SPQT -- Atlas of the Known World

The World as known by the Tarantine Empire.
(Click here, or on the map, for a larger and better quality version of this map)

Note: The names given here are those used in the Tarantine Empire and may not be the same as that used by the peoples in question.

His Imperial Majesty Gaius Maximillian Caesar IV, Emperor of Tarantium, Consul of the Tarantines, King of Pylos, Hereditary Overlord of the Teutons, Archon of Aquitania, Imperator of the Imperial Armies, Drungarios of the Imperial Fleets, Patron of the Senate, Defender of the Faith, and Orus' Regent on Earth.

Tarantium had its humble beginnings as an insignificant fishing village on a small island near the center of Vadosus Bay. It was but one of many such villages scattered around the bay. It was said to have been founded by Tarantus, a young prince of the Aquitanes. Tarantus' parents had been murdered by an evil priest who wanted the throne for himself. Tarantus, just an infant at the time, was snatched from his mother's arms by an eagle serving the goddess Gaia and carried to safety. He returned as an adult to cast the priest down and then returned home only to find turmoil. He founded Tarantium as a refuge for the oppressed and was made king by his subjects.

Tarantium grew into an important center of trade and a minor military power. It also switched from a kingdom to a republic. Eventually, it gained an empire after a series of victories in various trade wars. Then came the emperors as powerful generals vied for power. Orus returned and the empire found his truth and turned its back on the evil gods of old. Eventually, the empire grew stagnant and even began to shrink. Then came the Teutons.

Taking advantage of defenses weakened by plague and the general decline in the Empire, the King of the Teutons led a massive army against the frontier, overwhelmed it and penetrated to Vadosus bay and almost to Tarantium itself. Meanwhile, a group of senators hoped to force the Emperor to give up much of his powers by using their power, influence, and personal holding to withhold aid from the Emperor. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the emperor struck a deal with the Teutonic King. In exchange for his aid in crushing the senatorial revolt, his son would marry the Emperor's daughter and their son would rule as Emperor, the Teuton King and Nobles would be made patricians and given confiscated estates, and their followers given citizenship and land grants. The revolt was crushed and the Teutons became a major part of life in the Empire.

The newly revitalized empire re-established the Pax Tarantia and its old borders. Economic conditions improved and the Empire began climbing to new heights. Now, three hundred years later, the Empire is at heights undreamed of. The economy is strong and the empire and it's people are wealthy. The people are strong in their faith. The Empire has a young, handsome and popular emperor with a proven military record and who rules with wisdom beyond his years. Counting the border legions and the militia units as well as the regular army, the Empire has 100 Legions under arms. Many whisper that now is the time for the young emperor to overrun and destroy the Gilded League, tearing down their pagan temples and elminating one of Tarantiums oldest and bitterest enemies once and for all. Perhaps, they say, even this spring....

Roleplaying:The culture of Tarantium is like that of ancient Rome, but with a strong Germanic influence and many other influences. The campaign started in the empire and most of the action takes place here. For more information, see the Tarantium and Church of Orus sections of this website.

The Gilded League is the Tarantine Empires oldest and most bitter foe. The league was originally an association of city-states that formed a pact to compete with the growing merchant power of the northern trading cities. This included Tarantium, though the empire was then just a city-state without an empire and one of many competing for trade in the Mare Nostrum. As Tarantine power grew and it absorbed its competitors, the league became an anti-Tarantine League. After the Church of Orus became the official religion of the empire, the league also became an alliance dedicated to halting the spread of the Church of Orus.

The league is more formal that it once was, but the individual city-states still retain a great deal of autonomy and intrigue both within and between the city-states is common. Each city-state has its own form of government, including theocracies, oligarchies and monarchies, among others. The league itself is ruled by a council with a representative from each member state. Each city-state provides soldiers to a common army dedicated to defending the league as a whole from outsiders. This primarily means Tarantium, but Faldaer and others have been a problem in the past.

The league cities are said to be places where immorality and vice run rampant, anything is available for a price, and nothing is impossible. The truth of this seems to vary wildly from city to city. In truth, this isn't quite the case as there are some thing that offend even the merchants of the league.

In terms of religion, the league is the opposite of Tarantium. The leaguers worship a large variety of gods from more than one pantheon and have made a point of welcoming any religion condemned by the Church of Orus. The only religion condemned here is that of Orus, which is a cause of much friction between the League and Tarantium. The clergy of Orus are not prohibited, but may not openly wear their holy symbols, may not quote scripture, may not publically cast spells, may not publically pray, and may not attempt to convert anyone.

