Welcome adventurers to this world of clockwork, airships and stories. The world of Verne has been designed to offer you adventures in a steampunk world full of not only magic, but innovation & technology too.
Verne has 4 large land masses & 5 major Islands. These lands are ruled by 3 Kingdoms/Empires;
The land mass known as the Barren Lands, is not claimed by any regime.
The continent of Tempest is made of many Baronies all owing fealty to the King of Tempest, His Glorious Highness King Albert Valora. King Albert rules from the Filigree Palace, located in the Capital City, Glimmerhold.
The population of Tempest is very diverse. You will find Humans, Gnomes, Dwarves, Goblins, Halflings & Wood Elves in large numbers all over the continent. It is not uncommon however to find many other races on Tempest as well, all living along side various constructs.
Trevayne is an Island off the northern coast of Tempest. Over the years, Trevayne has been used for many things. It was originally a sparsely populated Island before being absorbed by the Kingdom of Tempest when it became a barracks and fort against invasion from what is now the Barrenlands.
Since that time it has been a hospital for contagious disease; a prison Island and most recently a processing centre for refugees from the Great Burning. It is currently undergoing a change of purpose into a huge factory (and facilities for the staff) producing Zeppelins.
Wells Haven is part of the Kingdom of Tempest and is joined to the mainland by an amazing feat of engineering. Spanning the distance between the two land masses is an enormous iron suspension bridge that was designed by the famous Gnome engineer, Brunel Notabard.
Wells Haven is home to the Temple of Occulus, the All Seeing. Occulus used to be the Queen of Tempest but at the moment of her death the Gods joined together to place her spirit into a beautiful statue that was made of milky opal, transforming her into a Goddess. She remains living among the people of Tempest (the temple is her main home) inspiring charity and philanthropy as she travels. The rest of the Island is populated by Priestesses and Nuns devoted to Occulus.
The Barrenlands used to be a thriving Kingdom of Dwarves and Gnomes called Gizturum. Gizturum was rich in mineral deposits, particularly coal & quartz and it seemed that the Dwarves were determined to mine every last ounce of it.
Then disaster struck; the lack of regulation led to cut corners; the mining fever led to more risks being taken in the hopes of greater reward; a chain of accidents and explosions led to underground coal seams catching fire, leading to the total evacuation of Gizturum. This cataclysmic event became known as the Great Burning.
Jeter is the traditional home of Orcs, Goblins, Ogres and the like. It was also the original home of Goliaths and the Northern Clans, who are Humans who worship the Norse Gods.
Hobb Island is uninhabited but incredibly rich in gems, particularly Rubies and Emeralds. As such it has been fought over by Jeter and Katsura for aeons and very few gems from Hobb Island have ever been mined.
Katsura is a beautiful continent ranging from lush, tropical rain forest, through the entire temperate spectrum all the way to it’s frozen tip. The races that populate Katsura are mostly High Elves, Kitsune, Harengon, Yuan Ti, Humans & Shadar-Kai.
Blaylock is part of the Imperial Lands of Katsura. It is a series of temples & shrines inhabited by Monks and Priests. They have a friendly relationship with the Priestesses and Nuns of Wells Haven and they often trade their honey (and the liqueur made from it) for fresh produce or textiles made by the Nuns.
Very little is known about this mysterious floating Island. It is believed that it is populated with Aarakocra. It is widely believed that kenku originated on the The Zephyr Isle but migrated away to various parts of the world. They have ancient folk tales about leaving the floating Island but there is so far, no proof.
Verne was created by the God Aramis & the Goddess Seraphina; They had fallen deeply in love and wanted a world they could oversee together, away from other Gods.
After they had wed they honeymooned through the planes; taking a tiny piece of each planes' essence as they travelled. Once their honeymoon was over they sought out the perfect spot to create their new world.
They populated the seas, the skies and the land with all manner of flora and fauna, almost like newly weds decorating their first home. For a long while they were happy.
Eventually, fuelled by the lush resources the pair had granted them, the mortals of Verne advanced at an astonishing rate. They were achieving in mere decades, what had taken the denizens of other worlds hundreds of years.
Seeing the advancement, but also the greed, oppression and war that came with it, Aramis & Seraphina abandoned the world and disappeared.
The priests of Verne prayed day and night for the Gods to return to them but Aramis and Seraphina never heard them, or if they did, they ignored them. The prayers did not go entirely unheard though; the Gods of Faerun heeded the prayers as did the old Norse Gods.
They visited Queen Rosaline Valora of Tempest, who had been fasting for months in order to atone for the sins that made the Gods vanish, and offered to fill the void that had been left. Rosaline agreed, declaring she would burden any cost to have Gods back in the heavens
.
Taking her at her word, the Gods joined together to transform her into a native God for the people of Tempest so she could join their pantheon and be a conduit between their realms and Verne. They pulled her spirit from her body, transferring it to a opal statue that stood in the Royal throne room. At once the statue came to life and Rosaline screamed.
Her scream wrecked the Palace and all the mortals for miles around were rendered unconscious. When they awoke a new palace stood in place of the old; built from milky opal, topped by glowing blue roof tiles and the windows were glazed with beautiful copper filigree panes, already verdigris green despite being new.
The Gods renamed Rosaline to Occulus then set her off on her endless journey around Tempest, inspiring those who meet her to charity and philanthropy.
When Aramis & Seraphina were touring the planes, they observed many races. When it came to seeding Verne with life they chose their favourites and spread them over the continents.
Below is a list of the playable races of this setting. This list is not exhaustive & other races could be considered after consulting your DM. Many other races exist as monstrous
races.
This campaign uses the standard 5e Faerûn Gods, the Norse Pantheon (The Norse Gods are rarely worshipped outside of the Northern Clans) & the following new Gods unique to this setting.
