Campaign Docket - The Gaiaverse
Version B: The Vanguard
Josh Keller

TODO: Politics

I. Overview
	The Gaiaverse is a world of my own design, based around the conflict between two empires: the Kromians and the Vanguard. Our campaign will be set in this world, with the party as citizens (or, at least, members) of the Vanguard.

II. Expectations
	Each of us has our own expectations for this campaign. It is my hope that you will all make your expectations clear to me, both in and out of character. The game you want to play is the game I want to run. I try to strike a balance between action-oriented combat and character-oriented role-playing, but where this balance falls will be decided by you, the player. Do whatever you want, within reason; it's your world as much as mine. The important thing is that everyone has a good time, and if you're not having fun, talk to me and we'll work it out.
	Given that, games will be held as close to weekly as possible, with suitable advance notice given for any missed sessions. Regular attendance is important. It's a pain to find substitutes or run characters as NPCs, and it becomes difficult to maintain connections between sessions if I have different people sitting around the table every week. Ongoing games work best if everyone can make it to every session. If this becomes a problem, talk to me.
	Other than that, keep an open mind, bring your own dice, and remember that we're all here to have fun, even me.

III. History of the Vanguard
	The game will take place in the year AR 1202 (See Appendix C: Timekeeping).
	According to ancient legend, the Island was raised out of the waters of the Western Sea 1202 years ago. It has been inhabited ever since its inception by humans, elves, gnomes, and halflings, who lived harmoniously with one another and with nature. Conflict was virtually unheard of; between the bounty of the sea, the lowlands, the forest, and the hills, there was no need for competition for resources, and the people of the Island harbored no ambitions of conquest or exploration - they merely wanted to live their lives in peace.
	Life on the Island continued like this for hundreds of years. Around the year AR 900, however, a human was born in the Eastern lowlands. His name has been purged from both written and oral history; he is now known as the Mule, presumedly for his physical strength. The Mule was an ambitious youth who, upon adulthood, convinced his tribe that they deserved more than what they had. The Mule himself desired the magical energies of the Darkwood Forest, in which the elves had resided since the dawn of time. He led his tribe to war.
	The elves were not fighters, but the concept of armed conflict was not foreign to them, as they had communicated with their brethren on the mainland, and knew of the conflicts that ravaged their nations. They took up arms to defend themselves and their homes. The conflict escalated when the Mule sought out other human tribes, seeking to form an alliance against the elves. Some joined him, some opposed him and joined the elves, and soon all the Island was mired in war.
	The War of the Mule ended when the Mule died five years later under mysterious consequences; to this day the nature of his demise is unknown. The alliance he had formed collapsed without his leadership to unify them, and the armies had soon disbanded of their own accord. The damage had been done, however; every tribe, even those who had been on the same side of the war, had developed a deep mutual distrust for one another. Violent conflicts became frequent, though on a small scale; no single tribe could muster the resources for a large-scale conflict, and no two tribes could trust one another enough to unite.
	This lasted for over a hundred years, with the tribes mired in petty conflicts. Circa AR 1050, another human was born in the Eastern lowlands. Like the Mule, he harbored ambitions of grandeur; unlike the mule, his name, Seraph, has not been forgotten. However, he is most widely known as the Second Mule, since he once again unified the Eastern tribes and set out on the warpath.
	There were many essential differences between the War of the Mule and the War of Unification (as it came to be known). First, the Second Mule opposed not peace-loving elves, but battle-hardened tribes of every race. Second, while the first Mule set out to unify all humans, the Second Mule sought only domination by its own accord. Finally, in the War of the Mule, nearly every tribe chose a side. In the War of Unification, the tribes fought against the Easterners led by the Second Mule, but they also fought among themselves simultaneously - that is, until the arrival of the Valkyrie.
	The Valkyrie, whose real name was Kit Caerna, was a gnomish woman from the mountainous tribes. Unlike her warfare-minded companions, she was bored by petty tribal struggles and saw a greater potential among the tribes. However, until the rise of the Second Mule, the Valkyrie had been unable to convince her fellow tribesmen of her views. She knew the history of the Island, and knew that the first Mule had only been defeated by a unified opposition. However, she also realized that while the first Mule was willing to share rule of the Island given victory, the second Mule was not. As tribe after tribe fell before the onslaught of the Second Mule, the Valkyrie knew that their only hope was to unify the remaining tribes and stand together.
	The main problem, as the Valkyrie saw it, was that the tribes were blinded by fear of the Second Mule. If she could prove that he was not invincible (as the war so far had indicated), she could rally support behind her. She selected 100 soldiers from her tribe, calling her battalion the Vanguard. Against the direct orders of the chief, marched south to war. Proving her brilliance as a strategist and tactician, she lured the Second Mule's army of 3,000 into the mountains. At the Battle of Wulfrum's Pass, she used a combination of hit-and-run tactics and static defenses of narrow chokepoints to slow the Second Mule's army to a standstill for three days. This was the victory the Valkyrie had been hoping for; one tribe after another pledged their allegiance to the Valkyrie and the Vanguard.
	Outnumbered now, the Second Mule was forced to retreat; slowly at first, but soon his army was practically fleeing to the southeast. The Army of the Vanguard caught up to him at the coast, and while the nature of the first Mule's demise is a mystery, thousands watched the Valkyrie challenge, and best, the Second Mule in single combat.
	With the war over, however, the Valkyrie could already feel the unified tribes beginning to break apart. Before the armies could return to their tribal homelands, she called together the leaders of each army and laid out her proposal: a unified tribal empire, known as the Vanguard in honor of those who stood with her against the Second Mule. She emphasized the need for unity in the face of potential threats, and pointed out how close the Second Mule had come to total domination. Grudgingly, the tribal leaders agreed, and thus the Vanguard was formed.
	The end result fell somewhat short of the nation envisioned by the Valkyrie. The Vanguard is not exactly a nation, but rather an organization that tries to work through mutual distrust to resolve inter-tribal conflicts peacefully. The tribes have only accepted its authority out of respect for the Valkyrie, desire to avert future wars, and the recognition that it will not affect their individual sovereignty.
	Still, the formation of the Vanguard managed to break down many barriers of mistrust, and commerce and the free flow of information began in earnest. Many of the Vanguard also traveled to the Mainland, and brought back tales of the vast Kromian Empire across the sea to the East.
	The Vanguard maintained relative peace and prosperity among the tribes until the year AR 1181 and the beginning of the Kromian-Vanguard War.

