Scarterra Primer V2

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 or the best way to worship them. Some think the Nine are little better than tyrants and they 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 are 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 operate  

The Nine created dragons the First Age. The dragons grew and prospered and built mighty nations and cities. New races were created, some to aid the dragons and some to harm the dragons. The dragons alternated allied with, fought with, or oppressed these new races. As populations swelled, resources became scarce and the dragons fought more and cooperated less, especially with other dragons.   Seeking a military advantage with a mystical ritual to control all of Scarterra's fresh water, a dragon queen tampered with power beyond her ken and accidentally triggered a massive cataclysm called the First Unmaking. The event was millions of elementals rampaging the material plane fighting each other. The elementals weren't actively targeting living beings but the natural disasters that followed in their wake killed and destroyed indiscriminately, killing roughly 90% of all mortals and beasts.

The Nine opted to created elves to become the new dominant race over the the Second Age. The elves grew and prospered and built mighty nations and cities. The Nine created new races both to assist the elves and to harm them. Political factions formed and politics became more brutal as the elf nations warred with the newer races, the remaining dragoons, and each other.   Then one day an elf king tampered with power beyond his ken and triggered a massive cataclysm, an event called the Second Unmaking. Void demons, once a very rare threat, flooded the material plane in unprecedented numbers and they, along with their assorted minions attempted to consume mortal souls. The Void demons didn't target plants and animals, but a byproduct of their entry into material plane created decades of severe winters that killed by plants and triggered famines for man and beast. About 90% of all mortals and 50% of all beasts were slain.

The Nine created humans to be the new dominant race of the Third Age. The Nine hoped the shorter life span of humans would prevent any single human from amassing enough power to destroy the world, though many believe that it's only a matter of time before some dumb human triggers a Third Unmaking somehow. They certainly war on each other as much as the ancient elves and dragons of yesteryear.   Dragons, elves, and humans were essentially created by a committee of all nine of the Nine. Many times individuals or small groups of the Nine ended up creating new races, sometimes by accident. Humans are the majority race, but Scarterra is clogged with new races and the descendants of survivors of the previous two ages.   Remnants of the first two Unmakings persist. The influence of the First Unmaking has left many places in Scarterra are marked with elemental energies which creates odds landmarks, feral elementals, opening and closing gateways to realm of the Fae and local anomalies in the laws of physics.   The influence of the Second Unmaking means that small numbers of Void demons cross over every winter. Infernalist cults of Void Demon collaborators skulk in the shadows or hide in plain sight. And Void energies pool to create new types of undead or grotesque mutated living beasts.

Ghosts or "restless dead" haunt various places of Scarterra. Conversely, the the honored dead enjoy a proper afterlife but they have a limited ability to interact with the living, especially to living people who practice ancestor worship.   A small number of people are born with the ability to perceive and talk to spirits of the dead, both in the afterlife and roaming as restless ghosts. They can even invite ghosts to possess them to access the skills and knowledge of the deceased person, though this does open the person to the risk of hostile possession.   These people are called "spirit loas" or "spirit horses" because they let the spirits of the dead ride them from place to place. Sometimes they are honored by the living, sometimes they are feared. But their power is respected either way.   Check out this article for more details on spirit loas

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. Their capital city is overrun by organized crime, orcs are extorting northern villages, and monster attacks are on the rise. Those 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.   On paper, Swynfaredia should be able to utterly crush Fumaya with strength of numbers, but Swynfaredia has it's own problems.

Swynfaredia is a nation where the nobility is based on the descendants of half-dragons 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 a nest of vipers. Lies, conspiracies, daggers, and poison cups are all tools of trades, enhanced by magic.   The Queen of Swynfaredia is angling to conquer Fumaya both so she can focus her feuding vassals against an external enemy and hopefully avert a full on civil war. But also she 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 dukes and duchesses are hatching similar schemes, and all of their vassals are hatching schemes. With all the high level intrigue going on, various anti-governmental groups ranging from idealistic rebels to cutthroat criminals are sensing openings they can exploit.   There is plenty of fodder to keep political minded players busy.