HTMLThe planet Livette is vast, much bigger than the area detailed in this background. You are on the continent of Gessilell.
Humans are insatiable in their quest for knowledge. Their embrace of arcane magic has been so total that other races, more cautious about such things, have been somewhat taken aback. Humans have found a close ally, though a cautious one, in the Dwarves.
Dwarves have an ancient civilisation, with an empire of allied states that spans half the planet. Their lands are under ground, so they rarely find reason to war with other races. For the last four thousand years they have been at war with the Duergar, their only serious rivals for control of the subterrainian world. Right now the war is at stalemate, with the dwarves controlling the near-surface and the Duergar controlling the deeper darkeness.
The last Elven Empire still clings to life, though it is desperate and mad. A thousand years ago they owned all of the world's forests, while other races were an afterthought. They lived under the rule of the clerics, each household donating its posessions, and sometimes its members, for sacrifice to the gods. One thousand years ago the priests lost their power, the mighty Seldarine had turned their gaze upon Livette and found their children wanting. What followed is known as the weeping war, a conflict still happening today, where those who tried to pull themselves away from stilted tradition were hunted by their kin. Now the war has divided into two broad camps; rebels - who wish to embrace arcane magic and other races - and traditionalists - who wish to subjugate the world, and force the rebels back into Lolth's embrace.
Halflings have their own concerns. Most of the Halfling race lives on the vast Steppes of Antilia, travelling from oasis to oasis with their families and their livestock, but not all is peaceful in the wasteland. Travellers have seen mighty armies marching through the desert, halfling hordes stoically resigned to their fate. Humans from Thet-Re report that in the desert night, where a shout can carry for hundreds of miles, the sounds of battle can be heard. It is not hard for the casual observer to notice that, while Halflings have always been rare, there seem to be fewer and fewer every year...
pop 200,000+ (30% human, 20% dwarf, 25% Moon Elf, 25% other)
Iriltide, 'the city of harmony,' is far from harmonious. Its successful integration and open-doors policy has led to more than a few unpleasant individuals making the city their home. Lord Scythia tries to keep the population in chack, but his police force is overwhelmed and all to often corrupt.
Iriltide's royal gardens, open to the public since the death of Lord Iril, are famously beautiful and dangerous in equal measure. Some areas of the gardens are wooded, some a labyrinthine knot of hedges and high flower beds. Unfortunately this lends perfect cover to clandestine meetings and muggers, making the gardens a place good folk do not visit after dark.
Iriltide's residents are an unusually mixed lot, people from all walks of life and all species can be found mingling and living their lives here. But absolute cosmopolitanism comes at a price - all too often the evils of the world have made their way about the city, unseen, secret and plotting.
pop 450,000+ (95% Dwarf, 4% human, 1% other)
Surrounded by the human city of Parchestol, Stonehold is the oldest of the Dwarven mountain cities. The caverns underneath Stonehold have spread for miles around, and even the Dwarf's record keepers have lost track of how far they go. It is roumoured that travelling through Stonehold without a guide is a sure way to become lost in the underdark, or to be devoured by one of the predatory monsters who infest the furthest reaches of the complex. Sometimes foolish adventurers will listen to the tales of great treasures hidden within and will strike out downwards, never to be seen again. The inhabited parts of Stonehold are some of the richest and most peaceful places in the world. King Bladebite reigns with a firm but kindly demeanor, and any citizens of the city are allowed access to his court to make requests of him, though this practice is rarely used due to the comfort that many of the occupants experience there. The city has recently tightened its security in the wake of rumours of Duergar being spotted nearby.
pop 600,000+ (99% Dwarf, 1% other)
The most populace and modern of the Dwarven cities, Ironhold sits on the border of the human countries of Deshan and Dunmonia. Neither of these countries is willing to attempt to claim the ungoverned lands around the mountain, and the Dwarves themselves have little interest in it. As such the area above Ironhold is dangerous at best, and at worst is infested with Orc tribes and evil humanoid criminals seeking refuge from whichever authority is chasing them. The Dwarves do occasionally send out raiding parties to cull some of the more dangerous creatures, but they mostly leave this area untouched. Inside the city toil countless thousands of Dwarves, desperately mining deeper to create more space for the dangerously crowded city. In addition to the constant work there is Moradin's chamber; a vast geode with an underground waterfall and stream running through it which serves as a temple to Moradin. Ironhold is also notable for its government, a council of tribal Kings who oversee numerous chieftains.
