Minor D&D Settings ResourcesThis section aims to provides a brief overview of minor D&D settings that have been produced for D&D 3rd edition and past iterations of the game. It does not go in-depth for those settings, but gives some details about logical character options for each of those.
At this time this entry contains information on
Council of Wyrms, Diablo II, Ghostwalk, Hyborian Age, Jakandor, Kingdoms of Kalamar, Lankhmar, Mahasarpa, Pelinore, Rokugan and
Warcraft.
These settings fall under the
rules for characters from unsupported settings and homebrew worlds.
If clerical domains are not available for a given pantheon. A player is free to pick two among the domains listed below, but care must be taken to select domains that are logical for the chosen patron deity and to pick them for roleplay considerations, not for mechanical advantages. A player may be required to change its clerical domains at the behest of a DM.
Available domains are:
Air, Animal, Chaos, Darkness, Death, Destruction, Dream, Earth, Evil, Fire, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Plant, Protection, Repose, Strength, Sun, Time, Travel, Trickery, Undeath, War and Water.Clerical domains that are not listed here are restricted to specific faiths from Ravenloft and may only be used by clerics of those faiths.
Council of WyrmsSet in the
Io's Blood Isles, this setting's purpose is mainly to allow players to play as dragons and half-dragons. According to the draconic myth described in the setting, the islands were created by the dragon god Io. It was his intent that dragons would live in peace on these islands, but it was not to be. The dragons of all types, chromatic, gem and metallic, warred against each other for dominance.
Io then attempted to unite them against a common cause: humans. Io sent to the humans an icon of his power, an avatar. He told them dragon secrets and gave them powers to slay dragons with. He then commanded them to construct a great fleet and sail across the ocean to rid the blood islands of dragons. This almost wiped all dragons from the isles, but they did band together and ultimately repelled the invaders.
This unity would not last unfortunately and the dragons soon started to war against each other again. As a last attempt to bring peace to dragonkind, Io sent visions to three different dragons, paragons and leaders of their various races. The gem dragon received a vision of a great council, where dragons may discuss disputes and resolve matters peacefully. The chromatic dragon had a dream of a fighting arena, where unresolved problems would be solved via a duel of strength, where whichever dragon landed first would lose. The metallic dragon had a dream of a hatchery where all dragon eggs were together, born amongst each other, seeing themselves as kin. The three dragons came together and discussed their visions. The Council of Wyrms was born.
Obviously playing a dragon or half-dragon isn't supported on our server, except as a dragon disciple. The setting however offers the possibility of playing mortal vassals to these dragons. The kindred as they are called are limited to elves, gnomes and dwarves. Humans are not tolerated on these isles.
- Allowed Races: Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes
- Allowed Classes: All
- Religion: Any draconic deities from an established settings (Bahamut/Paladine, Tiamat/Takhisis, etc.)
Source: AD&D 2nd. Edition Council of Wyrms boxed set.
Diablo IIAn adaptation of the popular Diablo II video game as a D&D 3rd Edition setting.
The Diablo II setting takes place in the world of Sanctuary. Hell and its Prime Evils have risen and plot the incorporation of the mortal realm into their own infernal empires. Diablo is one such prince, who with his fellows princes, Mephisto and Baal, intends to subjugate human civilization. If the mortal realm is fully assimilated, the Prime Evils will have the upper hand in their neverending war against the forces of Light and Order.
Note that the scope and themes of this setting meshes poorly with Ravenloft and we recommend that you avoid this setting, but the following options are available for characters of Sanctuary.
- Allowed Races: Humans only.
- Allowed Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard (Necromancer only)
- Religions: Cults of the Prime Evils, The Light
Sources: D&D 3rd Edition Diablo II: Diablerie
GhostwalkThe central locale for the Ghostwalk setting is a city called Manifest, a mausoleum city built atop a geological feature known as the Veil of Souls which leads the spirits of the departed on to the True Afterlife. In the immediate surroundings of the city of Manifest, the ghosts of the dead may cross the barrier into the land of the living and interact with their loved ones as translucent beings forged of ectoplasm, their ghost bodies marked by whatever injuries killed them and often driven by some craving for some aspect of the living world, such as food or music. A manifested ghost may fairly easily be returned to his body by resurrection magic and so in the City of Manifest one may die a great many times and be returned to his body with no harmful side effects. The one danger in exploring the other side of death as a ghost is the Calling, an unshakable urge that overcomes ghosts at some point in their unlife that drives them to forsake the world and pass into the True Afterlife. Such a transition is permanent and marks the end of a character.
