TEXT: Engines & Empires 
  World of Gaia 
  CAMPAIGN SETTING 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  By JOHN D. HIGGINS 
  ───── 
  Relative Entropy Games 
  
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Engines & Empires 
  World of Gaia 
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  OTHER WORKS FROM RELATIVE ENTROPY GAMES 
  Engines & Empires Core Rules 
  Retro Phaze: Eight Bit Fantasy Role-Playing 
   
  FORTHCOMING: 
  Engines & Empires: Shade Isle 
  Engines & Empires: Lands of Ælyewinn 
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
  Engines & Empires 
  World of Gaia 
  Campaign Setting 
   
  John D. Higgins 
   
  REG 
  © 2017 Relative Entropy Games 
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Copyright © 2017 by John D. Higgins 
   
  Engines & Empires: World of Gaia is copyright © 2017, 2009 by John D. Higgins and Relative Entropy Games. 
   
  This product is released under the terms of the Open Game License Version 1.0a, copyright 2000, Wizards of 
  the Coast, Inc. 
   
  First Printing: 2017 
   
  All artwork in this book is in the public domain and may be reproduced without license or permission.  
  Illustrations obtained from: 
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  « http://www.fromoldbooks.org » 
  « http://www.oldbookillustrations.com » 
   
  Relative Entropy Games 
   “Playing Dice with the Universe since 2001.” 
  « http://dice-universe.blogspot.com » 
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  iii 
  CONTENTS 
   
  Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. iii 
  Preface............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... vi 
  PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RULES ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 
  The Rules of the Game ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 
  The Fair Folk ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 
  Races of Gaia ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 
  Children of the Faerie Lords: Fays and Elves ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 
  Sons of Giants: Goblins and Ogres ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4 
  The Little People: Gnomes and Háin ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 
  Ages of Fable and Chivalry: Fauns and Centaurs .................................................................................................................................................... 6 
  Fairies of Sea and Sky: Merrows and Kinnaras ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 
  A Touch of Strange: The Uncommon Races ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 
  I, Clockwork Robot: Mechanical Men........................................................................................................................................................................ 8 
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
  The Elder Days ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 
  The First Age .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 
  The Second Age .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 
  The Third Age............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 
  The Fourth Age........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 
  The Geography of Gaia ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 
  Arcadia in the Fourth Age ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16 
  Religions of Arcadia................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 
   
  The Old Faith .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 
   
  Ashavism: The Way of Law.......................................................................................................................................................................... 19 
   
  The Gnostic Reformation .............................................................................................................................................................................. 20 
  The Arcadian Calendar ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 
  Arcadian Currency..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA ............................................................................................................................................................................... 23 
  Asgard ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 
  Avalon ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 
  Elysia ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 
  Hesperia ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 
  Illyria............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 39 
  Midjard ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 42 
  Pohjola ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 
  Sylvania ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 
  Tirnanog ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53 
  Utopia .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 
  Further Adventures ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 
  Character Sheet .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 64–65 
   
   
  Index of Maps 
   
  Gaia (World Map) ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 
  Arcadia ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 
  Asgard .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 
  Avalon .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 
  Elysia ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34 
  Hesperia............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 
  Illyria ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 40 
  Midjard ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44–45 
  Pohjola .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 47 
  Sylvania ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 51 
  Tirnanog ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 
  Utopia ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58–59 
  Eastern Lemuria .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 62 
  
   
  iv 
  PREFACE 
   
  I came up with the idea for Gaia while I was sitting in a criminalistics class, as a forensics professor lectured 
  about the physics of blood-splatters and broken glass.  You must understand, it wasn’t that I had my head in 
  the clouds because the class was boring (as my undergraduate career meandered from major to major, I 
  eventually passed on forensics, but I still wound up a plain old physics major in the end); it’s just that I was 
  then and still remain an inveterate, obsessive world-builder.  On this particular occasion, I was trying to come 
  up with a suitably Narnia-like setting, a world entirely populated by demi-human races—elves and dwarves, 
  centaurs and fauns—ideal for dropping a human hero from modern-day Earth into.  The idea was to write a 
  fantasy novel in the “stranger in a strange land” or “portal fantasy” genre, starring a main character who 
  followed in the grand tradition of Alice, Dorothy Gale, John Carter, Flash Gordon, the Pevensie siblings, Buck 
  Rogers, John Crichton—a character trapped in a fantastical world whose chief goal was to leave it behind and 
  get back home to friends and loved ones as quickly as possible.  (That novel never did get finished, although a 
  year or so later I turned it into a screenplay for a screenwriting class wherein I happened to meet the love of 
  my life, and now my wife, Sarah.  The point is, as frivolous as fantasy and world-building can be at times, in 
  my case they’re also deeply intertwined with the best of times and memories.) 
   
  This was back in the fall of 2006; anyone who knows anything about the Old-School Renaissance 
  should be well aware that it was just starting to take off around then.  Castles & Crusades was two years old at 
  that point, OSRIC and Basic Fantasy RPG came out that year, and Labyrinth Lord was yet a year off.  For my 
  part, I was just rediscovering old-school gaming myself, and the nascent idea of a steampunk old-school 
  game—Engines & Empires got its title long before anything else about it took shape—was too exciting to 
  ignore.  But if I wanted the rules to be legitimately old-school, a published book would have to be a setting for 
  others’ rules more than a rulebook of its own, and the fantasy setting on the forefront of my mind at the time 
  was Gaia; and so I coopted it from myself, altered it considerably, and thus did a fantasy-novel “magical land” 
  with no humans and no technology have its timeline advanced a couple thousand years into the future—into a 
  “Fourth Age of Gaia”, when humans and science were becoming ascendant over the old Fair Folk and their 
  magic. The original setting of that fantasy novel became a figment of Gaia’s ancient past, the Second Age, 
  when an empire of evil elves ruled the world and a single, now-forgotten, nameless human hero appeared and 
  helped to topple it all to the ground. 
   
  Engines & Empires (with Gaia as its “baked-in” setting) went through several iterations—a simplified 
  d20-based game that got lost in a hard-drive crash before it could ever near completion; a short and generic 
  “module” format that went up on « dragonsfoot.org » in 2007; a five-level “basic set” for Labyrinth Lord in 
  2008; and finally the full Campaign Compendium in 2009.  Since then, quite a bit has changed with respect to my 
  opinions on what makes a good game and a good fantasy setting.  I now have very different views on “gam-
  ist” vs. “narrativist” rules; on imitation of the good Professor Tolkien and other sources of fantasy in popular 
  culture; and on the value of old-school gameplay as the OSR has (quite successfully) reconstructed it. That 
  said, the vast majority of this book’s text has been little changed from the latter half of the Campaign Compen-
  dium; I’ve only tweaked things where strictly necessary to bring everything into line with the new 2nd edition 
  of the E&E™ Core Rules and with my present-day sensibilities.  The World of Gaia setting has been decoupled 
  from the core rules as a matter of simple convenience: over the years, I’ve found myself running a great many 
  Engines & Empires games, but not always in the same setting; and whenever I didn’t run a game set in Gaia, I 
  found myself lamenting the fact that fully half the rulebook was useless deadweight.  By giving Gaia its own 
  book, I can “take or leave it” at need, and so can anyone else who finds this setting and its ideas intriguing 
  enough to run with.   
   
  —John D. Higgins 
  July 8th, 2016 
   
      
   
  
   
  1 
   
   
   
  PART ONE: 
  INTRODUCTION AND RULES 
   
  HE WORLD OF GAIA is the original and presum-
  ably the default campaign setting for the Engines & 
  Empires™ steampunk fantasy role-playing game. 
  This first section serves as an introduction to the setting 
  and an overview of the book, which is admittedly limited 
  in scope—like so many RPG supplements that purport to 
  describe a campaign “world”, this one really only details a 
  single sub-continent, called Arcadia, which is in many 
  ways a perfectly typical “fantasy Europe analogue”—but 
  with one major exception. Instead of the standard medi-
  eval fantasy milieu, Arcadia is well into its Age of Steam 
  (with the overall vibe being somewhere between Napole-
  onic and Victorian).  
   
  The Rules of the Game 
  Gaia is a campaign setting intended for use with the En-
  gines & Empires role-playing game, but it need not be so 
  exclusively. Only this first chapter details any game rule 
  information; the rest of the book is pure setting detail and 
  devoid of any specific game mechanics. The first part of 
  the book describes the rules needed to play E&E games in 
  Gaia, which really just amounts to a description of the Fair 
  Folk—all the sundry demi-human races (and other, more 
  unusual non-humans) that inhabit this strange-but-famil-
  iar world. Theoretically, any RPG with rules sufficient for 
  a 19th century level of technology and a good mix of magic 
  and fantastical non-humans should be able to handle this 
  setting with perfect adequacy. 
   
  Incidentally (if there should happen to be any OGL 
  enthusiasts reading this) since only Part One of this book 
  has any rules, that’s the only part of the book that contains 
  any Open Game Content (and all game rules and mechan-
  ics are hereby designated as such); the rest of the book has 
  only Product Identity.  
   
  At any rate, with this book and the E&E Core Rule-
  book, referees should have all they might need to run dun-
  geon and wilderness adventures set anywhere in Arcadia. 
  Part Two of the book is an overview of the world of Gaia  
   
  as a whole, a history of the setting in broad strokes, and a 
  few notes on Arcadian culture in particular. Part Three, by 
  far the largest of the book’s sections, details the nations of 
  Arcadia.  
   
  The Fair Folk 
  Playing an E&E campaign set in Gaia requires no alter-
  ation to the core rules beyond the addition of several non-
  human races which are already all present in E&E’s own 
  monster section. Another of the details that makes Gaia at 
  least a bit unique when compared to other fantasy settings 
  is this: the humans don’t rule the world. 
   
  Most settings take a page from Tolkien and his many, 
  many imitators and describe humans as ascendant, soon 
  to replace an old order of fading and diminishing fairy-
  kind. Or they go all-in on human-centric swords & sorcery 
  worlds were non-human races are barely a consideration. 
  Gaia leans closer to the former style, as there are elves and 
  dwarfs and goblins aplenty—but they are not dying out to 
  make way for some foreordained Age of Man. In fact, in a 
  great many places throughout Arcadia, it is the fairy folk  
   
   
  T
  
  PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RULES 
   
   
  2 
  who “rule the roost”, so to speak, with humans as second-
  class citizens. This is mostly the case in Arcadia’s northern 
  nations: the kingdoms of Asgard and Pohjola, ruled by the 
  goblins and elves respectively; the fay-dominated Avalon-
  ian Empire; the republic of Utopia, mostly controlled by a 
  dwarfish race, the gnomes; and the island of Tirnanog, al-
  so the homeland of a little people, the hánfolk.  It is most-
  ly in the south, where the vestigial remains of great fallen 
  empires of antiquity yet struggle to form strong and inde-
  pendent nations in the modern age, that the human race 
  has managed to carve out a niche for itself: in the lands of 
  Hesperia, Illyria, and Elysia. And in between, throughout 
  the central regions of Arcadia, one can find innumerable 
  smaller kingdoms, duchies, and principalities populated 
  by a bewildering mix of humans and demi-humans. Some 
  of these demi-human races might be rarer than others, but 
  none are truly in decline. 
   
  The Races of Gaia 
  As with the core E&E game, playable characters generally 
  fall into two categories: human and demi-human.  Human 
  characters may belong to any one of E&E’s four basic jobs 
   
   
   
   
  or classes—fighter, expert, mage, or tech—and they may 
  rise up to the 10th experience level in that class. All of the 
  other races are known as “demi-humans”, “fair folk”, or 
  “fairy-kind”, and they must belong to a combination of 
  two classes (e.g. “fighter/mage” or “expert/tech”), which 
  they can advance up to 8th level. Demi-human characters 
  have a few other special considerations. 
   
  Favored Attributes: While human characters are simply 
  expected to play the set of attribute scores that they roll, 
  all demi-humans have a designated pair of attributes, one 
  of which is said to be “favored” over the other. To reflect 
  each race’s general tendencies, when a player rolls a set of 
  stats where the disfavored attribute is the higher score of 
  the pair, the scores must be switched. For example, dwarfs 
  favor Dexterity over Strength, so if a player rolls up a set 
  of stats and comes up with Str 15, Dex 11, Int 7, and Cha 
  12, if this player elects to play a dwarf, the scores must be 
  altered to become Str 11, Dex 15, Int 7, Cha 12. 
   
  Favored Classes: Demi-humans belong to special com-
  bination classes which advance in two of the basic human 
  classes simultaneously—but not right away. At the start of 
  the game, when the character has 0 XP, a demi-human be-
  longs to only one class, which is fixed for each race—their 
  “favored class”. Thus, one of the two halves of every com-
  bination class is always going to be the favored class for 
  that race. 
   
  Special Abilities: Few demi-humans have any real spe-
  cial abilities. Engines & Empires is not what you would call 
  a game prone to tossing around fiddly little modifiers or 
  perks. The elves don’t see in the dark, the dwarfs don’t get 
  a flat bonus to sneaking around or shooting a bow, etc. It 
  is left up to the referee to adjudicate such things on a case-
  by-case basis. That said, some of the more exotic races will 
  necessarily have some special qualities, due to their unusu-
  al size or anatomy. Dwarfs can squeeze into small spaces, 
  centaurs can gallop and carry a great deal of weight, mer-
  rows can breathe water, kinnaras can fly, and so forth. 
   
  The intention is to make the non-human races as sim-
  ple as reasonably possible to play. However, some groups 
  may like to add some further game-mechanical distinction 
  to the playable non-humans. In this case, it is recommend-
  ed that the referee adopt the optional “Traits & Tokens” 
  system found in the Engines & Empires Core Rules, pg. 211. 
  The following entries for each race delineate what kinds of 
  d20 checks a character of that race can spend a token on to 
  re-roll, if this rule should be put into effect. (Note that for 
  the sake of brevity, skill checks are described simply, e.g. 
  “stealth”, “perception”, etc., with no reference to the pre-
  cise attribute that the referee may call to be checked.) 
   
  The World of Gaia has several common fairy races—
  elves, fays, goblins, two races of dwarf-kind (gnomes and 
  háin), ogres, centaurs, fauns, merrows, and kinnaras (bird-
  folk). There are also a few decidedly uncommon races 
  which might be allowed in some campaigns, at the dis-
  cretion of the referee: wilders, woodlings, scyllas, nagas, 
  drachen, and (not technically a “race”) mechanical men. 
   
  Alignment: In E&E, alignment is inherent to the nature 
  of a creature, not a moral choice. Fair folk are always Neu-
  tral in alignment; mechanical men are always Lawful. 
  
  THE RACES OF GAIA 
   
   
  3 
  Children of the Faerie Lords:  
  Fays and Elves 
  The world of Gaia exists in a physical universe very much 
  like our own—but the walls of Gaia’s universe are weaker 
  than ours. From time to time, perhaps no more than once 
  in a World-Age, it happens that the boundaries between 
  realms may be ruptured. Not just pierced, as when a mage 
  opens a gateway or a portal, but torn wide-open so that a 
  tide of energy and matter from another reality may wash 
  onto the “shore” of Gaia. And just like any other Physical 
  Universe, the nearest plane of existence whence this other-
  worldly “stuff” may come is the Ætheric Plane—or, more 
  specifically, the sub-plane known as Faerie. 
   
  Long ago (or so the legends say), Gaia’s first inhabit-
  ants came from Faerie. These were the Sidhe, the lords of 
  the Fae, immortal and magical. None know how the Sidhe 
  came to be on Gaia, whether it was intentional or acciden-
  tal, or even what magic made this come to pass. But arrive 
  they did, in great numbers, in a land far to the west—the 
  continent of Lemuria. There, the Sidhe found themselves 
  the possessors of a new world, lush with plant and animal 
  life, but empty of people. Moreover, unlike the realm they 
  had just left, Faerie, a realm of æthereal light, eternal stasis 
  and perfect youth, this new world was mortal—dynamic, 
  changeable. 
   
  The Sidhe built a great civilization and ruled Gaia for 
  ten-thousand years. But decadence, corruption, and a love 
  of sorcery eventually wiped them out. The fall of the old 
  Sidhe civilization left the world changed. A great magic 
  had been wrought, and a vast tide that touched the edges 
  of many worlds brought all of the other races into Gaia—
  the elves, the goblins, the ogres, the dwarfs. And as for the 
  Sidhe, the descendants they left behind after the disaster 
  that ended their rule were greatly diminished: like them 
  in form, but weakened in power, a mortal species which is 
  now called “fay”. 
   
  Fays are humanoid in appearance, tall, slender, with 
  pale skin (almost grayish in tint). Their ears sweep back to 
  long, sharp points. Their eyes are solid black, no sign of an 
  iris or a pupil unless you look very close (then a hint of vi-
  olet or rose may be seen). Fays have a great love of magic, 
  especially the art of sorcery (i.e. spirit-channeling), almost 
  as if they enjoy the game of gambling with one’s very soul 
  or bargaining with otherworldly powers. The magic burns 
  in their very blood, a siren-call that no fay can resist. Fur-
  ther, they are arrogant and aloof, with manners than men 
  find distant and disturbing, practically alien. 
   
  As a rule, fays are hedonistic in the extreme, seeking 
  at all times to live lives of base pleasure: leisure, song and 
  dance (the high-society ballroom variety), masques, court-
  ly intrigues, etc. Especially within the borders of the Ava-
  lonian Empire, where the fay race very nearly constitutes 
  the entire noble class, they have been able to keep this fan-
  ciful dream-life going for many centuries. But the times do 
  change, and every day more power falls into the hands of 
  modern industrialists, merchant guilds, and financiers— 
  until even the “old money” of Avalon’s fayish aristocracy 
   
   
   
  may begin to run low. Thus it is that in this day and age, 
  more than ever the younger sons and daughters of storied 
  fay families are apt to find themselves “down on the an- 
  cient luck”, willing to take up sword and grimoire, to live 
  a life of high adventure, and to seek their own fortunes. 
   
  Following the Great Tide that brought all of the other 
  demi-human races into Gaia, one species stood apart from 
  the rest: the elves. The High Elves who lived in those days 
  were also Faerie Lords, at least the equals of the Sidhe in 
  their magecraft and their immortality—but far surpassing 
  them in wisdom, and in ruthlessness. The High Elves very 
  quickly rose to dominance and built an empire of their 
  own that would endure for nearly five-thousand years, in 
  a time now called “the Second Age of Gaia” (the First Age 
   
   
   
  THE FAY 
  Favored Class: Mage 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Enchanter (mage/expert), Duelist (mage/fighter) 
  Attributes: Charisma favored over Strength 
  Tokens: Persuasion, arcane knowledge, saves vs. illusion or charm 
   
  THE ELF 
  Favored Class: Mage 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Adventurer (mage/fighter), Bard (mage/expert) 
  Attributes: Charisma favored over Intellect 
  Tokens: Perception, acrobatics, missile-fire, saves vs. sleep or paralysis 
  
  PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RULES 
   
   
  4 
  having been the rule of the Sidhe).  And though the Elfin 
  Empire is also gone, its fall was no world-shattering catas-
  trophe. There are yet some High Elves in the world. They 
  prefer to hide themselves in remote places, however, and 
  to let their children—the sylvan elves—work their will out 
  in the larger world for them. The sylvan elves, or alva, are 
  the mortal descendants of the High Elves (or huldra).  It is 
  the sylvan elves which are a playable race; they (and also 
  the fays, for that matter) can live for up to 300 years. 
   
  Alva are more humanlike in appearance than fays are, 
  showing more range and variation in skin tone, hair and 
  eye color, and so forth. Sylvan elves tend to be a bit shor-
  ter than humans on average, but also (as elves tend to be) 
  slender and graceful and beautiful. Their ears are delicate, 
  leaf-shaped, slightly pointed (rather than the exaggerated 
  sweep of the fays’ ears). And, whereas the fays all seem to 
  be pleasure-seeking hedonists, the elves are perhaps best 
  described as thrill-seeking adventure-addicts. They live to 
  explore, to experience—anything that they can. Danger and 
  excitement, to be sure, but also carousing, swashbuckling, 
  tramping over that next hilltop, sailing over that next bil-
  lowing wave, stealing that next kiss from a smitten human 
  lover. In short, the stereotypical elf wants to be a hero—
  and not the kind that stays in one place for very long. This 
  does, of course, saddle elves with a bit of a dodgy repute-
  tion: in the communities of humans and other short-lived 
  races, an elf is a welcome sight when trouble is afoot; but 
  otherwise, these wandering rakes are going to be viewed 
  with caution and suspicion. 
   
  In the lands of Arcadia, the elves have several note-
  worthy homelands. The High Elves—not just royalty, but 
  practically the progenitors of the whole elvish race—still 
  live in the land of Pohjola.  A great many sylvan elves also 
  live in the land of Midjard, in many of its small kingdoms 
  and principalities; and, to a lesser extent, this same peo-
  ple (alva of Midjardisch extraction) also make up a size-
  able faction of the population of the Republic of Utopia, 
  especially in the region of Lutinny. 
   
  Sons of Giants:  
  Goblins and Ogres 
  The goblins of Gaia are of a somewhat different character 
  to the goblins described in the E&E Core Rules. They are 
  more honorable, more bellicose, less conniving, and less 
  avaricious. Oh, to be sure, they still lust for gold and silver 
  and precious gems and metals; but they desire the fruits 
  of their deep mines and tunnels mainly to keep their for-
  ges lit and their smiths turning out the world’s finest arms 
  and armors. In the old days, beneath the mountains and 
  snow-swept plains of Asgard, the goblins have long stood 
  a vigilant watch, keeping the forces of Chaos that dwell in 
  the Deep-Under—beastmen, hobgoblins, and things more 
  nightmarish by far—from swelling up onto the surface-
  world and overrunning all that is. They are a beleaguered 
  and set-upon people, eternally fighting a war of defense— 
  and suffering tremendous attrition down through the cen-
  turies for their trouble. 
  THE GOBLIN 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Sapper (fighter/tech), Guardian (fighter/expert),  
   
  Rune Priest (fighter/mage) 
  Attributes: Intellect favored over Charisma 
  Tokens: Crafting, stone or metalwork, appraisal, mêlée combat 
   
  THE OGRE 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Barbarian (fighter/expert), Shaman (fighter/mage), 
   
  Machinist (fighter/tech) 
  Attributes: Strength favored over Intellect 
  Tokens: Tracking, hunting, brute strength, mêlée combat 
   
   
   
  Goblins stand about four feet tall, with broad, power-
  ful frames and spindly arms and legs that belie strength at 
  least equal to that of a man. They have ruddy, earth-toned 
  skin, comically large noises, and pointed ears.  Older male 
  goblins are very often completely bald on the tops of their 
  heads, but they keep full beards in elaborate braids (which 
  they are very proud of). They are great miners, engineers, 
  and smiths, with a great love for elaborate machines and 
  advanced technologies. They are not, perhaps, as interest-
  ed in pure science as the gnomes are; but when it comes to 
  creating weapons of all sorts—from swords and axes to 
  guns and bombs—goblins are unmatched. 
   
  Ogres hold a less prominent place in Gaia than do the 
  goblins. They too have long warred with the beastmen of 
  Chaos, but mostly on the surface-world, in the Chernobog 
  Mountains which sit along the edge of the blighted land of 
  Tuonela. The ogres have been a nomadic people for time 
  immemorial, roaming the eastern steppes that serve as the 
  hunting grounds for the clans. On occasion, when truly 
  desperate, these clans have come together to form a horde 
  that rides against civilization, raiding and pillaging; but it 
  is far more common to see the beastmen of Tuonela form 
  such a horde, and for the ogres to be the first line of defen-
  ders standing against them. 
   
  Ogres are taller and stronger than humans. They have 
  prominent tusks, green skin, and upturned noses. An ogre 
  is said to be the best brother-in-arms a warrior could hope 
  for—they are unfailingly loyal and steadfast to their allies. 
  But they are also a temperamental and hot-headed people, 
  prone to outbursts of rage and violence. 
   
  In some of the more industrialized parts of Arcadia—
  the smoggy streets of factory-cities in Avalon and Utopia, 
  for example—ogres are mostly stuck on the bottom rungs 
  of society. They scrape by as factory-workers, bruisers, or 
  hired goons, exploited by the tycoons and other members 
  of the moneyed gentry. Socialism and even anarchism are 
  becoming commonplace among the “city-ogres”. 
   
  By far, most ogre adventurers are barbarians—athlet-
  ic warriors, expert in woodcraft and hunting (and, when it 
  suits them, thievery and piracy). Ogre shamans are not as 
  common, but the profession is still in keeping with their 
  traditional culture. Among the clans, shamans have nearly 
  the same level of prestige as chieftains and war-leaders, 
  but they are far more respected for their wisdom and for
  
  THE RACES OF GAIA 
   
   
  5 
  THE GNOME 
  Favored Class: Tech 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Sapper (tech/fighter), Engineer (tech/expert) 
  Attributes: Intellect favored over Strength 
  Tokens: Tinkering, alchemy, animal-handling, saves vs. technology  
  Small Size: Can’t use large weapons, AC −2 vs. large monsters’ attacks 
   
  THE HÁN (DWARF) 
  Favored Class: Expert 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Ranger (expert/fighter), Burglar (expert/tech), 
   
  Rover (expert/mage) 
  Attributes: Dexterity favored over Strength 
  Tokens: Stealth, cooking, all saving throws, missile-fire  
  Small Size: Can’t use large weapons, AC −2 vs. large monsters’ attacks 
   
   
  their particular attention to the healer’s arts. Ogre machin-
  ists are the rarest type of adventurer among this race: they 
  only come from the cities, never the steppes. 
   
  The Little People:  
  Gnomes and Háin 
  Gnomes are sometimes known as the “Hidden People”, 
  after the means they used to survive the great wars of the 
  Second Age. When the Elfin Empire spread across all the 
  lands, they retreated to tunnels and underground halls 
  and hid from the world. And when they emerged from 
  hiding in a later Age of the World, they found that they 
  were the most scientifically and technologically advanced 
  of all Gaia’s people. The gnomes are a small people, essen-
  tially a sub-race of dwarf-kind; but there is also something 
  more than a little goblin-like about them. They are not the 
  peace-loving pastoralists described in the Core Rules; ra-
  ther, they are Gaia’s most gifted inventors, an entire race 
  of short-statured technophiles. 
   
  In game terms, gnomes essentially function like hob-
  goblins (E&E Core Rules, pg. 164) without the aversion to 
  sunlight. Physically, they are dwarfs—demi-humans who 
  stand around three feet tall—with some goblinesque fea-
  tures, notably the same large noses and pointed ears. The 
  gnomes can sometimes be difficult for humans to interact 
  with, if only because their keen minds move so quickly 
  and their mile-a-minute speech more or less keeps pace. A 
  gnome is the wittiest and most inventive soul you’re ever 
  likely to meet, but the only ones who can appreciate it are 
  those who can follow their harebrained twists of logic and 
  understand their oftentimes obsessive personalities. 
   
  Gnomes are closely related to Gaia’s other dwarfish 
  race, the háin. In the tongue of Tirnanog, háin means sim-
  ply “the folk” or “people” (the singular form, “a person”, 
   
   
   
  
  PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RULES 
   
   
  6 
  is “hán”, hence the other common name for this race out in 
  the larger world, the hánfolk). Note that referring to the 
  hánfolk in their own tongue as the leipreacháin (“the little 
  people”) is regarded as something of an insult.  
   
  Háin are more or less identical to the dwarfs depicted 
  in the E&E Core Rules: they stand between three and four 
  feet tall but otherwise look very much like humans. They 
  are not terribly magical (although a few of them do some-
  times practice magecraft), and they would much prefer to 
  lead quiet lives of peace, farming and shepherding on the 
  emerald plains of Tirnanog. But the history of Gaia has 
  not been kind to the hánfolk. Oppressed and degraded by 
  the inhabitants of the neighboring island of Avalon since 
  the days of the Elfin Empire, necessity has forced them to 
  become warriors: silent, stealthy, using the land to their 
  advantage. In short (and certainly with no pun intended), 
  the háin are the world’s greatest snipers and guerillas.  
   
  Hánfolk are known to be sensible and plain-spoken, a 
  simple and earthy folk who value honesty and hard work. 
  But they can also be somewhat rustic and naïve compared 
  to the more cosmopolitan peoples of the world.  A hán ad-
  venturer is likely to be a youth straight off the farm, chas-
  ing tales of dragon-gold and elf-magic. That said, the háin 
  of Tirnanog specifically also have a certain reputation for 
  silver-tongued politesse which might manifest itself as the 
  honest gallantry of a hánnish ranger, or the fast-tongued 
  blarney of a rover with his eye on your coin-purse. 
   
  Ages of Fable and Chivalry:  
  Fauns and Centaurs 
  Strictly speaking, Gaia’s fauns don’t have one homeland, 
  although they’re most likely to be met within the borders 
  of Elysia, Illyria, and Sylvania. Faun society is both no-
  madic and clannish, with groups of faun families wander-
  ing from place to place and only ever settling down tem-
  porarily. More sedentary communities, as one might ex-
  pect, have tended to regard fauns with suspicion because 
  of this, sometimes slandering them as little more than rov-
  ing bands of brigands or thieves; but this is, of course, a 
  matter of simple prejudice.  
   
