The Campaign Builder's Guild

Well all, I am new here (this is my first post) so I though I would start with a bang and begin posting my campaign setting, Sytheria Legends!

The world of Sytheria is an ancient world in which a multitude of civilization have grown and peaked, and then fallen, often in cataclysmic ways. This campaign is rather similar to eberron in the fact that there is a great deal of intrigue inherent in the world, particularly due to the effects of the last major conflict that changed the face of two of the 5 continents of the world and wiped another continent from the face of the planet.

 [spoiler=World of Sytheria]
 
 
Sytheria is, for all intents and purposes, the centre of its plane of existence. Dispite the fact that it orbits around its sun, Aurelus, Sytheria is often considered the anchor point for its plane of existence.

The planet itself is approximately the same size as Earth (slightly smaller) with a diameter of just over 5,000 miles. Sytheria has four major continents, known respectively as Tunis, Valis, Khunis, and The Savagelands (Orgalia). There was once a fifth continent named Stagalis, which was located south of Khunis, however it fell beneath the waves of the Ocean of Amaraan during the great cataclysms. Currently this continent is only accessible though the depths of the Shadow Rifts.  

Tunis- The ancestral homeland of the Rilis'kesir, Tunis is a continent of great forests and greater mountains. In the more recent ages, humanity has made Tunis its home, slowly migrating over from Valis. Other races which call Tunis home include the Ashtar and the Khiasa'kesir, as well as small groups of Olith'dar.

Valis- Once home to many great Empires (the Dwarves, Valas'kesir), this continent was once filled with massive savannas, forests and mountains. That all changed when the Warlord of Death, Ziegfried Haltharn came to the realm and created an massive undead army with which he has razed the countryside, leaving behind only destruction. Currently only the Unhallowed, the Forsaken, Dromites and the Gnomes call this continent home.

Khunis- The site of the final battle of the The First Brood War, Khunis is a scarred, frigid continent largely untouched by intelligent life. Only two major civilizations have flourished there: the ancient Giant Empire and the more current elemental civilization of the Genasi.

The Savagelands- Once known as Orgalia, the Savagelands is perhaps a more appropriate moniker for this land. The Savagelands are a continent of deep jungles, harsh wastelands and ferocious predators the likes of which most of the world has never seen. The birthplace of the Ishtar, Orgalis is also the site of the ancient Yuan-Ti Empire which at one time controlled the entire continent. Currently a large number of races call this land home, including the Gith, Naga, Halflings, and Lizardfolk.

Stagalis- This one-time continent was rather small in stature, but was home to a conglomerate of fisherman known as the Piscean Alliance. When the great cataclysm occurred and the moon of Umbra exploded, the resulting earthquakes crumbled the fragile Shadow Rift caverns under the island, sending it down to the bottom of the Amaraan Ocean, where it still lies today. The City of Maelin was one of the few survivors, having been constructed upon a mountaintop.

Taeros- The island of Taeros is a very unique jungle island just west of The Savagelands. This island has been corrupted by the taint of pure and uncontrollable psionic energy. The source of this energy is largely unknown, however all life on the island is saturated with it. This island is also home to the Nar'kesir, known as the Maddened Elves to the rest of Sytheria.

Valean Archipelago- Once a part of Valis proper, much of the land that is now the archipelago fell beneath the waves when an Umbral Shard trigger a massive volcanic eruption. Not only was this the birth of the Valean Archipelago, but also the creation of the Cauldron, the largest volcano on Sytheria. Due to the constant fear of eruptions and the massive earthquakes that wrack this region on a regular basis, little if any civilization is present on these islands, save a few primitive human tribes.

Lotharia- Lotharia is, for the most part, the only part of eastern Sytheria that has not felt the effects of the taint of Warlord Haltharn. This is because this island has long been under the protection of the Knights of the Platinum Dragon, the servitors of the Dragon God Bahamut. Unfortunately, with the recent silencing of the gods, corruption has finally seeped onto this tiny isle, destroying the once great World Tree Dardrisil and using it as a center to spread the dark corruption throughout Lotharia.

Sytheria currently have two moons orbiting it, a large white moon and a smaller black one. A third moon, Umbra, also once existed and its remnants can still be seen in the skies over southern Sytheria.

