Intro

“Wake up scum. Remember that here, you’re all equally worthless.” These are the words echoed by the brawny jailor, tasked with watching you in the lower decks of a ship. The Brown Mare, commandeered by Captain Sellick and his crew, is on its way to the independent penal colonies in the Paramba Archipelagos. There you are to stand trial for the crimes you may have committed, with the likelihood of being executed, if not exiled.

Who knows where you hail from, or what really brought you here? Were you falsely incriminated or did you actually commit a heinous crime? Will you escape this predicament that you have found yourself in? Not many who have gone to the penal colonies have lived to tell their tales, but perhaps a speck of good fortune will come your way.

Where will your journeys lead? Back to Myr where the ship departed from, or to new lands altogether? From humble beginnings and origins often comes greatness; fame, power, and fortune could be yours for the taking, or perhaps instead, an early trip to the grave.

The State of Talera

As of the year 889 FI (5th Era), the world of Talera spans several continents:

The continent of Coromor is a melting pot of multiple cultures that is going through a tumultuous period. There are four major states, each governed by a different political body; the vast Lorsa territory is currently divided and warring amongst themselves with the threat of war arising from the neighboring country, Gundseria, which is kept under tight surveillance by a bordering tiny nation called Zendar. Bistalein, the fourth and final state, idly bides their time maintaining neutrality in the storm that is slowly brewing.

The continent of Myr consists of two subcontinents, North and South Myr. These are connected through a narrow piece of land found in the country of Iko, a mystical land known for its beautiful monasteries.

North Myr currently boasts being the most stable region as of this period in time; it consists of several states, one of them being Arcadium: a landlocked, densely populated, and prosperous country surrounded by five other states, currently under the rule of a popular king.

South Myr is going through a period of instability, mostly at Mytval, which is primarily an elven state; factions with different ideologies and dispute on how best to govern themselves, and others. Plenty of other states make the remainder of this continent, such as Saubania mostly spanning a sea of sand — a large sultanate empire bordering Iko and the rest of the countries towards the south. Or Srok a country that has been openly receptive to half-orcs, a product of a global episode that occured, interplanar raids that conducted by orcs that do not belong to this realm or plane.

There is another major continent, Lokana, and it is perhaps the most uninhabited region out of all the continents, due to how dangerous and unpredictable the fauna is in these parts - a consequence of the huge pockets and concentrations of magic that appear to be present. Expeditions have been undertaken throughout history, but any attempts to chart the lands accurately have always failed as the continent seems to be in constant state of flux.

Races of Talera

The playable races for this specific campaign are:

• Human (No Variant)
• Dwarf
• Halfling
• Half-Orc
• Tiefling
• Half-Elf
• Elf
• Gnome
• Ligerfolk (Tabaxi or Leonin)
• Mausdillo (Homebrewed race based on Ratfolk)
  
  

Subraces Available

• Arctic Dwarves or Froskar (Based on Hill Dwarves)
• Mountain Dwarves
• Cave Dwarves (Based on Duegars)

Halflings

Halflings in Talera are an offshoot of the same race that the humans may have possibly come from but it is unclear, a fact is that they have existed since the onset of the 4th Era. They were given this name due to the extreme distinction that was observed, they are quite literally half the size of a regular sized human.

Halflings have plenty of overlap with humans culturally speaking, however, many of them have the tendency to not stay in one place for too long, as a result many end up becoming nomads and roaming the lands as adventurers or peddlers. The halflings that do end up settling down anywhere specific, commonly set up inns and taverns while using their trade secrets fueled mostly with a touch of their inherent magic to control the chaos that commonly follows these places. There is also quite of a bit superstition that these people may have the god of luck in their side at all times given the many circumstances that happen to occur around them.

Half-Orcs

Half-orcs began to appear in droves towards the end of 4th Era, after orcish invasions of massive scales took place at that very time period which were eventually staved off by the denizens of Talera. Stuck between a rock and a hard place they are, if not, the most prejudiced race out of all the others; many choose to live a life of isolation while attempting to slowly assimilate themselves with their Taleran heritage. Others attempt to seek out their orcish ancestors those of which do not reside on this realm, a difficult task as they are not as welcoming as they would think. As of the 5th Era, people have slowly become more welcoming of them whereupon even a nation in South Myr called Srok openly welcomes them.

Orcs belong to another plane of existence and Talerans only generally come into contact with them through unpredictable attempts at interplanar invasions conducted using certain magical devices and structures. Half-orcs are therefore a constant reminder of the pain they have inflicted on Talerans through raids and assaults that they randomly conduct across the realm.

Tieflings

Tieflings in the world of Talera have not been here for long, just as half-orcs haven't; they apperance coincided with a time when daemons, demons and devils poured out from another plane those of which were suspected to be from the same realm that the invading orcs belonged to. Tieflings appeared to look like humans and elves in shape or form despite having their obvious demonic features.

At first they suffered a lot of prejudice at hands of plenty of Talerans just as half orcs did, but, having more slender, delicate and familiar features proved to be advantageous and lead to a swifter acceptance and assimilation of their kind into many societies across Talera. During the 5th Era it is still important for tieflings across the world to practice prudence as it is still impossible to know how well they would be received at any given location.