Each city of the league and all of the other peoples within it's territory contribute soldiers to a common army for defense. The core of the army is a large cavalry contingent wearing chain shirts, carrying small shields and wielding a scimitar and a short composite bow. They are reinforced by huge bodies of auxiliaries who wear no armor carry only a large shield and a spear. Some of the bodies of auxiliaries are armed with slings instead of spears.

Roleplaying:The cultures of the league vary a great deal. In general, they resemble what you might have expected to find contemporary to the Romans in the eastern Mediterranean and fertile crescent. This covers a great deal of territory, but the league is a varied place.

Though it has a more proper name in the dwarven language, most of the world knows this land as 'The Empire of the Dwarves' or the 'Dwarven Empire'. This is because the proper name is virtually unpronounceable to most other races. Additionally, the proper name uses a number of dwarven words and concepts that simply do not exist in most other languages, making translation impractical.

Most scholars consider this to be the homeland of the dwarves. Dwarves have lived here since the beginning of recorded history and the empire has existed since before the fishing village of Tarantium was founded. It is from here that dwarves spread out into the world to establish the other communities and strongholds known today.

Most contact with the empire takes place at the great trade city of Rak'zad-Dum. This is a great city carved from the stone of the mountains in the western part of the empire. A great road leads from the city into the west, along which traders from other lands are permitted to travel to visit the city. It is here that traders from the rest of the know world come to purchase the fine stone and metalwork of the dwarves as well as silk, spices, and other costly luxuries imported from Serica by the dwarves. This trade has made the empire fabulously wealthy.

Little is known of the empire itself. It's rulers prohibit non-citizens from travelling freely within the empire save to the nearest trade city. No doubt this is a measure meant to protect the imperial monopoly on the luxury trade with Serica. Visitors attempting to penetrate deeper into the empire are, at best, escorted to their own border blindfolded and thrown out never to return on pain of death. It is said that most such trespassers are killed out of hand. Rumors abound of unfortunates who have been blinded, had their tongue cut out, or worse after trying to make the crossing.

Scholars have pieced together some details from the accounts of travelers from the empire who have spoken of their homeland. The population is composed overwhelmingly of dwarves, but there is a significant gnomish minority. The gnomes live mostly in the interior, though a few are seen Rak'zad-Dum as merchants or craftsmen. The empire is said to be a circle of mountains surrounding a vast valley which has been turned into a virtual garden by the loving hands of the gnomes. It is there that most of the gnomes are content to live. The mountains are inhabited by the dwarves, who engage in mining and the stone and metalcrafts they love so much.

The dwarves have an army of unknown strength, but equal to the finest Tarantine legions in training and far better equipped. It is known that they spend a great deal of time fighting incursions of humanoids, especially to the north. Most of their army is composed of infantry, but they have small contingents of cavalry, siege engineers and magicians. Their engineers are considered to be the best in the world. Their mages employ little direct battle magic, but are masters of deception and divination. Many of the gnomes who serve in the army serve as magicians or scouts. Ironically, the dwarven cavalry is probably the part of the army best known outside of the empire. It is their job to defend and patrol the trade road visitors use, thus they have the most contact with the outside. Many a merchant has been saved by the Imperial Cavalry charging in on its ferocious warboars to save them from a humanoid or bandit attack.

Roleplaying: These are basically your stereotypical dwarves and gnomes. If you can call dwarves riding giant boars into battle stereotypical. Hey, it was stereotypical of the dwarves in my campaign in college.

The name 'Orc Wastes' is something of a misnomer. In reality, orcs are only one of a dozen different types of savage to dominate this region. The entire population is divided into tribes of no more than a few hundreds each and continually wars with its neighbors. The only thing that can unite them is an outside threat. The last time this happened was hundreds of years ago when the richest man in Tarantium financed an army out of his own pocket to clear the land for trade caravans. He was motivated by rumors that Serica could be reached by travelling across the wastes. He wanted to make himself even richer. In the end, he and his army were destroyed.

Roleplaying: For the most part, these are stereotypical humanoids. The exception is that some have mastered riding and have developed cultures more akin to the steppe nomads. More normal races from this area will have been slaves of the humanoids, or will be from tribes just as savage as they are.

