The Land

Khan's Game takes place in a world called Pytri, a land mass about the size of North America surrounded by ocean on all four sides. On the north is Frosty Sea, east is the Azure Ocean, to the south is the Boiling Sea, and to the west is the Salt Ocean. There are stories of islands and possibly other continents beyond the oceans, however enormous creatures known as Leviathans and the water gods generally make short work of any ships foolish enough to wander too far from the land. Many of the neutral and evil religions also believe that ancient, intelligent horrors prowl the depths of the water, particularly in the Salt Ocean and the Boiling Sea, waiting to catch intelligent prey that was not smart enough to stay out of the water. Efforts to fly to other lands (and even within Pytri) are hampered by giant birds called Rocs, an occasional Dragon, and enormous floating tentacle sacs known as The Dirigibles, which fly low to the ground and drag the tentacles along, scooping up anything they can find that seems like food.

Thus, the known land of Pytri is roughly spherical, with the land forming a misshapen blob in the middle. In the center of the blob, in the nicest climate and richest farmland lies the Kingdom of Om, mainly home to the humans. The capital of Om is called Immortal's Gaze, or just Gaze for short. The seat of power is an enormous crystal castle, sometimes called the proverbial glass house, at the center of which is the Ascendency Stone. The Ascendency Stone cannot be seen from outside its chamber, but it lights up most of the castle walls in eerie shifting glows and shines a beam of pure white light up as far as the eye can see, possibly all the way into space. Inside the chamber, high-level adventurers try their fortune with the stone, to see if the gods will choose them to ascend - or annihilate them on the spot. Either way, the mortal is never seen or heard from again, and if they do ascend, they take on a new identity and personality that makes discovering their mortal history difficult at best.

The gods in Pytri all have names that are three letters long; it's traditional for high level adventurers who intend to seek Ascendence to take on three letter names as preparation. Low level characters who have three letter names can expect to be smited by angry minor gods until they start being called a longer name. Traditionally, the royal family and their servants have four letter names. If people from other kingdoms have longer names, they are usually given monosyllabic nicknames within hours of their arrival if they aren't smart enough or are too stubborn to choose a shorter name for themselves. This tradition is generally considered ridiculous by everyone involved.

The kingdom of Om is mostly temperate, with forests, lakes, vast plains of grain, and herds of cattle. It has the best weather of any of the kingdoms, although it also has the highest concentration of gods and therefore the most collateral damage from their battles. The density of gods is highest near Immortal's Gaze, which is in the center of the land, and trails off the further you get from the city. Notable climate regions include Whipwind Plains, Glass Lakes, the Birdfinger Mountains, and the major grain farming area called Cereal Bowl, surrounded by the Slithering Mountain range. Major cities include Oxbow Heights, Silo Hill, Grass Valley, Stargaze, and Carnocet. Om's major exports are its food and many manufactured products using the raw materials from surrounding lands. All of the major human racial variations are found in Om, and the halflings live peacefully in the Birdfinger Mountains and Glass Lakes regions.

To the east of Om is elven land, known as the Green Kingdom. It's mostly forest, in some places dense enough to blot out the sun, and is a fairly wild place. The elves live in secret and subtle dwellings that aren't quite what you could describe as a city, but definitely have a dense population with creative structures in the trees to support their lifestyle with minimal disruption from the savage animals they live with. Although most of the land is wooded, their capital is in the center of a desolate plain called the Blasted Lands, with a beautiful castle in the center believed to be made entirely out of mithril and precious gemstones. Hundreds of adventurers try their luck at stealing from the castle, but given the castle's location and its magical protections, no one is believed to have ever succeeded in their attempts - and the penalty for trying is death by slow torture. Notable climate regions are the Blasted Lands, Nightwood Forest, Leviathan Lake, the only known water body that is large enough to support freshwater Leviathans, and Dragonwood Plain. The elves are secretive about their cities, and their names are known only to them. The Green Kingdom produces most of the lumber used in Pytri, including several special magical varieties, a host of animal pelts and skins, and it has a high concentration of artisans building magical items. There are a couple of racial variations on the elves themselves, which do not affect character stats in any way. Elves from Nightwood are Moon Elves, who tend to be tall, quiet, and cold, with pale skin, light hair, and large eyes. Elves from the Blasted Plains and the capital are known as Sun Elves, with tan skin, red hair, tough bodies and an easy laugh. The most common elves are mixes of these two races, tend to have greenish skin, and are called Wood Elves. There are also a group of elves that live underground called Dark Elves, but they aren't spoken of in polite company.

To the north of Om is the dwarven kingdom, called Forge. Forge is a mountainous region, snowy when you go sufficiently far north or sufficiently high, with treacherous paths through the mountains and an elaborate network of tunnels running underneath. Their capital, Echo Fortress, is essentially the inside of a hollowed out active volcano, an engineering feat no one is entirely sure how they accomplished. The volcano erupts regularly every two years, and the lava is collected and forged into a legendary and exceptionally rare magical metal crystal called Volcan, which is used to create armor, weapons, and shields. Several other special magic metals are produced by ore veins throughout Forge and are exported everywhere. There are several racial variations in the dwarves, with pale, dark-haired Scurvy Dwarves living most of their lives in the mines, tan Rugged Dwarves living most of their lives fighting and defending the land in the mountains, and olive-skinned Stinky Dwarves who have been in the sulfur mines for so long they have developed an immunity to the smell. Major cities include Dark Anvil, Goddard's Knob, Rockslide, Ant Mound, and Unholy Moaning.

To the south is Parasite Swamp, a humid, fetid mess of a kingdom that hosts the organized governments of most of the evil creatures in the land. The denizens of Parasite Swamp generally are not openly hostile to the other kingdoms; treaties and agreements have been binding for centuries, and any violations of these rules that happen are best done covertly lest the government swiftly execute you for the incompetence of being discovered. Thus, the orcs, ogres, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, and other creatures that live here are able to move freely around the other kingdoms, and some have even emigrated elsewhere, putting up with the inherent prejudice and need to defend yourself against hordes of misguided adventurers. There is no capital in Parasite Swamp that is known to outsiders; it's believed that somewhere far beneath the swamp is a set of caverns that houses the many clans of government, where they rule from the shadows and create intricate political schemes to gain power amongst their fellow chieftains without being discovered. When needed, diplomatic meetings take place in one of the aboveground cities, including Obelisk, the Wormtoad Plateau, Swarming Gates, Corpsewater, and a wretched place simply called Filth. The main exports from Parasite Swamp are gases, medicinal and poisonous extracts from the plants and insects living in the swamp, cheap armor and weapons, seafaring vessels, and information about the other kingdoms and the gods themselves.

Most of the people found in each of these kingdoms will be natives, but travel and trade is abundant and frequent, such that you will probably see someone from each of the kingdoms every day of your travels. Some cities based on their geography tend to be trade hubs and have a much more diverse makeup of locals than others. Other towns tend to attract adventurers based on the nearby battlegrounds of the gods.

Map and probably edits coming soon.


Khan's Game

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