The Dying Age of Men

[Gnomemaster]

Introduction

Eons ago, in a time lost now, the world lay shattered and in smoking ruin. The golden cities of the Cathavicans were empty and cold. The great mines of the dwarves left abandoned and the wooded realms of the elves disserted. It was a time of great men who rose up and conquered the land with the edge of a sword.
   
As the survivors of this blighted time struggled to survive, dark forces plotted against them. Demon lords broke through the unprotected gates and flooded the north with death and corruption, insidious orcs and goblins took a hold of the fortresses of their ancient enemies the dwarves and now march beneath the banner of one hideous warlord. Sorcerers move to conquer the thrones of kings and an ancient enemy gathers from the south.
   
Beset by enemies on all sides, the last free nations of the human race [note] Oh yea, Dark Fantasy, delicious, like Dark Chocolate. I wanted to include a really cool Frank Frazetta Picture, but couldn't get it to work. If you'd like to see what it would look like go here: http://frankfrazetta.org/ [/note] must stand together or die.

Themes and Tones in the Dying Age of Men

Imagine a Frank Frazetta painting. Picture a dull and dark sky, a huge man with thickly corded muscles swinging a bloodied sword and smashing his shield into the limp body of an animated skeleton while his horse charges into the middle of an undead legion. Or, imagine a beautiful woman with wild black hair pulling her spear back just before she launches it into the underbelly of a leaping panther. That is what the hero of The Dying Age of Men looks like.

Look to Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, or Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series for inspiration. You may also want to look to the Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 series by Games Workshop and Black Library for a taste of what dark fantasy is like.

This world no longer inhabited by Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, or Gnomes. The only PHB race still living on the continent are Humans.

[Moniker]

Alright, I'm intrigued already.

Give us more!

[Gnomemaster]

There, I fixed what was wrong with that post.

[Gnomemaster]

The Free Men of Agibhea

In the war against evil the hordes of darkness, five kingdoms stand strong.

The proud Vanir live in the frozen north. For years they have been defending themselves from the demonic hordes of Demogorgon. They are a hard people, sculpted by the biting wind of the north who has taken the abandoned fortresses of the dwarves as their own. They are lead by the All-Chieftain Hjalmr.

The Atlians great city Atlias is in the center the continent. It is a bustling metropolis filled with trade and intrigue; the Atlians are an accepting people of all. The Atlian government has been pushing for a great alliance between the great five nations of men, but they have yet to be successful with their attempts.

Brundanthius, the dragon kingdom, is a country of seaports on the west coast. Here human and dragon alike live together and work together toward destroying Tiamat and her evil brethren. The Brundanthans are lead by Chazor, a great wyrm gold dragon.

The cyclopean ziggurats of Maxtlacuhzoma are from an age long ago, no one remembers now who built them or why. However, this has not stopped the Maxtlans from calling them home and taking care of them. To the Maxtlans, they see the ziggurats as a gift given to them by their bloody gods. It is their job to care for them until the gods return.

[Wensleydale]

You said five kingdoms, but I only note four there. Is the post unfinished, or is there a fifth more detailed one?

I want to know about the architecture of Brudanthius, personally. How're these cities built, that they can accomodate dragons and humans? I would presume it's a 'good' kingdom, by the references to fighting Tiamat and the gold dragon ruler - but would I be right in saying there are enemies on all sides of the continent? And if so, what's Maxtlacuhzoma's positioning continent-wise?

[Gnomemaster]

Good questions. The fifth kingdom is going to remain shrouded in mystery until the other four are complete. All that I will say is that we will see a very powerful Atlantis-like kingdom off the coast armed with powerful magic weaponry.

In this setting there are a lot of good guys vs bad guys, so for the most part Brudanthius is made up of good metallic dragons and maybe a few good chromatic dragons. The cities are not all that different than human cities. Remember that a lot of dragons can polymorph into smaller creatures allowing themselves to fit into human-sized buildings. That does not mean there aren't aeries. These huge towers are designed to house the dragons in their natural form.

Maxtlacuhzoma is in the southern part of the continent.

[Gnomemaster]

Hordes of Darkness

In the north, an abandoned portal has opened unleashing waves of fiends from Demogorgon's realm. The Demon lord is pushing to conquer Aghibhea. Already evil cults have risen dedicated to his ascendancy to godhood. Currently the men of Vanir keep him at bay.

Squadrons of dragons soar through the sky searching to destroy everything. Lead by a malicious sorceress and priestess of Tiamat, the dragons are dedicated to the destruction of all good dragons and the remaining refugees of mankind.

The Voth have come to the material plane after crashing their interplanar colony ship on Aghibhea. Thickly muscled lizard people, the Voth hope to rekindle their ship's engine using the most abundant natural resource in the five kingdoms, human souls.

Notes on Aghibhea

Aghibhea is the name of the world. It has 3 moons (one white, one dull grey, and one blue) it has a 24 hour day with 365 days in a year. Whenever dates are used, they are translated into the standard 12 months of Earth for simplicity. The current year is 128. This calendar began when the elves finally left the land and sailed away, leaving mankind to it's own destiny.

[Darkxarth]

A couple of things...

Concerning Dwarves: You say the Elves "left the land and sailed away, leaving mankind to it's own destiny" but what of the Dwarves?  Their "great mines [...] left abandoned" and the "insidious orcs and goblins took a hold of the fortresses of their ancient enemies the dwarves" while the Vanir in the north have "taken the abandoned fortresses of the dwarves as their own."  Who truly controls the fortresses of the Dwarves?  What happened to them?  Did they leave like the Elves?  If so, where did they go?  If not, were they wiped out?  And if so, by who?

