THE OLD WORLD: A land of gods and magic. Monsters have been made extinct.

THE NEW WORLD: Across the ocean, to the west of the Old World, is a land where magic, whether arcane or divine, doesn't work-- but science does, up to about the level of 1885. There were no monsters when the first explorers landed, and there aren't now, either... so far...

The New World was settled mostly based on its valuable timber... but as humans expanded West, they reached The Great River, which divides the continent...

THE FRONTIER: A land where spells don't work... but there're bad things going on... Gunpowder'll have to make up for it.

The Five Powers:

THE WESTERN FRONTIER COMPANY: It started when gold was discovered... then it was discovered that silver and iron and coal were plentiful in the frontier, too...

--DREAMWEED: A thistle-like plant that grows on the frontier. It has both opiate properties as well as psychedelic properties. Wanted back in the Old World for medicinal and magical properties. Wanted everywhere as a recreational drug. Won't grow east of the Great River. The Company buys it from farmers...

--CATTLE (AND SHEEP): Wealthy dreamweed farmers like a bit of beef now and then. So do wealthy mine owners and managers. So do the non-vegetarian tribespeople...

--DOOMBAT GUANO: Doombat guano, found in caves, makes for the best gunpowder, and is also an excellent material component for fire spells, and so it is greatly sought after back east.

--TERRORDACTYL GLANDS: A useful material component for both Flight spells and polymorph spells, and so greatly sought after back east.

THE TRIBES: The Thunderheart tribes are a force to be reckoned with.

OUTLAWS: Some have formed into large bands.

THE CURSE: The curse upon the humans taking advantage of The Frontier's resources causes monsters and undead to attack... sometimes almost an annoyance, sometimes wiping out whole towns.

THE CHURCH: Priests can't do spells across the Great River... but they can still sometimes turn undead, and so they are still respected and listened to... sometimes...
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:50, Wed 19 Sept 2018.

Notable human towns and cities:


--Minnesota: TEN LAKES: Owl territory: Vermillion Falls: The Owls do not encourage human settlers on their territory, but there is a town called Vermillion Falls, just on the edge of their territory, where a town has grown up around an iron mine. The Owls feel that the area has traditionally belonged to the Buffalo... the Buffalo feel that if the Thunderbird wants to destroy it, he will... probably sooner than later...

--Arkansas: SILVER RIVER: Buffalo territory: Sunrise City: Sunrise City has grown up around the west side of one of the few bridges across the river. It's got a lot of warehouses, and a munitions plant that makes ammunition.

--Idaho: PINE FLATS: Porcupine territory: Hidden Springs: Dreamweed grows well around Hidden Springs, so a fairly large human community has grown up there, on the road to the west coast.

--Louisiana: DISMAL SWAMP: Alligator territory: Westwego: The only harbor where ships can land west of the river. West of Westwego, it's too rocky to land for hundreds of miles. There's also the problem of how, for unknown reasons, only 49 out of 50 ships make the journey to the far west coast of the frontier...

--West Texas: THREE FORKS: Armadillo territory: Red Bluff: This human community is near a dam that makes a reservoir. Terrordactyls are less uncommon in the area, so Red Bluff has become a popular destination for hunters.

--East Texas: BIG FOREST: Possum territory: Big Creek: The town of Big Creek bills itself as a safe town with a large peacekeeping force, a large church community, and extra-thick walls of pointed timber surrounding it. An expansion to the walls is planned, as people fleeing other, smaller nearby towns terrorized by the dark forces of The Curse have increased Big Creek's population...

--Nevada: BLACK ROCK DESERT: Coyote territory: High Mountain: The city of High Mountain has grown fast due to the multiple rich goldmine strikes in the area.

--Oregon: THUNDER VALLEY: Raven territory: Pistol River: There have been multiple successful goldmine strikes near this coastal town.

--Montana, California: GOLD BEAR MOUNTAINS: Bear territory: Crescent Bay: Crescent Bay is not only the first, and main, location for the sailing ships that dare the passage from Westwego to the far coast, but there have also been multiple successful silver and iron mines not far from this coastal town.

--Colorado: HIGH MESA: Snake territory: Skyview City: Some iron, gold, and silver mines cam all be found nearby this human city.

--New Mexico: WHITE SANDS: Jackrabbit territory: Fort Black: This city, named after the Company fort at its center, trades mostly in Doombat Guano and the occasional finds of silver prospectors. To the northwest, at the corners of the Jackrabbit and Snake territories, is an ancient Thunderheart cliff city that is considered very sacred, although humans are allowed to come and look up at it from a distance, as long as they do not attempt to climb up and enter it. There is uncertainty about which tribe might have once lived there, but all tribes hold it sacred to some degree or other.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:09, Fri 03 Mar 2023.