Lore, Setting Information, and Characters

-Characters-

The Main Character: Nessa of Bruckburg, a spellsword of some talent. She is moderately experienced adventurer, but her desires may set her on a different course...

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The Elder Adventurer: Garion D'aubigny, an experienced older warrior. He is clad in medium weight armor, and wields a heavy war-mace with terrifying skill. He has been all over the world, seen many things, and killed countless monsters. He absolutely detests Blight Goblins.

The Venerable Mage: Emith Redleaves, a remarkably old Eladri wizard. An old friend of Garion's, he is a potent magic user. His full name is Emith Crimson-Leaves-at-Dawn, but no-one calls him that.

The Zealous Paladin: Frieda of Griesburg, a sworn cleric of Protheus, the God of Fire. An old friend of Garion's, she is a skilled axewoman, wields potent healing magic, and is a living vessel for the terrifying fire-miracles of her harsh, warlike god.

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The Faithful Warrior: Wilhelm of Grulheim, a rising adventurer who is not technically a knight, though he tries to live his life by the knightly code. He tends to wear plate-and-chain armor, a great helm, and a buckler shield. His preferred weapon is a zweihander sword, but he switches it out for a shortsword when in cramped spaces.

The Eladri Archer: Rithua Blossoms-Fall-Upon-Still-Waters, an Eladri archer of great talent and surprising humility. Her armor is boiled, reinforced leather. She wields either a longbow or a shortbow as circumstances dictate, and keeps a pair of razor-sharp daggers for up close work. There is definitely something going on between her and Tomas.

The Clever Mage: Tomas of Aruzzo, a human mage, healer, scholar, and unabashed bookworm. He wears a set of comfortable, magically reinforced robes that protect almost as well as a set of chainmail. He is talented as a healer, illusionist, enchanter, and in all of the schools of elemental magic, though he has a notable preference for magical fire. He also keeps a long dagger as back up. There is definitely something going on between him and Rithua.

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The Bred Village Woman: Heidi of Kabelburg, a woman rescued by Nessa's party. Thanks to her experiences with Blight Goblins, she has gained a tremendously curvaceous and attractive figure, a large change from her once skinny, lanky build.

The Youthful Adventurer: Lukas of Osnastadt, a young man just starting to explore the wider world. Naturally, he would be glad to receive the guidance of a more experienced adventurer, especially if she were a beautiful woman. He wears light chainmail armor with a leather helm. He wields a long broad headed spear, with a long dagger for backup. He also has a burgeoning talent for magic, and is eager for any instruction in it.

-On Nessa-

Nessa's Arms and Armor: She makes use of both a longsword and a shortsword, with a preference for the longsword. Her armor consists of a metal breastplate with faulds, studded leather bracers, trousers of heavy padded cloth, and heavy leather boots.

Nessa's Magic: She has only a middling talent for magic, and mostly uses it to supplement her more notable talents with a sword. She mostly uses lightning spells to stun, distract, or injure her opponents, only using fire magic when needed. She has little use for the other elemental magics, such as wind, water, stone, or others, save for purely utilitarian purposes. She also has a moderate talent for illusions, though she doesn't use them often, and is technically capable of healing, if rather poorly.

-Races of the World-

Humans: The most numerous, varied, and widely dispersed of the civilized races. Humans seem to thrive in nearly every environment, and come in nearly every shape and size imaginable. Consequently, they are also one of the least unified races, with numerous squabbling nations and city-states.

Eladri: Tall, fair, and long-lived, the Eladri are often considered the most graceful and magically skilled race in the world, as most Eladri will tell you at great length if given the chance. Many Humans refer to them as "Elves," a linguistic corruption and mispronunciation of their proper name, which tends to irritate the Eladri to no end.

Hobgoblins: A civilized people, who mostly live in the mountain ranges on the northern end of the continent. They are shorter and broader than Humans on average, with skin that is either green or grey, and tend to have large noses. They are famed for their talents as blacksmiths, with many warriors considering it a point of pride to own a Hobgoblin forged weapon or armor. Most of the best armor and weapons come from their mountain forges.

