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This file contains the DM information for the Fifty Worlds campaign setting. If you're a player rather than a game master, don't read it. The player information is here. DMs should probably read the player information too, so as to have some idea of what's going on.
DM navigation mirrors player navigation. When the players click on a link, the DM should be able to click on a corresponding link and get more information. If it doesn't work, that's a bug - e-mail me and I'll fix it. Click here to skip all this waffle and get started.
This campaign setting lists exactly fifty worlds (or will do when I've finished writing them all up). That doesn't mean you can't add extra ones if you so desire. It also doesn't mean that they're all described in detail. Here is a list of the ones which I have either written up already or plan to write up soon.
Some of this has been play-tested, but quite a lot has not. If anything looks to you as if it wouldn't work, drop it or change it.
I do not like the so-called "keyed dungeons", where (for example) the same gang of orcs is always sitting playing cards in the same room whatever the time of day and whatever else has been happening recently. Even orcs are not that stupid. Even humans are not that stupid.
Instead, what you get (when I get around to writing it all up) is a general description of each location, together with a few typical encounters and the noteworthy resident monsters. There might or might not also be adventure hooks.
It is up to the DM to keep track of things as they happen. The typical encounters are not so much of a problem: if a particular encounter can only happen after dark, and it's currently noon, the encounter simply doesn't happen. The noteworthy resident monsters are more of a problem: the DM has to know how they will react when player characters appear on the scene and make their presence known. That's hard work. If you can't hack it, go back to keyed dungeons.
The introductory scenarios are an exception to this, as I can, more or less, predict where a starting player character might reasonably get to and what options he or she has when he/she does.
The majority of the fifty worlds, including all the best places to start a campaign, have one thing in common: Newtonian laws are in force. Inanimate objects move in accordance with fairly simple physical laws. Intelligent beings have the additional option of using magic, either by requesting the intercession of their deities or by casting spells gleaned from ancient tomes.
If you're uncomfortable with Newtonian physics, either study it until you understand it better or fake it.
You can recognise Newtonian worlds easily. The background is this nice pale blue colour.
However, this isn't the case in all of the fifty worlds. Some of them follow Hamiltonian-Maxwellian laws. Inanimate objects move in much the same way as they do in Newtonian worlds, albeit for different reasons. The big differences are
If you're uncomfortable with Hamiltonian-Maxwellian physics, keep your players away from the worlds where it applies.
You can recognise Hamiltonian-Maxwellian worlds easily. The background will be a different colour.
There are also a couple of worlds where even more bizarre laws of physics are in force.
The big plus point gained from using Newtonian, rather than Relativistic, physics is that, as noted in the player information, now actually means something consistent across the fifty worlds. If you travel from one to another, and then back, you arrive where you started from with the right amount of time having elapsed. There's no time dilation and no possibility of turning up before you set off. It makes for much easier bookkeeping.
This campaign setting was designed for use with AD&D 2nd Edition, except for the changes listed in the player information. Stats, where given, assume this. If you want to use another game system, fine, but doing the conversion is your problem, not mine.
There is one more difference (really an addition): although the transmutation spell Teleport exists, and is as unreliable as ever, there's also a conjuration spell for teleporting (in a properly-designed universe, teleporting is conjuration, not transmutation, as it moves things from one place to another). The conjuration version can take the caster (and possibly friends) to any destination which has been marked with a teleport marker. (Yes, there's also a spell for creating teleport markers.) If the spell misfires (same chance as the transmutation version), the caster ends up at the wrong teleport marker (and possibly on entirely the wrong world), not in the middle of solid ground or up in the air. This spell is noteworthy in that it's one of three ways of travelling between the fifty worlds.
The second way is to use the megaliths. Some megaliths take you into hyperspace, and (if you're luck is average or better) from hyperspace on to your destination. Others don't.
The third way is to use a mirror of mental prowess. These are very rare indeed.
The Section on Magic grew so big that it now has its own file.
While we're discussing what is and what is not possible, here is a Section on Technology.
The Section on Languages is also threatening to grow, so it too now has its own file.
No-one anywhere uses metres or centimetres. Very few people use inches. The measurements in use are:
The finger. This is the width of a human finger. It varies from one person to another. Civilised cities may have a standard finger which will be in the region of 1.5 to 2 centimetres.