If any land could be more unpleasant than the Orc Wastes, it is this place. Here, every sort of terrible monster imaginable exists and periodically bursts forth on the world to wreak havoc. It is a breeding ground for humanoid tribes, a home to dragons and other powerful beasts, and a refuge for cults and other organizations that want to hide from society. Most of the time, there is no organization beyond the tribal level, but periodically a vast humanoid horde bursts forth in an attempt to take more hospitable lands for its homes.

The terrain itself is cold and mountainous with countless valleys and deep rifts. A glacier is said to exist deep in the wastes where even fouler beasts breed and spread out into the wastes. All of this makes it impossible to do more than contain the wastes. On the other hand, there are rumors that the plunder of hordes, dragon hordes, and the treasuries of secret cults are waiting for those brave enough to seize them, thus there are always brave but foolish men heading into the wastes in search of wealth.

Roleplaying: See the Orc Wastes, except you will find no steppe nomads here.

The lands of the Thule, sometimes known as Scandia and the Scandians, are divided among a hundred or more jarldoms of various sizes with none with a population of more than a few thousand people. The Thule are tall and proud and have a strong tradition as warriors and individualists. It is said that they do not worship Orus like their neighbors in the Teutonic states, but instead follow a pantheon of gods with a temperament to suit their own. Little else is known of them in the empire save that they have begun raiding other lands in the last few years, ranging far from home to do so. The most that is known of them is that the emperor's personal guard, the Varangians, is made up primarily of Norsemen.

Roleplaying: This is the obligatory Viking culture that is required to appear in every fantasy world.

When the Tarantine Empire was beginning to expand beyond it's own peninsula, this area was occupied by human barbarians who were the common ancestors of the Norse and the Teutons. As the centuries passed, the empire established a stable border with the barbarians and they became gradually more civilized. It was at this point where the Teutons, who were near the borders of the empire, split from the Norse, who were far to the north.

The Teutons continually raided into the empire, but generally only had limited success. Their only great success is described in the entry for Tarantium. It was this victory and the subsequent wave of conversions to Orus that finally, brought peace to the border. Since then, the Teutons have developed on a different track from Tarantium. With one exception, they never organized large kingdoms. Instead, they remain divided into hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, baronies, and other such states. They are theoretically united under a common emperor, but none has emerged who can enforce his will so they remain united on paper only. Their old barbaric customs of loyalty to warleaders have developed into a feudal system of government and military power.

Despite their differences from the Tarantines, they have cordial relationships with the empire. Despite the lack of a professional army, they are a formidable military force. Despite their divisiveness, they are united in strong faith in Orus and are among his most zealous worshippers.

Teutonic armies are typical of feudal kingdoms. They are composed of mounted knights equipped with chain armor and shield and armed with a sword, a lance and various other weapons such as axes and maces. They will be accompanied by men at arms, who are not noble and who will be armed with a spear or some similar weapon or who will be archers.

Roleplaying: This is your obligatory feudal European culture. They are basically feudal Germans.

When the Mare Nostrum was the province of powerful trading city-states and Tarantium was but one among their number, it was a popular practice for a city state to establish colonies to serve as trading posts in far flung corners of the world. One of the most remote of these colonies was Tarsus. For a time, Tarsus traded with the locals and it's mother city, but the rising might of Tarantium soon absorbed it's mother city and the colony found itself on its own. They established a republic in imitation of their home city and developed their own trade routes.

While all of this was going on, relations with the local Celtic population were growing worse. Both populations were growing and conflict was increasingly likely. Soon open war broke out. Times were hard for both sides, but the disciplined troops of Tarsus equipped with the best arms her wealth could buy drove the divided and comparatively ill-equipped Celts from the area. This set the pattern for centuries to come. Whenever Tarsus required more land, they drove the Celts out or conquered them. Only the rise of Faldaer halted this process. Since the rise of that kingdom, the border between the two has been in a constant state of war with armies on the move some years and only border skirmishes and raiding parties the next.

Tarsus has had better relations with Tarantium. By the time Tarantine armies reached the borders of the republic, the empire was all but exhausted and needed time to consolidate their gains. This time eventually turned into a slow decline and war never broke out between the two nations. Instead, they became trading partners with Tarsus acting as a middleman for Tarantine trade with many of the nations further to the south.

