Scarterra Primer, current version
Nine deities work to shore up the battered world of Scarterra while simultaneously undermining each other to advance their own personal agendas. Great mortals can try to rise above the strife to create a better world, or they can exploit the various conflicts to better their own position.
In addition to the petty conflicts of gods and goddesses, Scarterra is shaped by the petty conflicts of kings and would-be kings and all their vassals. They make and break alliances and enmities using every tool at their disposal fighting with swords, castles, magic spells, quills, and coins.
Different mortal races awkwardly share Scarterra with one another. Strange beasts and monsters stalk the wild and remote places. Fae, elementals, and spirits flit in and out of the material plane for their own inscrutable reasons.
The four classic elements of air, earth, fire, and water permeate all animal life, affecting mortals and beasts alike. Elemental traits are usually abstract and symbolic, not literal. No one has "bending" powers, but in place of real world Earth ethnic or racial traits, Scarterrans are described as being "fiery" or "watery". This is what is known as elemental ethnicity.
Baby animals and baby people get their traits from their mother, their father, and the elemental influences of the area of their birth. So over time, people and creatures in the same are start to look alike. People and beasts from cold or high elevation areas tend to be "airy". Creatures from inland areas tend to be "earthy". Creatures from warm areas tend to be "fiery". Creatures from coastal areas tend to be "watery". Mixed elemental influence is very common, a person from a warm coastal area is probably going to be "fiery" and "watery".
Check out elemental ethnicity in mortals for more details on how this works.
Humans must not only share the world not only with each other, but with the surviving descendants of First and Second Age mortals, plus a few new races that are still being created.
With all the high level intrigue going on, various anti-governmental groups (ranging from range from idealistic rebels to cutthroat criminal) are springing up out of the woodwork. These groups s are sensing openings that they can exploit for their own ends.
Thus, there is plenty of fodder to keep political minded characters busy.
Heroic adventurers can help topple tyrannical Border Barons, or they can help shore up the rule of benevolent Border Barons. Ambitious characters can seek to carve out their own power base here becoming Border Barons in their own right, but taking a Border Barony and holding a Border Barony are two very different things.
The Borderlands also border Fumaya and Swynfaredia meaning that Borderlanders can easily act as Third Wheel players in the political and espionage struggles of these two nations. Fumayan and Swynfaredian characters of various stripes frequently visit the Borderlands for their own side quests and schemes.
Gods of Scarterra
Scarterra is shaped by five gods and four goddesses collectively known as the the Nine. Every nation and tribe in Scarterra recognizes the same nine gods, but they don't agree on the attributes and values of the Nine nor do they agree on the proper way to worship them. Some think the Nine are petty tyrants that don't deserve to be worshiped, but none deny that they exist.
The Nine are active deities that are capable of enacting tangible miracles and directing spirit minions to enact their will upon the mortal plane, but they are not micromanagers. They certainly influence Scarterra, but they don't outright control Scarterra. The Nine and their values are an undercurrent that flavors and shapes conflict on the mortal plane, but Scarterran mortals have Free Will and mortal actions are the main driver of politics and adventures, not the will of the Nine.
Tent Pole Articles for the Nine
Broad overview of the Nine themselves Broad Overview for how most Scarterrans approach worship Broad overview of how priests and priestesses operateComposite Display of the Nine's portraits by Zeta Gardner
Eight commissioned human portraits by Diana Rahfoth
Broad Overview of Scarterra's History
Scarterra was created by a primordial god named Turoch who only created Scarterra so that he could feed off the souls of mortals. Eventually Turoch's lieutenants, now known as the Nine, overthrew him in an event known as the the Divine Rebellion.
The Nine established dragons as the dominant mortal race of the First Age until an overreaching dragon queen tampered with power beyond her understanding and accidentally triggered a cataclysm known as the First Unmaking which brought Scarterra to the brink of total destruction.
The Nine rebuilt Scarterra and established elves as the new dominant race of the Second Age until an overreaching elf king tampered with power beyond his understanding and accidentally triggered a cataclysm known as the Second Unmaking which brought Scarterra to the brink of total destruction.
Now humans were created as the new dominant mortal race of the Third Age, and the world waits with baited breath for some foolhardy human to ruin everything.
by me with Midjourney
Where the Action is
Epic history is fun to talk about, but fantasy worlds conflicts for heroes to deal with right now. Center stage is the central region of West Colassia, Scarterra's largest continent. Near each other are the land of Fumaya, the land of Swynfaredia, and the Border Baronies Region,Nation of Fumaya
The Fumayan people, nicknamed "Booters", are rugged and pious. The boot-shaped nation of Fumaya is sandwiched between much stronger powers. Nomadic barbarians and monsters to the north, dwarves to the west, elves to the east, and Swynfaredia to the south. Right now the Swynfaredians are angling for a full-scale invasion, but that is not the Fumayans only problem right now.
Their capital city of King's Lake is overrun by organized crime. Orcs are extorting northern villages. Monster attacks are on the rise in the more forested areas. These are just the obvious problems as hidden dangers lurk in the metaphorical and literal shadows. There is no shortage of things to keep adventurers busy even without the looming threat of Swynfaredia.
Given Fumaya's problems and the Swynfaredia's larger, Swynfaredia should be able to utterly crush Fumaya with their superior numbers, but Swynfaredia has its own problems.
Fumaya National Crest-1 by Me via World Spinner's Heraldry Generator
Nation of Swynfaredia
The kingdom of Swynfaredia is a nation where the nobility is based on the descendants of half-dragons, aka "Dragonbloods", who use their draconic sorcery as a badge of nobility and as a weapon to cement their dominance. While descended from dragons, the noble families now resemble humans in appearance, but they resemble a nest of vipers in temperment. Lies, conspiracies, daggers, and poison cups are all tools of politics, all enhanced by magic. Swynfaredia endured three large-scale civil wars and a fourth civil war may be brewing on the horizon.
The Queen of Swynfaredia is angling to conquer Fumaya. She is hoping this will focus her feuding vassals against an external enemy, so they will stop fighting each other (and stop plotting against their queen). She also wants to shore up her own power by giving land to her supporters and putting potential rivals into dangerous situations where "Fumayans" can kill them. All the queen's dukes and duchesses are hatching similar schemes, and all of their vassals are hatching schemes.
Swynfaredian Coat of Arms by Me with Worldspinner's Heraldry program
The Border Baronies
The Border Baronies Region is a rain/snow soaked mountain range where rocky outcroppings and swamps separate proverbial islands of arable land creating several isolated independent kingdoms that are often havens for outcasts, outsiders, and other shady folk. The independent nature of the isolated kingdoms, commonly nicknamed "The Border Baronies" is rife with story opportunities. The rulers are collectively nicknamed "The Border Barons" but each ruler is essentially a king or queen of a very small nation. Because each kingdom is tiny, you can run a stories about the the overthrow of a king without throwing the entire setting into a lurch.Map of the Border Baronies by Pendrake
Oh my goodness this is so cool! I love all the art <3!
Tip of the iceberg for art...
Putting the "Art" in ScARTerra, overview
Master Index of the Art I've used thus far