Notes for the 5th-Edition D&D Campaign Setting

Link to D&D 5th Edition Primer and Character Creation Notes

TheWorld

1. Cosmology

In the BeforeHere, the BeforeNow, an angry scream sounded, and He radiated in every direction pushing out the boundaries of TheHereAndNow. ThePath, then, walked Herself into existence, circled around and throughout TheScream--searching for ways to sooth His quivering pain. TheScream, fearing He would be muffled and silenced forever by "this attack," beamformed pulsating retaliation--directed at ThePath. ThePath, thus beset, forked at that point into countless alternatives, and determined the best one for going forward; she reacted and tore apart Herself and the dissonance of TheScream into smaller, heated melodies, which slowly cooled into a more agreeable universe of solar bodies and smaller, more soulful personifications.

The Known Solar System today consists of a Sol-like sun (Freehet), an elemental inner planet (Shuekra), a warm fluffy gas giant (EyeQweetas), and two outer planets (Enyoe and Furantur). EyeQweetus supports four tidally-lock moons, Nodebra, Leeka Sinada, Kree Hweef, and Ooveraree. All celestial objects in the solar system, including empty space (Reynon), and a nearby bright polestar (Vhereum) serve as avatars for (and are named for) the new gods who arose.

2. Main Setting: Environmental Factors, Time, and Key Geographical Aspects

TheWorld (a.k.a. Leeka Sinada) is a tidally-locked moon, believed to be 3,600 miles in diameter, with a very large, very dense metallic core. It orbits EyeQweetas, a low density, warm fluffy gas giant roughly 60,000 miles in diameter, which is about 1.32 AU away from its sun (Freehet). "ThePeople" is a generic reference for the various sentient creatures who populate the surface of TheWorld (primarily human, but it also halflings, elves, goblins, ogres, dwarfs, and gnomes).

Day and Night Cycles
TheWorld makes a complete rotation around the Gas Giant every 60 hours. ThePeople's terminology for units of time, and their rituals and calendar, rituals, have been greatly influenced by the clocklike precision of their celestial neighbors. ThePeople divide their days (and lives) into three equal proportions of "Labor," "Rest," and "Other" according to biological need, and they typically will not remain more than 8 hours straight at any one of these activities. "Other" is a category that includes personal and interpersonal time, and can include travel, shopping, family obligations, and the pursuit of personal enrichment and well-being.

Time Units
Hours, minutes, and seconds on TheWorld (and as written in the D&D spell descriptions) are the same as on Earth-like fantasy worlds. Only larger time units differ, specifically
• Dag (DAHG), aka "Day" = used to indicate the 60 hours between sunrises.
• Dagsfrí (DAHGS-free), aka "Day Break" = first light of a new day occuring at 0:00, also known as "0 o'clock."
• Fyrst Morgunn (FYRST MOR-goon), aka "First Morning" = the period of early sunlight between 0:00-14:00.
• Myrkvi (MEERK-vee) = a period of darkness between 14:00-16:00, when EyeQweetas eclipses Freehet, the total eclipse occuring at 15 o'clock.
• Sekúnda Morgunn (se-KOON-da MOR-goon), aka "Second Morning" = the period of late sunlight between 16:00-30:00.
• Korps (KORPS, rolled "r") aka "Raven's" = the daily sunset at 30:00.
• Korpsflig (KORPS-fleeg), aka "Raven's Flight" = every 120 hours, at 30:00, the "second sunset" when Kwee Hwef conjuncts with TheWorld; this is the traditional time for burials.
• Fyrst Nótt (FYRST NOHT), aka "First Night" = the period of early darkness between 30:00-40:00.
• Ljus Nótt (LYOOS-noht), aka "Bright Night" = the dusky period between 40:00-50:00, brightest at 45:00, when indirect sunlight reflects off of EyeQweetas.
• Faes (FAYS) aka "Phase" = every 60 hours, at 45:00, when Nodebrå conjuncts with TheWorld; this also describes 45:00-15:00 and 15:00-45:00, two 30-hour periods with equal amounts of "light and darkness."
• Sekúnda Nótt (se-KOON-da NOHT), aka "Second Night" = the period of late darkness between 50:00-60:00.
• Fjórða Önnur Nótt (FYOHR-tha ÖN-nur NOHT), aka "Gloaming" = the last few and darkest of the 240 hours preceeding the conjunction of Ooverree with TheWorld at 0 o'clock. Traditionally, the end of the week; used colloquially for any gloomy feeling.
• Verkstundr (VERK-stoon-dr), "Work Moment" = used to indicate a business work shift lasting 8 consecutive hours. Typically, this is how long it takes to brew a Healing Potion or craft a mundane item like an adventuring backpack.
• Verkskra (VERK-skrah), "Work Cycle" or "Bastion Turn," = used to indicate 5 Verkstundr completed over two consecutive Dagr. Typically, this is how long it takes for hirelings to craft a Common Magic Item or for a Bastion specialty facility to complete it's last Order.
• Vecka (VEK-ka), aka "Week" = used to indicate the passage of four consecutive Dagr.
• Säsong (SAY-soong), aka "Season" = used to indicate the passage of 36 consecutive Dagr (or nine Veckor).
• Frídag (FREE-dag), aka "Free Day" = the first day and national holiday of each 36-Dagr Säsong.

