A Brief History of Gurlin

[julton]

((edit: This is all background, you don't strictly need to read this. the next post is about the current condition))

In a time long past a conclave of ancient gods came together to create a world of the basest elements, a place where they could harness the purest of elemental energy. They created a barrier around one of the smaller continents and some of the islands surrounding it. This barrier stopped the passage of anything in or out of the region. There they sought to reforge the world inside the barrier without changing the outside world. Too late they realized that remaining inside the barrier when the world inside was reformed would tear their godhood apart, leaving them mortal or destroyed. Krytyn the trickster was the one god who knew such a thing would happen, and while he had to remain inside the barrier for the reforming, he created a pathway to the outside world where he escaped at the last minute in hopes of retaining his godhood and returning to take control of this new land from the powerless gods. Il'Tana the magician noticed the strange disturbance and saw the trickster escaping. He prevented Krytyn from making it all the way through the barrier, leaving both of them only partially affected by the world reforming. It is unknown what happened to any of the gods, but some say the destruction of the gods created the pure races of Gurlin.
Many creatures were inside the barrier at the time of the reformation, and most were left intact, but suddenly there were pure and intelligent creatures that were new to the land. Elves settled the forest, eventually breaking into several separate societies and diverging form each other. Some elves turned to a newfound magical power to shape the world around them, others chose to shape themselves to fit the world around them, and still others fled to the various corners of Gurlin to find the home that fit them. The dwarves settled the mountains and dug deep into their interior, building their homes in ever deeper caves. The dwarves divided as well, some staying near the surface and others traveling ever deeper, forgetting the light of day. Also, the humans were created, settling every corner of the world and seeking constantly to create and destroy as they saw fit in their fleeting lives. Orcs, goblins, gnomes, ogres, centaurs, fauns, nymphs, and other creatures of various types were also created in the world and settled among the three dominant races.
Many years passed from the time of the reformation and towns developed into cities and nations. The races found each other, mixed and mingled, and generally created a prosperous land.
Then came the first age of conflict. The elven nations divided, the dwarves were conquered by their dark cousins, and the humans turned against one another in greed.
Finally the orcs and goblins that had been hiding in roving bands across the plains north of the great forest organized and took control of the human cities spread across the plains. They claimed the cities in the name of Krytyn, the mortal form of the once god, who still retained some chaos powers from godhood that he used to subvert the societies of the dominant races in Gurlin.
Some of the elves resisted the rule of Krytyn, and, on the final battleground, Il'Tana, still retaining some of his arcane power, fought Krytyn. Krytyn unleashed a powerful creature of pure chaos energy, and Il'Tana could find no way to defeat it, so he drew his followers together to try one last thing.
They had long sought to become pure arcane energy, but did not know the consequences of such action. Now they could see, and they all transcended to pure magic. This transcending created a new binary opposition, order and chaos, that divided itself across the planes. Where before there was just water and fire, earth and air, and life and death, now there is also arcane and void. The archons then bound the void in arcane energy, and, in balance, their home plane of the arcane was bound in void energy. Thus vanished the Archons as quickly as they came to being.
Krytyn's powers and all of the effects, including the void creature, were bound inside the void, but Krytyn remained in the physical realm. He sought for many years another way to bring his chaos energy back without the Archons interfering again.
Krytyn found an abandoned mine on the Gurlin continent where an ancient race had been harvesting a magic nullifying stone. He used this stone to forge weapons that would absorb magic. He then went back to the empire to form a secret group committed to rooting out and destroying the magic that was corrupting the empire. They called themselves the Archon Hunters, and, when their numbers were large enough, they started spreading dissent among the population. Eventually they had turned much of the empire against magic users and finally Krytyn stepped forward and declared the Archon Hunters the new authority, forcing magic users to flee or die. He took power at the palace, establishing himself as the true emperor, while the emperor held the position, but none of the power.
Krytyn, with control of all the lands in the empire, then had the freedom to again access his powers of chaos by opening a channel through the arcane barrier around the void. The Archons were watching for such a thing, and immediately learned how to pass through the chaos barrier. They rushed into the physical world to confront Krytyn only to find that his Archon Hunters were ready for them. The magic absorbing weapons they now wielded cut deep and many Archons were killed. Those lucky enough to escape knew now what Krytyn had done. The world was now under his control and they could not stop him. They still acted in secret when they could, but anyone found associating with them was killed, so they were forced to stand back and watch the empire fall into chaos.
Thus the empire of Gurlin came to be as it is today.

[julton]

This realm is designed to be rather open, so have fun with it. There's a wide selection from within the realm and anything that isn't in there already can come through the passage through the barrier. and sorry this is so long, you can skip what doesn't interest you. I specified most of the info for those who will need it.

CHARACTER CREATION
Alright let's get started. So, you want to live in Gurlin eh? Sounds good, come on in, but let's figure out first who you are. We'll start nice and easy, but be careful cuz it gets crazy quickly.

RACES
What an excellent place to begin right? no.

CLASSES/PROFESSIONS
Alright this is better. What do you want your C to do? Here's some basic options we can work from: Magic Users, Fighters, Rogues, and others.

[julton]

MAGIC USERS
This is a bit broad, but basically I mean someone who likes to practice magic for whatever reason. There's sorcerers, wizards, shamans, priests, and of course the notorious (if you've heard of them) Archon Hunters. Beware for your choice could mean your life... or not, whatever works for you.