Sarasine- The white moon, called Sarasine, is believed to protect Sytheria while the watchful eye of Aurelus is not in the sky (the Sun). Lycanthropes are often considered the children of Sarasine because their transformation cycle is tied to the white moon, not the other two. The good lycanthropes appear during times of a full moon, while the evil lycanthropes take advantage of Sarasine's blindness during the times of a new moon.

Hecate- Believed to be the source of much of the dark magic on Sytheria, Hecate is also home to a race known as the Nightmare Spawn. These creatures are the children of an unholy union between the Witch Goddess, Hecate and the God of Dreams, Boresi. Luckily for the inhabitants of Sytheria, the gateway between Sytheria and Hecate only opens once every 1000 or so years, and even then, only for one night (Night of Nightmares).

Umbra- Once the medium sized of the three moons of Sytheria, the former moon known as Umbra exploded centuries ago in the nighttime sky, heralding in a time known as the Age of Cataclysms. The resulting earthquakes and tidal waves tore apart some continents and sunk others to the bottom of the oceans. While the cause of this great explosion is still unknown to the people of Sytheria, its remnants can still be seen in the southern night skies as a massive glowing asteroid field where the moon once lay.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Geography]
     Ahsemmet Desert (khiasa'kesir)
     Ancient Empires
          Ashra (ashtar)
          Crystalline Vale (valas'kesir)
          Ish (ishtar)
          Sezerak Empire (yuan-ti)
          Uradûm (dwarf)
     Argis Borderland (gith)
     Blasted Lands
     Darkshore
     Dragonscar (hordes)
     Eldaar (rilis'kesir)
     Genasa (genasi)
     Golmgard (giant)
     Gray Wastes, The
     Hive, The (dromite)
     Kwase Swamp (lizardfolk)
     Maelin (maenad)
     Moorlith (undead)
     Oebreeni (illithid)
     Piscea (pisceans)
     Shadowsea
     Shadow Rifts, Lower
     Shadow Rifts, Upper
     Shattered Kingdoms
          Arrania
          Etramere
          Greyfaulk
          Keystone
          Lotharia
          Rhan
          Tyrfall
          Ustanu
     Skuldani (diablous)    
     Taeros (nar'kesir)
     Thadis (gnome)
     Thadis, Greater (gnome)
     Uthmere Glades (forsaken)
     Valyan Archipelago
     Vyn Pridelands (halfling)
     Yadrimoor (olith'dar)
     Ziggurat, The
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Magic and Psionics]
Magic and Psionics:
In Sytheria, psionics is a natural power that only a certain few races have the ability to use. These races are the Ishtar, Ashtar, Maenads, Nar'Kesir and Gith. In general, psionics are a gift from the gods (Boresi in particular), however they do not draw their power from the gods but from the mind of the user.

Magic in Sytheria has always been the realm of the gods. Since the beginning of divine worship, clerics and priests have been granted magic to use. This magic, drawn directly from the gods, allows for all matter of mystical effects to occur, and it was long the only form of magic present on Sytheria that was accessible to the masses.

Arcane magic was relatively uncommon in Sytheria up until the beginning of the Godwar. The mainstream discovery of arcane magic seems to coincide with the first appearance of the Gnomes on the surface world, who are the primary brokers of arcane knowledge to this day (arcane magic has existed as long as divine magic, but was extremely rare). Arcane magic is accomplished through the use of magical Spell Shards. By concentrating on one of these shards, a properly trained wizard can extract the necessary knowledge from within it, allowing the wizard to cast the spell captured within. Spell Shards come in three varieties: pale/translucent (one time cast, like scrolls), average (contain one spell at normal strength), and deep/opaque (one spell at +1 casting level).

Since the appearance of the Gods during the Godswar, two new forms of magic have also appeared in Sytheria.

The first new magic is often referred to as Invocation. Only certain rare individuals have this power (it is a heritage power), and its origin can once again be traced back to the gods. When the Gods appeared, some of them bred with mortals. The results of these divine unions were the Invokers/Warlocks. These masterful beings have an innate magical power (referred to as Eldritch Power) with which they can create complex magical effects with the ease a normal mortal would breathe. Depending on their home culture, Invokers/Warlocks are often either revered or feared due to the power of their divine blood.

