1. What is something that players can interact with that inspires wonder in your setting?
- The massive, cyclopean, impossible Dam that has created the Great Lake in the heart of Dunador and the seemingly endless dungeons beneath.
- The ornithomimid cavalry of the nobility.
- The millennia-old ruins of the old Elven Empire, buried by sand and time.
- The works of the Eld.
- The Grand Library, built by the Old Empire and maintained by a monastic order of librarians.
2. How does one religion in the world work? What rituals and observances are involved, and how does this religion play with other religions out there? Are gods real?
The two primary religions are the worship of the Thirteen Titans and the Church of the Sacred Daughter. The Thirteen are based heavily on religion in Ancient Greece. Rituals and observances are not standardized and there is no central, canonical dogma. Local variations of rites and practices abound, though things are relatively uniform across Dunador itself.
Larger towns and cities might have temples to some or even all of the Titans individually, while smaller locations might have a small temple dedicated to a single, patron deity or the pantheon as a whole. Rituals are conducted by priests, who are inducted and trained in the local practices, at the altar within a temple. Libations and votive offerings are standard, and burnt offerings are common for larger rites. To speak ill of the gods or refuse to partake in a ritual is considered highly impious and can lead to social and even criminal consequence, depending on the relative power of the local priesthood.
Festivals are also common, and are as much a social event as a religious function. Festivals vary by region and even by city, and many towns have their own distinct festivals. There is a major festival every month of the calendar, one for each of the thirteen titans, and then numerous smaller or localized festivals for demigods or minor deities, or for regional aspects of one of the thirteen.
The worship of the Thirteen does not prohibit respecting other deities, and indeed the expected custom is that when in the lands of other gods to pay them homage as well. After all, they're just as powerful and to be respected. Relations with the Church of the Sacred Daughter is more strained, as the heliopapists regard the Thirteen as a heathen falsehood and tend to get rude about it.
The Church of the Sacred Daughter draws from Orphism and Christianity in late antiquity. It survived the fall of the Old Empire mostly intact, and set about enthusiastically converting the peoples and realms that replaced the empire. The Church is lead by the five popes, each based in one of the five key cities of the Old Empire, of whom the Pope Solar in Thule is the first among equals. Bishops hold sway over dioceses, and clerics hold parishes beneath them. Some particularly large dioceses, especially those containing major cities, may be referred to as an archbishopric.
Heliopapists are expected to attend services at least once a week, with morning and evening prayers taken either in the home or led by a cleric. There are major festivals roughly coinciding with the turn of seasons (more than one cynical pagan has pointed out how marvelously coincidental it is that so many major events in the canon heliopapcy line up with the festivals and observances they seek to erase). Heliopapists are expected to tithe a tenth of their income to their local church.
The central belief of the Church is that the soul must be purified and cleansed, which can only happen through the rites of the Church, until it can rise to join the Daughter in eternal rapture.
Heliopapists are explicitly enjoined to convert the heretic and the heathen, as the resurrection of the Sacred Daughter and the apotheosis of all mortal souls cannot occur until all souls have been purified, so they tend not to get along with followers of other religions. In rural areas Church practices have often syncretized with local folkways that it can be difficult to tell the difference between heliopapist and pagan, and in large cities the archbishops and high priests regard each other as rivals for power as much as for religion and interact through statecraft rather than belief.
And yeah, gods are real. Probably.
3. How does one get access to goods and services in the setting? Will items always be available, will trade routes be jammed up by bandits, are their commissions for things, are magic items sold in regular stores, are hirelings available for hire or do we have to find them in the world?
Cities have artisan's quarters and bazaars, towns have permanent markets, villages have seasonal markets. Metal workers and craftspeople ply their trades everywhere. Things that only a wandering adventurer would need are harder to find as their manufacturing is specialized, and truly exceptional artisans are invariably working for some noble or another.
Major disruptions, like war and plague, can affect the availability of goods. Magic items are not available for purchase anywhere except the largest of cities and even then not freely. In towns and cities there are placing for finding hirelings - even if it's just that disreputable tavern outside the walls.
4. What are some examples of people and creatures a commoner would be wary of in-setting? What are some examples of people and creatures a commoner could trounce without worry? What are some examples of people and creatures a commoner would trust?
