Trid is a world-spanning sandbox supporting a mix of cultures and technology thematically consistent with Earth's early Middle Ages, but distinctly different through the infusion of magic, real gods, and massive caches of ancient treasure hidden in dungeons and guarded by monsters.
The Visitors' Guide is written from the perspective of Continental inhabitants, whose populations—given its vast area—are highly varied. Everything here is considered common knowledge (though that doesn't mean it's entirely accurate).
Cosmology
Trid circles the star Ammonkis, joined by three planetary siblings.
Ammonkis: Trid's sun is larger and hotter than Sol, giving off bright yellow-white light and exerting significant gravitational pull on its four far-flung satellites.
The planets: Trid occupies Ammonkis' second orbit. Three other planets are in the Ammonkis Sphere:
- Aerchus: Occupying Ammonkis' closest orbit, Aerchus is a small and swift red planet traditionally associated with Chaos.
- Vincula: A pale blue orb whose size and orbit closely matches Trid's, Vincula occupies Ammonkis' third orbit and is associated with Neutrality.
- Hieron: Farthest from Ammonkis is Hieron, a massive planet that appears as a brilliant white star in the sky, associated with Law.
Trid’s moons: Two satellites orbit Trid: Lyolm, a verdant moon whose phases follow a 30-day cycle; and
Opho, a radiant, hurtling asteroid whose erratic orbit disrupts Trid’s magical field.
The firmament: Within the sea of stars that surround Ammonkis’ family, nine constellations represent Trid's Gods, collectively known as
The Circle. Deeply rooted in Trid’s Dim Ages, the influence of these constellations, and the gods they represent, is still felt today.
Geography
Trid hosts two major landmasses and a handful of large islands and archipelagos:
The Continent: Spanning nearly pole-to-pole, the Continent is a Pangean expanse comprising two-thirds of the habitable land on Trid and homeland to elves, dwarfs, and men. The Continent is criss-crossed with Elven Roads, which formed the boundaries of the
Ardic Republic during the Age of Fable.
Eremus: A large island south-west of the Continent,
Eremus is the homeland of the diminutive halflings. The elves initiated trade in during the Age of Fable, mapping the island and laying roads to facilitate commerce.
The Far Isles: A trio of islands beyond the
Shoreless Ocean west of the Continent,
The Far Isles are unknown to Continentals, save for cryptic references within the
Jade Chronicle and some vague scraps gathered through divination.
The Serpent Archipelago: The
Serpent Sea east of the Continent contains a vast sprawl of large islands and small island chains. The ancient homeland of the now-extinct saurians, the Archipelago is dominated today by
Inselmen city-states.
Humans Dominate
The nine human ethnicities are concentrated in ancestral territories, generally defined by the Continent’s
Elven Roads. Yet the Continent is surprisingly cosmopolitan, owing to dozens of human migrations throughout the Age of History, typcially prompted by encroaching wilderness and conflicts over fluid borders. Non-human races are scattered—halflings on Eremus, dwarfs beneath the Continent, elves anywhere
but the Continent—and they carefully limit their interactions with man to avoid costly entanglements with human power-grabs.
Dwarfs: To avoid saurian invaders,
dwarfs of the Dim Ages fled into the
Deepreach. They remained there well into the Age of Fable, when small bands emerged to trade with the Ardic Republic, only to disappear back underground during the chaos of the Fall. Explorers have discovered dozens of dwarven
glitterpits, though all were abandoned (and universally assumed to lead to larger dwarf enclaves deeper below).
Elves: The oldest surviving empire-builders on Trid,
elves reached the apex of their power during the Ardic Republic and the nadir during its Fall. Following their exile from the Continent, the elves sailed east through the Serpent Archipelago, eventually settling on Eremus, Pon, or one of the hundreds of islands along the way. Elves honour their exile from the Continent, though they do little to counter the perception that they are hostile to humans, and their territories cannot be entered
Halflings: Native to Eremus, where they were "discovered" by elven traders in the early Age of Fable, the
halflings of
Timberia maintain some trade relations with the city states of the Serpent Archipelago and select Ostland ports. Halflings tend to be isolationist, though rare individuals may be encountered in Continental capitals, trade centres, and small "expatriate" communities.
Humanoids: Since the Dim Ages,
humanoids have been synonymous with the peril of the wilderness. Encountered in every corner of the Continent but violently factious, bugbears, goblins, orcs, trolls, and gnolls have never managed to create anything approaching a sustainable society for more than a few generations. Humanoid populations were lowest during the Republic but have climbed steadily since the Fall, constantly threatening civilised borders.
Saurians: Ruled by the deified nagaraja caste, the
saurians dominated the Dim Ages until they fell to the alliance of elves and men, ushering in the Age of Fable. Saurian ruins dot the middle latitudes of the Continent, but they're most abundant within the
Serpent Archipelago. Tales of saurian sightings abound, though they refer to what remain of their servitor races: lizard men, kobolds, troglodytes, and medusae.
Civilisation is Rebuilding
The Fall of the Republic reverted the majority of settled land into wilderness, now overrun with humanoids, monsters, and opportunistic men. The nation-state does not exist on Trid, and a polity’s size is the physical extent to which the settlements within can push back against (or expand into) the surrounding wilderness. As a result, settlements and their surrounding territory are safe havens separated by stretches of lawless wilderland.
On the Global Map, Continental realms are defined by their capitals and the surrounding communities either allied or under their sway. The size of a settlement determines how much of the surrounding land it can patrol (i.e., “settled” for encounter purposes), though a polity’s
mapped borders likely extend to indisputable boundaries like rivers, natural features, or roads. The land between what’s shown on the map and what’s actually safe is best defined as frontier, while the land beyond is wilderness, where chaos and danger invariably await.
Magic is Real
The magical field that surrounds Trid results from radiant energies passively emitted by the Elder Powers. This field enables clerics to receive divine magic, while magic-users harness these energies directly to wield arcane magic (through doing so carries the risk of contracting the
Ardic Curse.
Arcane Magic: Arcane magic reflects the will of the caster. Arcane spells tend to enhance the wielder's offensive and defensive capabilities, reveal hidden knowledge, or exert influence over others. Arcane magic relies on the caster's ability to understand how to access, manipulate, and release Trid's magical energies to the desired purpose.
Divine Magic: Divine magic reflects the will of the gods. Divine spells are tools granted to mortals in furtherance of the deity's interests, and typically provide healing, protection, and guidance. Divine magic relies on the caster's devotion to their deity, who grants power only to their most worthy servants.
Technology is Limited
Trid's technology is analogous to 10th-century Earth and advances at a snail's pace, primarily because humans spend the majority of their resources either securing their borders or advancing on someone else's. Until the Age of History, magic was the driving force behind alchemy, engineering, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine—man, wary of all things arcane, has only recently explored these fields through mundane means. Of those states who have achieved sufficient social stability to make such advances, the
Midlands excel in metallurgy and navigation, while the
Sovereignties boast advanced engineering and alchemical remedies.
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