The second new magic style appeared when the God of Death, Kadum, was killed and the Planar Gates were sealed forever. Because of these two events, when a being dies in Sytheria, their souls cannot travel to the Crystalline Nexus and be judged. They remain on Sytheria, and form a near infinite energy source known as Animus. Because of the overabundance of Animus, certain individuals have become in tune with the presence of these souls and can control and utilize them much like arcane magic is controlled by wizards.

Magical items are also rather common in parts of Sytheria, although charged and items with a limited number of uses are far more prevalent than permanent ones.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Religion]
Despite the fact that the Gods of Sytheria have seemingly disappeared, their worship in recent times has grown more fervent than ever. Since much of the populace saw first hand their power during the Godswar, doubt of their existence of the Gods is hardly a problem. Although a small percent of the general populace do believe that the gods have abandoned them, the vast majority of Sytheria continues to pray, especially now with the renewed threat of the Warlord of Death.

Despite the fact that the Gods have seemingly stopped answering the prayers of the masses, priests still receive their domain spells on a daily basis. This seems to indicate that the Gods are still there, only unable to communicate with their followers for some reason. Priests initially gain access to two of their God's domains, with this increasing to three domains at 8th level and to four domains (if the deity has a 4th domain) at 12th level. All other spells are received via spell scrolls.  After the end of the Godswar, priests began scribing their spells. Spells are kept in a Holy Text and must be rememorized every day. (they are treated the same as wizards inthe normal D&D world.)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Gods]
         [spoiler=Veresek]Veresek (Ve-rah-SEC) is the creator of all of Sytheria and its oldest race, the Humans. Despite this he is perhaps the most humble of the gods. Veresek rarely appears before mortals, but if he is seen, he is floating up in the clouds, standing on a nimbus. Always depicted as a light-skinned Human in a dark green ceremonial robe, he wears a shawl of white and gold at all times. Veresek always has a lit red wax candle floating around his head, which supposedly symbolizes the life cycle of Sytheria. Many believe it was lit when Veresek created Sytheria from the Æther, and that when it burns out Sytheria will disappear with the flame. Veresek's quarterstaff, aply named "The Timestaff" allows Veresek to control the flow of time in Sytheria, and on the few times Veresek has interfered on the part of mortals, it is said he resets time with this staff.
 
History/Relationships:
From the beginning, Veresek decreed that although he would allow other gods to help populate the creatures and races of Sytheria, they were not allowed to directly interfere. Although this decree was broken almost immediately, Veresek has dutifully maintained his policy of non-interference. Veresek's two closest relatives, his brother Boresi and his son Kadum are perhaps the worst offenders of Veresek's rules. Despite their repeated transgressions, Veresek has been lax to discipline the other gods of Sytheria, and as such their intrusions into the mortal realm have continued.
Since Veresek rarely manifests himself on Sytheria proper, he has created the Gem Dragons to watch over his realm for him, reporting their findings back to him telepathically. Although there were originally seven of these Gem Dragons on Sytheria, two of these beings have since been slaughtered by the Fane of Tiamat during the First Brood War.
 
Supreme Deity  
Nicknames: The Creator, The Guardian of Time
Symbol: Half-melted red candle
Home Plane: The Gates of Time
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: time, creation, supreme
Worshipers: Historians, humans, loremasters, scholars, teachers
Cleric Alignments: LN, LG, N
Domains: Creation, Fate, Knowledge, Time
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff "Timestaff"
[/spoiler]
            Aun
          Cerys
          Goruth
          Xael Niath
               Ancerien
          Aurelus Niath
          Boresi
          Horus-Re
          Kadum
          Rilifane
          Tyr
               Aegir
          Amath Aran
          Apophis
          Bahamut
          Delilah
          Derinym
          Enlil
          Idrith
          Set
          Taelia
          Thanatos
          Tiamat
          Z'Taarim
               Ashran
          Dorakon
          Ezrasai
          Golmdar
          Hecate
          Kaliban
          Karas
          Koris
          Marduk
          Naluu
          Nezreth
          Quarm
          Raziel
          Sarasine
          Sebek
          Shalim-Dor
          Skadi
          Skuld
          Unnamed, The
          Xolu
               Azmodeus
          Dao Tenken
          Drauthura
          Falazure
          Gharzol
          Grek-Moresh
          Inix Chik'lik
          Lillith
          Marrus
          Morrigan
          Sibyl, The Serpent
          Surtur
          Thrym
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Character Races]
     [spoiler=The Ashtar](appeared as the Synads in Complete Psionic) Created by the warped mind of the Ishtar Triana Lofo, the Ashtar were made to be slaves. By psionically altering lower class Ishtar, Lofo was able to create a race of humanoids that were less psionically inclined, but stronger physically. After centuries of enslavement the Ashtar were able to escape the Empire of Ish and formed there own kingdoms on the Darkshores of Tunis.