The inch. This is the length from the tip of the thumb to the thumb-knuckle. It is particularly inconvenient in societies where fingernails are worn long. It is not widely used, and there is no standard inch.
The foot. This is the length of a human foot. It varies from one person to another. Civilised cities may have a standard foot, often but not always defined as 20 standard fingers.
The pace. This is the length of the human stride. It varies both from one person to another and by civilisation. Civilised cities may have a standard pace. In military societies, it is the length between successive right footprints when marching, and is typically in the region of 120 to 200 centimetres. In civil societies, it is the length between a right footprint and the next left footprint when walking at a natural walking pace, and is typically in the region of 80 to 160 centimetres. There may be as few as 40 or as many as 128 standard fingers per standard pace, and people from different cultures have been known to fight about it.
The yard. This is the length from the left shoulder to the tip of the outstretched right hand. It varies from one person to another. It is used in measuring cloth and rope. Civilised cities may have a standard yard, often defined as 3 standard feet. It is unusual for a culture to have both a standard pace and a standard yard.
The chain. All cultures have a measure of distance somewhere in the region of 8 to 10 metres. This is the standard chain, used in measuring lengths of fields. The standard chain will usually be defined either as a simple multiple of a smaller unit or a simple fraction of the standard mile.
The mile, the league. All cultures have a measure of distance somewhere in the region of 800 to 5000 metres; translate anything below 2000 metres as mile and anything above 2000 metres as league. A few cultures might have both, in which case the league is usually a simple multiple of the mile. There is no generally-agreed definition of the mile or league. In base-10 cultures, it will generally be 1000 of a smaller unit. In base-8 cultures, it will generally be 512 or 4096 of a smaller unit. Alternatively, a league might be defined as the distance a man can walk in an hour. Most peasants everywhere are very vague about distances longer than a chain, so all distances are in any case approximate at best.
Except where specified otherwise, I give distances in Imperial (Earth) units and leave the conversion to you.
There are two common creation myths found around the Fifty Worlds. Those given to thinking about the origin of the universe (rather than getting on with their daily business) generally believe one, if not both.
First myth: Demons and devils have always fought, and always will. However, fighting about nothing seems rather silly. So they created the universe so as to have something to fight over. This might not be the only universe - they may have created other universes to fight over. With demons and devils, who can tell?
Anyway, after a while, the Gods found out. When they did, they started Creating, as is their wont. First, they Created small things like ants, beetles and spiders. Gradually they worked up, Creating rats and rabbits and dogs and humans and trolls and genies and dragons and all sorts of other things.
When the Gods created Titans, the demons and devils started to get seriously worried. Whose universe is it, anyway?
Second myth: Once upon a time, there lived a race of evil elves. These evil elves were very good at magic, particularly necromancy, and used their evil necromantic powers to blend elves with various animals in an attempt to create slave races which would not be immune to charm spells.
No-one liked the evil elves. They didn't even like one another. It came to the point where they virtually annihilated one another in a Great Suicidal War.
Even the Gods didn't like the evil elves. The Gods ensured that members of several of the slave races survived the Great Suicidal War. It's not that there was anything especially good about the slave races, so much as that anything would be better than having the evil elves back.
With a little help from natural selection and a little more help from the Gods, the slave races created by the evil elves evolved into present-day races such as humans and orcs and dwarves and werewolves and sylphs.
Modern elves are descended from tree-huggers who dropped out of the society of evil elves and thus did not suffer the consequences of the Great Suicidal War. Modern drow are descended from a group of prisoners, locked up deep underground for not being quite evil enough, who also did not suffer the consequences of the Great Suicidal War.
Commentary: Both myths present a reasonably positive world-view. Things are, on the whole, getting better - they may be bad now, but they were really awful in the past. They also explain reasonably well why Gods of various alignments look after humans of various alignments.
The other thing they explain is the presence deep underground of awesomely powerful and extremely destructive magical items. They are leftovers from the Great Suicidal War.
Both player characters and adventuring NPCs are eligible for divine ascension when you can't think of anything sufficiently challenging for them, or when you think they have done enough to deserve it. Xan, head of the College of Knowledge, is by common consent close to divine ascension.
The other way to achieve divine ascension is to be the sole ruler of an empire for long enough. Anyone ruling an empire of ten million people for a hundred years, or a hundred million people for ten years, or any other combination which multiplies to the same result, is eligible for divine ascension.
