Taera

A Game Setting for use with Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition

Contents

Setting Overview
The World
    The Taeran Side
        Anarcia
        Anyrk
        Arcia
        The Crystal Tower
        The Diamond City
        The Diamond Towers
        Nakhu
        Nikkon
        Wak
        Yoor
        Zephra
    The Aritian Side
        Ablish
        The Darth Tower
        Drachaven
        Kharz
        The Maelstrom
        The Nix Vale
        Nufalgrot
        Rl'yeh
History of the World
    The Taeran Calendar
    A Condensed Historical Timeline of the Current Age
Subsections

Setting Overview

Our ancestors were gods clothed in mortal flesh.

From a time long forgotten, they gained powers undreamed-of by we who live in this era, and stretched forth their hands and minds across the cosmos. First the other worlds sharing our sun were colonized, then in time other suns and the worlds around them; first the stars clustered near ours, then later stars floating so far away that the light from them has still not had time to reach our world. The powers of the Ancients were unrivalled in their universe, and their wisdom led them to leadership over an empire so vast that no mortal mind of today can comprehend its true extent.

This Golden Age was a time of unparallelled wonder, built and fuelled by the might and intellect of the Ancients and their leaders. From the powers of the will and the mind that we today call Magic and Psionics, to the enigmatic sciences of the physical world and the strange machines the knowledge allowed them to build, the vast powers of the Ancients allowed them in time to rule a universe. Mortal people were rendered Immortal by both supernatural and technological means, and with endless time to see their visions brought to life, the Immortals spread the Taeran vision of life throughout the galaxies. Vast fleets larger than whole solar systems sped their way between distant suns, carrying goods and knowledge worth more than planets between destinations on opposite ends of the skies. This was the Golden Age, and it lasted for more than a hundred millennia.

But in time, it seems, even the Ancients were not immune to the decay of civilization. As all empires do, theirs eventually fell.

We may never know the cause of the war. Somehow, a split occurred, a fracture in the monolithic hegemony of the Ancients. War raged across the skies, battles that consumed entire clusters of stars and their attendant worlds. The Immortal Council divided itself for the first time along factional lines, and powers were used for war that could have brought ages of enlightenment had they instead been used in peace. Over time, one faction grew dominant, and the war was being won at last- the losing faction fell back to the ancestral system as their last fortress. Eventually, only Taera itself, the homeworld that everything started from, was left to them- once a nearly-forgotten museum garden dedicated to preserving history, now the site of the last battle of the worst civil war imaginable. At last, the dominant side was victorious. But do not have sympathy for the losers- whatever merit their ideas or goals may have had was more than negated by the vile deed they performed at the end.

Was it done out of spite, or was it some misguided attempt to give the war new footing? We can never understand the reasons- but we understand the results all too well. Taera is a world steeped in magic and life, and this life-force exists as a tangled web all across the lands and seas. It has always been known that certain sites in this web are places of power, and that what happens at one resonates with the rest. The Nodes are linked by forces we do not understand today, but it is clear that the Ancients did understand them- because the losers of the war, in their final act, used those forces as a weapon. A titanic explosion was set off at one node, and the power of the blast was so intense that the force of it caused similar explosions at all the other Nodes across the world. In a split-second, the work and growth of millennia was incinerated and shattered. Taera was left a charred ruin of what it once was. This was the Annihilation, and it left scars on the world that have not healed even today.

The losers of the war wiped themselves out, but in so doing they nearly took the homeworld with them. The survivors of the battle, huddled together above the skies, could do little to restore what was lost, but with quick action they prevented life from dying out completely. With the last of their resources they created devices to make the planet livable again, and then they buried themselves in deep cavern cities to await the day when they could emerge into a newly regrown world. Gradually, their machines failed them, and the knowledge of how to repair the ones they had- let alone build new ones- was lost. The remnants of Ancient technology we have today are wondrous, and amazingly powerful to our modern eyes, but they are but a pale shadow of what was lost during these centuries. Meanwhile, as the Ancient civilization slept, the life of Taera began to restore itself.

The Elder Races became an underground civilization, but while they hid from the terrible radiations and forces above, the life of the aboveground world grew into new and unexpected forms. These Mutants were children of creatures that had existed on Taera as long as the Elder races had, but had never achieved minds or wills of their own, let alone civilizations or language. The life-twisting powers left behind by the Annihilation changed that. When the descendents of the Ancients emerged from their hidden cocoons of rock, they found new people already occupying the lands above. As the Elders emerged into the dawn of a new world, the Mutant children of the Annihilation were there to live in it with them. In some places, battles raged between the children of the old world and the children of the new, while in others, alliances were struck and compacts made. In time, a balance was achieved, and today Mutants are often the equals of Elders.

Taera is a world on the mend. The powers of the Golden Age are now lost to us- but in this new time, we who came from the mistakes of the old world are building a new one to take its place. Perhaps, in time, we may become as they once were, or even more- none can say for certain. The modern age is a dangerous time to live in, but it is also a time of opportunity, and new legends are born every day. This world is a poor remnant of the old, and yet in it are still the seeds of greatness, both the greatness of the old world and seeds of new greatness the likes of which the cosmos has never seen. This is no longer the world of the Ancients- instead, it is our world, and we will make of it what we can.

Perhaps future historians will tell legends of your deeds.

The World

Taera is a hollow planet with roughly twice the radius of Earth; the fact that it does not have a solid core means that its gravity is roughly equal to Earth normal despite its much greater size. Both the inside and the outside surfaces of the planet are habitable and inhabited; the outside is referred to as Taera, while the inside is named Arite (essentially a phonetic reversal of Taera). While under normal circumstances the inside surface of the planet would experience zero gravity due to the presence of greater mass "above" (i.e. on the other side of the sphere) than "below" (towards the outside surface of the planet), an ancient and poorly understood magical effect exists within the planetary shell which creates an outwardly-directed gravity field on the Arite side. This outwardly-directed field creates essentially the same gravity in Arite that exists on the outer world, though its presence in the shell also has the effect of creating a weak planar interface between Taera and Arite. Thus, while they technically exist on (and in) the same planet, they are considered separate planes for the purposes of magical travel effects. It is not, for instance, possible to Teleport from Taera to Arite or vice versa; one must instead use Plane Shift. As a result of this, and the fact that the field creating Arite's gravity causes bizarre and terrible effects in its immediate area, nonmagical travel between Taera and Arite is exceptionally rare; most inhabitants of either world are unaware that the other exists.

