Introduction
“Discover your
possibilities and you get to create them.”
Ventrik Sunlyre, Solar Bard
The Age of Parthellius has
passed. After 2000 winters of “Returning Light” a new vibrant
epoch of arcane renaissance and exploration is upon the World of
Thandoria. In the elvish tongue, Thandoria means “gateway of
rebirth.” Thandoria is a fantasy adventure campaign setting
where courageous heroes strive to forge a new world and discover
the lost secrets of ten vibrant ages while they carve their own
legends into the fabric of history.
The beginning of the
new astrological Age of Meldranus 196 winters ago called for a
new generation of innovative adventurers. The greatest
civilization lies in the Land of Magishar governed from the
largest settlement called the Grand Citadel. The current High
Chancellor of the Unified Realms of Magishar is the renown
sorceress Mavari Zeurellon. She commands a host of legendary
heroes and seeks others gifted with the courage and imagination
to defend Magishar and to create new paths into the horizon of
an uncertain but exciting future.
On the central Isle
of Krindor, governing seat of Magishar, the charismatic
half-elf, Tierra Starhaven, leads the new religion as the Great
Oracle of the Avataric Faith, based on the mystery teachings of
Jestra. Vienna Silverleaf, druid of the Krindorian sacred grove
works tirelessly to organize the Protectors of Thandoria.
Druidic circles across the globe are united in their faith and
duty to protect the planet.
The venerable
celestial magic genius, Zoric the Time Wizard, focuses his last
days into uncovering the lost secrets of the ancient crystal
elves. From his Academy on a plateau in the mysterious Valley of
the Serpent’s Eye he sends expeditions into Aklesora across the
sea to search for artifacts and clues. Arian Brazenwood, a wood
elf arcane archer is the Guardian of the elf kingdom Meldran. He
works with Zoric leading adventures to solve the mystery left by
the Ancients.
Long ago the
forgotten Crystal Elves built a flourishing civilization in the
exotic land of Aklesora. They also came to Magishar interacting
with the first elves and dwarves, leaving behind ruins and lost
cities. Elven sages believe they
star-seeded
the world during the first epoch, the Age of Genesis. After the
Third Age they mysteriously vanished, leaving only deserted
cities and mythic prophecies about the fate of Thandoria.
Recently a new breed
of crystal elf arrived in the northlands of Magishar, sailing
from the polar continent of Zephyrica. They know nothing of
their ancestors. The Prophecy of the Grey Elves written by the
ancient seer Novazastrum indicates that the wisdom of the
crystal elves holds the key to the future of races on many
worlds and planes of existence. With the colonization of
Aklesora on the rise the old deserts, mountains, and rain
forests where the crystal elves once lived are turning up ruins
on a massive scale. Tomb raiders and scholars alike are setting
out on expeditions. With all the rare commodities in the Land of
the Ancients, merchant companies are scrambling to be the first
to corner the markets. The gnomes of Zadine in the southwest
rainforests of Brilzanthia are excited about the possibilities
of bridging their Dragonshard Ocean trade empire with the far
side of the globe.
In the Fire Peaks a devoted school of wizards called the Seekers
of Eternal Flame are led by the human mage Arcanum, famous for
his discovery of one of the Seven Lost Cities of the Crystal
Elves. The dwarves of Borak centered in the Dragonscale Peaks
sing epic ballads about one of their heroes of the revolt
against the Dragon Magi, the mighty dwarven defender Bronzil
Valorstone.
East of Borak in the
Sea of Solar Bards, the Isle of Teneir is famous for its bardic
college at Marodin. Chervil Gwynstrum, a halfling bard of
legendary descent hails from Marodin. In between quests and
musical tours, he often instructs apprentices at the university.
The college magistrates managed to field their own Crown Quest
team of gladiators called the Marodin Troubadours, who travel
and compete with other professional teams in the Magishar
League, all striving to play in the Dragon Bowl for the
championship at the end of the season. Arena crownball has
become the national pastime of the Unified Realms. Colleges all
over are fielding teams to compete on regional or local levels.
To the southeast the human kingdom of Korwynica is still rising
from the ashes of war, surrounded by pirate leagues and nations
enduring civil wars over the choice of joining the Unified
Realms of Magishar. The humans migrated to Magishar from the
distant Sarthaelyn Isles and have always been adept seafarers
and crafts folk. They invented the game of CrownQuest as an
alternative to war between cities and realms. Human Admiral
Mantaris Keltmyr recently became the first to circumnavigate the
globe, discovering the new trade routes to the Ancient World.
When the race of
mankind migrated to Magishar during the First Age of Wizardry,
they were received graciously by the elves of Magishar. The
elves acted as benevolent teachers and guardians of the humans.
As such, the race of half-elves emerged from their union and
became the dominant race of Magishar and were called
Magisharians. Now the common tongue itself is called Magisharian.
In the Korwynican town of Ashen at the base of the Fire Peaks a
beautiful temple was built to honor the birthplace of the
half-elf/half-celestial Avatar Jestra who brought liberation and
hope to the races. The Ryukenese Dragon Mage conquerors enslaved
Magishar for three dreadful centuries. The Ryukenese colonists
that migrated to Magishar during the imperial occupation took up
arms against their own leaders alongside Magisharians to end the
tyranny of Emporer Kajiki. Jestra transformed his heart and made
him good again, but his evil generals and former allies turned
against him vehemently. Ryuken, the Land of Dragon Beasts, fell
into bloody civil war, but Magishar fought valiantly and won its
freedom.