Note, in particular, that this only applies to sole rulers. To illustrate the point, Queen Victoria was not the sole ruler of the British Empire - her various prime ministers had more real political power - but was Empress of India and would be a minor deity on that basis if you set now to any time after the 19th Century (I do not recommend this).
I admit it openly: I like monsters better than humans. I get annoyed when player characters treat my nice monsters as hack-and-slay fodder.
So what I do is allow some monsters to gain levels, just as humans do. Not all monsters do this - just enough to keep player characters nervous. Just as most humans are standard humans, most monsters are standard monsters. Dragons already have their own way of advancing as they get older, so they need not advance in level too (although there is no reason why they could not, and shape-changing dragons who live in human society probably should, so as not to give the game away). Monsters with part-human ancestry, such as those female-only species which mate with male humans, are not greatly different from half-elves and should gain in levels about as often as half-elves do. Intelligent undead who used to be adventurers should certainly have some proportion of their old abilities.
Monsters with adventuring skills are always NPCs, never player characters.
Something else to note about monsters is that sexual reproduction evolved on the Prime Material Plane. Monstrous animals reproduce sexually, just as normal animals do - you get male and female dragons, and male and female ixitxachitl, for example. Gooey things - slimes, oozes, gelatinous cubes, and so on - reproduce asexually by fission, just as amoeba do; there are no male gelatinous cubes or female gelatinous cubes. Extra-planar beings (genies, demons, and so on) reproduce in an entirely different way. No-one knows the details. Genies and demons never talk about the process. It seems likely that if they did, human listeners would be disgusted. Contrary to what most peasants think, there are no male genies or female genies, and there are no male demons or female demons (mariliths and succubi are deemed to be female because of their appearance and behaviour, not because of the role they play in procreation).
However, anyone or anything polymorphed into a humanoid form can procreate in that form (that is in the rules, if you look - sexual reproduction is a non-magical ability inherent in the form). Shape-changing dragons can mate with humans and produce human-ish children. So, in principle, can genies and demons, although it does not happen all that often. The results can be interesting. The offspring are not sterile (neither, for that matter, are half-elves or half-orcs).
I am not sure what happens if an adventurer polymorphed into a gelatinous cube were to reproduce by fission. Reproduction by fission is a non-magical ability inherent in the form, so has to be allowed. But what happens if the polymorph spell is then dispelled? I think my ruling would be that you now have identical twins, each with half the experience points of the original adventurer. Fortunately, it has never come up in play.
Finally, monsters of similar alignments do not always like one another. One of the most important ongoing battles in this setting is between the forces of law (including paladins and gold dragons) and the forces of good (including rangers and silver dragons).
Now to some specifics:
Beholders are intelligent and magical, and have society of a sort. There might be beholder wizards (non-specialist) to a maximum of 10th level (add 1d4 hit points for each level). Alternatively, individual beholders might specialise in the use of a particular eye function (increase range for that one function, and apply a saving-throw penalty; the eyestalk performing that particular function has extra hit points).
Bugbears have a sense of fun otherwise missing from the goblinoids. Assume that they can triple-class as fighter/cleric/thieves (the Skills and Powers book does not explicitly say that they can't!), and with maximum strength, dexterity and wisdom can be anything up to 15th-level fighter/11th-level cleric/11th-level thief. I don't see why bugbears cannot be (for example) acrobats or swashbucklers.
Demons (we needn't bother with the T-word)
know that, in the long run, they will win their Great War against devils.
Although some battles are won and others are lost, in the long run, greater flexibility must count.
Since they know they are going to win in the long run, many demons are not in any great hurry,
and spend most of their time pursuing outside interests.
At some time in the past, all demons of a particular type were identical to one another.
One still sometimes hears retired adventurers use expressions such as "type I demon".
However, that idea has been abandoned as inappropriate for the ultimate representatives of chaos.
Nowadays, even demons which appear identical are subtly different from one another.
Polymorphed demons can and do interbreed with humans.
The resulting offspring will be human;
whether or not they inherit any demonic powers is best determined randomly.
(See also succubi.)
Devils (we needn't bother with the B-word)
know that, in the long run, they will win their Great War against demons.