IV. The Kromian-Vanguard War
	The Vanguard have long known about the tribes across the sea to the East, and individuals observed the attempted genocide of the halflings of the Kromian foothills, and the war between the fledgling Kromian empire and the elves that ensued. The mass exodus of the surviving halflings to the island of the Vanguard (mostly settling among the Dene and the Verite) would have been much more notable had it not coincided with the rise of the Second Mule and the Valkyrie. Even after the formation of the Vanguard, as peace reigned across the island, the few Vanguard who looked east across the sea did so only with a detached curiosity. A daring few ventured across the sea to visit the Empire; even fewer returned, filled with fantastic tales that were generally dismissed as nonsense.
	By 1181 AR, however, enough people had traveled to the east that it was generally recognized that a powerful empire existed there. Until 1181, the Empire seemed content to leave the Vanguard alone, and the Vanguard was more than happy to return the favor. The Empire extended no diplomatic connections, and the Vanguard expected none; merchants and traders occasionally ventured west, but the Vanguard spurned their commerce, finding little use for foreign goods from strange men.
	That year, the Kromian Empire (as they called themselves) sent a group of emissaries to establish contact with whatever people might live on this hitherto unknown island to the west. These emissaries first met with tribal leaders of the Dene, then with the Dísir (leaders) of the Vanguard. Initial reactions were cautiously guarded, as neither side knew exactly what to expect. The Kromians saw the Vanguard as uncivilized savages; to the Vanguard, the Kromians were just strange. However, the Kromians' interests were, at the time, purely economical; the Vanguard, seeing mutual benefit in large-scale overseas commerce, agreed. The Kromians suggested that surveyors be allowed to explore the island for themselves and determine what natural resources might be of value; the Vanguard reluctantly agreed.
	When the emissaries met with the Dísir again, six months later, they came with a proposal - they would pay a massive sum for logging rights to the Darkwood Forest. To the Kromians, the offer was generous. To the Vanguard, it was a grievous insult. The area the Kromians planned to log was within Shesser territory; in fact, it was the very sacred grove in which the Vanguard met! The Vanguard were so insulted by this proposition that they outright refused to trade with the Kromians at all, and told the emissaries to never set foot on the island again.
	While it seems obvious in retrospect that the Kromians would not take "no" for an answer, consider that the Vanguard was unused to foreign policy dealings in general, and commerce in particular. They considered the matter settled once the emissaries had left Vanguard soil. While some individuals watched the Kromian military mobilization with growing alarm, by the time the threat was prominent enough to warrant general concern, it was already too late.
	In 1183 AR, 3,000 Kromian soldiers landed on the eastern shores of the Vanguard, in the region of the Dene. They immediately captured Balder, preemptively decapitating any resistance that could have been formed in the region. The Dene, recovering from the devastation wrought by the Second Mule and the Valkyrie even a hundred years later, were practically defenseless in the face of this onslaught. No tribe kept a substantial standing army in peacetime; any individual pockets of resistance that formed were quickly overwhelmed, being both outnumbered and dramatically outgunned. The technological and arcane superiority of the Kromians would prove to be defining characteristics of the war.
	The Dísir immediately recognized that the threat they faced now was possibly even graver than that posed by either Mule. Once again, the Vanguard found itself fighting for its very survival. The Vanguard realized the hard way that the Kromians held the tactical and strategic advantage on the open plain of battle. Their numbers, while not overpowering, were growing by the day as reinforcements arrived from the mainland. Heavily armed, armored, and supported by powerful magic, the armies seemed unstoppable. The Vanguard decided that their only chance they would have to stop the invaders would be to use the advantages granted by the forests, both with respect to terrain and the powerful divine magic that the druids of the Shesser could bring to bear. However, this would mean sacrificing the Dene.
	Within three months, the army had captured the bulk of the Dene tribes, pushing all the way to the eastern edge of the Darkwood Forest. The Vanguard had spent this time assembling units of guerilla resistance, meant to harass and delay the advance of the army. The Vanguard understood by this point that the Kromians intended primarily to capture the Darkwood Forest, potentially eradicating the Shesser in the process. The purpose of this guerilla resistance, then, was twofold. First, the army was to be delayed until an effective final stand could be mounted. Second, the army was to be driven towards Wulfrum's Pass, where the assembled forces of the Vanguard would be waiting, using the terrain to their tactical advantage.
	This plan, although risky, was tactically sound. While the Kromians held military superiority, their forces were not infinite, and since their interests in the area were primarily economic, all the Vanguard had to do was make it economically non-viable to conquer the Darkwood Forest. Thus, the constant guerilla attacks would show that the Vanguard would have to be crushed outright, not just held at bay, while the defense at Wulfrum's Pass would show that they could not be crushed outright. The Kromians had not encountered unified Vanguard resistance; hopefully, a show of force would be sufficient to force them to fold before the Vanguard's bluff was called.
