Tellene

Tellene is a planet similar in size to Earth, but with three moons, and a warmer climate. The lands of Tellene defined in the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting are often referred to as the Sovereign Lands, and include the kingdoms of Brandobia, the Kalamaran Empire, the cities and city-states of Reanaaria Bay, the Isle of Svimohzia, the Wild Lands and the Young Kingdoms.

The Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting is named after the great Kalamaran Empire, which once covered much of Tellene. But time weighs heavily upon all, and the empire’s reach is not what it once was. Its provinces declare independence, hobgoblin kingdoms thrive and foreign empires expand, while the monsters of the land grow stronger than ever. Still, its influence is felt almost everywhere in Tellene.

There are six human races throughout the world of Tellene, as well as dozens of types of dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings and hobgoblins. However, humankind's historical arrogance means that racial tensions and skirmishes are common, except in certain cosmopolitan cities and along trade routes.

There are a few new races unique to Tellene - like half-breeds. Some full-blooded gobliniods like hobgoblins have a widespread civilized race with their own independent kingdoms - which most people consider a great threat. Both hobgoblins and half-hobgoblins, known as sil-karg are even available as player character races. Half-orcs, on the other hand, are much rarer.

While filled with many of the fantastical elements that roleplayers love, the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting is fundamentally based on realism - within the context of the game, everything makes sense! The creators have made sure that things like languages, topography, trade routes, weather, political divisions and tensions all follow real-world patterns, so the longer you adventure on Tellene, the more it feels like a real world!

Each human or humanoid subrace has its own language or dialic. Each place that the human race populates is named in the language of the people who live there. Thou an exception to this would be if the place was conquered, in which case the place name is often renamed by the victors. This means the names are consistent. True, this is simply one minor detail, but when you consider that this kind of consistency exists throughout all aspects of the world, you'll see how it makes sense, avoiding logical inconsistencies without sacrificing any excitement or adventure.

The wide varieties of races have an extensively detailed history and background, starting from their original migration to the main continent and continuing through the present year. The political entities have a similarly detailed background history. Each governmental body has a full descrition with a history of war and peace. Thus it is easy to work large military and political conflicts into a campaign. Also, nothing happens without a logical reason. The explanation is never "that's just the way it is," or "it's magic - it doesn't have to make sense."

- The Player Characters are Truly the Heroes of the Story.