  Physically, fauns resemble wood-elves, to the extent 
  that they stand about a head shorter than the average hu-
  man and have pointed ears and youthful, fae-like facial-
  features. Of course, they are also covered in fur from the 
  waist down, with the legs and hooves of goats; and small 
  horns grow on the tops of their heads. Fauns are superbly 
  agile, with a great gift for leaping and climbing. They are 
  friendly enough when they don’t feel as if they’re in dan-
  ger, but trouble makes fauns skittish: they’re not an overly 
  brave people, as a rule. 
   
  The centaurs are an entirely different story. During 
  the Second Age, the centaurs were conquered and subju-
  gated by the Elfin Empire. It would not be accurate to say 
  that they were enslaved; but they were forbidden by Elfin 
  law to practice any professions aside from farm-labor and 
  service in the Empire’s cavalry. The elves, of course, main- 
  tained that they were doing the centaurs a great favor by 
   
  THE FAUN 
  Favored Class: Expert 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Swashbuckler (expert/fighter), Rover (expert/mage), 
   
  Tinker (expert/tech) 
  Attributes: Dexterity favored over Intellect 
  Tokens: Climbing, leaping, balancing, dance/music, saves vs. charm 
  Hooves: Can’t benefit from magical boots/shoes 
   
  THE CENTAUR 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Paladin (fighter/mage), Cavalier (fighter/expert), 
   
  Dragoon (fighter/tech) 
  Attributes: Strength favored over Dexterity 
  Tokens: Etiquette, heraldry, lance attacks 
  Hooves: Can’t benefit from magical boots/shoes; kick does 1d6 damage 
  Quadruped: Usually can’t climb or balance; has a base MV of 60’, an in- 
   
  ventory space of 8×12 EV, and two extra encumbrance levels; can’t 
   
  ride a mount but doesn’t need one to lance-charge 
   
  CENTAUR ENCUMBRANCE 
   
  Empty 4×4  
  Load 
  Move 
  Overland 
  Skill 
  “Quadrants” 
  Level 
  Speed 
  Travel 
  Penalty 
  5 or 6 
  Negligible 
  60’ 
  12 leagues 
  –0 
  4 
  Very Light 
  50’ 
  10 leagues 
  −2 
  3 
  Light 
  40’ 
  8 leagues 
  −4 
  2 
  Moderate 
  30’ 
  6 leagues 
  −6 
  1 
  Heavy 
  20’ 
  4 leagues 
  −8 
  0 
  Severe 
  10’ 
  2 leagues 
  −10 
  Off the Grid 
  Overburdened 
  5’ 
  1 league 
  −20 
   
   
   
   “civilizing” them; but the centaurs’ resentment over their 
  treatment at the hands of the elves hasn’t waned much in 
  all these many centuries. After the Elfin Empire fell at the 
  very end of the Second Age, the centaurs remained largely 
  subjugated until humans from the south (new arrivals on 
  Gaia, thanks to another mysterious, inter-planar “Tide”)—
  namely, men from the Empire of Elysium—became their 
  allies and fought for the centaurs’ freedom. From then on, 
  the neighboring land of Illyria became the centaurs’ home 
  country, and the centaurs there yet consider humans to be 
  their blood-brothers. In the present day, centaur knights 
  fight tirelessly to defend the country of Illyria from the in-
  vading forces of the Sultanate of Amarna. 
   
  Centaurs look pretty much like you’d expect, being 
  approximately human-shaped from the waist up and hav-
  ing the four-legged body of a horse below. E&E’s centaurs 
  are a fairy breed, of course, and so it’s worth pointing out 
  that their “human” upper halves actually look more like 
  those of elves, with pointed ears and sharp features. Their 
  equine halves are smaller too, to match: pony-sized (such 
  that a centaur could perhaps carry a dwarf or a gnome on 
  his or her back, but a human rider is just plain not going 
  to happen). Centuries of knighthood have ingrained the 
  tenants of chivalry into centaur culture: they tend to dwell 
  in the largest of Arcadia’s cities, preferring the company 
  of all who fought against the elves in the Second Age, viz. 
  the háin, the goblins, and especially the southern humans 
  whom they now call neighbors and allies. 
  
  THE RACES OF GAIA 
   
   
  7 
  THE MERROW 
  Favored Class: Expert 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Swashbuckler (expert/fighter), Bard (expert/mage), 
   
  Salvager (expert/tech) 
  Attributes: Charisma favored over Dexterity 
  Tokens: Music, persuasion, swimming, sailing, trident or cutlass attacks  
  Aquatic: Breathes water, must drink ×2 as much water as a human; fish tail  
   
  grants swim MV 60’ but land MV of 20’; may select “Land Lubber” as  
   
  a secondary skill to have land MV 30’; can’t wear magic boots 
   
  THE KINNARA (SYLPH/VALKYR) 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Paratrooper (fighter/expert), Stormbringer (fighter/ 
   
  mage), Bombardier (fighter/tech)  
  Attributes: Dexterity favored over Strength 
  Tokens: Perception, mêlée combat 
  Avian: Fly speed 50’, can’t wear magic boots, dead at 5 WL 
   
  MERROW ENCUMBRANCE 
   
  Empty 4×4  
  Move 
  Skill 
  ==With “Land Lubber” Skill== 
  Quadrants 
  Speed 
  Penalty* 
  MV 
  Skill Penalty 
  3–4 
  20’ 
  −6 
  30’ 
  −0 
  2 
  15’ 
  −10 
  20’ 
  −4 
  1 
  10’ 
  −12 
  15’ 
  −6 
  0 
  5’ 
  −16 
  10’ 
  −10 
  Off the Grid 
  1’ 
  −26 
  5’ 
  −20 
   
  * A merrow without “Land Lubber” as a secondary skill always suffers these penalties on athletic 
  activities like climbing, jumping, or sneaking while on land. 
   
   
  Sea and Sky Fairies:  
  Merrows and Kinnaras 
  Merrows are merpeople, and they’re actually one of the 
  more widespread demi-human races on Gaia. Just about 
  any shoreline might have a merrow community dwelling 
  in the shallows, herding fish and farming the seabed. The 
  merrows of different seas tend to adopt the languages and 
  cultures of nearby lands, e.g. merrows of the Illic Sea will 
  speak either Elysian or Illyrian, merrows living in the Bor-
  eic ocean will speak Avalonian near Avalon or Asgardish 
  if they live near Asgard, etc. Merrows are known to be ex-
  tremely outgoing and friendly, but also vain and flighty, 
  to the point of self-absorption. From the waist up, they re-
  semble humans or elves (like most Fair Folk, they have the 
  usual pointed ears and elfin features), but with green hair 
  and visible gill-slits in their necks. From the waist down, 
  merrows have long, scaly tails like those of sea-serpents, 
  finned for swimming but also strong enough to support 
  their weight if they should slither up onto dry land. 
   
  Merrow adventurers are roguish sorts: pirates and 
  buccaneers, wandering bards, or treasure-hunters who fo-
  cus on salvaging treasures from the sea-floor (be they sun-
  ken chests of pirate-gold or Ancient, antediluvian techno-
  logies left behind by lost civilizations of the distant past).
   
  The kinnaras, meanwhile, are a race of half-bird fairy 
  folk (the flip side of the siren legend, if you will). They are 
  human-shaped above the waist, except for a pair of great 
  osprey-wings on their backs. They are feathered from the 
  waist down, with legs ending in sharp talons. They mostly 
  dwell high up in the mountains, where they can fly freely 
  in the open air. Their homes are cut into the stone faces of 
  cliffs, or on mountainsides normally unreachable by those 
  without wings.  
   
  In Arcadia, significant populations of kinnaras can be 
  found in the mountains of Asgard; and also in the Valks, 
  especially in the country of Sylvania. (The kinnaras of As-
  gard are known as “valkyrs” to their countrymen; where-
  as in Sylvania, they come from an entirely different ethnic 
  group known as “sylphs”.) Both nationalities are warlike, 
  fierce defenders of their mountain homes; but also highly 
  insular, cautious and contemplative, and always reluctant 
  to get involved in affairs “down below”. Never hasty, but 
  always armed (just in case), the kinnaras have a long view 
  of history and an even longer memory. They hold fast to 
  old friendships and alliances (particularly the gnomes and 
  ogres of Utopia, who once marched to the defense of the 
  sylphs of the Valks in a great war long ago), and they hold 
  grudges against those who have wronged them in the past 
  (notably the humans of Sylvania, who drove the sylphs in-
  to the mountains in the first place; and the goblins of As-
  gard, always relentlessly tunneling and prospecting under 
  the roots of the world’s greatest mountains in an endless 
  search for metals to feed their forges). 
   
  The kinnaras are slow to forget slights, slow to for-
  give, slow to trust or make new friends, and slow to make 
  decisions. They always carefully weigh every option and 
  try to foresee each outcome before taking any action.  
  
  PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RULES 
   
   
  8 
  A Touch of Strange:  
  The Uncommon Races 
  While the final say always falls to the referee, the players 
  need not feel restricted to list of races presented above. So 
  long as any other species can be worked into the setting in 
  a way that makes sense—and can be reasonably balanced 
  against an ordinary human, by ensuring that advantages 
  are offset by equal disadvantages—go ahead and get crea-
  tive. Some of the alternative (but rare) choices for PC races 
  that exist on Gaia include: 
   
  THE WILDER 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Hunter (fighter/expert), Shaman (fighter/mage) 
  Attributes: Dexterity favored over Intellect 
  Tokens: Tracking, hunting, making friends, mêlée attacks 
   
  Wilders are a race of anthropomorphic wolfmen that live 
  in secluded woodlands, especially in the lands of Midjard, 
  Sylvania, and Pohjola. They live in tribal “packs”, mostly 
  by hunting game. They are gregarious when encountered, 
  but they can be dangerously wild and uncivilized. 
   
  THE WOODLING 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Ranger (fighter/expert), Druid (fighter/mage) 
  Attributes: Strength favored over Dexterity 
  Tokens: Brute strength, woodcraft, nature lore, saves vs. technology   
  Plant Biology: Able to draw nourishment from sunlight and soil, +2 to save  
   
  vs. gas or wind attacks, −2 to save vs. fire or lightning 
   
  In any enchanted faerie-forest, one can expect to meet faes 
  (like sprites) and also nature spirits like dryads and wood-
  wosen. The woodwosen are the tree-herders, immeasur-
  ably ancient; but who is to say that a young sapling of that 
  race—a “woodling”—might not want to strike out and see 
  the world? 
   
  THE DRACHEN 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Dragon Knight (fighter/expert), Dragon Wizard 
   
  (fighter/mage) 
  Attributes: Strength favored over Charisma 
  Tokens: Intimidation, brute strength, saves vs. fire 
  Fire Breath: Can breathe fire in a 10’ cone for 1 hp damage/level, 1/day 
  Unsettling Appearance: Drachen spook most people and animals on sight 
  Claws: Unarmed attacks deal 1d3 base damage, 1d4 fighter 
   
  In certain of Gaia’s mountain ranges, notably eastern Ar-
  cadia’s Drachendorn range, there lives a race of draconic 
  humanoids, the drachen (or “drake-men”). They war with 
  the gnolls and undead that dwell in those peaks, but they 
  otherwise keep mostly to themselves. Covered head to toe 
  in red scales, they have dragon-like faces, small (basically 
  useless) wings, clawed hands and feet—and the ability to 
  heave forth a weak breath-weapon once a day or so. How-
  ever, most creatures are unsettled by their very presence. 
  THE NAGA 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Monk (fighter/mage), Ninja (fighter/expert) 
  Attributes: Intellect favored over Dexterity 
  Tokens: History, philosophy, climbing, saves vs. poison or disease 
  Snake Tail: Can easily climb trees or swim, can’t wear magic boots, may
   
  have difficulty negotiating narrow spans or tight places 
  Venomous Bite: A naga’s bite causes 1d3 damage; once per day, the naga 
   
  can inflict a weak poison with the bite, causing the target to suffer an 
   
  additional 1d6 damage 10 minutes later, save for half 
  Kung-Fu: Nagas can learn martial arts at no penalty, the same as humans 
   
  Far to the east, in the lands of Shambhala and Jianghu, the 
  nagas live. Nagas are similar to merrows, except that their 
  lower halves are those of giant tree-snakes. They are prac-
  titioners of the martial arts and can learn the techniques of 
  the Eightfold Path (E&E Core Rules, pg. 38) without suffer-
  ing the usual demi-human penalties for such.  
   
  THE SCYLLA 
  Favored Class: Fighter 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: N 
  Class Combinations: Pirate (fighter/expert), Deep Mage (fighter/mage), 
   
  Salvager (fighter/tech) 
  Attributes: Intellect favored over Charisma 
  Tokens: Ocean lore, theology, casting checks, grappling in mêlée 
  Aquatic: Able to breathe water and air; swim MV 50’, land MV 30’ 
  Deep Dweller: −1 to all rolls in any bright light or sunlight; taking “Land  
   
  Lubber” as a secondary skill negates this penalty 
   
  Scyllas are the deep merfolk, pale and black-eyed (like the 
  fays), with the bodies of octopuses below the waist. They 
  are a reclusive species that rarely comes to the surface. 
   
  I, Clockwork Robot:  
  Mechanical Men 
  Techs in Engines & Empires can create humanoid automata 
  that lack basic sentience and only follow their program-
  ming. But what if some freak accident conspired to give a 
  robot’s clockwork brain that special spark of humanity? If 
  a clockwork man should look up one day and ask itself a 
  question about the nature of its own existence, can it then 
  be said in some sense to be alive?  The sentient automaton 
  is a veritable fantasy trope, and it belongs nowhere better 
  than in the genre of steampunk fantasy. 
   
  THE CLOCKWORK MAN 
  Favored Class: Tech 
  Level Limit: 8th 
  Alignment: L 
  Class Combinations: Clockwork Soldier (tech/fighter), Clockwork Smith 
   
  (tech/expert) 
  Attributes: Intellect favored over Charisma and Strength favored over 
   
  Dexterity 
  Tokens: Brute strength, endurance, general knowledge 
  Construct: Immune to poison, disease, gas, suffocation; cannot heal natur- 
   
  ally or drink potions, but must be repaired; has no mana/qi and so  
   
  cannot ever use supernatural abilities; needs no food or sleep but  
   
  must be rewound each day 
  Fragile: Destroyed at 5 wound levels; can’t be  raised by magic, but might  
   
  be rebuilt by any tech who knows the Lifelike Replicant invention  
  
   
   
  9 
   
   
   
  PART TWO: 
  OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
  HE DESCRIPTION of an entire world requires that 
  attention be given to such diverse topics as history, 
  geography, astronomy, and culture. In the limited 
  space available here, only the barest outline of the world 
  called Gaia can be presented. It will be up to referees to 
  make this world their own and breathe some life into it!  
   
  This chapter provides a framework on which to base 
  a campaign set in Gaia, but the gaps which need filling in 
  are vast—hopefully leaving plenty of room for your own 
  creativity. And, of course, the material found here can be 
  used as nothing more than inspiration for your own, en-
  tirely different steampunk settings. 
   
  We begin, then, by treating the most important sub-
  ject first: the lengthy and oft-hidden ancient history of the 
  world called Gaia. 
   
  The Elder Days  
  (before 25,000 years ago) 
  Although scientists prefer to use a word like “prehistory” 
  to describe these distant times, the elves and the fays still 
  speak of them as the “Elder Days”, or as the “Time Before 
  the Counting of the Ages”. Yet, the fact remains: none 
  who now live on Gaia were alive to witness this era. Even 
  the fays, who call themselves Gaia’s first children, cannot 
  reach so far back into their race’s ancient memory. 
   
  Archaeologists have only been able to piece together 
  a bare skeleton of the story. This they have accomplished 
  by translating stone inscriptions, hieroglyphs, and ancient 
  Sidhe texts of unspeakable antiquity. The best estimates of 
  the scientists and sages have placed some of the earliest 
  surviving inscriptions at thirty thousand years of age, but 
  they might very well be twice that old or more.  
   
  Pictographs and hieroglyphs depict a race of people, 
  very similar in form to men and elves and fays (but even 
  the best preserved pictograms are never detailed enough 
  to discern much more than that). Nobody knows just what 
  these people might have properly called themselves, but 
  for the sake of simple convenience, scientists label them 
  the Ancients. No one knows whence the Ancients came or 
  for how long their civilization persisted, but it seems like-
  ly that it spanned all of Gaia at its peak.  
   
  The very earliest glyphs, those which might be as old 
  as fifty to sixty thousand years, depict a sort of sundering 
  or division of the Ancients into two tribes: those who re-
  mained on Gaia, and those who left Gaia. The pictograms 
  would seem to show the departing Ancients traveling in a 
  saucer-shaped vessel towards a sun or star. Whether this 
  is myth or fact cannot be discerned. But after this time, the 
  Ancients who remained and dwelt on Gaia blossomed in-
  to a widespread and very advanced civilization. 
   
  The Ancients built what we might call an enlightened 
  civilization. Magic and science were as one to them. Over 
  thousands of years, they came to control matter and ener-
  gy, time and space, even life and death. But then some-
  thing terrible happened. At a date which we can estimate 
  to be perhaps twenty-five thousand years ago, one of the 
  Ancients took it upon himself to create the mightiest life-
  forms imaginable, and he went too far. The Ancient texts 
  only refer to this scientist by the name of “Zudos”. 
   
  Zudos, it seemed, was a maker of weapons. At first, 
  he built automata which were entirely mechanical. Then 
  he engineered mutated monsters which were entirely 
  biological (including one reportedly horrid species which 
  the Ancient texts do not describe in detail, but which they 
  name “Tarraskw”). Zudos might very well be responsible 
  for the existence of most creatures which are now on Gaia 
   
    
  T 
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  10 
   
   
   
  called “monsters”. But his most unforgivable crime was to 
  create something unstoppable, something which was nei-
  ther machine nor beast, but partially both. This cybernetic 
  organism was called the Weapon of Zudos, though some 
  surviving Ancient writings also call it the Weapon of Mu. 
  The Weapon rampaged uncontrollably across the face of 
  Gaia and caused untold destruction. 
    
  The other Ancients banded together to fight against 
  the Weapon. Eventually they succeeded, but the Weapon 
  of Zudos was made of indestructible stuff. All that the An-
  cients could hope to do was seal the Weapon away for all 
  time, and this they did amidst the devastated ruins of the 
  great center of their civilization. The Weapon was ban-
  ished beneath the land of Mu (hence the Weapon’s other 
  name, and hence the fact that Mu remains, to this day, an 
  uninhabitable wasteland populated only by diseased and 
  mutated monsters). The whole face of Gaia had been 
  burned and blasted by this war, but the Ancients’ favored 
  land of Mu had fared the worst. Its loss marked the fall of 
  their once-mighty civilization.  
   
  For his vile crimes, Zudos had to be imprisoned. (Per-
  haps the Ancients were too enlightened to execute one of 
  their own; but then again, perhaps it simply wasn’t pos-
  sible to end Zudos’s life.) To accomplish this feat, a seal-
  ing of far greater difficulty and magnitude, the Ancients 
  created a second moon in orbit around Gaia. Gaia already 
  had one natural satellite, a lifeless rock called Phoebe. The 
  Ancients created the moon called Selene, which yet orbits 
  farther away than Phoebe, and which looks like a smooth 
  and featureless orb of blue when seen through a telescope 
  from the surface of Gaia. This they did for the sole pur-
  pose of imprisoning Zudos, who now languishes within 
  the lunar core. Then, to guard the prison, the Ancients cre-
  ated a life-form called the “Behemoth”: an immense and 
  platinum-scaled dragon that lives upon Selene and is said 
  to guard the seal of Zudos to this very day.  
   
  After that, the Ancients left Gaia. They broke free of 
  the bonds of the terrestrial world and went… somewhere 
  else. Nobody knows if they joined their brethren who had 
  left Gaia at the dawn of the Ancients’ civilization. But the 
  fact remains that they disappeared entirely, leaving few 
  marks of their civilization behind, beyond a scant few in-
  scriptions and artifacts; and, the moon Selene, along with 
  its guardian, the lunar Behemoth. 
   
  The First Age  
  (24,000–13,000 years ago) 
  On Gaia, life slowly recovered. The green, growing things 
  spread back across the land. Everywhere except the blas-
  ted and irradiated land of Mu, things returned to normal. 
  And, about twenty-four thousand years ago, a new people 
  arose—first on the continent of Lemuria, and then every-
  where else. These folk were the Sidhe. They had come into 
  Gaia by accident from another dimension on the Ætheric 
  
  HISTORY OF GAIA 
   
   
  11 
  Plane, the realm of Faerie; but after they settled Lemuria, 
  they quickly came to forget their true origins and now be-
  lieved themselves to be the heirs (either the descendants 
  or the special creations) of the Ancients. The transplanted 
  Sidhe led a primitive existence at first: simple lives, in har-
  mony with nature, lacking any sort of advanced techno-
  logy. As millennia passed, the Sidhe made many discov-
  eries, and chief among these was the art of sorcery. This 
  practice catapulted the Sidhe from barbarism back into a 
  state of civilization, but it would prove their undoing.  
   
  For ten thousand years, the immortal Sidhe race ruled 
  Gaia alone. But Zudos still watched his old world from 
  within the depths of the blue moon Selene. His body was 
  bound within the lunar core, but his mind could still reach 
  out to the people on the planet below. As the Sidhe grew 
  in power and sought more and more Ancient knowledge, 
  Zudos sensed that his time would soon be at hand. 
   
  There arose among the Sidhe two great wizards. One, 
  Myrddin, was a good sorcerer who sought the knowledge 
  of the Ancients to keep his own people from repeating the 
  Ancients’ mistakes. The other, Namtar, was weak-willed 
  and power-hungry. He was the ideal pawn for Zudos, and 
  so the mind of Zudos took him, possessed him, corrupted 
  him, and bent him utterly unto his will. Namtar listened 
  as the very knowledge of Zudos was whispered directly 
  into his mind, and he began to experiment.   
   
  First, he played with life and death. He created many 
  foul monsters, both living and dead. Namtar came to hold 
  a particular fascination with death and disease. He created 
  the first undead monsters—all kinds, from zombies to 
  vampires—and he invented new and cursed diseases, like 
  mummy rot. As his knowledge grew, he sought to create 
  greater beasts, and this led him to even deeper depravity. 
  His own wife, a Sidhe witch named Lilitu, he took and 
  transformed into a six-armed, serpent-tailed devil—the 
  Marilith. Another Sidhe, a follower of his by the name of 
  Dagon, he changed into a gigantic sea-monster with the 
  form of a great squid—the Kraken. At last, when Namtar 
  felt that his knowledge was complete, he sought to create 
  a life-form that could rival the Behemoth or the Weapon 
  in power—and he created the seven-headed dragon-fiend 
  called Tiamat. But this undertaking, this feat of evil, was 
  so draining that even the immortal life of a Sidhe was con-
  sumed by it. And so, in order to preserve his existence, 
  Namtar had to give himself over into his most beloved 
  invention—undeath—and he became the first Lich.  
   
  The Four Fiends—Namtar, the Lich-King; Lilitu, the 
  Marilith; Dagon, the Kraken; and Tiamat, the Dragon with 
  Seven Heads—led Namtar’s monstrous and undead leg-
  ions on a rampage across the face of Gaia. The other 
  Sidhe, led by Myrddin, fought back. It soon became ap-
  parent that they could not defeat the Fiends on their own. 
  So they turned to their sorcery for help. First, the Sidhe 
  tried to create their own allies. They awakened the trees 
  and created the woodwosen, and these were mighty allies 
  indeed, but still they were no match for the Four Fiends. 
  So Myrddin enacted a great spell which was meant to call 
  for help—to call out beyond the bounds of the world. It 
  was Myrddin’s great hope that his spell would reach the 
  ears of gods themselves, the lost Ancients, wherever they 
  were, and bring them back to Gaia to save its people. But 
  this did not happen.  
   
  Instead, other folk began appearing on Gaia, trans-
  ported through mysterious Gates that the Ancients had 
  left behind, Gates unwittingly awakened by the magic of 
  Myrddin. The High elves came first, and then the goblins 
  and the ogres, the gnomes and the háin, and also the cen-
  taurs and fauns and kinnaras and merrows. The Fair Folk 
  appeared, at first in great confusion and anger; but soon 
  enough, they witnessed the plight of the sorely-pressed 
  Sidhe and wosen and agreed to become their allies. With 
  all of this combined might, they at last posted a real threat 
  to Lich-King and his Fiends. The elves, especially, were 
  something new and special, for they possessed a kind of 
  magic which was not sorcery—they were able weave the 
  æther directly, and this white wizardry was like a bane to 
  Namtar’s unnatural monsters.  
   
  Namtar grew fascinated with the elves; he captured a 
  great many of them. He worked his evil experiments upon 
  them, and thus from the elves came the draugish race and 
  the Dark Fae called “Sluagh”. Woodwosen, too, he cap-
  tured and combined with living stone, creating the first 
  trolls. Then, by breeding all these new races together in 
  his horrid genetic experiments, from trolls and draugs and 
  common beasts he created the gnolls—the beastmen. 
   
  The Great Alliance now fought back against Namtar’s 
  hordes on an almost even footing, and the monsters were 
  pushed eastward, out of Arcadia, all the way to Tuonela. 
  It was around this time that Myrddin discovered a new 
  kind of artifact left behind by the Ancients, something 
  called “Fingers of Light”. Myrddin joined forces with the 
  leader of the High Elves, a warrior-queen called Nimuël, 
  along with her twelve bravest knights; and he led them on 
  a quest to recover the Fingers of Light. Nobody alive to-
  day knows precisely what the Fingers of Light were, let 
  alone how they worked. But once they were assembled, 
  the Fingers summoned forth something holy and mighty, 
  and Namtar and his ilk were finished. They were ban-
  ished from the face of Gaia and cast deep into the planet’s 
  core, sealed within the deepest place of the world, just as 
  Zudos had been banished to the core of the far moon.  
   
  The war left Gaia broken once again, and the time of 
  the Sidhe was truly over. Now the world was irrevocably 
  changed. The Sidhe had to share their planet with wosen, 
  elves, goblins, gnomes, ogres, dwarfs, centaurs, merrows, 
  gnolls, trolls, draugs, and other races. Each race wanted its 
  own piece of the world to live in, and they all vied for 
  dominion. More war was inevitable. 
   
  But Myrddin had more pressing concerns. He wor-
  ried that Namtar and his three fiendish cohorts might one 
  day break the bonds of their prison and escape. Therefore, 
  to prevent this, he used all of his great knowledge of the 
  Ancients and their works to create life. He engineered a 
  being which would rival the Behemoth in power and 
  goodness. This was the Leviathan, which Myrddin placed 
  in the ocean’s deepest trench as an eternal guardian over 
  the tomb of the Four Fiends. But as with Namtar’s cre-
  ation of Tiamat, this was a feat beyond the ken of any one 
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  12 
  Sidhe, and it drained Myrddin’s immortal life away com-
  pletely. Moreover, Myrddin was no Ancient, whose pow-
  er was like unto the gods; he was a mere Fae, a spirit from 
  Faerie. Lacking the wisdom of the Ancients, he knew not 
  what fate his spells and rituals would bring about—and 
  he never would. The act of creating the Leviathan caused 
  Myrddin to fall asleep (within a Cyrstal Cave in the Utter-
  most West, according to legend), where he would be com-
  pelled to sleep outside of time itself for the rest of eternity. 
  But as for the rest of his people—his whole race, every last 
  Sidhe on the face of Gaia—they were affected too. Their 
  immortality was drained away, reducing them to the state 
  of mortality. Their lifespans still numbered in the centur-
  ies, but they were no longer truly Sidhe; rather, they had 
  become the race now called the children of the Sidhe—the 
  fays. 
   
   
   
  The Second Age  
  (24,000–13,000 years ago) 
  The huldra—the High Elves—proved to be the wisest and 
  fairest of all the beings now living on Gaia, and they very 
  quickly rose to dominance. They made fast friends of the 
  goblins, but the other races did not fare so well under elfin 
  dominion. The centaurs and hánfolk were practically en-
  slaved, and fays were especially blamed for all the evils of 
  the past Age. As the elves swept across Arcadia, the fays 
  were forced to flee into the Uttermost West, to the remote 
  lands of Lemuria and Tollan. In Arcadia, the elves built a 
  mighty empire, and all the other peoples of Gaia were be-
  holden unto them.  
   
  The Second Age, the age of elvendom, was relatively 
  peaceful. But for the odd rebellion or uprising, nothing 
  could have challenged the power of the elves. For a full 
  five thousand years, the elves and goblins and other races 
  remade the world in their image. (The elves, the goblins, 
  and all the other races were named “fairies” by the fays—
  because they are “fay-like”, but foreign; in Arcadia, this 
  word carries with it roughly the same sense as “human-
  oid” does to us.)  
   
  But then, about eight thousand years ago, something 
  strange happened. In the year 4,327 of the Second Age, 
  one of the Gates of the Ancients opened at random, and a 
  new being came through, one unlike all of the others.  
   
  The Old Elfish texts are difficult to read on this sub-
  ject, because they are many and conflicting. According to 
  some accounts, the man who appeared was called “The 
  Urther”, while others say he was called “the Terran”.  At 
  least one text believed to be of gnomish origin names him 
  “Bill”, although this text is probably apocryphal. But all 
  the writings are clear on one point: he belonged to a new 
  race called “human”, and he claimed to have come from 
  another world.  (The famously suspect Old Gnomish text 
  says that the human came from strange and mysterious 
  universe called “Shikagu”.)  
   