	While the Vanguard assembled what forces it could among the Dilgar, the guerrilla warfare fell to the somewhat irregular and motley forces known, colloquially, as the Forest Raiders. From squads of half a dozen to platoons of thirty or more, the Raiders ambushed lines of supply, killed scouts, destroyed bridges and roads, created diversions, and occasionally isolated and destroyed units of Kromian soldiers. It was extremely dangerous for those involved, with over half of the Raiders never returning from their missions. Stories of what horrors awaited those captured by the Kromians are shared only in whispers. Still, they were successful in both slowing the advance and luring it to Wulfrum's Pass.
	With the strong impression that the bulk of guerilla activity originated from the other side of the mountains, the commanders of the Kromian army believed that if they were to capture Wulfrum's pass, they would be able to cut off the attacks at the source. The entire army, some 8,000 strong marched up to the Pass, only to be met with a band of a few hundred pilgrims blocking the road. The captain leading the advance, a gnomish crusader named Captain Bramble, ordered that they stand down or be arrested and executed. In response, the pilgrims revealed themselves to be, in reality, a powerful and ancient coven of druids, who called upon the spirits of the mountains to halt the advance of the invaders. The spirits of the mountains responded by releasing an avalanche that instantly destroyed a full third of the army, along with most of the coven. Over the rubble charged the brunt of the Vanguard host; from behind, the unified Forest Raiders finally engaged the Kromian Army in the open field of battle.
	The Kromian army, surrounded, demoralized, and panicked, began a fighting retreat through the Raiders. They managed to break through the line before the retreat became a rout, with hundreds of soldiers tumbling off the steep roadside cliffs to their deaths. The disorganized Raiders attempted to pursue and harass the routed troops, but were halted in their tracks by a valiant rearguard action lead by the same Captain Bramble, who fought on even after his entire company had been mercilessly dispatched by the Raiders. Even after his sword shattered and his shield splintered, he fought on, buying time for the Kromian army to retreat down the mountain, until he was literally buried under a mass of Raiders, each jockeying for the final blow.
	The battle at Wulfrum's Pass was the turning point of the war, the beginning of the end. Before it, the Kromian army had advanced inexorably, an unstoppable juggernaut. Their retreat eastward was just as inexorable, but took nearly ten times as long. Having suffered casualties totaling to nearly half their number, the Kromians no longer had numerical superiority, but they still held the technological and magical advantage. Both sides had suffered great casualties by this point, but they grimly fought on, each refusing to yield.
	The Kromian retreat from Shesser territory was swift; in less than three months, the Kromians had been forced back to the rolling hills of the Dene. It was here that the Vanguard's advance ground to a halt, for several reasons. First of all, the Vanguard held the tactical advantage in the forest; out in the open, the Kromians could bring the full brunt of their forces to bear. Second, the Kromians had developed a new strategy that involved winning support among the locals. Though most demi-humans who reviled the Vangurd hated the Kromians equally, there were enough that found that the Kromians had the right price, and that was enough to necessitate a splitting of the Vanguard's forces to deal with the new threat. Additionally, many of the members of captured Dene tribes had been forced into servitude, creating fortifications and running supplies. The Vanguard could not attack its own people, and thus could not resort to its usual tactic of harassing supply lines and the like. Third, although more and more people flocked to the banner of the Vanguard every day, once they had won a victory, the Kromians received a steady and seemingly endless trickle of reinforcements from the mainland.
	It was seven long, bloody years before the Kromians were forced back to the city of Balder, in the year 1190 AR. The Vanguard prepared to lay siege to the outnumbered, outgunned, unsupplied Kromian army. The Kromian commanders came to a decision, and one night, under cover of darkness, the remanent of the Kromian army fled back to the mainland by sea.
	The victory, for the Vanguard, was pyrrhic. They had driven off the invaders, but at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, including many of their most powerful warriors and druids, in addition to the civilian deaths that may number in the hundreds of thousands. The Kromians had pillaged the land as they retreated, leaving much of Dene territory an uninhabitable wasteland. As a final insult, before they evacuated the city of Balder, the Kromians set it alight, and enchanted the fires so that they would not consume the city, but rather that they would burn for eternity, powered by magic stronger than any of the Vanguard had the ability to dispel.
	The last twelve years have been an effort by the Vanguard to rebuild after the destruction of the war, but the full extent of the damage has yet to be realized. The majority of Dene territory is still a lawless wasteland, and the city of Balder still burns. Talk of Kromians who never left, but continue to haunt and harass the Vanguard, is whispered daily. Families and tribes struggle to regain what was lost, and the strength of the Vanguard, which waxed triumphant during the war, has collapsed as the tribes turn inward to try to solve their own problems.