Although some battles are won and others are lost, in the long run, superior organisation must count.
All devils are standard monsters of their type - it goes with being the ultimate representatives of law.
Polymorphed devils could, in principle, interbreed with humans.
They never do, as casual sex is chaotic.
Dinosaurs:
Deinonychi hunt in packs and are intelligent (for dinosaurs).
A particularly talented deinonychus could be an 11th-level fighter,
an 11th-level thief or a 9th-level cleric.
Deinonychi cannot be wizards or bards, and cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Djinn can be priests or wizards. Priest djinn are not restricted in level but never gain 7th-level spells. Wizard djinn typically specialise in elemental air, illusion or wild magic. Wizard djinn are not restricted in level but never gain 8th-level or 9th-level spells. Djinn can, in principle, be dual-classed but rarely are.
Moon dogs are not friendly to all of good alignment, or vice versa. Cat-lovers may, quite legitimately, kill them on sight. Priests of Bast are required to do so.
Dopplegangers can be thieves or bards, to a maximum of 8th-level thief or 8th-level bard. Unless additional magic is used, dopplegangers are not cross-fertile with humans. If additional magic is used, human females can get pregnant by dopplegangers. The resulting offspring will be human; they inherit the doppleganger's shape-changing ability as a recessive gene.
Dragons:
Shape-changing dragons could, in principle, interbreed with humans.
It happens occasionally, but it is rare.
The resulting offspring will be human.
They do not inherit the dragon's shape-changing ability
or any powers (such as breath weapons) which can only be used in dragon form.
They might inherit other powers - this is best determined randomly.
Powers such as (for example) a bronze dragon's descendants gaining one random first-level spell
on reaching 26 years of age are not going to break the game.
Bronze dragons can, in principle, be of any adventuring class except druids, thieves or bards.
In practice, only those bronze dragons who live amongst human adventurers develop an adventuring class.
They are most commonly fighters.
There is no level limit, but they cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Bronze dragons hate steel dragons.
Gold dragons can, in principle, be of any adventuring class except druids, thieves or bards.
In practice, only those gold dragons who live amongst human adventurers develop an adventuring class.
They are most commonly priests.
There is no level limit, but they cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Gold dragons regard silver dragons and white dragons as the same subspecies, and hate them equally.
Silver dragons can, in principle, be of any adventuring class except druids, thieves or bards.
In practice, only those silver dragons who live amongst human adventurers develop an adventuring class.
They are most commonly wizards.
There is no level limit, but they cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Silver dragons regard gold dragons and red dragons as the same subspecies, and hate them equally.
Steel dragons can, in principle, be of any adventuring class except paladins, rangers or druids.
In practice, only those steel dragons who live amongst human adventurers develop an adventuring class.
They are most commonly bards.
There is no level limit, but they cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Steel dragons hate bronze dragons.
Deep dragons can be fighters, thieves or non-specialist mages.
The limits are the same as for elves, but they cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Dryads could, in principle, be of various adventuring classes, most obviously druids, bards and enchantresses. However, since it is very difficult for dryads to go adventuring, they rarely gain experience. Although the theoretical maximum is much higher, in practice dryads will never be higher than 2nd-level at anything.
Efreet can be priests or wizards, although since all efreet can grant wishes anyway most of them consider the work involved in becoming a priest or a wizard to be wasted effort. Priest efreet are not restricted in level but never gain 6th-level or 7th-level spells. Wizard efreet typically specialise in elemental fire or invocation. Wizard efreet are not restricted in level but never gain 7th-level, 8th-level or 9th-level spells. Efreet could, in principle, be dual-classed but never are. Many efreet are on good terms with devils, and offer covert aid in the Great War against demons.
Giants are quite big enough and nasty enough already. However, wherever giants gather, there ought to be giant clerics (or perhaps druids).
Jackalweres and wolfweres in human form can be fighters (maximum 11th-level), clerics (maximum 9th-level) or thieves (maximum 12th-level). They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Kobolds can, in principle, be 8th-level fighters. More seriously, kobolds with maximum wisdom or dexterity could be 12th-level clerics or 15th-level thieves (or both - nothing explicitly stops them from being multi-classed). I have yet to see a kobold cleric turn a paladin, but sooner or later it will happen.