MAGIC
While we're at it, let's explain magic.
THE PLANES
The planes have been separated into the pure elements of fire, earth, air, water, life and death. There's also the Archon plane which, when drawn upon, has a sort of generic arcane energy, and the void, which has a chaotic wild sort of energy that tends to have the effect of random alteration twisting and general messing up of normal things.
If you use magic at all, whether it be bardic or holy or whatever, it's probably somehow based in planar magic. The planes are separate realms of existence that match up with the physical plane. Every point in the physical plane has a corresponding point in every other plane, but most points aren't next to the same other points in any plane. The planes also contain largish quantities of planar essence, the stuff that embodies that plane and is thus quite stuck in the plane (the only thing that can harness it is high magic and that takes godlike power to use). Planar essence constantly emits planar energy, a magical energy that just floats around invisible to the naked eye. Think of planar energy like potential energy, it's almost not there unless you know how to look for it. Planar energy, like potential energy, can be "expressed" as I like to call it, like converting potential into kinetic energy. When expressed, planar energy becomes the physical representation of that plane. so expressed fire energy would become fire, earth energy earth, etc... Planar energy gets expressed when it comes into contact with any other planar stuff or...
If you use magic.
THE LANGUAGE OF MAGIC
The language of magic is derived from the language of the old gods and thus normal words hold lots of power. unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, not much of the language is known, and less is known and useful. Enough is generally known to cast spells up to a pretty decent level with enough study and practice, but since the Archon Hunters are in control and they banned magic, there's not that much study left except those who study with the archons or the high elves.
PLANAR MAGIC
Planar Magic uses the language of magic to open channels to the planes and harness, shape, and cast (express) planar energy. So here we go with the explanation. Those skills are all separate abilities that can be developed independently, but mostly they are worked up together. "Those skills" being harnessing, shaing, and casting.
Harnessing is the act of drawing energy from its home plane to the caster's plane. It's usually the first step to building and casting a spell, but it can be used independently to simply release raw energy for someone who's really destructive and impatient, but still wants to use magic.
Shaping is the act of manipulating energy into a "shape", a form that will give the expression or casting of that energy a specific purpose. Shaping is like crafting little machines so that when you push the go button they do specific actions instead of just blowing up. In this case blowing up means just being released wildly without direction. Shaping as a skill can also be used to reshape existing spells, a fun little trick to turn a ball of fire hurtling towards you into a shield of flame protecting you. It's a bit tricky, but it can be done.
Casting is expressing magic. While it may seem like a moot point since magic would be expressed anyways if it contacted other energy, casting also controls things like time release magic, contingency magic, and gradual expression. It can also mess up those things for other people by burning out their fireball before it gets anywhere near you.
Most spells involve all three steps. For a normal wizard there will be certain magic words to represent certain effects. This means that there is a vocabulary that concerns harnessing, one for shaping, one for casting, each having its own levels of complexity and different effects.

THE PLANES (continued)
Now that maybe you understand how magic works in general, I'll explain the characteristics of each plane so that you might choose which you like. :-)
FIRE
Always start with fire. hehe. The plane of fire appears physically as shifting rivers of lava interspersed with islands of cool lava rock with a sky full of clouds of flame like a really messed up storm, with flaming meteors dropping from the skies and flame trailing down like lightning. All that is just fire energy in the business of being expressed continually. It's continually expressed from times when it has been accessed and natural fluxes of energy cause it to continually express. Fire essence is buried deep within the lava floes in the form of blindingly bright white lava that flows like air and incinerates anything it gets near. It only comes to the surface occasionally, but when it does it can't be stopped.
Expressed fire energy at low concentrations takes the form of mild heat and light, at medium concentrations the form of open flame of varying color depending on concentration, and at high concentrations takes the form of molten rock, lava, of varying viscosity depending on concentration. Sounds like it borrows earth energy, but just because the nature of fire is not entirely separate from that of earth or air so the two forms it takes are heat and light in air or heat and light in earth.
WATER
The plane of water is, of course, a giant ocean. There are large interconnecting pockets of light breathable water surrounded by powerful currents of heavier water held in place by current caused by moving water essence. Water essence is a cold ice that flows like water in unstoppable currents. A result of the speed of the currents and the consistency of them is that they feel solid to touch. The breathable water is also almost like air except denser, making it strange to breathe, but still possible. Above the ocean is a massive layer of ice with cold sleet and snow on the top.
Water energy in higher concentrations when expressed drops in temperature, meaning ice and related things.
EARTH
The plane of earth is a tunneled construct of dirt and stone. Earth essence takes the form of an unbreakable and unshakable clear stone like diamond. It shifts at varying speed, generally slowly, shifting the cavernous tunnels through it. It is also perpetually dark in most places, although some places have rocks that glow.
Earth energy in low concentrations is low density earth, dirt, and becomes denser and denser dirt and then stone, eventually becoming gemstone.
AIR
The plane of air is all air currents. There are some currents that flow in such a way as to allow you to stand on them, but the force of wind upon these is so strong it is unlikely you will stay standing. The varying pressures and flows of air make stability a rare thing in the plane of air.
Air energy in low concentrations moves air slowly and in higher and higher concentrations moves it more quickly, allowing high pressure winds or vacuums.
LIFE
The plane of life is, despite seeming not to be so, dangerous. Life energy takes the form of purpose and productive activity. Life essence is the pure essence of a highly complex structure of purpose and productive activity. Contact with this life essence would overwhelm the relatively simple structures of life within any mortal being and would absorb that being as a part in the whole of the more complex pattern. The energy it gives off and the nature of the plane, however, are quite nice in the right doses. Life energy will speed up processes of life. This doesn't mean it will fuel these processes, though, and it won't speed them up without cost. The processes still take the same costs as if they were operating normally except faster, which means eating more, resting more, and aging faster. The landscape is endless plains full of soft yellow glowing grain and soft green glowing grass with a hazy yellow lit sky. The clouds of the sky are life essence, and they dip down to the ground in some places and rise up high into the sky in others.
Life energy will enhance processes with purpose and activity. In small concentrations it can help wounds heal faster, in larger concentrations it can enhance or even create complex active or purposeful constructs, intelligence. Life magic is what's operative in constructing golems and summoning as well as creating the undead. Necromancy still creeps people out, though, so most people just don't go there, at least not in public.
DEATH
Death essence is the ultimate void of activity and purpose. The plane is an endless field of barren grey ash made up of tiny grey dust particles. It feels soft to the touch, but the ebb and flow of expressed death energy will encourage anything to lose purpose or activity and be reduced to the grey ash. The sky is a hazy grey mix full of death essence. More than a little time in the death plane without protection, as with the life plane, is quite dangerous. The clouds bob up and down as they do in the plane of life, but with the listless sway of hopelessness and apathy.'
Death energy in low concentrations has the effect of slowing and stagnating what it contacts when expressed. In higher concentrations it can still a beating heart or wipe a mind blank.
ARCANE
Yes, the Archon plane is called the plane of the arcane, and its energy and essence is called arcane energy and arcane essence. This plane is based on order and magic. Arcane essence is an Archon. This essence does not have the potency of other essences, but Archons, when they ascend, achieve a oneness with the greater fabric of order and magic, thus releasing themselves into a form of pure ordered arcane energy. The structure of order is so complex that it forms a living being, thus an Archon could be created from nothing, but the complexity of that act would overwhelm any mortal mind, as even the task of becoming an Archon poses great difficulty. Archons themselves are merely part of arcane energy that naturally occurs in the physical plane just as other energies do, though in the physical plane they tend to blend together. Thus arcane essence does not emit arcane energy, rather it anchors and orders energy.
Arcane energy is energy of order, and is thus quite easy to shape into spells, although it has no inherent expression character other than to assume a form, so its use takes some getting used to. If blindly released, arcane energy will order what it comes into contact with. In high concentrations it has a similar effect to life magic, although it does not initiate activity.
This plane is sealed off by a barrier of warp magic that only allows planar energy, not matter of any kind, through without a complex gate system or the abilities of a planeswalker. See planeswalkers below for more info.
VOID
The Void is the center of all chaos. It is the plane created in opposition to the arcane and thus represents all that is not order. Like arcane essence, void essence or warp essence comes in the form of a creature. A being of pure warp whose spawn and touch reduces all things to warp energy. It also does not release chaos energy as that energy is part of the world as well, just as ordered arcane energy is. Like the shadow of the arcane, chaos energy exists wherever there is not arcane energy.
Warp energy itself, when expressed at low concentrations, will gradually shift something chaotically until it shifts into warp energy itself. So what it acts upon would steadily degrade while also changing its structure and composition at random. In higher concentrations the change and degradation acts faster, turning what was once ordered into pure chaos, eventually shifting it into more warp energy. This isn't a perpetual cycle, as this shift takes exposure to a good deal of warp energy, but in the presence of a warp creature this happens to all it touches.
This plane is sealed off by a barrier of arcane magic that only allows warp energy, not matter of any kind, through without a complex gate system or the abilities of a planeswalker. see planeswalkers below for more info.
NULL STONE
Null stone is a finding of older inhabitants of the continent of Gurlin who found the strange property of this stone. In its natural form it absorbs planar energy like a black hole. Any energy within an armspan of it is drawn into it never to return.