  The mysterious Urther first appeared in Avalon, and 
  he became a great hero there. He led the uprising against 
  the empress of the elves, Meliora, and he helped to topple 
  her reign over Arcadia. What’s more, he traveled into the 
  Uttermost West and brought back the fays, including their 
  chieftain of old, Myrddin—whom he somehow managed 
  to awaken from a slumber that should have been eternal. 
  Eventually, the Urther of Shikagu disappeared, but in his 
  wake he left behind a changed Arcadia. The Elfin Empire 
  was broken; and a fay woman, Morrigan by name, became 
  queen in Avalon. Within another couple of centuries, the 
  age of elvendom would come to an end for good.  
   
  The Third Age  
  (6,000–1,900 years ago) 
  Several centuries after the disappearance of the human 
  hero called the Urther, many more of his race appeared on 
  the continent called Atlantis. These humans seemed to be 
  a different breed. Whereas the Urther had been a noble 
  hero, a wise scholar, and a mighty magician, these new 
  humans were naught but barbarians. They sailed forth 
  into many realms and conquered all that they could with 
  primitive weapons of bronze and iron. They became the 
  strongest in the lands south and east of Arcadia, where 
  they built many vast but short-lived empires that rose and 
  fell, seemingly, as quickly as these short-lived humans 
  could be born and die.  
   
  It was in this era that Zudos once again sensed an 
  opportunity, for the humans practiced sorcery, and they 
  were easily corrupted. From their own realm, wherever 
  that had been, the humans had brought a new kind of 
  magic—“faith”—which seemed to flow from their belief 
  in distant, invisible gods. But the humans could also learn 
  wizardry and sorcery, and they sought power above all 
  else. This pleased Zudos greatly.  
   
  In the country of Mephret, now a part of the land of 
  Amarna, there arose a great magician called Apep. He 
  became so powerful that he deposed the Pharaoh and 
  took command of all the armies in the land. The beastmen 
  and the trolls once again multiplied in Tuonela, and they 
  came south to answer the summons of Apep, who was in-
  deed possessed by Zudos. Apep sent emissaries into the 
  north, into Arcadia, to try and sway fairy rulers to join his 
  side. Some accepted; others refused. The great fay wizard 
  Myrddin (for indeed, though restored to life, he was now 
  a mere mortal) wandered everywhere in those days to try 
  
  HISTORY OF GAIA 
   
   
  13 
  and work against Apep—sometimes in fairy lands, and at 
  other times in human lands, where he would often dis-
  guise himself as an old human by the name of Ambrose.  
  Myrddin tried to prevent the lords of the fairies and the 
  humans from accepting the cursed gifts of Apep’s evil 
  emissaries, warning that they would only bring misfor-
  tune and evil.  
   
  Then Apep sought to do the unthinkable: he tried to 
  rouse the Four Fiends from their prison within Gaia. For-
  tunately, the Leviathan proved too great an obstacle for 
  even Apep overcome; but still, he was not to be outdone. 
  Though the Fiends’ bodies were trapped deep within the 
  world, the spirit of Namtar was only bound to its physical 
  form by black magic, for he was a lich. Apep used dark 
  spells, whispered from the far moon by Zudos, to transfer 
  the consciousness of Namtar into a mummified human 
  corpse, thereby freeing the Lich-King from his prison. As 
  a reward, Apep was promptly slain and transformed into 
  a lich himself, a mere puppet in Namtar’s thrall. So too 
  were all of Apep’s lesser priests then made into liches and 
  mummies, and as for all those lords and warriors who 
  had accepted gifts from the foul sorcerer, they were trans-
  formed into spectres and revenants.  
   
  The armies of the Lich-King marched on Arcadia, and 
  all seemed lost. But Myrddin gathered friends together 
  and forged a great alliance between elves, goblins, ogres, 
  centaurs, and men. The Second Great Alliance beat back 
  Namtar once again. Apep’s magic had required a phylac-
  tery to keep Namtar's spirit alive in his new body, and 
  when this item was destroyed, the Fiend was cast back 
  into the depths, never to rise again in living memory. But 
  he left behind a foul legacy: advanced species of beastmen 
  like the gnollocs and buggebears, some of which could be 
  made not to fear the sunlight as trolls and lesser gnolls do. 
   
  Peace returned to the world once more, for another 
  five thousand years. In the millennia following the Second 
  Great War, a new empire rose to ascendency: a human 
  empire, under a conqueror named Alexander. The lands 
  of Illyria, Amarna, and Eden were united under this vast 
  state, ruled from Alexander's capital at Olympia. It was an 
  empire the likes of which Gaia had not seen since elven-
  dom in Avalon. But the Alexandrine Empire was not to 
  last forever—nothing ever does—and its fall marked the 
  end of the Age. 
   
  The Fourth Age  
  (1,835 years ago to present) 
  Approximately 1,850 years ago, in the land of Elysium, a 
  general by the name of Julius Dracus—so called because 
  he claimed to be the son of a firedrake—united that pen-
  insula under a single state, and then he spread outward 
  and steadily began to conquer neighboring lands. One by 
  one, surrounding countries fell to the march of Dracus, 
  who then declared himself Emperor of Elysium. Eventu-
  ally, even the great city of Olympia fell, thereby absorbing 
  the Alexandrine Empire into the Elysian Empire. This new  
   
   
   
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  14 
  empire was to last for five centuries, although eventually 
  it did collapse under its own weight. This collapse left 
  most of Arcadia in darkness and ignorance.  
   
  But during the Ninth Century of the Fourth Age, a 
  kind of renaissance sprang up in the gnomish country of 
  Utopia. A feudal lord of gnomes called Carolus Minor 
  (“Charles the Small”) began uniting various duchies and 
  principalities into a single kingdom. This would one day 
  become the nation-state of Utopia, and it would set the 
  standard for other lands throughout the medieval period 
  of the Fourth Age. In the Twelfth Century, Avalon united 
  under the crown of the fay King Tristram, whose daugh-
  ter Maeve (who would herself ascend to the throne in the 
  Sixteenth Century) was to become the greatest monarch in 
  Arcadian history. Other lands followed suit, and by the 
  time the Nineteenth Century arrives, even the fragmented 
  countries Midjard and Elysia now seem ready to unite in-
  to modern states… 
   
  The Geography of Gaia 
  Gaia is the third planet out from a star called Helios. The 
  Helion System is structured similarly to our own: there 
  are four rocky inner planets and four gaseous outer plan-
  ets. The inner planets, moving outward from the sun, are 
  called Hermes, Aphrodite, Gaia, and Ares. The outer plan-
  ets are Zeus, Chronos, Uranos, and Poseidon. Until very 
  recently, Chronos was the most distant planet known to 
  Gaians, since that is the farthest planet which can be seen 
  with the naked eye. Uranos and Poseidon were both dis-
  covered and named by modern astronomers just within 
  the last century, due to the invention of the telescope dur-
  ing the Elysian Renaissance.  
   
  All of the planets from Gaia outward have satellite 
  bodies of their own—moons. Gaia herself has two moons, 
  which are called Phoebe and Selene. Phoebe, the inner-
  most moon, is all but identical to Earth’s moon in the real 
  world: clearly lifeless, it shines silvery-yellow in the night 
  sky but displays lowlands, mountains, and craters when 
  observed through a telescope. Selene, the farther moon, 
  resembles a tiny version of Uranos, blue in color, but per-
  fectly smooth and featureless. Whereas Phoebe both ro-
  tates and revolves at the same speed, and therefore always 
  presents only one face to Gaia at all times, Selene’s period 
  of rotation cannot be determined from observing its bare 
  surface. Selene’s revolutionary period is also significantly 
  longer than Phoebe’s: Selene completes a full orbit about 
  Gaia precisely once every 88 days, while Phoebe will go 
  through all of its phases every 28 days (which is of course 
  the basis of the Gaian month).  
   
  Ares is only known to have one moon, which is called 
  Thanatos. Thanatos is probably nothing but a lifeless rock, 
  but scientists aren’t so sure about Ares itself. When ob-
  served through a telescope, Ares appears to be blue and 
  green and swirled with white. The possibility exists that 
  life thrives there.  
   
  In between the orbits of Ares and Zeus, there are a 
  small number of “minor planets”, all of which share ap-
  proximately the same orbit and revolve about the sun at 
  about the same speed. There is no diffuse belt of asteroids 
  beyond the orbit of Ares: just three or four known minor 
  planets. “Three or four” is the number most often cited, 
  because the forth such body discovered by modern as-
  tronomers might or might not be counted as a planet at 
  all. The first three objects, known as Hera, Demeter, and 
  Hestia, are all clearly small planets of solid, rocky con-
  stitution and spherical shape. But the fourth object, which 
  is called the Athena Cloud, is a cluster of rocks and debris 
  which are all gravitationally bound together, and which 
  therefore orbit the sun as a single body—a mass of inco-
  herent planetary matter spanning some twenty-thousand 
  miles in diameter. It is probable that the Athena Cloud 
  was once a solid minor planet which was then obliterated 
  by a collision with a comet or some other body. 
   
  The four “gas giant” outer planets all have some 
  dozens of moons, and ring systems of ice and dust as well. 
  The natures and characteristics of these outer bodies are 
  largely a mystery to Gaian folk. Speculation is also ram-
  pant about what might exist beyond the orbit of Poseidon: 
  is there a mysterious ninth planet which remains to be 
  discovered? Nobody knows. But astronomers have been 
  able to determine, at least, that the strange, elliptical orbits 
  of comets do take them far out beyond Poseidon’s orbit. 
  Comets, therefore, are the most distant objects in the 
  Helion System known to Gaian astronomers.  
   
  Beyond the Helion System, the people of Gaia are 
  now for the most part aware that the other stars which are 
  visible in the night sky are distant suns which might have 
  planets of their own orbiting them. However, the state of 
  astronomy on Gaia is not yet sufficiently advanced that 
  they have deduced the shape or character of the galaxy to 
  which Helios belongs, let alone the notion that other gal-
  axies exist in the universe. These discoveries are probably 
  less than a century away, though. 
   
  Returning, then, to Gaia herself, she is what one 
  might call a typical “M-Class” planet: nitrogen-oxygen 
  atmosphere, two-thirds surface water, and overall ideally 
  suited for carbon-based life as we know it. The surface of 
  Gaia is dominated by four oceans (the Dysic, the Notonic, 
  the Anatolic, and the Boreic) and five major landmasses: 
  the continents Mu, Atlantis, Tollan, Lemuria, and Edenia. 
   
  Mu covers much of Gaia’s southern hemisphere. This 
  barren, irradiated wasteland might be considered unin-
  habitable, but for the mutated monsters that dwell here. 
  Adventurers who explore this continent seldom return to 
  tell about it.  
   
  Atlantis is a peculiar continent, shaped like a swirl or 
  a spiral, set almost precisely on the equator in the middle 
  of the Dysic Ocean. Legends persist that Atlantis is com-
  posed of three concentric rings of land, but these legends 
  are false—it is a single landmass which happens to have a 
  shallow, spiral-shaped channel of seawater cutting into 
  the center of it. The inhabitants of Atlantis are human, 
  highly advanced, and extremely isolationistic. They toler-
  ate no visitors; brook no contact with the outside world; 
  shoot before asking questions; take no prisoners; and give 
  no quarter. Thus, Atlantis is an unknown quantity to out-
  siders. Airships do not survive flying near its coastlines. 
  
  GEOGRAPHY OF GAIA 
   
   
  15 
   
    
   
   
  Tollan might be considered a jungle continent: it is 
  almost completely covered by rain forest, though grassy 
  plains are present on its southern edge; and high, rocky 
  mountains run along the north. For nearly four centuries 
  now, the whole continent of Tollan has been under the 
  control of the Hesperian Empire, and the native peoples—
  which are mainly fays and humans—have been subjected 
  to the rule of men from Hesperia.  
   
  Lemuira is a continent which was once almost entire-
  ly peopled by fays—at least, prior to the incursions of the 
  elves during the Second Age. During that time, the Elfin 
  Empire established several colonies on the eastern coast of 
  Lemuria, but these were all destroyed in the wars that 
  brought about the end of the Second Age. In the Third 
  Age, when humans came to power in Arcadia, Lemuria 
  was mostly forgotten. Then, late in the Fourth Age, a great 
  movement for exploration swept the Arcadian peoples, 
  and Lemuria was rediscovered. What they found was a 
  lush, verdant continent of forests and plains and majestic 
  mountains, inhabited by various tribes of all the races, 
  including humans, though all of them subsisted at an ap-
  proximately Stone-Age level of technology. Avalon and 
  Utopia were quick to plant new colonies here, and Avalon 
  once again came to control the eastern coast of the conti-
  nent, just as it had done two Ages ago. Utopia, mean-
  while, managed to secure much of the continental interior, 
  especially in the north. But during the Eighteenth Century 
  of the Fourth Age, the Avalon Colonies determined that 
  they wanted independence and self-rule; and to avoid a 
  war, Queen Maeve of Avalon granted the colonies formal 
  independence, though they remain a Dominion under the 
  protection of Avalon’s crown. This region is known today 
  as the Lemurian Federation, and it is made of up several 
  small political entities which are nominally republics. As 
  for the Utopian territories, which have been named “Ar-
  borea”, they remain firmly under the control of Utopia’s 
  dictatorial Emperor, François Biendit. 
   
  Edenia, the largest single landmass on Gaia, is div-
  ided into several smaller subcontinents. Arcadia is the fo-
  cus of this text; it is generally said to include the attendant 
  islands of Hesperia, Avalon, and Tirnanog. The other re-
  gions include Tuonela (a wilderness controlled by gnolls); 
  Amarna (a desert region which has characteristics of our 
  Egypt and Arabia); Eden (a crossroads of a land which re-
  sembles Turkey and Persia; and which in ancient times 
  was called “Edenia Minor”, as it has lent its name to the 
  larger continent of Edenia); Shambhala (which culturally 
  resembles our India and Tibet); Jianghu (which means 
  “the land of rivers and lakes”, and which resembles Im-
  perial China); and last but not least, the mysterious region 
  called Draconia. “Draconia” is merely a shorthand for this 
  country’s proper name, i.e. “Draconia Gæa Vomica”, or 
  “Cursed Land Draconia”.  Draconia is surrounded on all 
  sides by mountains so high that no airship can fly over 
  them. These mountains are said to be inhabited by the 
  fiercest dragons imaginable: the black-scaled, acid-spiting 
  murkwyrms. What lies beyond, nobody can say, although 
  most people imagine that it must be a terrible, blighted 
  country ruled by these evil dragons.  
   
  Apart from the continents, there are also several large 
  islands of note. On the southern shore of Lemuria, there 
  sweeps out an archipelago of islands around the Caliban 
  Sea. The Caliban Islands have long been a prime haunt for 
  pirates, buccaneers, swashbucklers, and other salty sea-
  dog types. On the other side of the world, between the 
  Anatolic and Dysic Oceans, there sit two large islands, one 
  just about on the equator and the other south of it. The 
  southerly island is called Mana Island; its people are said 
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  16 
  to be among the happiest and friendliest in the world, and 
  their home is beautiful and bountiful. The northerly island 
  is called Tabu Island; it is said to be a terrible place, in-
  fested with some of the strongest monsters in the world, 
  and it is believed to hide some horrible secret. Last of all, 
  there are three large islands in the north Dysic Ocean, set 
  between Lemuira and Arcadia. The largest of these is 
  Jøtunheim, home of stone giants. The centermost island is 
  Muspellheim, home of fire, land of cinders and volcanic 
  ash. Lastly, shaped like a five-pointed star, there is Neifel-
  heim, home of frost, a strange and frigid island where the 
  cold wells up from the very ground beneath. 
   
  Arcadia in the Fourth Age 
  The history of Arcadia since the start of the Fourth Age 
  has been strangely parallel to our own Europe.  The first 
  Emperor of Elysium, Julius Dracus, was a great conquer-
  or: he not only subdued the entire Elysian peninsula, he 
  also brought most of Utopia and Illyria under the thumb 
  of his empire. But his son and successor, Octavius Dracus, 
  was the greatest of the Elysian emperors, and the start of 
  his reign marks the year 1 of the Fourth Age. Under Oc-
  tavius, the Empire expanded to include the rest of Utopia, 
  much of Amarna and Edenia Minor, and Hesperia as well.  
  The third and fourth emperors, Tertian and Thadrian, 
  were also respectable expansionists: Tertian subdued Syl-
  vania and tried to do the same in Midjard (but he never 
  succeeded), while Thadrian made inroads into Avalon but 
  never managed a foothold on Tirnanog as he’d wished. 
   
  During the reign of the First Four Emperors, the pow-
  er of Elysium was unchallenged, and these imperial mon-
  archs ruled from their capital city, Cælestium (which is to-
  day called Celesce in the modern parlance of Elysia).  But 
  after the reign of Thadrian, the empire began to decline.  
  There were good emperors and bad emperors; but for the 
  most part, the empire was just too big to maintain, either 
  militarily or financially. And then, during the Fifth Cen-
  tury, the empire collapsed altogether. 
   
  In the era that followed—now commonly known as 
  the Dark Ages—fairy folk from the northern kingdoms 
  swept south and conquered most of the former Elysian 
  provinces; but in doing so, they also came to lord over 
  vast numbers of human subjects, and the fairy peoples be-
  gan to imitate human models of culture, law, and govern-
  ment. There was also rather a lot of intermarriage between 
  humans and fairies during this time, and in most of the 
  southern kingdoms, it wasn’t very long at all before some 
  human son or grandson of an elfin or goblin king would 
  inherit the throne. Humans inevitably returned to power 
  in the south again, simply because there were so many 
  more of them. Nevertheless, to this day, royal families in 
  Hesperia and the Elysian principalities still proudly point 
  to elves or fays or goblins in their ancestral genealogies. 
   
  During the Dark Ages, Arcadia was divided up into 
  innumerable small kingdoms, but a movement occurred 
  in the Ninth Century under the auspices of the gnomish 
  king of Rolandeaux, a region in northern Utopia. This 
  king, by the name of Carolus Minor (or, as modern Utop-
  ians remember him, Charlemin), managed to unite many 
  small Utopian duchies and kingdoms into a single feudal 
  entity—the very first inkling of a modern nation-state. In 
  the Twelfth Century, a fay king by the name of Tristram 
  managed to do much the same thing on the Island of 
  Avalon.  This period, the Middle Ages, was marked by the 
  tumultuous practice of state-building, as the most power-
  ful monarchs in each land scrambled to conquer or to win 
  the fealty of their neighbors. Some kings and queens were 
  very successful; others, in places like Elysium and Mid-
  jard, weren’t so much. 
   
  The Fifteenth Century could be said to mark the end 
  of the Middle Ages, since in this time, the many and sund-
  ry little duchies and republics of Elysium began to show 
  signs of a second great rebirth of culture, a Renaissance.  
  Art, philosophy, magic, and scholarship all saw a great re-
  surgence in this time. Over the next few centuries, authors 
  and artists created the greatest works in history; natural 
  philosophers observed nature and laid the groundwork 
  for modern science; and wizards and sages rediscovered 
  many powerful magical rituals which had been lost since 
  the Third Age.  During this time, Arcadians also began to 
  explore the world with sailing ships, laying the founda-
  tions for future empires. 
   
  The Eighteenth Century, an era called the Enlighten-
  ment, brought true science at last to Arcadia. In this era, 
  humans, gnomes, and goblins finally rediscovered the sci-
  entific method, and their ideas gave rise to modern chem-
  istry, physics, biology, and all the other sciences. An ink-
  ling of democracy was also born in this era, when the Le-
  murian Federation sued for independence from Avalon 
  and had their petition (for the most part) granted. The 
  Lemurians came to govern themselves by a set of high 
  ideals: liberty, self-rule, and the equality of all men and 
  fairies. The Lemurian nation came to be greatly admired 
  by many in Arcadia, but it was also a source of worry and 
  paranoia, since many monarchs feared that it might in-
  spire revolution in their own lands. 
   
  This proved all too true in Utopia. In the Thirteenth 
  Century, a dynasty of alva (sylvan elf) kings had succeed-
  ed that of Charlemin, and they reigned until the end of the 
  Eighteenth Century, when gnomes, ogres, and humans all 
  rose up to rebel against the elfin King Lénou II. Following 
  a series of bloody civil wars and ineffectively bureaucratic 
  interim governments, power came to rest in the hands of a 
  gnome by the name of François Biendit, a brilliant general 
  who had distinguished himself by fighting for the revolu-
  tionaries during the civil war. Biendit still rules Utopia. 
   
  Now, in the early decades of the Nineteenth Century, 
  Arcadia is undergoing an Industrial Revolution. Techno-
  logy is changing life for everybody. The world has be-
  come more comfortable and convenient, but also quicker 
  of pace and more impersonal. Many old ways and cus-
  toms might have even been lost for good, if not for the 
  long memories of elves, fays, and goblins. The govern-
  ments of the most powerful states—Avalon, Utopia, and 
  Hesperia—have projected their power around the world 
  and created vast colonial empires on foreign shores.  Mid-
  jard and Elysium, meanwhile, are still struggling toward 
  
  ARCADIA IN THE FOURTH AGE 
   
   
  17 
   
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  18 
   
   
   
  statehood, threatened as they are by the power of Utopia 
  on one side and Sylvania (the seat of a vast, budding land-
  empire) on the other. As for Illyria, this country has its 
  own set of problems: more than four centuries ago, it was 
  conquered by Amarna, and it has only lately won its in-
  dependence from the sultan of that country. 
   
  Religions of Arcadia 
  One important topic yet to be covered is religion: what are 
  the faiths of Arcadia like? What of its churches and priests 
  and holidays? One fact which must be stressed before all 
  else is that religion in modern Arcadia is a national affair 
  —there is no continent-spanning, capital-C “Church” with 
  a pope or a patriarch whose authority extends across any 
  national borders. Rather, each individual faith community 
  is only as politically influential as the state that backs it—
  which is considerable in a nation-state like Avalon or Hes-
  peria, and far less so in one of the principalities of Midjard 
  or Elysia.  
   
  The Old Faith 
  Long before any humans came to Gaia, the fairy folk prac-
  ticed their own religion, now known as the “Old Faith” or 
  “Old Ways”. It is a combination of Druidry and Spiritism, 
  particularly veneration for local nature-spirits and for the 
  ancestors of one’s own family. It is quite common to hear 
  a demi-human of any race, when confronted by great sur-
  prise or joy or distress, to swear “by the Spirits” or “by the 
  Ancestors” (both phrases mean roughly the same thing to 
  most fairy-folk). And while the more intellectual among 
  them will acknowledge that there may perhaps be a Great 
  Spirit or a single cosmic intelligence at the heart of every-
  thing, followers of the Old Ways have little reverence or 
  concern for such a being. Anything so vast and distant is 
  unlikely to notice mortal goings-on: it’s far more practical 
  to make sure that you placate the spirits who are watching 
  you. Your ancestors care what you’re doing, and so do the 
  spirits living in the well you draw water from every day, 
  the forest on the edge of your land, and the mountain that 
  overlooks your home. 
   
  The priests of the Old Faith are called druids, marked 
  to all by the robes of plain white that they wear. A druid 
  does not necessarily need to be a mage or to have any fair-
  folk blood, but it is certainly more common to meet a fairy 
  druid than a human one, if only because the Old Faith is 
  more commonly practiced in the north, where there are 
  more fairies than humans. And it is the case that druids 
  with magic are ranked above members of the order who 
  do not have it—properly speaking, a mage is a full druid, 
  while a non-mage is accorded the lesser title of “ovate”. 
   
  The druid order as it now exists is believed to have 
  been founded early in the Third Age, by a fay known as 
  Midhir of Áilleacht, who wanted to counter the proselytiz-
  ing of the humans from the south. Midhir is something of 
  a mysterious figure to modern fairy folk: history records 
  little about him. They do not regard him as a prophet or 
  any great religious leader, but they respect him simply as 
  a priest who founded a priesthood (the way a real-world 
  Catholic might think of St. Francis or St. Augustine). And 
  some have speculated (though largely without evidence—
  it’s a fringe theory only) that Midhir may in fact have been 
  another of the many disguises of that famed wandering 
  wizard, none other than Myrddin Ambrosius himself. 
  
  RELIGIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  19 
   
  Followers of the Old Ways do not build churches or 
  temples of stone: rather, they gather to worship in natural 
  places—groves, grottos, valleys, caverns—with the druids 
  conducting rites on holy days to gratify the genii locorum 
  and honor the ancestors.  The holiest times of the year to 
  the druids are the equinoxes and the solstices—especially 
  the solstices—and the Arcadian calendar reflects this, with 
  two weeks set apart from the ordinary progression of the 
  months to mark the summer solstice (Sol), and yet another 
  two weeks to mark the winter solstice (Yule). Among the 
  fair folk, Sol is a time of somber reflection, penitence, and 
  reverence for the ancestors; while Yule is more of a wild 
  celebration of the natural world and continued life. 
   
  Reverence for life is perhaps the central tenant of the 
  Old Faith. Followers are bidden to respect nature, do no 
  harm to others or to the world, and to honor those who 
  have come before. The afterlife is referred to simply as the 
  “Spirit World”, and it is believed to be a vaguely ethereal 
  realm from which the ancestors and the spirits of natural 
  places can watch the physical world of the living. Ances-
  tors must wait in the Spirit World for some indeterminate 
  length of time—probably thousands of years—for the op-
  portunity to be reincarnated and live new lives. (True Fae 
  like the Sidhe and the High Elves are immortals and fact-
  ually known to reincarnate after they die, and even to re-
  tain all the memories of their past lives; so it is little won-
  der that the lesser fairy-folk have also come to believe in 
  reincarnation. But if memories of past lives and afterlives 
  are lost, there is no way to demonstrate the truth of this 
  belief empirically.) 
   
  The Old Faith was on Gaia for thousands of years be-
  fore any humans ever showed up. It is totally ingrained in 
  fairy society and holds a central place in all the cultures of 
  Arcadia. It has had a strong influence on human religions, 
  which have adopted certain fairy practices (especially the 
  holidays) and outward trappings. In the north countries in 
  particular, humans who wish to get ahead in society have 
  oftentimes been compelled to abandon human religions 
  altogether and follow only the Old Ways. 
   
  Ashavism: The Way of Law 
  The humans now living on Gaia are descended from those 
  who first arrived in Atlantis at the dawn of the Third Age. 
  They built their own civilizations and founded their own 
  religions there, even as they spread out to Amarna and to 
  the Tollan continent, and thence throughout the world. At 
  first, the early human city-states and empires worshipped 
  pantheons of local gods, with each tribe or nation having 
  its own patron deities; but late in the Third Age (although 
  still many centuries before the rise of the Alexandrine Em-
  pire), there arose in the land of Edenia Minor (the country 
  between Amarna and Shambhala) a new religion, led by a 
  teacher or prophet now only known as “Ashavan”, which 
  means “law-giver” or “truth-bringer”. 
   
  Ashavan taught that the universe is the battleground 
  in an eternal war between two cosmic forces, Oromazes—
  the supreme God of creation, goodness, light, and Law—
  and Areimanios—the opposing principle of evil, darkness, 
  destruction, and Chaos. The universe was born from the 
  will of Oromazes and shall continue as long as He and His 
  followers can stave off the end times and the final victory 
  of Chaos. This they can do, according to the Lawgiver’s 
  teachings, by adhering to the Law outlined in the sacred 
  text of the religion, the Asha (the Book of the Law), and by 
  performing good deeds and avoiding evil deeds all one’s 
  life. After death, souls are judged according to how they 
  lived, with the good sent to reside with Oromazes in Par-
  adise and the wicked sent to torment in the Inferno with 
  Areimanios. Both good and wicked souls are destined to 
  fight for the fate of the universe when the end of days ar-
  rives, and the eschatology of Ashavism teaches that the 
  side with the larger army when that day comes will win—
  but the outcome is uncertain, and neither Oromazes nor 
  Areimanios is guaranteed to triumph in the end. 
   
  Some four centuries after the time of Ashavan, the Il-
  lyrians under Alexander conquered the lands of Edenia 
  and Amarna. They went about imposing the Illyrian pan-
  theon on the people of those lands in the perfunctory way 
  expected of a conquering empire; but in a twist of historic 
  proportions, Alexander (who fancied himself a philoso-
  pher-king) came to personally admire the teachings of the 
  Ashavist faith, and he incorporated these beliefs into his 
  own. A generation later, one of Alexander’s own younger 
  sons, a prince named Evander (whose mother had been a 
  princess of Edenia Minor) took up the mantle of a prophet 
  and carried the Asha and the Law back to Illyria. 
   
  The Ashavist faith spread slowly across the Alexand-
  rine Empire throughout the rest of the Third Age, but it 
  would only really take off in the early part of the Fourth 
  Age, after Dracus and the Elysian Empire took it over. In 
  the 1st century of the Fourth Age, another prophet by the 
  name of Mithres rose to prominence in the eastern part of 
  Edenia. Mithres was an apocalyptic preacher who warned 
  that the end times were near and encouraged resistance 
  against the Elysians. Mithres was caught and executed for 
  the crime of inciting rebellion, but his followers dispersed 
   
   
   
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  20 
  into small cults that traveled throughout the Empire, con-
  verting and preaching and infiltrating. They taught that 
  Mithres had become enlightened upon the instant of his 
  death and carried up to Paradise by the right hand of Oro-
  mazes Himself. They carried as their holy symbol the im-
  age of Mithres’ face, youthful and curly-haired, surround-
  ed by radiant sunbeams—the sign of the sun. 
   
