03 - Setting Notes FAQ

Welcome to the Setting Note FAQs. The purpose of this document is to summarise some of the general facts about the world. You may wish to read this before making your character but that is totally optional. The more detail you put into your back story, the more likely you are to need to read this, and the relevant part of the setting, so that you can fit your new character into the world. Check out the part on races if you’d like to see how your chosen race fits into the world. If there is nothing here about the race you want or where you want to come from, ask a DM and we can potentially add something that matches what you want. The world never has to stop expanding. Or your character can come from “very far away” and their home isn’t even on the map.

What is the economy like?

Most towns and cities are at least partly self sufficient but there is trade between them. The larger cities of Leodis, Cheyenne, Glimmergate, and Otha’s Rest rely on trade with their outlying towns for most of their food. Caravan roads crisscross the country to facilitate longer range trade of more rare or luxury items.

What is the government like?

Each area has its own system. Most small towns are run by a mayor or sheriff and are autonomous from their neighbors. There are no hereditary monarchies or landed gentries, though there are noble families with wealth and bloodlines. The larger cities mainly have councils that fit their needs, such as the Elected Barons of Leodis, the Scaled Council of Fort Adaar, and the Merchant Kings of Glimmergate.

What is the religion of the world?

The East Ridings is not an exceptionally spiritual place, most peasants don’t have time for that, they have work to do, crops to harvest, fish to catch. Most towns have churches and temples, and many exist in a ruined and deserted state in the wilderness for adventurers to plunder (sorry, “explore”), but few are dedicated to specific gods. Most towns have a Church of Small Gods, a non-affiliated church where people can pray to who or whatever they want. Some towns have churches to specific gods but these are rare. If your character wants to worship a god they can worship any god they choose (from DnD, or from the real world), whether anyone else in the world worships them or not.

What is the political climate?

The Ridings had a relatively minor war between East and West a few hundred years ago. Relics of that can be found around the world in the form of border forts and the like. But it is generally peaceful between all the nearby nations. The main danger is still the wilderness itself.

What is the nature of Good and Evil?

Some creatures in the world are fixed in their alignment by their very nature. Demons, Devils, Undead and Chromatic Dragons are inherently, immutably evil (and the act of bringing one permanently into the world would be an evil act). Celestials and Metallic Dragons are inherently, immutably good.

What is the deal with the various races?

Here is some information on how each race is perceived and where in the world they might come from.

PHB Races

Dwarf - The original founders of Otha’s Rest after the fall of their great city in the mountains hundreds of years ago. They are held in high regard by most people and common in most towns. Not as common as humans, but the clear second.

Notable places - Everywhere, The Dig.

Elf - Rare in the Ridings outside their communities. Considered by most to be magical and aloof. Drow are not trusted considering recent and ongoing events involving slavers.

Notable places - Fymdell, Sherwynn Forest, Athel Tamhara (Tridell).

Halfling - There are no halfling towns in the Ridings but they are a reasonably common site in most of the cities. They usually get on very well with the predominantly human population.

Notable places - Everywhere.

Human - The dominant population of most of the East Ridings and the neighboring lands. Generally trusted by most people. Any village not specifically dominated by another race will be mostly human.

Notable places - Everywhere.

Dragonborn - Extremely rare in the majority of the Ridings. The Black Swamp is home to Fort Adaar, and Belkilka Desert is home to Kaiju Canyon. Both are communities made up almost exclusively of dragonborn, but few of them ever leave either home.

Notable places - Fort Adaar, Kaiju Canyon.

Gnome - Uncommon on the Ridings outside of Gnome Town in the Pinborough Peaks. Though they can be found in greater numbers in the major cities than in towns and villages, they are still quite rare.

Notable places - Gnome Town, Glimmergate, Leodis, Cheyenne.

Half-Elf - Like halflings, there are no half-elf communities in the Ridings. Rather they are a reasonably common and welcome sight in most towns and cities living alongside the mostly human population.

Notable places - Everywhere.

Half-Orc - Extremely rare in the Ridings. Clans of orcs in the wilderness and mountains, and desert, will often turn out half-orcs. Those that become part of towns and cities are usually orphaned and often treated with disdain or hostility.

Notable places - None.

Tiefling - Extremely rare in the Ridings. Almost every Tiefling anyone has ever seen would have been a member of the Adventurers Guild or a similar organisation. For the most part they would be shunned from their place of birth and seek a life of adventure for this reason. Most common folk would be wary of them for their strangeness; distrustful, but not hostile.

Notable places - None.

Volo’s Guide Races

Aasimar - Extremely rare. An aasimar would be considered an omen of incredible good luck to the village it is born in, or even visits.

Notable places - None.

Firbolg - Quite rare. There are some in the Great Refuge, a town with a connection to the feywild, they are mostly smiths, herbalists, and artisans there. Also, the world is filled with scattered woodlands and any one of them could be home to numerous firbolgs. But few of them become part of cities or communities alongside the other races, if they are out there, they prefer to remain secluded.

Notable places - None.

Goliath - Quite rare. Those that are in the Ridings have come from overseas seeking fortune or fame or wanderlust. Some will join any society they can find and be accepted, though found to be rare and curious. Some will join adventuring parties, mercenary groups, or town guard.

Notable places - None.

Kenku - Very rare in the East Ridings. One kenku has been known to be in the Ridings for a time as a member of the Guild but otherwise very few are known in the country.

Notable places - None.

Lizardfolk - Extremely rare in the Ridings. A group of them lives deep in Belkilka Desert, isolated from almost everyone else. Other lizardfolk have joined the Guild from lands far further away.

Notable places - Arakkis.

Tabaxi - Very rare in the Ridings. A few isolated individuals have joined the Guild from far away, long wandering is common to their race. But no communities exist in the area.

Notable places - None.

Triton - There is a merfolk village in Lake Kuo known as Farwater, a small community of Tritons live there also.

Notable places - Lake Kuo.

Bugbear/Goblin/Hobgoblin/Kobold/Orc/Yuan-Ti - These races are common in the Ridings but mostly as bandits, cut-throats, slavers, or thieves. On very rare occurrences one will leave their tribe to join a civilised society and will be treated by the population with extreme distrust or even hostility at first, and trust would be hard to win.

Notable places - None.

Eberron Races

The Eberron equivalent in the world of the East Ridings is a country called Tuukaye, far to the south across the ocean.

Changelings/Kalashtar/Shifters - These races exclusively come from the land of Tuukaye. In the Ridings they would be treated as peculiar as befitting a traveler from a distant land. But since they pass for what would be seen as a reasonably common race, they would be treated with trust. Though if they display any unique abilities that would not be common to the East Ridings, people would be likely to be wary of them because of this.

Notable places - None.

Warforged - Any Warforged in the East Ridings, and they are extremely rare, would have come from Tuukaye. The war in Tuukaye ended over 100 years ago. Any Warforged made for the war that survived would be granted freedom at its end and may have traveled the world since then. After the war, the Peaceforged Projects were begun and Peaceforged began production. These are made for work not war; artisans, builders, shipwrights etc. As per the law of Tuukaye, a Warforged must complete 50 years of their job and then they are permitted to take their life of freedom, their construction cost now paid off. In the East Ridings a Warforged, or a Peaceforged, may be treated with caution, suspicion, or even dread, and considered by most to be some sort of automaton rather than an actual person.

Notable places - None.