ARCHON HUNTERS
Now we get to the actual professions related to magic use. This one is not the best profession for someone who really likes magic unless you like insanity and killing magic users, but it's a good place to start. These guys, if you read the last part of the history, are led by a dude named Krytyn and have taken control of the empire for the benefit of chaos and evil. They're power hungry little bastards, but they are pretty well disciplined. Krytyn is not a forgiving leader and his punishments would make anyone be on their best behavior. They are also well trained, going through rigorous physical conditioning in the palace training grounds. They are also well equipped, each one is given a null sword and they know how to use it. null swords btw absorb all or most magic that comes anywhere in a small vicinity of them. This means that if there's a null sword between you and your target, it doesn't matter what kind of spell you're casting, you aint gonna hit it unless you have near-godlike ability. Also equipped with decent armor, paid well, and generally pretty content, if a tad bit crazy and power hungry. Also some of the higher ranks get to study chaos magic with Krytyn's crazed chaos magi. Usually they don't use it except for torture or fun, but when they put their null swords in their sheaths or in their enemies, they can use that unpredictable power for shields and magic bolts and some other simple stuff. The real good casting is left to the higher ups.
The effect of chaos magic turns most to insanity, which is why Krytyn keeps his followers from using it too much. His demi-godhood allows him to expose himself to it, but most don't live for more than 20 years after they begin study if they use it regularly, and the downhill slope to that death is not pretty. Insanity is followed by malformation and finally a general surrender by the body's structure to the chaotic power of the warp.
These guys don't like magic users. They barely tolerate their own, they totally banned all other magic throughout the empire. Thus the conflict. See this entry under Warriors.

ARCHONS
As I explained before, Archons are beings of pure arcane energy. This makes them particularly vulnerable to null weapons and also makes them enemies of the state. Thus the Archon Hunters, being against magic, naturally named themselves persecutors of the embodiment of all magic. They stay pretty safe traveling the planes, but there's only so much time you can spend walking the elemental planes before you really want to go back to the physical plane. They were once great allies of the empire, and still fight for its return. They are led by Il'Tana, another demi-god who tends to keep himself busy wandering the planes inside and outside the barrier. He joins the fight for order in a lot of places that nobody in Gurlin even knows exist. Thus the fight in Gurlin, being neglected by its leader, is not going incredibly well and the call for champions is rather loud. The Archons still follow Il'Tana because they know that he holds the fate of many worlds in his hands and thus they understand his absences. Plus he started the whole Archon thing, so they're all pretty loyal. Most of them choose in this time to walk in the less crowded places of the world doing what little they can to fight the Archon Hunters, and most are mysterious and quite powerful. They also use all sorts of magic and come from all sorts of magical backgrounds, so being one could be quite interesting. Then again, so could being an Archon Hunter. :-P

WIZARDS
A wizard is likely to be a scholarly user of magic, though the term only refers to someone who uses the language of magic to perform magic. They usually study the language and thus are very studious, but they could be any way they like. The unifying factor is that their access to magic is through the language of the old gods. The language uses complex descriptive phrasing that's very effective for complex spells as well as simple ones. A magical phrase could be five words or three or fifty depending on the complexity of the spell, but in the end it is limited by a limited knowledge of the language. The only way to learn more is to have access to a book of the old gods, and those have all been lost in places where it would be hell and more to get them back, plus the Archons don't like when people go looking for them cuz most that do just want power. That being said, the Archons are very willing to take in wizardly students if you can find them, but mostly only if you want to fight the Archon Hunters. Wizards, with not natural magic in them, can easily hide from Archon Hunters who see magic, whereas some other magic users can not hide from detection magic.