V. Physical and Political Geography of the Island

A. Physical Geography

I. Mountains

The Grey Mountains make up the bulk of Dilgar territory, and effectively divide the island of the Vanguard in half, running from the city of Traenor in the northwest all the way to the southern coast. Most of these mountains are broader than they are high; few reach above 5,000 feet. The mountains to the north provide a more fertile environment; their surfaces are lined with farmland while their interiors are honeycombed with tunnels. The mountains to the south are often considered wild and savage, but are still home to many tribes.

II. Forests

The Darkwood Forest comprises the eastern half of Shesser territory. Darkwood trees are actually quite rare here, but still occur with greater frequency than anywhere else in the known world. Most of the trees are tall, broad, and ancient; communities in this area often consist of networks of tree-houses, since it is rare for the sun to penetrate the canopy.

The Shia'then is the forest sandwiched between the Darkwood Forest and the feet of the Grey Mountains. This forest is of younger, sparser growth than its eastern counterpart. It is also much hillier; the Darkwood Forest is as flat as the eastern plains.

B. The Tribes
Most of the surviving tribes of the Vanguard have consolidated into four major groups.
(All linguistic information has been codified into Appendix D: Languages.)

The Dilgar (DILL-ghar) inhabit the mountainous region that stretches from the northwest corner of the Island to the western edge of the Darkwood Forest. Though historically among the poorer tribes, the development of effective mining techniques (ushered in by the arrival of dwarves within the Vanguard) has led to an economic boom, with many members turning from hunting and gathering among the mountains to mining and metalworking. Still, most Dilgar remain hunters and gatherers, subsisting off the plentiful game to be found in the mountain regions. Physically, the Dilgar tend to be shorter and slimmer, with a tendency towards blonde hair and beardlessness. Dilgar is one of the smaller tribes, but members of the Dilgar have also built one of the three "cities" on the Island, known as Traenor, to the northwest.

Characters raised among the Dilgar receive a +2 to all Climb checks, representing their upbringing among the harsh and treacherous terrain.

The Verite (VEH-ree-tay) live along the coastal regions to the southwest, up to the mountains. Most people of this tribe make their living either fishing off the shore or farming the fertile soil to the east. The development of trade has affected this tribe the most of any, with the increased commerce sufficient to cause many small coastal villages to the south to band together to form Hagley Town, the second of the Vanguard "cities". Second to the Shesser, the Verite are the people who practice the most magic, much of it deriving from worship of the more aquatic aspects of Ehlonna, the goddess of nature. About half of the Vanguard's gnomish population resides in Verite. As the Verite were not very directly affected by the war, they remain the most prosperous of the tribes after its conclusion. Physically, the Verite tend to be tall and slim, with darker hair colors and blue or green eyes.

Characters raised among the Verite receive a +2 to all Swim checks, reflecting the tribe's affinity for the water. Even those raised inland have had much experience in the streams and lakes scattered about the countryside.

The Shesser (SHESS-ur) inhabit the Darkwood forest, and the hills directly to the west. The Shesser are the most isolationist of all the tribes; they have not forgotten how they bore the brunt of the War of the Mule, and were generally the most resistant to the formation of the Vanguard. Despite their reclusive nature, however, the Shesser provided the meeting place for the Vanguard, located in an ancient sacred grove deep in the heart of the forest. The Shesser are also the most overtly magical of the tribes; many powerful Vanguard druids, sorcerers, and warlocks hail from this tribe. The Shesser, unsurprisingly, have a greater proportion of elves than any other Vanguard tribe. They subsist primarily off of the plentiful bounty provided by the lush forest, both flora and fauna. First and foremost among their goals is the preservation of the natural order. The Shesser tend to be physically imposing, resembling the aspects of the beasts that inhabit their forests.

Characters raised among the Shesser gain a +2 to all Handle Animal checks, indicating their tribal affinity with nature's creatures.

The Dene (DAY-nay) reside in the Eastern lowlands, in all the land to the east of the Darkwood Forest. Most Dene are farmers, with a few fishermen and hunters scattered to the west and east, respectively. Their agricultural nature provided them with enough of a static base to build the third of the Vanguard cities, which they called Balder. Culturally, the Dene are among the more community-oriented tribes; thus, they are among the most active in the Vanguard. The Dene were among the most technologically advanced of the tribes, but the war has been a devastating setback. Physically, the Dene tend to be shorter and stockier, with full beards.

Characters raised among the Dene gain a +2 to all Gather Information checks, representing their sociable natures.

The Vagabonds are a tribe with no specific homeland. They are not exactly nomadic, either; rather, individual communities of Vagabonds tend to spontaneously congregate all over the Island, live there for a year, a decade, or a century, and move on. They make their living however they can, often living off the land or side-by-side with other tribes. Many are traders of some sort, as fitting with their ability to transcend tribal borders. Many of the Vagabonds are also gifted with magical abilities, often stemming from Fharlanghan, the god of roads. The Vagabonds are also the most likely to have visited the Kromian Empire, in accordance with their wanderlust natures and desire to see all to be seen. Physically, the Vagabonds are the most diverse of any tribes, since the members of the Vagabonds come from every reach of the Island.

Characters raised among the Vagabonds gain a +2 to all Survival checks, representing their ability to live anywhere under any circumstances.

VI. Physical Geography of the Mainland

A. Forests
There are three main forests on the mainland, though all have shrunk to varying degrees from their historical sizes.
Shady Grove is northwest of Kroma, along the banks of the River Widely. A shadow of its former grandeur, this forest has undergone the debilitating effects of heavy logging. Most of the elves here have moved on.
Kraeger's Wood is north of Braxis. Mostly deciduous, this temperate forest contains some of the oldest trees on the continent, and forms a natural barrier along with the Mangroves and the Braxian Foothills.
The Forest of Otherworldly Light is more accurately a tropical rainforest. Little is known about its interior; few Kromians have ever set foot in it and returned to tell the tale. Still less is known about the mountainous peninsula that extends from its southeastern corner into the ocean.

B. Mountains/Hills
The Kromian Foothills are gentle, rolling grasslands, with excellent fertile soil for farming. They form the natural border between Canton Kroma and Canton Braxis.
The Braxian Foothills are to the northeast of Braxis and form the eastern extent of Canton Braxis. Many hills to the south are rich in mineral deposits.
The Thracian Foothills are to the northeast of Thrace, and are heavily mined by both humans and dwarves.
The Dwarven Lands are relatively unknown to humans; dwarves feel free to traverse human lands, but the reverse is not true. Presumedly rich in natural resources.
The Lightfoot Hills form half of the southern border of Canton Thrace. They are elven territory, and are rarely traveled.