The Taeran Side

The Taeran side of the planet is divided into seven geographical landmasses, six of which are inhabited, and one large and relatively isolated island (Nikkon, off the west coast of Arcia) providing a seventh cultural milieu distinct from any of the continents. Intelligent life can be found not only on land, on the various continents themselves, but also around them in the oceans and under them in extensive cavern and cave networks within the rocky shell of the planet. A map of Taera, showing all landmasses of planetwide significance along with both polar ice caps, is shown below.

Taera World Map

Anarcia is the ancestral home of Taera's dragons. Half of its landmass is enclosed by a ring of tall mountains, with but one pass through on the south side; the area within this ring is called the Dragon Vale and is controlled entirely by its reptilian namesakes. The nondraconic population lives in the relatively barren lands outside the Vale, mostly along the continent's rocky coasts. While Anarcia's nondragon population is mostly made up of Elder races, there are two notable mutant populations living there- the weak dragon offshoots called the Yellow and Purple Dracon. Of other mutant races, only relatively nomadic ones such as Tabaxi can be found here, though adventurers of other races occasionally show up on Anarcia for the normal reasons adventurers show up anywhere. Many of the nondragons living on Anarcia serve dragon masters living in the Vale, and dragon interference in the lives of Anarcians outside the Vale itself is commonplace. Most nondragon activity concentrates in the sprawling city of Didzeri-Du'u, located on the river U'urth near the continent's couthern coast.
    The Dragon Vale contains virtually every type of terrain known to the world outside it, even including a miles-wide lake of magma on the north side that never cools; because of this, nearly every dragon type can find an ideal lair within its borders, and the Dragon Vale is accordingly populated by a large cross-section of the world's draconic population. The mysterious (to nondragons) Elder Dragon Council- the most powerful dragons in the world- all have homes in the Vale, though most also maintain secret lairs elsewhere in the world where their truly valuable treasures and knowledge are kept. Finally, a mile-wide shaft exists in a mountain near the center of the Dragon Vale that penetrates the entire thickness of the planet's shell, coming out in a similar peak on the Nixen side of Drachaven in Arite. Thus, the dragons of Arite maintain contact with their cousins in Taera, and the Elders rule both.
    Didzeri-Du'u was originally established in the early 22nd century AA by human settlers who originally came from one of the Darkened Enclaves in crowded southern Arcia, in hopes of creating a place of trade and cultural exchange and (more to the point, at the time) a neutral place for establishing a lasting peace between the warring Yellow and Purple Dracon. Situated as it is on the continent's widest and longest river, and placed between the vast deserts of Jajazik to the west and the Silasta Moors to the east, it was the perfect location for such dreams of nation-building and colonization. Of course, a successful peace between the Yellows and Purples has never been brokered, let alone a lasting one, so the city soon became a haven for refugees from both sides of the conflict and anybody else caught in the middle. Inevitably, the dragons of the Vale noticed the place, and began to interfere in its affairs, and soon the descendents of the would-be colonists became as ensnared under their proverbial talons as everybody else on Anarcia. Over the centuries, however, Didzeri-Du'u became known on Anarcia as the place to find draconic patronage and/or support, and the city began to attract adventurers and politicians out to make their fortunes. Today, Didzeri-Du'u is a vast metropolis of six boroughs spread out over a forty-square-mile area, engaged constantly in complex political intrigues and both cold and hot wars between the various factions which fight for control of its territory. Its astounding mishmash of cultures and people is only matched by an even more astounding collection of wondrous new buildings risen next to dilapidated ruins and rude tenements alike, with architectural styles arguably more diverse than anything else on the Material Plane. Only about a third of the city is properly habitable at any given time, but due to its huge area (by modern standards, at least), most people who do live there can do so with plenty of personal space and comfort, if they have the right connections.