SORCERERS
Sorcerers are those who feel magic like the wind through their hair or the earth beneath their feet. They manipulate magic in a totally intuitive way, and often the fun of exploring a sorcerer is in how they see magic and what powers they can access most easily. They are susceptible to random outbreaks of uncontrolled power and must have excellent concentration to control their power. These magic users don't need to use the language of magic, and often find it hindering, yet it takes greater skill since they have to intuitively form complex spell patterns.

SAVANTS
Some sorcerers are so powerful and uncontrolled that they are called savants. These sorcerers use magic as an extension of their will, and while sorcerers have limited control, it's usually when they choose to use magic or if they are extremely emotionally charged. Savants use magic like they use muscles, as an extension of their body and mind. Most savants are severely plane-touched and most don't survive infancy.

PLANESWALKERS
These people are like savants except that their natural talent is not for using magic, but for moving through magic. They treat magic like it is a physical part of the world around them, stepping under a particular shape to avoid the effects of a spell completely or other similar things. Only the skilled ones know how to use their talent in battle, most simply know how to walk through the planes as through the woods, using the random planar connections to travel great distances in short times. This talent usually develops later in life, around puberty, and thus some planeswalkers survive, but there are nasty demons even in Gurlin that feed on planeswalker blood, and they tend to be pretty good at getting it. This isn't necessarily a magic using ability, just one related to magic. In fact any character could have this ability, although they are likely to have at least encountered a planeseater demon before. Just keep that in mind.

PRIESTS
Now we're on to holy magic. Normal magic users don't understand how, but somehow priests, through precise acts of worship, are gifted with some powerful effects of planar magic. Priests generally follow the god form of each plane, although there are some other sects. Just note the character of your chosen plane to get an idea for the type of worship and the type of powers you'll be granted. Not only must priests sacrifice time, but also must make many physical sacrifices, whether it be animals or their own blood, to obtain power from their gods. Paladins are just more physically oriented versions of priests, same gods, similar powers, more auras and strengthening blessings. Here are the gods that are commonly worshipped, though the Archon Hunters banned all but Ianus:
Seorsas (Earth/Stone)
Sulanis (Air/Storms) (lightning bolts!)
Uruitet (Summer/Fire)
Ninit (Winter/water)
Baal (Ending/Death)
Kularis (Beginning/Life)
Ianus (Change/Chaos)
Solaris (Sunlight/light among light) (blindness/light/faerie fire/etc...)
Lunari (Moonlight/light in the dark) (darkness/darkvision/faerie fire/etc...)

PSIONICS
These users take advantage of the energy of the physical world that's just floating around. Where sorcerers and Wizards tap into planar energy using their methods, psionics use a combination of talent and study to tap into energy in the physical planes using their minds. The energy they tap into contains bits of all elements in a combination called psionic magic that produces general telekinetic and telepathic effects, telepathy being simply a connection or control of the psionic magic within a physical being. Archon Hunters mostly kill these guys cuz a chaos warped psionic is crazy dangerous to friend and foe alike.

GEM WIZARDS
Mana gems are ordinary gemstones that have been enchanted with harnessed and contained planar energy. Wizards or Sorcerers who use these gems often do so to escape the weaknesses of normal planar magic. Instead of relying on a connection to the planes, gem wizards harness energy and enchant gems with large quantities of power. Then, when they cast a spell, they simply draw on the power within the gem instead of having to tap into the planes. Mana gems are usually made of tough gemstone because a small amount of damage to a stone like this would result in the instantaneous release of all energy stored within. Also, some types of stone are easier to imbue with certain types of energy. Crafting the gems, like enchanting, takes a lot of time and effort, and people of power often have little time for rest, and therein lies the weakness of gem wizards. Through use of the gems, they don't develop combat harnessing and thus are much slower at casting without their gems. Gems can also hold entire spells, though the danger and difficulty makes holding unshaped energy most effective. These are especially rare in times of Archon Hunters as hiding the magic of the gems is practically impossible, and most of these wizards found a way to leave the realms when the Hunters came.

WITCHES/SHAMANS
The more superstitious of Gurlin follow naturalistic wizard/sorcerer/alchemists sometimes functioning as well as religious authorities. These witches or shamans often use, as with alchemists, ingredients with magical potential to evoke reactions that cause many little-understood effects. The traditions of these magical practitioners are all that allow them knowledge of their craft, but sometimes the knowledge passed along can evoke great and mysterious power. Many of these have confounded the Archons as well as the Archon Hunters, yet most vanished from the lands along with other magic users with the coming of the Archon Hunters.

BARDS
Traveling minstrels, lords of song and dance, masters of the art of entertainment. However, these bards are no ordinary entertainers. No, these masters of tales and lore weave sorcery with their songs, making magic flow like music. As with the occult powers of witches and shamans, the powers of these spellsingers are mysterious and unknown, yet the effectiveness of their magic is unquestionable.

CREATURES
Creature magic is interesting because natural magical abilities like dragon breath sometimes don't use magical energy at all, like dragon breath except in the case of dracoliches. Dryads, on the other hand, use an ability that separates out a kinda life/earth combo from the mix of energy in the physical plane. and still another hand, liches are simply magic users who have bound a life magic copy of their mind into one or more items that are also imbued with the power to control their rotting corpse, or what's left of it. So basically, creature magic is incredibly varied and should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

[julton]

FIGHTERS
Fighters come in all shapes and sizes in Gurlin just as they do anywhere else, but here's what I have concerning fighters.

BARBARIANS
These guys mostly come from the plains on the southern part of the Gurlin continent, but anyone can be a barbarian. They are characterized by body paint and wild screams, like any barbarian should be. Preferred weapons tend to be something gruesome looking, axes or big swords or two swords or... you get the point. You know barbarians, time to move on.

ARCHON HUNTERS
I know, again. Read this same section under magic first then read this one. These guys are trained with sword and fist at low levels and crueler weapons at higher levels. Their weapons are all of null stone and are made to absorb magic, but more than one Archon Hunter has learned that absorbing magic won't stop a renegade boulder sent flying at you by magic. These are highly trained, highly disciplined elite warriors at the very least. They don't take casualties lightly. Most are more than a little power hungry and cruel, but they don't let themselves go so much as to ruin the reputation of the Archon Hunters. They patrol all across the empire, so your Archon Hunter C can be almost anywhere, and there are a lot of them. They are like an overpopulated city guard for all the roads and cities within the empire, especially at the palace. Some elite experienced hunters are chosen to go on expeditions to caravan null ore from the mines. Those who use magic aren't usually chosen for the dangerous mission so close to so much null stone.

