# Default "PoL" Setting - Setting Info Compilation (Now Wikified!)



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 3, 2008)

EDIT - Now included in the Wiki: http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/Points_of_Light
Please come by and help us out!


Ok, so my plan is to evolve the default setting into something a little more fleshed out. But to do this, I have to comb through the books in search of the setting bits. Anyone willing to help me find the little setting scraps would be most welcome. 

EDIT - Map of the areas detailed in _Keep on the Shadowfell_ and _Red Hand of Doom_ attached.
EDIT - Contents thus far:


Religion:
Deities. The PHB (pg.20) lists the commonly worshipped gods.
Asmodeus killed another god.
Corellon blinded one of Gruumsh’s eyes.
Humans were created by an unknown god.
Wayside shrines built on trade roads are dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Melora and Sehanine
Temples do not hold regular services. They are always open, and act as “community centers” for worshippers. The faithful only congregate in temples on holy days, which are social holidays.
Religious organizations are political forces in the world:
Knightly orders dedicated to Bahamut or Bane
Colleges devoted to Ioun
Civic organizations that honor Erathis
Travelers’ aid societies dedicated to Avandra
Craft guilds that invoke Moradin’s name

Goblins, especially hobgoblins, worship Bane.
Gnolls worship the demon lord, Yeenoghu (aka, the Beast of Butchery or Ruler of Ruin), and often work with demons.
Yuan-ti worship Zehir, and have human followers.
Kyuss is an elder evil being, but nothing else is known.
Shadar-Kai inhabit the Shadowfell and worship the Raven Queen.

General Knowledge:
Languages. The PHB (pg.25) lists the commonly spoken languages.
Nerath was the most recent world empire, and was a human-created empire.
Ruins of the tiefling empire of Bael Turath and the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia are frequent in the world.  These empires fought each other to their mutual destruction.
Early dwarves were slaves to titans and giants. Those that did not escape became Azers.

Common world features:
Every large city has some sort of “mages guild”.
Knightly orders are formed with noble patronage and are often charged to travel the land.
The world is sometimes called “The First Work”.

Locations:
The Nentir Vale is a northern region. It exists on the remains of the empire of Nerath. The following locations reside in the Vale:
Fallcrest
Winterhaven

Eladrin cities include:
Shinaelestra (shifts into the world at midnight, until dawn, in a glade in the howling forest)
Jenn-Tourach (on a mountain-top, one day a year) 
The Towers of Avaellor (on isle, stays there all summer long)

Eladrin empires include:
The Anauli Empire
The Realm of the Twin Queens & the Cendriane

The Misty Isle (isle for halfling pirates always shrouded in mist)
Serpentus Rift: dragonborn city built in a rift, and on the sides, destroyed during the war against bael turath by an earthquake dragon.
Vor Kragal, City of Ash was one of Bael Turath’s crown jewels. The city is now home to foul monsters, deadly traps, ancient curses—and untold wealth and power. _Source: Dragon_

Cosmology:
The Feywild is a wild, untamed, reflection of “the world”. It can be accessed when the “barrier” between worlds weakens.
The Shadowfell is a dark, sinister, reflection of “the world”. It can be accessed when the “barrier” between worlds weakens.
The Elemental chaos is a chaotic land with conflicting elemental extremes.  It is populated by elementals and includes the Abyss (MM pg. 51).
The Astral Sea includes a number of divine and otherworldly realms, including the Nine Hells. 
The Far Realm is a chaotic realm and the source of aberrations.
The Nine Hells exists in the Astral sea, and is ruled by Asmodeus. Devils come from the Nine Hells and work to collect souls. They often serve evil gods.

Races:
Eladrin come from the Feywild, and their settlements can be found both here and there.
Halflings favor river travel.
Humans are the most common race. Humans were the dominant force in the Empire of Nerath. 
Tieflings descended from human nobles who had made deals with devils.
Dwarves are native to fortress cities in the mountains.
Eladrin are sometimes reffered to as High elves, sun elves, moon elves or star elves.
Gnomes live in homes burrowed beneath the roots of trees.
Dragonborn travel far and wide, at home in deserts.
Elves live in forests, often forests that connect to the feywild.

Religious knowledge:
Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They forged the world from “Elemental Chaos”
The gods sought to control the primordial’s creation, and there was a war. The gods won and the primordials were killed or banished to the Astral Sea.
Exarchs are the messengers of the gods.
The Temple of the Celestial Mountain is dedicated to the worship of Bahamut, Moridan, and Kord.
The Temple of the Bright City is dedicated to the worship of Pelor, Erathis and Ioun.
The Temple of the Fates is dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen.
Eladrin temples (and some elven ones) feature altars to Corellon and Sehanine—and a few have bare altars where no sacrifice is offered, saving a place for Lolth when she is ultimately reconciled to the other gods of her family.
Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
Abominations are living weapons created during the war between the gods and primordials.
Angels are manifestations of astral energy that serve the gods, both good and evil.
The Abyss was formed when an unknown god tried to use a shard of pure evil to take over the entire universe. It drove him mad and he planted the shard in the depths of the Elemental Chaos. There it grew into the Abyss. (MM pg. 51)
Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
The mad god was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned him in a secret place. He became known as the Chained God or the Elder Elemental Eye.
The Nine Hells exist within the Astral Sea as a blasted fiery world choked by black smoke. The different layers of hell can be reached by delving deeper into the world. (MM pg. 61)
Bahamut and Tiamat were formed when the dragon god, Io, was split in half by Erek-Hus, King of Terror. The two halves of Io became Bahamut and Tiamat and killed the King.
Giants were created by the primordials.
Bane has two exarchs named Maglubiyet, the Battle Lord, and Hruggek, the Master of Ambush, both of which are goblins.
Archons were created to serve the elemental Primordials as a military.
Cambions are half human/ half devil.

Historical knowledge:
Dragonborn are the descendants of an ancient empire called Arkhosia.
Razortear: one of the last stands of the dragonborn, with more than ½ million tieflings laying siege to the dragonborn for more than 10 years. The tieflings dug a huge tunnel to win the battle.
Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
Hobgoblins once had an empire in which bugbears and goblins were their servants. This empire fell to internal strife and interference from otherworldly forces—perhaps the fey, whom many goblins hate.
Vumerion was a legendary necromancer that had a tower called the Black Tower of Vumerion. This was the origins of the first Skull Lords.
Ten years ago, in a region called the Elsir Vale, a band of monsters called the Red Hand invaded the civilized areas but were destroyed by adventurers. (See Red Hand of Doom and the new Dungeon Adventure Path.)

Arcane knowledge:
The Spiral Tower is a wizard order devoted to Corellon.
Major cities are sometimes linked with Teleportation circles.
The Order of the Golden Wyvern is a loose association of spellcasters who use their talents in military pursuits.
Teleportation Circles link major cities and are set up in libraries, mage guilds, temples and the like.
The existence of the Far Realm is speculated at, but not proven.
Connections to the Far Realm may be found deep beneath the earth.
Demons are born of the Abyss and care only for destruction.
Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
Mind Flayers came to the world from the Far Realm.
According to some legends, rakshasas were spawned by demons that fled the Abyss and came to the natural world long ago.

_Data collected by Ashrem Bayle.
Data compiled and sorted by Tallarn and Fodigg._

Entropi's Nintir Vale Monster Encounters: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=4331287#post4331287

My Personal Setting Map:


----------



## malichai (Jun 4, 2008)

I have no input as I don't have the books, but I think this is a fantastic idea. Kudos, sir.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 4, 2008)

I agree - thank you for this!

My books are going to be arriving in the next couple of days - when I get a free moment I'll hopefully be able to add some more details.

In the meantime, I'm subscribing to this thread!


----------



## Zogmo (Jun 4, 2008)

So that I fully understand this since I don't have the books yet.  Is this stuff all from the books or fluff you've made up?


----------



## The Cardinal (Jun 4, 2008)

a wiki for this would be great - I'd probably won't start with the setting before 2010, and by then there should be a decent amount of content available


----------



## SnakeNuts (Jun 4, 2008)

You could use the two 'preview' books for this as well. There's a lot of info on the world in those. Maybe they're not 100% canon (they might have changed things around as they were written when 4ed was a WIP, but still...)


----------



## Jack99 (Jun 4, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> •	Humans were killed by an unknown (dead?) god.




Surely you mean created?


----------



## Jack99 (Jun 4, 2008)

• Tieflings descended from human nobles who had made deals with devils. Their empire (Bael Turath) subjugated half the world. War with the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia destroyed both empires. Nerath rose from the ashes?

- It merely came later afaik

The rest of it looks correct.

Some stuff to add if you want: (from R&C and W&M)

The Anauli Empire the Realm of the Twin Queens, the Cendriane (eladrin empires)
Shinaelestra (shifts into the world at midnight, until dawn, in a glade in the howling forest), Jenn-Tourach (on a mountain-top, one day a year), the Towers of Avaellor (on isle, stays there all summer long) (eladrin cities)
Misty Isle (isle for halfling pirates always shrouded in mist)
Serpentus Rift: dragonborn city built in a rift, and on the sides, destroyed during the war against bael turath by a earthquake dragon
Razortear: one of the last stands of the dragonborn, with more than ½ million tieflings laying siege to the dragonborn for more than 10 years. the tieflings dug a huge tunnel.
Zannad: yuan ti empire
Mag Tureah: home of the fomorian king (feywild, crosses over at times)


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 4, 2008)

Jack99 said:
			
		

> Surely you mean created?




haha
Yeah

Jack99,
Thank you!



> So that I fully understand this since I don't have the books yet. Is this stuff all from the books or fluff you've made up?




No, this is all from the core books.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 4, 2008)

Also, a wiki is an exellent idea. Unfortunatly, I'm pretty useless in that regard.

If someone wanted to create one, their effort would be most appreciated.


----------



## mattdm (Jun 4, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> •	Exarchs are the messengers of the gods.




I don't think "messenger" is quite the right word. An exarch in real-world historical terms was the governor of a remote (the "ex" part) province. So they're probabkly not exactly just go-betweens carrying the words of the gods, but rather the executors of divine power in the mortal world.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 4, 2008)

I've taken your idea and run with a little bit, reorganising it so that some facts are only known by characters with suitable skills. I'm going to trust my players not to abuse this (given that all this info is freely available anyway, it shouldn't be a problem. I've put it under an "sblock" so that it doesn't take up too much room on the page. Let me know what you think:

[sblock]• Deities. The PHB (pg.20) lists the commonly worshipped gods.
• Languages. The PHB (pg.25) lists the commonly spoken languages.
• Eladrin come from the Feywild, and their settlements can be found both here and there.
• Halflings favor river travel.
• Humans were created by an unknown god. Humans are the most common race. Humans were the dominant force in the Empire of Nerath. Nerath has since shattered into dozens of smaller territories and humans are no longer unified.
• Tieflings descended from human nobles who had made deals with devils. Their empire (Bael Turath) subjugated half the world. War with the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia destroyed both empires. (Nerath rose from the ashes?)
• Wayside shrines built on trade rodes are dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Melora and Sehanine
• A temple in the D&D world doesn’t hold scheduled worship services. Rather, the temple is always open and constantly busy. Priests perform the daily rites the gods require, each at a separate altar. Worshipers bring children, ailing family members, and livestock in for the priests’ blessings, and they bring their own prayers and sacrifices to ask the gods’ favor. Worshipers and petitioners stand or kneel in large open spaces. On holy days, crowds press in to fill every available space, sometimes for the entire length of the day. These are as much social events as religious ones, and the words of the rites can be drowned out in the hubbub of conversation.
• Other organizations have a religious foundation, too. Knightly orders dedicated to Bahamut or Bane, colleges devoted to Ioun, civic organizations that honor Erathis, travelers’ aid societies dedicated to Avandra, and craft guilds that invoke Moradin’s name all wield influence in the cities and larger towns of the world.
• Every large city has some sort of “mages guild”.
• Knightly orders are formed with noble patronage and are often charged to travel the land.
• The world is sometimes called “The First Work”.
• The Feywild is a wild, untamed, reflection of “the world”.
• The Shadowfell is a dark, sinister, reflection of “the world”.
• Asmodeus killed another god.
• Corellon blinded on of Gruumsh’s eyes.
• The Nentir Vale is a northern region. It exists on the remains of the empire of Nerath. Fallcrest and Winterhaven both reside within the Vale.

Known to characters trained in the Religion skill only:

• Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They forged the world from “Elemental Chaos”
• The gods sought to control the primordial’s creation, and there was a war. The gods won and the primordials were killed or banished to the Astral Sea.
• Exarchs are the messengers of the gods.
• The Temple of the Celestial Mountain is dedicated to the worship of Bahamut, Moridan, and Kord.
• The Temple of the Bright City is dedicated to the worship of Pelor, Erathis and Ioun.
• The Temple of the Fates is dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen.
• Eladrin temples (and some elven ones) feature altars to Corellon and Sehanine—and a few have bare altars where no sacrifice is offered, saving a place for Lolth when she is ultimately reconciled to the other gods of her family.
• Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.

Known to characters trained in History only:

• Dragonborn are the descendants of an ancient empire called Arkhosia.
• Razortear: one of the last stands of the dragonborn, with more than ½ million tieflings laying siege to the dragonborn for more than 10 years. The tieflings dug a huge tunnel to win the battle.
• Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.

Known to characters trained in Arcana only:

• The Spiral Tower is a wizard order devoted to Corellon.
• Major cities are sometimes linked with Teleportation circles.
• The Order of the Golden Wyvern is a loose association of spellcasters who use their talents in military pursuits.
• Teleportation Circles link major cities and are set up in libraries, mage guilds, temples and the like.
• The existence of the Far Realm is speculated at, but not proven. 

Eladrin only:

• Eladrin cities include: Shinaelestra (shifts into the world at midnight, until dawn, in a glade in the howling forest), Jenn-Tourach (on a mountain-top, one day a year), the Towers of Avaellor (on isle, stays there all summer long)
• Eladrin empires include The Anauli Empire, the Realm of the Twin Queens & the Cendriane  

Halflings only:

• Misty Isle (isle for halfling pirates always shrouded in mist)

Dragonborn only:

• Serpentus Rift: dragonborn city built in a rift, and on the sides, destroyed during the war against bael turath by a earthquake dragon [/sblock]

I should also point out that I've kept a few facts back as "DM only".


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 4, 2008)

Very nice. Mind if I make some copy pasta and put it in the first post?


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 4, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> Very nice. Mind if I make some copy pasta and put it in the first post?




No problems, feel free.  Glad you like it.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 4, 2008)

Hmm... Let me go through the MM first. Then I'll post my findings. 

You want to arrange those as well? That'd make for a better top post.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 4, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> Hmm... Let me go through the MM first. Then I'll post my findings.
> 
> You want to arrange those as well? That'd make for a better top post.




Yeah, no problems - but I won't get to it until tomorrow as I'm just about to leave work.

You list them, I'll rearrange them.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 4, 2008)

MM additions..


•	Connections to the Far Realm may be found deep beneath the earth.
•	Abominations are living weapons created during the war between the gods and primordials.
•	Angels are manifestations of astral energy that serve the gods, both good and evil.
•	Archons were created to serve the elemental Primordials as a military.
•	Early dwarves were slaves to titans and giants. Those that did not escape became Azers.
•	Grigwartha led a coven of witches that created the boneclaws.
•	Cambions are half human/ half devil.
•	Cyclopes are the willing servants of fomorians in the Feywild. They sometimes aid drow due to some ancient agreement between fomorians and drow called the “Declaration of Eschatos”.
•	Dark Ones serve and live among Shadar Kai.
•	Deathknights originate with Orcus.
•	Demons are born of the Abyss and care only for destruction.
•	The Abyss was formed when an unknown god tried to use a shard of pure evil to take over the entire universe. It drove him mad and he planted the shard in the depths of the Elemental Chaos. There it grew into the Abyss. (MM pg. 51)
•	Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
•	The mad god was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned him in a secret place. He became known as the Chained God or the Elder Elemental Eye.
•	Ruled by Asmodeus, devils come from the Nine Hells and work to collect souls. They often serve evil gods.
•	The Nine Hells exist within the Astral Sea as a blasted fiery world choked by black smoke. The different layers of hell can be reached by delving deeper into the world. (MM pg. 61)
•	Red dragons have an ancient pact with Githyanki.
•	Bahamut and Tiamat were formed when the dragon god, Io, was split in half by Erek-Hus, King of Terror. The two halves of Io became Bahamut and Tiamat and killed the King.
•	Dragonspawn were created by cults loyal to Tiamat.
•	Drow followed Llolth into the under ground. Females are dominant. They live in the underdark and raid the surface for needed supplies.
•	Dwarves are native to fortress cities in the mountains.
•	The City of Brass, in the Elemental Chaos, is home to the efreets.
•	Eladrin are sometimes reffered to as High elves, sun elves, moon elves or star elves.
•	Dorsain, the King of Ghouls, is an exarch of Orcus.
•	Giants were created by the primordials. 
•	The githyanki and the githzerai were once a single race—the gith—enslaved by mind flayers, but they split into two races after winning their freedom. Whereas the githzerai fled to the Elemental Chaos and became introspective and monastic, the githyanki fled to the Astral Sea and became xenophobic and militaristic.
•	Githyanki live on the remains of dead gods.
•	Tu’narath is the largest githyanki city. It is built atop the body of a dead god adrift in the Astral Sea and ruled by Vlaakith, the githyanki lich queen, who has ruled supreme for over a thousand years. The githyanki revere the lich-queen as the stepmother of their race. To them, her word is truth. She has the reputation for slaying any who challenge her policy or power, devouring their life essences.
•	Zerthadlun, an austere walled settlement with many open fields and markets, is the greatest and most widely known githzerai city—an oasis of calm in the otherwise tumultuous Elemental Chaos.
•	Gnolls worship the demon lord, Yeenoghu (aka, the Beast of Butchery or Ruler of Ruin), and often work with demons.
•	Gnomes live in homes burrowed beneath the roots of trees.
•	Goblins, especially hobgoblins, worship bane.
•	Bane has two exarchs named Maglubiyet, the Battle Lord, and Hruggek, the Master of Ambush, both of which are goblins.
•	Hobgoblins once had an empire in which bugbears and goblins were their servants. This empire fell to internal strife and interference from otherworldly forces—perhaps the fey, whom many goblins hate.
•	Given their brutal magical traditions, hobgoblins might have created their cousins in ancient times: Bugbears served as elite warriors, and goblins worked as scouts and infiltrators. The disintegration of hobgoblin power led to widespread and diverse sorts of goblin tribes. 
•	The first hydras sprang from the spilled blood of Bryakus, a terrible primordial who battled the gods in ancient times.
•	Kyuss is an elder evil being, but nothing else is known.
•	Mind Flayers came to the world from the Far Realm.
•	According to some legends, rakshasas were spawned by demons that fled the Abyss and came to the natural world long ago.
•	Shadar-Kai inhabit the Shadowfell and worship the Raven Queen.
•	Vumerion was a legendary necromancer that had a tower called the Black Tower of Vumerion. This was the origins of the first Skull Lords.
•	Warfgorged are created in Creation Forges.
•	Yuan-ti worship Zehir, and have human followers.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 5, 2008)

Here's my revised version, adding in info from the MM.

[sblock] • Deities. The PHB (pg.20) lists the commonly worshipped gods.
• Languages. The PHB (pg.25) lists the commonly spoken languages.
• Eladrin come from the Feywild, and their settlements can be found both here and there.
• Halflings favor river travel.
• Humans were created by an unknown god. Humans are the most common race. Humans were the dominant force in the Empire of Nerath. Nerath has since shattered into dozens of smaller territories and humans are no longer unified.
• Tieflings descended from human nobles who had made deals with devils. Their empire (Bael Turath) subjugated half the world. War with the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia destroyed both empires. (Nerath rose from the ashes?)
• Wayside shrines built on trade rodes are dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Melora and Sehanine
• A temple in the D&D world doesn’t hold scheduled worship services. Rather, the temple is always open and constantly busy. Priests perform the daily rites the gods require, each at a separate altar. Worshipers bring children, ailing family members, and livestock in for the priests’ blessings, and they bring their own prayers and sacrifices to ask the gods’ favor. Worshipers and petitioners stand or kneel in large open spaces. On holy days, crowds press in to fill every available space, sometimes for the entire length of the day. These are as much social events as religious ones, and the words of the rites can be drowned out in the hubbub of conversation.
• Other organizations have a religious foundation, too. Knightly orders dedicated to Bahamut or Bane, colleges devoted to Ioun, civic organizations that honor Erathis, travelers’ aid societies dedicated to Avandra, and craft guilds that invoke Moradin’s name all wield influence in the cities and larger towns of the world.
• Every large city has some sort of “mages guild”.
• Knightly orders are formed with noble patronage and are often charged to travel the land.
• The world is sometimes called “The First Work”.
• The Feywild is a wild, untamed, reflection of “the world”.
• The Shadowfell is a dark, sinister, reflection of “the world”.
• Asmodeus killed another god.
• Corellon blinded on of Gruumsh’s eyes.
• The Nentir Vale is a northern region. It exists on the remains of the empire of Nerath. Fallcrest and Winterhaven both reside within the Vale.
• Ruled by Asmodeus, devils come from the Nine Hells and work to collect souls. They often serve evil gods.
• Dwarves are native to fortress cities in the mountains.
• Eladrin are sometimes reffered to as High elves, sun elves, moon elves or star elves.
• Gnomes live in homes burrowed beneath the roots of trees.
• Goblins, especially hobgoblins, worship Bane.

Known to characters trained in the Religion skill only:

• Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They forged the world from “Elemental Chaos”
• The gods sought to control the primordial’s creation, and there was a war. The gods won and the primordials were killed or banished to the Astral Sea.
• Exarchs are the messengers of the gods.
• The Temple of the Celestial Mountain is dedicated to the worship of Bahamut, Moridan, and Kord.
• The Temple of the Bright City is dedicated to the worship of Pelor, Erathis and Ioun.
• The Temple of the Fates is dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen.
• Eladrin temples (and some elven ones) feature altars to Corellon and Sehanine—and a few have bare altars where no sacrifice is offered, saving a place for Lolth when she is ultimately reconciled to the other gods of her family.
• Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
• Abominations are living weapons created during the war between the gods and primordials.
• Angels are manifestations of astral energy that serve the gods, both good and evil.
• The Abyss was formed when an unknown god tried to use a shard of pure evil to take over the entire universe. It drove him mad and he planted the shard in the depths of the Elemental Chaos. There it grew into the Abyss. (MM pg. 51)
• Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
• The mad god was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned him in a secret place. He became known as the Chained God or the Elder Elemental Eye.
• The Nine Hells exist within the Astral Sea as a blasted fiery world choked by black smoke. The different layers of hell can be reached by delving deeper into the world. (MM pg. 61)
• Bahamut and Tiamat were formed when the dragon god, Io, was split in half by Erek-Hus, King of Terror. The two halves of Io became Bahamut and Tiamat and killed the King.
• Giants were created by the primordials.
• Gnolls worship the demon lord, Yeenoghu (aka, the Beast of Butchery or Ruler of Ruin), and often work with demons.
• Bane has two exarchs named Maglubiyet, the Battle Lord, and Hruggek, the Master of Ambush, both of which are goblins.
• Yuan-ti worship Zehir, and have human followers.
• Kyuss is an elder evil being, but nothing else is known.
• Archons were created to serve the elemental Primordials as a military.
• Cambions are half human/ half devil.
• Shadar-Kai inhabit the Shadowfell and worship the Raven Queen.

Known to characters trained in History only:

• Dragonborn are the descendants of an ancient empire called Arkhosia.
• Razortear: one of the last stands of the dragonborn, with more than ½ million tieflings laying siege to the dragonborn for more than 10 years. The tieflings dug a huge tunnel to win the battle.
• Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
• Hobgoblins once had an empire in which bugbears and goblins were their servants. This empire fell to internal strife and interference from otherworldly forces—perhaps the fey, whom many goblins hate.
• Vumerion was a legendary necromancer that had a tower called the Black Tower of Vumerion. This was the origins of the first Skull Lords.

Known to characters trained in Arcana only:

• The Spiral Tower is a wizard order devoted to Corellon.
• Major cities are sometimes linked with Teleportation circles.
• The Order of the Golden Wyvern is a loose association of spellcasters who use their talents in military pursuits.
• Teleportation Circles link major cities and are set up in libraries, mage guilds, temples and the like.
• The existence of the Far Realm is speculated at, but not proven.
• Connections to the Far Realm may be found deep beneath the earth.
• Demons are born of the Abyss and care only for destruction.
• Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
• Mind Flayers came to the world from the Far Realm.
• According to some legends, rakshasas were spawned by demons that fled the Abyss and came to the natural world long ago.
• Shadar-Kai inhabit the Shadowfell and worship the Raven Queen.

Eladrin only:

• Eladrin cities include: Shinaelestra (shifts into the world at midnight, until dawn, in a glade in the howling forest), Jenn-Tourach (on a mountain-top, one day a year), the Towers of Avaellor (on isle, stays there all summer long)
• Eladrin empires include The Anauli Empire, the Realm of the Twin Queens & the Cendriane  

Halflings only:

• Misty Isle (isle for halfling pirates always shrouded in mist)

Dragonborn only:

• Serpentus Rift: dragonborn city built in a rift, and on the sides, destroyed during the war against bael turath by a earthquake dragon

Dwarves only:

• Early dwarves were slaves to titans and giants. Those that did not escape became Azers. [/sblock]

I'm not sure in what category the following information should go - at the moment I'm listing it as DM only, as I don't have a full list of the PC skills to hand. If anyone can find a useful skill to group some of this under I'd be very grateful.


----------



## Heselbine (Jun 5, 2008)

What a great summary. Exactly what I need for my campaign. Hats off to you.


----------



## Dr. Strangemonkey (Jun 5, 2008)

There are some details from the preview books and KotS.  Are those fair game?


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 5, 2008)

Dr. Strangemonkey said:
			
		

> There are some details from the preview books and KotS.  Are those fair game?




Given that none of this is actual rules, the fluff should be fairly fair game (as it were).

If it's large chunks of text, then give a page reference (such as with the list of deities, above) but if it's small chunks of information that can be mined and collected, I think summarising them and posting them should be fine.


----------



## Inez Hull (Jun 5, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> •	Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They forged the world from “Elemental Chaos”.




... In the beginning primal chaos ruled...


----------



## questing gm (Jun 5, 2008)

This is SWEET candy fluff.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 5, 2008)

The latest WOTC previews talk about a new adventure path. In the path preview, it mentions that the Elsir Vale, from Red Hand of Doom, exists and the events of RHoD took place ten years ago.

That's very cool, because that adventure freakin rocks.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 5, 2008)

Tallarn said:
			
		

> Here's my revised version, adding in info from the MM...




Thanks! First post updated.


----------



## RoguePlayingGames (Jun 5, 2008)

Awesome resource in the making. 

Thanks.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 6, 2008)

Thank you! I've also put the details up on my Obsidian Portal Wiki (although I think you have to be a player in my campaign to see that) and when I get time I'll add it to my own website so that everyone can see it.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 6, 2008)

I've attached a section of the map I'm doing for my "First Work" setting. See first post.

Specifically, it covers the areas detailed in Keep on the Shadowfell and Red Hand of Doom.

Let me know what you think!


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 7, 2008)

Also, be sure to let me know of any other areas that seem like they might belong.


----------



## Aristotle (Jun 7, 2008)

I'd love to see this go to a 4e wiki of some sort with page references. Lots of us intend to use the PoL to some degree, with our own maps and such... A compilation of purely official resources would be a real asset as more books are released.


----------



## Hawke (Jun 11, 2008)

Aristotle said:
			
		

> I'd love to see this go to a 4e wiki of some sort with page references. Lots of us intend to use the PoL to some degree, with our own maps and such... A compilation of purely official resources would be a real asset as more books are released.




Agreed.


----------



## mjukglass (Jun 11, 2008)

Good job collecting all the info. 

But seriously dude. I thought the whole point of a PoL:setting is that there will NEVER be a 'wold map' per se. You will never see a detailed fractal map with clearcut borders and shorelines. Especially not one with a whole continent or some such. 

Vague descriptions like: to the west lies bla bla and not more then 10 days at horse back along the ridge you will come to the valley of yadayada. Fine. A detailed map? Not so much...


----------



## Aristotle (Jun 11, 2008)

Never an official map. I think we will see many homebrew worlds using PoL locations. I know that's my plan.


----------



## mjukglass (Jun 11, 2008)

Aristotle said:
			
		

> Never an official map. I think we will see many homebrew worlds using PoL locations. I know that's my plan.




But why? Isn't that ... like ... totally missing the point of PoL? You know the fun part.

Whatever floats your game I guess, I'm just mindboggled that anybody would come up with the idea..


----------



## Roger_the_jolly (Jun 11, 2008)

Great resource, way to go for the idea :thumbs up:


----------



## hexgrid (Jun 11, 2008)

Great thread!

Shouldn't Fallhaven on the map be Fallcrest, from the DMG?


----------



## hexgrid (Jun 11, 2008)

mjukglass said:
			
		

> But why? Isn't that ... like ... totally missing the point of PoL? You know the fun part.
> 
> Whatever floats your game I guess, I'm just mindboggled that anybody would come up with the idea..




Huh? I thought coming up with the details _was_ the fun part.

Also, I think you're confusing the concept of what a POL setting is with the approach WotC is taking with the implied 4e setting. 

POL doesn't mean "unmapped," even if WotC is never going to publish one for the implied setting.


----------



## Aristotle (Jun 12, 2008)

hexgrid said:
			
		

> Huh? I thought coming up with the details _was_ the fun part.



Agreed. I think PoL means different things to different people. For those of us who think of ourselves as worldbuilders it is an excellent framework that lets us practice our hobby while ensuring a certain amount of compliance with the current and pending official supplements.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 12, 2008)

I'm not so interested in the map (although I'm using the one in the DMG to link up Fallcrest, Winterhaven and so on), but if anyone else has any information they want to add to the "basic character knowledge" stuff then put it up here.


----------



## Zaister (Jun 12, 2008)

mjukglass said:
			
		

> But why? Isn't that ... like ... totally missing the point of PoL? You know the fun part.
> 
> Whatever floats your game I guess, I'm just mindboggled that anybody would come up with the idea..




It's the point that it's unknown territory for the CHARACTERS and NPCs. There is no reason not to have maps for the DM.


----------



## Witchfinder General (Jun 12, 2008)

Aristotle said:
			
		

> I'd love to see this go to a 4e wiki of some sort with page references. Lots of us intend to use the PoL to some degree, with our own maps and such... A compilation of purely official resources would be a real asset as more books are released.



Great tread! One option is to create a community PoL wiki on wikia.com. This is free, albeit with ads. See the Forgotten Realms Wiki for an example of a hosted RPG wiki.


----------



## Morrus (Jun 12, 2008)

We'll have a wiki here at EN World very soon, speciifically for this sort of thing.


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 12, 2008)

Morrus said:
			
		

> We'll have a wiki here at EN World very soon, speciifically for this sort of thing.




Fantastic! Just the sort of thing to waste even more of my time at work.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 16, 2008)

Regarding the map:

That's just something I whipped up for my own personal use. I just posted it for those of you who might get some use out of it.



> Shouldn't Fallhaven on the map be Fallcrest, from the DMG?




Oops. You're right.
Fallhaven is a town from my home brew setting. Must have been in the back of my mind.


----------



## fodigg (Jun 17, 2008)

I like how you did this, but I found the format a little confusing.  I redid your list as such:

[sblock=Same info, new format]
Points of Light – The nuCore Pseudo-Setting

Religion:
Deities. The PHB (pg.20) lists the commonly worshipped gods.
Asmodeus killed another god.
Corellon blinded one of Gruumsh’s eyes.
Humans were created by an unknown god.
Wayside shrines built on trade roads are dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Melora and Sehanine
Temples do not hold regular services. They are always open, and act as “community centers” for worshippers. The faithful only congregate in temples on holy days, which are social holidays.
Religious organizations are political forces in the world:
Knightly orders dedicated to Bahamut or Bane
Colleges devoted to Ioun
Civic organizations that honor Erathis
Travelers’ aid societies dedicated to Avandra
Craft guilds that invoke Moradin’s name

Goblins, especially hobgoblins, worship Bane.
Gnolls worship the demon lord, Yeenoghu (aka, the Beast of Butchery or Ruler of Ruin), and often work with demons.
Yuan-ti worship Zehir, and have human followers.
Kyuss is an elder evil being, but nothing else is known.
Shadar-Kai inhabit the Shadowfell and worship the Raven Queen.

General Knowledge:
Languages. The PHB (pg.25) lists the commonly spoken languages.
Nerath was the most recent world empire, and was a human-created empire.
Ruins of the tiefling empire of Bael Turath and the dragonborn empire of Arkhosia are frequent in the world.  These empires fought each other to their mutual destruction.
Early dwarves were slaves to titans and giants. Those that did not escape became Azers.

Common world features:
Every large city has some sort of “mages guild”.
Knightly orders are formed with noble patronage and are often charged to travel the land.
The world is sometimes called “The First Work”.

Locations:
The Nentir Vale is a northern region. It exists on the remains of the empire of Nerath. The following locations reside in the Vale:
Fallcrest
Winterhaven

Eladrin cities include:
Shinaelestra (shifts into the world at midnight, until dawn, in a glade in the howling forest)
Jenn-Tourach (on a mountain-top, one day a year) 
The Towers of Avaellor (on isle, stays there all summer long)

Eladrin empires include:
The Anauli Empire
The Realm of the Twin Queens & the Cendriane

The Misty Isle (isle for halfling pirates always shrouded in mist)
Serpentus Rift: dragonborn city built in a rift, and on the sides, destroyed during the war against bael turath by a earthquake dragon

Cosmology:
The Feywild is a wild, untamed, reflection of “the world”. It can be accessed when the “barrier” between worlds weakens.
The Shadowfell is a dark, sinister, reflection of “the world”. It can be accessed when the “barrier” between worlds weakens.
The Elemental chaos is a chaotic land with conflicting elemental extremes.  It is populated by elementals and includes the Abyss (MM pg. 51).
The Astral Sea includes a number of divine and otherworldly realms, including the Nine Hells. 
The Far Realm is a chaotic realm and the source of aberrations.
The Nine Hells exists in the Astral sea, and is ruled by Asmodeus. Devils come from the Nine Hells and work to collect souls. They often serve evil gods.

Races:
Eladrin come from the Feywild, and their settlements can be found both here and there.
Halflings favor river travel.
Humans are the most common race. Humans were the dominant force in the Empire of Nerath. 
Tieflings descended from human nobles who had made deals with devils.
Dwarves are native to fortress cities in the mountains.
Eladrin are sometimes reffered to as High elves, sun elves, moon elves or star elves.
Gnomes live in homes burrowed beneath the roots of trees.
Dragonborn travel far and wide, at home in deserts.
Elves live in forests, often forests that connect to the feywild.

Religious knowledge:
Primordials were the god-like masters of the chaotic elements that existed at the dawn of time. They forged the world from “Elemental Chaos”
The gods sought to control the primordial’s creation, and there was a war. The gods won and the primordials were killed or banished to the Astral Sea.
Exarchs are the messengers of the gods.
The Temple of the Celestial Mountain is dedicated to the worship of Bahamut, Moridan, and Kord.
The Temple of the Bright City is dedicated to the worship of Pelor, Erathis and Ioun.
The Temple of the Fates is dedicated to the worship of Avandra, Ioun, and the Raven Queen.
Eladrin temples (and some elven ones) feature altars to Corellon and Sehanine—and a few have bare altars where no sacrifice is offered, saving a place for Lolth when she is ultimately reconciled to the other gods of her family.
Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
Abominations are living weapons created during the war between the gods and primordials.
Angels are manifestations of astral energy that serve the gods, both good and evil.
The Abyss was formed when an unknown god tried to use a shard of pure evil to take over the entire universe. It drove him mad and he planted the shard in the depths of the Elemental Chaos. There it grew into the Abyss. (MM pg. 51)
Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
The mad god was defeated by the other gods and imprisoned him in a secret place. He became known as the Chained God or the Elder Elemental Eye.
The Nine Hells exist within the Astral Sea as a blasted fiery world choked by black smoke. The different layers of hell can be reached by delving deeper into the world. (MM pg. 61)
Bahamut and Tiamat were formed when the dragon god, Io, was split in half by Erek-Hus, King of Terror. The two halves of Io became Bahamut and Tiamat and killed the King.
Giants were created by the primordials.
Bane has two exarchs named Maglubiyet, the Battle Lord, and Hruggek, the Master of Ambush, both of which are goblins.
Archons were created to serve the elemental Primordials as a military.
Cambions are half human/ half devil.

Historical knowledge:
Dragonborn are the descendants of an ancient empire called Arkhosia.
Razortear: one of the last stands of the dragonborn, with more than ½ million tieflings laying siege to the dragonborn for more than 10 years. The tieflings dug a huge tunnel to win the battle.
Elves and eladrin were the same race until Llolth and the drow split them apart and somehow made the Feywild harder to access.
Hobgoblins once had an empire in which bugbears and goblins were their servants. This empire fell to internal strife and interference from otherworldly forces—perhaps the fey, whom many goblins hate.
Vumerion was a legendary necromancer that had a tower called the Black Tower of Vumerion. This was the origins of the first Skull Lords.
Ten years ago, in a region called the Elsir Vale, a band of monsters called the Red Hand invaded the civilized areas but were destroyed by adventurers. (See Red Hand of Doom and the new Dungeon Adventure Path.)

Arcane knowledge:
The Spiral Tower is a wizard order devoted to Corellon.
Major cities are sometimes linked with Teleportation circles.
The Order of the Golden Wyvern is a loose association of spellcasters who use their talents in military pursuits.
Teleportation Circles link major cities and are set up in libraries, mage guilds, temples and the like.
The existence of the Far Realm is speculated at, but not proven.
Connections to the Far Realm may be found deep beneath the earth.
Demons are born of the Abyss and care only for destruction.
Baphomet (aka, the Horned King), Demogorgon, and Orcus were primordials corrupted by the Abyss.
Mind Flayers came to the world from the Far Realm.
According to some legends, rakshasas were spawned by demons that fled the Abyss and came to the natural world long ago.
[/sblock]


----------



## Zogmo (Jun 20, 2008)

Morrus said:
			
		

> We'll have a wiki here at EN World very soon, speciifically for this sort of thing.




*Morrus*: That is excellent!  This thread is an awesome resource to help me build my campaign world and keep the continuity strong and consistent.  Looking forward to a wiki to make it a more permanent fixture.

*Ashrem Bayle*:  Thank you so much for starting this!

*fodigg*:  Thank you for the formatting.  That makes it much easier to read.

Can't wait for the wiki!


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 20, 2008)

fodigg said:
			
		

> I like how you did this, but I found the format a little confusing.  I redid your list as such:
> 
> [sblock=Same info, new format]
> Points of Light – The nuCore Pseudo-Setting
> ...




Woah! That's actually much better, thank you. 

Now I'm going to be working that back into my Obsidian Portal Wiki and rejigging everything again.

I'd suggest the above format is what's used on the front page of the thread, personally.


----------



## Mustrum_Ridcully (Jun 20, 2008)

Morrus said:
			
		

> We'll have a wiki here at EN World very soon, speciifically for this sort of thing.



That sounds like a great idea!


----------



## Phoenix8008 (Jun 20, 2008)

Great thread! Love the info and I might just steal and print it before cutting it to pieces to hand out to the players for what each of their PC's knows of the world.

One possible error: On your map in the first post, isn't the city in the middle of the Nentir Vale supposed to be Fallcrest instead of Fallhaven?

Edit: another small error- in the first post it says that "Corellon blinded *on* of Grummush's eyes." I assume this is supposed to be *'one'* of his eyes?


----------



## questing gm (Jun 23, 2008)

Is this list comprehensive or there's still more ?


----------



## Dr. Strangemonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

There's more out there.


----------



## Oompa (Jun 23, 2008)

What is red hand of doom, is it also layed out in the 4th edition realm?

And all the info from the first post is from PHB, MM, DMG and what other resources?


----------



## Entropi (Jun 23, 2008)

I too am using the Nentir Vale as my campaign setting.

I like to use random encounter charts by region for wilderness travel, so to that end I am making encounter tables for every region in the Vale.  I took the liberty of naming the plains and terrain regions that did not have names yet, to facilitate the project.  So far, I'm about halfway through the Monster Manual.  Will post here if there is interest.


----------



## Particle_Man (Jun 23, 2008)

> [*]The Far Realm is a chaotic realm and the source of aberrations.
> [*]Abominations are living weapons created during the war between the gods and primordials.




Is there a contradiction here?


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 23, 2008)

OP updated, Map corrected. Thanks guys!



			
				Entropi said:
			
		

> I too am using the Nentir Vale as my campaign setting.
> 
> I like to use random encounter charts by region for wilderness travel, so to that end I am making encounter tables for every region in the Vale.  I took the liberty of naming the plains and terrain regions that did not have names yet, to facilitate the project.  So far, I'm about halfway through the Monster Manual.  Will post here if there is interest.




There is. Please do so!



> Is this list comprehensive or there's still more?



Still more. I'm hoping folks will post details as they find them.



> What is red hand of doom, is it also layed out in the 4th edition realm?



RHoD is a 3.5 adventure, but takes place in the 4e default setting in the Elsir Vale region. It's a good adventure and definitely worth the effort to convert.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 23, 2008)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Is there a contradiction here?



I think you are reading "Aberration" and "Abomination" as the same word. 

Abomination = Phane, Tarrasque, etc.
Aberration = Mind Flayer, Aboleth, etc.


----------



## Particle_Man (Jun 23, 2008)

My bad.  Thanks!

So the Primordials don't live in the Elemental Chaos any more, and are killed or banished to the Astral Sea?  And the Gods also live in the Astral Sea?


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 23, 2008)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> My bad.  Thanks!
> 
> So the Primordials don't live in the Elemental Chaos any more, and are killed or banished to the Astral Sea?  And the Gods also live in the Astral Sea?




Yeah, apparently.


----------



## krocha (Jun 23, 2008)

Zaister said:
			
		

> It's the point that it's unknown territory for the CHARACTERS and NPCs. There is no reason not to have maps for the DM.





You absolutely hit the nail on the head here.  Just because they publish a map for the DM, does not mean that DM should show it to their players.  It's much easier to have a map and ignore it then to want a map and have to draw one up yourself.

And to me they already have defined a significant portion of a 4e setting.  Now , it's not called Points of Light but it is a representative of the POL concept and until it gets a name (which I have to believe that at some point it will), then it will be the POL setting to me.

I just don't buy them saying, nope we have no 4e setting, then they release all this material with setting specific (location names, maps of isolated areas, major historical events, etc...) stuff.

Okay, sorry for hijacking this great thread.  I'll step down off the soapbox now.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 23, 2008)

The way I see it, they just don't want to have to come up with a new setting that's going to have to compete against FR and Eberron. Kinda smart of them, as they don't won't their product lines eating each other.

And I'm fine with the info being released as it is. It's just a bit of a pain to hunt down the details.


----------



## Classic Villany (Jun 23, 2008)

Just thought I'd chime in with a bit of information. 

In the MM Demon Entry, the grey box with info on the origins of The Abyss hints that some of the Primordials became Demon Princes.

The Demonomicon: Yeenoghu article from Dragon states that Yeenoghu was a Primordial iirc.

I don't have the these particular sources at hand at the moment, but I'll post again later with more specifics if someone hasn't already beaten me to it.


----------



## krocha (Jun 23, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> The way I see it, they just don't want to have to come up with a new setting that's going to have to compete against FR and Eberron. Kinda smart of them, as they don't won't their product lines eating each other.
> 
> And I'm fine with the info being released as it is. It's just a bit of a pain to hunt down the details.





Sounds like a very plausible reason they are doing it this way.  

I agree I'm okay with it as is but the one thing as a DM I wished I had was a world or at least continent map.  I'd love for Chris West (Maps of Mystery guy) to be allowed to put out one.


----------



## Classic Villany (Jun 24, 2008)

Okay, p.52 of the Monster Manual states:

"The evil of the Abyss corrupted even some of the mighty primordials-Demagorgon, Baphomet, Orcus-and reshaped them into the likeness of pure, destructive evil."

And on the third page of the Demonicon article on Yeenoghu, it states under the Lore heading:

"Like many demon lords, Yeenoghu was once a primordial, one of the shapers of creation, but was transformed and awakened by the mysterious Chained God believed to lurk at the bottom of the Abyss."


----------



## Entropi (Jun 25, 2008)

Posted my Nentir Vale random encounter table WIP in the 4E custom creations forum, as promised.  Didn't want to clutter up this thread with a huge post.  

Comments/suggestions welcome.


----------



## Sonny (Jun 25, 2008)

A touch of Madness also contains the area surrounding the town of Wellspring. Though it was written for 3.5, it's going to be updated to Fourth Edition.


----------



## Cryptos (Jun 25, 2008)

What did you use to make the map?

Thanks.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 25, 2008)

Cryptos said:
			
		

> What did you use to make the map?
> 
> Thanks.




Fractal Terrains and Photoshop


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 25, 2008)

Entropi said:
			
		

> Posted my Nentir Vale random encounter table WIP in the 4E custom creations forum, as promised.  Didn't want to clutter up this thread with a huge post.
> 
> Comments/suggestions welcome.




Direct link added to OP. Good work!


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 25, 2008)

Added Vor Kragal to the Locations entry.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 25, 2008)

Sonny said:
			
		

> A touch of Madness also contains the area surrounding the town of Wellspring. Though it was written for 3.5, it's going to be updated to Fourth Edition.




Thanks! I'll look into that.


----------



## SWBaxter (Jun 25, 2008)

Great thread. Wish I'd found it before I spent a day combing through the core books for tidbits to add to my own setting. Some additions:

- Dwarves were created by Moradin. In addition to the azers, galeb duhr are also former dwarves still in the service of giants.

- Moradin gave the first dwarves five tools. One of them is the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords.

- Halflings were created by Melora and Sehanine, who eventually lost interest in the halflings (according to legend, anyway). Avandra adopted them.

- It's probably a safe bet that Bahamut created the Dragonborn, but I don't know if this is spelled out anywhere.

- Lolth was the goddess of fate, before her corruption.

- Vecna is not one of the original gods, he ascended to godhood (his hand and eye date from before that time). Some of his history could be imported to taste (vast necromantic empire, betrayal by Kas, etc.).

- I think the Tomb of Horrors gets a mention somewhere in the DMG, so Acererak could also be imported.

- Gruumsh's forces are eternally besieging Bane's Iron Fortress of Chernoggar in the Astral Sea.

- Avandra, Melora, Torog, and Vecna have no known home in the Astral Sea.

- One of the heroes of ancient times was Arnd, a poor cleric of Kord known for his fighting spirit and holy strength.

- The yuan-ti ruled "ancient, sprawling empires" in prehistoric times. Their kings ultimately went mad.

- Stars (from Warlock spells): Acamar (dark and distant), Delban, Khirad (dire portent), Thubad (above frozen emerald seas)

- Hellish names (from Warlock spells): Agathys, Avernus, Dis, Malbolge, Phlegethos

- Wizard names (from Wizard spells): Bigby, Mordenkainen, Otiluke, Evard


----------



## SWBaxter (Jun 25, 2008)

Since Elsir Vale is apparently part of WOTC's implied setting, some history tidbits from Red Hand of Doom that could be imported:

- There was a major dwarf kingdom in the mountains near Elsir Vale more than a thousand years ago. They built the Dawn Way, the major road through the vale, as part of a trade route linking heavily settled lands to the northwest with exotic coastal kingdoms to the southeast.

- The dwarf-realm is long gone, but many of their monuments, bridges, fortresses, etc. survive to this day.

- About 500 years ago, the human-dominated kingdom of Rhestilor rose in the area, many settlements date from that time.

- Rhestilor collapsed due to a variety of factors, not least among them a savage horde that burned the city of Rhest about 200 years ago. Local nobles still hold titles derived from the kingdom, but it is no more.

- there are ruins of a serpent empire "thousands of years old" in the Vale.


----------



## Entropi (Jun 25, 2008)

A bit of home-spun lore that helps give the world a feeling of progress and rebuilding, as well as providing a hook for possible military adventures.


FORT HOPE
Fort Hope is a military installation built and garrisoned by Fallcrest and the Heartlands three years ago.  It's establishment north of Fallcrest, at the confluence of the Nentir and the Winter rivers, has solidified the northern border and increased the tenability of the northern Heartlands.  Humanoid raids from the Gray Plains have been curtailed, and numerous monsters have been displaced by aggressive patrols.

HOOK
There is work to be had for able-bodied adventurers here.  The military relies on volunteers, often adventurers and mercs, and PCs can sign on for short-term stints patrolling the Gray Plains and the Gardmore Plains.  They are typically grouped with a small contingent of regular army soldiers and a Captain, who is in command.  Pay is low, but treasure taken from lairs may be kept by volunteers as part of the incentive program.


----------



## Oompa (Jun 27, 2008)

Entropi said:


> A bit of home-spun lore that helps give the world a feeling of progress and rebuilding, as well as providing a hook for possible military adventures.
> 
> 
> FORT HOPE
> ...




I like people who think about homebrew stuff, but can we please keep the information from the 4th edition core books..


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jun 27, 2008)

Hopefully the Wiki will be up soon. I'm looking forward to seeing this getting compiled.

I think each entry should include:

*Name of Entry*
*Official Information* - This would be everything mentioned in an official WOTC product about the subject at hand.
*Sources* - Where did you get the info?
*Unofficial Information* - Post homebrew maps, plot hooks, adventure ideas, npcs, etc. Remove and/or update if official information is released that invalidates fan submissions.

Thoughts?


----------



## Oompa (Jun 27, 2008)

As long as homebrew is seperated i like the idea


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jun 27, 2008)

Ashrem Bayle said:


> Hopefully the Wiki will be up soon. I'm looking forward to seeing this getting compiled.
> 
> I think each entry should include:
> 
> ...




I think this is a very good idea.


----------



## fba827 (Jun 28, 2008)

Some maps that are zoomed in on the Winterhaven, Keep of Shadowfell, and Fallscrest areas ...

http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34861&d=1213275430
http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34868&d=1213284177
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/preview_h1_2.jpg
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/preview_h1_1.jpg

If, for whatever reason the above links to attachments don't work, the original thread that they are found on is http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=230622



By the way, once the wiki feature is functional here, this would be a great topic to stick on there!


----------



## Aristotle (Jun 30, 2008)

Looking forward to the wiki. I agree that fan submitted material might be fun to review, but should be cleanly divided. This should be a fun project to contribute to.


----------



## fba827 (Jul 4, 2008)

the wiki function seems to be up...


----------



## Blastin (Jul 4, 2008)

bump now that the wiki seems to be up.


----------



## Morrus (Jul 6, 2008)

Well, since people seem to be fairly keen to tell _other _people to put it on the Wiki... I spent 5 minutes and copied/pasted the first post in this thread into it to get you started.


----------



## fba827 (Jul 6, 2008)

Morrus said:


> Well, since people seem to be fairly keen to tell _other _people to put it on the Wiki... I spent 5 minutes and copied/pasted the first post in this thread into it to get you started.




Ha, nice work, Morrus.  Keep in mind it's a holiday weekend in the states so the rest of us on this side of the pond are slow / on vacation / etc    I'll pop on the wiki (why does that sound so dirty?) after the weekend to see if there is anything i can contribute


----------



## Mathew_Freeman (Jul 7, 2008)

Morrus said:


> Well, since people seem to be fairly keen to tell _other _people to put it on the Wiki... I spent 5 minutes and copied/pasted the first post in this thread into it to get you started.




Hah, funny guy. Good move though - I'm still quiet at work this week so hopefully I can get a bit done on this.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks Morrus!
Now that the Holiday weekend is over, I plan to put a little effort into this if/when I get some free time.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jul 7, 2008)

I did an entry for Asmodeus. You can see it here: http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/Asmodeus


----------



## withak (Jul 7, 2008)

I've done some minor formatting and wikifying of the page.

It might be best to move discussion about the page to the Wiki itself: http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/Talk:Points_of_Light


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Jul 7, 2008)

withak said:


> I've done some minor formatting and wikifying of the page.




THANK YOU!



> It might be best to move discussion about the page to the Wiki itself: http://www.enworld.org/wiki/index.php/Talk:Points_of_Light




Agreed.


----------



## Oompa (Jul 13, 2008)

As the new AP from dungeon has come forth, and uses the Elsir Vale, are we going to use the AP information for the official wiki POL??


----------



## fodigg (Jul 17, 2008)

*timeline*

I will cross-post this from a thread on the WotC forums:



			
				_Jayne_Cobb_ (from WotC forums) said:
			
		

> Has anyone compiled a timeline of the Points of Light setting details scattered throughout the 4e Core books?




Even just a sequence of events would be helpful:

Creation:

Reality becomes self-aware: Gods and primordials live in the astral sea and elemental chaos respectively.
Primordials create the world as a cycle of creation and destruction.
Gods stabalize the world and create races/creatures.
Primordials get p1ssed for super reals.  War between gods and primordials.  New creatures (such as elemental archons) created during war.
Primordials get pwnt.  Gods now rule the world.

Ancient times:

Dwarves are enslaved by giants.
Moradin gets a clue (post victory over primordials?) and frees the dwarves.
Crazy god (nameless, called the "chained god") creates the Abyss and is imprisoned.
Asmodeus kills a god and takes over his house.
God who created humans dies (at the hand of Asmodeus?)
Lolth slums it up in the Abyss.
The drow, eladrin, and elves all split from each other.

Less-ancient times:

Arkhosia founded by the dragonborn.  Big honkin empire.
Bael Turath founded by devil-worshipping humans who become the first tieflings.
The two empires come into contact with each other and fight.
The two empires are destoyed in the fighting.

Recent history:

Human empire of Nerath is good.
Human empire of Nerath is dead.
Points of Light are all that remains of Nerath.

Note: When I wrote this, it was off the top of my head.  This would need to be checked out for errors, omissions, and should probably be changed to more formal language.


----------



## krocha (Oct 9, 2008)

*Warforged*

Should Warforged be added to the races list?  As of Dragon 364 they where given a backstory in the "First Work" world as living constructs created by Nerath Artificers almost 300 years ago (give or take.)


----------



## krocha (Oct 9, 2008)

*Elsir Vale*

I haven't been able to find a single definitive reference to the implied "First Work" setting in any of the Scales of War material released to date.  I've posted and WotC site about this and no one else seems to be able to point to a definitive link either.  Can anyone here point me to one or are we all just assuming that because it an official AP and has a similar name to Nentir Vale that they are set on the same world.

I'm probably just missing something.

Thanks...


----------



## Matrix Sorcica (Oct 9, 2008)

Well, I think it was in Worlds & Monsters, but it might just have been the DMG (pretty sure it was W%M, though) there's a mention of "Who's really behind the Red Hand?"

Since the Red hand it mentioned, Elsir Vale must be part of the world as well.


By the same logic, all the characters and places of WotC's 3.0 Adventure Path (Sunless Citadel, Forge of Fury etc.) exist in the First Work setting as well. The way I see it, everything mentioned in Dungeon and Dragon that it not specifically for a named setting (FR fx) is for the PoL setting. And since there was a "Treasures of Ashardalon" article, Ashardalon and all that's connected to him must be part of the history of the First Work as well.

Or not?


----------



## krocha (Oct 9, 2008)

Matrix Sorcica said:


> Well, I think it was in Worlds & Monsters, but it might just have been the DMG (pretty sure it was W%M, though) there's a mention of "Who's really behind the Red Hand?"
> 
> Since the Red hand it mentioned, Elsir Vale must be part of the world as well.




That would do it... I'll go back through Worlds and Monsters and see if I can find it.


Update: I found it in the DMG but not in a section that references anything of the known world.  It's in a generic section about styles of games.  I was really hoping for something more concrete, like a reference to Nerath or anything from the Nentir Vale.


----------



## Matrix Sorcica (Oct 10, 2008)

I agree it should be something more concrete. Guess we'l have to see how Scales of War develop.


----------



## Matrix Sorcica (Oct 11, 2008)

Having reread the chapter in the DMG, I must say I think the Red Hand _is_ included!

The same chapter talks about Orcus in the same vein as the Red Hand. Ana as we know, Orcus is very much a part of the world!

Similarily, there's talk of the Rod of Seven Parts and the Queen of Chaos. Surely you wouldn't say that the Rod of Seven Parts and the Queen of Chaos and by that extension the Windlords of Aquaa (sp?) isn't part of the First World?

By that logic, the Red Hand must be part as well.


----------



## CapnZapp (Aug 27, 2009)

Link?


----------



## Khashul (Oct 22, 2009)

Will we see any of the DMG2 stuff going up there any time soon? I would do it but don't have regular access to the internet to contribute.


----------

