Asterion

Asterion is the homebrew world in which most of the events in The Red Wagon Inn campaign takes place. It is found in the material plane but has connections to other planes.

History
One hundred years ago, a war broke out amongst the gods of old. Amidst the calamity, Amarak, the Lord of the Undead raised an army through the kingdom of the Koracrucians. With this army of skeletal bodies, his power multiplied and, using this power, took the form of a great wolf.

In this form, he let out a ferocious howl, decimating all of the previous gods in one fell swoop.

The memory of the old gods live on in those who still worship them. However, the cessation of their existence has allowed the space for new gods on the material plane. Many have tried to become new gods - building their popularity in one of the many arenas erected for such purpose and seeking the faith and belief (or even fear) from their following to do so.

With the defeat of the Koracrucians and the banishment of Amarak back into hell, the connection between the undead and the living world has been torn askew. As such, the undead roam through Asterion. Some as feral ghouls and others as sentient beings looking to find their way in the world.

Because of their dark history, the undead - in any form - are outlawed and not socially accepted in some areas.

The Red Wagon Inn adventure begins with one such undead creature, a lioness, and two acrobatic ratfolk.

The Scorch
A vast desert with temperatures reaching up to 130°F (~54.4°C). This region was once lush green forests but rumors say a curse of an ancient evil put the scorch upon the land. Beasts of many sizes and ferocities roam the area - bringing with them adventurers who dream of slaying them. The material components that come from slaying even one of these beasts are of great value to alchemists, apothecaries, hunters, and the like and can allow a person to live comfortably off of its profits.

There is a single water source in all of The Scorch - the Clear Springs - which provides sustenance to the hundreds of thousands of people living in the last remaining city in the scorch: Owaysis.

Owaysis is a metropolis created by the gods of old prior to their decimation. It is home to a new arena erected by those who wish to prove themselves to godhood. Keynak, a lizardfolk of great might - who was said to have slayed the previous champion in a single blow - has risen to become the ruler of Owaysis, a position previously unoccupied.

There is also a single remaining hold in Dry Gulch Hold. There is no knowledge if people inhabit the area as no one has been allowed entry for the past few hundred years.

Races
Elves are the original race to inhabit Asterion.

High Elves
The most distinguished and common race of elves to be found in the cities of Asterion, High Elves no longer have a country of their own. Instead they choose to assimilate into the cities of the dwarves and humans of the world. High Elves use their innate magic to find bountiful work in the capital cities. Their innate magical abilities provide the High Elves ample opportunity to work as private tutors to parents of magical children across the plane.

Wood Elves
Wood elves are one of the few subraces of elves that might attack an outsider within their lands on sight before choosing to speak with them. The elves of the woodland realms of Asterion are look at with scorn by the races that live in the great cities, as the wood elves brew powerful intoxicants for their ritual magics. The moonbrew, being the most powerful of the aforementioned intoxicants, has become a source of back-alley currency for any wood elf who brews the substance out of their woodland domain.

Golden Elves
Golden Elves are among the elves of the ancient forests. They are the noblest of peoples, and rarely venture any further than the golden forest. Gifted with extremely long life (even by elven standards), these elves are clad in elaborate clothing and live in ornate homes designed to last many lifetimes.

Due to their connection to the magical essence of the world around them, golden elves are great warriors of magic and crafters of magical items. It is far preferable for a golden elf to spend a year on a blade, or even a spoon, and imbue it with the magic of their sacred forest so that it may be treasured for the rest of their lives than for them to make a cheaper and less effective item. Golden elves have an extreme attachment to items of magical make that they craft since they have spent several millennia perfecting the craft of every item imaginable.

The capital city of golden elves, Goldenleaf, is a bastion of light and prosperity in the world. The hair, eyes, clothing, and city of these elves mimic the golden color of the leaves that surround them. They care little for the troubles of those outside of their ancestral forest and would die defending their way of life.

Crimson Elves
Crimson elves are among the elves of the ancient forests. They are vile and twisted mirrors of the golden elves and once lived in the proud twin forest to their golden kin. The magical ley-lines beneath their norther forest ran dry as the elves took too greedily from the forest that sustained them, thus causing their magic to run dry. As the elves' hunger for magic began to starve them, their queen sought a new source of magic to sustain her people and turn to the forbidden magic of blood.

The dark magics performed by the crimson elves turned the land around them poisonous as they desecrated their once sacred forests. Soon their forest floors were covered in blood and the trees began to change from golden to crimson. The snow that once blanketed their trees melted away, and everything was crimson and gray. The elves hair began to turn black and their elven youth began to fade as their skin clung tightly to their bones.

Ritual sacrifices became commonplace in the Crimson Forest as the hunger of the elves for magic may fade for a time, but it always returns. The result of their magics is a masterful manipulation of their own constitutions, often bringing their bodies to the breaking point during horrific rituals. The hunger of the crimson elves for magic has kept them tethered to their forest, but the borders of crimson expand further each year.

Ratfolk
Ratfolk evolved their spectacular climbing abilities in order to better climb trees.