Ad Astra Per Arcana
Pharagos is an unremarkable Prime world, a far cry from the hotebed of magical activity and divine intervention seen in Greyspace and Realmsapce. It holds only three major land masses, each one dominated by a different intelligent race.
Humans are the undisputed masters of Acclasia, the largest of the three continents. Their empire, known as the Radiant Kingdom, has absorbed several smaller kingdoms of humans, elves, and gnomes, and owns holding s on the other two continents as well. The Radiant Kingdom is a theocracy, but the humans of Pharagos know nothing of the Powers, instead revering a mystic source of energy that powers their divine magic and, they believe, gives life to all things. It is called simply, The Light.
The continent of Yavvan is only slightly smaller than Acclasia, but it’s Ringing Mountains surround a vast arid region called The Wasting desert, making most of it’s land uninhabitable. Sixteen dwarven kingdoms divide the available land, sustained by the rich mineral resources of the Ringing Mountains. They make periodic forays into the Wasting Desert, where they have discovered a number of ancient ruins half-buried beneath the eternally blowing sands, apparently left behind by some long vanished human culture. Orcs also dwell in the Ringing Mountains, their relationship with the dwarves tense but rarely violent. The orcs actively trade with the small outpost of the Radiant Kingdom on the southernmost shore of Yavvan, and half orcs are plentiful there.
The smallest continent, Hoquan, is home to the smallest folk, the halflings. Criss-crossed by rivers, Hoquan is a marshy land dominated in the east by a large swamp called the Undying Green. The halflings of Hoquan pole rafts and barges along the the rivers and into the swamps., competing with the lizardfolk for resources. The halflings have a complex network of loyalties and power, with chieftans owing allegiance to each other in no clear hierarchy. The Undying Green is home to both dangerous plant creatures and undead, and it is said that any creature that dies in it’s waters will arise as a zombie, or worse, within the next new moon. The Radiant Kingdom holds a small peninsula on the relatively dry west coast.
The continents lie close together in one hemisphere of Pharagos, surrounded by a vast and largely unexplored World Sea. If oceanic islands lie father from the main bodies of land than a few days travel. none of the natives of Pharagos are aware of them. The Radiant Kingdom, of all Pharagos’ nations, has shown the most interest in exploration and conquest, but has so far discovered nothing beyond it’s immediate reach.