• Annan dag (ANOTHER-dag), aka "Second Free Day" = the 19th day of a 36-Dagr Säsong, which is becoming more common.

Unit Conversations
A good rule of thumb (if you need you to covert TheWorld periods of time into more "Earth-like" units (or the D&D reference books cite values more than one hour) is to use the standard conversion methods listed here. For example, to calculate a hireling's expected wages, treat one 8-hour Earth "Day" of labor as being equal to one World "Verkstundr." For example, if skilled labor costs 2 gp per Earth day, then multiple by 2.5 Verkstundr to arrive at 5 gp per TheWorld Dag. If instead, a task takes 365 Earth days to complete, then divide by 2.5 to arrive at 146 TheWorld days. Likewise, since ThePeople pay very close attention to the subtle differences between their five Säsonger, they don't track the long passage of time in years but instead in Säsonger. But, if needed, players can divide the big seasons numbers by 4, and that's approximately how many Earth year's worth of time is being discussed. For example, the 162-Season World War waged on TheWorld for more than 40 Earth years. And here, Humans might expect to live 400 Säsonger, Goblins 325, Halflings 600, Dwarfs 1,400, Gnomes 2,000, and Elves 3,000.

Climate
There is not much temperature and climate variance during the 180 World day year in the population centers on TheWorld, but there are five distinct seasons, essentially a cold Winter period (Kallliga), then a cool Spring (Svalsådd), a warm Autumn (Värmskörde), a warm second Spring (Värmsådd), and a cool second Autumn (Svalskörde). Crops can be planted and harvested at any time throughout the year, but the periods between the Spring and Autumns pairings see the most growth, and the Winter season sees the least--sometimes very little. Most will leave the fields fallow at least two seasons out of every five.

Land Masses
Most of the known habitable land of TheWorld is centered and massed at the equator on the side of the moon facing the gas giant. These lands are quite varied by altitude: a good mix of grasslands, forests, deserts, taigas and tundras surrounded by vast and dangerous oceans. Smaller continental land masses and large islands are known to exist further from the center. There are also a significant number of habitable near-surface caverns (and even deeper subterranean realms, which are known collectively as "The Moulded Grotto" even though most of these deep locations have no direct connections between them). Little, if anything, is publicly known of the opposite side of TheWorld, but it is assumed to be a dry, barren and overly volcanic realm.

Echos
There are convincing first-hand accounts, cultural histories, legends, and much physical evidence that prove TheWorld coexists with similar "nearby" realms that are also capable of supporting life. Some argue that these worlds "overlap" each other multidimensionally while others believe these realms actually exist on neighboring moons and planets. Wherever these realms truly exist, travel has been found to be possible between them at certain times and at certain locations (known as "faults," "veils," or along "ley lines").