Anyrk is arguably the most culturally diverse continent on modern Taera, since its only truly large political entity is the Thri-Kreen empire of Tk-Slee'kl in the vast Pacific Desert, which has been non-expansionist for hundreds of years. Also, the world's most populous city can be found here- the city of New Eldor, on the western shore of the Nandra Sea. A few hundred miles south of New Eldor is the bizarre geographical feature dubbed the Ring of Fire, at the heart of which supposedly stands the ancient Crystal Tower. One of the greatest centers of learning in the world today, the city of Methodica, stands at the foot of a mountain in northwest Anyrk. Finally, adventurers worldwide now hear stories of a relatively new attraction on Anyrk- the infamous Mines of Ekliyae, a dungeon of truly fiendish size and complexity located in the lands of Jockul in southeastern Anyrk.
    Though New Eldor is hardly in a convenient location as far as trade with other continents is concerned, it is a rich and powerful trade city nonetheless, and people of virtually any race native to Taera can be found there on any given day. Even the aquatic races living in the "Underwave" of the world's oceans can be found there, due to the presence of the world's largest aquatic city at the bottom of New Eldor's bay, called Deep Eldor. Deep Eldor and New Eldor are connected by several magical portals which allow air-breathers to breathe water for a few hours and vice versa, including one immense gate larger than any of the ones in the walls ringing New Eldor itself; because of this, the two cities remain in close contact despite being controlled by separate political bodies (often with competing agendas). New Eldor is home to over four hundred thousand inhabitants, and is protected not only by walls forty feet thick and fifty high, but also by a carefully maintained city-size energy shield that can be generated over it in times of great emergency. Because of the shield, and the also-carefully-maintained bank of plasma cannons mounted on towers built into the wall, New Eldor has never been conquered by any invading force. Since it and the tiny nation it rules (called Eldoria) split off from the Orc-ruled empire of Skrakin to the north over two hundred years ago, no army has even dared to try.
    The Ring of Fire is poorly understood even by people native to the lands immediately surrounding it, both because it is extremely hard to get to, and because it is an extraordinarily dangerous place to go. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains almost 250 miles across, forming a nearly perfect circle. Many of the peaks surrounding the Ring are volcanoes, and magma from their eternally-smoldering calderas trickles down into the lands of the Ring itself. The constant eruptions create powerful windstorms above the entire ring of mountains, making flight above them extremely hazardous at best; also, some unknown influence (apparently) in the mountains themselves creates a permanent Dimension Lock effect over the whole Ring, preventing entry or exit by teleportation or planar travel. Thanks to the volcanoes, the inner land of the Ring of Fire is dominated by literal seas of molten rock, the largest such features to be found outside the Elemental Planes of Fire and Magma. Where solid ground exists, it is invariably barren and rocky, and often jagged and rough with cracks and weathering. Forests of razor-sharp crystals dot the landscape rather than trees, and often slice interlopers to ribbons when disturbed. Despite the extreme harshness of the landscape, life does exist in the Ring of Fire, but that life is (by necessity) of truly frightening power- for instance, it is known that the creatures that scholars dub Metal Slimes live there in large numbers. Because of all these dangers, and the difficulty of the crossing over the surrounding peaks, few expeditions aiming for the Ring actually make it inside, and fewer still return to the outside world with tales of their exploits.
    Methodica- a city sprawling at the edge of the forest surrounding the enormous mountain known as the Well of Heaven- is the home of the Great Library, the head temple of the religion of Methus. The city was founded around the crash site of an Ancient battleship that once flew among the stars, and the first Methusians founded their first temple to preserve the information held in the ship's failing computer core. Today, the remains of the ship are the skeleton of the Library itself, an enormous structure of metal, crystal, and less identifiable materials embedded in the side of a large hill. The city is home to scholars from around the world, including even a few who have made the journey from Arite; Mage-Priests, Wizards, Elementalists, sages, and scholarly Clerics abound. Methodica has no official college or school of higher learning, but many of the scholars are willing to take on assistants and apprentices, especially since most of them at any given time are engaged in some sort of research. Though Methodica's government still officially pays fealty to the state of Hardyke, a nation whose lands are mostly east of it, the religion of Methus is much older than the nation or city government- and holds more clout with most of the city's inhabitants. As a result, Methodica is more like an independent city-state than the satellite city it supposedly is, and the city government openly claims to be independent, even while quietly sending taxes and tribute to the east. Since the upper crust of Hardyke are given discounts and occasional special favors from the Methusians and their scholarly allies, they generally remain content to let Methodica go its own way. This mirrors the state of affairs between New Eldor and the empire of Skrakin before the tiny region of Eldoria split off from it, and there is some speculation that Hardyke may soon recognize Methodica's independence in much the same way, but so far such speculation remains unrealized.
    The newest "hot spot" for adventuring activity on the continent of Anyrk is a former dwarf kingdom, located in a lone mountain in central Jockul, now known simply as the Mines of Ekliyae. Ekliyae was- and perhaps still is- a locally born archmage of astounding power, who one day went apparently insane, conquered the whole kingdom in a matter of hours, and forced all of its former inhabitants (at least, all who survived or escaped him) out onto the surface world. For the first fifty years after his conquest, Ekliyae held the kingdom against all comers, and nobody who went into the mountain (even for simple exploration or scouting) came out again. Then, legend has it, on Decepra 4th, 4946, Ekliyae suddenly appeared at the main gate to the mountain kingdom and used spells to call several aristocrats and powerful adventurers from the nearby city of Motherlode. After telling them that he would grant great power and treasures to people bold and clever enough to challenge "his" caverns and defeat them, he destroyed the main gate, and vanished back into the mountain. Though the local leaders were understandably skeptical about his intentions, three of the four scouting parties they sent into the kingdom via known alternate routes came back out, with stories of the strange and terrible traps and beasts they had seen in the depths. Word of the wizard's challenge spread quickly in the nearby region, and many adventuring bands of all skill levels came to see what it was all about. Many bands that went into the mountain never came out again, but many others did, and a few lucky ones even came out with enough treasures and wealth to let them live as kings. Over time, word of the mad wizard's challenge has spread gradually to other lands, even across the oceans, and drawn adventuring bands from all over the world to Motherlode in hopes of being the ones to crack the puzzle of the Mines. Since the rumors and tales concern only the Mines themselves, and Ekliyae in particular, the name Ekliyae has gradually become synonymous with the Mines, and with the city of Motherlode as well. Many of the adventurers who arrive in the city looking for a "big score," in fact, aren't even aware the city is not named Ekliyae- and the original name of Motherlode becomes less and less relevant every year.

Arcia

The Crystal Tower

The Diamond City

The Diamond Towers are the greatest visible monument to the might and knowledge of the Ancients on Taera and Arite today. Constructed around "space elevators" designed to ferry cargo and people between the surface of either world out to the orbital Ring Station, and thence to Ancient ships and the stars they sailed to, the Diamond Towers were severed from the actual Ring (which is still in orbit around the planet, and visible in the night sky from every part of Taera except lands very near the poles) during the Annihilation and the battles preceding it. Each of the six Towers is a cylindrical structure two miles in diameter, anchored in the three-hundred-mile-thick crust that separates Taera from Arite, extending all the way through that crust, and containing within itself living quarters, storage, and working areas, making each an effective city in its own right by Ancient standards. Since each Tower is based around levels 100 feet high, though, and every one still has literally thousands of accessible levels today, each one is quite capable of supporting vast populations by modern standards- literally several kingdoms each. Each Tower except the one called "the" Diamond Tower has been unpowered except for individual power cells and reactors since they were severed from the Ring; also, those five Towers have been discolored by various energies, forces, and events over the long centuries since then, such that people who see them are generally unaware that they are in fact made out of colored diamond. All of the Towers are still inhabited by a few diehard descendents of original Tower dwellers who chose not to emigrate to Enclaves or the oceans after the Annihilation made the surface unlivable, and these Tower dwellers often trade with people living outside the Towers. The Tower dwellers have a great supply of Ancient technology and components, even if much of it is broken and/or unpowered, while the people outside have basic supplies such as food, water, and clothing that the Tower dwellers can often no longer provide for themselves.