The republic is almost unique as a form of government. It is admired by some elements in Tarantium who recall the days when the Empire was a republic and long to return to a republic. It is hated and feared by monarchs as a bad influence on their subjects. Not the least of these are the feudal rulers of Faldaer, who fear their serfs will come to prefer the republic to their own rule. The government itself consists of an assembly of representatives. Each village and each quarter of larger towns and cities elects a representative to the assembly. The assembly, in turn, elects an executive who cannot be one of their number. This executive is called an Archon. He leads the armies and has the power to propose laws to the assembly. The assembly votes on laws and controls taxation and the treasury.

The army of Tarsus is an infantry army equipped with breastplate and large shields and armed with shortswords. In addition, each soldier carries either a longspear, a crossbow, or a shortspear. Tarsan infantry is disciplined and fights in formation, but rather than the versatile legionary formations adopted by the Tarantines, they use rigid formations designed to serve as field fortresses. This is reflected by their choice of weapons. The spearmen form into a rectangle with alternating long and short spears to attack anyone who gets close while the crossbowmen are positioned in the middle to fire out at anyone out of range of the spears. This has proven quite effective against the undisciplined celtic warriors and the light cavalry of Faldaer and ineffective against the elves in the forest, but has not really been tested against any other armies.

The Republic today is a strong and well armed state in perpetual conflict with Faldaer. It wages a war of skirmishes with colonies of elves who object to their claim to the forests and it watches the revitalized Tarantium for signs that it might move on them. A large fleet of trading vessels guarantees the economic success of the republic and a high standard of living for those within the republic. In addition to economic prosperity, the people enjoy a degree of political freedom almost unheard of in the rest of the world. Finally, no religion save for those practicing the sacrifice of an unwilling being is prohibited. It is this last point that many believe will bring war with Tarantium.

Most people of the republic still follow the gods of their ancestors. These dieties are the same as those abandoned by the Empire centuries ago. The Church of Orus has sent missionaries, but most Tarsans are not receptive and the Church has only made small headway. The Churhc of Orus is of the firm belief that the gods of Tarsus are evil and that it is their influence keeping them from making converts, not any true reluctance on the part of the Tarsans. There are those in the crusader faction calling for Tarsus to be cleansed of evil and converted by the sword.

Roleplaying: Tarsus most resembles ancient Greece in culture, though it has developed beyond that just as Tarantium has developed beyond historical Roman culture.

Long ago, the Celtic peoples lived north and west of the Mare Nostrum. In the face of the expanding Teutonic tribes and the growing might of Tarantium, they began to migrate south, across the straits and spread out across the great peninsula to the south of the Mare Nostrum. Here, they came into conflict with monsters, the colonists at Tarsus, and the cities of the Gilded League. After centuries of warfare and loss because of divisions in their number, one leader managed to unite enough of the tribes under his banner to hold back their foes. He became the first King of Faldaer.

Though the young kingdom was able to hold it's own, it did so at great cost. To its west was the old foe Tarsus as well as upstart tribes of elves who sought to deny them some very important sources of timber -- and raiding routes into the republic. To the east, the Gilded League was always ready to seize any opportunity for gain. To the north were the wild lands full of beasts. With so many foes, every bit of strength had to be devoted to holding back. Over the centuries, Faldaer evolved into a feudal kingdom with a warrior aristocracy supported by serfs bound to the land.

Life in Faldaer is very hard. With so many foes to be fought, every resource must be devoted to supporting the warriors. This leaves little for the peasantry. Even the aristocrats find that they are poor compared to the nobility of other nations. The kingdom does not lie on any strategic trade routes nor does it posse any valuable commodities so it gains no wealth through trade. This leads to a hard life for the average peasant and the nobles constantly worry about runaway serfs.

In Faldaer, the feudal pyramid is very flat compared to most feudal states. The lowest noble would be equivilant to a baron and probably reports to the equivilant of a duke who in turn reports to the king directly. All of the other intermediary ranks one usually expects to find are missing as is the lowest one. There is no equivilant to the knight. Rather, each noble has a very large landholding and is expected to support a substantial body of warriors, known as his warband, with it. These warriors take the place of the knight, but are non-noble. Seeking a place in a warband is one of the few outlets a peasant has in Faldaer.

The army of Faldaer is composed of the nobles and their warbands. A duke or the king can call each of the nobles under him up and they must muster with their warband. Most warbands are equipped with leather or studded leather armor and a shield and are armed with a sword and several javelins, though other combinations have been seen. Archers are employed in some numbers due to the formations used by the Tarsans, but are not favored.