C. Lakes
Crater Lake is in the southeast corner of Canton Kroma. Nestled among the Kromian Foothills, the "banks" of Crater Lake are in fact steep, rocky slopes, unusual in an otherwise grassy, loamy region. Because of this, its waters are difficult to access directly, but drinking directly from the lake is said to bring good fortune and health. It feeds both the River Widely and the River Quickly. Legends speak of the lake being formed when a star fell to the Gaiaverse.

Lake Malda, on the eastern ridge of the Braxian Foothills, is shallow, and its size varies dramatically depending on the season. It is the home of the infamous Braxian Razorfish, which are a delicacy across the Empire but are not so much fished for as they are hunted, as a dangerous beast is hunted. The western shores are marshy and hazardous; the eastern shores are a barren wasteland.

The Infundibulum is lodged in the Lightfoot Hills, to the south of Canton Thrace. As the wild elves of the Forest of Otherworldly Light consider it to be their territory, little is known about this area, other than its brief term as the "high-water mark" of Canton Thrace to the south.

D. Rivers
The River Widely is an artery for trade and agriculture in Canton Kroma. It is the source of extensive irrigation systems that criss-cross the eastern flood plains, and vehicles from rafts to clipper ships sail up and down its languorous current. Its name stems from its breadth; despite the technological prowess of the Kromian empire, it has only been bridged in a single location southeast of Kroma.

The River Quickly is narrower and faster-flowing than the River Widely. Long stretches run across the bottom of steep, rocky gorges. Trade is possible, and carried out on a daily basis, but it is substantially more dangerous for larger vessels. It remains a vital source of sustenance for the cities of Praetoria and Bowman's Ferry; gnomes residing in the latter have profited from the ferry trade for centuries.

The Rio Malda is shallow and frequently stagnant during the summer months. Little more is known; it forms the western boundary of the hostile Badlands.

The Rio Infundibula runs along the northern border of the Forest of Otherworldly Light. Sometimes shallow and rapid, often deep and wide, it is fiercely defended by the elves. Few have crossed it and lived to tell the tale.

E. Deserts

The Badlands is an infamous region east of Canton Braxis and south of Canton Thrace. Its dangers are far beyond the obvious ones posed by the environment; the entire area is infested with all manner of vicious, wild, savage beasts, ranging from bulettes to blue dragons. Rumors of an underground kingdom of Formians were partially substantiated by the famed adventuring party, Krogoth's Crusaders, whose explorations and maps of the region made in 43 NKC remain the most thorough and complete in existence, despite their self-professed flaws.
	Krogoth's Crusaders originally ventured into the Badlands to explore what divinations had revealed to be emanations of negative energy coming from some sort of physical object located deep within the desert. Corroborating this intelligence with ancient Elven legends concerning an oasis in the Badlands called the Well of All Souls, they set out in search of this well. Their first three expeditions were unsuccessful in finding the Well, though they did yield colossal amounts of data concerning the Badlands itself. From their fourth and final expedition, none ever returned. None have followed up on their disappearance since.

F. Swamps

The Mangroves are a collection of marshlands to the north of Saltwater in Canton Braxis. Formerly a lawless, dangerous land that served as the home to all manner of pirates, thieves, and whores, a dedicated campaign that began around the turn of the century has all but done away with the seedier elements of the Southern Mangroves, to make the region safe for fishing and peat harvesting, two of Saltwater's major industries.
	The Northern Mangroves are still inhabited primarily by lizardfolk, who are mostly peaceful and keep to themselves, but are viewed with suspicion by most of the Kromian empire. With the lumber in the Mangroves becoming more valuable by the day, it is possible that they will soon be the subjects of a major relocation effort.

G. Coasts
	Not all coastal lands are created equal. As far south as the Mangroves, the western coast of the Kromian Empire is rocky and steep, the continental shelf unsuitable to shipping. There is not a single inhabitable natural harbor from Pergammon to Saltwater. The northern coast has many sandy beaches and fishing villages, as does much of the land along the coast east of Braxis. The city of Braxis itself has a phenomenal natural saltwater harbor, invaluable for mercantile and naval purposes.

H. The Ocean
	The existence of other landmasses, other than those already known, beyond the ocean has not been substantiated.

VII. Cities
A. Vanguard

Traenor is the largest city within Dilgar territory, but the smallest city deserving of the name on the island. Traenor exploits a somewhat unique geographical phenomenon; here, the mountains run practically all the way to the coast. Thus, half of Traenor is built along the narrow strip of flat land that runs directly along the coast; the other half is underground, tunneled directly into the rock of Mont Blanc. The city is a center of commerce for trade along both the western and northern coasts, and is the hub of all mining in Dilgar territory. After the war and the sacking of Balder, Traenor became the capitol of the Vanguard, but the title is mostly honorific, since most of the important work of the Vanguard is done within Shesser territory.

Hagley Town is the largest remaining city within the Vanguard, with a population of seventy-five thousand. It is a bustling center of commerce of all kinds, as wares are floated up- and down-river from all over the territory of the Verite. Its wealth has bred culture, a matter on which the Verite pride themselves, and indeed, the sweeping, grandiose architecture of the city is unique among the Vanguard. However, the city has undergone something of a recession within the past decade, as displaced war refugees flooded towards it and the outlying area, looking for work or a place to settle down into a new home. The Verite are not particularly suspicious of the other tribes, but the influx of refugees has heightened tensions in the area, spurring the formation of some unusually xenophobic policies.

Balder is a smoldering ruin.