KNIGHTS
While these noble warriors are mostly gone from the world of Gurlin, there are still those who serve the emperor himself and no other with unswerving loyalty. Most of these have gone into hiding with the magic users, afraid of the day when Krytyn ends the charade of the emperor still being in control. Knights of Gurlin wear either heavy or light armor. With heavy armor they outfit themselves with longswords and shields or greatswords. With light armor they use blade staffs or long bladed chains that they wield in a whirlwind dance of death. Usually when in large groups, they outfit in their heavy attire.

PALADINS
Paladins are, as always, holy warriors. They combine worship for a blessings from a god with strength and skill at arms to fight for the ideals of their god. That being said, they can follow any god and are characterized by the traits that come with the worship of that god. Godly powers granted to paladins tend to be auras or blessings that benefit the paladin and/or detriment their enemies. They don't usually get spells or abilities that require casting or distance from combat. See Priests in Magic Users for more details and for a list of deities.

BRUTES
In the lands of Gurlin many are gifted in many varied ways. Some with exceptional magic, others with the exceptional ability to bash a skull in. Brutes happen to have the latter. These hulks come from every race, and are the savants of bone crushing, although such gifts tend to come with a hot temper.

[julton]

ROGUES
Rogues as well come in many shapes and sizes in Gurlin. Some races, as with the other professions or pursuits, tend to be better suited to the profession than others. An important note is that not all rogues pursue evil, selfish, or greedy aims.

ASSASSINS
On that note, let's see about assassins. These stealthy killers are like any other, except there are possibilities in Gurlin for assassins working for good aims. Many temples employ assassins as well as politicians and magic users who don't want to dirty their hands. There are also assassins of the empire, though few know of their existence. These people creep through the night to target and eliminate those who would seek to lay their hands on the crown and oust the emperor. There are also assassins who simply know their talents and do their work for honest gold, heeding no moral call to good or evil in their pursuit of good coin. Krytyn is too paranoid to trust assassins unless he knows their loyalty lies with him, so the ranks of Archon Hunters rarely house such people.

THIEVES
Thieves of Gurlin previously had a guild that operated in many of the major cities across the empire. Many despised the thieves guild, but the guild's use of stolen magic to hide its location prevented all but the most costly of searches, making it more worth it to let them operate. Still, the guild harbored no ill intent for citizens of the empire, simply keeping them on their toes and making sure they did not fall into complacency, a most decent pursuit, the guild would say. Its operation came to a halt with the increase in security with the coming of the Archon Hunters, and most thieves were forced to honest work or escape to the dark corners of the world.

SPIES
Spies hold special merit in Krytyn's eyes, and any spy he can get he uses to the fullest, yet he is always cautious giving more information than necessary which sometimes leads his spies to be short lived. Thus a spy in Krytyn's service is a confident and probably rather twisted individual. Spies in the service of Archons, however, are many, brave, and quite well-valued. They are gifted with many rewards if they serve well and put the eyes of the Archons where no Archon would dare to go.

URCHINS
Another being gifted with innate talent, this one to do all things stealthy. The urchins of Gurlin find special place hanging by their necks or prospering off of the wealth of the Archon Hunters. This talent sometimes acts without their express desire, so, like the Kender of Krynn, Gurlin's urchins tend to play the innocence card, true or not.

BANDITS
Banditry is known across all realms and so it is in Gurlin. Just as there are those who work honestly for a living, there are those who work to live off of those foolish enough to leave their products insufficiently guarded. These rogues develop the skills of a warrior and often travel together and develop strategies together for more effective operations. Even in the time of the Archon Hunters, bandits are known to roam the roads, ambushing merchants and living off the bounty of another's loss. Though their lives are harder now with fewer merchants and better guarded roads, there are some who still maintain the business, waiting for their chance to rise again to legendary status when the Archon Hunters are driven off.

[julton]

OTHERS
There are other common professions in Gurlin, many of which even have a place in the world of the Archon Hunters

RANGERS
Rangers are woodsmen and survivalists. In any condition of the wild they can live, stay strong and healthy, and even gain power. Some use magic, more akin to druids, while others use stealth, and still others prefer a more direct approach. No matter what the approach, a ranger is a good ally when beyond the walls of a city. There are some who consider themselves "rangers of the cities", guiding and surviving in the harshest of Gurlin's cities with the ease of a nobleman. In any case, a ranger is certainly a jack-of-all-trades.

SCHOLARS
There is a good deal of study into the history, culture, and workings of the world of Gurlin. While Krytyn discourages too much investigation, there are those that still dwell in Gurlin who simply seek truth, knowledge, wisdom, and maybe a little money and recognition along the way.

CRAFTSMEN
There are many crafts in Gurlin. Though all magical crafts that had once flourished have been driven out, there are still those who pursue any craft one can imagine, and some in the past have achieved great works, masterpieces that will send their names down into eternity.

ENCHANTERS
Enchantment in the world of Gurlin can take several forms, which is why enchanters belong in the others section. Some enchantment is based on a specific kind of casting on a weapon, but this is generally temporary like a normal spell. Some enchantments of that type will last longer when inlaid in the weapon as it is being crafted, but again these fade with time. The most lasting enchantments are similar to witch spells or alchemist potions. Ingredients with special properties can be mixed in with the materials of the item or prepared with the item in combination with some magic in order to imbue their effects upon the weapon. Simple spell enchantments will last through a few uses, some through a few days, and those inlaid with the item as it is made can last decades, but those done by imbuing natural properties of items into an enchantment last centuries. These are the items of power that come from the enchanters of generations past whose names are passed along into the record books. Their items last as long as their names, passing down through many centuries to become sacred relics or items of legend, or simply handy trinkets that don't lose their touch. Another type of enchantment is possible, but remains beyond the means of any one mortal. Still, the secrets of high magic, though its power would destroy any who use it, make legends of those who use it whose names and creations never die.