3. Species, Fantasy Trope Expectations, and Languages

There are many sentient humanoid species occupying TheWorld (too many most believe to have evolved here naturally). As the most common people in this D&D world are humanoids: Humans, Halflings, Dwarfs, Gnomes, Elves, and Goblins, those are also the expected player character options for this campaign setting. (Some exceptions may be made in each major location; for example, Yuan-Ti in the east, Lizard-Men in the southwest, and Ogres in the southeast.) Interbreeding is possible among humanoid species, but on TheWorld, mixed offspring tend to favor the species characteristics of the mother; as such, there is no Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Half-Devil/Demon (Tiefling), or Half-Dragon (Dragonborn) "race" in this campaign setting, but some unique instances of these ("freaks" or outcasts) can exist. The most common/numerous people living on the surface of TheWorld are humans, who breed and mature quickly, but they are also relatively short-lived. Because of this, humans tend to be overly ambitious and "determined to leave their mark" on TheWorld. This is also true of other short-lived species, such as goblins and ogres. The longer-lived species, such as elves, do not mature quickly nor have many viable offspring. Significant numbers of these species often seem less driven and less ambitious than typical humans, preferring instead to slowly sample everything life has to offer; they rarely dedicate their lives to single purposes or specialities, and considerable numbers of them have been known to suddenly pack up and start new identitites and lives someplace else. Some long-lived species, such as Dwarfs, do tend to be singularly focused and enjoy working toward perfecting only one or two of their life's pursuits.

Languages
• Halfling (Nyhet) is phatic language that expounds upon the commonplace; it is used frequently for lengthy greetings and acknowledgements, conveying news, and providing summaries of events; much of the lore and history of TheWorld has been rendered in massive volumes written in Nyhet, but, as Halflings rarely travel anywhere themselves, these accounts are often secondhand and superficial; but, just as often, they contain nuggets of very useful information and are well worth "mining" through.

• Dwarf (Varee) is a prescriptive language of hard consonants and guttural sounds; much of it centered around contracts, trade, diplomancy, and logistics; it is also filled with efficient industrial and guild jargon; Varee runes are commonly found on well-crafted items, in concise, technical directions, and upon location markers to denote the pertinent information needed by travelers.

• Goblin (Stoatleeg) is an imperative language used by the privileged to issue commands and warnings to underlings. (There are many commonalities between Stoatleeg and the language used by Infernal races suggesting some common historical source.) Many of the words and phrases center around wealth, finances, social rank, and courtly traditions.

• Gnome (Hemleeg) is a chirpy, sing-song language; much of it is focused on relating quick bursts of information or lengthy, detailed lists; its written characters form the foundation for many algorithmic formulas, arcane incantations, and clandestine lore. Druidic (Syllic) is an oral subset of Hemleeg blending its chirps with nature and animal sounds to better commune with nature and wildlife.

• Human (Yemenson) now is a conglomerative, "Common" language peppered with the many words, phrases, and functionality of all other humanoid languages combined; pronunciations and meanings of some of the original human words, however, have evolved over time and differ wildly from their original intent. Thieves' Cant (Hwelm) is primarily a non-verbal, sign- and gesture-based version of Yemenson, but it also places odd emphasis upon (and subtle alteration of) commonly-spoken words in otherwise open conversations to convey additional meaning; localized variations help members of secret organizations identify each other.

• Draconic (Ormr) is an agglutinative language where its fixed-order, unchanging morphemes (its indivisible units of language) remain unchanged no matter how you join them into words and sentences. It is sibilantly spoken by Lizard Folk, Kobolds, and (supposedly) dragons.

• Elf (Infahding) is an expressive, lyrical language; it is used equally to express feelings and desires and to form evaluations and pass judgments. Primarily an oral-based culture, elves use other languages for most of their written works (works which often seem more concerned with the aesthetics of the scripted artifact than the document's actual content).

• Jötnar (Voima) is a chaotic agglutinative language, where morphemes like "kaava" (wild), "pula" (power), or "sampo" (might) combine in any order. Meaning hinges on delivery and gestures, not syntax, reflecting the current situation and individualism. Spoken as rhythmic, vowel-heavy (aa, uu) chants, it's used for battle cries and sorcery, and adds boistrous, emphatic slang to the Common tongue.

• Abyssal (Wirrsprek/Undercommon) is a conglomerative language formed from languages of races who dwell in the deepest caverns of TheWorld, mixed with a liberal amount of Demonic along with a few of the most-common Common expressions.