  Julius Dracus found it convenient to proclaim the or-
  thodox form of the Ashavist religion to be the official reli-
  gion throughout the eastern half of his vast new empire—
  i.e., the part of it that had once been the Alexandrine Em-
  pire, where Ashavism was already widespread. But “the 
  Dragon of Elysium” had no tolerance for the “Mithrean” 
  cult that might subvert his rule. He persecuted the Mith-
  reans relentlessly, as did the second emperor, his son Oc-
  tavius Dracus. Still, the religion continued to spread into 
  the western empire, and there was nothing that the third 
  emperor, Tertian, could do about it. Finally, the fourth of 
  the early “Good Emperors” of Elysium became a convert 
  himself and was thereafter known as Thadrian the Great. 
  From that point forward, Ashavism, and the Mithrean sect 
  in particular, became the de facto official religion of the hu-
  man lands of southwestern Arcadia—Hesperia, the south 
  of Utopia, Elysia, and what is now Sylvania. In the east, in 
  Illyria, orthodox Ashavism remains the dominant religion. 
   
  This might also have been true of Amarna and Eden-
  ia, except that in the seventh century of the Fourth Age, 
  yet another religious leader appeared and rose to promin-
  ence. A prophetess, Manaat was her name, came to power 
  as a preacher and war-leader among the nomad tribes of 
  Amarna’s deserts. Her followers formed a new sect of the 
  Ashavist religion, now called Manaatism, which taught a 
  stricter form of adherence to the Law of Asha.  This move-
  ment very quickly spread across Amarna and Edenia, al-
  though it never penetrated into Shambhala or Illyria very 
  far. And while there never were, for example, crusades or 
  any wide wars fought between Mithreans and Manaatists 
  on a large scale, nothing that would cause any truly dire 
  ill will between the two sects, the Manaatists did seek to 
  differentiate themselves from the Mithreans in a most bra-
  zen fashion—to oppose the sign of the Unconquered Sun, 
  they adopted as their symbol a crescent moon.  
   
  Irrespective of the specific sect—orthodox Ashavist, 
  Mithrean, or Manaatist—these religions all have certain 
  things in common. Followers believe in the cosmology de-
  scribed above, and they worship Oromazes as the one true 
  God of the universe. (It is more common for laypersons to 
  refer this deity as God, the Lord, or the Good Lord than to 
  blaspheme by pronouncing the holiest of names aloud.) 
  Likewise, they believe that Areimanios is the proper name 
  of the Arch-Devil himself, the ultimate source of all evil, 
  whose works and minions are to be opposed at all cost.  
   
  Priests of this religion are known as magi, and they 
  are usually mages by training (those without sufficient tal-
  ent to become 1st level mages remain mere initiates of the 
  priesthood). The highest ranks within the hierarchy of a 
  given nation’s church are archmagi—and each nation-state 
  does always have its own independent hierarchy, usually 
  only beholden to the ruler(s) of that state. 
   
   
   
   
  Ashavism is thoroughly dualistic, teaching that God 
  and the Arch-Fiend are locked for all time in a war waged 
  via intermediaries: angels that serve Oromazes, devils that 
  serve Areimanios, and mortals who choose to do good or 
  evil. There is little belief, if any, in predestination or fore-
  ordination: the outcome of the end-times battle is always 
  uncertain and must at always be fought for. Also, despite 
  the religion’s heavy emphasis on the idea of Law and or-
  der being equated with justice, truth, and goodness, there 
  is actually very little in the way of moral philosophizing. 
  Following the Law for a follower of Ashavism means ad-
  hering to the ritual and religious tenants in the sacred text, 
  the Asha; but doing good works in the world is the pro-
  vince of the private individual, the conscience, and free 
  will. 
   
  The Gnostic Reformation 
  There is a long tradition of philosophy among the humans 
  of Gaia. In the lands of Arcadia, much of it begins with the 
  philosopher-king, Alexander, who believed in a school of 
  “Formal Idealism”, which holds that the physical world is 
  a flawed illusion, a reflection of higher Mind or Form, and 
  that the true reality must be those perfect absolutes which 
  can only ever exist as pure thought. In a later Age, a phil-
  osopher by the name of Cenico, who served Julius Dracus 
  and tutored young Octavius, promoted Rational Empiric-
  ism, which argues that truth is best discovered by using 
  reason and the senses. Cenico’s philosophy, derived from 
  the idea that the truth can be known from observation and 
  experience, wasn’t terribly popular in its day and was all 
  but lost after the fall of the Elysian Empire. 
  
  RELIGIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  21 
   
  The next major development that rocked philosophy 
  and religion in Arcadia took place in the 15th century, in 
  the city of Friedvoll, in the kingdom of Dreiseen in central 
  Midjard. There, a group of scholars came together to form 
  a “Society of Freethinkers”, which aimed to rethink both 
  modern religion and classical philosophy (and perhaps to 
  merge the twain). The leader of the Society, a laconic and 
  acerbic old scholar named Erasmus Kirke, began to teach 
  a new philosophy which has come to be known (depend-
  ing on who you ask) as either the Gnostic Reformation or 
  the Gnostic Heresy.  
   
  Kirke wondered whether the Ashavists hadn’t gotten 
  everything all mixed up—whether, blinded by their faith, 
  the early followers of the Lawgiver hadn’t been able to see 
  what seemed painfully obvious to him. The world is full 
  of evil, fallen and imperfect; therefore it cannot be the cre-
  ation of a perfectly good God. Rather, the physical realm 
  is the work of a Demiurge, imperfect or ignorant or possi-
  bly even malevolent; and the true, benevolent God must 
  be distant or inaccessible. The only way to find out, Kirke 
  surmised, was to study everything: study the world, mag-
  ic, angels, demons, anything and everything that might 
  help answer his questions about the true nature of the di-
  vine. A century before the Scientific Revolution, Kirke and 
  the Society brought about a Reformation: they embarked 
  upon the world’s first project to study magic and divinity 
  empirically. 
   
  Their studies led them into all manner of esotericism: 
  hermetic magic, numerology, searching for secret know-
  ledge within the very text of the Asha, golem-crafting, al-
  chemy. Traditional Ashavists and Mithreans sneered der-
  isively at these “Kirkean” knowledge-seekers, but the So-
  ciety preferred to call themselves “Gnostics” after the very 
  knowledge that they sought. 
   
  There are two major differences between the Gnostic 
  and the earlier forms of the Ashavist faith, one theological 
  and the other something of an accident of geography and 
  politics. First, because the characteristics (or even the very 
  existence) of God cannot be demonstrated empirically, the 
  Gnostics tend to place a greater focus on lesser spirits, the 
  angels and the demons and also the nature spirits and an-
  cestors revered by the Old Faith. Gnostics collectively re-
  fer to all of these different spirits as “Æons”. They have 
  invented more than a few elaborate systems for counting, 
  ranking, and classifying Æeons; but they mostly agree on 
  the notion that the top-ranked Æeons (what the Ashavists 
  would call arch-angels) number seven and oversee differ-
  ent aspects of reality: mind, truth, justice, matter, magic, 
  and so forth. Secondly, the Gnostics took the opportunity 
  in founding a new human religion to incorporate several 
  fairy customs, including an emphasis on the ancestors and 
  nature spirits and many of the druidical trappings of Old 
  Ways. This they found to be politically expedient, both to 
  win fairy converts and to make their practices more social-
  ly acceptable in the northern countries (especially Midjard 
  and Asgard) where the Reformation first took place. It is 
  almost needless to say at this point that the Gnostic faith is 
  not terribly popular in southern Arcadia; but it has found 
  great favor in the Republics of Lemuria.  
   
  Gnostics generally eschew the elaborate trappings of 
  priests and fancifully decorated temples, favoring instead 
  simple stone meeting-houses or lodges and a (very slight-
  ly) more egalitarian atmosphere. Gnostic clerics are called 
  ministers and they use as their holy symbol a draftsman’s 
  compass, to symbolize the intellectual work that goes into 
  acquiring true knowledge. Their teachings emphasize two 
  main behaviors: the seeking of knowledge, both practical 
  and spiritual, through study and introspection; and avoid-
  ing the sins and evils of the world through self-restraint or 
  self-discipline. These two tenets have conspired to lend to 
  the Gnostics a reputation for strictness and asceticism that 
  may not perhaps be wholly deserved. 
   
  Minor Cults 
  In case it has not yet been made clear, religion in Arcadia 
  is anything but monolithic. The major religions described 
  above are widespread and backed by the secular govern-
  ments in nations where they are entrenched; but there are 
  also innumerable minor cults throughout the land. Religi-
  ous practice in Arcadia is highly varied and idiosyncratic, 
  and the average Arcadian probably doesn’t think it very 
  strange if the neighbors down the street start worshipping 
  some new god that nobody’s ever heard of before. 
   
  The Arcadian Calendar 
  Gaia is a different world from ours, but its cultures and its 
  history are similar. On that account, there is little reason to 
  deal in fictional names for the months of the year and the 
  days of the week. Just as the players gathered around the 
  table will speak in English and not Avalonian, the ordin-
  ary words for days and dates can be used as a campaign 
  progresses. Thus, even though Gaia’s night sky has eight 
  visible bodies, (because of the second moon), the week is 
  still only seven days long (there is no extra day to repre-
  sent the extra moon); and even though there was never an 
  Emperor Augustus in Elysium, the eighth month of the 
  year might as well be called August.   
   
  Gaia does, however, make use of the perennial/lunar 
  calendar found in the back of the E&E Core Rules. In keep-
  ing with fairy custom, there are two intercalary or “half-
  month” periods, each lasting for the two weeks leading up 
  to the solstices: Sol in the summer and Yule in the winter. 
  Even the humans in the south follow this custom, though 
  they term the winter festival “Noël” and dedicate the time 
  to celebrating the birth of Mithres. 
   
  Arcadian Currency 
  One final note of interest: the currencies of Arcadia go by 
  many names, but with most of the trade and finance hav-
  ing long been the particular specialty of the Guidlermen 
  of southern Asgard, their currency has become an interna-
  tional standard. They use the iron bit, the copper guilder, 
  the silver thaler, and the gold ducat for their accounts. Of 
  course, in the cities and towns of Arcadia, paper currency 
  for the larger denominations is just as common as metallic 
  coinage. 
  
  PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF GAIA 
   
   
  22 
   
  
   
  23 
   
   
   
  PART THREE: 
  NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
  NOW MUST OUR attention turn to the lands of 
  Arcadia, and to the nations which comprise this 
  remarkable subcontinent. There are ten countries 
  to be found in Arcadia: Asgard, Avalon, Elysia, Hesperia, 
  Illyria, Midjard, Pohjola, Sylvania, Tirnanog, and Utopia. 
   
  ASGARD 
   
  Asgard is Arcadia’s largest country, but also its sparsest in 
  population. Much of Asgard is still wilderness, chiefly 
  forest and tundra. The northernmost reaches of Asgard 
  are sometimes called the “Frozen North”: these latitudes 
  never thaw. That region sees midnight suns in the sum-
  mers and noontime darkness in the winters. Elsewhere, 
  great mountain ranges stretch across the rough and wild 
  country: the Jærnbekkes divide those northerly tundra 
  regions from the forests that cover the rest of the land; and 
  the Englenfjærs run from the southwest to the northeast, 
  bisecting the central regions with a high and jagged range 
  of mineral-rich peaks. The Chernobogs bound the country 
  on the east, separating Asgard from the gnollish territories 
  of Tuonela. 
   
  The dominant races in much of Asgard are the kobolde 
  (goblins) and the ûrkō (ogres). Only these folk have been 
  hardy enough to withstand her rough terrains and climes, 
  and they have done so since their arrival on Gaia at the 
  dawn of the First Age of the world. Asgard is considered 
  to be the ancestral homeland of all Gaia’s goblins (where-
  as the nomadic ogres have wandered further afield down 
  through the millennia, into Pohjola and Tuonela and even 
  Utopia). But other folk dwell in Asgard too, and humans 
  are particularly well-represented in the southwest of the 
  country, along the Guilden Coast. Gnomes and elves live 
  among the goblin-folk, in the mountains and the forests, 
  mingling with them freely; and merrows dwell in great 
  numbers in the shallows along all of the coastlines, most 
  especially in the waters of the great Fenrir Bay. But re-
  gardless of their race, all the people of Asgard are ruled 
  by the King-Under-the-Mountain, the lord of the goblins 
  who dwells in the ancient and storied city of Nidhavellir 
  (usually spelled “Niðavellir” in Old Goblish). This also in-
  cludes the lesser goblin-kings, each of whom rules their 
  own separate mountain-holts; and the human burgomas-
  ters of the Guilden cities. 
   
  The language of Asgard is called Asgartsk, also com-
  monly rendered as “Asgardish”. It is descended directly 
  from the Old Goblish tongue, which was spoken by the 
  goblins in past Ages of the world. Other folk living in As-
  gard, including the Guildermen and the merrows of Fen-
  rir Bay, speak in their own dialects of Asgardish.  Lingui-
  stically, the goblins’ tongue was closely related to that of 
  the wood elves, and so modern Asgardish is very similar 
  to its close relative, the Midjardisch language. 
   
  Asgard’s goblins are first of all miners and soldiers, of 
  course, but every other pursuit—notably hunting, trap-
  ing, fishing, and logging—is vital to their economy. The 
  gnomes, elves, and merrows dwell among the goblins in 
  significant numbers, with the gnomes and goblins being 
  nearly equal in terms of engineering knowledge. Asgard’s 
  elves are expert at forestry, and the merrows, seacraft. A 
   
   
   
  N
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  24 
  
  ASGARD 
   
   
  25 
  sort of centuries-old symbiosis has grown between these 
  fairy-folk, traditions that the goblins consider sacrosanct. 
  The humans, meanwhile, are primarily traders, sailors, or 
  (in partnership with the goblins) financiers. The humans’ 
  homes along the Guilden Coast grant them easy access to 
  some of the best shipping lanes in the region, with their 
  most conspicuous contribution to Arcadia at large having 
  been their stable currency, the guilder. In fact, guilders are 
  even more widely-circulated in Asgard than the goblins’ 
  own native currency, the krøne (crown). 
   
  The Kingdom of Asgard first began with the coming 
  of the goblins into Gaia, at the twilight of the First Age.  
  During the war between the Great Alliance and the Four 
  Fiends, the Lich-King Namtar had given his northernmost 
  stronghold over to one of his underlings, some Infernal 
  creature whose name has been forgotten by history. This 
  diabolical entity filled the mountains of the northlands 
  with all manner of beastkind, undead, and devilry, and 
  this army of evil terrorized everything within reach. But 
  the goblins, led by the great Goblin Lord Dvalinn Járn-
  hamarr the First, swept into the land of Asgard and drove 
  out all the gnolls. With help from the Alliance—from the 
  elves and the storied Sidhe wizard Myrddin—the mysteri-
  ous fiendish Power that drove the beastmen forth was cast 
  back into the depths and sealed away.  The goblins went 
  deep into the mountains and blocked off the passages that 
  lead to the Deep-Under, whence the gnolls and trolls and 
  such had come from. Then they expanded the upper tun-
  nels, and they strengthened and beautified them (for, as 
  Chaos rots the earth from within, so does the great skill of 
  the goblins heal and improve it). Dvalinn Járnhamarr took 
  for himself the former Fiend fortress, and he remade it 
  into a goblin-holt. This place came to be called Niðavellir, 
  and Lord Dvalinn ruled there as King-Under-the-Moun-
  tain. Thus was born the Kingdom of Asgard. 
   
  All throughout the Second Age, the goblins kept up 
  their ceaseless war with the Spawn of Chaos. Though the 
  power of the Four Fiends had been broken, the beastmen 
  themselves remained a formidable force in their own right 
  —especially in the Deep-Under beneath the surface of As-
  gard, and also in the Chernobogs and in that cursed land 
  called Tuonela. Old King Dvalinn was slain in the early 
  Gnoll Wars of the Second Age, but one of his descendants 
  always lived to take up the crown. In those days, while 
  the Járnhamarr kings still ruled, the elves who dwelt in 
  neighboring lands were close allies to the goblins and al-
  ways ready foes of the gnolls.   
   
  But the Second Age was also the Age of Elvendom, 
  when a mighty Elfin Empire arose from its seat in Avalon.  
  The goblins were always sorely pressed by monsters from 
  below; and eventually, it came to pass that Asgard relied 
  on Avalon more and more for aid and defense. In time, 
  the goblin-kingdom owed a debt so heavy that it became a 
  province in all but name, and the power of Old Dvalinn’s 
  crown became dependent on Avalon’s imperial authority.  
  Over the centuries, the goblins came to chafe and grumble 
  at having to pay tribute to their elfin neighbors over old 
  wars long since fought and old alliances long since hon-
  ored. In those days, near the end of the Second Age, the 
  king was called Andvari Járnhamarr, and he was but a 
  pale shadow of his ancestor, First Dvalinn. It was Andvari 
  who allowed Asgard’s weakness to fester, simply because 
  it was easy to rely on the elves. All the while, the might of 
  Avalon kept him in power over his fellow goblins. 
   
  Then came the Time of the Hero, when the one called 
  the Urther, the first human, appeared on Gaia. The Urther 
  made a dire enemy of Avalon, and so he also became an 
  enemy of King Andvari. When the Hero’s travels brought 
  him through Asgard, the shrewd but cowardly king of the 
  goblins pretended friendship, all the while plotting mur-
  der. But the poisoning plots and assassination attempts all 
  failed, and the Urther eventually brought about Avalon’s 
  fall. When this happened, Andvari also lost power in As-
  gard, and the throne of the goblin-kingdom came to rest 
  upon the head of traveling companion of the Urther’s, a 
  wise warrior-goblin named Ørjan Thrymjabrandr. King 
  Ørjan ruled well, and he brought his people into the Third 
  Age with renewed strength and courage. 
   
  After the fall of Meliora (the elfin empress of Avalon), 
  the fays returned to that land; and one of their number, 
  Morrigan, became the new queen there. Morrigan shared 
  a cordial friendship with King Ørjan of Asgard, but as the 
  Third Age wore on, Ørjan’s descendants became wary of 
  repeating past mistakes. Later kings in the Thrymjabrandr 
  line, acceding to the will of their goblin subjects, withdrew 
  from the world and guarded the shorelines and borders of 
  Asgard jealously. They allied with nobody, not even with 
  the elves of Midjard and Pohjola, who had never treated 
  them ill. They refused to trade with the human civiliza-
  tions that arose in the far south, ever keeping their finely 
  wrought arms and armors to themselves. (Even in those 
  days, when men first came into the world, the secrets of 
  goblin smithcraft were much prized and sought after.) It 
  was only near the end of that Age, when High Priest Apep 
  of Mephret joined with the beastmen of Tuonela and sum-
  moned vile Namtar back into the world, that the goblins 
  of Asgard were finally so threatened that they once again 
  opened up to the world. Spurred by the reappearance of 
  Myrddin of old, they joined the Second Great Alliance, al-
  though they were the last to do so—and they fought most 
  bravely in the war that ended that Age. But when it was 
  over, Asgard, like much of Arcadia, was ruined. The king-
  dom was plunged into an age of want and ignorance. 
   
  The rise of Elysium in the south marked the dawn of 
  the Fourth Age. During this time, humans arrived in As-
  gard and settled along the Guilden Coast. These people 
  practiced the way of “viking”, i.e. seasonal sea-voyages to 
  raid and pillage other coasts. Although they were wary of 
  each other at first, the goblins and humans soon came to 
  understand each other, and their cultures became strongly 
  integrated. Nowadays, the idea of an Asgard without the 
  Guildermen is all but inconceivable. 
   
  The Thrymjabrandr kings died out during the Second 
  Great War at the end of the Third Age; so at the beginning 
  of the Fourth, Asgard was divided and leaderless. The 
  goblin clans warred with each other, they warred with the 
  newly arrived humans, and they warred with neighboring 
  elves and gnomes. Indeed, it seems that the only people 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  26 
  the goblins didn’t fight with in those days were the beast-
  folk, and that was because those had all but disappeared 
  after the end of the Second Great War. Gnolls and trolls 
  became the stuff of old legends, and so did the notion of a 
  unified Kingdom of Asgard that paid homage as one to 
  the King-Under-the-Mountain. It was a long, slow road to  
  travel, to restore Asgard back to civilization and the glory 
  of old—but at last it did happen, around the year 1520 of 
  the Fourth Age. All throughout the medieval period of the 
  Fourth Age, numerous lords, chieftains, and petty kings 
  vied for supreme power. But in the 1520s, a goblin-lord 
  named Olaf Hreimdar was crowned monarch over all of 
  Asgard and came to rule at Nidhavellir. For the first time 
  in sixteen centuries, Asgard was once again united under 
  a single monarch. The 16th Century saw the beginning the 
  modern-day Kingdom of Asgard. Olaf’s descendant, King 
  Gustav Hreimdar, rules Asgard now. 
   
  Modern Asgard faces many hurdles. Asgard’s people 
  are generally technophilic and quickly adapt to the new-
  est inventions. The goblins are quite keen on railroads and 
  telegraph wires, and only the northernmost reaches of the 
  country (mostly ogre territory) still lack both.  Domestical-
  ly, Asgard is firmly a monarchy, but its people tend to be 
  forward-thinking and open to new ideas. A more demo-
  cratic form of constitutional monarchy might very well sit 
  on the immediate horizon. Internationally, Asgard’s clos-
  est allies remain Midjard, Phojola, and Avalon.  However, 
  just as it was in ancient times, Avalon is now a powerful 
  empire, and that alliance tends to be somewhat one-sided.  
  (Queen Maeve has ruled Avalon for as long as the whole 
  line of Hreimdar kings has ruled Asgard, after all.) The 
  country of Utopia has a somewhat brazenly antagonistic 
  relationship with Asgard: indeed, if Emperor Biendit ever 
  thought that he could conquer the goblins without incur-
  ring Avalon’s swift wrath, he would probably try to do so 
  at once. Worst of all, though, is Tuonela. Gnolls and trolls 
  and fouler things mostly vanished from the world followi-
  ing the end of the Third Age. But late in the Fourth Age— 
  in the 1500s to be precise, just as the Renaissance was tak-
  ing hold in Arcadia—dark, Chaotic things began creeping 
  back into the world. It started small, with isolated pockets 
  of ratling or mongrel beastmen hiding away in holes and 
  caves; but the rumblings in the east have grown stronger 
  in recent centuries, and now it seems as if the Deep-Under 
  is ready to burst once again. The Hordes of Chaos have 
  spewed forth form their holes and reappeared in Tuonela, 
  and they are multiplying. Nothing concerns the people of 
  Asgard more than this fact, for they know all too well that 
  their own land is connected to the Deep-Under by tunnels 
  and passages too numerous to count. If some dark Power 
  unites the beastfolk and sends them forth to do battle, As-
  gard will be the first front in a Third Great War. 
   
  Dalen Forest: This vast tract of woodland is wild, but 
  it is not particularly infested with monsters. Attercops and 
  giant wood spiders dwell in some of the darker and less 
  friendly parts of it, but for the most part sylvan elves and 
  dwarfs live in these woods. The humans of Henlegge free-
  ly harvest timber for sale to the goblins. Legends persist of 
  a huge monster of some kind, perhaps a giant or a dragon, 
  that sleeps in perpetuity beneath Dalen Forest. 
   
  Englenfjær Mountains: Not as blessed with mineral 
  wealth as the Jærnbekkes, the goblins abandoned most of 
  the Englenfjær mines many centuries ago. The cities that 
  remain here have been overtaken by humans, with the ex-
  ception of Krøneby, which is an important fortress (and a 
  second palace) for Goblin King Gustav. The Bifrøst Pass, 
  which is the quickest way between Niðavellir and Krøne-
  by, is frequently snowed in and must be cleared out in the 
  wintertime; it is the storied site of many ancient battles.  
  The cities of Tyven and Dumsinn are some of the roughest 
  in all of Asgard, populated mainly by humans and all but 
  run by their respective thieves’ guilds. 
   
  Ettaløye Mountain: There are no goblins living in the 
  stronghold of Ettaløye. This is the home of the Valkyr, a 
   
   
   
   
  
  ASGARD 
   
   
  27 
  warlike tribe of birdlings (kinnaras) who long ago delved 
  their city—Valhalla—deep into this lonely mountain. The 
  Valkyr are said to call their home the Holy City Valhalla; 
  goblins name it the Hidden City, and few indeed are the 
  outsiders who have ever set eyes upon it. The Valkyr keep 
  to themselves, allying with no one and paying little heed 
  to events that transpire in the outside world.  
   
  Fenrir Bay: Friendly merrows live in the shallows of 
  the Fenrir, and those that make their homes off the coast 
  of Asgard consider themselves to be Asgardish. The cities 
  of Plyndring and Kjeltring also have large numbers of 
  merrows who live on dry land. Plyndring is an old human 
  city, once home to fierce pillagers and pirates, but now a 
  quiet fishing port. Kjeltring, meanwhile, still houses the 
  Order of the Bågskyttar, an ancient fraternity of warrior 
  elves and merfolk who make it their purpose to guard the 
  coast from ill-intentioned interlopers. 
   
  Guilden Coast: The Guilderlands include everything 
  south of the Spyd River and west of the Dalen Forest and 
  the Englenfjærs. The city of Bondeby is a central market-
  city, surrounded by pleasant farmlands and numberless 
  sleepy villages. Høyhavn, Smykke, and Demningen are all 
  bustling ports. Demningen, on the mouth of the Stål River, 
  is famous for trading the diamonds that come all the way 
  south from the Jærnbekkes. Skipplass is where the Guil-
  dermen’s primary shipyards can be found, and Utsikts-
  tårn is a city where humans and goblins have joint control 
  over shipping and trading rights. 
   
  Hjemskøt Hall: This lonesome city has been the site 
  of generations of tragedy. In times past, attacks from mon-
  sters—from the great rock-trolls of the Øttin Marshes, the 
  ghouls of the Mørk Woods, and scheming draug and risr 
  warlocks—have nearly destroyed Hjemskøt. Rumors per-
  sist to this day that the place is cursed. An old and very 
  aristocratic family of goblins, the Hjemskøtr, still dwell in 
  their ancestral hall there. 
   
  Jærnbekke Mountains: This range is said to be the 
  great jewel on the crown of Asgard. The mineral wealth to 
  be found here—in gems, iron, gold, mythrill, and orichal-
  con—is unfathomable. Unfortunately, the deeper that any-
  one digs, the greater they run the risk of breaching the 
  Deep-Under and unleashing a tide of beastmen and de-
  mons. Fintgruve, Hakken, and Askel are primarily known 
  for their metal mines (mostly iron, tin, and copper; some 
  silver, gold, and rarer metals); Dypned, Gravearbeid, and 
  Farvidere for gemstones. 
   
  Lake Nækken: This lake is perhaps one of the most 
  dangerous places in all of Asgard. Nobody really knows 
  exactly what dwells beneath its placid surface. But people 
  who come here have a tendency to disappear mysterious-
  ly, a fact which has defied explanation for millennia. 
   
  Lake Ran: The Fisk River, which flows down out of 
  the Jærnbekkes, empties into Lake Ran via its mightily 
  roaring waterfalls. Merrows dwell within the lake, and 
  goblins inhabit the lakeshore towns of Innsjø and Skrent-
  vegg. Of these two towns, Skrentvegg has always been the 
  more prosperous, if only because of Innsjø’s violent his-
  tory. Multiple times in the past, Innsjø has been destroyed 
  utterly by dragon-fire—whenever it has come to pass that 
  some raging red-scaled drake or another has come sweep-
  ing down out of the Hardt Barrens—only to be rebuilt ov-
  er the ashes of the old town.  Since this hasn’t happened in 
  nearly four-hundred years, though, the folk of Innsjø have 
  grown lax in their vigilance, and most would be skeptical 
  that any danger still exists.  
   
  Nidhavellir: Though it began as a gnoll-fortress and a 
  base for the Fiends’ attacks on the Sidhe late in the First 
  Age, the goblins quickly took this stronghold for them-
  selves and remade it into a glorious hall-under-the-moun-
  tain. For close to twelve millennia, Niðavellir has been the 
  center of goblindom on Gaia. To this day, the city beneath 
  is said to be the most beautiful goblin-palace in the world, 
  a glorious fortress of sparkling jewels and rainbow-pol-
  ished stones. It makes a fitting home for the reigning mon-
  arch of Asgard, King Gustav Hreimdar. 
   
  Misteltein Hills: These hills are said to be haunted by 
  gnolls which have broken onto the surface-world through 
  the Skitt Caves (a network of natural caverns and long-
  abandoned mineshafts which are little more than gravel 
  pits now). The beastmen are a constant threat to the city of 
  Farlig, and by extension, to trade in Utsiktstårn and Kort-
  strand. 
   
  Rekke Islands: These far northerly islands are some-
  times connected to the mainland by ice shelves. They are 
  quite barren and inhospitable, because the Firetann Peaks 
  are actively volcanic. Only an especially barbaric and war- 
  like breed of hill gigas is known to dwell here year-round; 
  although it is the case that ogres from Torden will sail this 
  way in the summertime on whaling expeditions. 
   
