migrations, treating the predators as sacred guides.

Life on the plains is harsh but proud. Wemics dominate the hunt, their speed and claws matched only by their ferocity. Human allies farm, herd, and war at their side, seeing themselves as chosen companions to their leonine patrons. Ritual hunts, sun-dances, and blood-oaths cement the bonds between tribes and lions alike.

Adventurers from the Plains of Bast carry this feral strength and reverence for the hunt. Whether as lion-warriors, spirit-guided shamans, or wanderers seeking glory, they stride the wider world with the courage of hunters who know the goddess watches from every shadow.

Bleak Wood

Shadowed forest of giants and bugbears, where the trees whisper in the wind and hunters vanish without trace.

Capital: None (scattered lairs)
Population: ~19,000 (9,000 bugbears, 7,000 forest giants, 3,000 others)
Government: Tribal warbands and giant clans
Religions: Lamashtu, Obad-Hai, primal spirit cults
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Neutral
Languages: Giant, Goblin, Common, Sylvan
Common Classes: Barbarian, Ranger, Druid, Rogue

Regional Arms & Armor: Greatclub, longbow; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Forest Stalker (Ranger/Rogue) — +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks in forests.
   ○ Savage Might (Barbarian/Fighter) — Once per day, you may reroll a failed Strength check or Strength-based skill check.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A wolf-hide cloak (worth 3 gp) and a pouch of dried venison.

Overview: The Bleak Wood is a vast and haunted expanse, where towering trees blot out the sun and the air hums with menace. Bugbear warbands stalk the undergrowth, ambushing travelers and preying on the weak, while forest giants hold sway in the deeper groves, jealously guarding their domains.

Few dare to cross its borders; the wood is a place of old grudges and older predators. Broken stones and moss-grown ruins litter the shadows, hinting at kingdoms long since devoured by the forest. Those who linger hear voices on the wind, as though the very trees plot their downfall.

Adventurers tied to the Bleak Wood are as grim as their homeland. Barbarians and rangers learn to hunt and strike with feral cunning, while druids and rogues thrive in the constant peril. To outsiders, they carry the shadow of the wood with them, hard to trust yet deadly to cross.

Great Wood

Ancient forest of whispering oaks and primal guardians, where werebears and awakened trees defend the balance of the wild.

Capital: None (sacred groves and oak councils)
Population: ~26,000 (15,000 elves, 5,000 awakened animals, 4,000 fey, 2,000 others)
Government: Druidic councils led by awakened oaks
Religions: Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Corellon Larethian
Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good
Languages: Sylvan, Elven, Druidic, Common
Common Classes: Druid, Ranger, Barbarian, Bard

Regional Arms & Armor: Longbow, spear; leather or hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Oak’s Blessing (Druid/Ranger) — Once per day, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Fortitude saves against poison or disease.
   ○ Guardian’s Roar (Barbarian/Bard) — Once per day, you may grant a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls to allies within 30 ft. for 1 round.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A carved wooden amulet shaped like a leaf (worth 2 gp) and a pouch of acorns.

Overview: The Great Wood is one of the oldest living realms in the world, its heartwood older than kingdoms and its roots deeper than memory. Awakened oaks stand as sentinels, their slow voices guiding druids, rangers, and fey who serve as protectors of the balance. Werebears, bound in ancient pacts, patrol its borders and crush invaders beneath claw and axe.

The forest itself resists exploitation—trees regrow overnight, trails twist into endless circles, and whispers on the wind lead the unworthy astray. It is a land where the natural and the mystical are one, where druids draw power directly from the will of the trees themselves.

Adventurers from the Great Wood often serve as emissaries or guardians, carrying the forest’s ancient charge into the wider world. They walk with reverence for nature and the certainty that, though empires may rise and fall, the Wood endures.

Lake of Tears

Floating halfling villages drift upon reed rafts, guided by songs and bound to their dire otter companions.

Capital: None (raft-villages)
Population: ~12,000 (9,000 halflings, 2,000 humans, 1,000 others)
Government: Council of Raft-Elders
Religions: Yondalla, Ehlonna, Procan
Alignment: Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral
Languages: Common, Halfling, Aquan
Common Classes: Ranger, Druid, Bard, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Shortspear, sling; light armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Otter-Bonded (Ranger/Druid) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Swim checks, and Swim is always a class skill.
   ○ Raft Singer (Bard) — Once per day, you may roll twice on a Perform (sing) check and take the better result.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A carved bone whistle and a reed-woven charm (worth 2 gp).

Overview: The Lake of Tears is a vast inland waterway dotted with reed-choked channels and endless drifting villages of halfling rafts. Each raft is a home, shrine, and livelihood, lashed to its neighbors into communities that scatter and reform with the seasons. Dire otters, revered as kin, swim beside them, serving as hunters, companions, and guardians.

The raft-folk are a tight-knit people, their councils led by elders who weigh decisions with care and consensus. Trade with outsiders is common, though few can navigate the lake without a halfling guide. Songs carry across the water at night, telling of ancestry, spirits, and the binding of community.

Adventurers from the Lake of Tears embody this spirit of fellowship and freedom. They are natural wanderers, unafraid of the unknown, and often guided by omens whispered in the waves. Whether ranger, druid, or bard, they carry the resilience of a people whose homes are ever afloat, trusting the lake to hold them.

Burning Sands

Endless desert of fire and glass, where sand dragons rule and marruspawn stalk beneath the dunes.

Capital: None (nomadic clans, dragon lairs)
Population: ~21,000 (11,000 humans, 6,000 marruspawn, 2,000 dragonkin, 2,000 others)
Government: Tribal elders and dragon overlords
Religions: Rovagug, Surtur, elemental fire cults
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Draconic, Ignan, Terran
Common Classes: Fighter, Sorcerer, Barbarian, Cleric

Regional Arms & Armor: Scimitar, lance; lamellar or hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Dune Rider (Fighter/Barbarian) — You gain a +2 trait bonus on Ride checks when mounted in desert terrain.
   ○ Sandblooded (Sorcerer/Cleric) — Once per day, you gain resist 5 fire for 1 minute.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A desert veil (worth 2 gp), waterskin, and sunstone amulet.

