The Kingdom of Light is ruled my a Queen who is divinely appointed by the high priestesses of the three goddesses, the goddesses of Light, Life, and Purity. The Kingdom of Light is the only "Civilized" land on the Continent of Miur. Within it live members of the Blessed races, the humans, dwarves, elves, some dragons, and other good races.

Outside the Kingdom, to the North in the great Ice Fields or the west in the Great Desert, and beyond it, lie the Barbarian lands. They are populated by the Cursed races, the Orcs, Goblins, some races of Dragons, and the like. The gods of Darkness, Death, and Corruption rule there.

While the Kingdom has order, proper cities and governors, and a proper religion, the people of the Barbarian lands have none of it. They arrange themselves in Tribes, groups of one race, generally closely related, who are ruled by powerful members of those families, and Clans, groups of people with common interests who must work together to keep from being slaughtered by the bandits which no doubt plague the land.

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We live in the "Barbarian lands". There are members of all races there, because unlike in the Kingdom of Light, no one cares what race you are as long as you aren't their enemy. Tribes have many different types of rule, as do clans. Some have councils, some have chiefs, some have elected rulers, and some have no rulers, picking respected members of the tribe or clan to perform the duties if they are needed, and letting them go when they aren't needed.

Also remember, the intro above the bar is written by the people in the Kingdom, so it may contain prejudices against the people of the Barbarian lands.

I'm interested in knowing more.

I'm interested in knowing more.

Anything in particular?

For a plot, I was thinking of just starting with a group from the Kingdom coming into the area and trying to "civilize" us, through conquest and religious edict. From there, I'd just have to ask the players what they wanted to do with it, basically giving you options.

@TheUnknowable Really I'd like to know a little about everything. The Kingdom, the tribes, the gods, the world, and the plot. Dealing with a crusade from the kingdom seems like a good start.

What will the position of our characters be? Skilled tribal warriors, or untested youths?

@TheUnknowable Really I'd like to know a little about everything. The Kingdom, the tribes, the gods, the world, and the plot. Dealing with a crusade from the kingdom seems like a good start.

What will the position of our characters be? Skilled tribal warriors, or untested youths?

The Kingdom is just your typical Theocratic Monarchy, with a Queen appointed by unanimous vote of the high priestesses, chosen from among the high-ranking nobles. As a servant of the Goddesses, she must display their traits, meaning "Enlightenment" as defined by the priesthood (essentially devotion to and acceptance of the religion without question), "Life" (essentially their social structure and environmental rules), and Purity (virginity, plus displaying certain personality traits).

The Priesthood essentially has a monopoly on any magic that is the realm of their goddesses, light elemental, life elemental (healing and buffs), and Purity (holy type powers), at least in the Kingdom. Darkness, death, and corruption type magics get you immediately labeled as being in league with the evil gods (which are male, btw), and you are immediately burned at the stake or, in a pinch, executed by the easiest and fastest method available. Other magic types in the kingdom are limited to necessity, and permits for their use must be gained from a local temple. Outside the Kingdom, though, their are many religions, with only the people from the kingdom and their descendants generally following that religion, and magic is practically unregulated, with each group crating the rules for its members and territory.

The World is a continent roughly the size of the US, with the Kingdom taking up an area in the Southeast. If superimposed on a map of the US, the top would reach New York, and the west side would reach Texas. There is a mountain chain to the north, and a desert to the west.

My character is an Orcish sailor that is first mate on a trade ship that works near the Eastern border of the Great Desert. He has a little magic, but is more of a trader and swordsman than a mage.

I'm sure I missed something, but I'm not sure what.

@TheUnknowable That seems pretty good, so the Barbarian Lands are only really barbaric to those of the Kingdom, and within the lands themselves life goes on as usual?

Yeah, pretty much. There are city-states and the like, and even a few alliances of cities you could call a nation, but tech tends to be a bit lower, at least military tech.

There's a bit of a propaganda campaign against them because they don't follow the nation's religion. The "Cursed races" are seen as creations of the evil gods, and are either sterilized or killed if they live in Kingdom territory.

This is pretty cool, consider me interested.