  Snøtopp Forest: These coniferous woods thrive in the 
  coldest reaches of Asgard’s northlands. They are believed 
  to be protected by snow sprites and ice nymphs. 
   
  Skummelt Heights: This is an elevated, barren waste-
  land with no known inhabitants. The Heights overlook 
  the marshy Barsk River valley, which flows through the 
  Øttin Marshes and empties into the mighty Avara. 
   
  Torden Plains: In the summertime, this tundra teems 
  with wildlife and blooms with wildflowers. In the winter, 
  the marshy and muddy ground becomes permafrost, and 
  cold, dry winds bring harsh lightning storms to the plains. 
  Ogres of five tribes—Bear, Wolf, Eagle, Cat, and Serpent—
  have lived and hunted on these plains since the end of the 
  First Age. There are only two permanent settlements here: 
  Frosset, a village of men and goblins eking out a perilous 
  and meager existence based mostly on fishing and walrus-
  hunting; and Slette, an ancient stone forest where the ogre 
  clans’ chieftains gather to hold moot and to teach the chil-
  dren of chiefs and shamans to follow the old ways. 
   
  Ulvpust Canyon: Perhaps the oddest natural feature 
  in all of Asgard, the Ulvpust (i.e. “Wolfbreath”) Canyon is 
  constantly blowing with chilly, violent, howling winds—
  well in excess of hurricane force—which apepar to come 
  from deep beneath the very earth. The inner walls of the 
  canyon are lined with myriad caves, but none have ever 
  explored them and lived to tell about it, first and foremost 
  because nobody has ever successfully managed to con-
  quer the strange, supernatural winds and descend into the 
  canyon.
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  28 
   
  
  AVALON 
   
   
  29 
  AVALON 
   
  Avalon is a large island positioned less than two-hundred 
  miles off the northwestern coast of Arcadia. Surrounded 
  by tall cliffs and covered by forests, fens, and highlands, 
  Avalon is a rugged country but by no means an inhospit-
  able one. The south is home to gentle meadows and still, 
  glassy lakes. The north half of the island, by contrast, is 
  dominated by mountains, misty bogs, and rocky wilder-
  ness. Three mountain ranges—the Tynged, the Ffawd and 
  the Cysgod—stretch across the landscape of Avalon and 
  divide the pleasanter south from the rougher north. 
   
  Avalon’s people are many and varied, but the history 
  of the island has chiefly been determined by fays, elves, 
  and men. The Sidhe were the first inhabitants of Avalon, 
  and it was here that they built the first great civilization 
  seen on Gaia since the departure of the Ancients. But the 
  Sidhe kingdom was built with sorcery, and by sorcery it 
  fell—at the hands of villainous wizard Namtar and the 
  ravages of his Fiends. Then the elves came out of the east, 
  from the mainland, and they conquered the island. More 
  warlike than the Sidhe that preceded them, the elves built 
  a vast empire from their capital at Annwn. But the elves 
  ruled that empire with a heavy hand, and then the Hero—
  the legendary Urther—came into the world, and it was he 
  who led the rebellion that broke the power of the elves. In 
  the wake of the Elfin Empire’s fall, the fays—the last de-
  scendants of the fallen Sidhe—returned at last to rule their 
  homeland of old. But the past glory of Annwn waned to 
  nothing, and the island kingdom fell into darkness and 
  ruin. Not long thereafter, humans from Elysium arrived. 
  The coming of humans changed Avalon forever, spurring 
  both its imperial ambitions and its technological advance-
  ment into the modern age.    
   
  The Avalonian language, as befits the history of the 
  island, is something of a hodgepodge—a pidgin of the 
  tongues spoken by Avalon’s chief inhabitants.  Most of the 
  places in Avalon still bear their ancient names, which are 
  given in the Old Sidhe speech. But the present-day Ava-
  lonian language is actually descended from a dialect of 
  Midjardisch, since it is from Midjard that the wood elves 
  came when they conquered and deposed the fays. Finally, 
  the humans, who came from southern Arcadia, brought 
  with them a certain dialect of Cælestine (that was the old 
  Common Tongue of the men of the south) which has had 
  a profound and transforming influence on the tongue of 
  Avalon. In short, Avalonian has come from a melding of 
  the Midjardisch and Cælestine languages, with the major 
  place-names and a few common words kept from the Old 
  Sidhe. 
   
  By now, it should be readily apparent to the gentle 
  Player that the history of Avalon is linked closely with the 
  counting of Gaia’s Ages. Many of the events which have 
  marked the twilight of one Age and the dawn of the next 
  have transpired on this most celebrated of all islands. The 
  First Great War with Namtar’s Fiends, a story already re-
  counted in the previous chapter, began in Avalon. In the 
  aftermath of that war, when the elves came here from the 
  mainland and drove the Sidhe into the Uttermost West, 
  they took Avalon for their own and made it the seat of 
  their new kingdom. So began the Second Age and the as-
  cendency of elvendom, when a dynasty of High Elf kings 
  —descendants of Nimuël, the warrior-queen who helped 
  Myrddin seal away the Four Fiends—then began to pro-
  ject their military power back onto the Arcadian main-
  land. The Second Age saw the whole north of Arcadia—
  Asgard, Midjard, Utopia, and Tirnanog—come under the 
  sway of Avalon, whether directly by force or indirectly via 
  political machinations. By the end of the Age, when Elf-
  Queen Meliora came to power, the old Avalon was at the 
  peak of its imperial might. 
   
  The Urther, it is said, first appeared in Gaia when he 
  mysteriously and inexplicably walked out of the mists of 
  the Cynoeswr Coedwig, the Great Forest of the Ancients.  
  Legends say that the Urther came upon a battle between 
  knights in the service of Meliora and a ragtag group of 
  rebels gathered from throughout the empire. For reasons 
  now forgotten by history, the Urther sided with the rebels 
  and accompanied them to their hideout in the Caves of 
  Diasbad. After that, fleeing from the pursuit of Meliora’s 
  knights, they escaped by flying over the Dysic Ocean in an 
  airship and visited Lemuria and Tollan—where they met 
  the exiled fays, whom they then brought back to Arcadia.  
  After several years’ travel on the Arcadian mainland, the 
  Urther finally brought an allied force to Avalon that de-
  throned cruel Meliora and ended the Elfin Empire. Then… 
  the Urther simply disappeared; and a kindly fay-woman 
  by the name of Morrigan became Queen in Avalon. 
   
  Following those events, Avalon was a shadow of its 
  past self. Broken by war, the kingdom was weak, and the 
  Lady Morrigan was a soft-hearted queen. Perhaps she was 
  too soft-hearted to rule a kingdom which had just lost its 
  empire and which still incurred the resentment of all Ar-
  cadia. But to her credit, Morrigan did manage to hold the 
  kingdom together, and her descendants ruled Avalon as it 
  was slowly rebuilt over the course of the Third Age—the 
  Age when men came into the world in great numbers and 
  rose to power in the far south.   
   
  Avalon, during this time, had much healing to do.  So 
  long as the Elvish Empire had lasted, there had been three 
  classes of citizens in Avalon: huldra (High Elves) on top, 
  alva (sylvan elves) in the middle, and everybody else very 
  much on the bottom. Goblins still bore some nominal re-
  spect in that era, if only because Asgard was technically 
  an ally and not a province; but háin (dwarfs) and centaurs 
  were little better than bonded serfs, and fays—still blamed 
  for the First Great War—were actually murdered on sight. 
  The Third Age, then, brought a radical change, since the 
  fays returned to Avalon and lived openly there, and one 
  of them even sat upon in the throne. The háin regained 
  independence for their beloved Tirnanog and severed ties 
  with Avalon, hoping to rule themselves again at last, as 
  they had done before the days of the Empire. And as for 
  the centaurs, they too were declared free of all obligations 
  to the crown. But they remained on the bottom rungs of 
  Avalonian society… and history has a tendency to repeat 
  itself. 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  30 
   
   
   
   
  For the rest of Arcadia, the Third Age was tumul-
  tuous, especially with the Second Great War raging on the 
  mainland. Avalon was little touched by this war, except 
  for the fact that large numbers of human refugees were 
  driven to her shores to escape the onslaught of Apep and 
  the reborn Namtar. By the time they arrived, Avalon had 
  developed a rigid social hierarchy based on race, with fays 
  the ruling class (royals and nobles), wood elves the mid-
  dle class (landed gentry), and everybody else in servitude. 
  The human immigrants fell into this last category. 
   
  So the Third Age came and went, human empires 
  rising and falling in the south, little affecting Avalon. But 
  then Elysium came to power, and the Fourth Age began. 
  The armies of Julius Dracus spread over the land, unstop-
  pable. Northward they marched, taking Utopia, fighting 
  on the borders of Midjard. Eventually, they came to the 
  shores of Avalon. Over the course of decades, the Elysians 
  took much of the island, though they never managed to 
  win any territory north of the Ffawd Mountains. Many of 
  the humans and centaurs living in Avalon welcomed the 
  Elysians as liberators, and they fought for Dracus’s side as 
  mercenaries against the old order of elves and fays. 
   
  The kingdom of Avalon, and the rule of the fays, had 
  to retreat north of the mountains, where it existed in a 
  diminished state for as long as the human foreigners re-
  mained. But the lives and memories of the fays are long, 
  and when the Elysian Empire eventually pulled out of 
  Avalon (which it had to do, to consolidate its defenses on 
  the mainland), the fay rulers, exiled from Annwn for up-
  wards of four centuries, returned and resumed their rule 
  as if nothing had happened. In those days, there came to 
  be a new king in Avalon, a fay descended from Morrigan, 
  whose name was King Agrivain. When he returned to 
  Annwn, he had the personal ambition to unmake all the 
  changes wrought upon the land by the Elysian invaders 
  and even to restore Avalon to the heights of power that it 
  had enjoyed under High Elvish rule. King Agrivain is still 
  remembered fondly in modern Avalon as the founder of 
  the nation, since he began the process of uniting the sun-
  dered kingdom into a single state. Nevertheless, this king 
  reinstituted many of the policies which had made the Elf-
  in Empire hated: he reconquered Tirnanog and brought 
  the háin under the authority of the Avalonian crown. He 
  treated humans and centaurs as peasants, allowing only 
  elves and fays to own land. 
   
  It was Agrivain’s grandson, the fabled King Tristram 
  (a fay whose mother had been human) who finally united 
  all of Avalon, around the year 1230 of the Fourth Age.  
  Tristram ruled until the early 1500s, when the aged king 
  was unceremoniously assassinated by a spy from Hesper-
  ia. Tristram’s daughter, Maeve, came to the throne in the 
  middle of a crisis. The kingdom of Hesperia, glutted with 
  gold from its recent conquest of Tollan, decided to try its 
  hand at empire-building, and Avalon appeared to be a 
  
  AVALON 
   
   
  31 
  prime target. So an armada of conquest was sent… but the 
  Hesperians never suspected the power of Avalon’s young 
  sorceress-queen. Maeve single-handedly conjured up a 
  windstorm that destroyed the invading fleet utterly, and 
  the Hesperians accomplished nothing more than to arouse 
  the ambitions of Maeve. Indeed, it is said that because of 
  this incident, Maeve made it her purpose to build Avalon 
  into the greatest empire the world had ever seen—one 
  that spanned the globe. 
   
  Under the auspices of Queen Maeve, the people of 
  Avalon became great shipbuilders: they built sailing ships 
  for the sea and magical airships to fly the skies, and they 
  explored—Lemuria, Shambala, Jianghu, and other distant 
  lands. Avalon was a prime mover in the Age of Explora-
  tion. Avalon also advanced socially in this era: after cen-
  turies of having lived under a feudal and then an auto-
  cratic government, the humans and hánfolk and centaurs 
  were as restless as ever, and it looked as if the elves might 
  even wish to join them in opposing the fays. But shrewd 
  Maeve instituted a policy of common law and liberties for 
  all citizens, and this diffused any ill will that might have 
  existed against her. 
   
  Today, Avalon is a very different country than its tur-
  bulent history might suggest. The mark of a social class 
  based on race is still very strong, since the fays tend to be 
  wealthiest, the elves somewhat less so, and the other races 
  least of all. Hánfolk tend to be the most belligerent popu-
  lation, since Tirnanog still chafes under Maeve’s rule. But 
  the elves, humans, and centaurs living in Avalon are for 
  the most part happy with the rights they have—namely, 
  all the citizens, regardless of race, are allowed to own land 
  in Avalon (which they couldn’t the olden days) and to re-
  dress any grievances with the Queen by sending repre-
  senttatives to Parliament, a legislative body that now has 
  considerable say in how the country (and the empire) is 
  governed.   
   
  Avalon has an overseas empire, which consists of a 
  great many dominions and protectorates scattered around 
  the world. Tirnanog, the island immediately to the west of 
  Avalon, has been its province for centuries. The eastern 
  shore of Lemuria, across the Dysic Ocean, also remains a 
  dominion of the crown, even though the Lemurians are 
  mostly left to govern themselves democratically. In two 
  short but bloody wars, all of Shambala and Mephret (a 
  desert territory in the land of Amarna) came to be under 
  Maeve’s direct rule. Many large port cities on the coast of 
  Jianghu are effectively controlled by Avalonian trading 
  companies. In summary, Avalon today rules more of the 
  world than any other nation in history.  
   
  Annwn: A city built upon an island in the middle of 
  Cleddyf Lake, Annwn has been the capital of Avalon since 
  the early days of the Elfin Empire. Today, it is a city of 
  cobblestones and smokestacks, dedicated to trade and 
  industry. It is one of the financial capitals of the world and 
  the seat of imperial power for Queen Maeve (whose com-
  plete and formal title is “Queen of Avalon and Tirnanog, 
  Empress of Shambala and Mephret, Protector of Lemuria, 
  and Defender of the Realm”.) Maeve’s home, the Iron Pal-
  ace, is considered one of the most splendid in the world. 
   
  Cannaid Wood: This mysterious place is a true “fae 
  forest”, a place haunted by sprites, nymphs, wosen, and 
  other nature spirits. The Cannaid Wood is only dangerous 
  to people who venture into it. 
   
  Cleddyf Lake and Nimuël Lake: These two majestic 
  lakes sit in the center of Avalon’s gently rolling lowlands.  
  Both are populated by merrow-folk. The lakes are encirc-
  led on all sides by the cities, villages, farms, and railways 
  of the Avalonians. Annwn itself is situated on an island in 
  Cleddyf, while the town of Carwr (a popular retreat for 
  citizens of Annwn looking for some peace and quiet) sits 
  on the shores of the Nimuël. The River Onnen runs from 
  Cleddyf Lake down to the sea, where the city of Llongau-
  am-Tywyn is the busiest port in the whole of the Avalon-
  ian Empire. 
   
  All of the cities in this region are connected by a rela-
  tively new but very well-managed system of railways. In 
  a matter of mere hours, one can travel from the University 
  at Cadarnle to the factories in the city of Diwydiant or to 
  the naval harbor at Arwr-o-Daear. Just as easily, one could 
  take a train up the coast from the shipyards at Disgwylva, 
  to the city of Brenhines (famous for several nearby ruins 
  of old Elfin castles and Elysian fortresses), all the way to 
  Penrhyn (where the local plains and coves are known to 
  hide many Ancient and Old Sidhe artifiacts). 
   
  Coblyn Hills: Near the very center of the island, the 
  Coblyn Hills remain a wild place. Gnolls and other beast- 
  men are known to live in the caves and tunnels beneath 
  the hills. It is believed that they have dwelt there quietly 
  since the past Age, only recently becoming more active 
  and bold enough to attack nearby villages. The towns of 
  Marchog and Glwys, otherwise peaceful cities resting on 
  the banks of the Llwyfen, are troubled by the evil inhabit-
  ants of the Coblyns. 
   
  Cras Barrens: A particularly dry and rocky stretch of 
  highlands, the Cras Barrens were gnollish territory in old-
  en times, but nowadays it’s just sparsely inhabited wilder-
  ness. Glew-ym-Gogledd is a mining town, still somewhat 
  successful; but Enbydrwydd is almost entirely given over 
  to a handful of struggling mills and manufacturing plants.  
  Further up into the mountains, the city of Dyffryn is home 
  to a fraternal order that styles itself the Knights of Justice.  
  These knights (mainly centaurs, humans, and a few gob-
  lins and háin) hold no allegiance to the crown of Avalon.  
  Indeed, they publicly support the continued rebellion of 
  Tirnanog and are themselves just a hair shy of open rebel-
  lion (some would say treason).   
   
  On the eastern edge of the barrens sit the Eryod Cliffs 
  and the Marw Heights. The Cliffs look out over one of the 
  most dangerous sailing lanes on the Boreic Ocean: caves 
  here house uncounted flocks of harpies, who will readily 
  use their songs to draw unwary ships onto the rocks. The 
  Marw Heights, meanwhile, are little more than a giant 
  barrow-mound. Delved into the cliffs and crags is an im-
  possible network of crypts and tombs dating back to the 
  Sidhe of the First Age.  
   
  Cynoeswr Coedwig: The so-called “Great Forest of 
  the Ancients” is believed to hold many secrets from the 
  Elder Days before the counting of the Ages. Many parts of 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  32 
  this forest are haunted by giant spiders, ghouls, and even 
  fouler things. The Diasbad Caverns are almost certainly 
  held by the beastfolk even now. The city of Callineb, pro-
  tected from sea-attack by its natural and extremely defen-
  sible harbor, is nonetheless endangered by its proximity to 
  the Cynoeswr Coedwig. Callineb remains an important 
  port, however, because trains can go no further north and 
  west than this: any travel or cargo heading for Periglor 
  must either be borne by airship, or it must come from 
  Callineb by watercraft. 
   
  Cysgod Mountains: These mountains are rich with 
  coal, much to the benefit of the mining city of Paith. In 
  other parts of the mountains, most of the ore gets shipped 
  down the River Dalen, to Uniawn. 
   
  Lladrad is a younger city that grew up around a gold 
  strike made some four-hundred years ago; but the gold is 
  long since dried up, and now the local thieves’ guild is the 
  most prominent business there. 
   
  Drwgweithedwr Swamp and Gwyrdd Forest: These 
  two regions are tightly linked by the fact that neither has 
  ever come under the direct control of Avalon’s crown.  
  They have always been dark places, controlled by dark 
  Powers. Nobody really knows what lurks in Gwyrdd For-
  est, although stories and rumors abound. And as for the 
  Drwgweithedwr Swamp, it is at least certain that trolls 
  and undead dwell here, and that the dead city of Direidyn 
  (once a stronghold of Fiendish evil and Chaos, now an ab-
  andoned necropolis) hides somewhere within its borders.  
   
  Ffawd Mountains: This range runs right through the 
  center of Avalon. The cities of Cyfriniaeth and Dyffryn are 
  both central to mining and manufacturing operations in 
  the Ffawd Mountains region. 
   
  Grisial Loch: Those who live in the town of Puredd 
  believe that the loch is an evil place. A dragon or monster 
  of some kind is said to dwell beneath its surface.  
   
  Prydydd Hills: These green, rolling hills are home to 
  many shepherds and farmers. Of the two major cities in 
  the region, Periglor and Dirgelwch, Periglor is relatively 
  large (perhaps even the largest city north of the Ffawds) 
  and busy, while Dirgelwch is little more than a local trad-
  ing hub. 
   
  Tynged Mountains: These tall and rocky mountains 
  cut off the rest of Avalon from its northernmost high-
  lands.  The towns of Ymffrost, Glöyn, and Cylch-o-Cewri 
  all enjoy relatively pleasant (if frequently gloomy and sog-
  gy) weather. The people in this region much prefer to be 
  left out of any world-shaking politics. Their main concern 
  is that monsters might come down out of the Tyngeds and 
  attack them (and although this hasn’t actually happened 
  in a few centuries, the people do remember old stories 
  well).  It is mostly elves, fays, and goblins who make up 
  the bulk of this region’s population. 
   
   
  
  ELYSIA 
   
   
  33 
  ELYSIA 
   
  Elysia was once the center of the greatest human empire 
  in the known world. Today, it is a fragmented patchwork 
  of independent duchies, principalities, and city-states.  
  This nation covers the large peninsula that juts out from 
  the south of Arcadia, between the Hipponic and Illic Seas.  
  The north of the country is bounded by the lofty Valk 
  Mountains, which gird the whole of the Arcadian subcon-
  tinent through the middle. To the east, the Strega Moun-
  tains run along the coast of the Illic Sea. The gap between 
  the Valks and the Stregas leaves open the way between 
  Elysia and Sylvania, but to travel elsewhere by land—into 
  Utopia or Midjard—high and dangerous mountain passes 
  are the only option; and no railway has yet conquered 
  those white-capped Valkine peaks. Three great rivers run 
  through Elysia’s lowlands: the Alta, the Flo, and the Quir-
  ino. The former two of these begin in the high country and 
  then gently run their course down onto the peninsula; but 
  the Quirino comes off lo Schermo, the raised table-land in 
  the center of the country. 
   
  Although folk of nearly any race can be found in Ely-
  sia, humans rule this land. (There is no single monarch to 
  be found here; rather, each city-state has its own duke, 
  prince, or ruling senate.) More kinnaras live in the Elysian 
  Valks than goblins, and more fauns rove its forests than 
  elves. In fact, fauns were Elysia’s original inhabitants. 
   
  It seems that when humans first came to this land, 
  they took upon themselves much of the fauns’ culture—
  and in those ancient days, the fauns who lived in Elysia 
  dwelt in cities and had kings, quite unlike the roving 
  bands of today. The Faunish language, too, was passed 
  onto the humans, and it eventually became Cælestine, the 
  Common Tongue of the South. Cælestine is the direct an-
  cestor of many modern languages—Sylvanian, Hesperian, 
  Utopian, and of course modern Elysian.   
   
  The fauns probably arrived in Elysia sometime dur-
  ing the Second Age, but no written records are left of their 
  history. Legends place the arrival of humankind more de-
  finitively, around the year 750 of the Third Age. Stories 
  say that the humans—whether they came via Hesperia or 
  directly from Atlantis, none can guess—had among them 
  a great chieftain called Æolus.  When the humans first ap-
  peared and settled along the banks of the Quirino, so the 
  legend goes,  
   
  Æolus demonstrated such bravery and prowess in battle that two 
  princesses of the fauns, each from rival kingdoms, fell in love with him.  
  One, Didania by name, was the daughter of a king who ruled lands 
  along the Flo; the other, called Lavinia, was the daughter of a king whose 
  people lived by the Alta. The two kings even went to war over the right 
  to claim the foreign prince for one of their daughters, but the fighting 
  ended in a stalemate. At last, Didania could stand no more waiting, and 
  so she arranged to have Æolus kidnapped. Lavinia would not tolerate 
  this, however, and so she went into the city of her enemy, but not as 
  herself—she went disguised as a simple shepherdess. Princess Lavinia 
  came to Æolus and visited him in secret, and in so doing she won the 
  human’s love. Then, escaping together, they fled back to the country 
  around the Alta, and there the two were wed. This forged a firm alliance 
  between the newly arrived humans and the fauns of the Alta country, 
  who now went to war with those in the Flo country and defeated them 
  soundly. Thereafter, Didania’s people were forced to pay a stiff tribute to 
  King Æolus and Queen Lavinia, who built their own kingdom where the 
  humans had settled, along the Quirino River. Many generations later, 
  descendants of Æolus and Lavinia would found a city at the mouth of 
  the Flo: none other than the great city of Cælestium. 
   
  Whether or not this myth has any basis fact, it culminates 
  in the founding of Cælestium (the modern city of Celesce) 
  for good reason. Cælestium, in its heyday, was the capital 
  of the Elysian Empire, the greatest human empire that that 
  the world has ever known. Though ruled by kings at first, 
  the royal line was broken during the strife of the Second 
  Great War, and the city had become a republic by the end 
  of the Third Age. Then there came to power a great gener-
  al, Julius Dracus, perhaps the most famous (or infamous) 
  military leader of all time. Dracus claimed to be the off-
  spring of a human woman and a firedrake. He was also 
  exceedingly ambitious: he saw the glory of the neighbor-
  ing Alexandrine Empire, and he hoped to recreate it in his 
  homeland of Elysium. In his campaigns of conquest, Dra-
  cus subdued all the rest of Elysium and much of Utopia, 
  but his chief concern was to do the impossible: he wished 
  to conquer Illyria and thereby take control over the whole 
  of the Alexandrine Empire. Dracus actually succeeded in 
  this endeavor and then declared himself Emperor in Cæ-
  lestium. History says that he lived long and ruled well, 
  and on his deathbed, he passed his title down to his only 
  son, Octavius Dracus—and so began the Fourth Age. 
   
  Emperor Octavius was even more expansionistic than 
  Julius had been. He conquered the rest of Utopia, and also 
  all of Hesperia, Amarna, and Edenia Minor. The reign of 
  Octavius wasn’t peaceful, but it was very long and very 
  stable for the empire. His own son and successor, Emper-
  or Tertian, conquered Sylvania but was never successful 
  at making any inroads further north: Midjard and Pohjola 
  remained untouched by the military might of Elysium.  
  The last of the First Four Emperors, Thadrian, sent ships 
  to Avalon and managed to displace the fay-kingdom they 
  found there. At its peak, the Elysian Empire stretched as 
  far east as Edenia Minor and as far into the north as Syl-
  vania, Utopia, and Avalon.   
   
  After the First Four Emperors, there came to power a 
  number of lesser rulers. Some were good and just, some 
  were wicked and dangerously incompetent, and a few of 
  them were downright insane. But in any case, the empire 
  had grown too big to be governed effectively, and it 
  strained under its own weight. Eventually, even mighty 
  Cælestium was easy pickings for tribes of fairy-folk from 
  the north. It was sacked repeatedly in a series of raids and 
  eventually destroyed, and northerners—elves and goblins 
  and gnomes and kinnaras—took over the Elysian penin-
  sula and divided it amongst themselves.  Thus, Elysia was 
  fragmented into a country of independently ruled cities, 
  and it has remained so ever since. The rest of the empire, 
  meanwhile, plunged into a Dark Age for nearly five cen-
  turies. 
   
  Fairies did not rule Elysia for too very long, of course.  
  Many of the elves, goblins, and such who came south took 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  34 
   
   
  
  ELYSIA 
   
   
  35 
  human wives and therefore had numerous human child-
  ren. Inevitably, one by one, the various city-states fell back 
  into the hands of human rulers, albeit very aristocratic hu-
  mans who remained quite proud of their faerie lineages.  
  All throughout the middle of the Fourth Age, and even to 
  this very day, most of the princes and senators that rule 
  Elysia consider elfin or goblin ancestry to be a strong 
  mark of nobility. 
   
  Ever since the Elysian Renaissance, when many of 
  these princes and nobles became patrons of art and learn-
  ing, they also looked jealously to the north and the west, 
  where the kingdoms of Hesperia, Utopia, and Avalon had 
  grown united and strong. Thus began a period of sporadic 
  wars for dominance among the various city-states and 
  merchant-princes, all vying for the right to become the 
  center of a new and unified Elysian state. But this has not 
  yet happened, even now. Elysia is peaceful at the moment, 
  if only because Emperor Biendit of Utopia poses too great 
  a threat for Elysia to bother with infighting right now. But 
  any one of the city-sates might soon become powerful en-
  ough to subdue its neighbors. Right now, the strongest of 
  the Elysian dukes is Dante di Ghibellini of Orsini-Saleria, 
  a very wealthy merchant-prince who would like nothing 
  more than to see his duchy become a proper kingdom. 
   
  Alta River: This river flows out of Sylvania and the 
  Valks before passing into the Satyrline Forest. The cities of 
  Lucci and Benvolia are uneasy allies against the power of 
  Malvolia, a particularly militaristic city-state governed by 
  a wizard-prince, the Duke di Malini. 
   
  Celesce: The fabled “Heavenly City” of old is now a 
  port city of only secondary importance. Its chief boon is 
  the fact that much trade must still pass down the Flo River 
  —enabling Celesce to benefit from tolls and tariffs.  Many 
  ancient ruins remain here, some on high cliffs overlooking 
  the modern city, and many in layered tunnels beneath it.  
  Celesce is a republic, ruled by a senate of hereditary olig-
  archs. 
   
  Flo River and Grigio Fields: This region contains a 
  number of small and not especially wealthy principalities.  
  Most of them fall under the influence of the Duchy of Am-
  lesce, ruled by a ruthless but ultimately well-intentioned 
  duchess named Claudia d’Amlesci. 
   
  Lo Schermo (“The Shield”): The high country in the 
  center of the Elysian peninsula is famous for its mild, sun-
  ny climate and its fruitful vineyards. The city of Mercutia 
  is world-famous for its wine.   
   
  Lupine Forest: In ancient times, the city of Bianca was 
  beautiful and prosperous, but this is no longer true. The 
  Lupine Forest, a dark place if ever there was one, has cast 
  a pall upon the White City. Were-beasts and dire wolves 
  haunt the woods, and they act as if some evil intelligence 
  were exerting its influence over their actions. In recent 
  decades, Bianca has become depopulated and dilapidated.  
  Misery and violence are destined rule here, unless some 
  group of heroes can solve the mystery of Lupine. 
   
  Mount Mulciber: An active volcano that stands taller 
  than its sibling peaks, Mount Mulciber overlooks the cities 
  of Ceneri (famous for its ancient crypts and catacombs) 
  and Orologia (which is famous for its finely crafted clocks, 
  watches, and other clever mechanical implements). 
   