B. Kromian

Kroma is a jewel of civilization for all of the western world. Renowned as a center of culture, art, science, magic, and trade, it is the capitol of the entire Kromian Empire.
	Kroma's central location makes it an essential trading hub for the entire continent. At the base of the Kromian Foothills and astride the River Widely, it is often said that "All roads lead to Kroma", and as far as major highways are concerned, this is literally true. With the combination of its trading prowess and access to natural resources (ores from the hills, fertile farmland in every direction), Kroma is fabulously wealthy, and it shows. Minarets soar hundreds of feet into the sky, the roads are clean and well-kept, and private citizens occupy opulent homes.
	Kroma is also home to the finest arcane academies and casters on the continent. Drawn by wealth, many served originally as patrons to wealthy families and statesmen, then went into private practice. The use of arcane magic in general is commonplace.
	Kroma's ports along the River Widely are always heavily trafficked, and the dockside area is one of the most heavily policed, since it houses much of the city's resident lowlife population. Visitors are advised not to wander into it alone and unarmed, since the primary purpose of the police presence is to make sure none of the violence and squalor spill out into the wealthier parts of town.
	Kroma's other major function is as the main seat of government for the Empire; the nature of this government will be explored thoroughly later on in this docket.

Ayer's Rock is a small town near the rocky western coast of Canton Kroma, named after the steep, jagged cliffs of basalt that separate the city from the ocean. While the town was once sustained primarily by mining operations, the nearby veins have long since run dry. Far removed from the normal trading routes and lacking a good harbor, or for that matter, any access to the sea whatsoever, it was in danger of becoming a ghost town, until wealthy Kromians began to recognize its natural beauty. It now serves as a popular residence for both retired Kromians and the second homes of the wealthy. Additionally, a substantial industry based around arcane magic, both the training of young wizards and the creation of items for sale, has sprung up due to the high concentration of wealthy, retired wizards bored and looking for work; in this respect, Ayer's Rock is second only to Kroma itself.

Pergammon has Canton Kroma's only harbor, and is thus an essential hub of commerce and trade for the empire. Situated on the delta of the River Widely, traffic both along the river and the highway is heavy year-round, especially during the summer and fall. Income correlates directly to elevation; the seediest residential areas are close to the docks, which have quite a reputation. For the most part, only those with a direct business connection to the docks actually live here, as there are extensive facilities (taverns, inns, brothels) for visiting sailors. Despite the shadiness, Pergammon is a relatively safe place to live; gambling and prostitution are regulated by the Canton, and a complex "honor code" method of resolving violent conflicts has evolved out of necessity.

Bowman's Ferry is a large town that nearly crosses the border into Thrace. Situated on an important crossroads between the northern shores, Canton Thrace to the east, and Kroma to the west, the eponymous ferry made a local gnomish clan fabulously wealthy. Gnomes are still a substantial portion of the population here, in addition to the westernmost official enclave of dwarves anywhere in the Kromian empire. The same gnomish clan has made enormous strides in harvesting the hydrodynamic power of the River Quickly in order to grind grains into flour, and Bowman's Ferry remains an agricultural hub in the region. However, this gnomish clan was run out of town in disgrace when a bridge of their design spanning the River Quickly failed spectacularly, leading to hundreds of deaths and losses equivalent to tens of thousands of gold.

B. Braxian

Saltwater is a port of vital strategic importance to the Empire, housing much of the naval might left over from the War. Downtown is primarily industrial, serving both the shipping and logging businesses. However, a great many citizens, known affectionately to the rest of Saltwater as the "mudders", have constructed elaborate stilted homes in the Mangroves to the north. Unsurprisingly, many of the mudders are gnomish; more surprisingly, most of them are willing to live side-by-side with the lizardfolk of the Northern Mangroves. Few others live in Saltwater by choice; the low elevation and proximity to marshland make the climate hot and muggy, even for the South. One notable exception is the sizable military garrison, consisting of a mixture of naval support personnel and troops who never made it to Vanguard.

Grovers Corners is a small town on the southern outskirts of Kraeger's Wood. While the town is sustained economically by both the logging industry and its favorable trading position, it is also a nexus of arcane magic in Canton Braxis and the entire empire, as wizards from as far as Thrace come to practice their wizardry with their elven counterparts. Grovers Corners is also notable in that it is one of the few places in the Kromian empire where humans are only a plurality, rather than a majority; in addition to a large gnomish and small (but growing) elven population, half-elves make up a full quarter of the population.

Braxis is another important port city, in addition to being the capitol of Canton Braxis. The city was founded on the strength of the fishing industry, since the warm weather and shallow waters to the southeast and southwest create very favorable conditions, though the industry has foundered in the postwar years due to overfishing. Braxis is a city with a proud military tradition, and many recruits for the Kromian army train here. It is the main port for the Kromian navy, as well. However, due to these factors, along with its large size, Braxis has attracted many disgruntled former soldiers, who contribute to the city's unemployment and unrest. For many of these people, the war never ended; either they never saw Vanguard shores, or were shipped back before the retreat.

C. Thracian

Praetoria grew from a small fishing village into a major port city, and shares with Pergammon the burden of supplying the New Kroma colony. Much of the agricultural surplus of the high-yield fields to the south is shipped north through here. The milling technology harvested so effectively in Bowman's Ferry is slowly gaining a foothold here, thanks mostly to industrial espionage on behalf of rival gnome clans and corporations. Praetoria is in the midst of a minor economic depression in light of the lack of timber to support its shipbuilding industry in the postwar years. This is compounded by the fact that a significant portion of its labor pool has emigrated either west to Canton Kroma or north to New Kroma.