Proper monsters (ie, things with wings and fangs and poison stingers) are always a threat to the common folk, as even the local soldiery will struggle to deal with such creatures. Anyone armed is likely to be regarded with wariness - soldiers enforce edicts and feudal rule and collect taxes, adventurers are invariably associated with chaos, and everyone else is probably a bandit or otherwise up to no good. Law is still very primitive and largely practiced at the discretion of the local lord (like a baron or bishop). Crimes against feudal lords are handled by a written code, but generally victims are expected to seek their own justice.
Commoners and peasants are particularly equipped to handle any proper fight, especially on their own. They could probably handle a cat, as in real life, or at least not a truly pissed-off cat. Commoners who are organized and directed are much more capable. A bunch of peasants with spears and a good attitude can take on a bear, or horsemen, or even some of the smaller, more animalistic monsters.
Traders are generally well-regarded in Dunadon, particularly the great caravans that move east and west along the Spice Road, and a caravan arriving in town often takes on the air of a festival day. Travellers from the Despotates are welcome, if somewhat less exuberantly, both because the Despotates are closer at hand, and because most Dunadonians suspect everyone from "up north" of being a libertine regicide. Adventurers are most welcome in the north-east, where the heroic traditions and sagas are still a major part of common life. Knights are regarded with reverence in the north-west and the heartlands where they're mostly seen to engage in tournaments and the occasional counter attack against raiders from the mountains or wyverns - the south and north-east have keen memories of knightly reprisals against uprisings.
Orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins are not treated any differently than elves, humans, or halflings. Foreign hobgoblins are treated with some suspicion, due to the increasing conquests of the hobgoblin-dominated Writha Dominion.
5. Name a heroically slain dragon, or something comparable in threat. How was the creature slain, according to stories? How was it actually done? Was it a fluke or a well-executed slaying of a monster?
The great dragon Thunder-Haunts-The-Dawn was slain by Baron Leofric the Bald. The dragon wrought a path of destruction across eastern Dunador. The Baron took his household troops and a dozen adventurers and laid a trap for the beast. When Thunder-Haunts-The-Dawn landed to feast on a herd of cows, they attacked. In the first battle, they manage to cripple one of the dragon's wings at the cost of fifteen dead. For three days they followed the dragon, preventing it from resting until they finally cornered it in a deep valley. The story told by the five survivors is that although they mauled the beast it would not die. Eventually the Baron allowed himself to be swallowed whole and killed the dragon from the inside. He was posthumously declared a hero of the kingdom, and has a small cult in the lands touched by the dragon.
6. How do people who adventure (if there are even such people) get jobs and contracts in this setting?
The Adventurer's Guild provides training (apprenticeship, mostly) and contacts for would-be adventurers and patrons can approach the guild directly with contracts. Mostly, though, it's about approaching the locals and listening for rumours. Or just looking for trouble.
7. How do people convey their station/caste if such things exist? In particular, what intersections do station/caste have with the adventuring lifestyle (whatever the players are in the setting…guards, tomb raiders, bounty hunters, etc.)?
Long and unbound hair, sober colours - especially light ones that would show stains easily - and delicate or difficult to maintain fabrics are the usual fashion of the nobility. Semi-functional but always brightly polished armour is favoured by those who want to project a military air. Leathers, feathers, and foreign animal hides are considered acceptably rustic.
Common folk across Dunadon like bright colours, often in patchworks or plaids. Kilts and chitons (of linen in the south and wool in the north) are common to the rural areas, while townsfolk prefer tunics and loose trousers.
The arms, armour, and copious gear carried by adventurers tend to mark them out to casual observance. It is commonly believed, and largely true, that only the desperate and marginalized become adventurers in the first place, and they are usually regarded with a mix of fascination and disdain, even by commoners. Rich and famous adventurers can gain access to noble society, but unless they truly establish themselves within the feudal hierarchy they are unlikely to ever be considered more than a passing curiousity.
8. What privileges and prejudices exist in your world, if any do at all? For example: How does the world view LGBTQ identities, ethnic identities within each fantasy “race”, and race relations?
There is no structural marginalization of gender identities or ethnicity. The nobility are expected to produce children to continue the dynasty, but adoption and surrogacy are acceptable (though it's considered slightly gauche to discuss them in public). Long-standing conflicts between nations tends to bleed into public perception across borders, but those are not racism and the common folk tend to regard war as the business of nobles.
