Raevel
Raevel is a cold, forested continent to the East of Doria. Culturally, Raevel shares much in common with Doria, and contact and exchange between the two nations has flourished for centuries.
Despite the name, the Kingdom of Raevel has no king. Raevel is instead ruled by a Baron, who is said to be just holding the throne until the True King is found. It is said that the True King will be known because he will be able to wield Krakkev's Sword, an artifact created by the primary deity of the Raevelan Pantheon. The current Baron, Jenson Marr, appears to be in no hurry to find this "True King," and is, in fact, working busily to shore up the power of the Barony.
Geopolitical Background
Nominally, Raevel is in alliance with Doria, and should Pallin choose to invade either nation, the other would presumably come to its aid. However, some report that Raevel and Pallin are in communication with each other, and that Baron Marr may be willing to forsake his kingdom's ages-long alliance with the Dorians in favor of siding with Pallin. It is unclear how firmly grounded these rumors are, or if the Dorians even believe them, but at present Raevel appears poised to honor its pact with King Morgan should the Dorians suffer invasion.
Internal Background
Raevel is a centralized feudal monarchy, divided into four provinces: Raevel Proper, Jaehu, Wildewood and the Edils. Each of the three outlying provinces (Jaehu, Wildewood and the Edils) is overseen from a provincial capital by a lord appointed by the Baron. Unlike in Doria, where the provincial lords are currently near to being in open revolt against the King, Raevel's Baron has complete control over the lords, and dissention is rarely tolerated. Baron Marr proves to be no exception to this rule.
The Raevelans do face a few major internal difficulties, however. The first is that of a tribe of rogue bugbears that appear to have moved into the treacherous and uninhabited western portions of the Edil Mountains. The cities of Blackgate and Veniu both have been struck by bugbear raiders, and the raids appear to be increasing in frequency and boldness. The second, and more sinister, threat is that of an organization known as the Ebon Lynx. The Lynx is believed to be a council of five that has influence over a number of major thieves guilds across Raevel, and which may be playing its hand toward taking over the kingdom.Raevel City is the castle-capital of the Kingdom, situated at the center of the vast open plain that forms the heartland of the nation. All roads in the continent do literally lead to Raevel City.
Veniu is a fort-city where the provincial governor of Jaehu province resides. Currently, Veniu suffers almost weekly from bugbear raids, either against the city proper or against the roads leading to and from the city.
Lower Edils is a fort-city where the provincial governor of the Edils province resides. The appointed lord is a human loyal to Baron Marr's regime, though nearly all of his subjects are demihumans. The lord is coming under increased pressure to do something about the bugbear problem, since the humanoids are lairing within his province, but as yet all of his efforts have been fruitless.
Blackgate is a fort-city where the provincial governor of Wildewood resides. This governor, Steward Darben Gray, is among the most respected and beloved lords in the Kingdom, and is the only provincial lord who was not appointed by the current Baron. Governing at the Steward's side are his wife, the Lady Tyntigal, the captain of the Blackgate Guard, Sir Galleon, and a halfling rogue who serves as Lord Darben's spymaster, FynGyn. Also loyal to Lord Darben are the Forest Gnomes of the Wildewood, the Durshan Clan. Lord Darben is the only provincial lord with the seniority and influence to publicly criticize Baron Marr without reprisal. Which he does. Often, and sometimes with colorful language.
Citom is an important stop along the trade roads between the outlying provinces and Raevel City. It has one of the largest public marketplaces outside of Raevel City itself, and is suspected to be where at least one of the leaders of the Ebon Lynx is hiding out.
Styz and Sticktown are two large farming villages, which provide the bulk of the kingdom's food stores.
Feyblood is the only purely elven city in Raevel, the last remnant of the independent Elven kingdom that existed before Raevel conquered the Kingdom of Jaehu. Elves of the Gray, High and Sylvan kinds can be found in Feyblood.
Morra'Tel is a mixed-race community of forest gnomes and halflings. The demihumans who live here are respectful of the Baron's authority and don't want to cause anyone any trouble. Halflings of the Hairfoot, Stout and Tallfellow varieites can be found here.
Daekus-Kor and Kirdaeck-Kor are the homes of the Dwarven races of Raevel. Between the two cities, dwarves of Hill, Mountain and Deep Dwarven stock can be found.
