Humans

Humans inhabit the flourishing Kingdom of Cathalon. Their capital city, named after the kingdom, lies at the heart of Cathalon. The Great War of the Gods seems to have had a decimating effect on the power of the Dwarves and Elves, since their influence is on the wane - in strong contrast to the Humans, a race which is well on the way to becoming established as the most powerful in the known world. Not that the Humans had it any easier than the others after the Great War - even after nigh-on a thousand years of comparative peace, they’re still not living in the lap of luxury... but in comparison to the greatly weakened Kingdom of the Dwarves and the lands to which the Elves and the Serpents retreated, Cathalon is a prosperous and up-and-coming Kingdom. The Great War of the Gods also affected the borders between the races’ territories. Before the carnage, humans had lived in the area around the town of Oswaroth, to the east of Cathalon, but the war razed their settlements to the ground - now what was once home to many humans is totally uninhabitable. Even today, sluggish poisonous vapors lie over the surface of the barren landscape, making approach impossible. The only creatures that seem to have developed any kind of immunity to these gases are monsters - and there are hordes of them in and around Oswaroth. The young and vibrant royal city of Cathalon is centrally located on the banks of the river Gon. A junction for trade routes and waterways, the King of Cathalon’s seat of residence is a busy and impressive town. One of the reasons for Cathalon’s recent strong emergence is its strict military organization. Individual towns in the kingdom retain their autonomy and have their own Town Guard. The taxes these towns pay to Cathalon aren’t all that high, but still enough to cause occasional protests. In emergencies, the Royal Guard protects the satellite towns. On the one hand, the Guard is seen as welcome reinforcements against enemies, but the Royal Guard and tension among the citizens seem to go hand-in-hand in the satellite town where the Guard is temporarily stationed. However, the proud and energetic citizens of Cathalon can be satisfied with the relatively rapid development of their kingdom, but there is one nameless threat in their lives… the faceless Taint, which seems to be approaching Cathalon from the east. It’s said to be omnipresent in Antaloor and getting stronger by the minute. The Taint and the increasing strength of the barbarian tribes and the Orcs make life increasingly difficult, not just for the inhabitants of Cathalon, but for humans throughout Antaloor. More and more refugees from the countryside are fleeing to the towns for protection and the trading routes are no longer safe – the only ones who aren’t complaining are the mercenaries and the bounty hunters – they have plenty of work to do. It would appear that Cathalon is about to experience one of the darkest periods of its relatively young history.

The Dwarves

The race of Dwarves once boasted greater numbers in Antaloor than any other race, but the Great War of the Gods cost them dearly - they now have only a shadow of the power they once possessed. The Dwarves are concentrated in and around the well-hidden mountain town of Yarmalin, in their northern territory. There in Antaloor’s far north, the rugged mountains hinder any other race from accessing their new domain - but the former dwarf stronghold of Tharbakin is now in human hands. You’ll occasionally come across dwarves in the foreland around the mountains. No one knows much of events in Yarmalin. Information seldom leaks out of the town. Rumor has it that the Great War of the Gods struck a terrible blow to the heart of the dwarf nation. The disciplined ways of the dwarf culture mirrored the eternal and unchanging rules of the divine Olympus, the home of the Gods. The god Aziraal’s struggle for power and the chaos that followed thrust the dwarves into total confusion – aye, they did fight side by side with the other civilized races and they did play their part in a victory against Aziraal which at the outset seemed almost impossible to achieve - but the story going the rounds is that the dwarves’ witnessed the huge effort it cost their other gods to defeat Aziraal and restore a semblance of balance to the world - and this shook the very foundations of their beliefs in the power of their gods. This warlike race of the high northern mountains was once extremely disciplined, with a strong structure of command – but nowadays the clans fight amongst themselves and the atmosphere is one of mistrust. However, don’t ever make the mistake of underestimating them! Continuous internal skirmishing has ensured that the fighting power of the dwarves remains dynamic and hard-hitting.

The Serpents

The Serpent race lives on a peninsula to the southwest of Cathalon. These snakelike beings are mistrusted by all the other races – and this feeling was never quite laid to rest, even during the Great War, when the Serpents actually fought the same foe as the Elves, the Dwarves and the Humans. However, they could never bring themselves to form an alliance with these other races and that’s why they fought their own battles against the Orcs and Aziraal. The Serpents weren’t completely to blame for this though... it was the Elves who weren’t prepared to even contemplate an alliance with the Serpents - simply because they hated them. A large part of the Serpents’ former territory was lost to the ocean during the devastating war. Today, Ashos is the Serpents’ most important town. It lies on the peninsula in the river Gon delta and is rumored to have secret connections to the sunken Serpent lands. In the Temple District of Ashos, the Serpents mainly worship Yatholen, the god of water and storms. Ashos is a bustling port, with both sea and river harbors. This makes it an important trading center for merchandise of all kinds. The Serpents themselves are only to be found in the tightly-guarded Temple District. The Temple Guard is extremely mistrustful, guarding the temple entrance with increased vigilance in these troubled times.

The Orcs

This proud warrior race probably suffered more from the effects of the Great War than any of the other races. The banishment of the rebel god Aziraal by the other gods not only deprived them of their warlord - they also lost faith in their own fighting abilities and the Orcs were almost entirely wiped out. Scattered in defeat, remnants gathered in the territory around the town of GorGammar, in Antaloor’s far south. It was there that the Orc culture sank into utter darkness over the course of centuries. Split into small clans, which had no time for alliances because of internal feuds and power struggles, the race of Orcs seemed doomed to die a gradual death. They had no political structures and no diplomatic relations with other races. The few attacks which scattered bands of Orcs carried out on other areas weren’t really a threat for the individual victims’ races as a whole - and statements like “Who cares if these Orcs are wiped off all the maps of Antaloor?” could be heard all over the land. The other races were too caught up in their own lives - and Orc clans couldn’t become the threat they once were if permanently at war with one another… so why bother? This attitude may soon prove to be terribly wrong. Centuries of clan battles in the swamps have hardened the battle morale of the Orcs. The old values like courage and determination have returned. In its fanaticism, the warlike cruelty and determination of these warriors is on a par with their boundless adoration and worship of Aziraal. The more observant among the other races are already proclaiming that the age of peace is finally over, but the majority still chooses to ignore these warnings for one reason or another… they cannot ignore that Orc attacks are becoming bolder - in Cathalon’s vast interior, there are even rumors of Orc commandos harassing the Royal Guard...

The Groms


These wild barbarian tribes are a threat to the life of travelers throughout Antaloor. As fighters, the Groms can’t compare to the warlike Orcs, but many who made the mistake of underestimating them are now in the spirit world. The tribes live in huts and are very well organized. They are led by shamans, several of whom can be found in each tribe.

The Elves

The Elves aren’t too popular with the other races - they’re thought of as being blatantly arrogant. Nevertheless the other races do respect them, albeit grudgingly. Even the Orcs admire the Elves’ bold and fearless battle tactics (and that’s saying something!). There is one race which has no time for the Elves, however… the Serpents. It’s said that they truly despise the dwarves – and that the feeling is mutual. After the Great War of the Gods, the Elves populated the offshore islands to the northwest of Cathalon - and since then, have taken nothing to do with mainland affairs. Thanks to this reclusiveness, not much is known about what the Elves have been doing in the last few centuries - rumors do abound however - and the most popular is that they are only concerned with their own deeds, vainly erecting one monument after another to their heroic actions during the Great War of the Gods. If you happen to meet an elf or two on the mainland, they are probably employed as mercenaries or are on some secret mission of their own.