Half-Elves

The resulting product of when elves and humans began to put aside their differences by the end of the 3rd Era, half-elves were initially an affront to elvish sovereignty and what they stood for. Wood elves primarily, began to intermingle with humans as they slowly departed from old and outdated ideals preferring to roam the lands beyond their own while also merging into societies dominated by humans primarily. Many other elves, primarily high-elves, adamantly refuse to admit their existence, although over the centuries this has changed and they are not as strict. There are still pockets deep in Elvish territory which even bar entry to half-elves; if they were lucky some would be admitted and then some would be able to learn of their heritage, although most of them are left out to dry and instead have to contend with what they do and don't have.

To many humans, half-elves are often seen as being quite exotic and mystical enough that they are sometimes revered among those societies.

Elves

The first elves, the Solarii or High Elves, were born when the Eldarii entered the physical realm of Talera in the final moments of the 1st Era - the first unions gave birth to a more weaker version of the Eldarii, later on these were known to be elves. As the Solarii explored the world during the 2nd Era, new variants rose in accordance to the immediate environment they found themselves those of which were still fueled with powerful lingering magicks. Elves in its entirety have the longest history relative to all other creatures on this realm and they very often than not proudly call themselves the First People.

Subraces Available

• High Elf
• Wood Elf
• Sea Elf
• Nomad Elf (Look like Dark Elves but are Eladrin-based mechanically speaking)

Gnomes

Gnomes became a distinct species of their own following the events of the 3rd Era, they were also previously known as Durfs. They bear huge similarities to cave dwelling dwarves, which some have speculated that they may be their distant cousins. These Durfs were driven by curiosity while deciding to travel further across the large naturally formed underground labyrinths found underneath the main continents of Talera, playing a part in slowly transforming the Durfs into gnomes as a direct consequence of the magicks that perhaps lingered in these places. Gnomes are seldom seen on the surface and if any are spotted, they are usually derelicts that have been ostracized from their civilizations found both in the underdark regions of North Myr and Coromor which have been dubbed as The Roads Below.

Ligerfolk

Ligerfolk appeared during the 3rd Age, they seemingly bore no connection to the fey or humans and yet they were a sentient, capable and intelligent species just as the former were. Ligerfolk were humanoids that bore many feline features, ranging from looking like a cat, a lion, a leopard or even a panther. They were quite hostile before the events of the 4th Era and not many would interact with them as they would mostly keep to themselves. They are originally from the continent of Coromor and some claim that they predate even the 3rd Era, but the veracity of these reports are questionable.

They are very proud of their culture and are adamant and stubborn when it comes to changing and adapting to new trends, this had lead to their society looking very distinct relative to other societies which very often leads to conflict from an ignorant outsider or even a curious scholar that wishes to study more about them in the 5th Age.

They are most commonly found in the country ruled by Ligerfolk called Lorsa, many other creatures who are not Ligerfolk do not have the same rights here, and are commonly relegated as second-class citizens with humans being the lowest in the caste system.

Mausdillo

Curiosity, ingenuity and survival, these three concepts drove the Mausdillos to where they are today during the 5th Era. Seemingly ever-present in the nooks and crannies of civilization. Mausdillos are affable even though their large rodent-like appearance may be offputting to some.

A Mausdillo adventurer rarely travels alone. Their companions often become like family to them, and they are surprisingly adaptable and amenable to the needs of their party. Mausdillos make excellent companions, being very social creatures, despite a generally negative view of them from other races.

Most of them hail from North Myr but they are often found throughout all of Talera.

Important Details for New Players

As you will be coming into an ongoing campaign, the new characters that are to come in will also find themselves shipwrecked on an island that the current players happen to be in; they also shipwrecked here a couple of days ago (ingame time) and are actively trying to find a way off the island. For the sake of simplicity, the new player-characters will have belonged from the same ship and it would be ideal if you work closely with me to create a reasonable backstory such as: where you were coming from and why you happened to be in that specific ship.

Rulings & Info

• D&D 5e, expansions such as XGE, TCE are allowed.
  
  
• Homebrew and UA classes are allowed but they must be extremely scrutinized and balanced by me before seeing any play. Feel free to send me the class so that I may inspect it first. I also have some homebrewed classes and subclasses that are readily available upon request which fit with my setting.
  
  
• The point-buy system will be used to roll for stats.
  
  
• The campaign started at level 1 but the players are currently level 3, and so you will start at level 3. Milestone leveling will be used for the campaign.
  
  
• There are house rules for my campaign that players should familiarize themselves with, these will enhance your gameplay and experience during the campaign. It's better to take a look at the house rules before applying as the table may not be for you: Lords of Coromor House Rules
  
  
• My setting uses a homebrewed calendar system, you can take a look here: Taleran Calendar System
  
  
• My campaign is heavily homebrewed but uses DnD 5e as a base system, however you will encounter many creatures and spells that you are not familiar with as the magic system in my setting is slightly different.
  
  
• As you will be shipwrecked, the new players will need to discuss with me what items they will and won't have relative to RAW.