Granitehome is the city of the Rock Gnomes. Granitehome maintains close ties with both Morra'Tel and the other cities of the Edils (Daekus-Kor, Kirdaeck-Kor, Under-Edil and Svirifenn), serving as a nexus of both trade and news and information between the Edils and Jaehu provinces.
Svirifenn is the city of the Deep Gnomes (Svirfneblin). This is one of two cities that is built so far under the mountains that no part of the city touches daylight (the other city being Under-Edil). Skirmishes sometimes erupt between Svirifenn's Deep Gnomes and the Drow and Duergar who live in Under-Edil.
Under-Edil is a city that is said to be the last surviving remnant of Raevel's Underdark; the rest of the deeper Underdark was destroyed in a massive earthquake that caved in countless major caverns, and flooded several others with scalding-hot geyser waters. The surviving inhabitants of Under-Edil number only a few hundred, and are all of either Drow or Duergar stock. Due to their small numbers, the residents of Under-Edil capitulate to Raevelan rule and have agreed to be a part of the Kingdom, but the gnomes of Svirifenn have refused to acknowledge the city's legitimacy and attack it whenever they can get away with it.
The Raevelans are fairly standard, as the human races of Kulm go. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Occasionally, Raevelan humans evidence unique abilities (purchased with character points) that other humans don't seem to have or be able to unlock. This is believed to be due to the influence of Raevel's unique pantheon of gods, who have historically taken a great interest in advancing the causes of Raevel's humans and demi-humans.
Ability Score Adjustments: None.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: None. Humans, as standard, may dual-class instead.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Humans move at rate 12.
Bonus Languages: Common.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Humans begin play with 10
racial character points, which they can either spend on special human
racial abilities or class skills and proficiencies.
Special Disadvantages:
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
Hill, Mountain, Deep and Gray Dwarves are all found in Raevel; the
first three live in the twin high mountain cities of Daekus-Kor and
Kirdaeck-Kor, while the Gray Dwarves (Duergar) live in the Underdark
refugee city of Under-Edil. For their part, the good Dwarven Races
have been most accomodating of the Duergar in their time of need,
welcoming them into the Kingdom of Raevel and helping them to survive
amid the tragedy that befell the Underdark.
The Dwarves revere their own gods, rather than the gods of Raevel's
humans or the pantheons worshipped by Dwarves in other nations. The
Duergar have abandoned worship of Laduguer since the disaster that
befell the Underdark, and those who are priests have taken up worship
of either Ka Kopola or Taka Vi.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Constitution, -1 Charisma.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Cleric, Fighter-Thief, Fighter-Psionicist, Psionicist-Thief.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Dwarves move at rate 6.
Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Dwarves begin play with 45
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Dwarf character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for his or her
subrace (Hill, Mountain, Gray or Deep Dwarf), or can spend his or her
points on any abilities he or she would like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•Magic Item Failure: Due to their non-magic natures,
Dwarves have a 20% chance to fail whenever they attempt to activate a
magical item.
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
Raevelan Elves of High, Gray and Sylvan stock can be found in the Elven city of Feyblood, while the Drow can be found in the refugee city of Under-Edil. As with the rest of Raevel, the Elves have their own gods: Tuemala and Rallawic. The Drow used to worship Lolth, but are now of the belief that the Spider Goddess forsook them, and have all but abandoned her faith. A small but growing fellowship devoted to Elistraee has formed in Under-Edil, though most of the city's Drow are far too evil for the Dark Maiden's liking.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity and -1 Constitution.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Mage, Fighter-Thief, Mage-Thief, Fighter-Mage-Thief
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Elves move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Elves begin play knowing how to speak Elven and Common.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Elvees begin play with 45
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. An Elf character has the option of selecting
the pre-determined racial abilities package for his or her subrace
(High, Gray, Drow or Sylvan), or can spend his or her points on any
abilities he or she would like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
The Gnomes of Raevel are divided into the Rock, Forest and Deep
Gnome subraces. The Rock Gnomes rule the city of Granitehome, the
Forest Gnomes live alongside the Halflings in Morra'Tel, and the Deep
Gnomes maintain the underground city of Svirifenn. There is also a
clan of Forest Gnomes, the Durshan Clan, that lives in the Wildewood
Forest and is loyal to Steward Darben Gray of Blackgate.