  Quirino River: The country around the Quirino River 
  is now known as the Duchy of Orsini-Saleria, and it is 
  ruled from Orsini by the infamous and ambitious Duke de 
  Ghibellini. The city of Orsini was built on a lake that con-
  nects to the river, and in many places it has canals instead 
  of streets.  
   
   
   
   
  Satyrline Forest and Strega Mountains: For the most 
  part, the forest is faun territory. The fauns of the Satyrline 
  are happy to entertain visitors who come in peace and 
  goodwill, but they want nothing to do with the politics of 
  the human cities. The fauns are reluctant to approach the 
  mountains, though, because a race of fay-folk dwell there, 
  known as the Witches of the Stregas. The Witches’ mot-
  ives are mysterious and almost certainly malign. The city 
  of Sycoraccia is ruled by the Lady di Parca, who claims to 
  be nothing more than a very successful merchant; but 
  rumors persist that she is one of the Witches, and stories 
  circulate that good-looking young men who come near 
  her city tend to disappear. 
   
  Valk Mountains: These mountains are named for an 
  Old Elfin word meaning “white”, and white they certainly 
  are throughout the year. The Valks pose the most chal-
  lenging barrier to any conquest of Elysia from the north.  
  (That doesn’t mean that the Emperor of Utopia won’t try, 
  though.) The city of Polonia guards the pass between El-
  ysia and Utopia. An order of kinnara dragoons, known as 
  the Valkine Knights, is based here. 
   
  Zandretti Island: This island is known to house many 
  old ruins of mysterious origins. Some might even date all 
  the way back to the First Age or earlier. Rumors persist of 
  a fountain of immortality to be found here (although the 
  locals laugh that off as a myth for the foolish). An order of 
  human and merrow warriors, the Knights of Zandretti, is 
  dedicated to the protection of certain ruins (nobody out-
  side of the order can say why) and to the eradication of pi-
  racy in the region. 
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  36 
  HESPERIA 
   
  Hesperia is one of Arcadia’s three island nations. Some 
  three-hundred miles south and west of the mainland, Hes-
  peria is very large island (perhaps twice the size of Ava-
  lon), with a tall mountain range—the Atlean Mountains—
  covering much of its northern half. The south of the island 
  is mainly dominated by plains country, with a few pock-
  ets of dense woodlands to be found spread here and there 
  throughout the island.   
   
  Like Elysia, Hesperia is a human nation of great an-
  tiquity. Given the fact that Hesperia is the closest of all the 
  Arcadian countries to the continent of Atlantis, it is highly 
  probable that this is where humans (discounting the fam-
  ous Hero of the Second Age, the Urther) first set foot on 
  Arcadian soil. From Hesperia, then, these earliest tribes of 
  mankind would have spread eastward—to Elysia, Illyria, 
  Amarna, and then onto Edenia, Shambhala, and eventual-
  ly Jianghu. Even to this day, Hesperia is primarily popula-
  ted by humans, and the men of Hesperia tend to be partic-
  cularly distrustful (if not outright superstitious and afraid) 
  of Fair Folk. Despite this, fairies do live here, though they 
  tend to live in small and out-of-the-way communities, pri-
  marily north of the Atlean Mountains. Here, small villages 
  of goblins, elves, dwarfs, and fays can be found. Typically, 
  fairies in Hesperia go to great lengths to say out of the 
  way of humans. 
   
   Whatever tongue was first spoken by Hesperia’s ab-
  original settlers has been lost to history. It is a fact, how- 
  ever, that when the Elysian Empire overran this island at 
  the start of the Fourth Age, the Elysians brought their 
  language (Cælestine) with them, and this is the tongue 
  that displaced the old one to become the direct ancestor of 
  modern Hesperian. Curiously enough, the older human 
  tongue which has been otherwise lost and forgotten did 
  leave behind some inscriptions. Here and there, especially 
  along the coasts of the island, there are ancient ruins 
  bearing hieroglyphs: picture-writings that tentatively con-
  nect the ancient Hesperians to the people of Mephret, in 
  Amarna (and, by logical extension, to the people of At-
  lantis as well). 
   
  Until the ancient glyphs are deciphered, then, the his-
  tory of Hesperia must begin with the early human myths 
  and legends that describe the settlement of the island.  
  There is a popular folktale still recounted in some Hesper-
  ian villages that goes like this: 
   
  A great fleet of men came sailing out of the west. Fierce warriors they 
  were, looking for a land to pillage before returning to their homes. What 
  they found instead was a great island, green and wild, completely 
  untouched by the hands of man or fairy. All thoughts of war and 
  treasure left them, so enchanted were they by the beauty of this pristine 
  land. They decided to stay here for all of their days, even though they 
  were adventurers and had but few women among them. These warriors 
  were led by three captains, brothers by blood as well as by deed in 
  battle. Their names were Caspar, Salazar, and Yasser. They decided that 
  the island would be divided among the three of them by drawing lots.  
  Caspar drew best and took the plains in the west. Salazar drew second 
  and won the woodlands in the east. Yasser, who was the youngest 
  brother, drew shortest and was given the mountains in the north. Not to 
  be dissuaded, and wary that his envy might spur him to rash action 
  against his brothers, Yasser calmly gathered his men and marched them 
  boldly north, into the high and hilly country.   
   
  Crossing the mountains, these Men from the Uttermost West 
  came at last to a pleasant and cool country with fields, forests, and 
  villages. The villages were inhabited by a beautiful race that the men had 
  never seen before: elves, colonists from the far northern island called 
  Avalon. The elves were troubled because a great giant, a ferocious one-
  eyed titan, terrorized them with impunity. He ate their sheep and cattle, 
  enslaved their children, and killed any warrior that stood up to him.  
  Yasser boasted before his men and before the frightened elves that he 
  would slay the giant. And so he led his men back into the mountains, 
  and he tracked down the monster. Thinking to lay an ambush, he hid is 
  men above a ravine and then went to meet the giant in person. He 
  struck up a conversation with the creature and distracted it with puzzling 
  riddles. Then, when the giant became angry and looked as if it were 
  about to attack Yasser, that young captain gave the order—and his men 
  revealed themselves and shot flaming arrows into its eye. Blinded, the 
  giant raged and roared, but it could not see the humans, and so it could 
  do them no harm. Then Yasser took javelins and he hurled them at the 
  giant, one by one, until one of his darts pierced its heart. The battle won, 
  Yasser returned to the pleasant north-country and claimed kingship over 
  his third of the island. He took an elf-maid for his queen, and they built 
  their home amidst a field of golden apple-orchards, where now stands 
  the city called Manzanas de Oro. Meanwhile, the spot where the giant 
  was slain became the site of another city, Hombros del Títan. 
   
  The story goes on to tell how the other two brothers each 
  founded their own kingdoms on the island—kingdoms 
  which stood independent of each other all throughout the 
  Third Age of the world. (Like Avalon, Hesperia was too 
  remote to have been affected much by the wide war that 
  came to Arcadia during that time.) Indeed, these king-
  doms of Old Hesperia lasted until the Elysians came and 
  overran the island, adding it to their Empire. 
   
  While the Elysian Empire lasted, Hesperia was part of 
  the center of human civilization on Gaia. Governorship 
  over the island was a highly coveted position, second in 
  wealth and power only to the Elysian Emperor himself.  
  But when the Empire collapsed and the Dark Ages began, 
  all of Hesperia was once again broken up into tiny, incon- 
  sequential kingdoms. Slowly but surely, while the Middle 
  Ages wore on, these kingdoms joined together and grew.  
  Then, late in the Fifteenth Century, a fortuitous marriage 
  of state joined together King Roderigo (who ruled all the 
  land north of the Atlean Mountains) and Doña Arabella 
  (who stood to inherit the lands surrounding the Lluvioso 
  Plains). This created the Kingdom of Hesperia, one of Ar-
  cadia’s first true nation-states. 
   
  Roderigo and Arabella were ambitious in more re-
  spects than just state-building. Exploration and coloniza-
  tion were also great concerns of theirs. They sent some of 
  the first explorers back over the Dysic Ocean, to chart the 
  continents of Atlantis, Tollan, and Lemuria.  The Hesper-
  ian explorers were never permitted to visit Atlantis, and 
  they never managed to gain much of a foothold on the Le-
  murian continent, but Tollan was a different story. Here, 
  the Hesperians were all too successful in their bid to con-
  quer a land populated by fays and humans that they con-
  sidered magically and technologically primitive. In a short 
  time, much of Tollan fell under Hesperian rule, and silver 
  
  HESPERIA 
   
   
  37 
   
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  38 
   
   
   
  and gold began to flow across the ocean and into the cof-
  fers of the royal treasury at Manzana de Oro. This caused 
  all kinds of problems, especially rampant piracy in the 
  Caliban Islands, but it also formed the foundation of the 
  modern Hesperian Empire. 
   
  Today, the new Empire is ruled by King Roderigo 
  VII, who, much like his forbearers, has ruled prudently 
  enough to keep Tollan firmly pinned to the Hesperian 
  crown. Since the days of the early explorers, Hesperia’s 
  holdings in the Far West have expanded to include all of 
  Tollan and some of the southwestern Lemurian continent.  
  These imperial possessions are not the great source of 
  wealth that they once were, but they still do much for the 
  prestige of the Hesperian crown. Hesperia is not as strong 
  as it once was, however, and it faces a grave threat from 
  the military posturing of Utopia. King Roderigo is quite 
  convinced that Emperor Biendit is plotting to make Hes-
  peria the site of its first major conquest in Arcadia.  Given 
  the cold and ruthless ambition of the gnomish emperor, 
  the Hesperian king might just be right. 
   
  Atlean Mountains: The landscape of Hesperia’s rug-
  ged north country is dominated by the Atlean Mountains, 
  which still contain considerable mineral wealth. Elves, 
  goblins, and men all dwell in these mountains in mining 
  villages. The most successful of these is Los Enanos, a 
  gobling community in the far northwest of the country.  
  Unfortunately for the goblins, that city has recently come 
  under the control of a cold-hearted royal official, the Don 
  Juarez de Miraz, who seems to be intent on taxing the loc-
  al miners into poverty. Notably, only the goblins seem to 
  be bearing the brunt of this burden. It’s just the sort of cir-
  cumstance that could use some discreet investigation by a 
  clever group of adventuring heroes. 
   
  Esclavizado Barrens: This rough country is a known 
  home of trolls, minotaurs, and hill giants.  If it weren’t for 
  the massive iron strike found in the Atlean Mountains a 
  few decades ago, few people would risk traveling through 
  here, and the city of Piedras probably wouldn’t exist. 
   
  Estigio Swamp: This place is rightly considered evil 
  and haunted. Phantoms, specters, and fouler things are 
  rumored to exist here. 
   
  Esquelito and Torbellino Islands: These islands are 
  known hideouts for pirates who strike out at the Hes-
  perian and Elysian coasts. 
   
  Fata Forest: Fays have always lived here, but humans 
  are reluctant to enter the place. They consider it evil, un-
  lucky, and enchanted. Only exploring the forest first-hand 
  can reveal the truth. 
   
  Lluvioso Plains: This broad, green flatland is heavily 
  populated, mainly by humans. Most of the cities in the 
  region are quite prosperous, but Santo Encantado still suf-
  fers from an ill reputation.  This place is home to a large, 
  abandoned monastery and cathedral which were the site 
  of several grisly murders many centuries ago, and which 
  have now cast a pall upon the whole city. At sundown, 
  apparitions can be seen wandering through the streets of 
  Santo Encantado. The images do not seem to be capable of 
  harming anyone, and they do not respond to Banishment 
  by magi; but nonetheless, the city is widely avoided and 
  practically abandoned. 
   
  Manzanas de Oro: The capital of Hesperia, an enor-
  mous palace stands here which dates all the way back to 
  the Third Age and the first arrival of humans in Arcadia.  
  The catacombs beneath the palace run very deep and have 
  never been fully explored. The palace is also famous for 
  its gardens, tended all these centuries by a small and se-
  cretive lineage of elves. The Hesperian Gardens are said to 
  be the most enchantingly lovely in the world. 
   
  Pozo Invicto: This city, which stands at the mouth of 
  the Río Perezoso and is protected by the tall cliffs of Pared 
  Island, is the home of Hesperia’s major naval base and 
  shipyards. The Hesperian Navy has the same respect in 
  this country that many knighthood orders command in 
  other lands. 
   
  Rechazado Hills: These hills are somewhat wild, 
  populated by beasts and animals of all sorts, but nothing 
  especially evil or supernatural is known to live here.  
  Hunters and trappers often strike out into the hills from 
  the town of Agricola.   
   
  Salvaje Woods: Fauns are known to skirt the edges of 
  these woods, but they never venture very deep into them.  
  Whatever dwells in the center of this forest is very mag-
  ical and very frightening, though whether it be undead, 
  fae, or something else, nobody can say. 
   
  Tabla Roja: A red and rusty shelf-country that ex-
  tends south and east of the Atleans, this highland over-
  looks the old fortress at Castillo Acero, a place known for 
  ruins that date back to the Elysian conquest. 
   
  Terra Island: This island has an odd story connected 
  with it.  It is said that in the Second Age, after the Urther 
  escaped from Avalon with a group of rebels, he flew over 
  the Dysic Ocean and met with fay-folk in Lemuria and 
  Tollan. Then, somehow, he found the place where the one 
  and only wizard Myrddin was supposed to sleep forever 
  —and woke him up. Myrddin and the Hero then brought 
  many fays back across the ocean, hoping to depose Queen 
  
  HESPERIA—ILLYRIA 
   
   
  39 
  Meliora and end the Elfin Empire—but they didn’t sail 
  straight for Avalon.  Instead, they crossed the ocean from 
  Tollan to Hesperia, and it was here that they first put 
  ashore. Some years later, after the fays once again came to 
  rule Avalon, a group of elves sailed south and founded a 
  city where Pilares Gemelos now stands. 
    
  Vagando Woods: This forest is known to hide a gang 
  of thieves who make it their business to rob all they can 
  from the royal coffers of the governor of Bosques Lejanos.  
  If the thieves are “Robin Hood” types who give any of 
  their gains to the poor, the royal authorities of have done 
  a fine job of suppressing this information. 
   
   
   
   
    
  ILLYRIA 
   
  The land of Illyria is a cultural crossroads, the spot where 
  Arcadia comes into contact with the rest of the continent 
  of Greater Edenia. The country itself is nestled between 
  three seas: the Illic, the Phœnic, and the Vodyan. A moun-
  tain range, the Barikôn, cuts north-to-south through the 
  middle of the country, but the rest of the land is still rough 
  and rugged, all the way down to its seaside cliffs. Dozens 
  of rocky islands sit just off the southwestern coast. To the 
  east, the vast Alati Desert separates Illyria from Amarna. 
   
  Illyria is a kingdom peopled by roughly equal num-
  bers of humans and centaurs. The centaurs came to settle 
  this place early in the Second Age. The civilization that 
  they built here was simple and pastoral, a few villages 
  scattered throughout the land, unified only by a common 
  culture and language. Over time, the centaurs’ civilization 
  became increasingly complex, until a number of indepen-
  dent city-states covered the Illyrian peninsula and islands.  
  Governments included democracy, oligarchy, and mon-
  archy; but all of the city-states were relatively militaristic, 
  and wars between them were not uncommon. Except for 
  these occasional conflicts, the Second Age was a relatively 
  peaceful and stable time for Illyria. 
   
  Things changed when the Third Age dawned and the 
  humans arrived. Like all of the humans that settled in the 
  south of Arcadia, these people came out of the west, ulti-
  mately from Atlantis. The humans who settled in Illyria, 
  though, were quick to adapt to the centaurs’ language and 
  customs. (Modern Illyrian comes directly from the ancient 
  Illyrian spoken by the centaurs in antiquity.) The king of 
  one of the ancient Illyrian cities, a centaur named Chiron, 
  became particularly fast friends with a human chieftain 
  named Cheops. Myths handed down from the Third Age, 
  still recounted in Illyria, relate many heroic deeds and ad-
  ventures attributed to Chiron and Cheops, who slew mon-
  sters and claimed treasures and fought together in war. 
   
  Famous heroes arose in later generations, too, when 
  Apep of Mephret resurrected Namtar the Lich-King and 
  brought about the Second Great War. Illyria was the first 
  country attacked by the armies of Apep, and it was almost 
  destroyed. The beastmen captured the northern half of the 
  country and used it as a corridor into Arcadia; but Illyrian 
  warriors, pushed west of the Barikôns, held firm there and 
  were never defeated. A battle at Naos Lofos, near the end 
  of the war, was a great turning point for the forces of good 
  and Law. 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  40 
   
  
  ILLYRIA 
   
   
  41 
   
  In the era that followed, humans consolidated their 
  foothold across the south of the continent, and they built 
  new empires upon the ashes of those kingdoms which 
  had been destroyed by the forces of Zudos. The greatest of 
  these began in Illyria, under the rule of the philosopher-
  king, Alexander of Olympia. Driven by a desire to make 
  sure that nothing like the Second Great War could ever 
  happen again, Alexander united all of the Illyrian rulers 
  behind a common cause: conquering the land of Amarna, 
  where Apep had arisen and caused the war. It was only 
  after this conquest had been completed that Alexander 
  was made king over all of Illyria and emperor of Amarna 
  to boot. But his success spurred his ambition: sweeping 
  eastward, Alexander went on to add Edenia Minor to his 
  empire. But when he reached the borders of Shambhala, 
  he realized that his campaign could proceed no further.  
  He only stayed in the region long enough to make firm his 
  hold on the eastern border of his empire; then he returned 
  home to Illyria, where he ruled until the end of his days.  
  The Alexandrine Empire lasted until the very end of the 
  Third Age, when conquest by Elysium ushered in the be-
  ginning of the Fourth. 
   
  After Elysium fell, Illyria—unlike much of the rest of 
  Arcadia—avoided a Dark Age. The institutions of civili-
  zation remained intact here, and kings in the city of Alex-
  andria (which had been built in the days of Alexander’s 
  empire, to honor that great conqueror) assumed all the 
  authority once held by the Elysian imperial governor. In 
  effect, it was as if the Empire never fell for Illyria. Instead, 
  it persisted, albeit in a diminished form, all the way up 
  through the end of Medieval Period, during which time 
  Illyria developed a reputation for brutal and backstabbing 
  internal politics. Then, in the Fifteenth Century, a sultan of 
  Amarna named Akbar V marched westward over the 
  Alati Desert and captured Alexandria. Illyria thus became 
  a province under the subjugation of the new Amarnan 
  Empire—and so it remained, nearly up to the present day.  
  But during the early 1800s, an unlikely alliance between 
  Avalon, Elysium, and Illyria came together to fight for 
  Illyrian independence from Amarna. The campaign was 
  successful, largely thanks to Avalon, which also took the 
  land of Mephret away from Amarna and made it a colony.  
  Illyria has become free, but that freedom is tenuous; very 
  little stands between Illyria and a campaign of re-conquest 
  and revenge by Amarna. For that matter, Amarna would 
  have an easy time taking Sylviana, too. 
   
  Agrios Forest: This forest is heavily populated by wo-
  sen and elves. Dwarfs, distant kin to the Hánfolk, live in 
  the nearby city of Dentra. Aëtoi is another city, built high 
  upon a hill, inhabited by kinnaras. 
   
  Alexandria: Once the capital of Illyria, this city is now 
  mostly famous for its temples, libraries, and universities.  
  Also found here is a technical academy called the Archi-
  medeon, dedicated to modern science and technology. 
   
  Barikôn Mountains: This dangerous range is inhab-
  ited by chimeras, manticores, griffons, hippogriffs, nekro-
  zons, and all manner of dangerous hybrids. Friendly crea-
  tures (like pegasi) can also be found here occasionally.  A 
  few sphinxes and gorgons are even said to dwell here. 
   
  Dolos Cliffs: These high cliffs overlook the Vodyan 
  Sea. Caves in the cliffs (not to mention the sea itself) are 
  known to hide all kinds of sea-serpents and other aquatic
   
   
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  42 
  monsters. The humans of Gkremos live off of this sea, de-
  spite the pervasive danger. 
   
  Kentauropolis: The center of centaur civilization in 
  olden days, this city is still important to centaur (and Illyr-
  ian) culture. Centaur philosophers and astronomers still 
  congregate here. Also based in this place is an order of 
  centaur warriors known as the Knights of Ixion, who have 
  made it their duty since the early days of the Fourth Age 
  to protect Illyria from outside conquest. These knights 
  played a key role in Illyria’s battle for independence from 
  Amarna, and now they will stop at nothing to preserve 
  that hard-won freedom. 
   
  Lake Iremos: Old legends say that this lake has no 
  bottom, and that it in fact leads all the way to the under-
  world. These are only stories, of course; a lake without a 
  lakebed would be quite impossible. Still, there are many 
  deep caves and tunnels in this region, so there might be a 
  grain of truth to the myth. Nobody knows what might be 
  found at the bottom of Iremos. 
   
  Lapithai Hills: In ancient days, human barbarians 
  lived in these hills. They were abandoned during the Sec-
  ond Great War, when gnolls overtook them. Ever since 
  then, the hills have been considered cursed. Now they are 
  thought to be haunted by geists that dwell in barrows be-
  neath the hills. 
   
  Olympia: Made the formal capital of the newly inde-
  pendent Illyria just a couple of decades ago, Olympia is 
  still better known for its ancient ruins than anything else.  
  The country is presently run by a provisional government, 
  headed by a regent named Jolanda Sophia. Until either a 
  proper monarch is elected or the Regent Jolanda is herself 
  crowned queen, Illyria’s government will remain in a state 
  of only tenuous stability. 
   
  Pepromeno Coast: A region of high cliffs, crags, and 
  sea-caves, this coastline overlooks the many islands south 
  of the Illyrian mainland.  The most interesting city in the 
  region is Amphitria, because it is a merrow city and com-
  pletely underwater. 
   
  Silenoi Forest: Fauns inhabit the Silenoi Forest in 
  large numbers. The nearby city of Chalasmata is famous 
  for its great library, which has unique historical records 
  dating back to the Second Age. 
   
   
  MIDJARD 
   
  The land of Midjard, as its name implies, covers a vast 
  area in the very center of the Arcadian subcontinent. All 
  of the lands east of the Gylden River and west of the 
  Drachendorn Mountains, south of the Fenrir Bay and 
  north of the Valk Mountains, are part of Midjard. The east 
  of Midjard is rough and hilly. A mountain range called 
  the Schwärtzesten dominates the landscape there. To the 
  south, Midjard seems almost entirely woodlands, and so it 
  is fitting that the people who have dwelt here for three 
  Ages of the world are the wood elves. Further north and 
  west, Midjard is a country of varied terrain: plains and 
  hills, forests and bogs, lakes and rivers. Indeed, because 
  Midjard is so large and so varied, and because it is home 
  to nearly every race known on Gaia, it makes an ideal 
  location for nearly any sort of campaign game that the 
  referee might wish to begin—especially for players new to 
  Gaia and to steampunk fantasy. 
   
  Though mostly united by a single culture and lang-
  uage, Midjard is divided into a number of independent 
  kingdoms; eight of them, to be precise. These are called 
  Gyldmark, Handelstad, Spielberg, Afblände, Dämmer-
  ung, Dreiseen, Älfheim, and Lu Sing. With the notable 
  exception of the Kingdom of Lu Sing, the language spo-
  ken everywhere throughout this country is Midjardisch, a 
  tongue descended from the old speech of the wood elves 
  who dwell primarily in the Kingdom of Älfheim.  Strange-
  ly, the wood elves’ language bears a much closer resem-
  blance to the Old Goblish speech (the tongue of Asgard) 
  than it does to the Old High Elvish (spoken in Pohjola).  
  Historians and linguists have not yet been able to discern 
  why this is so. 
   
  While sylvan elves rule the kingdom of Älfheim, their 
  neighbors to the north in the Kingdom of Dämmerung are 
  fays. In Afblände and the lands between the Schwärtzest-
  ten and Drachendorn ranges, goblins live. The rest of the 
  kingdoms are populated by a bewildering mix of humans 
  and demi-humans. 
   
  Lu Sing is without doubt the most peculiar of all the 
  Midjardisch kingdoms, because it does not resemble any 
  other land in Arcadia. Culturally, the people of Lu Sing 
  are related to the distant Empire of Jiganhu: they speak a 
  similar language and share many of its customs. It seems 
  that sometime very early in the Fourth Age of the world, 
  Lu Sing was founded by refugees fleeing some terrible 
  misfortune taking place in their original homeland in the 
  Far East. 
   
  It is possible that Dämmerung is the oldest kingdom 
  in Midjard, but no records survive from the First Age to 
  corroborate such a theory. The Great War which ended 
  the First Age so ravaged Midjard that the shape of the 
  land was altered considerably, destroying much of what 
  came before. If the gentle Player desires surer history than 
  mere speculation can provide, that certainty can only be 
  found in books and scrolls left behind since the start of the 
  Second Age, shortly after the elves came into Midjard 
  (very likely from Pohjola) and founded the Kingdom of 
  Älfheim.   
   
  Old books left behind by these early kingdoms in-
  dicate a great rivalry between the elves of Älfheim and the 
  fays of Dämmerung. As it was in Avalon during the Sec-
  ond Age, ill will toward the fays was pervasive, as their 
  kind was blamed for the Great War. But the fays never 
  fled from their kingdom here; instead, they ensconced 
  themselves deeper, hid themselves away with charms and 
  enchantments, and allowed the elves to rule the land.  
  When soldiers of Avalon came to declare their rule over 
  all of Midjard, the elves of Älfheim met them as friends 
  
  MIDJARD 
   
   
  43 
  and honored the emissaries of the faraway monarch by 
  presenting them with a most kingly gift: a sword wrought 
  from purest mythrill, called the Strahlendklinge. But on the 
  very day that the two tribes of elves were to meet, the 
  mythrill blade disappeared mysteriously—magically—
  and naturally enough, the elves suspected the fays. War 
  broke out between Älfheim and Dämmerung, with Ava-
  lon remaining strictly neutral, and neither kingdom won.  
  In the end, all that came out of the incident was a lasting 
  bitterness built on old grudges between the two countries.  
  Meanwhile, other folk came to settle in the north and west 
  of Midjard: centaurs, goblins, gnomes, and ogres. Near the 
  end of the Second Age, when Avalon fell, many hánfolk 
  also had come to dwell in Midjard, mostly in the region of 
  the Betrug Forest. 
   
  The Third Age, then, brought the rise of early human 
  empires in the far south—and also the Second Great War, 
  between the Free Folk of Arcadia and the Enemy in the 
  East. The breastmen in those days overran Sylvania and 
  established a fell stronghold at Dol Drachenham, a beach-
  head whence they struck out at Midjard. Fleeing before 
  the gnolls came human refugees who would eventually 
  settle in Midjard to create barbarian kingdoms. Mean-
  while, Midjard’s fairy folk fought back against the armies 
  of evil and drove them back into Sylvania, where the tide 
  turned, and the Enemy was at last driven back into the 
  east once again. The very end of the Third Age in Midjard 
  saw some minor border-skirmishes between Midjarders 
  and the armies of Julius Dracus from Imperial Elysium. 
   
  In the early centuries of the Fourth Age, Midjard was 
  constantly harassed by the Elysian Empire. By the Fifth 
  Century, though, Elysium had become so weak that the 
  Midjardisch tribes and kingdoms were able to come to-
  gether and launch a series of counter-attacks that ultim-
  ately destroyed Cælestium and brought down its empire.  
  Midjardisch kings then came to rule over the shattered 
  pieces of the Elysian Empire, and their shared culture 
  came to influence much of mainland Arcadia. Meanwhile, 
  the eight kingdoms known in modern Midjard began to 
  take shape. Elves still lived in Älfheim and fays still dwelt 
  in Dämmerung; but now goblins came together to form 
  the kingdom of Afblände; men created the kingdoms of 
  Dreiseen and Spielberg (and also Lu Sing, although these 
  were humans from much farther away); men, ogres, and 
  dwarfs together founded Handelstad; and men and cen-
  taurs, the Gyldmark. (Incidentally, the men of the Mark 
  are very close kin to the Guildermen of Asgard—they are 
  of the same lineage, but historically they settled on oppos-
  ite shores of the Fenrir Bay.) 
   
  At present, Midjard is strong but still divided. The 
  Midjardisch people are very keen on science and more 
  than adept with modern technology. Industry, travel, and 
  communication are as advanced here as they are in Utopia 
  and the south of Avalon. But the Midjardisch kingdoms 
  are by no means equal in the distribution of power and 
  wealth. Handelstad and Afblände are among the richest 
  and best industrialized of the kingdoms. Spielberg and 
  Gyldmark each enjoy strong military superiority.  Älfheim 
  and Dämmerung remain magical forces not lightly dis- 
   
   
   
  missed.  Several charismatic kings also make Midjardisch 
  politics interesting.  For centuries, Älfheim has been ruled 
  by Elf-King Alberich, while Dämmerung has been ruled 
  by Fay-King Sternlicht. The Kingdom of Spielberg, ruled 
  by an ambitious human named Johannes von Spielberg, is 
  positioned best of all the kingdoms to eventually domin-
  ate all of Midjard (not unlike Prussia in real-world Ger-
  many) and build a nation-state worthy of competing with 
  the likes of Utopia and Avalon.   
   