Source: D&D 3rd Edition Ghostwalk
Hyborian AgeThe Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian and of Red Sonya. A precedent age, the Thurian age, is also the setting of the Kull the Conqueror's setting. It was the object of three D&D modules in the 1980s. It takes place sometime after the sinking of Atlantis and before the beginning of recorded ancient history. Being an alternate Earth setting, it is considered as being set in the distant past of Gothic Earth, the
Masque of the Red Death setting, at a time where the Red Death has not yet arrived.
Summary of the Thurian Age and Hyborian AgeA millennium after a Great Cataclysm, the descendants of the Lemurian refugees who had been enslaved by the East Folk overthrew their overlords. They drove them southwest, where they slew and drove out in turn the Serpent Men. The exiled descendants of the East Folk established new kingdoms on the western side of the continent, the empires of Acheron and Stygia. Back in their former dominion, the Lemurian descendants built an empire on the civilization of the East Folk, the empire of Khitai and may have established the empire of Vendhya. The descendants of Thurian refugees who had devolved into barbarism were now called Hybori and by 16,000 BC had established their first kingdom, Hyperborea.
Over time the Hybori moved southward and established other kingdoms. By 13,000 BC the Hybori had conquered Acheron. Within another five hundred years, the Hyborian kingdoms dominated the western part of the super continent. Toward the north, the savage Picts and the descendants of the Atlanteans, the barbarian Cimmerians dominated. Five hundred years later, Aquilonia was the mightiest kingdom in Hyboria. The north was dominated by the barbaric Aesir and Vanir. In the steppe, the Hyrkanians (descendants of the Lemurians) migrated westward and established the mighty empire of Turan, along the Vilayet Sea. On the eastern side of the super continent was the empire of Khitai, the largest dominion of them all. The masters of the vast steppe between Khitai and Turan were the Hyrkanians, nomadic horse archers.
At the twilight of the era, the Aquilonians overextended their empire. Cimmerians and Picts overwhelmed its frontiers, and the disgruntled soldiers of annexed peoples revolted. Fire and sword brought down the empire. It's former rivals and territories were conquered by northern invaders (Vanir, Aesir, and Cimmerians) and the hordes of the Hyrkanians. Turan and Hyrkania later collapsed, and the Vanir took over Stygia. Fifteen hundred years later, in 9500 BC, another cataclysm toppled the existing civilizations and formed the current Earth.
As befits Gothic Earth, player characters are limited to the human race (excluding half-Vistani). Most core classes are available to Hyborian age characters. Barbarians, fighters, monks and rogues are by far the most common. While priests are common, the cleric class isn't. The deities of the Hyborian age are numerous but few of them granted powers to mortals. It was even reported to be dangerous to get their attention. Warlock pacts are possibly the most common way for Hyborian age deities, especially evil ones, to grant powers to their followers. The Elder Gods and Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos also had their cultists in that era. The paladin class is nonexistent during the Hyborian age.
- Allowed Races: Humans only
- Allowed Classes: All (excluding clerics and paladins)
- Religions: Hyborian deities, Cthulhu Mythos
Sources: AD&D 1st. Edition CB1 Conan Unchained, CB2 Conan Against the Darkness, RS1 Red Sonja Unconquered.
JakandorJakandor is an island divided between the native Charonti, an arrogant civilization that makes heavy use of magic (especially necromancy), and the Knorr, bloodthirsty barbarians who despise the vile practice of magic and have been driven from a far-away homeland to Jakandor.