Overview: The Burning Sands stretch beyond the horizon, a sea of fire-hot dunes where dragons soar and the sun kills the unprepared. Marruspawn legions lurk beneath the sand, striking in waves at caravans or rival tribes, while ancient ruins lie half-swallowed, their secrets long since scoured by the desert winds.

The desert’s tribes live in constant struggle—against the elements, against raiders, and against dragons who demand tribute in blood or gold. Only the strongest endure, mastering both steed and spear to carve fleeting oases of survival.

Adventurers from the Burning Sands carry that ruthless resilience. Fighters ride hard into battle with lance or scimitar, sorcerers draw upon bloodlines ignited by the sun’s fury, and clerics burn with devotion to fire’s destructive and purifying aspects. Wherever they wander, they bring the heat of the sands with them.

Green Lake

Dark waters ruled by an aboleth cleric of Dagon, where kuo-toa chant beneath the waves and villages rot with corruption.

Capital: None (scattered lakeshore settlements, aboleth temple beneath)
Population: ~17,000 (8,000 humans, 5,000 kuo-toa, 2,000 aboleth thralls, 2,000 others)
Government: Hidden theocracy under aboleth domination
Religions: Dagon, Tharizdun, elemental water cults
Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil
Languages: Aquan, Common, Abyssal, Undercommon
Common Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Ranger, Rogue

Regional Arms & Armor: Trident, shortspear; scale or hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Drowned Vision (Cleric/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may use detect thoughts as a spell-like ability (CL = character level, duration 1 round).
   ○ Bog Sneak (Ranger/Rogue) — +2 trait bonus on Stealth checks when near water.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A barnacle-encrusted holy charm (worth 3 gp) and a waterskin filled with foul-tasting lake brine.

Overview: Green Lake lies at the heart of an accursed land, its waters glistening with a sickly sheen. Beneath the surface dwells an aboleth cleric of Dagon, its mind ensnaring kuo-toa cults and corrupting lakeside villages. The people who live here often vanish, reappearing days later pale-eyed and murmuring prayers to things best left unspoken.

The lake’s shores are dotted with abandoned farms and ruined shrines, their fields choked with reeds and their wells tainted. Kuo-toa patrol the depths, dragging sacrifices down to the aboleth’s temple, while strange storms and unnatural tides rise without warning. Few outsiders linger—those who do risk not only their lives but their sanity.

Adventurers tied to Green Lake often emerge scarred by its waters, touched by visions, or burdened with quests to cleanse the corruption. Others embrace its darkness, serving as agents of Dagon in distant lands. Whatever their path, they carry with them the weight of a lake where Father roams free.

Lake of Tears

Vast inland waters dotted with halfling reed-rafts, where families drift with dire otters as guardians and companions.

Capital: None (floating halfling villages)
Population: ~14,000 (11,000 halflings, 2,000 humans, 1,000 others)
Government: Family councils and raft-moots
Religions: Yondalla, Ehlonna, Gozreh
Alignment: Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral
Languages: Halfling, Common, Aquan, Elven
Common Classes: Bard, Rogue, Druid, Ranger

Regional Arms & Armor: Sling, shortsword; padded or leather armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Otter-Bonded (Druid/Ranger) — Once per day, you may gain a +2 trait bonus on Swim checks and Swim is always a class skill.
   ○ Raftwise (Bard/Rogue) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Acrobatics checks made aboard boats or rafts.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A reed-woven raft token (worth 2 gp) and a sling with a pouch of smooth lake stones.

Overview: The Lake of Tears is a place of drifting lives and quiet resilience. Its halfling people dwell on reed-rafts lashed into floating villages, moving with the currents and anchoring where fishing is plentiful. Dire otters are their allies and protectors, trained as guardians, companions, and beasts of burden.

Life on the lake is communal and celebratory, marked by music, shared meals, and rituals honoring both water and family. Outsiders sometimes mistake the raft-folk for naïve, but they are shrewd navigators and resourceful traders who know every current and hidden inlet. Their villages vanish like morning mist when threatened, only to reappear miles away.

Adventurers from the Lake of Tears are wanderers by nature, as at home on water as land. They often carry with them a halfling sense of joy, even in hardship, and a fierce loyalty to companions—much like the dire otters they raise from birth. Wherever they roam, echoes of laughter and lake-song follow.

Deep Rainforest

Five-layered jungle where fungal orcs prowl, arboreal ogres climb, and psionic elves whisper through the leaves.

Capital: None (scattered tribes and hidden groves)
Population: ~33,000 (15,000 orcs, 8,000 elves, 5,000 ogres, 5,000 others)
Government: Tribal councils and druidic circles
Religions: Obad-Hai, Gozreh, primal spirit cults
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, Neutral Evil
Languages: Orc, Elven, Sylvan, Common
Common Classes: Druid, Ranger, Barbarian, Sorcerer

Regional Arms & Armor: Spear, blowgun; hide armor

• Regional Traits & Gear (for common classes):
   ○ Jungle Hunter (Ranger/Barbarian) — You gain a +1 trait bonus on Survival checks in tropical forests.
   ○ Psionic Whisper (Elf/Druid/Sorcerer) — Once per day, you may communicate telepathically with a creature within 30 ft. for 1 minute.
   ○ Additional Gear (all common classes) — A bone-carved idol of jungle spirits (worth 3 gp) and a pouch of dried hallucinogenic herbs.

Overview: The Deep Rainforest is an unbroken ocean of green, layer upon layer of trees, and mist. Fungal orcs dwell in the lower, spore-choked reaches, their bodies half-melded with strange molds. Arboreal ogres swing from branch to branch, their size no hindrance in the tangled heights. Above all, psionic elves hide in secret groves, their minds woven together in silent communion.

The rainforest teems with predators and mysteries—giant insects, beasts that blur the line between plant and animal, and ruins smothered by roots thicker than towers. The few paths that exist are ever-changing, reclaimed by growth in a matter of days. Travelers who enter without guides seldom return.

Adventurers from the Deep Rainforest embody the raw vitality of the jungle. Druids and rangers draw strength from its spirits, barbarians channel its savage fury, and sorcerers manifest psionic talents born of its strange flora. They walk the wider world carrying the breath of a place that never sleeps and never surrenders.