4. Technology and Resources

The technology of TheWorld is roughly equivalent to that of Earth, circa 1100 AD, with the following improvements:
• Mining and metal working, armor and weapons, stonework (such as rib vaults and chimneys) stepped up centuries by Dwarfs.
• Buttons, spinning wheels, bar soap, glassware, mirrors, wine press, distillation, long bow, three-field agricultural technology stepped up by Elves.
• Paper, water mills, inks, watermarks, dye techniques, farm vehicles (wheelbarrow and cart) stepped up Halflings.
• Vertical windmills, treadwheel and harbor cranes, optics, magnets, rat traps, trebuchet, hourglass and clockwork mechanics stepped up by Gnomes.
• Oil painting, stern-mounted rudders and sailing techniques stepped up by Goblins (pujke).

Resources are generally quite good and plentiful (in comparison to population numbers), but these resources are not always universally distributed throughout TheWorld, which provides great opportunities for global trade and commerce, but it has also been the largest contributing factor behind most every prolonged war.

5. Politics and Authority

In TheWorld, social hierarchies are defined by distinct systems. Among humans in the northwest, The Peerage governs the aristocracy, with earned titles and inherited lineage determining status among lords and ladies. In the desert oasis realm of the northeast, The Qadimate organizes society around ancient traditions and titles like Emir and Sultan, blending nomadic and Yuan-Ti serpentine hierarchies. Among giants and ogres in the southeastern plateaus, The Ordning establishes a rigid caste structure based on strength and cunning, dictating rank from mightiest to lowliest. The guild-driven cities of the southwest operate under a Guildocracy, where rank hinges on profitable transactions and guild membership--Masters, Journeymen, and Apprentices--while those outside the trades, called "Outliers," lack the prestige of guild affiliation yet contribute to and navigate within the transactional culture.

Most of TheWorld is controlled by three major political City States: Svartaland, Okenveld, and The Rimemarch.

Svartaland

• The Svartriki people control the rugged agriultural lands in the northwest, known currently as The Queendom of Svarta or typically just Svartaland. Queen Ingagerd Hardrada is the ruler, and the Hardrada family has been in charge for a dozen generations. Populated mainly by Humans and Halflings, Svartaland is also home to Dwarfs, Kobolds, and Myconids (a fungus-based life form who live beneath the surface). Svartaland is known for having the strongest horses in TheWorld, and the Hardrada family, in ages past, employed dragons for mounts. The Svartriki rulers always have an eye on slowly acquiring more territory to the south and east.

Okenveld

• The Okenveld people control the arid lands in the northeast and its rulers reside in wealthy oasis cities dotted across their realm. Vast parts of the land are populated by nomadic Humans. Okenveld also boasts a sigificant number of Yuan-ti (snake people), Gnolls (hyena-headed humanoids), Quaggoth (cavebear people), and Thri-Kreen (mantis humanoids).

Rimemarch

• The Vildar are a savage people to the southeast residing in the icy realm known as The Rimemarch. Populated by an equal mix of Humans and Giantkin, the Rimemarch is a loose political alliance of chiefs, warlords, and jarls. Occasionally, strong, charismatic leaders arise. Historically then, the Vildar people unify and collectively raid, warring against their neighbors. But these brutal rulers disappear (are assassinated internally) almost as quickly as they come to power. Darker, more calculating forces exist behind the scenes, the foremost of these being the Punaiset Taikurit, an order of Ogre Magi.

Grans Korsning

• The fourth largest political region in TheWorld is referred to as Grans Korsning by its neighbors. The name essentially means "The Crossing Point," and it is called that because the three major city states had routinely marched and pillaged through it on their way to fight each other. In recent generations, an unlikely alliance of the local Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Lizardfolk, Goblins, and Ogres had had enough of that, and they fought together to successfully repel all invaders. Now referring to themselves as Frittlandr, "the free lands," this area of TheWorld is well on its way to becoming a Republic, but it also has a powerful merchant class whose wealth effectively gives them nobility-like status in the major cities.

Island Realms

• Centered around the equator in the Winrande waters are quite a number of small islands where political control has changed frequently over the years; the residents either consider themselves to be Independent, or they work with the controlling forces de-jour, or they wage open and/or secret revolutions against them.

• Well away from the central landmass, there are three independent lands of note: Norr, Coux, and Bababaroo. Each has difficult-to-reach port cities (mostly controlled by pirate kings), who manage some trade in raw resources. Little is known of these ports let alone the interiors of these more distant islands.

