Khevoran in a Nutshell 

“Our land was lush, civilized, and peaceful.  And then She came to take it from us.”

1.      Core Ethos

The Shattered Peoples – political intrigue and high adventure in the gritty world of Khevoran.

2.      Who are the Heroes?

Kironius Mengst – a sheriff from the village of Harrowburg, Mengst was conscripted into Lord Tahl’Mearis’ army and was responsible for the mutiny that broke the conqueror’s mighty legions at Westergarde.  Hailed as the Savior of Khevoran, Mengst now leads a veteran army dedicated to freeing Khevoran from the decades-long oppression of Kishara’s minions.

Lord Stephan Tyr – the liege lord of Westergarde, a cunning politician whose reputation personifies the old adage of pens being mightier than swords.  Lord Tyr is a good man at heart, but his political maneuverings in the current power-vacuum are oft-times disruptive of the efforts of Mengst to free the rest of the continent.  That, combined with his inaction during the initial invasion of Kishara’s armies has earned him the disdain of the common man.

3.      What do they do?

With the cheers of a liberated people urging him on, Mengst has all but completely wiped the Kisharan presence from the North, but his campaign has stalled, perhaps permanently, at the Massan Mountains.  The only pass through the mountains is under the control of the Kisharan Lord Ari Stonehand.  Mengst has deployed his army to best prevent any further incursions into the North, but can not move further south overland.  Naval options are being investigated while scouts and spies are sent across the mountains through long-unused routes to glean vital information for the ongoing campaign.

Lord Tyr has made a policy – and an art form, as Mengst jokingly points out – of following up Mengst’s armies with ambassadors, food and raw material convoys, and other things a community may need to help get them on their feet after the prolonged and often bloody work of Mengst’s army.  Since Kishara’s armies had moved from South to North in their conquering, most of the communities of the Northlands had not had time to recover before their subsequent liberation, leaving them weak and desperately in need of aid.  The obvious side-effect is, of course, Tyr’s consolidation of power, but the people of the Northlands are still too shell-shocked to notice.

4.      Threats, Conflicts, Villains

The most apparent threat lies in the Southlands.  The immortal Kisharan Lords Ari Stonehand, Whisper, Cyan Marinetta and Aril Flambeau maintain a theocratic and dictatorial stranglehold on the most civilized section of the continent – occupying cities containing Khevoran’s greatest thinkers, craftsmen, civic centers, and lore.  As the Southlands have had decades for the populace to adjust to the new order, Kisharan control is firmly rooted – though resistance cells and crime syndicates continue to thrive.

In the Northlands, roving bands of brigands prey on the weak with carefree abandon, and the eastern wastes remain an ever-present source of mystery and danger.

5.      Nature of Magic

As arcane teachings have been outlawed on pain of death by the Kisharan conquerors for over twenty years, very few magi exist in the world of Khevoran. The few that do exist are welcomed guardedly and not without a twinge of prejudice in the free Northlands.  The magi are anxious for the city of Teribain to be liberated, opening up the College Arcanum which was sealed when Aril Flambeau’s armies invaded the city centuries previous.

Clerics are more numerous than the magi by far. The restoration of freedom to the Northlands has sparked a surge of new worshipers of Aluviel – Goddess of Justice and Valor.  In the Southlands, priests of Kishara – the Goddess of Deceit and Destruction – are legion, forming the backbone of the dark goddess’ bureaucracy and power-structure.  Clerics of the lesser deities as well as druids are uncommon, but not unheard of.

6.      What’s new? What’s Different?

Khevoran provides an exciting and dynamic backdrop for players, DMs, and writers alike.  The struggle of good versus evil is brought to the forefront and made a part of the everyday lives of the inhabitants of the realm.  While the dogma of Kishara and Aluviel is quite black and white, the lives of the people are shades of grey as they vie for survival in a world where forces greater than them are engaged in an epic struggle which threatens to consume all.

 From the dark streets of Teribain under the watchful eye of Kisharan Peacekeepers to the plains of the Northlands, from the Palaces of Penshin to the nomad camps in the Eastern Wastes, Khevoran offers a rich and living world from which countless stories can be told.