The Voth: You say the Voth "hope to rekindle their ship's engine using [...] human souls," is this what they used as fuel to start with?  How did they acquire enough souls to power the ship here?  Does it have to be human souls, or could it just be mortal souls?  Does it actually run on souls, or are they just serving as a 'jumper cable' of sorts?  Finally, where are the Voth located primarily on the continent?  Centrally?  Eastern? Southern?

The Vanir: I would just like to know more about the Vanir, they have piqued my interest.  Are they mostly lawful and good, given that they're fighting Demons?  Do they have Paladins (or the equivalent) or just Ranger-esque hunters?  I know you'll get to them eventually, just thought I'd throw a few specific questions about them out there.

Overall, this looks very interesting, and I'll be sure to make more comments as the world develops.

[Gnomemaster]

OK. First, there is more than one great dwarven city, so more than likely the Vanir have claimed a few while the orcs have claimed a few. No one really knows what happened to the dwarves, they were a race that mostly kept to themselves then suddenly disappeared. It actually took the humans a month or so to notice they were gone.
That would be a great campaign for a group of Vanir heroes.

The Voth live in the south, and they must feed their ship with human souls. They probably found another material plane full of people and harvested it dry. In this setting, there are an infinite number of alternate earths. This world is one of them, there is another where magic doesn't even exist and people move about never knowing anything about the multiverse. The Voth travel between all the planes, and even these alternate earths and harvest human souls. The numnber of souls needed changes, it all depends on how hungry the ship is.

I am going to do a write up of each culture and I will start with the Vanir just for you.

[Darkxarth]

OK. First, there is more than one great dwarven city, so more than likely the Vanir have claimed a few while the orcs have claimed a few. No one really knows what happened to the dwarves, they were a race that mostly kept to themselves then suddenly disappeared. It actually took the humans a month or so to notice they were gone.
That would be a great campaign for a group of Vanir heroes.

The Voth live in the south, and they must feed their ship with human souls. They probably found another material plane full of people and harvested it dry. In this setting, there are an infinite number of alternate earths. This world is one of them, there is another where magic doesn't even exist and people move about never knowing anything about the multiverse. The Voth travel between all the planes, and even these alternate earths and harvest human souls. The numnber of souls needed changes, it all depends on how hungry the ship is.

I am going to do a write up of each culture and I will start with the Vanir just for you.

Thanks. ;)

That clears things up a bit, and I look forward to the Vanir information.

[Gnomemaster]

The Vanir

Part One

The Vanir, sometimes called the Northmen, hail from the farthest reaches of the north. They are a people forged in battle and dedicated to their crusade against Demogorgon. Lead by the All-Chieftain Hjalmr, they have laid claim to the dwarven fortresses Kurak-Kazak, and Kurdaditar. Some of their greatest warriors are the Order of the Axe, warriors and paladins dedicated to finding a glorious death in battle against Demogorgon's fiends.

In the southern part of the kingdom Vanir* villages of farmers and tradesmen sprout up from the hills. These small hamlets enjoy the protection of the warriors of Vanir but are an easy target for Demogorgon's machinations.

*Vanir is the common translation of Herjaldjiminic. People from other countries find the original word hard to pronounce, so they refer to it as Vanir.

Classes in Vanir

Barbarians make great characters, the wild berserkers of the north wear cloaks made from the fur of a dire bear. To be considered a berserker by the Northmen you must kill a dire bear, skin it, and take part of a ritual with a druid who scars you.

Clerics tend to worship the spirits of heroes. In Vanir religion, the world goes through cycles of death and rebirth. Every couple millennia the world strikes out at the creatures living upon it. The seas raise and wash away cities, the mountains crack and bury countries, and fire spews from the ground and burns away everything, then the world grows and is born again. Priests in Vanir choose a patron ancestor (there are thousands to choose from) and recite the many deeds of that hero. Vanir Clerics can take the Strength, Law, and Protection domains.

Druids are the second branch of Vanir religious life. They are the gate keepers to the destruction of the world. They wait for the end of days, hoping to lead the Vanir safely into the new world. Druids of the Vanir tend to lean towards spells and magic that controls the elements.

Fighters are the rank and file soldiers in the war against Demogorgon, they often fight with spears and small shields. They are driven and search for the glorious death so they can join their ancestors in the afterlife.

Paladins are the embodiment of the Ancestors. They represent the ancient warriors of the Vanir. To a Paladin, they are the container for one of the Ancestors. Sharing a body with another soul allows them to inspire others, defeat the undead, and heal wounds.

Rangers are the fiend and orc hunters of the north, dedicated to ridding their land of the unclean creatures.

Sorcerers are much more common than wizards in the north. They often become leaders in the villages or serve as a powerful weapon against the fiends.

[Darkxarth]

Clerics tend to worship the spirits of heroes. In Vanir religion, the world goes through cycles of death and rebirth. Every couple millennia the world strikes out at the creatures living upon it. The seas raise and wash away cities, the mountains crack and bury countries, and fire spews from the ground and burns away everything, then the world grows and is born again.

Druids are the second branch of Vanir religious life. They are the gatekeepers to the destruction of the world.  They wait for the end of days, hoping to lead the Vanir safely into the new world. Druids of the Vanir tend to lean towards spells and magic that controls the elements.[/quote]
So, what do you mean by Gatekeepers and New World?  Are we talking about the Druids protecting the Vanir from the earth's cleansing and letting them live into the next era?  Or just escorting the spirits to the next era, to become Ancestors?

The other classes all look good, and I don't have any other unanswered questions right now.  Keep up the good work.