A Great War ensued between the Ish and the Ashtar, and with the use of an artifact known as the Annulus the Ashtar were able to win the war by tripping most of the Ishtar of their psionic ability. Because of this, the Ashtar were subsequently banished to a parallel world filled with nightmares by the god of dreams, Boresi (he was the creator of the Ishtar).

Recently the Ashtar begun to migrate back into Sytheria by bonding with human hosts, however the result of this bond is a being with multiple minds (as per the synad race in Complete Psionic). The Ashtar have now taken it upon themselves to rid Sytheria of the remaining Ishtar, continuing the war that started millennia ago.

Preferred Alignments: Any, the best and the worst are found among the Ashtar
Aberration: As Aberrations, Ashtar are not subject to spells or   effects that affect only humanoids.
Size: As medium sized creatures, Ashtar have no bonuses or penalties due to their   size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white   only, but otherwise like normal sight, and Ashtar can function just fine with no light at all.
Naturally Psionic: Ashtar gain 3 bonus power points at 1st level.
Threefold Mind (Su): +2 bonus on Will saving throws
Oracle (Su): 1/day- +2 insight bonus to an initiative check, attack roll, or saving throw.
Collective (Su): Can spend 1 power point as a free action to gain a +2 bonus on any Knowledge or Psicraft check he makes.
Multitask (Su): 1/day- Can spend 1 power point to gain a swift action that he can use to take a purely mental action.
Automatic Languages: Human (Lotharian), Ashtar
Bonus Languages: Any (Other than secret languages such as Druidic)
Favored Class: Psion
[/spoiler]
      [spoiler=Diabolus](first appeared in Dragon magazine, removed tail attack) Creatures of pure anarchy, the Diaboli are a race born of chaos and nightmares. Originating on a distant plane, the diaboli appear to many humans cultures as nightmares incarnate. The Diaboli have a unifying belief in the superiority of anarchy. They build their society around the belief that since they cannot provably define any one form of government as better than any other they must simply live without governments.

The torso, arms and head of a diabolus have humanlike musculature and structure, but its legs resemble those of a ram or a goat. Small vestigial horns rise from the top of a diabolus's head and its elflike pointed ears stick out at severe angles. A diabolus's hands appear humanlike, except they lack a fifth small finger, rather having three fingers and a thumb.

The diaboli migrated to Sytheria after their home plane began to become corrupted by an outside force. In their travels they encountered the Hellbred, a sanctified race from the Pits of Azmodeus, who have taken exception to their way of life and now chase them through the planes, hunting them down.

Preferred Alignments: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Good
Outsider (Native, Chaotic): As outsiders, Diaboli are not subject to spells or effects that affect only humanoids.
Size: As medium sized creatures, Diaboli have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Vision: Darkvision up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but otherwise like normal sight, and Diaboli can function just fine with no light at all.
Proficiency: Proficient with tridents.
Skill Bonus: +2 racial bonus on Intimidate checks, -2 penalty on Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Perform, and Sense Motive checks.
Saving Throws: +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.
Automatic Languages: Diabolan
Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Human (Lotharian), Infernal
Favored Class: Shadowcaster
[/spoiler]
     Dromite (non-psionic)

     [spoiler=The Forsaken]Hated the world over, the Forsaken were the warriors and warlocks of the first Undead Scourge. Under the command of the god Kadum, these half-undead creatures wreaked havoc upon Valis, turning it into a burnt husk of its former glory. If it had not been for the death of Kadum at the hands of the human king of Greyfaulk, the Forsaken warriors would continue to plague Sytheria today. This is not the case, however. Since the death of Kadum and subsequent rise to power of the new Warlord, Ziegfried Haltharn, these corrupted creatures have left the ranks of the Unhallowed, replaced by the golem-like warriors know as the Mechanus.

