Background for Players

DM: Tim Emrick

The Ooth-Nargai Campaign is loosely based on the "Dreamlands" stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and The Complete Dreamlands supplement to the Call of Cthulhu game. If players wish to read (or reread) some of Lovecraft's tales in order to get a better feel for this setting, the best plan would be to start with the short stories "The Cats of Ulthar," "The Quest of Iranon" and "The Doom That Came to Sarnath," and then read the novel The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.

Separate pages: A Portion of the Dreamlands [at DeviantArt] | Gods of the Dreamlands

The Six Kingdoms

The Six Kingdoms are the least isolated and remote parts of the Dreamlands, and their cities are populated primarily by humans. The Six Kingdoms are as follows:

The Kingdom of the Skai: This kingdom is composed of several smallish farming communities along the River Skai, including Ulthar (site of the single major temple), Hatheg and Nir. Each town is ruled by a burgomaster; the King is chosen from the burgomasters and serves for life. This kingdom does not include Dylath-Leen, the city located at the mouth of the Skai, which is the greatest port in the Dreamlands but has a sinister reputation.

The Kingdom of Ilek-Vad: Most of this rich and powerful coastal city-state is located inside its famous hollow cliffs of glass.

The Kingdom of Ooth-Nargai and Serranian: Ooth-Nargai is a fantastic land ruled by King Kuranes, an old Englishman said to have created the entire kingdom out of his dreams. Kuranes divides his time between the capital city of Celephais and the flying city of Serranian. (See below for more information on Ooth-Nargai.)

The Kingdom of Oukranos: The Oukranos River is the mightiest in the Dreamlands. Due the efforts of the river god, this valley is an earthly paradise, with both rich farms and wild natural beauty. The kingdom runs the length of the river, excepting only the port of Hlanith at its mouth.

The Khalifate of Cuppar-Nombo: The city-state of Cuppar-Nombo lies within a desert west of the Skai, and depends on the nomads and the caravans for its prosperity. It was founded by the dusky-skinned survivors of the ruined city of Golthoth. (A related group, the gypsy-like Dark Wanderers, travel the western lands in their wagons.)

The Principalities of Kled: Kled is a jungle realm with no single ruler. Instead, each of the black tribes has its own prince. Some of these tribes (the pygmies in particular) are rumored to be cannibals. Natives and caravans alike avoid the deserted ivory cities in the jungle's interior.

Ooth-Nargai and Ilek-Vad are located to the east of the Cerenarian Sea. (Serranian floats above the Sea, a short distance from Celephais.) The Skai, Oukranos, Cuppar-Nombo and Kled are located to the west of this body of water. South of Cuppar-Nombo and the Skai is the Forest of Parg, home to savage tribes. West of Cuppar-Nombo and Oukranos lie several other human lands, including Mnar (where Bokrug's worship is displacing that of the Great Ones).

Ooth-Nargai

Ooth-Nargai is defined by the valley of the Naraxa River, which flows out of the Tanarian Hills. These hills, along with Mount Aran to the north, form the landward border of the kingdom. The Tanarian Hills are home to many fantastic beasts, and rumors abound of strange magical gates deep within them.

Celephais is located at the mouth of the Naraxa. This gorgeous city has streets of onyx, and buildings of whitewashed clay with metal-roofed minarets. Towering over all are the turquoise temple of Nath-Horthath (the city's patron god) and the rose-crystal spires of the Palace of Seventy Delights.

The entire valley is timeless. Processes requiring the passage of time (aging, decay, fermentation, natural healing, birth, farming, etc.) cannot take place here, though certain actions (building houses, cooking food, killing enemies, etc.) can occur normally. Children must be born and raised outside of the valley.

Beyond the Tanarian Hills to the northeast are the Forbidden Lands, a hellish wasteland of volcanoes and fire. Entering the wastes has been known to drive men insane, so King Kuranes has forbidden these lands to humankind. Anyone caught trying to enter them is imprisoned. Ilek-Vad is situated on the far side of the Forbidden Lands, but may only be reached safely by sea, following the coast north then east.

Due east of the Tanarian Hills lies (in sequence) the Weeping Wood, the Shadow Fens, and the spice-producing city of Gak. Beyond this city lie the Orc Wastes, which are only slightly more hospitable than the Forbidden Lands. The Orc Wastes were once fertile and heavily populated, but mysterious disasters have left its cities in ruins. Now only orcs, a few barbaric humans, and monsters live here.

The independent port-city of Rinar is located a short distance south of Ooth-Nargai. The shores to the east of Ilek-Vad and southeast of Rinar have not been fully explored by humankind. These regions are home to intelligent nonhumans--some friendly (elves), some not (orcs)--as well as pirates of many races. One place of note in this region is Freeport, located southeast of Rinar, in the island chain known as "The Serpent's Teeth."

Nonhumans in the Dreamlands

The standard D&D nonhuman player races live in the following areas:

Dwarves live in the mountains east of the Forbidden Lands. (Kuranes' edict about this region has no hold on this race.) Some also dwell in the bowels of Ilek-Vad's cliffs.