Thrace, the Gem of the East, is coincidentally the major supplier of gems in the east, and indeed throughout the entire Kromian Empire. The seat of Canton Thrace was founded on the mining industry, and much of the Thracian Foothills to the northeast have been stripped bare in the pursuit of iron, coal, silver, gold, and gems. Many sections of Thrace are entirely underground, and it is rumored that the entire city was built on Dwarven ruins, though both Thracian humans and dwarves deny this. Next to Grovers Corners in Canton Braxis, Thrace has one of the highest concentrations of demihumans anywhere in the Kromian Empire. There are large communities of gnomes, as well as many elves who have been exiled from the Forest of Otherworldly Light to the south. Few dwarves actually live among the humans, but commerce and other forms of interaction are commonplace.

Kraegersport, in the popular conception of the people of the Kromian Empire, one of the most desolate places on the entire continent. Geographically isolated, physically austere, it's easy to see how one might come to this conclusion. However, Kraegersport is, in addition to being an essential eastern harbor, is a hub of technology in Canton Thrace. Besides the plethora of independent private inventors (many of them gnomish), the Kromian Empire finances many firms to carry out its military research and development. These factors have led to a high standard of living and an overall general wealth that manifests itself in luxurious lifestyles for the Kraegersportians.

The Ruins of Malda have a long, storied, and poorly understood history. The city was founded circa 11 NKC. Unlike most of the cities in the Kromian Empire, which grew organically from collations of villages in a given geographic area, Malda was a deliberate, pointed attempt to found a city from the ground up. Most important within the context of the time was that it was  a multilateral effort, the first of what would hopefully be many expansions by the newly formed Kromian Empire. Five thousand citizens from every part of the Empire settled on the shores of Lake Malda and began irrigating the arid soil to the east.
	What happened next remains a mystery. Communications with Malda from Bowmen's Ferry and Thrace had been regular, but around mid-May, 16 NKC, all connections with the outside world suddenly ceased. Malda was not very far from central regions in Cantons Thrace and Kroma, so an expeditionary party was quickly dispatched. Approaching the city, the party (known as the Five Swell Guys) were astonished at the sight that met their eyes. Malda was abandoned, completely and utterly. No traces of habitation remained; indeed, had the Five Swell Guys not known that caravans had been going to and from the city less than a month previous, it would have seemed as though it had been abandoned for centuries.
	The situation became dire when the Five Swell Guys decided to strike eastward, towards the Forest of Otherworldly Light, to obtain any evidence of what had happened to an entire city that vanished without a trace. That night, a band of wild elves confronted the Five Swell Guys and demanded that they return to the lands of the Kromian Empire immediately. The humans, outnumbered and outgunned, complied, reporting their findings to a stunned Kromian government.
	Immediately, blame was leveled at the elves, tempered somewhat through the established diplomatic channels, but fueled by the memories of the Time of Troubles fresh in the minds of many a Kromian. The finger-pointing proved fruitless; the elves denied any knowledge of what had occurred, and the Kromians couldn't risk another armed confrontation. Beleaguered, the government decided to let bygones be bygones, and wrote off the entire investment as a loss, to the fury of many vocal political opponents.
	Rumors of the Ruins of Malda providing a home for necromancy and the undead have done little to bolster the area's reputation. The Ruins themselves still stand, unchanged from the day in 16 NKC when they were discovered by the Five Swell Guys.

VIII. Politics
	The five Vanguard tribes are bound more by cultural and societal ties than political ones. Government within the tribes exists solely on a community basis; there is no president of the Dene, or King of the Shesser. After the Second War, the Valkyrie found this to be the greatest stumbling block in her attempts to create the Vanguard; how could she unify the tribes if the tribes were not even unified amongst themselves?
	The Valkyrie took advantage of the temporary unity induced by the Kromian-Vanguard War, and in doing so, unwittingly (or perhaps completely wittingly) changed the structure of the tribes, enhancing tribal unity to an unprecedented degree. The Valkyrie recognized that no tribe is an island, and brought them together, for better or worse.
	The basic structure of the Vanguard is a ruling council (the Dísir) consisting of three members from each of the five major tribes. This council maintains jurisdiction over all inter-tribal conflicts, defined as any conflict where the people involved cannot agree on the tribe to which it belongs. Additionally, the Vanguard has powers and responsibilities elucidated below.
	Each tribe has its own method for choosing which of its members are to become Dísir. The Dene have a single representative from each individual tribe that convene in council once per year and determine which among their number to send by consensus. The Shesser send all potentials to a sacred glade deep within the Darkwood forest; the nature of the selection ritual is unknown, as none of those who return maintain any memory of it. The Dilgar tend to select their number by way of non-lethal single combats. The Verite choose by a consular method similar to that of the Dene, only using democratic majority rather than consensus. The Vagabonds, during their annual Gathering, convene the Elders, who choose their representatives based on mystic visions.
	The end result is the selection of fifteen Dísir that form the Vanguard. In addition to the aforementioned judicial responsibilities, each of the following roles are assigned to one of the Dísir, chosen by consensus among the members:
The Valkyrie is the commander of the Valkyr, the only standing armed forces controlled directly by the government. Generally supplemented by local forces, the Valkyr enforce the rulings of the Vanguard when necessary. During the Kromian-Vanguard War, the Valkyr formed the starting point of the regular Vanguard army.

The Midgar, colloquially known as the Gnome, controls the financial resources of the Vanguard. The Vanguard only has control over commerce when it is the basis of inter-tribal conflict; as such, it does not have the power to levy or collect taxes. Thus, any money spent by the Vanguard is either solicited directly from the tribes, or drawn from the personal fortunes of the Dísir. The overhead of the Vanguard is minimal, however; the Dísir, occupying positions of great honor, are welcomed by all the tribes, and the Valkyr serve out of loyalty. (Indeed, this is one of the selection criteria.)

