The Geography of Lani – Season 1

GAME MASTER’S NOTE: This content is intended for use in “Corruption of Lani”, the first season of the Lani campaign. This adventure will take players from levels 1 through 6.

Lani is an enormous island locked in by wide oceans in all directions. The town of Pua sits on the eastern shore, catching the morning’s first rays in the great Tower of Lighting. Though not the largest city, it is one of the oldest ones in Lani.

There are several other villages and towns spread across Lani, and the center of the island features tall mountain ranges that are the native ancestral lands of several races such as the dwarves, the orcs, the goblins, kobolds, and other folk that are happy within the darker mines and caves.

The Elves of the North

In the north of Lani lie the towns and cities of the elves, though over time many other folk have settled there. Rich in forests and fields, these are some of the most beautiful parts of Lani.

Eldravire

Eldravire, meaning the “Ancient Guardian” or “Ancient Watcher”, is one of the oldest, and largest, elven cities in Lani. Ruins in the nearby forest indicate that the elves may once have had a more wild and natural home, but their society over the millennia has evolved to highly focus on the studies of the world, sciences, and magic.

Though primarily inhabited by the high elves, other races have also started calling this place home over the centuries and there are small neighbourhoods where other folks have set up shops and homes.

The High Elves of Eldravire hold some of the most ancient knowledges in their people’s oral histories, but strangely very little of the ancient stories have been translated down into writing. Perhaps due to their long lives and cultural focuses this may not have been as necessary as it was for the shorter-lived races.

The Spine Mountains

Situated to the center of Lani and spreading north and north west, the Spine Mountains are the tallest and most treacherous of the mountain ranges in Lani. The name comes from an ancient creation myth that the mountain range was formed from the spine of an ancient dragon ancestor that once stalked the lands. The myth says that the world of Lani was formed on the back of enormous dragon gods who had fought each other and perished, their strikes forming the rivers and fields and mountains.

Nidavellir

In modern day, the Spine Mountains are known as a common home for the mountain dwarves of Lani, who call their great underground city Nidavellir. Many of the strongest materials are mined from these mountains, and regular caravans descend from the mountains to the towns. As typical to many dwarven settlements, there is also a great forge where many dwarves learn to craft a variety of weapons, armor, and other items which can be used for trade with other towns.

While dwarves do live throughout the land now, this ancestral home is often where most great gatherings of the dwarven clans will happen.

Barbarian Tribes

While the dwarves live beneath the mountains, atop the Spine Mountains live many tribes of barbarians. Revering honour and the animal spirits, these tribes adopt totem animals as their symbol of honour. The largest tribes are the Tiger, the Eagle, the Wolf, the Elk, and the Bear.

The barbarian tribes hold annual competitive games where outsiders are welcome to visit, but not participate. These challenges pit the tribes against each other in several challenges to determine which tribes warriors are the most skilled.

• Bear Tribe: The Bear Tribe’s home is in the north of the Spine Mountains, at a high altitude. The mountain ranges and few flat fields feature snow and ice almost year round and in the winter months the trails are impassable by foot without proper equipment. The tribal village features many structures, most made from wood and hides. Tented construction is also popular. Outdoor living is favoured by most tribal members and there is a close bond amongst the small group that lives here.
• Wolf Tribe: One of the larger tribes of the Spine Mountains, the Wolf Tribe is led by Urnalo and was almost completely wiped out in a raid against the Bear Tribe on the 25th of Haust, 2367. Those members of the wolf tribe that survived, including their leader, temporarily reside in the Bear tribe’s village until they have been able to rebuild their tribe.

Human cities and villages

Humans have tended over the centuries to congregate in the south along major trade routes and cities. The larger cities tend to develop a mixed group of inhabitants and are often the best places to find places of learning and work.

Pua

Pua is the capital city on the eastern shore of Lani. It is the oldest human-built city in the entire land and dates back at least four thousand years, though it has only had the name Pua for a little over half of that time. Records of the city before the Lighting are all gone, including records of the previous name. It’s main attraction is the Tower of Lighting which is lit every year on the new year with the Lighting ritual, for which many around Lani will brave the Vintr cold and travel to join for the weeks of celebration leading up to this event.

The city is enormous, easily outsizing Denn 10 to 1, and is a tiered city that is split into Lowertown, Midtown, and Uppertown where the Tower of Lighting resides. By foot, one must travel through Lowertown to climb the streets to Midtown, and then again to continue on to Uppertown.