Gnomes worship the same gods as the Dwarves of Raevel.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 to Intelligence and -1 to Wisdom.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Cleric, Fighter-Illusionist, Fighter-Thief, Cleric-Illusionist, Cleric-Thief, Illusionist-Thief.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10 for Rock and Forest Gnomes, 2 for Deep Gnomes; Rock Gnomes move on land at a rate of 6, and Deep Gnomes move at rate 9. Forest Gnomes move at rate 12.
Bonus Languages: Gnome, Common. Additionally, Rock Gnomes speak the language of burrowing mammals, Forest Gnomes speak the language of forest mammals, and Svirfneblin speak Undercommon and the language of Earth Elementals.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Gnomes begin play with 45
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Gnome character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for his or her
subrace (Rock, Forest, Deep), or can spend his or her points on any
abilities he or she would like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•Magic Item Failure: Due to their non-magic natures,
Gnomes have a 20% chance to fail whenever they attempt to activate a
magical item.
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
Half-Elves. Same as anyplace else. Only with character points (see below).
Ability Score Adjustments: None.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Cleric, Fighter-Druid, Fighter-Thief, Fighter-Mage, Cleric-Ranger, Ranger-Druid, Cleric-Mage, Druid-Mage, Thief-Mage, Fighter-Mage-Thief, Fighter-Mage-Cleric, Fighter-Mage-Druid.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Half-Elves move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Elven, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Half-Elves begin play with 25
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Half-Elven character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for all
Half-Elves, or can spend his or her points on any abilities he or she
would like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
The Halflings of Raevel live in the city of Morra'Tel in the Jaehu Forest, alongside Forest Gnomes. Three subraces are found in Raevel: Hairfeet, Stouts and Tallfellows. Halflings worship both the Dwarven and Elven gods, believing that the Halfling races were created last of all the demihumans and benefitted from the best of each race.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity, -1 Strength.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Thief, Fighter-Psionicist, Psionicist-Thief.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Halflings move on land at a rate of 9.
Bonus Languages: Halfling, Common. Additionally, Stouts speak Dwarven, and Tallfellows speak Elven.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Halflings begin play with 35
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Halfling character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for all his
Halfling subrace (Hairfoot, Tallfellow or Stout), or can spend his or
her points on any abilities he or she would like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
Half-Orcs in Raevel are a remnant of a time before the worldwide
humanoid exodus that founded the Hordelands. They have survived only
because their brute strength is valued in Raevelan society; Orcs have
been gone from the continent for so long that almost no racial
prejudice exists against those with Orcish blood.
Because almost no Half-Orcs in Raevel are first-generation, most are
fairly close to human in appearance. But because most Half-Orcs have
tended to breed only with each other over the course of several
generations, the Orcish lineage is still strong enough to manifest
various unique racial abilities. Raevelan Half-Orcs worship the Human
pantheon of Raevel, since these are the religions that most Half-Orcs
were brought up to know.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Strength and Constitution, -2 Charisma.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Cleric, Fighter-Thief, Cleric-Thief.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Half-Orcs move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Orcish, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Assassin Kit: Raevelan Half-Orcs who take the Assassin
kit can progress without level limit.
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Half-Orcs begin play with 15
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Half-Orc character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for all his
race, or can spend his or her points on any abilities he or she would
like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.
As with Half-Orcs, the Half-Ogres of Raevel are the only evidence that Ogres ever lived on this continent. Also like Half-Orcs, Half-Ogres mostly breed exclusively with each other, and so have preserved the Ogrish blood. Half-Ogres worship the human pantheon.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Strength and Constitution, -1 Intelligence and Charisma.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Cleric
Kit Allowances: The kits below are as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 8; Half-Ogres move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Ogrish, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Character Points System: Characters from Raevel
construct their classes using the character point system from the
Player's Option series. Characters begin play at first level with a
certain number of character points to spend on class skills, and gain
more points as they rise in level (which they can then use to buy
other skills).
•Racial Character Points: Half-Ogres begin play with 15
racial character points. Only 5 of these can be saved to spend on
class abilities or proficiencies; the rest must be spent on racial
skills or else are lost. A Half-Ogre character has the option of
selecting the pre-determined racial abilities package for all his
race, or can spend his or her points on any abilities he or she would
like to have.
Special Disadvantages:
•Large Size: Half-Ogres take damage as large
creatures.
•No Proficiencies: Raevelans never gain weapon or
non-weapon proficiency slots. They must use character points to
purchase all of their class skills, race skills and
proficiencies.