Deal each player five cards

Have them flip them over one at a time, use the tables below for each card

Birth, Upbringing, Event, Flaw, Trait.

  • Birth

    Diamonds

    • 2♦ – Born in a dirt-poor mining town, but you’re a survivor. You recently sold some salvaged copper wiring from a collapsed shaft.
      Start with an extra 1 cp.

    • 3♦ – Born in a merchant caravan stalled at a toll bridge. You picked up enough travel wisdom to swindle a distracted guard last week.
      Start with an extra 1 sp.

    • 4♦ – Raised in a tavern full of drunks and dice games. You won a drinking bet this morning (you didn’t drink).
      Start with an extra 5 sp.

    • 5♦ – Your first job was cleaning a vault—no one noticed you studying the locks. You recently helped an old clerk “retire” a safe deposit box.
      Start with an extra 1 gp.

    • 6♦ – Born in a merchant’s counting room and raised among ledgers. Your knack for numbers got you a job balancing books for a guild.
      Start with an extra 2 gp.

    • 7♦ – Born during a spring festival, your first cry disrupted the mayor’s speech. A noble gave your parents hush money. You found the pouch last week.
      Start with an extra 5 gp.

    • 8♦ – Your older sibling is a successful craftsman who occasionally sends coin. They owed you for taking the blame one time.
      Start with an extra 10 gp.

    • 9♦ – You helped a hedge wizard organize their library. Payment was bad—until you sold the leftover spell components.
      Start with an extra 25 gp.

    • 10♦ – You caught a minor noble cheating at cards. They paid you to keep it quiet. You’re keeping the coin and the story.
      Start with an extra 50 gp.

    • J♦ – A patron of the arts claimed you as a lucky charm. You were paid handsomely to stand around looking poetic.
      Start with an extra 100 gp.

    • Q♦ – You were hired as a courier for a jeweler. You delivered one parcel too many. They paid you well to never ask questions.
      Start with an extra 250 gp.

    • K♦ – Your parents bribed your way into a prestigious academy. You didn’t last, but you kept the tuition refund.
      Start with an extra 500 gp.

    • A♦ – You come from wealth. Maybe your family loves you, maybe not—but they made sure you started out ahead.
      Start with a diamond worth 1,000 gp.

    Hearts

    • 2♥ – Your sister loves you.
      +2 to Charisma-based checks with family members (dead or alive).

    • 3♥ – You fell, tripped, or were pushed into a well. A barking dog alerted someone. You learned patience and probably have a vow about eating dogs.
      +1 to Will saves.

    • 4♥ – Your grandmother made you promise never to hit a witch. You still haven’t.
      +1 to Will saves.

    • 5♥ – You sang a lullaby that made a bully cry. That moment haunts you.
      +2 to Perform (Sing) and is always a class skill for you.

    • 6♥ – You were bitten by a goose at a young age and never forgot. Neither did the geese.
      +2 to Handle Animal and is always a class skill for you.

    • 7♥ – A stray cat slept on your chest as a baby. Now cats follow you around. You're not sure how you feel about it.
      Cats like you.

    • 8♥ – Your imaginary friend was probably a ghost. You named him Pickle.
      +1 to Will saves.

    • 9♥ – Your heart has always beat in strange rhythms. That’s not a metaphor.
      +1 to Fort saves.

    • 10♥ – You have a mole on your toe. It means nothing. But it’s fun to show people.
      +1 to Bluff checks.

    • J♥ – You were blessed at birth by a bard who owed your mother a favor.
      Perform (any one) is always a class skill for you.

    • Q♥ – An elven queen fell in love with you. She was probably drunk.
      Elves start with a Friendly attitude toward you.

    • K♥ – An orc king declared you his blood-brother. You don’t know why.
      +2 to Intimidate checks vs orcs, and ogres.

    • A♥ – You were born in a temple. People keep telling you you’re lucky.
      Once per day, reroll a natural 1.

    ♠ SPADES

    2♠Born under a gallows during a hanging. The noose was reused.

    3♠Stillborn for seven minutes. You’ve been cold ever since.

    4♠Found in a ditch beside your dead mother. No one claimed you.

    5♠The plague was already in your lungs when you were named.

    6♠The midwife died during your birth. Your father blamed you.

    7♠Buried alive due to a clerical error. You were two.

    8♠First words were spoken at a funeral. It was your sister’s.

    9♠A corpse was in your crib. No one knew who it was. Or who left it.

    10♠You were born screaming, and so was the dying man in the next room.

    J♠Death doesn’t scare you. You remember too much.

    Q♠Someone swore you looked like your dead grandfather. He hadn’t been buried yet.

    K♠Your first lullaby was a dirge. You still hum it in your sleep.

    A♠You were born in a graveyard. Your mother said it was easier that way.

    ♣ CLUBS

    2♣The dog that raised you died in a knife fight. You were two weeks old.

    3♣Born during a tavern brawl. Someone threw you like a weapon.

    4♣You bit your first cousin before you had teeth. You didn’t stop there.

    5♣Your father was a drunk. Your mother was better with a bottle.

    6♣You’ve never seen someone die peacefully. Not once.

    7♣The first time you saw blood, it was your own. A lot of it.

    8♣Raised in a traveling fighting pit. You got good at dodging elbows.

    9♣Your village threw rocks at you for fun. Eventually they ran out.

    10♣Your older sibling used you as a weapon. It worked.

    J♣You stabbed someone before you learned to write.

    Q♣You were raised on stories about violence solving everything. They were right.

    K♣You killed something as a toddler. No one talks about it.

    A♣You were born with fists clenched and swinging. It hasn’t stopped.

  • Upbringing

    ♥ HEARTS

    • 2♥ – Raised by an overly affectionate grandmother who believes you're the reincarnation of her dog. You’re still not sure she’s wrong.

    • 3♥ – Raised in a halfling village where no one locked their doors and everyone had too much pie. You miss it every day.

    • 4♥ – You were raised in a theater troupe and assumed everything was pretend until you saw someone really die.

    • 5♥ – Your home was a lighthouse. Your bedtime stories were whispered by sea creatures.

    • 6♥ – Raised by a scholar who made you read aloud every day. You still argue with books.