  Dol Drachenham: This dark tower, built deep in the 
  mountains where the Valks meet the Drachendorn, was 
  once a stronghold of evil and Chaos, the northern outpost 
  of the risen Lich-King during the Second Great War.  Al- 
  though the beastmen were driven out of these lands long 
  ago, Dol Drachenham itself was never assaulted or de-
  stroyed. Presumably, it still stands today. 
   
  Kingdom of Afblände: All of the country in between 
  the Schwärtzesten Mountains (which are exceedingly rich 
  in iron, tin, copper, and coal) and the Nisse River belong 
  to a race known as the Black Goblins. These goblins are 
  more insular than those that live in Asgard, but they nev-
  ertheless conduct a great deal of trade with the other Mid-
  jardisch kingdoms, especially Spielberg. The Drages Deso-
  lation, a blighted land that runs from the river to the foot-
  hills of the Drachendorn, is by no means under the gob-
  lins’ control. This country is ruled by dragons and gnolls 
  that dwell in the mountains. The far-off stronghold of 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  44 
   
  
  MIDJARD 
   
   
  45 
  Forsamlinghalle, once a great goblin-built fortress in the 
  Drachendorn, was destroyed centuries ago. Now Forsam-
  linghalle is held by gnolls, and Orkberg (on the northern 
  coast) is in the possession of draugs—making these two of 
  the strongest outposts of Chaos on the continent. 
   
  Kingdom of Älfheim: The mighty kingdom of the 
  sylvan elves, Älfheim covers the lands around the Great 
  Eingehüllt Forest. Woodwosen dwell east of the Gylden 
  River, and humans live in the communities of Männerberg 
  and Durchgang. The city of Wärterpfosten is home to the 
  Eingehüllt Rangers, a band of warriors and foresters who 
  defend the elf-kingdom from monsters. 
   
  Kingdom of Dämmerung: The kingdom of the fays 
  surrounds a forest called the Bilderwald, place of strange 
  illusions and colorful tricks of the light. The fays employ 
  the magical properties of the Bilderwald to keep their 
  business hidden from the world; but they avoid the Falsch 
  Fens, which are haunted by the undead. 
   
  Kingdom of Dreiseen: This country is home to hu-
  mans and some gnomes, and also to 
  merrows living in the three large lakes 
  that give the kingdom its name. The 
  monarchy of Dreiseen is old but not 
  particularly autocratic. Rather, the au-
  thority of the king here (the ruler of 
  Dreiseen is named Gunter IX) is limi-
  ted by constitution, a document called 
  the Compact of Friedvoll, which es-
  tablishes a council of barons who hold 
  the power to overrule certain of the 
  king’s decisions. The Vorsteinert Val-
  ley, in the far west of the kingdom, is 
  a famous archaeological dig-site, well-
  known for the discovery of artifacts 
  that predate the First Age. Dreiseen is 
  perhaps best known as the home of 
  the Society of Freethinkers, who were 
  the founders (some would say perpe-
  trators) of the Gnostic Reformation. 
   
  Kingdom of Gyldmark: This flat 
  country is dominated by wide expan-
  ses of plains, broken up by occasional 
  hills or bluffs covered in heather and 
  scrub. A well-traveled railway line be-
  gins in Kruispunt and passes all the 
  way through the north of Midjard, 
  into the Kingdom of Afblände. Gyld-
  mark itself is a busy hub of local trade 
  and the home of a group called the 
  Ritters of the Gyldmark, human and 
  centaur knights dedicated to defend-
  ing all of Midjard. (Most of the time, 
  though, the Ritters have their hands 
  full just keeping the trolls and ettins 
  confined to the Verloren Hills.) The 
  people of Gyldmark are close allies of 
  the Guildermen of Asgard, who are 
  their kin. 
   
  Kingdom of Handelstad: This 
  kingdom stretches from the mouth of 
  the Älver River to the lone peak called 
  Mount Liebenichts. Both humans and 
  ogres alike live in the coastal lowlands 
  around the city of Handelstad proper, 
  while the Betrug Forest houses countless many hánfolk.  
  The háin of Betrug are always war-ready, given that their 
  homeland is flanked by the dangerous Verloren Hills on 
  one side and the cursed Merkwürdig Moors on the other.  
   
  Kingdom of Lu Sing: At some point very early in the 
  Fourth Age, a large band of humans from faraway Jiang-
  hu traveled west to escape some widespread misfortune 
  that befell that land. Whether it was a plague, a conquest, 
  or something worse, only the sages and historians in Lu 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  46 
  Sing know for sure. The people of Lu Sing are not so Isola-
  tionist as their Jiangese counterparts in the far east; they 
  are more than happy to trade and mingle with their Mid-
  jardisch neighbors. The language and customs of Lu Sing 
  are different enough that this kingdom has remained cul-
  turally distinct from the rest of Midjard. At the celebration 
  of each new year, a great combat tournament is held in Lu 
  Sing—but only the best warriors in Arcadia are invited to 
  compete with local gongfu masters, who nearly always 
  win the tournament. 
   
  Kingdom of Spielberg: The northernmost kingdom 
  in Midjard, Spielberg is closely allied with Afblände and 
  Gyldmark. A mix of low foothills, rolling plains, and open 
  woodlands, this is one of the more peaceful kingdoms in 
  all of Arcadia—and yet, its people are very militaristic and 
  aggressive in their political posturing. It is no secret that 
  King Johannes von Spielberg wants to make his kingdom 
  the center of a united Midjardisch Empire. The Spielber-
  gers might just get more than they ever thought they’re 
  bargaining for, though, because gnolls and dragons are 
  multiplying in the Drachendorn. A unified Midjard could 
  be their only hope to withstand the inevitable onslaught. 
   
   
   
   
   
  POHJOLA 
   
  The Kingdom of Pohjola stretches from the Drachendorn 
  Mountains in the west to the Chernobog Mountains in the 
  east. The Avara River, white and rapid, separates Pohjola 
  from Asgard in the north. To the south lie the black and 
  foreboding waters of the Vodyan Sea. Pohjola is a land of 
  enormous, dense forests, thick with ancient growth and 
  mystery. Despite the country’s temperate latitude, it is 
  cold here for much of the year, because a chill wind al-
  ways blows off of the Jäätynyt Plains, only broken when it 
  reaches the high treetops of the great Vanhin Forest where 
  the last of the High Elves have made their kingdom. With-
  in the forests, the climate is always warm and pleasant, 
  due to some little-understood elfin magic. Elsewhere, the 
  country is at the mercy of the elements and that ill wind 
  that blows down from the north. 
   
  The High Elves built their kingdom in Pohjola at the 
  beginning of the Second Age, and then they did every-
  thing in their power to cut themselves off from the rest of 
  the world and its problems. They wanted no part in the 
  affairs of Gaia after the First Great War was over: it was 
  enough that such a disastrous incident had brought them 
  unwillingly into Gaia in the first place. Their kin, the syl-
  van elves who settled in Midjard and eventually moved 
  onto Avalon, were considered a lesser breed: barbaric and 
  warlike, fit only to serve the aims of the High kingdom.  
  The wood elves even spoke in the tongues of goblins and 
  sought to conquer, to dominate, to win retribution from 
  the fays. The High Elves of Pohjola took the noble road of 
  peace: they only wished to left to their own devices. 
   
  But ever has Pohjola lived beneath a shadow, stuck as 
  it is between the Drachendorn and the Chernobogs. The 
  Drachendorn wasn’t always such an accursed place: in 
  ancient times, goblins and elves mined tunnels into those 
  
  POHJOLA 
   
   
  47 
   
   
   
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  48 
   
   
   
  mountains in search of orichalcon and other riches. But 
  then darkness came to that land, and the vile stronghold 
  at Dol Drachenham was built, and it became a home of 
  dragons and beastmen. After the Second Great War, the 
  darkness in the Drachendorn waned, but over the centur-
  ies this darkness has slowly and quietly returned. The 
  Chernobog Mountains, meanwhile, have never known 
  peace. Ever have those fell and dire peaks cast an evil 
  shadow upon the land of the High Elves, for they separate 
  Pohjola from Tuonela, the gnolls’ country. The very name 
  of Tuonela is taken from the Old High Elfish (it means 
  “Land of Death”), that place in the east which has always 
  been the possession of the Great Enemy. 
   
  The modern Pohjolan language is descended directly 
  from the Old High Elvish. It bears no discernible rela-
  tionship to the wood elves’ language (Midjardisch), but it 
  does share some features and vocabulary with the Sylphid 
  (kinnara) language still spoken in northern Sylvania. 
   
  Once the Second Age had begun, and the High Elves 
  had decided that they would settle in this country betwixt 
  the mountain ranges, they cultivated the forests (many of 
  which also became home to woodwosen) and wove their 
  elf-spells around them, filling these woods with light and 
  life. A Tree of Life was planted in the center of the forest 
  called Vanhin, and this became the site of the city of Sam-
  po, the true capital of elvendom on Gaia. All who dwelt 
  within the light of this tree were said to be blessed with 
  wisdom and skill, and so it has remained for an Age. 
   
  When the Third Age came along and humans enabled 
  the start of the Second Great War, the elves of Pohjola did 
  not rush out to meet the evil headlong as the folk of Mid-
  jard did. They honored their alliance with the goblins of 
  Asgard and fought the enemy along the Chernobogs, but 
  otherwise they merely defended their borders and made 
  sure that nothing could enter Pohjola over the Drachen-
  dorn or the Vodyan. This has been the way of the High 
  Elves ever since: aloof, apart from the world, and con-
  cerned only for the good of their own nation. 
   
  The story of Pohjola in the Fourth Age, then, is one of 
  a kingdom teetering on the brink. Evil closes in around 
  them from all sides. A dark power grows in the east, and 
  from afar it strengthens whatever foulness still lurks un-
  der the Drachendorn. Even if this new darkness is defeat-
  ed, though, Pohjola will have to face something even more 
  insidious: change. The rest of the world is learning, grow-
  ing, progressing, and advancing. The High Elves would 
  like nothing more than to see everything stay exactly the 
  way it is, and yet they know this to be impossible. Science 
  is forever altering the world, and the true challenge for 
  Pohjola will be to adapt to this change—which it must do 
  if it is to survive. 
   
  Avara River: This mighty flow comes down out of 
  the Drachendorn, winds its way across most of Pohjola, 
  and finally empties into the Fenrir Bay.  The city of Sampo  
  
  POHJOLA 
   
   
  49 
   
   
   
  was built on the banks of the Avara, as was the city of 
  Kelkka, noted for its master shipwrights. 
   
  Drachendorn Mountains: North of the Avara River, 
  the Drachendorn forms the border between Pohjola and 
  Midjard. Here, the mountains are evil and utterly infested 
  with dragons and gnolls. South of the river, though, the 
  mountains are less foreboding. The branch of the Drach-
  endorn between Pohjola and Sylvania is mainly inhabited 
  by kinnaras, who fight constantly to keep their beloved 
  peaks and heights free from incursions by the beastmen. 
   
  Jäätynyt Plains: These lands are always frozen. The 
  elves believe that some evil spell was cast upon them long 
  ago. Fearsome snow-monsters (yeti) are said to the stalk 
  the far northern reaches of the region. In the city of Noita, 
  the elves raise hardy sled-dogs for transportation. 
   
  Jyrista Hills: The foothills leading up to the Drachen-
  dorn, these were filled with goblins in the days when For-
  samlinghalle was alive and glorious. Now the dreary hills 
  are abandoned by all but gnolls and the occasional dragon 
  that wanders out of the mountains. 
   
  Karhu Cliffs: These high bluffs make it impossible to 
  reach Pojola from the Fenrir Bay, or vice versa, without 
  traversing either the Vaalea Forest or the Avara River—
  both of which are well-guarded by elfin march-wardens. 
   
  Kuollut Forest: The elves and woodwosen who dwell 
  in this wood are close allies to the kinnaras that dwell 
  immediately south of them, in the more benign southern 
  branch of the Drachendorn Mountains. Often must these 
  three folk come together to fight the monsters of the north 
  Drachendorn. 
   
  Lohikäärme Badlands: This place was the site of a 
  great battle at the end of the First Age, when many elves 
  were slain in battle with Fiendish forces. Since that day, 
  the land has been blighted, and nothing grows here. The 
  greater undead (revenants and animi) haunt this place; so 
  even the elves are reluctant to disturb its restless evil. 
   
  Peikko Fells: Something truly evil lives and hunts in 
  these moors. Whatever it is (and nobody knows, because 
  none who enter the Fells ever return), it is probably allied 
  with the evil in the Chernobog Mountains. 
   
  Salama Fields: These plains are the breadbasket of 
  Pohjola. Those elves who choose to pass their centuries as 
  farmers live in this region. It is a pastoral, even idyllic ex-
  istence—so long as nothing foul comes storming out of 
  the Jyrista Hills. 
   
  Sampo: Capital city of Pohjola, the elves that live here 
  are primarily concerned with guarding the great Tree of 
  Life. This tree is believed to be the source of immortality 
  for all of the High Elves who live on Gaia. Should some-
  thing ever happen to the Tree, all High Elves everywhere 
  would become mere mortals, just as the sylvan elves are. 
  The Tree-Keepers, then, are Pohjola’s most elite warriors 
  and magicians, for their duty is the most solemn. Sampo is 
  also home to the King of the High Elves, Ukko Iluvatar, 
  who has ruled this country for quite literally thousands of 
  years. 
   
  Sieni Hills: The city of Lääke was built around a fort-
  ified watchtower, set here to ward the hill-country, which 
  is now inhabited by ogre tribes and packs of dire wolves. 
  The ogres are on friendly terms with the elves of Lääke; 
  they help them to patrol the region and hunt wolves. 
   
  Tumma Forest: The only forest in the country that the 
  elves do not inhabit, nothing seems to live here except for 
  the trees themselves. Not birds, not beasts, not monsters, 
  not insects. It shouldn’t be possible, but it is so. Nobody 
  knows why. North of the forest, Mount Tulittaa once con-
  tained a gnoll-stronghold, but it has been abandoned for 
  centuries. From time to time, a patrol of elfin Bowknights 
  explore the place to make certain that nothing has taken 
  up residence here. 
   
  Vaalea Forest: The city of Hurja, nestled high in the 
  treetops in the deepest part of the wood, is home to the 
  Order of Bowknights, elfin archers of high repute. They 
  ward the north of the country from excursions, suspicious 
  of all—even their nominal allies, the Asgardish goblins. 
   
  Vanhin Forest: The whole wood seems enchanted, a 
  far-reaching effect of the Tree of Life that grows in Sampo.  
  Those who enter Vanhin find that weariness and despair 
  quickly leave them. It never seems to be night or day here, 
  nor does this place know winter from summer—it is al-
  ways a cool twilight in Vanhin. The passage of time itself 
  seems slower, and yet the days are happier, howsoever 
  many may pass. Those that dwell all their lives in Vanhin 
  can be considered blessed, if it is peace and not excitement 
  that they seek. 
   
   
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  50 
  SYLVANIA 
   
  Sylvania is the country which sits east of the Valks and 
  south of the Drachendorn. A very ancient kingdom, it was 
  founded long ago by the Sylphs, a race of kinnaras (bird-
  folk). Today, Sylvania is a kingdom of two cultures, that 
  of the Sylphs (who reside mainly in the north) and that of 
  humans descended from commingled Elysian and Illyrian 
  stock (who dominate the south). The eastern shore of Sy-
  lvania is formed by the Vodyan Sea, although the only 
  easy access to this shore comes at the mouth of the Veloc 
  River. That river is the primary waterway throughout Syl-
  vania: it flows out of the Valks; and the Varcolac, Gyors, 
  Bûbáj, and Orpheon Rivers all empty into it. To the south, 
  Sylvania touches Elysia (which begins where the Desfǎta 
  Hills end), the Illic Sea (although the Strega Mountains all 
  but cut it off from the rest of the country), and the land of 
  Illyria (which is separated from Sylvania by the Orpheon 
  and Veloc rivers). Much of eastern Sylvania is wasteland, 
  poorly cultivated but populated nonetheless. In the center 
  of the country, conditions are far better: around the Prin-
  cipality of Fredonia, the people are prosperous and the 
  land is productive. The Sylvanian monarchy has managed 
  to amass great wealth in recent decades, and the country’s 
  standing army is well-trained and now of a considerable 
  size (mostly as a reaction to the posturing of the Utopian 
  Empire). 
   
  The closer one comes to the mountains in the north of 
  Sylvania, the more one is apt to encounter Sylphs. In the 
  mountains proper, the kinnaras have many strongholds 
  carved into the high peaks. In these places, the primary 
  tongue spoken is Sylphid, a language related to the Old 
  High Elvish (and modern Pohjolan). Everywhere south of 
  the Great Sylvan Woods and the Agyar Wastes, though, is 
  primarily human country, and the tongue spoken here is 
  Sylvanian, a modern dialect of the old Cælestine common 
  tongue. Humans rule all of the lands south the Veloc and 
  Varcolac Rivers, including the central Principality of Fre-
  donia. The queen who rules from Fredonia, Katrina I, is 
  also the monarch of all Sylvania. 
   
  After the wars of the First Age, when kinnaras and all 
  the other fair folk were summoned into the world, the 
  Sylph tribe chose to settle in the Valks and the Drachen-
  dorn. Eventually, they also passed south of the mountains 
  and settled the rough country that they found beyond the 
  foothills there. During the Second Age, the Sylphs were 
  warlike and independent. There were many small Sylph 
  kingdoms, and these warred amongst themselves and 
  against all of their neighbors—except the High Elves of 
  Pohjola, who always had the Sylphs’ utmost respect and 
  friendship. Stories handed down from the late Second 
  Age tell of a great hero, a Sylph named Mikhail the Bold, 
  who united the warring tribes into a single kingdom that 
  came to be called “Sylphania”. The stories that speak of 
  Mikhail’s deeds are many and conflicting, clearly having 
  been embellished in the intervening millennia. Old tales 
  also mention that at the end of the Second Age, Sylphs 
  joined the Urther’s rebellion against Avalon. 
   
   
   
  At the beginning of the Third Age, the united Sylph 
  kingdom was strong, but geography was against it. While 
  humans came into Elysia and Illyria and slowly began to 
  settle those lands, the power of the beastfolk grew in the 
  east, in Tuonela and on the waters of the Vodyan. Then 
  came the rise of Mephret and the Second Great War, and 
  the onslaught of Apep and the risen Lich-King. While the 
  armies of Illyria were pushed aside by the forces of Apep, 
  gnolls sailed over the Vodyan and won the eastern shore 
  of Sylvania. Then the men from Mephret linked up with 
  the beastmen, and this combined force swept westward 
  across the country and razed it practically to nothing. A 
  great alliance came down out of Midjard and halted the 
  march of Chaos, turning it aside as a stone breaks a wave; 
  but Sylvania became the site of the heaviest fighting in 
  that war, and it ultimately broke the Sylphid kingdom 
  utterly. When the war was over and the armies of Apep 
  were defeated, Sylvania was in tatters. 
   
  Then, late in the Third Age, humans quickly moved 
  in from the south and settled the depopulated lands.  Al-
  exander’s empire took parts of Sylvania under its control; 
  and later, when the Elysian Empire came to power, it con-
  quered the rest of the country. Early in the Fourth Age, 
  Sylvania was an important province in the Elysian Empire 
  and close to the heart of human civilization, much like 
  Hesperia. After the fall of Elysium, the country came back 
  under the control of Illyria, until Illyria fell to Akbar of 
  Amarna in the Fifteenth Century. Sylvania might have 
  fallen as well, if not for another hero that arose in the east- 
  
  SYLVANIA 
   
   
  51 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  52 
  ern part of the country, a warlord named Jánosz. In order 
  to repel the invading Amarnans, Jánosz formed a society 
  of knights called the Order of the Dragon. The order was 
  modeled upon the traditions of Jánosz’s Sylph country-
  men and their famed dragoons. Jánosz and his Dragons 
  managed to hold the Amarnans at the banks of the Veloc: 
  they never won into Sylvania, and they never conquered 
  any lands north of Illyria. 
   
  A descendant of Jánosz I still rules the east country in 
  Sylvania: Prince Jánosz VI, Archduke of Agyar. The sixth 
  Jánosz is not as well-beloved as his ancestor: his country is 
  a wasteland, and his people are poor. There are even ru-
  mors that Jánosz himself is a vampire and a sorcerer, and 
  that he has drained these lands of their vitality. The prince 
  rarely leaves his castle at the city of Praf, although from 
  time to time he does make conspicuous trips to Fredonia 
  to press his suit with the queen. 
   
  The ruler of all Sylvania, Katrina Beldenberg, distin-
  guished herself as a warrior and an adventurer before she 
  came to the throne as Queen Katrina I. Unlike past human 
  rulers of Fredonia, Katrina has been intent on keeping all 
  of Sylvania united, and this includes making sure that the 
  Sylphs have their say in her government. Although her 
  autocracy is absolute, Queen Katrina does her best to hear 
  grievances and take advice from local rulers of border-
  provinces. Even still, some Sylphs that live in the Valks 
  would prefer to be completely independent of a human 
  monarch, and whispers of imminent rebellion have wide 
  currency. This is the last thing that Queen Katrina needs: 
  Emperor Biendit of Utopia, in his thirst for conquest, girds 
  his country for widespread war. To respond to this threat, 
  Katrina has seen to it that Sylvania now marshals its own 
  defenses. The only thing that this audacious soldier-queen 
  will not do is accept the marriage proposal of Archduke 
  Jánosz, even if that would greatly increase her political 
  power and allow her to declare Sylvania a proper empire.  
  The archduke’s reputation is simply too besmirched by 
  rumors for Queen Katrina to ever consider such a match. 
   
  Agyar Wastes: This is the country ruled by Archduke 
  Jánosz VI from his castle at Praf. The land here is gray, as 
  if all of the life has been drained from it. Vampires are 
  said to stalk the nights with impunity here. Rumors also 
  persist that Jánosz himself is a vampire, but there is no 
  proof to support such accusations. The fact of the matter is 
  that Jánosz has been seen publicly in the daytime, which 
  casts considerable doubt on any supernatural hearsay.  
   
  Bleeding Crags: A region of high seaside cliffs and 
  narrow canyons, ancient tombs are dug into the crags.  
  The tombs predate human settlement of the region and 
  are probably of Sylphid origin. 
   
  Desfǎta Hills: This hilly country is sparsely populat-
  ed, but peaceful. The southwestern edge of the hills forms 
  the border between Sylvania and Elysia. Recently, Queen 
  Katrina has started to discreetly move soldiers into the 
  hills. She doesn’t want to provoke a response from any of 
  the Elysian city-states, but she nonetheless feels the need 
  to guard this border in case Utopia ever invades. 
   
  Farcasember Woods: These woods are thought to be 
  haunted by werecreatures or skin-walkers. The town of 
  Farcas on the north edge of the woods is a strange place, 
  quiet and dolorous during the day, with mad music and 
  wild celebrations on a nightly basis. Visitors do not stay 
  long, for they eventually come to suspect that the people 
  of Farcas are under some strange sort of spell. 
   
  Great Sylvan Woods: The huge stretch of woodlands 
  in the center of the country, this place is home to a great 
  many Sylphs and humans. The cities of Dárda and Fészkel 
  are the centers of some of the most strident opposition to 
  Queen Katrina’s militaristic rule. 
   
  Fredonia: The capital of Sylvania sits at the south-
  eastern foot of Nobilvǎnt Mountain. Sylphs yet live within 
  the mountain, while humans prefer to live in the city. The 
  royal palace of Queen Katrina is more than just a splendid 
  mansion: it is also a center of culture and the arts. The Syl-
  vanians are great lovers of music, sculpture, and painting, 
  and all of these endeavors are well-supported by the royal 
  house. Fredonia is famous for its museums, conservator-
  ies, theaters, opera hoses, academies, and a famous college 
  called the Illuminari University. The Scholars of Illuminari 
  are some of the world’s finest physicians, surgeons, philo-
  sophers, and magicians. 
   
  Omor Swamp: South of the Tern Lake and the Gyors 
  River, this large wetland area is difficult to navigate, but 
  that doesn’t stop people from living here. Wandering faun 
  and humans bands are the primary inhabitants. 
   
  Veloc River: Most of Sylvania is a part of the Veloc’s 
  river-valley. In the parts where the river flows through the 
   
   
   
  
  SYLVANIA—TIRNANOG 
   
   
  53 
  Great Woods, humans make their living as loggers and 
  ferrymen. Farther south, the cities rely on the trade plied 
  up and down the Veloc and its tributaries: Proaspǎt and 
  Clǎdire on the Gyors; Kívánalom on the Bûbáj; and Kiéget, 
  Szürke, Sereglet, and Aggódik on the Veloc itself.  At the 
  mouth of the river, the city of Jóval is Sylvania’s only real 
  naval port, charged with defending the country’s eastern 
  shore against all threats—not just the gnolls of Tuonela, 
  but the Amarnan Empire as well. 
   
  Víla Vale: This narrow, densely forested valley is 
  said to be a home of capricious nature-spirits. People who 
  enter Víla Vale do not come out. Whatever it is that lives 
  here, none can tell whether it is truly evil or merely a dan-
  ger to the unwary and the foolish. 
   
   
  TIRNANOG 
   
  Tirnanog is an island which sits about one-hundred and 
  fifty miles west of Avalon. Of the two islands, Tirnanog is 
  considerably smaller, covering perhaps one-third the area 
  Avalon does. Much of Tirnanog is highlands, but there are 
  also rolling meadows, fens, woods, and heaths. The island 
  is roughly divided into three regions by the two mountain 
  ranges that run north-south through the middle of it, the 
  Fia and Céirseach Mountains. East of the Céirseachs, the 
  native hánfolk and merrows mingle with men and elves 
  of Avalonian descent. This part of the country is more or 
  less directly under the control of Avalon, a fact not likely 
  to change soon. West of the Fias, the Ard country is peo-
  pled almost entirely by háin, and fiercely nationalistic ones 
  at that. Proudly patriotic, these lands are the heart of the 
  háin rebellion against the Avalonian Empire. The center of 
  the country, then, is the region that the two sides are fight-
  ing over. Whoever controls Mag Mell and the river-valley 
  of the Beannaithe will control the greater part of Tirnanog. 
  And yet, the country between the mountains—the Gleann 
  Forest and the Bréan Wastes—is wild and fearsome, home 
  to spirits and monsters. No mortal rules over this place— 
  not Avalon and not rebels. 
   
  The very first inhabitants of Tirnanog were not the 
  háin, but the Sidhe. Those that dwelt here in the First Age 
  built a kingdom called the Daoine Sidhe country. It was 
  greatly weakened by the First Great War with the Four 
  Fiends, but it was not destroyed. That did not happen un-
  til the Second Age, when dwarrow-folk (primitive dwarfs, 
  the ancestors of the háin) first came to the island. These lit-
  tle folk, when they originally appeared in Gaia, were war-
  like and barbaric. Although the fays named them leipreac-
  háin (“the little folk”), the dwarrows were fierce enough to 
  push the Daoine Sidhe clear off their own island. This was 
  a slow process, though, only accomplished over centuries.  
  During that time, the hánfolk learned from the Sidhe, and 
  they even picked up a dialect of their language, which is 
  why Old Fay so closely resembles Old Hánnish, the ances-
  tor of the modern Tirnish tongue. Eventually, the hánfolk 
  came to call themselves by what is now their traditional 
  name as a people and a nation, the háin (a plural form that 
  means “the folk”; one dwarf is called a hán). The fays who 
  were descended from the Daoine Sidhe, meanwhile, were 
  driven all the way back to the Ard country in the west of 
  Tirnanog. At last, they built ships and joined their breth-
  ren in fleeing across the Dysic Ocean, into the Uttermost 
  West (Lemuria and Tollan), where they dwelt all through-
  out the Second Age. 
   
  The háin burrowed a city into a great earthen mound 
  at a place called Mag Mell. Here dwelt the High King of 
  the hánfolk, who was lord over all of the lesser hán-kings 
  that ruled the many tribes throughout Tirnanog. But the 
  Elfin Empire that grew up in Avalon proved superior in 
  war, and after a few centuries of freedom, Tirnanog came 
  under the thumb of Avalon. The High Kings were forced 
  to pay dear tribute to the Emperor at Annwn, although 
  they resisted all throughout the Second Age. In the days 
  when Meliora came to rule in Avalon, there lived at Mag 
  Mell two princes, Darby and Danny of the clan O’Donnell.  
  As the old legends tell it, Darby was the elder brother and 
  the rightful heir to the throne—but both brothers were 
  cruel and conceited, and neither was worthy of the crown.  
  Their father, the old High King, knew this to be true and 
  died without naming a proper successor. The throne then 
  would have fallen to Darby, but that Danny made a pact 
  with Meliora to betray his brother. The elf-queen inter-
  vened and had Darby exiled from Tirnanog. In this act, 
  she made a dire enemy. Plotting his revenge all the while, 
  Darby secretly went to the Forest of the Ancients in Ava-
  lon, and there he helped to found a rebellion against Meli-
  ora. This was the famous rebel army that clashed with 
  Meliora’s knights when the Urther walked out of the mists 
  and found them. Somehow, Darby convinced the first hu-
  man Hero to join the rebellion, an act that made history. In 
  the war with the Elfin Empire, Danny is said to have been 
  killed; and Darby, made wiser and kinder by his years of 
  hardship as a rebel, was installed on the throne as High 
  King. Thus did Tirnanog enter the Third Age. 
   