The Judge is the closest thing the Vanguard has to a leader or chairman, in that they decide how the judgements of the Vanguard are carried out. They also control the logistical concerns of the Vanguard, and have the power to call emergency meetings at will.

	Judgements are meted out by simple majority; deliberation is carried out for no longer than three days, though the Judge can prolong this if he deems it necessary.
	The word of the Vanguard is accepted as law, when applicable, but the Vanguard has jurisdiction in such limited circumstances that its power is quite restricted. The authority of the Vanguard was only accepted by the tribes under this condition, and while the temporary nationalist tendencies brought on by the war changed matters in the short term, the station of the Vanguard is gradually reverting to normal. 

Appendix A: House Rules
These are not absolutes, but rather suggestions. Feel free to contest their fairness.

1. When wielding a weapon two-handed and Power Attack-ing, the damage dealt increases by 1 for every 1 decrease in the attack bonus.

2. Druids must use the Shapeshifting variant from the PHB II. Natural Spell is banned.

3. Monks have a BAB equal to their Monk levels.

4. Attempting to disbelieve an illusion is a full-round action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

5. Paladins cannot multiclass. They can still take prestige classes.

6. Experience for an encounter is received upon the first subsequent full night's rest.

7. The nature of magical items will be withheld (barring identification) until it becomes tedious for the DM to do so.

8. No evil characters.

9. All die rolls will be "called as they lie", regardless of where they end up, unless the DM determines the die to be "on edge" and allows a reroll.

10. All characters, in addition to the skill points gained from their class, receive an additional 4 skill points to be allocated at character generation. All skills are class skills for the purpose of these skill points, but no more than 2 ranks may be purchased in a single skill. The player must come up with a justification within the background of the character as to why he has these skills.

11. Attributes will be generated by rolling 4d6, dropping the lowest, and arranging as desired, or via 28 point buy. Reroll is allowed at DM discretion, or if the total attribute modifier is less than +4.

12. Classes allowed:
All Core classes, Favored Soul, Hexblade, Ninja, Scout, Spellthief, Spirit Shaman, Swashbuckler, Warlock, Warmage, Factotum, Beguiler, Dragon Shaman, Duskblade, Knight, Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade
Races allowed: All Core races. 

13. Any other base classes are subject to DM approval, with the exception of psionic classes or any class that makes use of psionic abilities, which are not allowed.
Other races subject to DM approval, but if it has a LA >+2, you're probably wasting your time, since most of my campaigns start at Level 1-3.

14. Whoever provides snacks for the group gets a 10% XP bonus for the night.

15. If you touch somebody else's dice, the owner is not held responsible for whatever retributive actions he may take.

16. Bull Rushing somebody into a solid object that cannot be pushed back deals up to 1d4 damage per 5 feet of movement, plus your Strength modifier.

17. Rich Burlew's modified Diplomacy rules, explained at giantitp.com, are in effect. The changes are substantial, and familiarity with the rule is essential for any diplomacy-focused character.

Appendix B: Character Suggestions

These are the recommended classes for the Vanguard campaign. These classes are the ones one would expect to encounter in the Vangaurd. This is not to say that they are the only ones that exist, but rather that classes other than these might require some sort of back-story justification.

Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Hexblade, Scout, Spirit Shaman, Warlock, Factotum, Beguiler, Dragon Shaman, Duskblade, Swordsage, Warblade

Appendix C: Timekeeping

The current year by the Vanguard calendar is AR 1202. The AR stands for "After the Rising", which refers to the year in which, by legend, the Island rose out of the ocean. Each month in the Vanguard calendar is 28 days, exactly one lunar cycle. Each year is 13 months, making the year exactly 364 days. The months are the ones we are familiar with, but between December and January is added the month of Morsugur. Names of the week and times of day are unchanged.

Appendix D: Language

In this setting, I  tried to strike a balance between verisimilitude and gameplay. Thus, while it makes perfect sense that each tribe would be linguistically isolated, and even the smaller tribes within each tribe would have radically variable dialects, I am constructing this world based on the assumption that there has been sufficient cultural assimilation (via the Vanguard) among the tribes that there are strong linguistic connections, outlined below. Each tribe has its own language, and their connections are defined as either Idiomatic (like talking to a British person, some words are different and there's a substantial accent), Related (like talking to a non-native speaker or someone with a very heavy accent), Divergent (like talking to someone speaking Elizabethian English), or Foreign (like someone speaking Spanish; some words are the same, but it's effectively a foreign language).

		Dilgar		Veritas	Shessian	Dene		Vagabond

Dilgar		-		Related	Idiomatic	Divergent	Related

Veritas	Related		-	Divergent	Foreign		Related

Shessian	Idiomatic	Divergent	-	Idiomatic	Related

Dene		Divergent	Foreign	Idiomatic	-		Related

Vagabond	Related		Related	Related		Related		-

Appendix E: On the Usage of "Vanguard"

In this campaign setting, the word "Vanguard" is used to refer to many different things: the island, the tribes, the ruling council. This occurs with other terms; "Valkyrie" refers to either the original Valkyrie or a member of the Valkyr, "The Mule" refers to either incarnation of the Mule. This is intentional, and is my attempt to represent a history maintained mostly by the oral tradition. Think of it as the opposite of the phenomenon that leads the Inuits to have dozens of words for "snow"; when the people of the Vanguard try to put words to something they don't understand very well, such as nationalism, they over-generalize, to the point of ambiguity.