    • 7♥ – You grew up tending goats in the hills and naming them after local criminals.

    • 8♥ – You were raised in a temple that was more focused on baking than doctrine. Your cinnamon rolls are heretical.

    • 9♥ – Raised in a big, noisy, loving family with too many cousins and too many chores. You could sleep through a hurricane.

    • 10♥ – Grew up in a village with strange festivals and no explanation. Every spring you still get the urge to wear bells.

    • J♥ – Raised in a tavern where you learned stories were currency and jokes could save lives.

    • Q♥ – Raised by an eccentric aunt who taught you to always leave through the back door and never trust birds.

    • K♥ – Raised in a noble’s retinue. You were taught how to stand, bow, lie, and disappear.

    • A♥ – Raised by an awakened oak tree and an awakened boulder. They moved slowly but loved you deeply.

    ♦ DIAMONDS

    • 2♦ – Raised by a scribe who let you organize scrolls but never touch the ink. You developed reverence for clean hands.

    • 3♦ – You grew up in a counting house. You thought in silver pieces before you ever learned letters.

    • 4♦ – Raised by a bardic college. You can still recite the twelve epic tragedies of Queen Merribel the Moist.

    • 5♦ – Raised in a seminary where silence was holy. You still whisper more than you speak.

    • 6♦ – You were apprenticed to a jeweler who made you polish every gem while reciting its flaws aloud.

    • 7♦ – Raised on the road by merchant caravans. You slept beneath wagons and learned to haggle in your dreams.

    • 8♦ – Raised by a perfumer and a poisoner. You still associate almond scent with death.

    • 9♦ – Your family were minor nobles obsessed with etiquette. You once bowed for 7 minutes straight.

    • 10♦ – Raised in a vast library where your only friends were books and the suspiciously intelligent ravens.

    • J♦ – Raised among actors and liars in a court full of masks. You never trust a smile.

    • Q♦ – Raised by archivists who believed forgetting was a sin. You were punished with pop quizzes.

    • K♦ – Raised as a squire to a pompous knight who mostly taught you about wine and debt.

    • A♦ – Raised in a gilded manor with tutors, tutors for your tutors, and a private dueling instructor you called “Sir Yellsalot.”

    ♣ CLUBS

    • 2♣ – Raised in a logging camp where bedtime stories were about axe wounds and bears. You learned to sleep through screaming.

    • 3♣ – Raised in a roadside brawl pit. They bet on your fights before you could spell your name. You lost often.

    • 4♣ – Grew up among smugglers who didn’t believe in “education” but were big on knots and silence.

    • 5♣ – You were raised in a family feud that never ended. You have cousins you’ve stabbed more than once.

    • 6♣ – Raised in a traveling gladiator caravan. You cleaned the pits. You weren’t allowed to eat until they sparkled.

    • 7♣ – Grew up working slaughterhouses and flensing tables. You still whistle while gutting.

    • 8♣ – Raised in a village that solved problems with fists first, torches second. Words were optional.

    • 9♣ – Your family trained hunting dogs—usually on you. You still flinch at whistles.

    • 10♣ – Raised in a militant doomsday cult. You were the “spare soul” in every ritual. You got used to it.

    • J♣ – Grew up in an assassin’s orphanage. The lullabies were coded instructions. You sometimes hum them still.

    • Q♣ – Raised in a bandit camp where names weren’t permanent and loyalty lasted until payday. You kept your boots on in bed.

    • K♣ – You were raised as the “practice dummy” for a retired war hero. You got tough or you got dead.

    • A♣ – Raised in the ruins of a fortress after a siege. You ate leather and lived by torchlight. Your lullaby was the wind through bones.

    ♠ SPADES

    • 2♠ – Raised by a blind gravedigger who ate apples while he worked. You hate apples.

    • 3♠ – Grew up in a village that was sacrificed to something. You survived by pretending to be dead—and got very good at it.

    • 4♠ – Raised by an order of plague doctors. They gave you your first mask when you lost your first tooth.

    • 5♠ – You were raised by a coven of witches, but only because they needed something to feed the cauldron spirits.

    • 6♠ – You lived in the attic of a haunted orphanage. You made friends with the ghosts. Some still visit.

    • 7♠ – Raised by a cult that believed pain was proof of life. You were their proof.

    • 8♠ – Raised in a crypt-city where everyone was embalmed and polite. You still sleep in a box.

    • 9♠ – You were raised in a bell tower by a corpse-keeper who claimed every bell ring drove off death. You rang them anyway.

    • 10♠ – You were raised in a monastery that worshipped silence, shadow, and the end of all things. You failed shadow class.

    • J♠ – Raised by necromancers who insisted the skeletons were “just family.” You cried when Uncle Rattle went missing.

    • Q♠ – You were raised in a fog-shrouded moor by a weeping woman who claimed to be your mother. You’re not so sure.

    • K♠ – You were raised in the catacombs beneath a forgotten city. You saw the sun for the first time last year.

    • A♠ – Raised in the Plane of Shadow by a being called “Mother Moth.” She whispered you awake. You’ve never slept well since.

  • Event

    Hearts

    • 2♥ – Fey-Touched: A faerie once kissed your eyelids while you slept. +2 to saves vs enchantments.

    • 3♥ – Well Trauma: You fell in a well; a dog barked for help. +1 Will saves. You have a personal vow about dogs.

    • 4♥ – Inspired: You received a prophetic dream. +1 to one Knowledge skill; always a class skill.

    • 5♥ – Charming: You won a contest by accident and became a folk hero. +1 to Diplomacy or Bluff.

    • 6♥ – Touched by the Beyond: Briefly possessed by something ancient. +1 to saves vs fear.

    • 7♥ – Planar Attunement: You stumbled into a planar rift. +1 saves vs planar effects; choose a plane.

    • 8♥ – Strong Back: You pulled a weapon from a stone. It was a shovel. +1 Strength checks and carry capacity.

    • 9♥ – Oathkeeper: Helped a dying knight deliver his message. +1 Sense Motive and Diplomacy.

    • 10♥ – Sacred Water: Drank from a sacred spring. +2 vs poison and disease.

    • J♥ – Touched by Grace: Blessed by a traveling saint. +1 to Heal or Knowledge (Religion).