Privilege does exist, but it's largely restricted to class. Religion can factor in, especially in a region that is politically dominated by religious authorities that engage in the suppression of other faiths.
9. What is the distal view of the political system? Is it feudal, is there a suzerainty, do we have a triumvirate, etc.
Feudalism with limited elective monarchy. The ruling monarch nominates a successor, and the major landholders (both secular and religious) who sit on the council must ratify the choice. If the nominated successor is rejected (rare, but happens), another from within the ruling dynasty must be chosen. If there is no suitable option, a candidate is chosen from within another prominent family. In practice, every confirmation is a political nightmare as vote are bought and traded, and any real dispute over candidates or election of a new dynast is inevitable marked by violence. Joint monarchies are not uncommon, particularly when a monarch is attempting to strengthen their position. Although it has fallen somewhat out of practice, there have been several occasions in Dunadon's history where a monarch named their chosen successor as junior co-ruler to bypass the need for the council's confirmation.
10. What is a more proximal view of the political system? Who are local nobles or leaders that should be known about, and what are their reputations?
Hildegarde de Maromme, Duchess of Verdirmont is widely regarded as the most influential noble outside of the royal family. Verdirmont is rich, fertile, and well-supplied with castles. The de Maromme's have been in power since the founding of kingdom, though they've never held the throne. With the Queen ailing and her heir presumptive, a grandson, still young and untested, many are looking to Duchess of Verdirmont as the the power broker to the next succession.
Younette Voisin, Baroness of Redhollow. Redhollow Castle is a powerful bastion for Dunador's south-western borders and the Voisins have a long history of military service to the crown. Younette has thus far carried on that legacy, distinguishing herself in several of the minor wars that spring up among the petty kingdoms west of Dunador, leading troops to defend Dunador's clients and allies. The Voisins have often been named Marshalls of Dunador, and should a larger war ever threaten it is assumed by many that the Chainmail Baroness, as she is nicknamed, will be given that honour. She has also been highly active along the southern border, putting down bandits and monsters that threaten trade and ensuring order in the border towns.
Rajan Novacek, Count of Bazrivere. South-eastern Dunador has been marked by increasing unrest, and Rajan, the fifth Novacek to be Count of Bazrivere, has been the face of it. The Count's faction claim that the ruling dynasty have lost the ability to govern effectively and change is needed. Most believe he is preparing to make a push to challenge for the succession, or least force concessions in exchange for his support. There have been quiet rumours that the Count and his allies have been building their military strength, including hiring large numbers of mercenaries and adventurers. Rajan, on the rare occasion someone asks him about it to his face, claims he is simply being prudent in case of disruption or attack in case of war among Dunador's eastern neighbours.
11. Do your players even need their rations and torches?
Yes.
12. How do you become a ruler of many?
Feudal privilege is guarded jealously by those already in power, and everywhere is claimed by somebody - there is no "unsettled frontier" here.
Inside Dunador, proving you worth to an existing lord can lead to grants of land and title (in exchange for oaths of obedience, of course). Those closely affiliated with a church can earn stewardship of church land. Or you can head into the less centrally controlled regions, like the princedoms to the west or the northern mountains, and simply take it for yourself.
13. Are there social consequences for necromancy or other forms of forbidden magic? Do these consequences differ in the view of the common man vs. other people?
Necromancy and demon-summoning are pretty universally considered A Bad Thing. Which means of course that only the rich and powerful get away with it so long as they don't do it too publicly. Heliopapists consider necromancer particularly horrifying, as they believe a soul cannot continue the cycle of purification while it is trapped in flesh.
Mind-controlling magic is not specifically outlawed against beyond the normal laws against injuring persons, but it is a cultural taboo. More than one hedge mage or entertainer has wound up burned on the stake or buried alive by angry villages after a charm spell or hypnotism act gone awry.
14. What is the common man’s capability to distinguish the following things: a werewolf’s tracks vs. wolf tracks, a manticore attack vs. a lion attack, a demon attack vs. a gargoyle attack?