Nakhu

Nikkon

Wak

Yoor

Zephra is best known today as the home continent of the vast and powerful Rolfish Imperium, certainly the strongest single nation existing on the planet in the modern age. From the capitol city Xarfak, on the southern coast, the Rolfish Imperium has spread its might and influence to cover the entire continent, from the Chuul Keys on the west coast to the lush forest-plains of Borxah east of the Miltrol mountains, and from the tip of the Filgho Peninsula in the south to the highlands of Xevander south of the sheer Hymal range that divides Zephra from Nakhu. Though races other than the Rolves still hold their own territories in the land, nearly all pay fealty to and follow the dictates of the Rolf Emperor, at least officially. In 4996 AA (the default starting campaign date), that emperor is Rraxorr XXIII, a middle-aged political genius whose grip on power has been absolute for more than ten years (though his heirs, which number at least five even if you only count the significant and legitimate ones, have been squabbling for succession for at least three) despite his recent health troubles.
    A few pockets of resistance to Rolfish rule hold out, even on their home continent. The Wood Elves of Borxah, the nation-tribe Ezellohari, were the third expedition of Verdanists to leave the Yoor mainland, and the first such to survive the trip to the correct replanting location. Accordingly, they are one of the largest communities of Wood Elves away from Yoor itself. Ruled by a small family of extremely powerful and arrogant Valheru, the matriarch of which is said to have been born in the Yoor Delve and been part of the original expedition itself, the Ezellohari have successfully withstood multiple attempts by both guile and force to make them submit to Rolfish rule. The last attempt was made by Rraxorr XXIII's father Brakka XVII, when that Emperor led an entire legion of the Imperial forces against the elves. In a protracted campaign lasting ten years, the Imperium made some gains in the forest, but were eventually rebuffed every time- and after Brakka was killed by a small strike force led by one of the Valheru princes, the legion was called home to support the inevitable battle for succession. Rumors and speculation that the reason Rraxorr has not tried to follow his father's footsteps is because he himself convinced the aging Emperor to mount the assault (presumably in the hope that precisely such an unfortunate death would occur), have been ruthlessly suppressed in the Imperium since Rraxorr took power. The Ezellohari, meanwhile, though generally hostile to outsiders, have allowed a few tribes of Lizardfolk, Grippli, Flarn, and Aarakocra to settle in their forest that are often more welcoming. Several resistance groups in the eastern Imperium have havens in the Borxah, and agent-smuggling chains and paths to bring members and sympathizers to them.
    The Gamma Knights of Tira Knorr, the base on the eastern side of the Jhokken range, have never given up their official stance of neutrality to the Imperium and its dwindling supply of neighbors. Combined with the power of the Silicon Dragons of the Krysth-Darastrix outfit at the Ruby Tower, the Gamma Knights have more than enough force to back up their wishes, though their numbers are few. No Rolfish Emperor or Empress has tried an assault against them since Rraxorr II, nearly 700 years ago, though that is at least partly because the Tira Knorr outfit has worked with the Imperium in a mercenary capacity on a few occasions. Though not the official Imperial stance, in practice, the Rolves tolerate the independence of Tira Knorr because they are not unfriendly, are dependable trading partners, are willing to provide education for the restless young of Imperial aristocracy, and are a convenient place to send exiles. The lands of Tira Knorr, therefore, are settled by a diverse cross-section of the population of Zephra, mostly expatriates of the Imperium who for one reason or another have decided (or been forced) to leave old lives behind. The Gamma Knights keep their military code to themselves, and though their generals nominally rule the lands under the base's protection, they are quite tolerant of various beliefs and cultures and do not interfere in peaceful civilian activities. Though the generals of Tira Knorr do not condone "terrorists" against the Imperium, and extradite members of resistance groups that they find in their territory to face Imperial justice, a few resistance groups operate out of the Gamma Knight hills anyway.
    Although the Rolves have great influence in the sections of Zephra north of the Jhokkens, and officially control most of the Xevander highlands, the region is considered a frontier of the Imperium and not particularly civilized. Most of the tribes of Cheetars and Leonals who used to live in Xevander have been wiped out by Rolfish raids and campaigns over the centuries, but at least three Leonal tribes and two Cheetar tribes still hold out today against Imperial rule. There is also a horde of Tribal Orcs living in the region, who savagely oppose any attempts to civilize them or force them to submit to any rule other than their own, and most activity of the three legions the Imperium keeps based in the area is concerned with repelling Orcish raids or mounting counter-offensives. The tribes of Tabaxi offshoots may maintain a proud and belligerent stance against the Imperium, but the Rolfish perspective is that the cat-people are small potatoes- almost not worth bothering with- because the Orcs are such a large and looming threat. The Rolfish legions maintain uneasy treaties with the Desert Elves and Astari of Xevander, and gather what intelligence and resources they can to stave off the mighty Orc hordes. Duty in Xevander is usually given to those members of the Imperial military who have disgraced themselves or somehow displeased their superiors, because it is so dangerous and unforgiving, but the Rolves who have to put up with such duty have developed a fierce pride in what they do for the Imperium. The legions there are less disciplined and absolutist than those deployed closer to properly civilized lands, both because of the fact that many who are sent there are already rather independent thinkers, and because adaptability is more important to survival than discipline under such conditions. Several units of the Rolves in the region, in fact, have "gone native" and learned to become Barbarians themselves.

The Aritian Side

Arite is divided into four significant geographical landmasses; however, only one of them (Nufalgrot) is currently inhabited by mainstream Aritian civilization. Two of the other three are held by xenophobic civilizations that stay outside mainstream Aritian life, while the last landmass (Kharz) is not inhabited by any significant life at all. The oceans of Arite are so heavy with salt and minerals that they are virtually uninhabitable by any life; while a few aquatic races and creatures do live in them, the known kinds invariably stay close to the coasts of the four continents. If any other life exists in Arite's oceans, sentient or otherwise, modern scholars do not know of it. Arite's side of the cavern and cave networks embedded in the planet's crust is inhabited just as thickly as the Taeran side, and the civilizations there match the ones on the Taeran side of the divide fairly closely. A map of Arite showing the four continents and its oceans is shown below. Note that because of the need to distort the true spherical shape of the continents in order to render them in flat form, Drachaven and Nufalgrot appear much larger near Arite's poles on this map than they actually are.