pop 500,000+ (99% Dwarf, 1% other)
Nestled deep in the two-sea mountains sits Karak Otan. The origins of this indomitable fortress are legend, and in the inhospitable landscape it is jarring to see such formidable defences. It is said that the mountain itself was built to plug the hole into the underdark where the Duergar first poured into the world, and that in the very lowest level of the deep, deep city is a colossal stone slab covering the gate to the home of the dark dwarves. As it stands the fortress is self contained, with its own ecosystem and livestock. Mighty dwarven warriors defend the entrance at all times, though Karak Otan can withstand any siege indefinitely.
pop 200,000+ (90% Dwarf, 9% human, 1% other)
Steel Bastion is notable only for its unusually cosmopolitan nature. Here Dwarves have thrown open their doors to all races and invited them to come and settle. Although most find life underground to be uncomfortable there are some who find themselves unusually at home there, though they must spend some time above ground to avoid developing unpleasant health complaints. Other Dwarf cities frown on this practice, claiming that the gods made mountains for dwarves to live in, but the King of the Steel Bastion replies that as long as the people work and are respectful they should not be denied the beuty of the underground.
pop 300,000+ (99% dwarf, 1% other)
Abbathor's Doom - remote, xenophobic, mad. The king of Doom has long since given in to the curse laid upon his family for the naming of his ancestral city, and his son is still far too young to ascend the throne. The city itself is so cut off from it's peers, so far from the more enlightened, cosmopolitan lands that the Dwarves here will often not even speak to other races. As such, little is known about this remote and forbidding outpost buried deep in the wilderness.
pop 400,000+ (49% dwarf, 49% duergar, 1% fire giant, 1% other)
Lava Flow, the city of war and hatred. Long, long ago Deep Duerra forced his way up from hell and into Karak Thon. The god Deep Duerra bought legions of Duergar and giants with him to take the fortress, but the clan ironfist forced him into a lake of lava where his body could not regrow. Deep Duerra's fit of agony was enough to disturb the hot earth, which hides under the sleeping earth, and cause the volcano to erupt. The eruption scattered both sides forces, dividing them into various different parts of the cave network, collapsing some of the tunnels and opening up new ones. Since that day nearly 400 years ago Karak Thon has been Lava Flow, the city of hatred, and both sides have been stuck in an uneasy, bloody stalemate. It is said that in the longest, most remote tunnels Deep Duerra's screams can still be heard growing ever more insane by the decade.
pop 100,000 - 500,000 (Varies by season / political landscape)
Mirage is the only permanent settlement that the Halflings call their own. It is a holy site to them, and it provides refuge for all who walk out of the desert. Mirage is ruled by whichever group of tribal elders is there at the time.
Mirage is a city of tents, with only two permanent structures - the temple to Yondalla and the mysterious statue of a lion. The temple is the most important Halfling cultural site in their civilisation and the priests will offer aid to all who enter. The statue's origins are unknown (it is older than Mirage), but it is said to be a celestial totem, protecting the Halflings from the dangers of the desert.
Mirage has no permanent residents save for trainee clerics, who must spend a year and a day in observance at the temple of Yondalla before she, or any other god of the Halfling pantheon, will grant them divine magic.
pop 900,000+ (80% Moon Elf (free), 20% other (including slave moon elves))
Queen Kalissrael and her court of clerics live here, and it is from here that they conduct their holy war, their genocidal war, against all elves who practice arcane magic. At all hours of the day the temples are packed with worshippers, and at all hours of the day the city prospers.
The city is built in a vast clearing in the Forest of the Fey Lords over the Weary River. Most of it's riches come from the other cities under the dominion of Queen Kalissrael desperate to spare themselves from her religious police. The temples in the city are ancient indeed, and are steeped in an ettiquette and ritual so layered and obtuse that outsiders are advised to avoid them rather than inadvertantly offending them, only to find themselves strapped to the alters with a sacrificial moonblade scything towards their throats.
pop 400,000+ (99% Moon Elf, 1% other)
The vast forest of Evenkin contains many elven settlements, and a few of the inhabitants of Tessilglade can remember when it was an unbroken wood from Miil to Highriver. Tessilglade is where the Elves go to die, and a very, very few outsiders are allowed into its treetop platforms.
It is a large city built into the forest canopies, and those who move there are expected never to leave as they are all to often weary of life and in their dotage. Those who truly wish to transcend, who have reached an accord with nature, are sent to the roots of one of the largest trees and lulled to sleep by the singing of fairies, a sleep from which they will never awaken.