6. Quality of Life

Since the disposition and demeanor of the regions of TheWorld varies, it follows that the quality of life of its people would also vary accordingly. But, no matter what the authority of a region is, it's a safe bet that the poor and the ignorant have it pretty crappy, and the rich and the educated make out fairly well. Throughout TheWorld there is a large underclass of manual workers who labor endless hours and are mostly always hungry. Even among the children of wealthy merchants, there are few ideal opportunities for the youngest siblings. Although they can generally find some professional work as soldiers, guards, sailors, and so on. Many would-be adventurers also rise out of these numbers. As years of turbulent and destructive warfare has been the norm, and once-wealthy communities and structures (above and below ground) have been pillaged, razed, and subsequently abandoned, there are opportunities to be had for the intrepid (and clever) to "rediscover" what's been overlooked or gone missing. Great rewards may be available for those who are willing to risk it all and dedicate their lives to exploration--assuming they survive.

7. Levels of Danger When Traveling

Settlements on TheWorld usually are not densely populated. A Thorp will typically have less than 80 people, a Hamlet less than 400, a village less 900, a small town less than 2,000, a large town less than 5,000, a small city less than 12,000, and very few large cities with even close to 25,000 people. In general, though, the larger the settlement, the better the roads leading to and fro, and the better the chance these roads will have fighters and regular patrols helping to protect pilgrims and traveling merchants. The opposite is also true of course: less populated areas cannot always afford to keep their roads safe. But, as a rule, most roads are safe to travel.

The same cannot be said of off-road travel; any number of beasts and ne'er-do-well may be lurking in dense wooded areas, desolate hillocks and mountains, within deep valleys or caverns, or in the oceans. There are still more wilderness areas on TheWorld than settled societies by far, and many other non-humanoid or extra-humanoid races are believed to populate these "wildernesses," and make themselves known especially at night. Travel on land or sea during the Eclipse or First and Second night periods is never recommended, and most humanoids (even those with dark or twilight vision) have been culturally conditioned to rest during those times under the safest conditions available.

8. Magic

Magic (although not widely practiced) is a force of nature and an integral part of the universe at large, as well as the inner realms and those beyond. All creatures, in harmony with creation and recreation, contain a certain amount of magical energies diffused within them. These connective energies are typically referred to as "Spirit" (or "Pneuma") magic. Certain rituals, states of mind, sympathetic material components, exercises and gestures, etc. (collectively called "Spells" or "Abilities") can be used by creatures to connect their Spirit magic to external sources of magical energies. Once a connection is made, these raw sources of energy can be channeled and redirected to help perform great physical tasks or to create powerful magical effects. These tasks are Creature or Player Class dependent, while the possible Magical effects (spells) are divided into three types: Divine, Primal, and Arcane. However, this division of spells is ultimately more about the spellcasters (and their purposes) than it is about the specific sources that help energize them.

9. Divine Magic / Divine Domains

Spells categorized as Divine are not actively researched by the spellcaster, but instead become known to the caster through a Deity or (in extremely rare cases) through spiritual inspiration alone. Characters who choose to be Clerics most often worship a specific deity; they must also choose a specific Domain associated with that deity to follow. Each domain has a list of Added Spells and Extra Abilities, which the Cleric gains at the level indicated. A Cleric's Domain spells are always prepared, and they don't count against the number of other Cleric spells that a Cleric may prepare each day.

There are Ten Divine Domains associated with TheWorld (listed here paired with its opposition domain; click on the Domain name for specific information):

LIGHT: worshippers of radiant powers; followers appreciate warm sunny days, art and beauty, and they often serve as tireless sentinels whose eyes desire to pierce corruption and darkness.
SHADOW: worshippers dark forces; followers prefer murky conditions and situations, and they often serve in undoing what they believe to have been societal mistakes and wrong turns.

NATURE: worshippers of nature at peace, calm weather, and elemental gods of universal harmony.
TEMPEST: worshippers of nature in motion, lighting and storms, and gods who serve as the driving forces behind change and the shifting balance of power.

LIFE: worshippers of community and traditions, marriage ceremonies, planting, and fertility gods; followers promote healthy and honorable lifestyles, serve as farmers, midwives, pediatricians, and family doctors.
GRAVE: worshippers of ancestors and traditions, funeral festivals, harvesting, and the gods of rest and recovery; followers often serve in the food industry, as caregivers in hospices, morticians, and maintain cemeteries and crypts.

