Southland: Design

THE SOUTHLAND

A Fantasy Core Setting

© Jerry Harris 2014

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Southland Index

DESIGN

It’s a big sandbox, somewhat literally, as a large portion of the continent is a desert.  Specifically, it’s a container that can provide a setting and rationale for a bunch of other adventure locations.  The sample adventure provides a base town, but no specific location for it on the main map.  Place it wherever you wish to start adventuring.  As the characters learn about other places in the Southland, they can branch out from there.  

This environment would be very suitable for any dungeons (large and small) and any other adventure locations you have that are unaffiliated with larger settings.  Basically, just about anything could fit could be justified with the rest of the setting.  The majority of this continent is a “free-fire” zone filled with large numbers of Humanoids and monsters.  For the most part, there is no negotiation with these creatures or any agonizing ethical concerns.  These beings only motivation is to kill.

This is written as a highly human-centric environment, but you can certainly go ahead and add the Demi-Human races (and perhaps more exotic ones).  I’d picture the Commonwealth as a thoroughly racially integrated society.  (The current Emperor, Leon Tallus, would be an Elf.)  There’s no Elf kingdom in the woods or Dwarf home in the mountains.  It’s all very cosmopolitan.  (Any Half-Orcs are not of the same species as those in the Southland.)  The Oriental Empire and the Hegemony, however, are human only.  Any other race in their territory is hidden or extremely isolated.  Of course, there are other nations in the world.  Maybe there are Elf kingdoms and such out there.  

Lastly, make sure to read the Secrets at the end of the setting posts for a few surprising (and game-able) revelations.