ALCHEMISTS
There are still some in the realms who have catalogued and recorded or simply memorized the combinations of natural and unnatural ingredients to effect wondrous or magical effects. Many things across the lands have unknown or known contact with energy of many varieties and alchemists make their living knowing what properties are held in what items, why, and how these properties can be used, mixed, or evoked to have what effect.

[julton]

So Here's the beginning of what I hope to be a nice little guide to taking your place in the second age of conflict in Gurlin. You don't have to and probably shouldn't read it all, but there's hopefully something there for everyone. PM me with questions and please feel free to ambitiously seek glory in the world of Gurlin.

[julton]

GEOGRAPHY
It is recommended that you read this section before reading Races, at least the area that concerns the race you choose.
The lands of gurlin are centered around a roughly hourglass shaped continent, itself called Gurlin, surrounded by islands of varying size. The continent is about half the size of australia. Two of the largest islands lie to the north and the northwest of the continent with many smaller islands surrounding them. Directly west of the continent is open sea that secretly houses an entire society of merfolk unrivaled in the arts of water magic and thus able to keep themselves entirely secret. Superstitions and legends keep those of the empire from venturing too far into the Dark Sea.
GURLIN
The continent itself is divided about a third of the way up from the southern end by a long string of mountains spanning the continent from east to west called the Divand Mountains. The Korin river flows south from the mountains into the sea, dividing the southern hills and plains into two plains, the Destin plains and Dusty Dunes to the west, so called for their ashy grey very fine grained sand, and the Edin plains and Titan foothills to the east.
The southern dwarves make their home in Karak'Rikh in the western range, a dormant volcano of massive size. The western span of mountains shallows to the east of the Korin river before rising up again to the east and concluding in cliffs on the eastern shore.
On the eastern shore north of the mountains begins a great desert called the Arakiid Desert, home to the most deadly desert dwellers in Gurlin. The desert comes to a gradual forested end at the Tel'Nin river. The Wild Forest of Gurlin is bounded there by the Tel'Nin river that flows from the mountains that form the forest's southern border.
On the west the forest comes to a steep end at the Dark Sea, a cliff-haunted coastline only broken by a short stretch of beach that operates as the docks for the elven city of Tel'Naer, home to many wood elves and common elves and one of very few cities that survive in the deadly forest.
The northern border of the isle is marked by a great stretch of beaches leaving a strip of sand a dozen feet wide in some places and a half a mile in others all along the northern coast. The Tel'Nin strait flows from the Tel'Nin river marking the eastern edge of the forest and separating it from the Arakiid.
In the midst of the wilderness near the northern edge of the isle stands the Palace, a great castle city built in many layers increasing in height towards the center to offer defenses against any and all dangers of the forest. The great castle gates stand open to the road north where a town by the name of Rankshome serves as a funnel for all sea traffic to the palace.
THE DIVAND MOUNTAINS
The mountain range springs up suddenly around a sheltered bay called the Dracon Bay, for good reason. The bay is sacred to a large population of dragons that live in the mountains. They use the bay for ritual combat and use their innate senses and powers, both magical and physical, to guard it from any sort of intruder.
The mountains rise up in height finally crowned about 200 miles east of the shoreline by Karak'Rikh, the “Rikh stronghold”. There the dwarves live off the strange bounty of the mountains, from the depths of their caves to the cold and unforgiving cliffs. Many species of natural gargoyle and small dragons feast on cave creatures that emerge to collect water from snowmelt on the mountain, all of these creatures providing ample hunting for dwarven rangers. The larger dragons begrudge the loss of their young to the dwarves, while the dwarves insist that the creatures are too cruel to deserve life in the first place. Thus dwarves and dragons have little friendly exchange.
Just east of Karak'Rikh there is a high plateu where natural hot springs rise from the earth. There also lies the source of the Korin river that winds through the mountains eastward until falling in a great waterfall into Lake Athelea. From there the river springs up again to flow down through the hills and plains and into the sea to the south.
Just east of the Korin's source lies the source of the Tel'Nin. This river flows from its source into a planar pocket that is home to Gurlin's faeries before winding its way out of the mountains to divide the Arakiid form the Wild Forest. The faerie home is only accessible through faerie rings located in great plateus of forest amidst the mountains, and the faeries guard their home well.
Further east, now about 350 miles from the east coast, the mountains dip down into steep hills. Amidst the hills winds a path wide enough for four humans to walk shoulder-to-shoulder. This pass through the mountains is called the pass of Rikh Edo, so named for its supposed creator. The hills of the pass are controlled by the varied tribes of ogres that prefer mountain creatures to those of the plains or lower hills.
From there the mountains rise up again to snow capped peaks in a several hundred mile jog to the east coast where they dip down into pleasantly green steep hilled coastline. Very few creatures reside in the eastern range and few venture out onto the cliffs for no better reason than the little reward offered in traveling there. In the depths of the eastern range, however, powerful demons of great evil vie for control of demonic hordes awaiting the command to emerge from the depths and deliver the world into fire, pain, and death.
THE PASS, THE HILLS, AND THE PLAINS
The Titan foothills are not so named for their great size, though they do have that. These foothills are home to the giants, nomadic loners who, if only for their dangerous hunger and the effectiveness with which they satisfy it, make the Tital foothills an uninviting place to be.
The foothills lead naturally into the Pass of Rikh Edo, home to the less massive ogres. The tribes of ogres that dominate the pass keep quite distant from the Titan foothills for fear of the wrath of the godlike giants. Some ogres even revere the giants and a select few are offered on rare occasions to the giants in an effort to appease the gods to grant favor on the tribes. The rocky relations surrounding the foothills and the pass make traveling the trail through the mountains an incredibly dangerous task.
To the west of the Titan foothills separated by Lake Athelea are the Dusty Dunes. The sand is a fine almost powdery mix of quartz and lavarock from ancient activity of Karak'Rikh. The fine dusky sand makes the dunes look and feel like they are coated with a fine layer of dust, thus their name. These hills are only home to some smaller creatures, snakes, scorpions, small rodents, and some tough plants that have learned to survive off the underground water and the occasional rain. As usual, these plants are most often cacti. The fineness of the sand and assortment of mildly dangerous creatures make the dunes a dismal place to travel or live, so very few venture into these lands.
To the south of the hills and dunes lie the plains of Destin on the west and Edin on the east. The east of Edin is home to a tribe of ogres while the western planes closer to the river house several tribes of human plainsmen. The plains are rich in the bounty of growth with much wild grain and grass and thus many herd animals, and thus the plainsmen of Edin are able to live in established settlements, all with care to put enough distance between them and the ogres.
The plains of Destin are home to a few more nomadic tribes of human plainsmen that follow the lesser herds of the sparser Destin plains. These tribes, however, are not threatened as much by warfare except amongst themselves. The Korin river forms deep S curves leaving two great fields, each several miles across, divided by the river. In these fields the tribes of the west and the tribes of the east gather together to share in trade once a year and share little other contact. Through this gathering, the empire had a shaky alliance with the gathering of plainsmen, though neither party totally understood the relationship. Since the Archon Hunters, all contact has broken off between the empire and the plainsmen.
THE ARAKIID (GROG), THE WILD FOREST, AND THE NORTHERN BEACHES
The Arakiid desert is home to the brutal orc city Grog. This city is the home of the black orcs as well as all who associate with them and is the closest the orcs come to civilization, as well as the closest any city comes to being given over to the pursuit of death. The city lies in the southestern part of the desert and the rest of the desert falls prey to the needs and ambitions of its inhabitants. Still, the desert is full of the most deadly of snakes and scorpions and the toughest of rodents and cacti.
The Wild Forest itself is home to every creature that does not find a home in the empire. The continent is also the center of some long lost civilizations from days before and after the reformation of Gurlin, and the temporary resting place of long lost treasure, power, and danger. The palace was built in Gurlin to signal the beginning of the reclamation of the wilds, but little did the builders know the true depths of wildness they sought to master. The palace stands strong against the many wild forces that would seek to conquer it, from flights of dragons to the plots of power-hungry liches, yet many mysterious and dangerous creatures still lurk in the forest depths awaiting the chance of a foolish adventurer. The palace remains a center of activity for that exact reason, many adventurers venture into the forest to seek wealth, fame, power, or anything else they can get their hands on. Most never return, but those that do bring back haunting tales or great riches or power. Now the Archon Hunters are the only who venture forth and they bring back little, but there are still adventurers that would seek the power laid down generations past.
The town of Rankshome is no more than a waypoint, a place for travelers to stop briefly on the way to the palace. It is the gutter of civilization in Gurlin and few pay much notice to it as they pass through, though most take precautions to guard their valuables.
The city of Tel'Naer on the western edge of the continent used to be a city where wood elves of the Wild Forest came for shelter or trade with the outside world. When the Archon Hunters arrived to take the city, the elves were all gone and the city now stands empty as if every inhabitant went to bed one night and vanished from existence. Some elves were known to make their escape into the woods, but not all, and many mysteries surround those that did not.