The Ryukenese people
living in Magishar are both revered and feared. In Ashen a wise
martial arts sensei from Ryuken called Master Zoku has set up a
dojo to teach his unique style of fighting called Bakuhatsute,
“Exploding Fist.” Many other fighting styles were imported from
the massive south pole super continent, imbuing their devotees
with amazing feats and powers. Master Zoku’s disciples are sworn
to hunt down the last of the Dragon Magi and their Dragon
Warrior fighters that hide in the wilderness and underworld
regions of Magishar.
Between Zadine and Korwynica lies the strange half-orc nation of
Dragonmoor in the swamps of Xorak. In this bizarre realm, you
can find goblins, orcs, and half-orcs freely interacting with
elves, gnomes, and halflings. Racial enmity still exists, but
during the revolution it was cast aside for one common purpose,
to end centuries of slavery. They were once whipped together,
and now they continue to work and live together. The
Constitution of Magishar drawn up by the founding magi and the
first High Chancellor Fallamar RuneCrest banished slavery and
committed nations to peace. Their own Crown Quest arena ball
team, the Dragonmoor Raiders, won the Magishar Championship two
years in a row!
With the widespread advent of magical training, changes have
accelerated in art, literature, music, magic, religion, and
society. Even as the magi and oracles of Magishar teach the old
arcane crafts, new advances in magical research are changing the
lifestyles of millions every season. The Avatar left dark
prophecies for those who tampered with the life magic of the
planet, but in this era of exploration and arcane creativity,
people are focusing on making life easier through new
technologies that harness the power of Spiritus. For too many
centuries have they suffered. With the Grand Citadel Alliance
watching over them, people are happy and are enjoying their
newfound freedoms.
As history has demonstrated, the gods and spiritual powers of
one age become the ghosts and deceivers of the next. Many
religions spread their truths across the world from the Issansho
and Makyo-do practitioneers of Ryuken to the Druids and Avataric
Oracles of Magishar. In every land there is a faith that is
strong and guides the people with wisdom, proverbs, mythology,
and rules for living in community. The gods of Thandoria are not
anthropomorphic beings that use mortals as pawns, but cosmic
vortexes of consciousness and awesome creative power channeled
through crystals, teachings, cultures, and even planets.
Thandoria has its own astrologers adept at interpreting the
messages of the gods through the motions of the heavens.
Great tracts of Thandoria lie unexplored and unknown, inviting
adventurers and cartographers. Diplomats are being dispatched by
the Unified Realms, but other nations are not so cooperative,
even within Magishar. The various nations, arcane colleges,
guilds, noble houses, and other centers of power and wealth all
vie for influence.
Many nations in Magishar refused to embrace the unified republic
like the barbarian tribes of Vargenda and the centaur clans of
Shadow Vale. Others like the Pirate Lords of the Armiddean
League and the elves of Starmist Isle opposed the unification
viciously, threatening organized resistence. Unprecedented
political intrigue was the inevitable result as realms scrambled
to develop their espionage networks.
In the tropical Land of Keshzakra, the feline humanoids follow
their tyrannical leader Thram without question. Once a vassal
lord to Ryuken during the second dragon rage, Thram inherited
the dark power of the transformed Emperor through stealing an
enigmatic orb that legends say came from the heavens. He means
to use its dark power to invade Magishar, still maintaining the
old alliances with the covert Dragon Magi turned terrorists. His
cat beastmen warriors are trained in a unique style of martial
art that makes use of their powerful claws and deadly teeth.
Some Keshzakran clans are maintaining a resistance force allied
with the saurians and other tropical races of the region, but
the power of Thram is quickly becoming a global threat. His
power grows daily as he utilizes his natural and supernatural
armies to infiltrate and conquer the surrounding realms. He has
begun to summon shadowy outsiders to wage his secret war. The
celestial forces of evil would consume Thandoria and make it
into another dead world to increase their own necromantic
powers. One thing is certain to the leaders of all nations.
Thram must be stopped. His equatorial continent lies between
Magishar and Aklesora, a further hindrance to exploration and
trade.
Meanwhile the elves still teach that true magic emerges from the
force of life itself, the living intelligent flow of eternity,
and that its nature is cosmic. They teach that its essence can
be focused and magnified through crystals. To cast spells
wizards can use spell components from plant and animal sources,
but the process is cumbersome compared to crystal focus casting.
Using the five geometrically shaped crystals, magic users can
channel the flow of Spiritus from Visionspace into reality.
Spellcrystals are
attuned to the various vibrations of the planets and their
archetypal powers that religions define as gods. As a result,
magic users are well versed in star lore, as the changing
celestial configurations affect spellcasting dramatically.
Thandorian astrology is a fascinating subject that illuminates
the cycles of the heavenly spheres, from the two moons and ring
that encircle the planet to the last frozen world of Meadhaut
that lies on the frontier of interstellar space. If a
spellcaster can obtain a dragonshard, spellcasting is even
easier, but they are only found inside the brains and bodies of
dragons. Sorcerers are the rare spellcasters that do not need
components because their own chakras (like a dragons) have
crystallized into rainbow crystals.
In Thandoria, groups
of magic users can ban together to perform ceremonial rituals as
well, giving them access to greater Circles of Magic. Apprentice
spells are formulas of 1st Circle magic. 1st Level spells are
2nd Circle magic. And so on. Recently, wizards have discovered
the spiritual conduits of arcane energy surrounding the planet
in a sphere of energy. Through dragonshards, they’ve discovered
where dragons have gained their immense wisdom and knowledge and
where elves drift during reverie sleep. They call it the
Tapestry of Life, and have identified it as the source of
magical power on the planet. Without it magic could only work
sporadically. A new breed of magi called a Tapestry Mage has
learned to tap into this vital resource in a conscious way. They
say it is the greatest discovery of all time!
The year is 196 GC! The world awaits discovery. Enjoy many
heroic adventures in the World of Thandoria!