The Knorr are a warlike people of Iron Age hunter-gatherers from far to the east of Jakandor. These Knorrmen, in particular, owe their presence to a long and bloody civil war, one instigated when a strong faction of traditionalists rose up against the cultural assimilation of their people by former trading partners from a more civilized empire. During a pitched naval battle, the Knorr traditionalists were swept away from their foes by an enormous storm that pushed them west until they landed on Jakandor. These believed that the War Mother, their most powerful and revered goddess, had destroyed "the corrupt old world" and given them Jakandor as a place to begin anew... if they could cleanse it by destroying "the Broken People", the last remnants of the old world's evil. Their descendants continue this holy war, destroying their foes' unholy relics and killing them where they can, following the vengeance-revering creed of their goddess.
The Charonti are all that remains of a once-mighty empire of necromantic wizard-priests, laid low thousands of years ago by a magic-spread sickness of terrible lethality. Finally beginning to rebuild after some five thousand years of turbulence, their dreams of restoring their former glory were shattered when they found themselves invaded by mad barbarians from the far east. Clinging to what is left of their homeland, the Charonti refuse to give up, convinced that their Manifest Destiny is to wipe out the Knorr and reconquer the world.
- Allowed Races: Humans only
- Allowed Classes: All (except paladins. The Knorrmen have no arcane casters, the Charonti are almost exclusively arcane casters)
- Religion: Jakondor deities.
Sources: AD&D 2nd. Edition Jakandor – Island of War, Jakandor - Isle of Destiny, Jakandor - Land of Legend.
Kingdoms of KalamarA third party setting briefly published under the 3rd edition D&D banner. The continent of Tellene, on a world circled by three moons, is the focus of the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting. The inhabitants of Tellene believe it the entirety of the world. Tellene is generally divided into several subregions. These include Brandobia, the Young Kingdoms, the Wild Lands, Reanaaria Bay and the isle of Svimohzia. The climate ranges from temperate to sub-tropical.
It is a world where, creatures of dark evil roam the lands in search of prey, while others rule a terrified populace from the safety of their throne rooms. Meanwhile, elven warriors battle expansionist human kingdoms to protect their forest homes, dwarven rebels plot the overthrow of their human conquerors, and the armies of hobgoblin kingdoms grow increasingly powerful.
Spies and spellcasters seek knowledge and power for themselves and those they serve, and strands of their web-like plots reach into cities and towns across the continent. Ruins of ancient empires lie buried beneath burning desert sands, and their stories told in smoky back rooms attract brave fools eager for excitement and quick wealth. The streets are full of the brave and foolhardy, eager to draw steel and strike for little cause, and war between kingdoms is a constant occurrence. The courts of the nobility also hold mystery and intrigue, provided one can master social pressures greater than the threat of a giant’s club or a dragon’s fang.
- Allowed Races: All (with half-orcs being rare)
- Allowed Classes: All
- Religion: Kalamar Deities
Source: D&D 3rd Edition Kingdoms of Kalamar
LankhmarThis setting is inspired from the
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber. It was published as an AD&D setting in the 80s and 90s, and later as a D20 setting under the
Dungeon Crawl Classics ruleset.
Located on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, Lankhmar is richly described as a populous and labyrinthine city rife with corruption, "the City of the Black Toga." It is decadent or squalid in roughly equal parts and said to be so shrouded by smog that the stars are rarely sighted (the city's alternate name is "the City of Sevenscore Thousand Smokes"). Located next to the Inner Sea, Lankhmar is visited by ships from across Nehwon and is the starting point for many sea voyages. The city is ostensibly ruled by an overlord and his nobility. The Thieves' Guild is influential, too, and controls Lankhmar's abundant criminal elements.
- Allowed Races: Humans, Gnomes, Half-orcs and Half-elves
- Allowed Classes: Any non-divine casting classes.
- Religion: Nehwon has several deities listed in the Lankhmar sourcebooks, but none of them grant divine powers to mortals.
Sources: AD&D 2e: Lankhmar – City of Adventure, Legends and Lore; d20: Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar.
MahasarpaDescribed in the Web Enhancement supplement for the
D&D 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures sourcebook, Mahasarpa is a South Asian-themed campaign setting featuring seven kingdoms that are the surviving remnants of a great kingdom brought down by its own arrogance.