TORR
The island directly north of the continent is close enough to see from the northern shores, and is about the size of Ireland. The island of Torr holds the great inactive volcano that the northern dwarves call home, Karak'Torr, literally "Torr stronghold". The great mountain is surrounded by dense jungle that holds a great variety of jungle creatures from great cats to parrots to spiders the size of large dogs. as well as insects to match. Many come to this forest to plot dark plots in secret, though only a fraction of those live through the dangers of the jungle long enough to put them into action. A road leads from the gates of Karak'Torr to the western edge of the island where the small city of Jaslina funnels trade between the humans and elves of the Great Isle and the Dwarves of Karak'Torr as well as with the Palace. The dwarves guard the road and the city and thus keep it clear of most of the crime, or at least they have in the past. Now the Archon Hunters guard the roads and city as well as the dwarven kingdom.
THE GREAT ISLAND
The island to the northwest, called simply the Great island, holds the majority of the human population of the empire as well as the homeland of the elves, called the Great Forest. The Great forest spans most of the southern half of the island with huge trees densely packed, breaking only in the east for a stretch of about 100 miles where the trees grow thinner and less densely packed. In that break the common elven city of El'Muir stands as the only true home to the rejected common elves. North of the Great Forest lies a large strip of fertile ground that houses most of the human population and spans the island from east to west. The very northern edges of the island look like they have stubby horns where two stretches of desert reach out from the island on peninsulas. The cities of the Great Island are the economic centers of the empire. Though many go to the palace for study, the largest centers of study outside of the palace are in the cities of the Great isle and in the dwarven city of Karak'Torr.
The Great Forest houses a handful of high elven cities where most of the high elves in the empire live. Most of the forest is full of scattered wood elf settlements hanging in the treetops. The Archon Hunters guard the borders of the forest, but never enter the Great Forest. They do control the common elves, but their reach stops at the edge of the true Great Forest.
North of the Great Forest are the plains of the humans. The agriculture of these plains feeds the empire and the size of the great expanse of fertile lands on this island insures that a great diversity of foods are grown and distributed. The plains are dangerous, housing a scattered population of goblins among other dangerous creatures, but the rewards of planting in the earth of the plains is great enough for many farmers to risk. Needless to say farmers tend to be prepared to defend their farms. The farmers roads lead together to larger and larger settlements centered along the longstride highway, a paved road that stretches from the docks of Oresong on the eastern coast to the far western farming settlement of Daco and through Gurado, the center of culture and trade of goods and knowledge between the elves and humans in the empire.
North of the plains covering the northern quarter of the island as well as the two peninsulas off the northeastern and northwestern edges of the island is comprised of sandy desert dunes. The northeastern peninsula was the site of a great battle long past between orcs and humans and the great barrier built by the orcs to defend their territory still stands. Piles of stone magically melted into a great wall stands across the length of the border where the peninsula meets the body of the island. Crude stone watchpoints like large stone cups appear periodically along the wall, though some have fallen over the years. Orcs of various tribes always stand watch at the wall, in the watchpoints or simply sitting atop the wall so that any who venture near are known to at least one of the tribes. The wall serves the double purpose of keeping orc raids to a minimum, limiting successful raids to those who belong to the tribe who holds the gate.
The port city of Benost provides the inhabitants of the north a destination for the products of their labors, often rare spices, gems, and other precious products that invite attention from the greedy and power hungry. The city lies only a hundred miles west of the orc barrier and suffers the corruption of trade with orcs. The influence of the orcs has led the city to become a center for all underground activity in the empire, and no self-respecting citizen would find themselves unguarded on the streets of Benost. Even the thieves limit their stay in the city to only as long as needed. The Archon Hunters themselves have given up on the city and only keep a presence there for show, making no attempt to contain the corruption that claims the city, and in turn the corrupt tend to leave the Huners alone. The city has only stayed in operation on the business that works through it, rich merchants moving rich merchandise with need of good protection as well as stolen and seized merchandise in need of sale.
The northwestern peninsula is called the Daean dunes, a wasteland of sand, sun, and blue sky only held in place by competing winds that change its exact shape and position with the seasons so that no map is ever truly accurate.