Like most southern nations, Faldaer has not converted to the worship of Orus. Instead, they follow a modified version of the ancient pantheon of gods their ancestors worshipped. The nobles consider Orus a threat to their hold over the peasantry because of it's emphasis on making things better for everyone and, thus, the faith is outlawed.

Roleplaying: Faldaer is the descendant of Celtic tribes. Think of Wales, Ireland or Scotland for real world counterparts. Obviously, there are still significant differences. For one, there is the particularly onerous serfdom of Faldaer. Another would be the changes made necessary by the warm climate.

Even the clannish dwarves, it would seem, have internal disputes. One such in the Empire of the Dwarves grew into a civil war centuries ago. At the end, the losing Stonefist Clan fled to the south with the remnants of their armies. In those days, the desert lands south of the empire were a chaotic mixture of feuding city-states clustered around the inland sea in the western portions of the desert and warlike nomads wandering in the sandy wastes.

Clan Stonefist soon carved a place for themselves. Their craftsmanship was in great demand and they soon grew wealthy again, and very influential. Eventually, the clan elders came to the conclusion that they would have power in the deserts, if not in the mountains. A century of intrigue, political maneuvering and occasional warfare were the result. Finally, the elders of Clan Stonefist replaced the human Caliphs of the desert cities and the chieftans of the nomadic tribes recognized them as their overlords.

The dwarves rule today with a light hand, despite their name. Their first priority is to maintain their wealth and power, but beyond that are a vast improvement over the previous rulers. They have eliminated much of the feuds and crime that plagued the region for so long and brought peace to both the cities and the countryside. They've instituted fair and impartial courts with easily understood laws to regulate commerce and trade. Their trade policies have brought additional prosperity to the entire region and led to a better life for virtually everyone. They encourage and patronize both scholars and the arts creating a cultural renaissance that is a fusion of native learning and art with that of the dwarves. They tolerate all religions save for faiths which oppose the traditional dwarven gods, though faiths which practice things that might otherwise be against the law still cannot practice these things.

Despite their power and prosperity, Clan Stonefist remains as loyal to one another as ever. In fact, they may even be closer knit given that they are a dwarven island in a sea of humans. Many members of the clan are occupied in crafts and administration, but the clan maintains a contingent of superheavy infantry in each city. Whatever their station, all share in the prosperity of the clan and each is wealthy by most standards.

There is little opposition to Clan Stonefist. Most city dwellers and peasants are pleased with their rulers because they have brought peace and prosperity. There is some dissatisfaction among those who might have been in power had the Clan not taken over and among the city merchants who resent clan control over the lucrative metalworking industry. There is also some discontent among the nomadic tribes where some resent being kept from warring with their neighbors by the peace imposed by the dwarves. Finally, there are numerous religious cults and sects who resent the dwarves either for their gods or for prohibiting certain practices, usually human sacrifice, necromancy, or demonology.

The army of the Caliphates has several regiments of dwarven superheavy infantry at its core. These troops are equipped with full plate armor, large shields, dwarven battleaxes, pikes and heavy crossbows. The dwarves have enchantments which allow them to wear their heavy armor even under the blazing desert sun. The rest of the army is composed of human auxiliaries mustered from the cities and peasantry. They are mostly unarmored spearmen with shields. The nomads contribute horse and camel mounted cavalry armed with shortbows and scimitars.

Roleplaying: The Dwarves are traditional dwarves who have recently had a strong Arabic/Persian influence in their culture. Most of them have a great deal in common with the sort of noble Arabs you see in the movies. They wear desert robes instead of or over their full plate, drink sherbert as well as ale, live in luxurious homes or palaces with fabulous stonework where they recline on cushions and eat exotic dishes. I can't help but think of Yosimite Sam in a keffiyah, but that's just me.

The people of the towns and the peasants are like what you might expect to find in Moorish Spain. The desert nomads are what you might expect to see in any of a half-dozen movies about Lawrence of Arabia or the French Foriegn Legion.

This is another region filled with an assortment of city-states and nations with widely varying cultures, diverse religions and many different forms of government. It is known as the Gold Coast because the civilizations of the area are assumed to be fabulously wealthy. They are a source for gemstones, exotic jewelry, spices, salt, strange animals, slaves and other goods. With such a variety of unusual goods, most believe they must be buried in wealth. Few have actually seen these nations, however. Most contact is through merchants and they primarily deal with the Republic of Tarsus or, occasionally, the Gilded League. An occasional trading expedition will sail through the straits into the Mare Nostrum and trade with the empire, but most goods pass through Tarsus or the Gilded League.