Arite World Map

Ablish

The Darth Tower

Drachaven

Kharz

The Maelstrom

The Nix Vale

Nufalgrot

Rl'yeh

History of the World

Being such an ancient and powerful world, Taera has a long and rich history. The sections below aim to give the reader a general overview of this history, at least as a modern historian would understand it, and thus better understand the world as a whole. Of course, to understand a history, one must first understand the system of dates upon which it is based, so a discussion of the standard Taeran calendar is given first.

The Taeran Calendar

Taera, as a planet, has a 384-day year, and inhabitants of both Taera and Arite divide it into 16 months of 24 days each (though of course, the particular date matters much less in Arite due to its constant, unchanging sunlight). Each month is divided into 3 weeks of 8 days each, so each numerical date of any given month always falls on the same day of the week by name; also, each season lasts for exactly 4 months. The complete calendar, named and numbered according to the reckoning conventions of the Elder Races, is shown below. It should be noted that mutant races sometimes use their own names for the months, and some of them divide the year differently- but since all agree on the length of each season and year, they are easily translated into the standard calendar form. Therefore, within these setting and house-rules documents, the standard calendar is the only one used.

It has been pointed out by numerous sages over the centuries that these numbers are suspiciously regular, compared against the usual time numbers for other worlds in the multiverse; this is particularly strange in light of the fact that the deities of the modern Taeran pantheon are by and large not those who were involved in creating the world. Arguments as to the reason for the regularity of the Taeran calendar have raged for centuries without resolution, but the two leading candidates for the true reason are (1) that the world was created that way by whatever (now unknown) deities did actually make it, or (2) that the Ancient Taerans of the Golden Age somehow changed the original length of the world's year to make it more regular. In both cases, the reason for the regularity of the calendar is a mystery, but both explanations are otherwise believeable.

Days of the Week

  1. Inday (In)
  2. Moonday (Mo)
  3. Sunday (Su)
  4. Keroday (Ke)
  5. Luday (Lu)
  6. Klouday (Kl)
  7. Marday (Ma)
  8. Starday (St)

Summer

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Winter

9 - Nexuch
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10 - Cenobry
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11 - Annilux
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12 - Therino
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Spring

13 - Mobust
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14 - Zoltra
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15 - Amodun
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16 - Bastil
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A Condensed Historical Timeline of the Current Age

The modern historical calendar of Taera is, by convention, based on years After the Annihiliation, though individual leaders of great power and/or arrogance have made their own calendars based on certain other dates they felt were more important. One example is the Rolfish Imperium in Zephra, which bases its calendar on years since the founding of the capitol city of Xarfak (or occasionally- every couple of centuries or so- on the birth year of a particularly egotistical emperor). That city was founded in 3041 AA, according to Rolfish tradition, so the Imperium calendar is now in year 1956. Such rival calendars come and go, but historians worldwide universally agree on the convention of years A.A. for debates and ease of communication between cultures. The timeline below, therefore, uses the standard universal calendar for all of its dates.

0 AA  
 
  • This year is the only one that is incomplete in the modern reckoning; it begins with the final battles of the civil war in the month of Annilux, but ends on New Year's Eve only six months later. In effect, this year is simply a place-holder for a convenient numbering convention of modern scholarship.
  • The Annihilation: By tradition, the final battle of the civil war which ended the Golden Age happened in this year, along with the mysterious and terrifying catastrophe called the Annihilation. Though the precise date of the Annihilation itself has been lost, at least in records available to modern scholars, tradition ascribes to it the date of Annilux 10th. Most modern cultures have some sort of somber ceremony on that day each year, to mark the official anniversary. A few cultures go the opposite route, and instead mark the date with celebrations of life and survival; still others- often those of evil-aligned mutants- celebrate it for being the day the old civilization ended. Regardless of the reasons, however, every civilization on modern Taera marks the date somehow.
  • Damage to the Tower: Though the Annihilation did not hit Arite nearly as hard as Taera, it did have some effects around areas of high energy concentration- especially nodes of power such as the Maelstrom and Rl'yeh. The Darth Tower is not unscathed by the catastrophe, though most of the Darthaala survive it. They repair the Tower as best they can, but disgust at the politics that led to the Civil War (and more importantly, the precipitated damage and near-destruction of the world they are pledged to preserve) convince them to end all relations with non-Darthaala. Though they allow the old research laboratory placed near the Tower to continue its old purpose of studying the Central Sun, they remove all technological equipment from their homes and settlements, and resume the life of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world that they lived before the Golden Age.
  • Month of the Invisible Death: For approximately one month after the Annihilation, survivors of the final battle debate what (if anything) to do about the destruction. Little life survives on the planet itself, and at least 90% of what was left immediately after the battle dies during this time; the people debating action do so far above the planet in those ships and stations which are still in working order. Scholars who are aware of the nature-spirits known as Fey, which so often appear on other worlds and planes of existence but never on Taera, point to this time as the cause. The consensus theory holds that Taera did have Fey before the Annihilation, but the catastrophe shocked the world's natural balance so badly that most of them were killed, and the last surviving Taeran Fey died during the Month of Invisible Death- never to be replaced.
  • Week of Chaos: For reasons unknown today, the communications equipment which the survivors of the Annihilation used to keep in contact with their colleagues, friends, and family outside the Taeran solar system fails. This eventually precipitates a desperate plan of action among the people who remain; the monthlong debate first reaches a crescendo of panic and desperation, then ends as they come to a consensus. The agreed-upon plan is to first create machines to absorb and dissipate the deadly radiation and other energy which is killing the Taeran biosphere, and simultaneously create heavily shielded cities (called Enclaves) within the crust of Taera for survivors and their descendents to live in and wait out the recovery which will occur once the deadly energies have subsided. By the end of the week, the radiation-dissipating machines have been placed, and the first Enclaves are under construction.
1 AA  
 