KNOWLEDGE: worshippers of truth and learning, and gods of invention and logical reasoning; followers often serve as authors, printers, educators, and curiators.
TRICKERY: worshippers of deception, mischief makers, and gods who are instigators and challengers of authority; followers often serve in businesses, advertisement, politics, and espionage.

FORGE: worshippers of crafting and reshaping, engineering, strong defense, and the gods who are builders and protectors; followers tend to work in any number of technical and industrial and military roles.
WAR: worshippers of competition and military conquest, strong offense, and gods who are levelers of destruction; followers tend to be soldiers, guardsmen, police, and athletes.

Pantheon of Deities

Although the names and domains of deities are common knowledge--and their main desires and relationship with the other gods is known, it is said that their vast perspective focuses on a cosmic scale. Direct communication is rare and often veiled in cryptic signs or mediated through divine agents. Traditional D&D "spiritual guidance" spells such as Commune, Divination, and Augury are less reliable than players would hope; these divine insights are elusive and typically shaped by the gods’ broader, universal concerns. • Stork Princess: the goddess Leeka Sinada is associated with the Spring planting, birth and marriage ceremonies. She is one of the Twin gods of Knowledge and ordered society. Her Domains are LIFE and KNOWLEDGE.

• The Reshaper: the god Eyeqweetas was instrumental in reshaping the solar system into it's current state. Known as a god of civilization, he has forged Order out of Chaos (although has employed chaotic power sources to accomplish his ends). His Domains are FORGE and TEMPEST.

• Raven Prince: the god Kree Hweef is associated with the ancestral homage, the autumn harvest, death and burial traditions. He is one of the Twin gods of knowledge and ordered society. His Domains are GRAVE and KNOWLEDGE.

• Mud Queen: the goddess Nodebra is associated with vigor and growth and the Circle of Life. Known as the Mother of the Fae, she is revered by the Faery Folk. Her Domains are NATURE and LIFE.

• The Foundation: Shuekra is a fluid-gender deity simultaneously associated with the passivity of Nature as well as its destructive forces. Known as a deity of corrective balance, Shuekra serves as the building block and foundation for life. Their Domains are TEMPEST and NATURE.

• Evening Queen: the goddess Ooveraree is associated with rest and recovery, water, soil enrichment, and the Circle of Mortality. Known as the Mother of Night and Sleep, she is revered by shades and denizens of the dark places. Her Domains are SHADOW and GRAVE.

• Morning Star: the goddess Freehet, also known by some as "the Cozener," is associated with the sun, fire, beauty, freedom, and the revelation of truth (although she is known to lie for the greater good and/or her own amusement). Known primarily as the goddess of the sunrise and liberty, she is a blessing to most all who live. Her Domains are LIGHT and TRICKERY.

• Corrival: the goddess Enyoe is associated with competition, preparation, and savoring the rewards of victory. She is patron to the warriors, athletes, merchants, and craftsmen who strive always to be and to do their best. Her Domains are WAR and FORGE.

• The Breaker: the god Furantur Fox-Wise is associated with change and destruction of status quo. Known to challenge authority just to prove whether or not it's deserving, he believes only the crafty and strong should prosper and endure. His Domains are TRICKERY and WAR.

• Guiding Principle: the god Vhereum Steadfast is associated with the Pole Star. Known as planner and guide, he is the patron of contracts, and his followers are leaders, sailors, logisticians, architects, mathematicians. His sole Domain is LIGHT.

• ScreamDottir: the goddess Reynon the Undoer is associated with the emptiness of space. She is the goddess of the void, and her followers believe in The Undoing, that time and history must be rolled back to correct what has gone wrong. Her sole Domain is SHADOW.

11. Primal Magic

Spells categorized as Primal draw on the forces of nature and the elements of the Inner Planes. Druids and Rangers and creatures devoted to and living in harmony with nature are able to harness this magic and redirect it as prepared spells.

12. Arcane Magic

Magic Spells categorized as Arcane must be actively researched by the spellcaster (either by creating the spell themselves whole cloth or by piecing one together from the records of others who have come before). The How and Why of Spells and their Inception is not fully known. There are competing ideas and conflicting histories among sentient races, cultures, and individuals, but Magic Spells do exist, they work, and they can be learned and taught in a variety of ways. Some creatures are closely attuned to magic and have innate abilities to use it without study, others need to struggle even to get meager results, while even others cannot work it at all or might even be physically resistant to it.