Minimal ability to tell the difference between wolves and werewolves. Generally speaking ANY wolf attack is blamed on werewolves. Lions are hated and feared by the common Dunadorian, and stories of any attacks are usually exaggerated enough that parsing the difference from reports alone can be difficult, but they can tell the difference by sight. The common Dunadorian wouldn't understand the difference between a demon and a gargoyle, even on sight.
15. What is the social position of rogues, within both history and in the current day? Within both thieves’ guilds and within the world at large?
While rogues can be romanticized if they target the privileged (see: Robin Hood, etc) or if they are treasuring-hunting tricksters, and especially if they do their nefarious deeds /somewhere else/, thieves are despised - especially by the common folk. Even accusations of theft can be enough to warrant ostracization from villages. There is no "Thieves' Guild" as an institution, though organized criminal gangs do exist and are considered part of life in urban areas (and in some cases provide more social support than any servant of the crown).
16. What is the role of dungeons within the world – are they a place where MacGuffins have been hidden, ruins of lost civilizations, unexplored caverns extending deep into the earth, Zelda-like puzzle dungeons that are more a player challenge than something that makes sense in-world, or something else entirely?
Most of the above? The buried cities, burial sites, and ruins of previous empires hold secrets and treasures. The Mythic Underworld awaits deep in the veins of the earth. Alien entities and prehistoric civilizations have left behind impossible constructions. Archamges, liches, and other powerful entities have left being strange lairs to entrap, entice, and bewilder. Generally dungeons are something that makes sense in the world, though the rules start to bend the deeper you go into the Mythic Underworld, or the more alien the builder.
17. How common are dungeons, how deep or large are they, and how much treasure might be expected within their depths?
Most dungeons are smallish constructions - buried ruins or sealed tombs that might hold grave goods. The more accessible they are, the more likely it is they've been looted and reoccupied. Larger dungeons hold commensurately greater rewards, and greater dangers.
18. Explain, if you could, the differences between magic-users in the world. For instance, how would wizards, sorcerers, miracle-workers, warlocks, witches, medicine-men, stage magicians, and the like differ from each other? Do all of those categories even exist?
Common folk don't have a clear understanding of the difference between wizards and sorcerors. They wiggle their fingers, say weird words, and fire comes out. They likely also wouldn't recognize a warlock to look at them or see them cast, but warlocks have a sinister reputation, most commonly being associated with The Prince or the much-feared Faery.
Witches, hedge mages, druids, and other rural wise-folk are an accepted part of life outside urban areas, even among heliopapists. Most would be surprised (and probably disbelieving) to be told that the folk-magics of the local wise woman or the druid the next valley over is the same kind of spellcasting as the fancy wizardry they've heard of in the tavern stories.
19. What are two examples of food culture in the world? Even if food isn’t a part of play, what dishes are people consuming in the world around the players, and what messages can be conveyed through food and drink?
Asking for fish is the fastest way to mark yourself as a foreigner. The only ready supply of fish in Dunador is from the Lake, and only the monarch (and those who have paid for a license) are permitted to catch them.
Although the traditional foods are basically the same across the kingdom, there are regional variations that locals recognize, and (mostly friendly) rivalry exist between regions over which is the best. Outsiders frequently can't tell the difference.
Food can only be given as a gift if it is eaten communally. Refusing to eat something you're giving freely to someone is considered extremely rude and possibly suspicious, as is offering payment for something that is being consumed communally.
20. What is the internal logic of the game world you are running, as far as players are concerned? When the players act and the world reacts, what principles do you hold to?
The world has plots and NPCs have agency and agendas they will pursue outside the activities of the players. If the kingdom goes to war, it may have nothing to do with what the PCs have been up to. The local nobility is going to think in terms of privilege and power and ambition. The necromancer two valleys over is going to keep stacking bodies on that tower until he becomes a lich whether the players care or not.
In general, I will err on the side of "what the reality of the world demands". A cruel, greedy baron will not suddenly become altruistic because it would make for better story pacing. I make use of reaction tables and generators to help build the world and guide the actions and agendas of NPCs.
That said, the game is focused on the players. There are quests available to undertake and storylines that can be engaged with, but the players are not railroaded and can pursue their own interests and agendas.
In arbitration, I aim to be a referee, portraying the world honestly but keeping the focus on the PCs and the style of play in keeping with what the players want.
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