  • The Pact: Several modern-day faiths hold that during the days of Damory 17th-20th of this year, Damok and Thero travelled through numerous other planes gathering together a council of gods to assist in the recovery of Taeran life. On Damory 20th, the full pantheon of 21 deities is ready to begin planning and action. The 21 in that first pantheon are Damok, Thero, Geb, Gaeya, Luumpho, Bast, Denor, Paradox, Luthor, Methus, Deceptor, Initia, Keron, Marna, Cenob, Nexus, Patrin, Tlazolteotl, Nandra, Mob, and Tinnabula. In the early years, the pantheon simply assists the recovery of the Taeran biosphere, neither demanding nor accepting worship or tribute from those in the Enclaves- but philosophical differences already visible at this time between the assembled deities will eventually split the council apart and cause the formation of the religions as they are known in the modern world.
  • Transformations: Observers living in the Diamond Towers notice that a large portion of sea life has survived the Annihilation and the Invisible Death which followed it, and many decide to undergo permanent mutation into aquatic forms. This is the genesis of the Merfolk, Aquatic Elves, and other sentient aquatic races. While the Enclaves will not be ready for habitation for several years yet, those who choose to emigrate to the seas are ready to begin by the middle of autumn of this year.
  • The Dimming: Though other races will not notice it for some time, the Darthaala are disturbed to notice several more sunspots on Arite's Central Sun than normal during the annual Crusting that occurs around midwinter each year. This is the first sign that the Central Sun is beginning to cool and fail, though the full truth of this is not apparent even to them for many years. Their leadership declares the fault to be in repairs made to the Tower, and concentrates on re-repairing it.
2 AA  
 
  • The Amethyst Experiment: In the Diamond Tower which will later become known as the Amethyst Tower, one human scientist concocts a plan using dimensional phase-change devices to allow him and his close friends and family to simply "phase out" of existence during the recovery of Taera's biosphere, essentially skipping over the long centuries of waiting that will be necessary. On Methil 10th, he activates his machines, but something goes disastrously wrong. While the affected people are indeed phased out of the space dimensions of the universe, they are somehow still in phase with the time dimension, and have now effectively become ghosts. The energy of the experiment affects not only the people, but also the entire Tower in which it occurred, turning everything various shades of purple. Thus, the Amethyst Tower acquires its name, and the Astari are eventually created.
  • Transformations: The Council of Elder Dragons decides to continue living outside the Enclaves, despite the dangerous radiation that still saturates much of the world, believing that they will lose too much of their racial might and cultural distinctiveness if forced to live closely with the "lesser people" of Taera. However, this year is the first that clutches of eggs are born to new draconic parents since the Annihilation, and many such eggs prove to be nonviable due to horrific mutations. Using their mighty magic and psionic powers, mystically-inclined dragons discover means of staving off such transformations before the eggs are hatched, but the solution creates problems of its own. The hatchlings born from protected eggs are stunted and small, live only a few centuries at most, and never grow larger than a small human. These creatures are not considered "true" dragons by their parents and relatives, but are pitied and taken in by the Good and Neutral clans as weaker cousins nevertheless. From these stunted creatures, a new race of "humanoid mutant dragons" is born, the one which will eventually be called the Dracon.
5 AA  
 
  • Dragon Betrayal: One pair of Elder Dragons, dismayed by the horrid mutations taking place among the new eggs and the steps necessary to make the hatchlings viable, declare Taera and Arite unfit for habitation. Still unwilling to accept cohabitation with the nondraconic races, on Nexuch 3rd they along with a few like-minded lesser dragons mount a raid on ship-construction facilities in the Ring Station and steal heavy-duty fabrication machines. The surprised people living near and working in the complex are unable to mount an effective defense, and unable afterwards to track down the stolen devices or the thieves- for, after taking what they came for, the draconic raiders vanish into space. This incident, and the foot-dragging of the remaining Elder Dragons in the matter of finding their rogue brethren, precipitates a permanent split between the dragon society and the nondragon one, ending more than 100 millennia of cooperation and mutual defense and aid.
15 AA  
 
  • The Lost Clans: The rogue pair of Elder Dragons who raided the Ring Station ten years ago return as suddenly as they vanished, on Gaeyani 24th, secretly appearing before the remaining Council of Elders. There they explain that they have been using the stolen machinery to construct a hidden habitat inside Gyra, Taera's moon, and that the habitat is now ready for colonization. The Council of Elders censures them, but several sympathetic audience members talk with the pair after the meeting, while the Elders are debating what to do with the new information. In a single night, several hundred dragons- roughly one-third the remaining draconic population- opt for exodus with the rogue pair of Elders, and disappear to their new home. With no evidence to show the nondragons, and no knowledge of the precise location of the mystery colony, the Elder Dragons are left in a quandary about how and whether to heal the split with the rest of Taera and Arite. Eventually, their caution gets the better of them; with so many of their kind gone without a trace, the dragons fear that angry nondragons may be able to overwhelm and destroy them utterly if they reveal their vulnerability. Therefore, they keep the secret to themselves, and declare the vanished dragons dead to the entire civiliation. The vanished dragons are eventually dubbed the "Lost Clans" in the few histories in which mention of them appears, and no further contact with them is known in historical records.
25 AA  
 
  • The Flicker: The Darthaala receive final and inarguable proof that they cannot remain isolated from the world- their repairs to the Tower are not enough. During the annual Crusting of Arite's Central Sun, the sun is covered by so much solid rock that light actually fails to reach most of the world- Arite becomes for approximately one half-hour as dark as a typical night on Taera, for the first time on record. The Darthaala have been monitoring the increase in crusting for the past 24 years while trying to make repairs, but this event triggers the ultimate step of desperation from them- it forces the leadership to reverse the policy of isolation, and send envoys to the other inhabitants of Arite to plead for help in keeping the sun alight. Within four months, the envoys have all returned home, having delivered their messages; without the benefit of technological communications to relay messages, it takes the other Aritians two more to respond. In the end, the families who will someday become the Firewalkers and the Rock Dwarves answer the summons to the Darth Tower. Using some still-working machines and tools from the laboratory, they pump enormous heat into the Central Sun, but observations later prove that the infusion has provided only a temporary reprieve at best.
36 AA  
 