Schools of Magic

Throughout the ages, spellcasters have developed and (subsequently) grouped similar spells into categories of Arcane Tradition called "schools." Some spellcasters have opted to specialize in a particular school (Arcane Tradition) to satisfy their own preferences and/or to gain specific advantages, others (Arcanists) have taken this to extreme levels and actively avoid learning spells and techniques from what they call "opposing" schools, while even others (Eldritch Knights, Arcane Tricksters, etc.) have found they have an affinity for memorizing only certain types and a limited numbers of spells.

There are eight well-recognized schools of magic (here listed, paired with its opposition school):

ABJURATION maintains and protects or puts things back the way they were.
TRANSMUTATION alters and changes the properties of a creature, object, or environment.

CONJURATION summons creatures and teleports objects to and fro.
NECROMANCY corrupts existing creatures and/or creates a semblance of life by manipulating nearby realities.

DIVINATION reveals (sometimes cryptically) universal truths and/or the most probable consequences of actions.
ILLUSION lies and deceives the senses.

ENCHANTMENT charms and influences, coaxes the wills and desires of others.
EVOCATION forces change and disrupts TheWorld by releasing sources of raw magic upon it.

Spell Books, Grimoires / Codexes

Much of what was known of arcane magic was deliberately kept secret and subsequently lost over time. To avoid this happening again, the modern schools of arcana logically build upon a common foundation of spell techniques and casting procedures. Unfortunately, the minds of spellcasters, their ability to memorize, the mnemonic shortcuts they employ, and their best practices to optimize the speed in which they can cast spells has led them to create highly personalized/optimized spell books best suited for them alone. Characters who have chosen Wizard as their professional class, however, are able to make sense of another Wizard's spell book given adequate time and resources, and then they are able to copy each desired spell into their own spell book once they have decoded and mastered it. Non-Wizard spellcasters, though, can rarely make much sense of such books but studying them may help to inspire their own training.

As most Wizards are not deliberately obtuse (and generally need extra cash more than they need to maintain the secrecy of their research), they well realize that a secondary market exists for them to share spells with other Wizards and to teach Non-Wizard spellcasters how to gain access to magical spell concepts. To this end, beyond crafting optimized spell books for their own use, most Wizards formalize and collect their research notes for resale. Many also have agreed to use the Arcane Standard Codex for Incantation Interchange format to create teaching tomes (commonly referred to as grimoires). These codexes use a sectional approach to recording spells. Each mystic record starts with Spell Name, followed by a brief Description of what the spell does. Then there is a Synopsis, a formal description of how to "run" it and which "options" the spell takes. Following that, there is a more textual description of the spell's functionality and purpose, then some examples of usage. A list of related functionality follows, and then, with less structure, a collection of historical notes concludes with bug fixes, environment- and source- magic calls and returns, authorship, and even copyrights.

Two different Wizards may have two different ways of achieving the same results with a single spell effect. This is because specialists in one magic school will be more familiar using their own "energy sources" and procedures. Properly recorded, a magic spell using the ASCII sectional approach would include ALL of the different magic school variations of the same spell, if possible, and--as such--collect a vast amount of text and diagrams distributed across many pages in a nice, unified, well-preserved tome. This is what all student and self-practicing spellcasters wish to stumble across, be they Wizards, Arcane Tricksters, Eldritch Knights, and so on. But, even today, these massive tomes rarely ever leave the shielded vaults or guarded libraries of their owners. Still, Wizards and Magic Schools can sometimes be found who are willing to sell "visitation rights" to peruse and copy information from these collections while onsite.

13. Curses

There are at least three types of curses possible in this campaign setting:
1. (usually temporary) magical affects cast by Bestow Curse or bestowed upon by some magic item or creature ability
2. a target has been instantaneous (permanently) altered by spell, an unnatural entity or event, or by a crafting error or deliberate sabotage
3. a mutation or existing curse of any kind that has been passed on to an offspring

Only the first type of curse can be magically detected as such with Detect Magic and then removed using Dispel Magic. Typically, a curse is activated only when its specific condition is met. For example, the item is used as intended (a sword is used to attack, a person touches or attunes to item, or a special condition (time, place, etc.) is met. The Identify spell itself almost always fails to detect if a magical item has been cursed. But the item's appearance or manner may provide a clue, as might the mental or physical characteristics of a previous owner, whether observed firsthand or as rumors or legends. The spells Legend Lore, Wish, Augury, Divination, Commune and special abilities or specific magic items might reveal something about a curse. A Remove Curse or [ ] Restoration spell usually works on removing a curse of the first type. Curses of the second type, if they can be removed, often require higher-slot castings of "Remove Curse"-like spells. Usually a Wish spell is required to remove the third type of curse. Generally, the longer that someone or something has had a curse, the harder it is for the person or item to be free of it.