Lamias can be fighters (maximum 12th-level) or specialist wizards (illusion or enchantment, maximum 12th-level). They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Lycanthropes:
Infected lycanthropes and induced lycanthropes
retain whatever adventuring skills they had before becoming lycanthropes.
In some cases (e.g. good-aligned clerics becoming foxwomen) that causes a problem
(which deity grants spells to the now-chaotic-evil cleric?).
Oh, dear.
True lycanthropes:
Werebears can be fighters (maximum 12th-level) or rangers (maximum 10th-level).
They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Wereboars can be fighters (maximum 10th-level) or thieves (maximum 11th-level).
They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Wererats can be fighters (maximum 8th-level) or thieves (maximum 12th-level).
They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Weretigers can be fighters (maximum 10th-level), druids (maximum 10th-level),
thieves (maximum 8th-level), bards (maximum 8th-level) or specialist transmuters (maximum 10th-level).
They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Werewolves can be fighters (maximum 12th-level), thieves (maximum 10th-level),
priests of a wolf cult (maximum 7th-level) or specialist transmuters (maximum 8th-level).
They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed.
Marids: there is only one marid in this setting, and he can do anything he likes. If he wants to be a priest or a wizard today, I am not going to tell him that he can't be.
Medusae can be fighters (maximum 8th-level), thieves (maximum 10th-level), priestesses (maximum 7th-level) or wizards (maximum 8th-level). They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed. Although medusa wizards can specialise in any school (or none), for obvious reasons, most of them choose to specialise in elemental earth.
Nereids: it seems unfair that sylphs are 7th-level wizards but nereids are not. Since nereids are so chaotic, not all of them will want to be wizards, and most of them will be too busy with other things to study magic. However, those that do should be able to reach 7th-level, specialising in elemental water.
Nymphs can be, and according to the Monster Manual are, 7th-level druids. A few of them should be multi-classed, with the second class being either enchantress (7th-level) or bard (7th-level).
Sirines are varied. For the purposes of class, maximum level and multi-classing, assume that sirines with human or half-elven fathers have the same options as half-elves, and sirines with elven fathers have the same options as elves. In either case, wizardly sirines can specialise in enchantment, illusion, transmutation or song magic. Sirines with more exotic ancestry may have other powers. Since the level limits are so high (don't forget to allow for the increased maximum level in line with their 18 dexterity and high intelligence and charisma), in practice their level will be determined by how much experience they gain. Sirines who spend all their time sitting on rocks staring at the sea do not gain much experience. Sirines who spend most of their time annoying humans for the fun of it could gain quite a lot of experience and be quite high-level.
Succubi are a particularly commonly-encountered type of demon, since one of their roles is to interact with the world of humans. They have the ability to drain levels from humans by kissing them. This has led to a number of rumours, most of them untrue. Firstly, a quick peck on the cheek is not enough - it takes a tongue-to-tongue kiss lasting ten seconds or more to drain a level. It is not a power which can be used in melee combat. Secondly, other physical interactions with demons do not result in losing (or gaining) levels. Thirdly, although succubi do gain abilities by draining levels from humans, it is a slow process and the results are not usually apparent. For each level drained from a non-spellcaster (fighter, thief, low-level paladin or ranger), the succubus permanently gains one hit point. For each level drained from a spellcaster (wizard, cleric, bard, high-level paladin or ranger) the succubus gains one character point; when she has enough character points, she can trade them for the ability to cast one new spell at will ("enough" is five character points per spell level, so, for example, the ability to cast polymorph other at will would cost twenty character points).
Sylphs can be, and according to the Monster Manual are, 7th-level wizards. They should get the bonuses for specialisation (normally, elemental air).
Trolls can be fighters (maximum 12th-level), thieves (maximum 9th-level) or priests (maximum 7th-level). They cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed. Troll priests are almost always female.
Undead:
Banshees inherit whatever adventuring skills they had (as evil female elves!) before becoming banshees.
That could be anything up to and including a triple-classed 15th-level fighter/15th-level thief/18th-level mage.
Add 5d8 hit points to her pre-undeath adventuring hit points.
Although banshees do not go adventuring,
they should still get experience points for killing living beings,
so can continue to rise in level.
Crypt Things inherit whatever adventuring skills they had before becoming crypt things.
Since they were probably humans, that could be almost anything.