  • The Second Flicker: Further observations during the decade since the Flicker prove that the central sun continues to cool and dim, and during this year's Crusting there is a second Flicker. This time there are no machines to save the sun, but those who used them the first time have not been idle. Having debated and discussed the problem with others outside of Arite, both on Taera and in other planes of existence, they have several plans to try. After the Second Flicker, arguments stall the implementation of any plans for months.
  • Chlimbia: On Zoltra 8th, 36 AA, the human sorceress Limbia completes the last enchantment she can safely make on her planned artifact, intended to save the Central Sun and Arite. Unable to do more without risk to her own life, she nevertheless plunges ahead, calling out to Keron- god of Fire and Craft- for help. Keron hears her call too late to save her, as she dies during the casting of the most powerful enchantment yet; however, he still arrives on the scene and sees what she has been trying to do. Pouring his own fiery energy into place, he completes the enchantments she planned, and her artifact- the new Heart of the Sun- blazes to life for the first time. Since much of Limbia's soul had already gone into powering the Heart, that portion of her being merges with Keron's for the brief time he is personally infusing it with energy, and a new entity is born along with the artifact- the goddess Chlimbia. The magical shockwave created by the simultaneous explosive flare-up of the Heart and the birth of the new deity instantly and irrevocably transforms the humans and dwarves present into new magical forms, creating the Firewalkers and the Rock Dwarves. With the further help of Keron, Chlimbia raises the Heart of the Sun into the Central Sun itself, and begins the process of healing it once and for all. No more Flickerings (or even Crustings) occur during the centuries to come.
202 AA  
 
  • Ice Age Begins: This is the first year in which the snows of the previous winter have not melted during the spring, in normally temperate lands such as Anyrk and Nakhu, and do not fully melt during the summer. Though the planetary climate has been cooling for decades, Ancient scientists mark this year as the first in the "Ice Age," and scholars today still use it. Though the expanding ice never completely covers the planet, during the deepest cold times of the Ice Age it will cover all the landmass of Anyrk, Anarcia, and Nakhu, as well as half of Arcia. Because of the bizarre magic saturating Wak, that continent remains free of ice even during the deepest winters of the Ice Age, but with no sentient inhabitants that matters hardly at all.
542 AA  
 
  • The Last Falarian: The Falarians, ancient alien allies of the Taerans, were granted living space (as well as a seperate Enclave of their own) on Taera to wait out the recovery with the indigenous peoples themselves. However, for reasons unknown today, they proved unable to effectively live in the Enclave given to them, and left no known legacy to modern Taerans. The last Falarian survivor of the Annihilation died on Luumphora 8th of this year, leaving their Enclave to servitor species they had crafted through bioengineering science.
~1000 AA  
 
  • Nard Goes Dark: The exact date has been lost to modern records, but sometime around 1000 AA the Nard Delve- a small Enclave under central Anyrk- loses power and life support. The inhabitants of Nard are forced to return to the surface far ahead of schedule, and eke out what meager existence they can in the lands aboveground. The descendents of these first refugees later become the Ice Elves, Frostlings, Thanoi, and Xvarts.
1206 AA  
 
  • Ice Empire: After the exodus from Nard, the Friizan elves have again and again bartered their expertise in magic and mutation to the other survivors of the dead Enclave in exchange for various favors and supplication. On Nexuch 12th, the patriarch of the Ice Elves (after a powerful foretelling divination convinces him it will work) makes their stance official, and declares a new Regime of Friizan under his own rule. The empire of the Ice Elves is born, and the patriarch- the first Emperor- takes the royal name of Xixecal I to lead the new nation.
1809 AA  
 
  • Friizan Dynasty: Xixecal I dies mysteriously, and is succeeded by his eldest daughter (who takes the royal name Xayide I). Though it is never proven, people of the time (and later historians) speculate that Xayide assassinated her father somehow, likely through poison or dark magic.
1829 AA  
 
  • Skulks: Skulks being a sneaky and untrustworthy lot, hard evidence of their origins has been virtually impossible to come by, and even trustworthy mention of them in the historical record is scant at best before the modern era. Even so, scholars today attribute the first concrete historical record of Skulks to the Xothic Fragments, a record from one of the smaller outlying Ice Elf settlements of this period. The Fragments contain an entry dated Zoltra 16th, 1829, in which the author reports the "pursuit of a band of [human] cutthroats and thieves... who vanished into the tundra mysteriously... [they] exhibited the ability to blend in with background terrain in an unprecedented manner." The fragment recommends further studies of this power, as it would be of obvious benefit to a military force, but the assumed further records detailing whether any such research was carried out- let alone the outcome of such research- have been lost. Though the band discussed in the entry could be a band of Frostlings or non-mutant humans using magic or psionics to hide as Skulks do, the obvious resemblance of the recorded band to Skulks as they are known today (in addition to divinations and clairsentient manifestations investigating the veracity of the passage) leads scholars to attest this as the first mention of the Dark Humans in the historical record.
1893 AA  
 
  • Friizan Dynasty: Empress Xayide is assassinated at a royal ball on Bastil 21st, and succeeded by her brother Ghron. The new Emperor Ghron I immediately has Xayide's consorts and children executed as punishment for their mother's rumored crime in assassinating Xixecal I, and spends the next decade rounding up his remaining siblings and relatives on various trumped-up charges to prevent another coup. Ghron then settles in to rule his empire with a "cold iron fist" (as described by more than one historian of the time).
2003 AA  
 
  • Ice Age Ends: Scholars disagree on the exact criteria for the end of the Ice Age, but this year is the first one in centuries in which most of the snows of Anyrk and Nakhu melt during the summer months rather than staying on the ground as permafrost. The majority of modern scholars therefore point to this year as the "end" of the Ice Age, though winters will remain extremely cold and harsh for many centuries still to come.
2156 AA  
 