14. Life, Death, and Undeath

Life is a vital force that involves growth, development, and change over time. Living creatures sustain themselves and often seek to reproduce. The Living are said to be corporeal, that is, they are composed of animal, vegetable, and mineral components, which have combined into physical bodies (also known as the Lich). Some creatures also have noncorporeal or metaphysical components: Soul, Spirit, and Litr, which combine into the Essen of an individual--often erroneously referred to collectively as "soul." The Soul (Psyche) more correctly is a person's seat of emotions, thoughts, and consciousness. The Spirit (Pneuma AKA Ghost) is the animating force, the connection between individual and the rest of creation/recreation. Finally, the Litr is an internal element and belief which helps to shape the exterior appearance of a creature.

Typically, all living things will reach a point at the end of their physical life cycle where there will be a cessation of all vital functions of their corporeal forms. Less well known is that there is a similar degregation of the Essen over time and due to traumatic events. At some point, Death occurs and, since there is no force to sustain them any further, the physical and the essen forms will begin to decay and separate into their component elements. Certain magics can be deployed to delay bodily decay and other magics (many believe) can restore a creature's body and essen back to life (or at least some semblance of life).

Not everyone holds that a creature returned (by these divine necrotic or primal transmutation magics) is actually the same creature. Some insist that it most certainly is while others persist in believing that some new spirit, or mental illness, or perhaps even a different soul entirely has taken possession of the former host body having beforehand consumed the original soul (thus gaining access to previous memories and personalities, enough that it may pretend to be the former person). As such, there is stigma found among the general public regarding Raise Dead, Resurrection, and Reincarnate spells. (Although, Revivify is most often seen as just super healing the "not quite dead" individual)

Also, the various "Raise" spells are expensive (requiring the sacrifice of precious diamonds--and sometimes a single diamond of great purity and expense to a specific divine aspect), and the spells themselves have time limitations on when they can be cast effectively. So, while some might be able to afford the expense, they may not be able to obtain the quality diamond(s) in time for such spells to be effective). There may also face local legal restrictions: for instance, an executor of the estate of the deceased or an otherwise-inheriting family member might object to the dead returning. A legal identity might be difficult to reestablish once a person is known to be dead--and claim made after death to any previous possessions might not be honored.

There is also the issue that these "Raise" spells don't always work. These particular magic spells might fail on TheWorld for a number of reasons: the person died of old age, the essen might not wish to return, or be unable (someone or thing may have already made a claim on the essen of the deceased and will not allow it to return). It is also possible that the previous host body may not be able to "survive" the return experience, or that the essen may not be able to endure the shock of returning to a body (or to a clone of the original host). Each time a separated essen is returned to a body, it may become damaged or corrupted, losing memories or cognitive skills. Also, something else might go wrong with the actual "Raising" magic. As such, the magic tends only be attempted if all signs and portents appear favorable and legal (and the money has been paid upfront with no guarantees given and a contract is signed to that effect).

Once a creature has lost its life, it begins to deconstruct into separate components, although some of its corporeal and noncorporeal components may continue on in a semblance (or mockery) of Life known as Undeath. For example, while the corpse/lich of a creature decays, it may yet cling to a portion (or an instance) of its Soul, memories and knowledge of its former life, which can be consulted by using magics, such as Speak with Dead. Other spells such as Animate Dead might also exploit the corporeal and lingering noncorporeal remains by giving them a new source of movement (ghost) so it may carry out new commands. It is also possible that the noncorporeal portions of a creature might linger on in the corporeal world after death as some type of apparition. Some combination of Soul, Spirit, or Litr, separated from its earthly Lich, may have unfinished business that will not allow it to leave or rest in peace (this refusal to "depart" might allow it to merge with vast pools of similar substances) until such a time when their remaining earthly desires or fears have been sated.