  The háin kingdom remained strong, even as humans 
  arose in the south. The Second Great War did not touch 
  Tirnanog at all, so remote was the island from the rest of 
  Arcadia in those days. But after Elysium built its empire at 
  the very end of that period, the fourth Emperor of Cæles-
  tium, Thadrian, embarked upon a campaign to subdue it.  
  Thadrian had great success in Avalon, where he drove the 
  rebuilt fay kingdom north of the mountains; but in Tir-
  nanog, he never won a beachhead. The háin were simply 
  too swift, too silent, too sure of aim to be defeated by the 
  relatively big and clumsy humans. Indeed, the hánnish 
  kingdom persisted well into the Fourth Age, though it did 
  so under a new dynasty, the O’Brien line, which had re-
  placed the O’Donnell kings late in the Third Age. 
   
  Then, still early in the Fourth Age, Elysium retreated 
  from Avalon, and King Agrivain came to power in Caer-
  leon. That king of fays hungered for the glory of ancient 
  times long past, and he vowed to build a new Avalonian 
  Empire. He began with Tirnanog. The united skill of fays, 
  elves, and men in Avalon proved the hánfolk’s undoing. 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  54 
  
  TIRNANOG 
   
   
  55 
   
   
   
  In the centuries of war that followed, much of Tirnanog 
  was razed, and the royal O’Brien line was exterminated.  
  With the High Kingship broken, Tirnanog came firmly un-
  der the rule of Avalon, a protectorate of the new Empire.  
  But the háin have a history of rebellion that dates back to 
  the O’Donnell kings, to Darby the Great who was friend 
  of the Urther. They do not brook foreign rule lightly, and 
  the spirit of resistance burns hottest in the west country, 
  as it has for much this past Age of the world. The háin 
  have only risked open war sporadically, whenever the 
  time has felt right. The Eighteenth Century was compara-
  tively peaceful, and so far the Nineteenth has not seen any 
  major conflagrations. Many patriots are restless, though, 
  and soon more violence may come to the land of the Little 
  Folk, the onetime isle of the Daoine Sidhe. 
   
  Ádhúil Forest: From the later days of the Third Age, 
  this part of the forest was home to an order of wizards (in-
  cluding a few human magi from the south) who were the 
  first Druids, following in the tradition of the fay preacher, 
  Midhir. It was believed, however, that Midhir’s original 
  cult had mostly died out by the time King Agrivain con-
  quered Tirnanog. But now a secretive society of men and 
  fairies once again dwells here, at the old forest stronghold 
  called Grian Grove. Avalonian soldiers suspect that the 
  Grove has become a rebel stronghold, but it’s also possible 
  that these humans are trying to bring back the first Druid 
  Order in Ádhúil—entirely for their own purposes. 
   
  Ard Meadows: The west country is gentle in both cli-
  mate and terrain, an emerald green grassland that reflects 
  in the bejeweled eyes of the hánfolk. This part of Tirnanog 
  foments the direst opposition to Queen Maeve and Ava-
  lon. The surest way to get oneself grievously injured in 
  this part of the country is to duck one’s head into a pub in 
  Críonnacht or Loiscneach and shout, “Long live Queen 
  Maeve!” or “For the glory of the Empire!” 
   
  Beannaithe River: This river flows between the Fia 
  and Céirseach ranges. Near the source of the river, the 
  land is wild; more civilization is to be found as the waters 
  course south. By the time the Beannaithe empties into the 
  Smaragaid Lake, it is a mighty flow indeed. (The Smara-
  gaid, incidentally, is home to a large community of mer-
  rows, and a powerful merrow witch is said to dwell there 
  among them and protect the lake.) Then, leaving the lake, 
  the Beannaithe continues down to the sea, where the city 
  of Port Mór becomes Tirnanog’s chief seaport and its gate- 
  way to the rest of the world. The Avalonian Navy has firm 
  control of Port Mór, but it holds a less certain grip on the 
  cities upriver (including Mag Mell). The Beannaithe is in 
  fact navigable by ship all the way up to Smaragaid Lake. 
   
  Bréan Wastes: This country is rocky and bare, with 
  naught to break up the sight of it but scraggly scrub and 
  ancient stone cairns. The city of Suarach was a Sidhe fort-
  ress during the time of Daoine Sidhe, but it was taken by 
  gnolls at the end of the First Age. Beastfolk held onto it for 
  millennia, but they were driven out of the region in the 
  later part of the Third Age. Five or six hundred years be- 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  56 
  fore the present day, Suarcah came alive again—it drew to 
  itself many evil wizards, both human and fay. Gnolls and 
  trolls have also returned to the Wastes. There are even ru-
  mors of dragons. Bréan is without doubt the deadliest part 
  of all Tirnanog. 
   
  Caiseal Gobán: This fortress was built by the O’Brien 
  kings at the start of the Fourth Age, but it was quickly tak-
  en by invaders in the name of King Agrivain.  It has been 
  a stronghold for Avalon ever since. 
   
  Céirseach Mountains: These low and round-topped 
  mountains stretch through the eastern part of Tirnanog.  
  They are known chiefly for the bluish fog that rolls off of 
  their eastern slope and down to the sea, a perfectly natural 
  occurrence that makes the streets of Eolas look haunting 
  and mysterious at dawn and dusk. 
   
  Fia Mountains: These brown, jagged mountains div-
  ide western Tirnanog.  In the southern part of the range, 
  Tinedragan Mountain is said to be the lair of a huge fire- 
  drake which has slept these past thousand years. 
   
  Firbolg Fens: A tribe of ogres live in the fens. They 
  mostly keep to themselves and rarely visit the cities. Of 
  late, though, they have been growing restless—and since 
  this part of the country is under the control of Avalon, the 
  foreign soldiers will naturally suspect incitement by rebels 
  from the west. 
   
  Gleann Forest: Except for the brave háin that dwell in 
  Cumacht, most people do not go into Gleann Forest.  This 
  is only prudent; Gleann is a dangerous place. The trees of 
  Gleann, so say the locals, do not take kindly to visitors. 
   
  Mag Mell: The capital city of Tirnanog, Mag Mell 
  was seized from the rebels by Avalonian soldiers over two  
   
  hundred years ago, and the rebel attempt has not yet been 
  made to recapture it. The city is still rocked by violence 
  from time to time, though: usually this takes the form of a 
  bomb planted at a government building by insurgents.  
  The Mound of Mag Mell, the old palace of the O’Donnell 
  kings, still stands here. From the outside, it looks like an 
  earthen mound covered in emerald grass. From within, it 
  looks just like any other stone castle, but much cozier. 
   
  Muir Island: This island sits before the mouth of the 
  Urlabhra River, across the strait from the port city of Im-
  eallbhord. (When pronouncing the name of either the riv-
  er or the city, note that the “bh” sounds like an English 
  “v”.) Imeallbhord is an important naval base for Avalon, 
  and Muir Island itself is the site of a famous sea-battle in 
  which the forces of King Agrivain defeated the háin sea-
  farers defending the island. 
   
  Olc Island: This far northern island is a strange place 
  for a gnoll stronghold, but such it is. The mountains here 
  house beastmen, who ply the north Dysic like pirates. 
   
  Seamróg Coast: This region is populated by far more 
  humans and merrows than hánfolk. A great many of the 
  humans living this region are more likely to think ill of the 
  Críonnacht rebellion than of Imperial Avalon. But there 
  are plenty of sympathizers here too. In short, for all of its 
  emerald hills and shining beaches and other idyllic scen-
  ery, this place is a powderkeg waiting to go off. 
   
  Tirnish Sea: The merrows that live in this sea invari-
  ably think of themselves as Tirnish, not Avalonian. To wit, 
  they would sooner side with hánnish rebels than with the 
  Imperial soldiers, should the rebels ever think to ask for 
  their help. 
   
   
  
  UTOPIA 
   
   
  57 
  UTOPIA 
   
  The country of Utopia (nowadays called the Utopian Em-
  pire) covers the enormous region in western Arcadia situ-
  ated north of the Valk Mountains and west of the Gylden 
  and Wunder Rivers. Like a great peninsula, most of Uto-
  pia juts out into the Dysic Ocean, although the southern 
  coast of the country is actually formed by the Hipponic 
  Sea, the shallow body which separates Utopia from Hes-
  peria.  Most of Utopia is plains country, although hills and 
  mountains do make some parts of it more rugged. The 
  many rivers that wind through its lowlands serve as the 
  major travel-routes, even in this day and age when rail-
  roads crisscross the whole nation. Utopia is far and away 
  the most technophilic of all Arcadia’s nations, not least 
  because it is the homeland of the gnomes. Humans dwell 
  here in great numbers too; and many sylvan elves make 
  their home in the northeastern part of the country, a re-
  gion called Lutinny, which is culturally closer to Midjard 
  than to the rest of Utopia. 
   
  The Utopian language is descended from a dialect of 
  Cælestine (since the whole country was once a province of 
  the Elysian Empire), but it is more distinctive than mod-
  ern Elysian or Hesperian. The Utopian tongue has been 
  heavily influenced by the harsh sounds and particular vo-
  cabulary of the Old Gnomish, a speech distantly related to 
  Old Fay and Old Hánnish and now long extinct from the 
  region. Two other major languages, Alfo-Lutin and Ûkyar, 
  are spoken in the more provincial parts of Utopia. Lutin is 
  the tongue spoken by the wood elves in the northwest; it 
  is very closely related to Midjardisch. Ûkyar, meanwhile, 
  is the language of the ogres who dwell in the southeast of 
  Utopia, in the Heights and the Desolation. Their language 
  is actually quite similar to modern Pohjolan. 
   
  During the First Age, the land now called Utopia was 
  sparsely settled by scattered communities of Sidhe. (Some 
  of these archaic farm-villages have actually been uncov-
  ered by human and gnomish archaeologists, much to the 
  excitement of Utopia’s vibrant scientific community.)  Lat-
  er in that period, when the fairy-folk were summoned into 
  the world, gnomes settled these same lands in great num-
  bers, but they didn’t dwell on the surface. Instead, they 
  tunneled underneath the ground and lived in subterran-
  ean halls. (These too are well-documented by archaeolo-
  gists and historians.) In the Second Age, when elves came 
  to power in Avalon, the gnomes avoided conquest by sim-
  ply hiding underground. Though elves colonized the sur-
  face of Utopia, the gnomes were never seen. In those days, 
  they were known as the “Hidden Folk”, and elves were 
  actually skeptical of their very existence. 
   
  Near to the end of the Second Age, the underground 
  cities were ruled by a single Gnome King, a great engineer 
  called Calcasterix the Wise. This ruler became a friend of 
  the Urther after that famed hero returned from over the 
  sea with Myrddin and the exiled fays. He even helped the 
  human to build machines of war, to aid in the conquest of 
  Meliora. It is said that the gnomes learned much of science 
  and engineering from the Urther, who was wise beyond 
  the ken of any fairy in the application of Natural Law; and 
  ever since, the gnomes have been a people fascinated by 
  technology, a fact which now holds true for all the Uto-
  pian people, regardless of their race. 
   
  When the Third Age began, the threat posed by the 
  Elfin Empire was gone, and the gnomes moved onto the 
  surface of their country. But humans also came into the 
  world en masse in this time, and a great many of them 
  appeared out of the west from over the sea. They mainly 
  settled in the far south, in the countries which were then 
  called Elysium and Illyrium. For most of the Third Age, 
  humans did not bother the gnomes directly; but they did 
  play their part in bringing about the Second Great War, 
  which caused much strife for the gnomes when the fight-
  ing finally reached the borders of Utopia. This war weak-
  ened the gnome kingdom considerably, such that when 
  Elysium arose in the south, centuries later, Julius Dracus 
  and his son Octavius were able to conquer the whole re-
  gion in only two generations. 
   
  Early in the Fourth Age, Utopia became a province of 
  Elysium. Many humans came and settled, mostly in the 
  south country. Gnomes remained dominant in the north, 
  where they were treated as full citizens of the Empire.  
  The region of Lutinny, meanwhile, was still independent.  
  In those days it was considered part of Midjard, and it  
   
   
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  58 
  was never conquered by Elysium. When the Empire did 
  finally fall, Utopia was hit hard by the Dark Age that fol-
  lowed. Most of the country fragmented into warring tribal 
  states, tiny kingdoms of men and gnomes and elves. 
     
  Things began to change in the medieval period of the 
  Fourth Age, when a gnome king named Charles the Small 
  rose to power in the western kingdom of Rolandeaux.  
  Charles was a gifted general and a shrewd politician, and 
  he managed to unite many kingdoms under his banner.  
  Eventually, most of the other lords of Utopia swore fealty 
  to him, and so Charles the Small came to be known as 
  Charlemin, King of Rolandeaux and 
  Emperor of Utopia. He reigned from 
  846 until the year 1187 of the Fourth 
  Age, when he was succeeded by his 
  son, Charles II. The second Charles 
  ruled Utopia less ably than his father 
  had, although he managed to subdue 
  the elves of Lutinny and add them to 
  the empire. The elves ultimately won 
  the upper hand in that transaction, 
  because after Charles II was assassin-
  ated in 1265, a bit of political maneu-
  vering on the part of an elfin warlord 
  by the name of Lénou placed him up-
  on the throne in Roladneaux. King 
  Lénou I was a good ruler who treat-
  ed the gnomes and humans as well 
  as he did his own people, and he 
  worked to spread learning and wis-
  dom throughout Utopia. But, just as 
  Charlemin had done, Lénou even-
  tually passed the kingdom down to 
  his son. Lénou II, who came to power 
  in 1544, was a very decadent king. 
  He built the enormous pleasure-
  palace at the city of Jardin; he squan-
  dered the money in the treasury on 
  frivolous wars; and he seemed more 
  interested in building an empire in 
  faraway Lemuria than in seeing to 
  the welfare of his own people, who 
  grew poorer by the day.  Eventually, 
  the people could stand it no longer, 
  and cries of revolution rang out in the 
  streets of Rolandeaux.  Lénou II lost 
  his head to the guillotine in 1789, and 
  after a decade of bloody civil war, the 
  infamous Utopian Revolution cli- 
  maxed with the ascendancy of the 
  brilliant general and all-around mili-
  tary genius, François Biendit. This 
  gnome is the best tactician that the 
  world has seen since Julius Dracus. 
  Biendit was made the president of 
  Utopia’s revolutionary government, 
  only to declare himself emperor once his power had been 
  consolidated. He now rules Utopia autocratically, with a 
  General Assembly of elected leaders serving only to rub-
  berstamp the laws that he enacts. Biendit is also a brilliant 
  scientist in his own right (in game terms, he is a 10th level 
  gnome fighter/tech), and he has done much to promote 
  the advancement of science, technology, and learning in 
  his new empire.  He also continues his predecessor’s ex-
  ploration of northern Lemuria, racing with Avalon to ex-
  pand Utopia’s colonies overseas (New Vinchamps on the 
  east coast of Lemuria, and also the vast western expanse 
  called Arborea). But Biendit is a dictator and a ruthless ex-
  pansionist, and the very instant he sees the opportunity to 
  strike out at neighboring countries, he will take it without 
  hesitation. On that day, Arcadia will be plunged into wide 
  war the likes of which have not been seen since the Sec-
  ond Age of the world. 
  
  UTOPIA 
   
   
  59 
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  60 
   
  Béni Mountains: These very old, eroded peaks serve 
  to separate the region of Lutinny from the rest of Utopia.  
  Everywhere north and east of the Béni Mountains is wood 
  elf territory. Many cities along these mountains (especially 
  Pioche, Deux Voies, and Drightensele) and are still active 
  and relatively lucrative mines. 
   
  Blé Hills: This pleasant, hilly prairie country is home 
  to great numbers of farmers, but it remains one of the 
  most provincial regions in all of Utopia. The town of Pente 
  Élevé is home to a key military garrison and school where 
  officers in the Utopian army are trained. Many of the cities 
  to the immediate east of the Blé Hills are highly industrial-
  ized factory towns: Pignon, Carburant, and Chaudière are 
  all well known for the mass-production of various mech-
  anical parts and tools. 
   
  Bleu River: The main river-valley running through 
  Utopia, a number of rivers empty into the Bleu: the 
  Chanson, the Vite, the Nuage, and the Ceil.  The capital, 
  Rolandeaux, sits where the the Chanson meets the Belu.  
  At the mouth of the river, the city of Les Ondines 
  (founded long ago by merrow-folk) is a major port and 
  naval base. 
   
  Cavernes Peintes: This site is home to a number of 
  caves, the walls decorated by paintings of absolutely inde-
  scribable antiquity. Not far from the Versteinert Valley, 
  these two sites taken together seem to point to a time that 
  doesn’t just predate the Sidhe civilization of the First Age 
  —it actually harkens back to a long-lost and totally prim-
  itive time even before the Ancients. 
   
  Clarté Cliffs: The dangerous waters between these 
  cliffs and the islands of Précaire and Rocheux are home to 
  all manner of dangers, from harpies and hydras to the 
  occasional pirate hideout. 
   
  Cuivre Hills: Gold, iron, and copper mines are found 
  here. North of the hills, the city of Mervielles is both an 
  important trading port and a major center of art and cul-
  ture in Utopia. 
   
  Desolation of Tarrasque: This wasteland has been 
  barren and dead all throughout the Four Ages of Gaia.  
  Whatever caused it to be so happened during the Elder 
  Days, the time of the Ancients.  Now only a few scattered 
  ogre tribes dwell here. 
   
  Étant River: The Étroit River empties into the Étant, 
  and here the city of Jardin was built. Jardin is a city sur-
  rounded by a huge and sprawling hedge-maze (of course, 
  one does not need to navigate the maze in order to enter 
  the city; a wide highway cuts through it and leads straight 
  up to the city gates). Within the walls of Jardin lies the in-
  famous Garden Palace of Lénou, one of the most richly 
  appointed and decadent mansions ever built. The city is 
  also home to an odd order of scholars called the Green 
  Men, who are chiefly known for publishing a witty and 
  satirical newspaper called Le Pomme aux Jardin. 
   
  Gêné Marshes: Old stories say that cu sith and cait 
  sith stalk these swamps. Whether those stories are true or 
  not, dire rats most definitely do live here. Perhaps were-
  rats do as well. 
   
  Gostlig Woods: Many hearth-tales told in Shyldbury 
  involve the horrors of the Gostlig Woods. A great battle 
  was fought in this forest long ago, and now it is positively 
  infested with ghouls. 
   
  Lac Blanc and Lac Triste: These two peaceful lakes 
  are heavily fished by the nearby human settlements.  Most 
  prosperous among these is Dulac, which also happens to 
  be the home of a centuries-old brotherhood of knights, the 
  Order of the Lance and Flower, whose creed is to promote 
  peace (even if violence is sometimes required to achieve a 
  greater and more lasting peace). 
   
  Lutinny Plains: This low, grassy country is inhabited 
  by wood elves which are famous for their horsemanship.  
  Once an autonomous kingdom akin to those in Midjard, it 
  has been a part of Utopia for centuries. A legend connec-
  ted with the city of Wyrmsege says that Lutinny was actu-
  ally founded when the elves, coming from the east out of 
  Midjard, slew an entire family of evil dragons there and 
  decided to stay in commemoration of those warriors they 
  lost in the battle. 
   
  Maudit Forest: This wood is said to be cursed. The 
  animals that live in Maudit are extremely vicious and bel-
  ligerent. This is true of any animal that enters the forest, 
  even domesticated horses and birdsteeds. 
   
  Rolandeaux: This is the capital of Utopia, where the 
  old palace of Charlemin still stands—now the private and 
  personal home of Emperor Biendit. This is also where the 
  General Assembly meets to ratify laws dcreed by the Em-
  peror. The Rolandeaux Académie des Sciences is perhaps the 
  finest technical institute in the world. 
   
  Poussière Heights: This wild region of highlands is 
  still home to a number of hill giants and ogres.  Wizardly 
  hermits are also known to wander into these heights on 
  arcane pilgrimages that can last for months on end—as if 
  the Poussière Heights conceal some kind of magical secret 
  known only to very learned and practiced mages. 
   
  Puca Cleft: This eighty-mile-long gash in the ground 
  is an open wound in the very surface of the earth, a place 
  where gnolls and other Chaos-spawn can crawl up from 
  the Deep-Under. The Wyrd Tower set north of the cliff is 
  home to a very old, very evil wizard named Zoltar  
   
  Roussi Woods: This forest is slowly but surely grow-
  ing northward, inch by inch reclaiming the Desolation on 
  its doorstep. 
   
  Schinan Woods: Those who enter these woods feel 
  their spirits lifted and their fatigue wiped away, especially 
  after they drink a draught from any of the forest streams 
  that empty into the Eorcanstan River. Without a doubt, 
  woodwosen must dwell deep in the Schinan. The nearby 
  Crater Lake seems to have been formed by a massive me-
  teor impact, tens of thousands of years old. 
   
  
  FURTHER ADVENTURES 
   
   
  61 
  FURTHER ADVENTURES 
   
  The world of Gaia is bigger than just Arcadia. For that 
  matter, it’s bigger than just the planet Gaia. Not only are 
  there other continents to explore; other realms and other 
  worlds await the most intrepid of adventurers willing to 
  explore the farthest frontiers within reach of modern tech-
  nology and ancient magic. 
   
  Other Continents 
  Provided on the following page is a partial map of the east 
  coast of the continent of Lemuria, and the large northern 
  island of Jøtunheim, home of the stone giants. (Note that 
  ifrits live in Muspellheim and marids in Neifelheim—the 
  locals call them “fire giants” and “frost giants”, but these 
  are planar beings, powerful and magical elementals.)  
   
  Developing these new lands is left up to the creativity 
  and ingenuity of individual game referees who will run 
  their own Engines & Empires campaigns. The broad idea of 
  a world was presented in the preceding two chapters, but 
  the fine details remain the responsibility of the referees 
  who will actually portray this world and bring it to life at 
  the game-table. Likewise, should the players ever venture 
  to even more exotic shores—to the jungles of Tollan, the 
  wastelands of Mu, or the cities of Imperial Jianghu—the 
  referee will have to develop these settings as well, at least 
  until future adventure modules published by Relative En-
  tropy Games help to shoulder some of the burden. 
   
  Other Planes 
  The world of Gaia has the same simplified metaphysics as 
  the E&E Core Rules. An Ætheric Plane surrounds the Phys-
  ical Universe, divided into two distinct realms, Faerie (i.e. 
  where the fae come from) and Shadow (where the souls of 
  the restless dead go, and where undead and demons come 
  from). Beyond the Æthereal Realms is the plane of Limbo, 
  which is a completely empty and featureless void; beyond 
  Limbo is the howling madness of Chaos, which spawned 
  the ætherial and physical planes spontaneously in the first 
  place, but which longs to swallow them back up again. 
   
  There are also other dimensions—alternate versions 
  or timelines of the same “prime” material plane. If there 
  are gods and angels, they come from one of these other 
  universes. Our Earth could be one such as these, but the 
  possibilities are really limitless. A technologist intent on 
  exploring the implications of quantum mechanics might 
  invent a device that allows travel between such realities. 
   
  There are also certain regions within Gaia itself which 
  could be described as demi-planes or pocket-dimensions. 
  Gnolls and trolls swarm up onto the surface of Gaia from 
  a place called the Deep-Under, which is by no means a 
  natural underground space. Rather, it is an entirely separ-
  ate netherworld, with its own continents and countries, 
  seas of magma, and skies of stone. (The deepest dungeons 
  might reach all the way down to this place.) There is also a 
  Sky Realm, a number of floating continents created by the  
   
   
  Ancients which hover above the clouds (where the titans 
  and shenlongs live). These wonders of magi-technology 
  float above Draconia, Atlantis, Mephret, and Tollan. They 
  are not ordinarily visible from the ground and must there-
  fore be discovered by accident. (In Draconia, there exists a 
  Crystal Tower that reaches all the way up and into the Sky 
  Realm, but climbing it will not be easy: high-tech Ancient 
  robots called war-mechs patrol and guard its many, many 
  levels.) Many are the treasures that may be found in the 
  Sky Realm—possibly including ships or teleporters capa-
  ble of sending characters to other planets in the Helion 
  System, or out to the stars beyond. 
   
  Other Planets 
  At least two other planetary bodies in the Helion System 
  are able to support life: Gaia’s far moon, Selene, and the 
  planet Ares. Selene has on its surface a great Crystal Pal-
  ace, home of the Lunar Behemoth which guards the sealed 
  sprit of Zudos. The Behemoth is a great platinum dragon, 
  terrible and fearsome to behold, but ultimately very Law-
  ful and good. The Behemoth will greet heroic adventurers 
  as friends, but it will never under any circumstances allow 
  anyone to try and descend into the Lunar Core. (The Sky 
  Realm’s floating continents and the Crystal Tower in Dra-
  conia share the same Ancient architecture as the Palace of 
  the Lunar Behemoth.) 
   
  On Ares, primitive and barbaric civilizations of both 
  humans and demi-humans (in particular, a race of purple-
  skinned fay-like people called the Rubians) seem to have a 
  mysterious connection to the departed Ancients. Ancient 
  ruins and pyramids cover the surface of Ares. Then there 
  is the mystery of the Athena Cloud to consider: what, if it 
  was not a natural occurrence, reduced the planet Athena 
  to a cloud of rubble? 
   
  Travel beyond the Helion system is not possible with 
  ordinary Gate magic or sub-light rocket engines. But it is 
  certainly within the bounds of possibility that a clever and 
  very high-level mage or tech could devise some means of 
  faster-than-light or wormhole travel and then build a star-
  ship that makes use of it. At this point, the referee will be 
  obliged to decide how strongly he wants to focus on the 
  mystery of the Ancients, and what kind of life may be dis-
  covered on the planets in systems near Helion. 
   
  Example Aliens: Races which are known definitely to 
  exist on planets relatively close to Gaia include the Thwer-
  garn (big furry space-apes with a Renaissance level cul-
  ture); the Kidan (cybernetic humanoids who augmented 
  themselves with their own technology); the Ylp (what the 
  E&E Core Rules call “gray visitors”, their society is a cyber-
  punk dystopia governed by draconian corporations); the 
  Vulgh (hulking lizard-men with powerful sorcery at their 
  command, they are religious zealots and relentless expan-
  sionists and conquerors); the Drell (short avians with fast 
  minds and fast talk that would make even a gnome’s head 
  spin, they’re very clever with machines); and the ETAI, an 
  entire race of free-floating artificial intelligences who now 
  exist only as pure energy and live to explore space. 
   
  
  PART THREE: NATIONS OF ARCADIA 
   
   
  62 
   
   
  
  FURTHER ADVENTURES 
   
   
  63 
  
  World of Gaia 
  Character Record Sheet for Engines & Empires™ Campaigns 
   
  Strength 
     
   
   
   
   
       adjustment 
   
  Dexterity 
     
   
   
   
   
       adjustment 
   
  Intellect 
     
   
   
   
   
       adjustment 
   
  Charisma 
     
   
   
   
   
       adjustment 
   
   
  Character:   
   
   
   
   
     Player:  
   
   
   
   
            
  Race:           
   
     Class:  
   
   
            Level:           Alignment:             
  Nation:  
    
   
     Religion:   
   
     Personality:  
   
   
            
  Appearance:  
   
   
   
   
     Motivation:  
   
   
   
               
   
           ATTRIBUTE SCORES  
      Base TNs  
         SECONDARY SKILLS   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
             LANGUAGES 
   
   
   
   
  CLASS ABILITIES 
   
   
   
   
  RACIAL TRAITS   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
     Mêlée Attack   
   
      
  HIT POINTS 
   
   
   
   
     Missile Attack  
   
   
   
   
     Saving Throw 
  ARMOR CLASS:  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Wound Levels:          
   
   
  EXPERIENCE POINTS
   
   
   
   
  FIGHTING 
  CAPABILITY 
  
   
   
  TREASURE 
   
   
   
   
   
  WEALTH   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  INVENTORY SPACE* 
   
  * NB, most characters have an 8×8 inventory space; only centaurs use the full 8×12 space. 
   
  BUNDLED ITEMS & TRINKETS: 
   
   
  LOAD LEVEL:   
                MOVE:  
   
             TRAVEL:    
            SKILL PENALTY:           
   
   
   
  SWIM/FLY MOVE:   
   
  SWIM/FLY TRAVEL:   
   
   
  
   
   
  All artwork found in Engines & Empires™ World of Gaia is taken from, or derivative of artwork taken from, the Public Domain.  
  The cover art is taken from the Public Domain. 
   
  DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY 
  The names Engines & Empires™ and E&E™ used in any context are product identity. World of Gaia™ is product identity. The Engines & 
  Empires logo is product identity. All setting-specific descriptions in Part One and all text in Parts Two and Three are Product Identity. 
   
  DESIGNATION OF OPEN GAME CONTENT 
  The rules for playing non-human characters in Part One are Open Game Content. 
   
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights 
  Reserved. 
  1. Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content; 
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  art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, 
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  contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, 
  modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the licensee in terms of this 
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  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be 
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  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized 
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  12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open 
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  Engines & Empires™ Core Rules Copyright 2017, Relative Entropy Games. Author John D. Higgins. 
  END OF LCENSE 
   
  Copyright 2017 Relative Entropy Games.  
  Engines & Empires™, E&E™, World of Gaia™ are trademarks of Relative Entropy Games.  
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Engines & Empires/Engines & Empires World of Gaia (1st ed).pdf