Worldbuilding Notes

Here collected are unsorted notes about Asmythe. The information here is unknown to the races that inhabit Asmythe and these notes are intended for Game Masters.

Human and Orcs were space fairing races at war with each other. During a battle over Asmythe destroyed ships from each side crashed onto Asmythe; humans in Altazar and Orcs in Cozak. Each race brought with them their culture and scientific knowledge. However, on Asmythe, computers don't function and both races were severely crippled because of it. They lost all their technology but their cultures persisted; mainly navy/army cultural roots.

Ilthura created the moon Rolene and fled Asmythe to live there. They were forced to leave Asmythe by the Elder Dragons, that was the last time the dragons were awake on Asmythe. They were on Rolene when the humans and orcs brought their battle to space above Asmythe and were probably influential in the outcome of that battle.

Magic has shaped culture and technology on Asmythe in many ways.

• computers don't work, the most "high tech" machines are the clockwork machines of the dwarves.
• both arcane and dragon magic can communicate instantaneously over infinite distance.
• humans and orcs use magic for war; elves and dwarves use magic for sustainability.
• arcane magic can create energy , which makes it perfect to drive ships, dirigibles, etc. and to power some industries like metallurgy. But the rarity of magic users means that such energy sources are only found in large cities.

Dwarves on Asmythe are inspired by the dwemer of Elder Scrolls and Tolkien dwarves.

Elves are inspired by ElfQuest, sylvan elves, and Tolkien hobbits.

The Elder Dragons are god-power creatures that physically exist and are sleeping in the Dragon Islands.

In addition to the Elder Dragons there are beast-like (non-magical, uncivilized) dragons rarely all over the world. These dragons are huge creatures with appearance similar to the classical western dragon. Each has a vast territory, spanning many hundreds of miles. These dragons are non-magical and completely immune to all kinds of magic. They do not hoard wealth, but may "terrorize" settlements in search of food. These dragons are revered in most cultures and seen as emissaries of the Elder Dragons (though they are not). Once a year all the dragons migrate to the Dragon Isles to mate; the departure and return of the dragons is a common holiday for dwarves and elves.

Death is the end and there is no "afterlife" in Asmythe. The souls of all creatures on Asmythe disappear immediately after death, they do not persist in some other plane of existence. They either dissipate into the AEther or are consumed by the Elder Dragons. Under some conditions is is possible to "burn" the soul of a dying creature for energy before the soul dissipates.

Monsters tend toward "dark/gothic horror" style, rather than traditional greek/roman mythic, especially for elemental creatures.

Technology is limited by the size of metal components, which has some interesting effects. When any metal object less than a centimeter (about half an inch) isn't reliable then many things we take for granted aren't possible. Without nails, wires, hinges and such you can't have chainmail armor. Wooden and leather fasteners work, but they wear out much more quickly.

Dwarves, being magical smiths, are able to get around this limitation by enchanting small metal components. Dwarves also have access to a much wider range of metals than surface dwellers, so they are able to create better steel and other alloys. Dwarven tools and chainmail are some of the most valuable things in Asmythe.