Known locations in Pua

Lowertown:

• Blushing Crow: A clothing shop that sells the latest trends, albeit off-the-shelf and with cheaper fabrics than you might find in Midtown and Uppertown.
• Immaculate Arrow: Packed with friendly locals and a few drunk travelers, the Immaculate Arrow has been named the best pub in Lowertown several times in a row. The owner, Cheeky Slims, is quick to remind anyone who enters about this fact. At least twice. Rooms are also available for rent.
• Sleepy Dretch: This dive bar for sailors is run by a lady orc sailor that goes by the name Stormy Krunkel. The Sleepy Dretch specializes in cheap booze and lots of rumours. The decor is of the style “if it isn’t falling down, it don’t need fixin’”.
• The Warehouse: This former storage warehouse converted to an underground concert venue is popular with the younger generation that reside in Pua.

Midtown:

• Arcanix Imaginorium: Run by a powerful artificer named Zhu, there are many unique items and creations not available anywhere else in Lani.
• Gilded Cog: Owned and operated by the gnome Tilly Glitterfizz, this bustling tavern is renowned for its mechanical clockwork decor and enchanted furniture. The tables and chairs can adjust themselves to the comfort of patrons and a nightly show features a bard who plays mechanical instruments of their own design.
• Midnight Theater: An opulent theater showcasing plays, musical performances, and magic shows, the Midnight Theater is known for its elaborate set designs and spellbinding special effects. The annual “Festival of Lights” performance airs during the holiday time and is currently being prepared and advertised.

Uppertown:

• Eldrin’s Arcane Curios: Scrolls, components, and spellbooks for the discerning wizard run by Eldrin, an elf, former wizard of the Hexen Tower, researcher, and retired professor.
• Steamy Smithy and Day Spa: Operated by the two elves Dorgan and Gabardiel, this combination smithy and spa offers a comfortable bathhouse usually filled with merchants and nobles alongside custom-built weaponry and armor, usually crafted for display purposes by the nobility of Uppertown.
• The Alibii: Night club with a dress code. The velvet-lined walls are only one piece of the decor that give The Alibii it’s undeserved air of importance.
• Tower of Lighting: The fabled Tower of Lighting contains the Pua Great Library as well as its world-renowned lighting room at its apex.

Hexen Tower

Hexen Tower lies to the south west, in the shadow of the mountains, and features the most prominent school of magic and science in all of Lani. Many would-be wizards or sorcerers have walked those halls as they study, but over time this has expanded into the studies of engineering, alchemy, and other sciences. Originally built by powerful wizards as an elite school of wizardry, this school now blends both technology and the arcane studies and research.

• “Magic and Mundane: History of the Hexen Tower”, by Brigitte Featherwalker

Denn

The port city of Denn lies to the north of the Hexen tower and is led by an elected council. A common trading point for the villages of the north west or the Spine mountains, merchants come from far and wide to sell their wares or acquire goods for their stores back home.

Temple of Sif

To the northwest of Denn lies a large temple to the goddess Sif. The clerics, druids, and paladins of Sif uphold beliefs in the wisdom of knowledge, the value of life, and an underlying sense of protection of the natural world. The temple to Sif features a great statue to the goddess herself, as well as a large library and an enclave where the sick and injured are cared for.

Greenfell

The village of Greenfell lies east of the Temple of Sif, on the main road to Denn. It is a small farming village populated primarily by humans, though there is a farm run by a gnoll family very close by.

On the night of the 21st of Haust, 2367, the village of Greenfell came under attack of some form of dark magic which caused villagers to either flee in fear or become irrationally enraged. The town was burned to the ground, though the misty rain of the evening prevented the fire from spreading to the nearby woods.

The source of the dark magic was found, by a group of travelling heroes, in ancient castle ruins near Greenfell. In destroying the source of the evil magic, the remaining underground ruins of the castle were destroyed in a massive collapse.

Vornstrand

In the south east lies the ancient city of Vornstrand. Overlooking the Bay of Tranquility, Vornstrand is a common port of call for merchants and travellers alike. It’s founding dates back to before the Lighting, nearly as old as Denn and Pua. It is said that information is the most valuable currency in Vornstrand.

Balderston

Situated approximately halfway between Vornstrand and Pua, the town of Balderston is much younger than either of the larger neighbouring cities it. Compared to Denn’s milleniums-old architecture, or the ancient structures of Pua and Vornstrand, the town is practically modern! Most of the buildings are new, with brightly painted signs and somewhat uniform architecture and design styles. Balderston feels like a town on the rise, perhaps boosted by its proximity to Pua and Vornstrand with easy access to the western trade routes.

The town of Balderston also features a major annual event known as Heroes Fest where visitors enjoy challenges of skills and the gathering of local merchants and goods. One shop known to most in the region is Grimoires and Gears, a shop for the arcane and mechanical.