Not all Elves choose to die in Tessilglade. Many simply starve until hunger passes, or swim to the deepest depths they can manage. A great many fall in battle, but the Fey of Tessilglade always say that their spirits travel here to rest.
pop 400,000+ (25% Moon Elf, 75% hobgoblin mercenaries (no spellcasters), the (very) occasional prisoner)
Magebane, the furthest outpost of Queen Kalissrael's Weeping war. It is both city and army, both camp and settlement. Always Magebane wars with King's keep, and always it is thwarted. Always it is threatened and attacked by adventurers and the government of Djinnlaw, always it endures.
Spellcasters do not travel within a hundred miles of Magebane, it is death to their kind. Queen Kalissrael wars only with elves who have forsaken their holiness and interfered with Corellan Lorathian's divine order, the citizens of Magebane make no such distinction. For a short time prisoners may be bought here, but they will not last through the sadistic agonies inflicted upon them by the Hobgoblins when they are inevitably handed over as playthings.
pop 350,000+ (75% Moon Elf, 20% human, 4% dwarf, 1% other)
King Morrelle of Farox plays a dangerous game. He declared independence from the empire of Queen Kalissrael a scant four centuries ago, and has had to strenuously defend his borders ever since. Every decade or so Queen Kalissrael's forces probe his defences, but even if they found their way past his armies they would still have to contend with the impregnable King's Keep.
King's Keep is one of the most heavily defended cities in all of Livette. The walls stand fifty feet high and ten feet thick and the stores are always full, enough to feed the entire population for six months - more than long enough for allies to send relief. The city itself suffers slightly because of its constant war footing, the people are healthy and well, but the taxes are prohibitive enough to discourage more settlers.
Inside the city is a temple of Corellan Lorathian, it's splendour and beauty unlike anything Queen Kalissrael has to offer. Inside it's priests perform divine works of magic, leading Queen Kalissrael to declare them heretics, and accuse them of worshipping human gods, or worse of signing pacts with demons to retain their power. Queen Kalissrael covets the city and it's populace, and her agents are always watching for a sign of weakness.
pop 200,000+ (90% Moon Elf, 4% human, 4% Fey, 1% other)
Esvale Hollow was built on the banks of Lake Eternity, there to stand as a demonstration to the other races that cities could be built in harmony with nature, and that waters need not be corrupted by civilisation. It was one of the most populace and powerful centres of the vast Elven civilisation, until the coming of Deep Duerra to Lava Flow. Suddenly the clean and perfect river that fed Lake eternity was currupted, heated and ruined with evil enchantments that were to end Esvale Hollow forever. The few who have not fled to Jaamdath or Illfarn are sickly, their lives ending unnaturally at increasingly younger ages, the forests provide no succour and the dead do not rest as they should.
Esvale Hollow is a huge city that was incorporated into the forest so seamlessly that it is often hard to tell when the wild begins and the city ends. Echoes of its glory are visible in the fine stonework visible beneath the encroaching poison ivy, but it is a dying place full of mist and death. Lake eternity is a swamp, a place where ghostlights drift above the water, and where necromancers lair. The remaining inhabitants are a hardy folk, kind to strangers but a little more suspicious of Dwarves than might be considered polite. Many have chosen to stay because their ancestors are buried here, many others because their life here is all they know, and a small, sinister, corps remain because they are growing to like the company of the dead.
pop 500,000+ (99% Moon Elf, 1% other)
Gaze north from Redsky and a vast expanse of sea stretches out before you. In the evenings the sky invaribly turns into a vivid, multi-shaded red. This city is built on a slope so steep that all of the buildings eventually slip into the sea, so those with the magic to travel beneath the clear waters will find a wealth of ancient ruins. On the banks of the Red Sunset Sea the city stretches high up the hillside, always there is construction at its very peak, and always there are abandoned buildings halfway into the water.
The population of Redsky are, by and large, content. They are far from the troubles of the Weeping War, and the troubles of other races rarely bother them. Arcane magic is somewhat frowned upon, enough for practitioners to hide themselves, but there is no real penalty for doing so. House Dreville nominally rules the city, but in truth its merchant class holds much of the power as the city sits on a major trade route from the west.