Roleplaying: In this region, you could draw inspiration from ancient Ethiopia, Nubia, ancient Zimbabwe or any of a number of other ancient African civilizations.

The Wild Coast is an untamed area on the edges of the known world. There is little organization here beyond the tribes of humans and demihumans who live here. What little civilization exists, if it can be called that, takes the form of lawless settlements that serve as a refuge for criminals of every description.

The port towns that dot the coast are dens of crime and corruption. Anyything and everything is available in them if you have enough gold and the right connections. Poisons, stolen goods, forged papers, illegal slaves, books of forbidden knowledge, illegal magic, and drugs of various sorts are only some of the goods available. These towns are considered a safe zone where differences are set aside for the duration of a visit and a rough sort of peace reigns. Violators of this peace risk being barred from the ports. As this is the only refuge some of them have, most will not take the risk. Most honest folk avoid these settlements if at all possible. The few who come here most often come to pay a ransom for the release of some captive they hold dear or to buy back stolen goods.

The wilderness is a dangerous place dominated by wild xenophobic halflings with blowguns, isolationist elven monarchists, fanatical gnomish nature worshippers, and cannibalistic human tribesmen. In addition, there are strange, exotic and, above all, dangerous beasts that make travel throught the wilderness perilous indeed.

There is little legitimate trade here. Just about anything that can be obtained here can be had from merchants on the Gold Coast for less trouble and far less danger if more gold. In recent years, a Tarantine colony was established at the tip of the continent. It is small and primative so far and exports only strange beasts for the games.

Roleplaying: This is the a wild land. A number of the cultures here have been described in a few words above and are much like the stereotypes their description calls to mind. The towns are centers of criminal activity with a hodge-podge of every culture in the known world to one degree or another. Think of them as your typical pirate port or wreched hive of scum and villany.

Clan Ironaxe is a dwarven clan that migrated west from the Dwarven Empire well over a thousand years ago. They carved a home for themselves in a set of metal rich peaks in the west. They began a profitable trade making and selling metal objects to their neighbors. This trade has continued uninterupted to this day with these dwarves doing a strong business in arms to the teutonic nations.

The Bloot Peaks got their name from all the blood spilled in and around them over the years. Though they are home to many monsters, the chief danger are the human and humanoid tribes which inhabit the mountain valleys. They typically fight among themselves, but they periodically raid into the surrounding states. At various times Tarantium, the Guilded League and Faldaer have tried to tame portions of the peaks, but have failed due to the rugged terrain.

The one trade route of any import here is a long trail from Aquitania to Faldaer, which is a lifeline to a neutral trading partner when Tarsus or the League is at war with them. The trail is long and perilous, but used periodically. This danger requires caravans to be heavily guarded, which raises the price of goods. This further drains Faldaer's coffers for goods purchased over the trail and causes Tarantine merchants to avoid Faldaer goods for equivilents imported from elsewhere at lower cost. Either way, trade on this route is not profitable and is conducted only when other routes are not open.

Roleplaying: The human tribesmen are descendants of Celts who migrated to the area. The humanoids are stereotypical humanoids.

Gwynned is another kingdom formed by the Celts after migrating to the area. Proximity to both Tarantium and the Gilded League has caused them to develop in a different direction. There are no serfs, but a free peasantry who pay taxes. There is no feudal levy or warbands, but a professional army with men at arms more akin to the Tarantine army. The nobles serve as an officer corps for the army and as government administrators, not the core of the army. There is a prosperous merchant class that has grown rich acting as middlemen between the League and Tarantium in times of poor relations. The people as a whole are reasonably prosperous and content, though not as well off as their counterparts in the empire.

Currently, however, the kingdom is in crisis. Hordes of wild tribesmen from the mountains are always a danger this close to the Blood Peaks. When the latest horde swept out of the mountains, the king and his heir met it with the army. Unfortunatly, they were overconfident and defeated. Both the king and his heir died. The king's remaining sons and sons-in-law are now engaged in both a bitter civil war over who will sit on the throne and a war to expel the invading tribesmen.