  • Friizan Dynasty: Emperor Ghron proves to have not been as thorough with his family purging as he intended to be, when one of his siblings- the wily Drusilda- appears out of a time-travelling spell on Amodun 6th. She uses her powerful Location magic to first bypass his guards and protections, and then to send him into some unrecorded (but undoubtedly lethal) plane. Drusilda assumes the throne after Ghron, and proves to be a capable ruler during the centuries to come. The Friizan Regime achieves a measure of stability under her rule that has been unknown since the days of Xixecal.
2407 AA  
 
  • Birth of the Gren: During the autumn of this year, the Yoor Delve loses contact with the last of the Enclaves it was still communicating with, and the inhabitants realize the full force of how alone this leaves them. When, during the same season, their maintenance teams realize that the reactor is slowly losing integrity and must eventually be permanently shut down, preparations are begun for a full exodus of the Enclave inhabitants to the surface world. Four families of humans prove to be more vulnerable to the still-lingering mutagenic radiation above than their fellows, but in this the researchers of Yoor see an opportunity. The scientists turn the vulnerability into a strength by providing the humans with a mutation to enhance their chances of survival on the surface world, so they can help prepare the way for those still living below. These people are granted the ability to photosynthesize sugars and proteins as plants do, and thus the race of Gren is born.
  • The Week of Flowers: Beginning on Zoltra 21st of this year, the Verdanists- a group of elvish botanists and biologists charged with the last remaining seeds and soil of the ancestral elf forests of pre-Golden Age times- send out the first envoys and teams to replant seeds in their proper places, to begin regrowing the forests destroyed by the Annihilation and subsequent centuries. For the next several years, the Verdanists prepare and send out many such teams to places across the planet, always on Zoltra 21st or one of the 8 days after it. This traditional week is accordingly dubbed the Week of Flowers among the Wood Elves today, the descendents of those members of the teams who survived their trips.
2458 AA  
 
  • Friizan Dynasty: Drusilda dies peacefully of old age, and is succeeded by her favorite son- the second son of the family. The new Emperor takes the royal name Xixecal II, to commemorate his grandfather and remind his subjects of their unity under his rule.
2752 AA  
 
  • The Savior of Friizan: In an experiment designed both to bolster the inbred royal bloodline and give the Ice Elves an example to follow in bringing in new heredity without polluting the racial gene pool, Xixecal II has his wife impregnated with the seed of the Ice god Thrym.
2754 AA  
 
  • The Savior of Friizan: On Zoltra 18th, the child of Thrym and Empress Ximinerin is born, and declared the Savior of Friizan by the royal magi and a delighted Emperor, though the Empress dies in birthing him. The child is named Xixecal III, and is immediately declared the Emperor's heir, though he has two elder half-siblings (a brother and a sister) born to Xixecal II and Ximinerin who might dispute the claim.
2942 AA  
 
  • Friizan Dynasty: Xixecal II falls in battle against frost giants, and the young Xixecal III assumes the throne. The newest Xixecal proves to have his eyes set squarely on the future of his people, as he starts several long-term projects designed to discover a method of permanently staving off the racial decay of the Ice Elves. He also proves to have no filial loyalty, as he personally kills his half-brother mere days after assuming the throne- for no reason understood by modern historians (his half-brother was, by all accounts, unshakably loyal to Xixecal II and a staunch believer in the Savior experiment, and would not have attempted a coup under any circumstances). Xixecal's half-sister, Wuxeldi, immediately vanishes into self-imposed exile to avoid a similar fate.
  • The Lifegate Project: One of the projects begun by Xixecal III at the beginning of his reign is to chart and explore the Multiverse in a more thorough manner than has been attempted by any civilization since the Golden Age itself (and possibly not even by the people of that era). The purpose of the exploration is to find planes that can provide the Ice Elves with a permanent, unassailable haven from which to rule their empire (and eventually, the entire world). Among several secondary objectives is one of exploration of time-flow through the planes, so as to prevent the inhabitants from ever dying of old age. This minor objective proves to be the eventual downfall of the project, and the entire race of Ice Elves along with it.
2964 AA  
 
  • The Vast Gate: The Lifegate Project bears its greatest fruit on Nexuch 12th, 2964 AA. An enormous gate powered by channelling the surging magical energy tides that occur annually on the Night of Three, the Vast Gate proves able to bend and warp the fabric of the Multiverse in ways no gate before it has ever managed. Though it can only remain open for a single week each year, the Ice Elves managing the project use the Vast Gate to spectacular effect during that time, exploring the farthest reaches of the Multiverse much faster and more efficiently than was heretofore imagined possible.
2967 AA  
 
  • The Day of Madness: On Nexuch 14th, the operators of the Vast Gate find a new plane- one so far beyond the ordinary Multiverse that time literally has no meaning there. When they focus the Gate on that plane, however, they (re)discover a horror and madness that has not touched reality in nearly 100 millennia- the Far Realm, among an infinity of other horrors the prison of the Mind Flayers and allied Aboleth. Penetrating the "Outside" proves to be the worst mistake the Ice Elves have ever made, as the Dark Illithids and their allies surge forth through the portal to take new lands, slaves, and cattle in a world that has forgotten them. The Ice Elves at the Lifegate complex manage to close it off and trap the Mind Flayers and Aboleth within, but this step proves to be a temporary solution at best. With this event, the War of the Return begins.
4996 AA Assumed Campaign Start Date.


Subsections

Races:

    Background and Roleplaying
    Game Rule Data
    Dragon Races
        Dragon Advanced Races

Classes:

    Revisions to PC Core Classes
    Dragon Characters
    NPC Classes
    Prestige Classes
        Magical Prestige Classes
        Psionic Prestige Classes
        Holy Exemplar Prestige Classes: Good | Neutral | Evil
        Epic Prestige Classes

Skills and Languages

Feats

Items and Equipment

    Ancient Technology

Gods and Religion

Cosmology

Spells and Powers

    Descriptions of New Spells and Powers

Ultraspells and Ultrapowers

    Ultramagic and Ultrapsionics Descriptions

New Monsters

    Mutant Animals
    New Templates

Miscellaneous Rules

    Wild Surge List