The biggest threat to the people of Redsky is the rise of Venturers Guild. This guild has been small but powerful for many decades, but its rivals are beginning to mysteriously dissapear, their property gets stolen, or their warehouses simply razed to the ground. The people of Redsky are uneasy about the Venturers, but unwilling to take action and disrupt their peaceful lives. Behind closed doors it is whispered that this complacency may be their downfall.
pop 750,000+ (99% human, sizeable dwarf minority)
Built at the mouth of the river Tain by the Hunnic Ocean, Ethelred's Reach is famed for the Shimmering Robes - a mages guild equal in power to the government of the city. The Shimmering Robes are a primarily neutral organisation, interested only in the study of magic, but enough notable exceptions delve into politics to maintain the Guild's hold on the city. The government is a collection of hereditary Lords, many of them also powerful spellcasters, whose primary function is to regulate tradeand keep the citiy's watch (Ethelred's Vigil) in line. Being a member of both the Shimmering Robes and the government is (unofficially) not allowed. There are a number of powerful temples of Mystra in the city. It is a commonly held belief that all of the humans in Ethelred's Reach are powerful spellcasters and that non-human inhabitants are not allowed to join either the government or the Shimmering Robes - both of these beliefs are unfounded.
pop 1,000,000+ (56% human(free), 34% human(slave), 5% non-human slaves, 1% half-orc, 2% Orc, 2% other)
There is something rotten at the edge of the country of Deshan. Somehow the slave trade thrives in a city once known for its legacy of diplomacy and peace. No lord can send armies against it, it's magics too powerful and its allies too fearsome to risk openly opposing the city is ruled with an iron fist by the self-proclaimed 'King' of the city. His identity is not known, but popular rumour has it that he is an arcane master, crackling with power and warping his surroundings with a moment's thought. Over the years the dark powers of the world have at times found common cause with the depraved and vile citizens here, and many in the city are now so casually cruel and twisted that a revolution, or a change of government with popular support, is unthinkable
pop 200,000+ (97% human, 1% Dwarf, 1% Halfling, 1% other)
At the meeting of the Hunnic ocean and the Steppes of Antrilia stands Het-Ammon. It is like many human settlements, a port town with a strong fishing tradition, with the notable exception of the large halfling population from Antrilia. Here goods are traded for strange magics and devices from the shrouded kingdoms across the Steppes, and expeditions into the wasteland are mounted, some even meet with success. Many adventures have begun as a result of Het-Ammon's trade and position, and it's powerful temple of Umberlee gives the city a dark reputation.
pop 500,000+ (90% human, 5% Dwarf, 5% other)
The furthest inland human settlement, Parchestol sits at the base of the Dwarven city of Stonehold. The city grew up from a small community of traders who's links to other human cities allowed them to trade rare and expensive goods with the merchants travelling to see the Dwarves. Now Parchestol is larger than the population of Stonehold and some of the more archaic laws concerning the taxes on human trade in Dwarven land are beginning to cause resentment and tension. There are racial tensions beginnning to boil over, though there is not yet open hostility.
pop 280 (257 human, 6 elves, 5 dwarves, 5 halflings, 4 gnomes, 2 half-elves, 1 half-orc)
There are at least four human villiages with the name 'Sailor's Rest', all different and spread far away from each other. This one is quiet, notable for its large number of Taverns (seven) and its disproportionately huge temple of Kelemvor. This villiage sits between World Edge and the shores of Red Sunset, the inland sea. Every year travellers come from miles around to take part in the celebration of the Feast of the Moon, where Kelemvor's clerics tell tales of the dead so that their names are not forgotten, and when evening comes offerings to the dead are burnt at a fire surrounded by tables laden with food and drink for the living. Despite the sombre core of the festival it is famed for being one of the wildest parties that humans regularly hold, and the clerics of Kelemvor often turn a blind eye to the slightly distasteful carnival atmosphere. Occasionally one of them will attempt to put a stop to the festivities in favour of a more serious occasion but they inevitably fail, and they always come to realise that the ritual parts of the festival are treated with due respect, and that excited revellers are often more generous with donations. There has been an unusual few people arriving in the town over the last few days, a strange group of disparate travellers who have stayed for the time being. The locals are welcoming, but wary, and only time will tell of their motivations and intent. This year the unofficial post-tale telling party involves a cooking competition between the seven Taverns, and after much cajoling and offerings of food and temple donations the high priest of Kelemvor has agreed that the competition is not disrespectful to the dead.
pop 200,000+ (70% human, 28% Elven refugees, 2% other)
Far to the south of Ethelred's Reach, World Edge stands at the meeting of the Hunnic Ocean and the Forests of the Fey Lords. Here the hardy plains folk have thrown open their doors to refugees fleeing from the Weeping War and have begun to teach them arcane magic in order to defend themselves from the vengeful traditionalist faction. Already World Edge has had to withstand a summer siege by Queen Kalissrael and her war-clerics which was repelled only when the nearby dwarven city of Ironhold threw open its gates and marched an army to relieve them. Unwilling to open another front in an already tenuous war the Queen and her army retreated without a word. Since then World Edge has been building more powerful defences and expanding its borders as the trickle of Elven refugees becomes a flood.