    • Q♥ – Freak Luck: A unicorn stepped on your foot. Once/day reroll a natural 1 on a skill check.

    • K♥ – Fire-Tested: Saved someone from a burning building. +1 Reflex saves.

    • A♥ – Beast Affinity: Animals trust you. +1 Handle Animal; wild animals start one step friendlier.

    Diamonds

    • 2♦ – Surefooted: Survived a goat stampede. +1 Reflex save.

    • 3♦ – Iron Gut: Drank a mystery potion. +1 Fortitude save.

    • 4♦ – Thick Skull: Hit by falling debris. +1 Will save.

    • 5♦ – Toxic Resilience: Drank from a gross well as a kid. +1 Fortitude save.

    • 6♦ – Suspicious Mind: Outsmarted a con artist. +1 Will save.

    • 7♦ – Quick Duck: Dodged a fireball stealing apples. +1 Reflex save.

    • 8♦ – Contaminant Resistant: Survived poisoning. +1 Fortitude save.

    • 9♦ – Hex-Hardened: Heard a cursed lullaby as a baby. +1 Will save.

    • 10♦ – Bounce Back: Fell off a roof and lived. +1 Reflex save.

    • J♦ – Luck-Touched: Beat a fey in a bet. +1 to your lowest save.

    • Q♦ – Warded Soul: Made a wish that didn’t backfire (yet). +1 Will save.

    • K♦ – Arcane Scorched: Caught in a magical explosion. +1 Reflex save.

    • A♦ – Fated Fortitude: Chosen by fate (or a squirrel). +1 to all saves for 1 encounter once/week.

    Spades

    • 2♠ – Twitchy: Haunted barn dare. +1 Initiative.

    • 3♠ – Improvised Fighter: Stabbed someone with a fork. +1 damage with improvised weapons.

    • 4♠ – Death-Charged: Took a bolt to the ribs. +10 ft movement while below half HP.

    • 5♠ – Paranoid Combatant: Trained by a paranoid uncle. +1 AC while fighting defensively or using total defense.

    • 6♠ – Sprint-Trained: Learned to dash between safe spots. x4 run speed; +2 Acrobatics for jumping.

    • 7♠ – Brutal Momentum: Killed a charging boar with a chair. +1 damage when charging; +1 with chairs (if named).

    • 8♠ – Slippery Step: Escaped ambush by window dive. +2 AC vs AoOs provoked by movement.

    • 9♠ – Brainpan Breaker: Headbutted a goblin through a door. +1 damage to wooden creatures; Intimidate uses Strength. Helmets hate you.

    • 10♠ – Adrenaline-Fueled: Lit yourself on fire on purpose. +1 melee damage if on fire or took fire damage; +1 Will vs fear.

    • J♠ – Arena-Blooded: You were a pit fighter. +1 damage unarmed/natural; Intimidate is a class skill; crack knuckles to boost Intimidate.

    • Q♠ – Glassdrop Reflex: Thrown out of taverns weekly. Reduce fall damage by 1d6; +2 Acrobatics vs falling prone.

    • K♠ – Fury in Flames: Fought your way out of a burning building. +1 melee damage when fire is nearby.

    • A♠ – Shatterself: Mirror doesn’t reflect you properly. +1 to all Will saves; once/week reroll a failed Will save.

    Clubs

    • 2♣ – Pig Boy: Born in a pigpen. +1 HP; pigs aren’t hostile to you; you don’t flinch in storms.

    • 3♣ – Box of Rocks: Hauled crates since childhood. +2 to Strength for carry capacity.

    • 4♣ – Gripper: Lived in a tree. +2 Climb; keep Dex to AC while climbing.

    • 5♣ – Skull-Scarred: Hit in the head a lot. +1 Fort saves.

    • 6♣ – Hauler’s Legs: Pulled wagons, not rode in them. +5 ft speed when carrying Medium or Heavy load.

    • 7♣ – Jawbreaker: Chewed through rope. Gain a 1d3 bite attack (or +1 damage if you already have one).

    • 8♣ – Shoulder Charge: Used as a battering ram. +1 to Bull Rush; can break objects with your body.

    • 9♣ – Crushed But Not Broken: Buried under a barn. DR 1/– in light/no armor; stay conscious at 0 HP once/day; +1 damage vs wood.

    • 10♣ – Iron-Gutted: Chewed nails as a kid. +2 Fort saves vs ingested nastiness; can eat awful rations.

    • J♣ – Muzzle Brawler: Fistfight with a donkey. +1 damage unarmed vs animals/magical beasts; +2 Intimidate vs livestock.

    • Q♣ – Grime-Bound: Witches tried to cook you and gave up. +1 Fort saves. Reroll failed saves versus gross stuff, poison, and disease 1/week; otyughs attack you last.

    • K♣ – Goblinball Champion: You threw a halfling. You both got stronger. +2 to attack after being thrown or throwing an ally; +1 AC if you’re the thrown one.

    • A♣ – Nest Pounce: Raised by giant owls. When jumping from above, successful melee hit deals falling damage to target. You still take the full fall damage.

  • Drawbacks & Flaws

    ♥ Hearts

    • 2♥ – Pride
      You are arrogant and often underestimate others.

    • 3♥ – Sentimental
      You carry a memento that distracts or compels you.

    • 4♥ – Paranoid
      You're constantly suspicious and have trouble trusting.

    • 5♥ – Anxious
      You suffer from persistent worry or nervousness.

    • 6♥ – Depressive
      Low spirits make it hard to stay hopeful.

    • 7♥ – Headstrong
      You act impulsively when challenged or insulted.

    • 8♥ – Oblivious
      You often miss obvious cues in conversation or behavior.

    • 9♥ – Naïve
      You tend to believe what people say, even if it’s unwise.

    • 10♥ – Superstitious
      You follow personal rituals and taboos to a fault.

    • J♥ – Drawn to Power
      You seek positions of authority or forbidden knowledge.

    • Q♥ – Overprotective
      You defend allies recklessly, even when it's foolish.

    • K♥ – Abrasive
      You rub people the wrong way in conversation.

    • A♥ – Vain
      You are obsessed with your appearance and social standing.