Goblins: A green skinned, diminutive race, they are often found in a servile role to Orcs or Ogres. A cunning, vicious, but frail race, they usually survive by being subservient to the larger, brutal races, though some Goblins tribes live in semi-civilized permanent settlements. In a few cases, they have been known to peacefully coexist with other peoples than Orcs or Ogres. Most of them live far to the south, mostly on the southern continent.

Orcs: Tall, strong, mean, and stupid. This brutal race, possessed of boar-like tusks and deep green skin, survives by raiding and stealing from other peoples. They often keep groups of Goblins around in a state of semi-slavery, both as servants and as expendable troops.

Ogres: Taller, mightier, crueler, and dumber than Orcs. A brutal, but thankfully not numerous race, they mostly live in mountain caves. Groups of Ogres often keep tribes of Goblins around as outright slaves, using them as servants, disposable minions, and emergency food supplies.

Blight Goblins: Also known as False Goblins or Parasitic Goblins, they are a monstrous race, seemingly designed to cause misery. They are only labelled as "Goblins" due to the Human explorers who first encountered them in the trackless, dark jungles of the western continent not investigating them any more deeply than their physical appearance. Said explorers simply assumed that they were a sub-race of true Goblins, and dismissed them. This misunderstanding had tragic results for the first people to try and make contact with them. Since then, they have been nothing but trouble for the settlers attempting to establish themselves in those lands, **** women to grow their numbers. How they even survived at all prior to their discovery is something of a mystery, as they can only breed by **** women from the humanoid races. Despite this, they are not considered a major threat, as they are relatively weak compared to Humans, and many larger monsters have a tendency to prey upon them.

-On Magic-

Magic can be broadly divided into two categories: Mortal magic, and Divine magic.

Mortal Magic: All of the common schools of magic, with all their varied effects, are grouped under the broad umbrella of Mortal Magic. This includes everything from the manipulation of the elements, to the healing of wounds, to the manipulation of the mind, and other more exotic effects. The one thing all Mortal magics share in common is that they are, essentially, powered by the internal energies of the caster. Mortal Magic can be broadly categorized into these categories: Enchantment, by which a mage imbues some quality or effect into a material or living creature. Elementalism, by which a mage channels the elements of nature to create, shape, or (most often) to destroy. Illusion, by which a mage fools the mind or senses of another living creature directly. Healing, by which a mage closes wounds, mends flesh, and cures non-magical illnesses. A canny mage can find ways to supplement their internal reserves, such as externally worn manawells. A skilled mage can refine their talents so that spells become ever more efficient. A powerful mage develops such deep reserves of mana that they can cast all day, and seemingly never tire. All mages need to be wary when casting, however, for mana exhaustion can be debilitating, with **** overdraws upon a mage's reserves potentially leaving them bedridden for days. This, however, is quite tame compared to the far more volatile Divine Magic...

Divine Magic: Fundamentally, mortals were not meant to channel the power of the Gods. Though far more limited in who can wield it, how they can use it, and far less flexible than Mortal Magic, divine power is a fearsome thing. Only the most devout (even fanatical) clerics can draw upon the metaphysical energy of whatever god they worship, and most that can, don't, save under the direst need. There are many reasons for this: the first being that it is dangerous to do so. The merest trickle of Divine essence can and will kill an unprepared wielder, usually in a violently messy way. Secondly, Divine Magic is directly granted by a god, not inborn or learned, although its use must be trained. Thirdly, every divine patron has an agenda and a domain. Any cleric who draws upon that terrible power must do so solely in the service of their god's purpose, although thankfully most deities offer direct instruction to their favored acolytes in visions. Those that use their Divine Magic for selfish reasons, or for purposes against their god's wishes, will swiftly find the cosmic power they are channeling turning upon them to ruinous result. Yet, for all its danger, Divine Magic is still greatly sought after, for as a power beyond mortal ken, it defies all rules placed upon Mortal Magic. As an example: Frieda, servant of Protheus, is able to transform herself into a living firestorm that burns through all that stands in its way. Even materials enchanted by Mortal workings to be immune to fire will char and burn away before the irresistible power of the God of Fire.

-Places-

Kabelburg: A Fishing Village on the western coast, where Nessa first encounters Blight Goblins.

Osnastadt: A Small Town to the east of Kabelburg. Nessa's hideaway is nearby, as is the farm where Lukas grew up.