Now, free from the reign of the new Warlord, but not yet accepted by many of the other races of Sytheria, the Forsaken are alone in their quest to find a purpose in the post-Godswar era Sytheria. Founding the city of Nocturnus in an old Dwarven ruin deep within the Shattered Peaks, the Forsaken are striking out into the world. Preparing to build themselves a legacy and stop this new warlord from destroying the Empire that they helped to create, the Forsaken will stop at nothing to become the new rulers of Valis.

[/b]
Ability Adjustments: Strength +2, Charisma +2, Constitution -2, Wisdom -2. The Forsaken rely heavily upon their brute strength and beguiling ways to overcome their shortcomings.
Preferred Alignments: Lawful Evil, Lawful Neutral
Monstrous Humanoid: Immune to charm person or dominate person (Forsaken are monstrous humanoids)
Size: As medium sized creatures, the Forsaken have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Spell-like Abilities: 1/day- spider climb. These abilities act as spells cast by a sorcerer of equal level.
Vision: Darkvision 60 ft. The Forsaken are at home in the darkness, using this to their advantage to surprise their prey.
Skill Bonus: +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Move Silently checks. -2 penalty on Diplomacy checks with any other race.
Bonus Feat: Tomb Tainted Soul
Monstrous Race (Ex): Forsaken can take Monstrous feats with the Undead prerequisite
Automatic Languages: Necropolitan, Human (Lotharian), Deathspeak
Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Ashtar, Deepspeak, Draconic, Gnomish, Human (Regional), Ishtar
Favored Class: Warlock [/spoiler]
     [spoiler=The Gith]The Gith are perhaps the last major remnants of the once great Sezerak Empire. Created millennia ago by Yuan-ti fleshwarpers, the Gith were the loyal warriors of the Sezerak. For hundreds of years the Gith served as the Yuan-ti shock troops in all of their major engagements in the Savagelands. Because of this domination, the Gith are now a feared force in the southern parts of the Savagelands, even though they are mostly content on controlling the Argis Borderlands and seem to have little care about expanding their holds.

Since the fall of the Sezerak Empire at the hands of the Serpent Sybil, the Gith have reluctantly began caring for themselves. Spreading out over the Argis Borderlands, these military units have become tight-knit clans of Gith warriors who quickly adapted to life on the savannah. Learning to hunt and live off the natural surroundings, the military training still passed down amongst these warriors has proved to be a boon to their survival and a major hindrance to all others who wish to enter the Borderlands. The Gith believe that survival clan unit is the priority, placing very little worth on the individual.

Recently however, the Gith have gained a new power, and with it a new mentality. Over time it seems as if the latent psionic connection the Gith once shared with the Yuan-ti has begun to manifest itself amongst the modern population. Some Gith have even begun to learn to control this new psionic power and have quickly risen to be the leaders of their tribes, sometimes causing a schism between the psionic Gith (who believe in personal worth over clan worth) and the normal Gith. Because of this new found ability many of the neighbors of the Borderlands, particularly the Halflings, have begun to worry that the Gith may be returning to their roots and fear they may once again attempt to expand their territory.

Ability Adjustments: DEX +2, CON +2, WIS -2, CHA -2. The Gith were created to be warriors and have been bred to be imposing physical specimens.
Preferred Alignments: Neutral Evil, True Neutral
Size: As medium sized creatures, the Gith have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Resistances: Power Resistance equal to 5 + psionic class level.
Vision: Darkvision 60 ft. The Gith are at home in the darkness, using this to their advantage to surprise their prey.
Proficiency: Proficient in the greatsword.
Skill Bonus: +2 racial bonus on Move Silently and Spot checks.
Saving Throws: +2 racial bonus on saves versus psionics.
Other: 10% chance any Gith is a latent psionic. (1d6 PPs and one random, 1st level Psychic Warrior power)
Automatic Languages: Gith, Yuan-ti
Bonus Languages: Deepspeak, Draconic, Halfling, Lizardfolk, Naga, Sarrukh, Trog
Favored Class: Psychic Warrior (psionic Gith), Ranger (regular   Gith)
[/spoiler]
     Gnome (keepers of all arcane knowledge)
     Goblin (shamanistic goblinoids)
     Halfling (barbaric jungle dwelling pygmies)
     Hellbred (FC2 race)
     Human (standard humans)
     Ishtar (outsiders sent to destroy the Ashtar)
     Khiasa'Kesir (Desert Elves)
     Maenad (psionic race)
     Mechanus (warforged)
     Nar'Kesir (Maddened Elves)
     Olith'Dar (Shadow Elves, kind of like the drow)