    ♦ Diamonds

    • 2♦ – Attached
      You obsessively cling to one item, person, or ideal.

    • 3♦ – Meticulous
      You’re a perfectionist; failure rattles you.

    • 4♦ – Forlorn
      You’ve suffered great loss and carry a quiet grief.

    • 5♦ – Hedonistic
      You indulge pleasures to avoid hard truths.

    • 6♦ – Overburdened
      You feel guilt over a heavy obligation or duty.

    • 7♦ – Insatiable Curiosity
      You must know what’s behind the next door.

    • 8♦ – Fame Seeker
      You crave recognition and public attention.

    • 9♦ – Stigmatized
      Your past or race makes others prejudge you.

    • 10♦ – Tainted Love
      A lost romance still haunts you.

    • J♦ – Rival
      Someone in your past is actively working against you.

    • Q♦ – Outcast
      You were driven from your home or culture.

    • K♦ – Legacy of Failure
      Your family has a history of disgrace.

    • A♦ – Haunting Regret
      You made a terrible choice that still affects you.

    Spades

    • 2♠ – Meager Fortitude
      –1 to Fortitude saves.

    • 3♠ – Weak Will
      –1 to Will saves.

    • 4♠ – Inattentive
      –4 to Perception checks.

    • 5♠ – Book Wyrm (Double)
      –6 Initiative; –3 Reflex.
      Bonus: +2 feats; +1 rank in any Knowledge.

    • 6♠ – Emo (Double)
      –1 AC; –3 Will; –2 Cha-based checks.
      Bonus: +2 feats; +4 with emos, vermin, were-ravens, undead.

    • 7♠ – Raised by Amazons (Double)
      –1 HP/level; –3 Will.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 8♠ – Raised in a Drow Harem (Double)
      –1 HP/level; –3 Will.
      Bonus: +2 feats; +2 Perform.

    • 9♠ – Dungeon-Bred (Double)
      Concealment rolls are worse; –2 ranged attacks.
      Bonus: +2 feats; gain Nocturnal template.

    • 10♠ – Born Under a Bad Sign (Triple)
      –3 to all saves.
      Bonus: +3 feats; stray dogs and beggars love you.

    • J♠ – Son of a Witch (Triple)
      –1 to all saves; can’t be raised; animals Unfriendly.
      Bonus: Knowledge (Religion or Planes) is always class skill.

    • Q♠ – Princess (Triple)
      –4 Nature/Survival; Fatigue and Fashion issues.
      Bonus: +2 feats; +2 Perform.

    • K♠ – Born in Scott’s Campaign (Triple+)
      –3 to all saves.
      Bonus: +3 feats, Run & Fleet feats, +2 Acrobatics; immune to cold fatigue.

    • A♠ – Loud (Double)
      –2 Charisma, –2 Wisdom; –4 Stealth and Diplomacy; cannot be class skills.

    Clubs

    • 2♣ – Shaky
      –2 penalty on all ranged attack rolls.

    • 3♣ – Frail
      –1 hit point per level.

    • 4♣ – Murky-Eyed
      Roll miss chance twice vs concealment, take the worse result.

    • 5♣ – One-Eyed (Double)
      Roll concealment twice and take worse result; –2 to ranged attacks.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 6♣ – Pussy (Double)
      –3 Fort saves; –2 to Strength/Con skill checks.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 7♣ – Fight Like a Girl (Double)
      –2 to melee attacks; –1 AC.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 8♣ – Wooden Leg (Double)
      Speed halved; –3 Reflex saves.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 9♣ – Slack-Jawed Local (Double)
      –6 Initiative; –1 AC; –2 to all Cha-based skills.
      Bonus: +2 feats.

    • 10♣ – Fat Bastard (Triple)
      Double normal weight; half speed; –3 Reflex; –2 Dex; gear x2 cost.
      Bonus: +3 feats.

    • J♣ – Heavily Scarred (Triple)
      –3 Will saves; –1 HP/level; –2 Charisma.
      Bonus: +3 feats.

    • Q♣ – Albino (Triple)
      Light sensitivity; –3 Fort saves; –2 Diplomacy.
      Bonus: +3 feats.

    • K♣ – Princess (Triple)
      –4 Nature/Survival; Fatigued without proper bed; –2 Cha if rushed.
      Bonus: +3 feats.

    • A♣ – Pirate (Ultimate Flaw)
      Reckless, loud, borderline unhinged.
      Bonus: +3 feats and probably a bounty.

  • Traits

    Spades

    • 2♠ – Armor Expert – Reduce your armor check penalty by 1.

    • 3♠ – Brawler – +1 to unarmed damage.

    • 4♠ – Resilient – +1 Fortitude saves.

    • 5♠ – Reactionary – +2 to Initiative.

    • 6♠ – Deft Dodger – +1 Reflex saves.

    • 7♠ – Indomitable Faith – +1 Will saves.

    • 8♠ – Weapon Familiarity – Choose one martial weapon, you’re proficient.

    • 9♠ – Killer – +1 damage on critical hits.

    • 10♠ – Tactician – +2 to Aid Another on attack or AC.

    • J♠ – Anatomist – +1 to confirm critical hits.

    • Q♠ – Fencer – +1 to disarm attempts.

    • K♠ – Dirty Fighter – +1 damage if flanking.

    • A♠ – Bruising Intellect – Use INT instead of CHA for Intimidate.

    Clubs

    • 2♣ – Animal Friend – +1 Handle Animal and a +1 to affect animals.

    • 3♣ – Savanna Child – +1 Stealth and Survival in plains.

    • 4♣ – Jungle Native – +1 to Acrobatics and Climb in forest terrain.

    • 5♣ – Desert Survivor – +1 Survival and save vs. heat.

    • 6♣ – Adopted – Choose one racial trait from another race.

    • 7♣ – Eyes and Ears of the City – +1 Perception, always class skill.

    • 8♣ – Beast Bond – +1 to wild empathy and animal companions.

    • 9♣ – Kin-Bonded – +1 bonus to aid allies.

    • 10♣ – Seeker – +1 Perception to locate traps.

    • J♣ – Axe to Grind – +1 damage against adjacent enemies.

    • Q♣ – Highlander – +1 Stealth in hills and mountains.