Elves are native the forest kingdom of Amarantos, located down the coast southeast from Rinar. While full-blooded elves remain rare outside this realm, some visit Serranian using flying mounts, and half-elves are no longer an uncommon site in ports on the Cerenarian Sea.

Gnomes are not a numerous race; most dwell in the Weeping Wood. They occasionally visit the human settlements in (and just south of) the Naraxa valley.

Halflings dwell in the Tanarian Hills. Like gnomes, they are not very numerous, but they visit human settlements more frequently. Some halflings work with the spice caravans from Gak.

Most half-orcs originate in the Orc Wastes east of Gak. That city is the only "civilized" community with a significant population of these halfbreeds.

Several other races of intelligent nonhumans (restricted to NPCs only) are known to exist in or near the Six Kingdoms:

Cats are intelligent and magical creatures within the Dreamlands. They can be found in cities throughout the Dreamlands, but are most populous in Ulthar, in the Kingdom of the Skai.

Ghouls are corpse-eating scavengers who live underground. Corrupt humans have been known to bargain with them for tomb-loot or forbidden lore.

Gnolls are hyena-men who are found in the Tanarian Hills. They war with the halflings of that region--and with just about every other race they meet.

Gnorri are a race of merman-like creatures who dwell in the Cerenarian Sea near Ilek-Vad. They are generally peaceful and friendly.

Goblins are a race of ugly humanoids who vary widely in their size and appearance. They occasionally trade with humans, but are too unpredictable to trust as allies of any kind. They live in forests, mountains and ruins.

Kobolds are small, reptilian humanoids who dwell in the Weeping Wood and Shadow Fens. They war with the gnomes who dwell in the Wood.

Orcs are barbaric humanoids who dwell in the Orc Wastes. Even they avoid the Forbidden Lands. Orcs war with the human barbarians of the wastes, and with the elven tribes to the south. A few pirate ships in the Southern Sea have crews of orcs; some of these have been known to visit Freeport.

Zoogs are small, stealthy rodent-like creatures who live in the Enchanted Forest that lies between the Kingdoms of Oukranos and the Skai. They are also found in the Weeping Wood. Cats and zoogs are bitter enemies.

Dreamlands Languages

The Six Kingdoms share a single language (Common), which is also used by many of the lands with which they trade. Only the more remote and isolated human lands have different native languages. Most intelligent nonhumans will have their own language, and those which have regular contact with humans will speak one or more human languages.

The following is a partial list of languages in the Dreamlands. Many other languages exist, but may not be chosen as starting languages.

Notes:

[1] See the Player's Handbook, page 74. Outsider and elemental languages are very rare. No "Undercommon" language is known to surface linguists.

[2] Aklo is a "dead" language derived from the ancient writing of the Serpent People (thought by most to be extinct). Like Draconic, Aklo is often used for magic-related texts.

[3] Druidic is restricted to the druid class, per the Player's Handbook.

[4] Inquanok, Lengish and Lomarian are the languages of three little-known human nations to the far north. Traders from these nations occasionally travel the Cerenarran Sea.

[5] Non-felines must have at least 4 ranks of Animal Empathy to learn the language of Cats.

[6] Hyperborean is the "dead" language of an extinct prehuman race. Scholars study this language in the hopes of rediscovering the lost secrets of that culture.

Profession & Class Notes

The following cities and regions are widely known for producing members of the following professions (though these professions are by no means limited to these peoples):

Most of the standard D&D classes can be found throughout the Six Kingdoms. However, two classes require some additional notes on their places of origins:

Barbarians are limited to the following cultures: the black tribes of the Jungle of Kled (in the Six Kingdoms) and the Forest of Parg (south of the Skai); and half-orcs and humans from the Orc Wastes (east of Ooth-Nargai).

Monks are incredibly rare. The only known source of training in or near the Six Kingdoms is the Monastery of Yuth, in the eastern Tanarian Hills. These "yellow-skulled" monks revere N'tse-Kaambl as well as many other gods of varying alignments.

Dreamers

The Dreamlands were created by the dreams of Earth's humans (and other dreaming races). However, this plane is separate from the "waking world," and its natives have their own dream lives. The most skilled of Earth's dreamers may reach this plane through their dreams. Some of these intrepid souls have become important personages within the Dreamlands, creating new wonders through the power of their dreams, and continuing life here after their waking body dies. King Kuranes of Celephais may be the most powerful dreamer alive, having created all of Ooth-Nargai during his long reign. The current King of Ilek-Vad may also be a dreamer-hero.

Dreamers are normal members of their races except for their rare knack for traveling between the two worlds. Like the majority of the normal populace, they tend to belong to NPC classes (such as adept, aristocrat or expert). Most seem to have an instinctive knowledge of the Common tongue, regardless of the language(s) they speak in their home plane.

Due to the dual existence that dreamers lead, they are always NPCs in the Ooth-Nargai Campaign. Magic that affects "outsiders" occasionally works upon dreamers. Powerful magic is required for a Dreamlands native to visit the "waking world," and such experiences are said to be quite traumatic.