The Seven Kingdoms represent human society in the known world of the Mahasarpa campaign setting. These kingdoms are the surviving remnants of the great kingdom of Mahanaga, having splintered off before the Last Maharajah brought Nagini’s curse down upon the kingdom. Each kingdom is really little more than a city-state in the shadow of Mahanaga’s ruins, but each has its own unique identity and character.
- Allowed Races: Humans only
- Allowed Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue or Sorcerer
- Religion: A mixture of traditional D&D polytheism with animism
Source: D&D 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures Web Enhancement
PelinorePelinore is a lesser-known D&D campaign setting that was developed by TSR's UK offices in its
Imagine magazine. The setting's tagline
"Novit Hoc Omnis Et Illa Est Sicut Discus", hints at the setting's peculiar feature: that the world of Pelinore is a flat disc (
and everyone knows that!). Above all else, Pelinore is a land of adventure and at its center is the Worldheart, a mythical place. You might hear different stories about just what that means, and of course people will no doubt point out that nobody has made it to the edge of the world and back, so how could anyone know where the center is – let alone what lies at its heart? Some lunatics even claim the world is round! (
But everyone knows this is nonsense.)
The setting focuses on the richly detailed area of the City League and the surrounding county. The stories say it began as a town at a confluent of trade routes that grew and sprawled and had a Clerk who managed it. And over time, with the flourish of trade and industry, the city began absorbing more nearby towns–becoming a league of cities, overseen by a now-hereditary ruler – the Knight Puissant, Clerk-at-Arms, First Servant of the City League – called the Katar for short. And of course, anyplace where trade thrives is, of necessity, going to attract all manner of creatures and cultures, and there’s nothing quite like money to help smooth out any cultural rough edges – so the City League became a melting pot of races and cultures and cities and subcities that all come together in what might, from the outside, look a mess, but which the inhabitants lovingly call t’League.
Sources: Collected AD&D 1st Edition articles from TSR UK's Imagine Magazine, available on the Internet as The Collected Pelinore PDF.
RokuganRokugan is better known as the setting of the
Legend of the Five Rings RPG, but it was actually the backdrop of D&D's 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures in lieu of Kara-Tur as in previous editions. Rokugan is an Empire. The Emperor lays claim to all that is as a right of being the descendant of Amaterasu (Lady Sun) and Onnotangu (Lord Moon), the courtiers of the Emerald Empire would see this as an appropriate use. The citizens and rulers of the Burning Sands and Ivory Kingdoms might disagree.
Rokugan society is based on a clan structure, with seven so-called "Great Clans", as well as a number of minor clans. Great Clans are made up of several family lines, each with their own general purpose within the clan. Minor clans, on the other hand, generally only have one family. Each clan also has areas of land under their control which the emperor bestowed on them as a fief. The emperor retains ownership of all lands, however, and the clans essentially rent the lands they use by paying taxes annually.
Most of the races and classes common to other D&D settings are not found in Rokugan. Those that would like to have more options are advised to select a character from Kara-Tur (Forgotten Realms) or from Rokushima Taiyoo (Ravenloft).
- Allowed Races: Humans only
- Allowed Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Shaman or Sorcerer
- Religion: Shinseism, a mixture of traditional D&D polytheism with animism
Source: D&D 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures
WarcraftAn adaptation of the popular World of Warcraft video game as a D&D 3rd Edition setting. It is set in the world of Azeroth after the arrival of the Burning Legion.
Note that the scope and themes of this setting meshes poorly with Ravenloft and we recommend that you avoid this setting. In this setting, druids, paladins, priests, rangers, shamans, and warlocks are prestige classes working differently than the base classes of D&D. The Warcraft setting's healer class likewise works differently than the standard D&D healers. These are not supported on the module. A character from Azeroth is free to multiclass into any base classes (except monks or paladins), but must start play as one of the allowed classes below.
- Allowed Races: Humans, Dwarves, Elf (High elves only), Half-Elves, Half-Orcs
- Allowed Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer or Wizard
- Religions: The Holy Light, Shamanism, The Mystery of the Makers, Burning Legion, The Scourge
Sources: D&D 3rd Edition Warcraft, Alliance & Horde Compendium, Alliance Player's Guide, World of Warcraft Dark Factions, Warcraft Manual of Monsters, World of Warcraft Monster Guides.
