Jhordunne Overview

Overview

Jhordunne is a dark fantasy world. Grim, but maybe not so perilous. There are still heroes, but they are fewer every generation. Magic is uncommon, but powerful. Most people will only see magic once or twice in their lives, but it still exists all around them. Morality is often given nothing more than lip service. Many do whatever they have to simply to survive until the next morning. That doesn’t mean there isn’t good in the world or even somewhat peaceful areas. Life, though, is often difficult. And short.

Thousands of years ago, ancient magic shattered the lands. Evil forces gnaw away at civilization, always seeking a way to turn others to darkness and to bring about the ruin of everything. Monsters – living, dead, and otherworldly – stalk the wilds, as well as the streets. Night, particularly in the rural areas, is a time for locked doors and hushed voices. Even in the cities, no one is completely safe. This makes people generally suspicious of outsiders and those who are different. It’s much safer to ignore the pleas of a stranger, when that stranger might be a werewolf, demon-worshiper, or evil spirit. Theft, lies, and even murder become justifiable in the minds of those surrounded by darkness and decay.

Corruption

Unleashed by ancient magic, Tai’Shalvar – the Corrupting Wind – oozes into Jhordunne through tears in reality, called Rifts. Patient and insidious, the Vile Princes work tirelessly to find ways to further defile Jhordunne. Many claim the forces of Corruption are manifest evil. In truth, they are something beyond good and evil. They exist only to spread darkness and chaos, twisting life and death into abberations.

Heros and Their Mirror Images

There are those who revel in the darkness around them, using it to further their own twisted desires. Some seek fortune, some power, and some simply enjoy inflicting pain. Crumbling civilizations and the untamed wilderness that threatens to swallow them are a playground for the wicked and mad. A few give themselves wholly over to evil and Corruption, making pacts with demons and devils or binding themselves to dark gods, in return for gifts of abominable favors. 

There are also those who try to bring light to this shadowed world, while doing their best to keep their own soul intact. Some try to reaffirm the faith and hope of their flock. A few venture into the dark places, looking to fight the evils that lurk there. Others try to make life a little better for their people. Finally, some simply try to help those around them. Many, though, are simply apathetic. Millenia of hardship and misery have shaped the peoples of Azerion. They live their lives as best they can, looking for a little happiness where they can get it. They may hope for a better world, but don’t expect to ever see one.

The Lands

Jhordunne is a broken world. Eons of wars – even between the Gods, themselves – have left the lands scared. Dark magic and the taint of Corruption have seeped into the bedrock, twisting the land and those who live upon and in it. A would-be God, driven to insanity by her lust for power, unleashed a cataclysm of necromantic magic upon the West, shattering civilizations and altering the balance between life and death. Even within the massive Dragonspine Empire, civilization huddles in clusters, separated by vast stretches of wilderness and wastes, overrun by barbarian tribes, monsters, and nightmares.

The ancient Fey and the Primevals haunt the dark and lonely places: forests, caves, moors, deserts. Superstition runs deep, regardless of one’s station. Both peasant and noble are in danger from the curses cast by hags or from the foul magic used by witches. Those who hunt the terrors – real or imagined – stalk the night. Some are hailed as heroes, while others only bring death to innocents.

The Gods

The Gods, blocked by ancient Laws, have only the faintest of touches, often only able to act through their most devout of followers. Neither truly good nor evil; they are the embodiment of their domains. Only the Fey remember the oldest gods. The younger gods, once the servants of the nearly-forgotten Elder Gods, vie for power on Azerion through their adherents. In areas where one has many followers, they can still interact with the world, even if only a tiny amount.

Across Jhordunne, the races worship hundreds of gods. Each ancestry has their own pantheon, though some gods are simply different names for aspects of the same being. The ability of any one of them to affect Azerion waxes and wanes with the number and fervor of their worshippers. There are hundreds more, forgotten, sleeping, waiting for a willing soul to rediscover and awaken them.

Magic

Magic, once used freely, is now shunned and feared. Even the simplest spell risks tainting the caster’s soul or calling forth something demonic. The fearful populace have not forgotten the excesses and horrors brought by arcane and otherworldly magic. Those who practice such magic are believed to be in league with demons and devils or worse. Often, those condemnations are justified. Even Divine magic brings fear to the faithful; those who wield it bring terror to those afraid they might be its next target. Inquisitions, witch hunts, and purges plague many lands.

The Undead

Unleashed by the madness of the most powerful necromancer to have ever lived, undead now plague the Western lands. Several crusades have been mounted to destroy the foul creatures, but they always return; the Halls of the Dead have an endless army. The Gods of Death rarely speak to their priests, and when they do, it is often incomprehensible. Many once-great kingdoms now lie forgotten and abandoned, left to the dead. Spirits, some benign, most vengeful, roam the land or haunt the living. The former Great Kingdom of Wallach, whose people were devout followers of the Elshanna, goddess of mercy and healing, is now ruled by the Vampire Georg Krajzowicj and Wallach’s churches have been turned into mockeries of their former glory.