Gwynned has a professional army consisting of infantry, archers, and cavalry. The infantry is equipped with chain shirts and small shields and armed with halberds and longswords. The archers wear studded leather and are armed with longbows and hand axes. The cavalry are split into light and heavy wings. The light cavalry wearing leather armor and armed with a longsword and javelins. The heavy cavalry wears a chain shirt, carries a small shield and is armed with a longsword, a mace, and javelins. Individual officers may well be better armed than their troops.

The kingdom has some converts to Orus, but many other gods are still worshipped. Most the most popular faiths are a version of the ancient celtic pantheon and nature worship via druids. The Church of Orus has met stiff resistance from these faiths because it seeks to supplant them rather than coexist. The current civil war is seen by all three as an opportunity to prove to the people that they are a much better choice than the others. Unfortunatly, one result of this is that it appears a religious conflict may be developing in addition to the civil war and tribal invasion.

Roleplaying: Gwynned is a warm weather version of your typical fantasy kingdom.

Sudwick is an idyllic halfling realm located on a large island in the Mare Meridianus. It is ruled by a queen who is advised by a council of priests and elders. In recorded history, they have repelled invasions from the Gilded League, Faldaer, and Tarsus. None should underestimate their determination to be independant.

The halflings have the island to themselves and prefer to keep it that way. Just about everything is built to their size and larger beings just have to cope. They reason that the 'larges' have the rest of the world to play in and can leave Sudwick well enough alone. Visitors are welcome to stay a short while, but will not be allowed to live there permanently. A few buildings have been built to accomodate these visitors.

Very few of the inhabitants are rich, but most are prosperous enough to be content. Most of their needs are home grown and they produce little for export. What goods are imported are paid for with handcrafts, a few luxury foods produced for the purpose, especially magically preserved fruits, and by and the proceeds from royally owned pearl beds near the capitol.

The climate is hot and most of the inhabitants wear short tunics or skirts for everyday wear. Houses are built underground to help the inhabitants keep cool and are often connected to other houses by tunnels. Rather than numerous small dwellings, most people live in large homes with lots of relatives. Much of their time is spent cooking and eating, engaging in various hobbies like rock collecting or woodcarving, or in conversation.

Large underground caverns are a feature of the tunnel systems connecting houses in halfling villages. They serve the dual purpose of helping with the cooling in peace and serving as refuges in war. Many parts of the island are composed of limestone and other rocks that often have cavern systems, and the halfings make good use of this fact. They are even known to have mapped underground routes between villages to aid in their defense. Many entrances and exits, as well as some key passages, are kept halfling size to ensure they are not used by invaders.

The Church of Orus has made some attempts to convert the halflings, but they aren't interested. They prefer their own pantheon of halfling gods to any other. They readily accept the idea that their gods are the servants of Orus, but some in the church believe that they are merely paying lip service to the idea in an effort to get rid of missionaries.

Tarsus has no formal army despite it's victories. A few town guards and country constables are as close as they come. Every halfling is expected to become proficient in some form of fighting in the course of growing up. When the Queen issues a call to arms, all able bodied halflings expected to muster at pre-determined points where heralds from the queens court will give further instructions. The general strategy for defending the kingdom is to divide all halflings into three types of troops. The harriers are skilled with missile weapons and stealthy. Their job is to harrass enemy troops at every opportunity, never allowing them to rest or let their guard down. The tunnel systems are an invaluable aid to them. Those who are proficient in missile weapons, but not stealth are gathered into a huge host with those who are skilled at melee combat to meet the enemy invasion head on. When the enemy army is tired and demoralized from constant harrassment, this host falls upon them and drives them back into the sea. Archers and slinger fire above the heads of the melee warriors while they attack the enemy soldiers and keep them from getting at the missile armed halflings. Survivors are exported as slaves.

Most halfling warriors prefer the shortbow or the sling, though a few use crossbows. Those who engage in melee combat prefer polearms and other weapons that give them reach to put them on a more even footing with warriors from the larger races. Despite this preference, there are those who have become expert swordsmen and even those who specialize in slipping through the chaos of combat cutting tendons with a dagger.

Roleplaying: Take your stereotypical Tolkien halflings and take them out of their stereotypical English country squire existence and put them into a tropical paradise, mix in a few Greek references, add a surprising tendency towards ferociousness when invaded, stir and serve.

This land is exactly what it is labled as. All that is known about this land is that it is a howling wilderness of some kind where nobody has ever set foot and spoken of his experience.