[julton]

RACES
Below I'll explain the various races of the empire. This will be the last step to character creation, so I'll try to get all the missing details in here.

ARCHONS
The Archons are beings who, through complex study and magical construction, have modeled their consciousnesses in pure magical energy and thus tie their entire existences to magic. Through magical means they can construct temporary bodies for themselves and thus blend in with physical beings, but any magical detection will show that every fiber of their being is constructed in magic. The Archons ascended to Archon form when they separated the ordered arcane energy from the chaotic void energy and created the Archon and Void planes. For some time they were contained within the Archon plane by a barrier of Void energy between their plane and the physical, mirrored by an arcane barrier around the Void plane, and when they returned they were driven into hiding by Krytyn and the Archon Hunters. Now they remain secretive, harassing the Hunters to keep them on their toes and awaiting the day when they all band together to bring down the Hunters and banish Krytyn as he banished them. As such each Archon tends to live as a hermit or with a small group of Archons, hiding in the forests or retreating to their plane. Some take in magically talented children to save them from the Hunters, others keep to themselves. The Archon plane is generally a barren land of pure arcane energy with the occasional wandering Archon.

ARCHON HUNTERS
The Archon Hunters come from all races and all varieties, generally driven by lust for power or control or simply as an escape from the position of the persecuted to the position of the persecutor.

HUMANS
Humanity is marked by a wide skill set, short life/attention span, and thus a quick-thinking and broad mindset as well as a relatively good adaptability to change. Unfortunately this gets them in trouble with some of the more stable races. Humans are spread across the lands of Gurlin and can name many of the uniting heroes and leaders of the empire among their number. Human adaptability and short life span has led them to be the diplomats and politicians of the empire especially, though they are very broadly spread across professions as well as geographical areas.
The plains and deserts of the great isle are farmed and mined and harvested primarily by humans, thus human production supplies most of the major cities, including the palace, with food and most of its other raw materials. Some gemstones and plants are only found in the plains and deserts of the great isle, so the draw of every type of human from adventurers to gold-seekers to simple farmers is great. The farming folk tend to be friendly to strangers and their small settlements often have some sort of tavern where the farming folk come to celebrate any time off they can spare. Some folk with more precious harvesting sites tend to be more suspicious and many secret movements for the black market make their way across the plains. The huge amount of transportation that moves these raw materials attracts all sorts of bandits to the richer roads. The longstride highway attracts the toughest of guards and the toughest of bandits for the rich cargo that often uses the highway for fast transport. The highway passes through the richest and most culturally developed human cities in the empire, Gurado, Wanea, and Oresong, so the traffic is thick and juicy along its length.
The city of Gurado is the capitol of the Great isle and is the center of governance for the region. It also houses the College of Magic, the center of magical knowledge for humans and the only place where high elves deign to share their magical knowledge and ability and gain the immensity and variety of human production for their spell components and theories. The city is also home to many magic and governance related services, like enchanters, lawyers, alchemists, clerks, jewelers, etc... and all manner of traders and merchants preying on such business. The longstride highway runs directly through the center of the city, and the Hall of State is a few blocks north of the center of the city, visible along the tree lined roadway that leads from the longstride to its doorstep. The College of Magic is marked by its architecture, tall spires like spikes point into the sky, architecture known to be of high elf origin. The college was closed and locked up when the Archon Hunters came. Rumors pass among the populace about its fate, but little is known outside of the Hunters and those who studied there at the time.
Wanea is the great crossroads of the legal and the illegal, the meeting of the roads from Benost and Gurado as each heads to the port of Oresong for trade with the dwarves and shipments to the palace. It is the place where civilized merchants traveling along the longstride take pause to bathe and prepare for the final step of their journey. It is custom in the empire for civilized folk to only spend as long as it takes to get from Gurado to Wanea away from baths.
Oresong is the eastern port, the most visited port for humans and dwarves, among others, for legal travel and trade. It's a pretty standard port city, business centered around inns, taverns, warehouses, and the harbor. The permanent residents here are relatively few and most live off of the coin of traders and travelers.
Benost is explained earlier, but basically it's the port city of thieves and criminals as well as the more gruesome creatures that call themselves intelligent. Danger is the name of the game in Benost, and those who make their homes here are the hardiest, most clever, or most dangerous in the realms.
Aside from the Great Isle, the palace is the only other home for humans. The palace is home to all those on imperial business, and also houses the headquarters for most of the business of the empire. If nothing else can be said of the titanic walls and massive stone structures of the palace, it is certainly the safest place in the empire, especially under the Hunters. Guards patrol every inch of the palace-city and they do not leave any area unattended for long. The walls are capable of and have in the past withstood attacks from dragon flame, powerful destructive magic, earthquakes that sent people flying into the air, and any other natural or supernatural assault against them. The stone was crafted by the dwarves, reinforced by high elf magic, and tended by the caring hands of humanity as a symbol of the unity of the empire.
The plains of the south are home to a branch of humanity separated in the first days of civilization in Gurlin. Their tribal ways and rituals are unknown to the dwellers of the empire, though occasionally a plainsman survives the journey to the lands of the empire. The only survivors are those who desperately seek a new home, and those adapt to the ways of the empire and live out their days with their past as a secret. The plainsmen are well known to the high elves and wood elves, as some elven settlements have made their way to Gurlin, but, though always friendly, their interactions are few and far between. The plainsmen are also familiar with the ogres, giants, and dragons as their only neighbors.