    • K♣ – River Rat – +1 Swim and +1 damage with daggers.

    • A♣ – Child of Nature – +2 saves vs. disease, poison, and becoming sickened/nauseated.

    Diamonds

    • 2♦ – Merchant – +1 Appraise and +5% profit when selling goods.

    • 3♦ – Natural-Born Leader – +1 Leadership score if applicable.

    • 4♦ – Rich Parents – +900 gp extra starting wealth.

    • 5♦ – History of Heresy – +1 Will saves and Knowledge (religion) is class skill.

    • 6♦ – Carefully Hidden – +1 Will saves and +1 to save vs. scrying.

    • 7♦ – Student of Philosophy – Use INT instead of CHA for Diplomacy.

    • 8♦ – Mathematical Prodigy – +1 Knowledge (arcana) and Profession (engineer).

    • 9♦ – Gifted Adept – +1 caster level for one chosen spell.

    • 10♦ – Magical Knack – +2 caster level (max CL = character level).

    • J♦ – Worldly – +1 Knowledge (local) and one language.

    • Q♦ – Rich in Spirit – +1 to saves vs. emotion effects.

    • K♦ – Fast Talker – +1 Bluff and Bluff is a class skill.

    • A♦ – Rich Parents Deluxe – +1,000 gp and Nobility comes easy to you.

    Hearts

    • 2♥ – Adopted – You were raised outside your birth culture.

    • 3♥ – Bastard – +1 Bluff, Bluff is a class skill.

    • 4♥ – Orphaned – +1 Survival and Fort saves vs. fear.

    • 5♥ – Sacred Touch – Stabilize dying creatures once per day.

    • 6♥ – Subject of Study – Someone is watching you closely. +1 to Will saves.

    • 7♥ – Chosen One – +1 saves when within 10 ft. of allies.

    • 8♥ – Seeker – +1 Perception, Perception is always a class skill.

    • 9♥ – Birthmark – +2 saves vs. charm/compulsion.

    • 10♥ – Blessed – +1 to saves vs. curses and hexes.

    • J♥ – Finding Your Religion – +1 Knowledge (religion), Religion is class skill.

    • Q♥ – Life of Toil – +1 Fortitude, always tired but never quit.

    • K♥ – Trustworthy – +1 Diplomacy and Sense Motive.

    • A♥ – Inspired – +1 all saves for 1 round/day, activate as free action.

  • The Suits of your five Cards determine your class.

    Five of a Kind

    • 5♥ (Hearts) – Cleric

    • 5♦ (Diamonds) – Wizard

    • 5♠ (Spades) – Fighter

    • 5♣ (Clubs) – Rogue

    Four of a Kind + 1 (Core 11 + Unchained Monk)

    • 4♥ + ♣ – Druid

    • 4♥ + ♦ – Paladin

    • 4♥ + ♠ – Bard

    • 4♦ + ♣ – Sorcerer

    • 4♦ + ♥ – Rogue

    • 4♦ + ♠ – Ranger

    • 4♠ + ♣ – Barbarian

    • 4♠ + ♦ – Monk

    • 4♠ + ♥ – Unchained Monk

    • 4♣ + ♥ – Fighter

    • 4♣ + ♠ – Wizard

    • 4♣ + ♦ – Cleric

    3-1-1 Combinations (Base Classes)

    • 3♥ + ♠ + ♦ – Oracle

    • 3♥ + ♣ + ♠ – Omdura

    • 3♥ + ♣ + ♦ – Inquisitor

    • 3♦ + ♣ + ♠ – Magus

    • 3♦ + ♣ + ♥ – Summoner

    • 3♦ + ♠ + ♥ – Witch

    • 3♠ + ♣ + ♥ – Cavalier

    • 3♠ + ♣ + ♦ – Gunslinger

    • 3♠ + ♦ + ♥ – Alchemist

    • 3♣ + ♠ + ♥ – Shifter

    • 3♣ + ♥ + ♦ – Vigilante

    • 3♣ + ♠ + ♦ – Vampire Hunter

    2-2-1 Combinations (Hybrid Classes)

    • 2♥ + 2♣ + ♦ – Arcanist

    • 2♥ + 2♦ + ♠ – Bloodrager

    • 2♥ + 2♠ + ♣ – Brawler

    • 2♦ + 2♣ + ♥ – Hunter

    • 2♦ + 2♠ + ♣ – Investigator

    • 2♠ + 2♣ + ♦ – Shaman

    • 2♥ + 2♣ + ♠ – Skald

    • 2♦ + 2♠ + ♥ – Slayer

    • 2♠ + 2♥ + ♣ – Warpriest

    2-1-1-1 Combinations (Hybrid & Psionics)

    • 2♥ + ♣ + ♦ + ♠ – Alchemist

    • 2♦ + ♥ + ♣ + ♠ – Swashbuckler

    • 2♠ + ♥ + ♦ + ♣ – Wilder

    • 2♣ + ♥ + ♦ + ♠ – Psychic Warrior

    3-2 Combinations (Unchained + Psionics)

    • 3♥ + 2♣ – Unchained Rogue

    • 3♥ + 2♠ – Unchained Barbarian

    • 3♦ + 2♠ – Aegis

    • 3♦ + 2♣ – Marksman

    • 3♠ + 2♦ – Psion

    • 3♠ + 2♣ – Soulknife

  • Race Assignment by Poker Result

    1. Royal Flush – Human

    2. Straight Flush – Dwarf

    3. Four of a Kind – Elf

    4. Full House – Gnome

    5. Flush – Halfling

    6. Straight – Half-elf

    7. Three of a Kind – Half-orc

    8. Two Pair – Aasimar

    9. One Pair – Catfolk

    10. High Card (♠) – Half-Giant

    11. High Card (♥) – Drow

    12. High Card (♦) – Goblin

    13. High Card (♣) – Hobgoblin

    14. Flush (♠) – Grippli

    15. Flush (♥) – Kobold

    16. Flush (♦) – Orc

    17. Flush (♣) – Vanara

    18. Straight Flush (♠) – Ratfolk

    19. Straight Flush (♥) – Sylph

    20. Straight Flush (♦) – Tengu

    21. Straight Flush (♣) – Tiefling

    22. Royal Flush (alternate suit) – Undine

  • 🔥 1. Ex Nihilo

    Creation from nothingness, often by divine command or will alone.

