Campaigning in Aquania

Aquania 

A Note from the Author:

It is my intention to present here a game world that is robust enough for players (especially new players to our hobby) to use as a base for their own adventures. I will seldom dwell on detail or minutia but rather give basic information only in order to give broad guidelines and background for other DM’s to use as they like. I mean to give the DM a lot of “elbow room” for their own creative minds to use for designing their own campaigns as well as giving them a large and diverse world social order to allow their players to create backgrounds for commoner and king alike. (I will occasionally show detailed information from my own campaigns that have been based on this world setting as examples or to clarify a point.) The reader is free to use or discard any or all said information, or to change it as they will to fit into their own adventure storyline or for their characters use if desired.

That being said…….

Please do note that all of the information on this site page is copyrighted by me or by other entities such as Wizards of the Coast or Poser and may not be sold or exchanged for profit or used commercially to promote any person or project without written permission.

Tom MacIntyre

3 – 16 – 15

THE AQUANIA CAMPAIGN WORLD

The New Provinces of the Pearl Empire

Introduction

The planet Aquania is part of a binary star system that consists of a red giant and a white dwarf. It circles the dwarf in the small habitable zone at .785 AU. This allows it to escape the strong gravitational fields of the competing gravitational forces that would otherwise tear the planet apart resulting in a relatively stable orbit. It is the only planet in the system where life has developed. The only other objects that orbit the suns are a few rogue gas giants, moon-sized planetoids, comets, asteroids and dust. Three of these numerous bodies have been captured by Aquania’s gravitational field and orbit it as small moons. Because of the different composition and atmospheric influences, the moons appear colored from the surface. One is pale white, much like our own moon. Another appears blue-white, and the last one seems to be blood-red.

A nearly equal amount of surface area is covered by land and by sea but the gravitational forces from the nearer cosmic bodies on the relatively young world cause robust volcanic activity due to dynamic movement of the planet’s continental plates. (There is only one large continent that stretches across the globe.) Earthquakes and tsunamis are common as is violent volcanic terraforming. The effects of erosion are relatively short-lived, as the plate tectonics constantly reshape the world. Underground lava flows have created many cave systems, some of which are quite extensive. Large lakes and long, deep rivers are common, but about 10% of the fresh water on the planet is trapped below the surface in ground water aquifers and underground rivers.

The climate is tropical and sub-tropical, with small temperate and subarctic zones around the magnetic poles. It rains often and rainstorms tend to be extremely violent with lightning strikes common. The wind is constant and capricious with occasional tornadoes and hurricanes The land area consists mostly of large lakes, forest, savannas, and young, small, mountain ranges.

The People

The Races

Most of the major D&D races may be found on Aquania. Historically, there is little interaction between them, although there is a lot of commercial trade, and occasional temporary military alliances against a common foe. Most races take a cautious live and let live attitude in its diplomatic affairs.

Percent of World Population by Race

Human = 40%     Elves & Half Elves = 20%     Halfling = 15%

Dwarf = 10%     All Other Races = 15%

Eastern Hemisphere

The Five Kingdoms

The Kingdoms are a feudal society where all power is in the hands of the High King, there is a strict caste system with little movement between the classes. If someone was born a peasant, he will usually die one, no matter how cleaver or bright he is.

The lesser kings are close kin or former military conquerors and are responsible for enforcing royal law and collecting the taxes, tithes, and rents for the High King. The lesser kings are also obligated  to maintain an armed force that he leads under his King during times of war. He may rule his own kingdom as he sees fit as long as the money flows and the troops are ready when needed. All positions of power are filled by appointment of the High King.

The current High King, Ramon I, came to power after the assassination of his half-brother Wilam. The crown should have passed to Wilam’s young daughter Lalana who would have reigned under the watchful eye of a regent until her marriage. (A woman was allowed to rule only after an acceptable marriage.) After numerous assassination attempts, Lalana was forced into exile less than a week after her father’s death and has recruited an army of vengeance in the undeveloped wilderness north of the kingdoms. Ramon has proved to be a cruel despot whose only interest is the military expansion of the Kingdoms into a true empire.

The Sea Kings

Despite their grand title, the kings of the sea are nothing but a loose confederation of pirates, thieves, and other like-minded predators. They are the descendents of the families  who had been defeated in the Feud Wars and their dependents. (That war was fought between the fall of the Old Empire and the rise of the Kingdoms) They have intermixed with the native barbarian tribes and are led by three brothers who claim to be direct descendants of the last Old Emperor. That claim may or may not be true.

Should you need anything that’s illegal, amoral, or unhealthy, it’s available. For a price, the brothers can also supply a safe place for pirate ship captains to re-supply and repair their ships. The Sea Kings will sometimes buy and supply a coastal raider or two under the table to make a little gold on the side, but at this point in their life, they seldom take the risk.

The brothers also take a cut from every bar, pub, inn, whorehouse, etc. doing business there. (The ones they don’t own.) Anyone who manages to displease the trio ends up as shark bait. The brothers defend their cash cow with a formidable naval force. Slave auctions are another lucrative business. Ship captains sell prisoners from captured prizes to slavers who resell them to the wealthy citizens across the sea in the Five Kingdoms.

The Northmen

Like the Sea Kings, the Northmen are a conglomeration of Feud War refugees and indigenous barbarian tribes. In this society however, there was no violent clash between the two. Instead, there was a blending of the two cultures that in the end benefited both. There are many ties between the Northland and the Kingdoms. The northern country thrives on its sale of timber, seafood, and farm products to the Kingdoms. In return, the Kingdoms trade spirits, weapons, tools and other manufactured goods of wood and metal. The ruling class has also adopted the ancient nature cult of the one-time barbarians as their state religion, and it is traditional for the High King and his royal heir to take their wives from among the priestesses of that sect.

Lately, this friendly relationship between the two powers has become strained due to an ancient unresolved border dispute over the undeveloped wilderness between them. The issue has become complicated by the presence of Lalana’s guerrilla army.

Southern Barbarian Tribes

The warlike tribes south of the Kingdoms are little changed from the massive hordes that destroyed the Old Empire. They are still roving hunters and warriors, with few permanent settlements of their own. They remain a wild, ferocious people who are divided into independent tribes loyal only to a local chieftain.

Over the years these tribes have ravaged much of the south. At one time, all the barbarian tribes were united under a single king, Rua-Roas. When Rua died, the leadership of the hordes fell to his brother’s son, Bleda-Roas. However, Bleda proved to be a weak and indecisive ruler unable to command the respect of the Chieftains and the alliance did not last long after Rua-Roas’ funeral feast. Within a few years, the hordes returned to their old tribal lands and independent clans. Although they never again rose to the heights they had under Rua the Great, they remain a power in the south. Recently, a prophecy has been spreading among the clans describing how a Shaman of great power will rise to become a Great Chief that will take up the Sword of Roas and once again lead the hordes in war on the northern lands.

 The Amazons

Rogue Encounter

 

Not much is known about the warrior women of Yuriland. Legend tells us Yuriland, or Amazonia as outsiders call it, consists of  a rugged archipelago of northern islands hidden from the world beyond the Widow’s Gate. (The Widows Gate is a small, dangerous passage into the North Sea.) The outside world encounters them only as stray adventurers or mercenary cavalry bands. They are known to be accomplished mages and wizards as well as skilled riders. Their warriors favor short bows, spears, bastard swords and battle axes. It is rumored they are governed by a powerful priestess of Ehlonna.