World of Solethania
The World of Solethania is a Homebrew Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting
Solethania is a high fantasy world filled with magic, conflict, and adventure. This campaign starts at the beginning of a new age. The Dragon Empress Nek’thara has been assassinated by a Tiefling splinter group led by the mysterious assassin Arrek’za, reigniting the millennia old Dragon Wars. Cultists of the Eldritch God K’thikk are nearing completion of the Black Gate, a summoning device they hope to use to cause the return of K’thikk to end the world. These shadowy cultists have become so widespread and implanted throughout the world they are simply known as The Cult. Powerful nation states have formed, and many smaller kingdoms and city states vie for power on the world stage.
Technology is almost always magical in nature. Stone Golems have largely replaced slave labor in the fields and mines. Steampunk airships traverse the skies. The most common currency is the Litia, which is based on stored magical power. Guilds, Factions, Magical Schools, and Adventuring Groups have taken hold, each finding their own unique niche in the world. The Pantheon of Gods, while active throughout the world in the past, have largely been silent for over a century. Their power and presence are still felt throughout the world however, as their clergy and paladin orders continue to draw power from them.
Only the greatest of sages and most ancient of creatures know of any details before the time of the Third Era. This deeply esoteric knowledge is, for all intents and purposes, lost.
Timeline:
The Dragon wars (First era)
- Great Explorer and Elven King Brishen Kia founds the Kingdom of Klaya. He will later marry the mage Ildiko. It is said the bloodline of their heirs contain a strong magic.
- The Sun God Ura creates the Holy Font of Lightgarden. This becomes the holiest site of Ura, home of his greatest temple, and a city ruled by his clergy.
- The First Dragon Empress dies. After much infighting, the Red Dragon Queen successfully wins the right to the throne, and begins an age of expansion and conquest.
- The Tieflings successfully rebel against the Dragon Empire and establish their own kingdom. To do this, they enlisted the aid of forces from the nine hells. The War between the Dragonkind and Tieflings lasts multiple centuries.
The Alliances (Second Era)
- An Alliance between Elves and Humans is formed to counterbalance the rapid expansion of the Dragon Empire. Elven Queen Eilee and Human Queen Narblight are signatories.
- Dwarven King Ogbar joins the Alliance to ensure protection of his kingdom that was caught in the crossfire of the Dragon-Tiefling war.
- The first Schools of the Arcane are formed.
- Queen Eilee plants Blissium, a magical tree, on the one year anniversary of the Elven-Human Alliance. It would remain perpetually in bloom for the entirety of the Alliance’s existence.
- Chief Sees Scrolls unites the Tabaxi Tribes and forms Tabax. He rules briefly from a throne on an active volcano.
- The Alliance intervenes in the Dragon-Tiefling War, and forces a peace between the the Dragon Empire and the Tiefling Kingdom.
The Ruin (Third Era)
- The Human Mage Arkturis, a man obsessed with immortality, opens a gate to the Eldritch Plane and releases K’thikk, the Eldritch God of Undeath upon the world.
- With help from the gods Cxalla, Eghrodro, and Farsea, the Alliance was able to contain K’thikk. The gods formed an ocean above his containment, and Farsea created the Triton Race to be its guardians and gave them the Pacifica Staff.
- The Pacifica Staff is stolen and disappears.
- After multiple centuries, The Eldritch God K’thikk fully corrupts the area around his prison and enthralls an innumerable army of creatures. He uses their life force to free himself from his prison and rampages across the lands sewing death and destruction in his wake. The gods Cxalla and Eghrodro convince the rest of the Pantheon to use their power to force the K’thikk from the Material Plane. The resulting battle between gods and K’thikk split the Pangaea into two major continents and a few large landmasses.
- Nearly 75% of the global population was wiped out during this time. The only surviving power to fully weather the devastation intact was the Draconic Empire. But even they were severely weakened and their empire shrank significantly.
The Reconstruction (Fourth Era)
- Tritons have been scattered across the seas. The majority resettle on the Isle of Turtle, violently driving out the native Tortles.
- Internment Camps are created for the sentient undead remnants of K’thikk’s corruption.
- Gnomes discover magic around the former prison of K’thikk, they harness this magic and begin using it in new inventions, they zealously guard this secret magic of their Magic Steam Technology.
- Gnoblins, the first Gnome Primarch, unites various Gnome factions in what they call the Great Merger, and establish a monopoly on Magic Steam Technology. They rule under the banner of the Cogs & Cords Corp.
- The Blacksmith’s Guild joins with Schools of the Arcane to create the first golems in an attempt to ease the gnomish monopoly on mechanical devices.
- In an attempt to root out Eldritch Cultists, the Aasimar Wisym chases down and kills his daughter and her lover in the Sands of Sumalis. The battle was ended by two Demigods who appear and fight each other, forcing Wisym to flee. The Demigod’s battle turn the desert sands into a magical sand ocean, with a maelstrom surrounding them.
- Wisym, having escaped the Sands of Sumalis, founds the Crystal City, and invents the Litia magical currency.
- Triton Leader Kashmi is assassinated by the famous assassin Dirk. He was hired by the Cogs & Cords Corp in retaliation for Triton attacks on Gnomish shipping.
- Arkturis, now unofficial leader of the Undead, successfully parlays with local governments to free the undead in the camps so that they may be free somewhere else. Arkturis leads the undead to the Sands of Sumalis and establishes the Land of the Dead.
- Blood Chief Mok’gra leads the largest band of Orcs to the Mountains of Ogg in order to settle a new Kingdom. Upon settling the area, Mithril was discovered in the mountains, leading to a sudden and powerful rise in power and influence for the kingdom.
The 500 Year Peace (Fifth Era)
- The Tabaxi ‘Smoke Rum’ detonates the side of a mountain in an attempt to create the most powerful elemental cannon. This action creates a very large and very powerful Elemental Myrmidon who subsequently takes over the remaining mountain and a significant portion of the island.
- The Eldritch Cult officially begins construction of the Black Gate in an attempt to bring forth the Eldritch God K’thikk. Blood Chief Karakara leads a small band of orcs into the Jungles of Thera to fight them, but fail, Karakara going missing and the band is converted or killed.
- Elven Mage and Eldritch Cult leader Cormak disguises himself as a Tiefling noble and infiltrates a Tiefling splinter group. He plants the idea of assassinating the Dragon Empress with the goal of sewing seeds of chaos and preventing the accidental discovery of the Black Gate.
- Dragon Empress Nek’thara is assassinated by Arrek’za, leader of a group of Tiefling terrorists. This assassination reignites the Dragon-Tiefling War.
- Fsh’tl, the Elemental Myrmidon, strikes a deal with the Tribes of Tabax. Minor and tiny Fire Elementals become a part of everyday Tabaxi life on the islands, and provide multiple utilitarian functions.
- Fearing the growing power of Arkturis, and his growing population of undead minions entirely under his control, the remnants of the undead Human Nobility break away and claim a portion of the desert as their own. They ally with a powerful Aasimar Lich, not realizing his power. He consumes them and takes control of the fledgling undead faction.
The Age of Adventure (Sixth Era)
- At the dawn of this new age, this is the time when the campaign begins.