     [spoiler=Rilis'Kesir]From deep within the forests surrounding the great tree Yggdrisil, the Rilis'Kesir have stood watch over the planet of Sytheria for millennia. Worshipping the world around them and its physical manifestations, the Rilis'Kesir have taken it upon themselves to protect the planet from the unnatural darkness that has begun to crawl across its face. For the first time in millennia, the Rilis'Kesir have emerged from their wooded homes in order to go on the offensive, and by doing so, hope to end the true destruction before it can start.

Little is known about the Rilis'Kesir people, their customs, or their homeland. While it is quite obvious that these people share an especially deep connection to the planet, no one but the elves themselves truly know the nature of this bond. It does seem that their bond is with the great trees of the world, for as they distance themselves from any of the World Trees, their amazing powers fade to nothingness. Because of this, Rilis'Kesir travelers always carry pieces of their World Tree homes with them to help sustain their life force while they are away from the tree itself.

The Rilis'Kesir civilization is by large a theocratic one. Led by the Archdruids of Yggdrisil, the Rilis'Kesir have few laws within their cities. These powerful beings protect not only the forest, but also the World Trees themselves from attacked by anyone from the outside world. The only thing that is paramount to all Rilis'Kesir is the preservation of nature. As such, the Rilis'Kesir civilization is not particularly structured, since such a rigid structure is rarely found in nature.

Ability Adjustments: Dexterity +2, Constitution -2
Preferred Alignments: Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, True Neutral
Size: As medium sized creatures, Rilis'Kesir have no bonuses or   penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Resistances: Immune to magic sleep spells and effects
Spell-like Abilities: 1/day- barkskin. These abilities act as spells cast   by a druid of equal level (maximum +3 AC).
Vision: Low-light up to 60 feet. Rilis'Kesir can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these circumstances.
Proficiency: Proficient in either longsword or scimitar and either longbow or shortbow.
Skill Bonus: +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice.
Saving Throws: +2 bonus on saves against Enchantment spells and   spell-like abilities.
Automatic Languages: Ancient Elven, Human (Lotharian)
Bonus Languages: Celestial, Draconic, Elven, Genasi (Earth), Goblin, Gnoll, Sylvan, Treant
Favored Class: Druid
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
Well that's the basics. You can get an idea of several of the main event that has happened here, however I will soon be posting a more detailed history of the world.

well, PEACH away! :D

June 21st- Added the map of Sytheria.
June 26th- Added 5 racial descriptions (Ashtar, Diabolus, Forsaken, Gith, and Rilis'Kesir) and added 1 god description (Veresek).

Welcome to the Guild.

If you wanted to start with a bigger bang, you could've jumped into the community setting Cebegia.... I kid, but if you wanted to join our discussion your more than welcomed to.

Now that I got that shameless plug out of the way :P

If I read this correctly Warlocks are descendants of gods, instead of getting their magic from fiends. Interesting take. Do you still put an alignment restriction on the class? Have you changed some of the invocations so they aren't so dark?

Sorcerers are powered from the souls of the dead? That's another interesting take.

I like what I see so far, I'll read more when I get time.

Yes, in my campaign Warlocks are in fact decendants of the Gods who have intermingled with humans. Because of this, I have removed the alignment restriction on this class. Good warlocks are refered to as Invokers and evil ones are still called Warlocks. I am looking at integrating the warlock and the dragonfire adept into one class, and removing much of the dragon/fiendish flavor from them.

A little clarification on the sorcerers... Sorcerers as a class are not allowed in this campaign, along with paladins. Paladins have been made into a prestige class (a la UA) and I feel that there are plenty of specialty arcane casters that a sorcerer is not necessary (beguiler, dread necro, warmage, etc.). What you read regarding the souls of the dead is actually an explaination as to why Incarnum (referred to as Animus there) is available in this world. In Sytheria, you are actually using the souls of those who have passed to power your soulmelds. Soulborns and incarnates use humanoid souls where as the totemist class depends more on animal/magical beast souls.