Add 5d8 hit points to the pre-undeath adventuring hit points.
Although crypt things do not go adventuring,
they should still get experience points for protecting whatever it is that they are protecting,
so can continue to rise in level.
Ghosts inherit whatever adventuring skills they had before becoming ghosts.
Since they were probably humans, that could be almost anything.
Add 9d8 hit points to the pre-undeath adventuring hit points.
Although ghosts do not usually go adventuring,
they should still get experience points for successful haunting,
so can continue to rise in level.
Spectres inherit whatever adventuring skills they had before becoming spectres.
Since they were probably humans, that could be almost anything.
Add 7d8 hit points to the pre-undeath adventuring hit points.
Spectres can travel around and go adventuring, so continue to rise in level fairly quickly.
Spectres are implicitly allied with devils in the Great War.
Vampires inherit whatever adventuring skills they had before becoming vampires.
Since they were probably humans, that could be almost anything.
Add 8d8 hit points to the pre-undeath adventuring hit points.
Although vampires find it difficult to go adventuring,
they should still get experience points for killing living beings,
so can continue to rise in level.
Vampires are implicitly allied with demons in the Great War.
We know that humans can interbreed with both elves and orcs, and the resulting offspring (half-elves and half-orcs) are not sterile. Elves and orcs cannot interbreed with one another. Sexual reproduction follows Mendelian laws. Half-elven children have been born to human parents. I shall try to outline a scheme which accounts for these observations.
Assume, for sake of argument, that there are three genes which encode humanity/elvenness/orcishness. Each of these genes has five possible values: HH (human), EE (elven), OO (orcish), HE and HO. Children inherit one half-gene from each parent. EO is not possible.
For example, a human with no elven or orcish ancestry would have the genetic code HH+HH+HH. An elf with no human ancestry would have the genetic code EE+EE+EE. An orc with no human ancestry would have the genetic code OO+OO+OO. A first-generation half-elf would have the genetic code HE+HE+HE. A first-generation half-orc would have the genetic code HO+HO+HO. It is when the half-elves and half-orcs themselves have offspring that it gets interesting.
Count up the H's, E's and O's, and assume that:
Anyone with 5 or more E's is elven;
Anyone with 5 or more O's is orcish;
Anyone with 2 to 4 E's is half-elven (but see below);
Anyone with 2 to 4 O's is half-orcish (but see below);
Anyone else is human (but see below).
The combinations EE+EE+OO and EE+OO+OO are possible, and are half-elven and half-orcish respectively. The combinations EE+HE+OO and EE+HO+OO are also possible, and are half-elven and half-orcish respectively. The combinations HE+HE+OO, EE+HO+HO and EE+HH+OO are also possible, and are human with both half-elven and half-orcish characteristics.
As a result, half-elves can arise even in societies which seem to be fully human, for example when parents HE+HH+HH and HH+HH+HE, both obviously human, have an offspring HE+HH+HE who is half-elven.
If you want to expand the system, for example by assigning particular elven powers to particular genes, feel free. For example, one gene might represent resistance to sleep and charm spells, while another might represent the ability to sense secret doors, and the third might represent infravision.
The Maze, a good old-fashioned hack-and-slay dungeon. The proper way to the maze is to set off from Glastonbury Tor, emerge from a cave, turn east at the saddle-point, and enter the tavern. But if your players are easily bored, just chuck them straight in the maze and throw monsters at them.
In due course, I'll add a city setting, for those who usually prefer politics to violence. In the mean time, there's always Atlantis, a city which is good to visit but I wouldn't recommend staying in for too long. The easiest way to get there is to set off from Oxford, stay in Xenby for a few months, and then answer an advertisement.
There's also a military scenario for anyone who fancies himself as a general. The easiest way to get there is to set off from Oxford, stay in Xenby for a few months, and team up with the Caliph when he shows up. Someone should do this, so as to get a feel for what resources are available to intelligent player characters. There are several points at which other player characters can join the party before things get really nasty.
Most NPCs, weak or powerful, mind their own business and do not travel widely. Those who do travel widely, minding other people's business as they go, have a reason for doing so. It might be that they like causing trouble, or it might be that they have been instructed by their God(s) to spread the message to the unbeliever (which amounts to the same thing).
The following NPCs are well-travelled and could turn up anywhere in the worlds listed above: