Gazetteer: Culture Regions of Prace

The subcontinent of Prace is the "known world" of Monvesia.  Over the centuries, several peoples have carved out their "own" territory here.  Often, these territories overlap; and in several cases, once-great territories have been severely diminished.  Originally, only the dwarves, elves, and rakasta (and, possibly, firbolgs) were native to Prace.  Gnomes developed from dwarves; while humans, goliaths, lizardfolk, and vanara migrated into the land of the Great River and beyond.  Today, Prace is a culturally dense subcontinent.

Human Regions: Monvesia

The humans of Monvesia can be roughly divided into six cultural groups, each with its own common langauge.

Gazetteer: Monvesien Valley

To date, this is the only map that exists of the known world of Monvesia.  It  has taken a while to upload because I had originally intended on upgrading the map using Hexographer--but I lost the map before that process could completed.  While I still hope to use Hexographer to create new maps for this world, I'm going to let this re-discovred map stand as is.

It shows all of the human (and most non-human) regions of the known world, as well as subdivisions of the Honderreich, Cuorria, and Voztok.  There are even features now out-dated--such as calling out the goliath homeland of Inheritance as "ogre" territory; and referencing the capital city state of the Empire as Dray, not Sena.  The borders seen here are no longer accurate--but the rivers, coasts, and highlands are.

The dominant feature of the region is the Monvesien (the Great River) and its tributaries.  The setting of Monvesia shares its name with this drainage basin--though the map depicts the greater region of Prace.  The major regions and tributaries of the River are discussed below.

Monvesian Culture: Vasyl's Legacy

After uniting the petty kingdoms of Voztok under a single banner, Tsar Vasyl Vladovich Korolov (r. 890 ye - 105 ye) lived an unnaturally long life--long outliving his own children. Unlike Jostin or Ignatius, Vasyl did not ascend to sainthood.  Instead, he transformed his body into something new.

The Order of the Rose and Shield has perpetuated the rumor that Vasyl was a warlock sworn to the Undying patron.  The tsar's isolationist policies have allowed that rumor to spread and flourish.  Since the independence of Volka, however, a new rumor has surfaced:  that Vasyl was a a blood mage (or even a bloodline sorcerer).

During his life, Vasyl passed his secrets on to his grandchildren and other members of his inner circle.  These acolytes further spread what they learned, establishing a cult in Voztok--and, by extension, the Granitsa region of Cuorria.

Two institutions have thus survived Vasyl to this day:  1) The Dominion of Voztok and the Tsardom of Volka, remnants of Vasyl's empire; and 2) the Sanguinati, a faction that shares Vasyl's obsessions.

Mundane Treasure in Monvesia

All treasure is special, but not all treasure is magical.  Continuing my series on in-game player rewards (see Magic Items, Titles & Land Grants), below are notes concerning the "mundane" treasures of Monvesia.  Though, let's be honest, what is mundane about a horde of coins from across the continent?  Or a religious text bound in dragon scale?

A Song of Sixpence

The coins that can be found in a monster's possession or in a hoard varies greatly depending on where that monster or hoard is encountered.  When dealing with the various coins of Monvesia, modify the coin results from random treasure tables as noted in the appropriate section below:

Possessions

Monsters tend to possess the coins commonly in use in the region where they are encountered.  At the DM's discretion, coins from nearby regions could also be encountered.

Possessions in Dvergheim:

• Use CP value for bronze gates
• Half CP value for copper boars
• Use SP value for billon fists
• Half SP value for silver eagles
• EP (bulls) and GP (dragons) unchanged
• Use PP value for rhodite bears
• Half PP value for platinum crowns

Titles & Land Grants in Monvesia

A liege may offer titles as a reward for service, and those titles may also come with a grants of land--small at first, but increasing as the character gains prestige and authority.

Here is a comparative list of titles in Monvesia, including vague descriptions of their relative lands, power, and authority.  Generally, only sovereigns (rulers of independent nations--ducal and higher) grant noble titles as rewards.  Baronial and comital nobles may grant ceremonial knighthood--though typically not with land.

Titles are listed from lowest to highest.  Where multiple titles are included, the lower titles are listed first.  English terms (which are a mix of Germanic and Romance) are used for "generic" titles.

Please note that this list is a major generalization, and is not meant to be used for historical accuracy; instead, it perpetuates and standardizes several anachronisms common to tabletop gaming (particularly an American "understanding" of nobility).

 

Humans of Raviq and Prace

Tainted Counterparts:  Orcs

Temperamental Association:  By ethnicity (see below).

All humans use the "Variant Human Traits" on p. 31 of the Player's Handbook.

NOTE:  Humans should select two (2!) Common languages at first level, while other races only select one.  (see "Languages of Monvesia")

Humans, like goliaths, emigrated to Prace from Raviq.

Though the last race to come to Prace, humans have quickly becomes the dominant culture of the regions--much like a bacteria, some would say.  Humans came to settle Monvesia after crossing the Sea of Sand.  They settled first in the fertile lines just east of the desert (Veldistan), and later spread into the mouth of the great river (Notopoli).  With access to the river, they soon traveled northward, into elven (Cuorria), rakasta (Honderreich), and gnomish (Galtain) territory.  Finally, a few intrepid expeditions crossed the Granitsan Mountains to settle he eastern coast (Voztok).

I have not yet had cause to fully explore the particulars of Veldistan or Notopoli.  They are included here for completeness sake.  I will likely edit this post further when those details emerge.  I will not force them, though--I believe that a campaign word should grow organically.  When I have a character interested in originating in one of these territories--or else a party has cause to adventure there, I will leave the specifics un-delineated.

Gnomes of Prace

 

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Language Analog:  Chechen
Inspiration:  Surface dwarves in the Dragon Age franchise; travellers/tinkers
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Tainted Counterpart:  Goblin
Temperamental Association:  Idealist

Male Names:  Batraz, Borz, Dikalu, Lom, Mayrsolt, Tawara, Vaharsolt
Female Names:  Avarka, Kheda, Prina, Tabarik, Zargan

Gnomes are dwarf-kin, and were once counted as members of that race long before the coming of humans to Prace.  Because they share many cultural elements, human migrants assumed early on that gnomes and dwarves were he same race.