This is possible because after the gods disappeared from Sytheria (after the Godswar) the portals to the planes were all sealed, not even allowing the soul of the dead (which need to travel to the crystalline nexus for judgement) through. Only the Astral and Ethereal planes are able to be traversed, largely because they are simply "out of phase" variants of the Prime Material.

In Sytheria, all true magic (arcane and divine) is derived from the gods, either directly in the case of Divine magic, or indirectly in the case of Arcane magic. I will get into that later though ;op

Ah I don't know anything about Incranum. :)

Quote from: Zexis StryfeIn Sytheria, you are actually using the souls of those who have passed to power your soulmelds. Soulborns and incarnates use humanoid souls where as the totemist class depends more on animal/magical beast souls.

That's pretty awesome. I like your rationalization of Incarnum a lot more than WotCs. Is Incarnum evil in your world because of this? I guess that depends on the answer to 'what happens to the dead on Sytheria when they're spirits aren't being used to power soulmelds'?

hmm... bizarre double post...
kind of odd when I am not home and somehow I post  :D

In Sytheria, the use of Incarnum is not an explicitly evil act, however often those who use incarnum (particularly the incarnate and soulborn classes) are not looked well upon by those who understand exactly what it is they are doing.

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Delayed double post?  That's different...

I like the fact that you were able to rationalize the fact that there are 5 different ways to cast spells without it sounding excessively contrived.  The pygmy halflings also pleased me, muchly.

On a sidenote, as one who's never been very good with acronyms, what does PEACH stand for?

PEACH- Please examine and critique honestly

Added a map of Sytheria to the "World of Sytheria" Section.

I quite like the map. Simple but elegant.

What did you use for the map? Very nicely done.

I would like to see even more on the Animus magic. The thought of all those spirits piling up is creepy and cool at the same time. What types of things can an Animus mage do with the spirits?

The map outline and rivers were created in Fractal Mapper 7. I colored and added the compass, scale, and names in Photoshop. I went for the simplistic type of map that was present in the Eberron CS.

As for the animus magic, the fact that they are stuck in the world of the living changes quite a bit about the world. The undead population of Sytheria was always focused around the Unhallowed Dominion on the continent of Valis. With the closing of the planar gates, these spirits (which are positive energy, as opposed to negative) are beginning to manifest throughout much of the world. A wonderful example of this is the dwarf civilization. The dwarves were wiped off the face of Sytheria in the War of Dominion. Most of the souls of these dwarves actually did not make it through to the Nexus, however (due to the manipulation of the God of Death, not the closing of the portals. Most people don't understand the difference). If you enter one of the dwarven city-holds in present Sytheria, what you see is akin to the city of Manifest in Ghostwalk. Thousands of ghost dwarves going about their daily business. These facts have lead to quite a bit of panic, especially amongst some of the less advanced human nations that do not understand why it is happening. Because of this, the Soulborn and Incarnate classes are often looking at helping these lost souls and giving them a purpose. As a matter of fact the Soulborn class is a spiritual replacement for the paladin class, which is now a prestige class. This goes wonderfully with the fact that these classes are alignment based as to which soulmelds you can use.

The Animist (Totemist) class works quite differently, however. This class does not use the souls of the passed, but instead entraps the souls of Magical Beasts that it encounters. I am currently working at expanding the Animist Soulmeld line so that the most common beasts of Sytheria will all have a soulmeld attached to it. The Animist will then make a check vs each magical beast that she kills (she doesn't need to hit the deathblow, but she does need to damage it in some way), and attempt to entrap the soul in the form of a soulmeld. Although this means more work for me as the GM, I think (or rather hope) the greater variety in Animist soulmelds will balance out against the fact that they are no longer just given soulmelds as they level.

I am a firm believer in everything must exist for a reason in my worlds. Magic is not just a mysterious force that works like a force of nature. There is a reason it is there and a consequence for its presence. This fact filters down into the classes as well. Unless you draw your power from a high power (like the Invoker/warlock class) there is no reason you should just "know" a spell/soulmeld when you level. This concept is present in all the classes of Sytheria (with a few notable exceptions such as druid, beguiler, dread necro, warmage and invoker). Clerics need holy texts (scrolls). Wizards need spell shards. Animists need magical beasts  :D

Added descriptions and statistics to 5 of the races along with the Supreme God of Sytheria, Veresek.

The player races you are allowing is very telling about your campaign setting. With that in mind I am curious about what the demographic for adventurers is supposed to be.