    Tone: Abstract, divine, singular, theological.

    Use when: You want a “Word-made-world,” distant gods, or a setting where belief reshapes reality.

    Example Twists:

    1. The first word was mispronounced. That flaw echoes still — deformities, errors in magic, and monsters trace back to the stutter.

    2. The world exists only while it’s remembered. Should all tongues fall silent, reality will vanish with the last whisper.

    🌊 2. Earth-Diver

    A being dives into the primordial waters to retrieve materials for creation.

    Tone: Animistic, shamanic, oceanic.

    Use when: You want a layered, drowned past or themes of sacrifice and memory.

    Example Twists:

    1. The diver drowned, and land was made from its corpse. Its bones form the mountains — and its dreams linger beneath them.

    2. Each dive created a different continent. New lands can only be born through sacrifice and submersion.

    🐍 3. Sacrifice

    A god or primordial being is dismembered to form the world.

    Tone: Tragic, violent, mythic.

    Use when: You want divine death, inherent suffering, or a world that owes its existence to loss.

    Example Twists:

    1. The god’s heart still beats. Volcanoes are its slow, boiling pulse — and prophets claim the rhythm is speeding up.

    2. The sun is the victim’s eye, watching us burn what it once died to create.

    💦 4. Secretion / Emission

    Creation through bodily fluids: sweat, blood, tears, spit, etc.

    Tone: Grotesque, primal, fertility-themed or surreal.

    Use when: You want visceral origins — literal blood and slime in the soil.

    Example Twists:

    1. Oceans are divine sweat. When the gods weep, it rains — and when they rage, it floods.

    2. Mortals are made from god-spit. Spiteful, clever, and slippery-tongued — we were never meant to obey.

    ⚔️ 5. Division / Conjugation

    Creation from a cosmic split or self-mating being.

    Tone: Duality, cycles, harmony and conflict.

    Use when: You want balance, mirrored opposites, or themes of lovers torn apart.

    Example Twists:

    1. Night and Day are twins who can never meet. Their rare encounters (eclipses) cause strange magic to leak into the world.

    2. The sky and earth still pine for each other. Earthquakes and storms are their failed embraces.

    🌱 6. Accretion / Conjunction

    Gradual collection of elements or layering of debris.

    Tone: Organic, slow-building, messy.

    Use when: You want a world that feels grown rather than made.

    Example Twists:

    1. The world formed around a cosmic seed. That seed is still buried somewhere — and may sprout.

    2. Creation is still happening. In wild places, new elements form chaotically — living iron, sentient fog, lands that remember you.

    🌄 7. Emergence

    Beings emerge from another world into this one (caves, underworld, dream realms).

    Tone: Mystical, layered, rebirth-centered.

    Use when: You want ancient migrations or hidden ancestors.

    Example Twists:

    1. Each people came from a different layer of reality. That’s why their souls behave differently in death.

    2. We emerged... but something else was following. Some cultures seal their caverns with songs. Others let them echo.

    🕴️ 8. Two Creators

    Two beings (gods, siblings, rivals) create in tandem or competition.

    Tone: Mythic, polytheistic, antagonistic or complementary.

    Use when: You want divine politics or ideological tension.

    Example Twists:

    1. They fell in love with their creation — and with each other. But now one wants it to stay perfect, and the other wants it to grow.

    2. One created the world’s form, the other its soul. Now the body decays without spirit, or spirit rages without form.

    🛠️ 9. Deus Faber (Craftsman God)

    An artisan-god builds the world like a smith, sculptor, or architect.

    Tone: Orderly, mechanical, grand.

    Use when: You want intelligent design, relic technology, or metaphysical blueprints.

    Example Twists:

    1. The tools used to shape the world still exist. The Hammer of Continents, the Compass of Winds — lost in dungeons or guarded by giants.

    2. The god left mid-project. Some continents are unfinished. Others are blueprints come to life — their inhabitants shaped to purpose but ignorant of it.

    🔮 10. Blended Myths

    Multiple creation types woven together into strange, layered cosmologies.

    Tone: Complex, contradictory, mythopoeic.

    Use when: You want oral traditions full of contradictions, hidden truths, and regional variations. Excellent for settings with multiple cultures, ancient schisms, or worlds with scars.

    Here are four examples of blended myths that mix classic archetypes in unique ways:

    🧠 Sacrifice + Emergence

    “The First People crawled from the corpse of the World-Parent. It wasn’t a death — it was a seizure.”

    • The god’s skull split open, and life leaked out through the folds of divine gray matter.

    • The Underdark is the brain, its caverns and tunnels the god’s neural network — pulsing with instinct and ancient memory.

    • Earthquakes are seizures — tremors caused by divine neural misfires, the convulsions of a dreaming mind.

    • Prophets say we are the god’s thoughts, crawling across its cortex. Some heretics seek to awaken it.

    🕊️ Division + Earth-Diver

    “When the Sky and the Sea divorced, their child dove between them and built the land in the space left behind.”

    • Dualistic cosmology, where the land is the child of separation.

    • The sea and sky remain bitter — storms and tsunamis are divine arguments.

    • Fertility and peace only return during their rare celestial reunions (eclipses, solstices).

    🔥 Deus Faber + Secretion

    “The Builder shaped the world with precision... but needed divine blood to animate it.”

    • The god placed mountains like bricks and oceans like tiles — but life wouldn't stir until a vein was opened.

    • Forests, beasts, and storms were born from the runoff — the divine afterbirth of an engineered world.

    • Some cults now bleed their gods to keep the world alive. Others try to reverse-engineer creation.

    🧬 Accretion + Two Creators

    “The world was never designed. It grew wild — until one god tried to prune it, and another tried to cultivate it.”

    • One god governs entropy and wildness, the other imposes shape and hierarchy.

    • Civilization is a grafted tumor — or a garden fence.

    • Their children war endlessly: druids vs. architects, fungus vs. granite, rivers vs. roads.

    These mythic fusions invite interpretation, distortion, and contradiction. Perfect fuel for ancient schisms, regional cults, and unreliable lore.ption text goes here