Hasarran

A world created based off on the Dragon Age universe. Many of the quests and missions my character is involved are based around the major events and lore that occur in the Dragon Age: Origins video game.

(In all actuality the DM of the group uses a lot of the lore from the Dragon Age universe, just so the campaign wouldn't be too long, but we have done a lot that goes way off the OG story XD It makes it easier on all of us and the DM as most of our players are active university students, and this is our way of relaxing and blowing off steam from stress)

Info About Hassaran:

Major Continents: Thedas.

Major Races: Humans (most common), Elves, Dwarves, Qunari (reflavored Goliaths)

Major Nations: Tevinter, Orlais, the Anderfels, Antiva, Ferelden, the Free Marches, Neverra, Par Vollen, Rivain, Orzammar

Magic: In the world of Hasarran, most people that are able to use magic are either born with the ability or study to learn it (which still requires some potential in the blood). Even “divine” magic is feared to some extent. Those found to have the ability at a young age are taken to the nearest Circle of Magi to be trained under the eyes of the Templars and the Church of Light, never allowed to leave except during times of war or Plague. Isolated from the public and under constant suspicion from the Templars, magic users face many biases and unfair circumstances.

Although there are some valid reasons for fearing them. Demons and spirits are drawn to magic users, as they can’t normally enter the material world and want to see it as mortals do. The demons try to possess magic users, or even corpses, while most spirits are more fearful of them. Some spirits even come to embody ideals and concepts like honor and justice.

A constant possibility is Blood magic. Using this method any magic user can use their own life force to fuel spells (mechanically it means taking 1 hit die of necrotic damage per spell slot level to cast the spell without using a spell slot). This is outlawed though, and any found to have used it are subject to death by the Templars. Even the accusation can be damning.

In a worst case scenario the head Templar assigned to a Circle can call for the Rite of Annulment, in which every magic user in a Circle is to be slain.

There is a substance known as lyrium which is magical in nature. For most exposure to raw lyrium is a short and painful death, but for dwarves it is slightly less dangerous. Using highly diluted lyrium potions, magic users can regain spell slots, but the substance is highly addictive.

Religion and the God(s): Most of the world is part of the Chantry, which worships an omniscient but absent deity called the Maker. The Maker once loved the world, but its people became corrupt and worshipped false gods, so he turned away from them. Until one day a woman, named Andraste, moved him with song and faith. He offered her a place in paradise as his bride, but she refused him, saying that she already had an earthly husband and that the world needed him more. So for a time he returned to the world, and she became his prophet. Until one day she was betrayed by her earthly husband and killed. With that the Maker turned away once more, taking Andraste to paradise.

Organizations:

The Grey Wardens: An order founded to fight the Plague, the Sentinels are a unique order. At the top there is the First Sentinel, who never leaves their home fortress of Weisshaupt. Below that there are the Sentinel-Commanders for each nation, with each essentially left to run the organization as a whole for that nation. Below that things get fuzzy in terms of exact power, but generally younger members defer to older ones. The Wardens have a presence in nearly every nation of the world, and possess a special Right of Conscription, which lets them take any person as a member, from peasant to king. But this is rarely without consequence. There are also treaties from many nations pledging military aid to the Sentinels in times of Blight. But many consider them formalities, as only fools and traitors would refuse to aid in stopping a Blight.

The Chantry: The Chantry is the dominant religion of Thedas and humans. It worships the Maker and his bride Andraste. It also supports the Templar Order and the Circle of Magi, and controls all legal trade with the Dwarven kingdom of Orzammar for Lyrium.

The Circle of Magi: Set up by the Chantry, the Circle of Magi is the only recognized organization that teaches magic. It also is functionally a prison for those with magic.

The Templar Order: The essential military arm of the Chantry, the Templar Order is a martial order dedicated to keeping magic users in line with the Chantry’s teachings. Many develop magical abilities (or are even said to be magic users themselves) specifically geared towards fighting and nullifying magic users. Whether or not this means they already had the potential for magic in them, or if enough lyrium consumption caused it, is unknown.

INFO ON THE DIFFERENT RACES

Humans: Countries, Cultures, and Customs

The culture of humans on Hasarran is wide and varied, with each nation having its own quirks and oddities.

For more detailed info, see the Dragon Age wiki page for each nation listed here (ignoring the details for things like the 5th Blight in Ferelden. Likewise for a map see the Dragon Age wiki)

Religion: Most humans are members of the Church of Light, an organization which came into existence shortly after the death of its messiah figure Andraste. (IRL the Church of Light is based heavily on the Roman Catholic Church)

Nations

Anderfels: The Anderfels is a land of harsh extremes. In the past 2 Blights have ravaged the nation, leaving great swaths of land devoid of all life so that even corpses are left alone-for there are no carrion creatures to devour them. It is home to people of the greatest faith, and the deadliest of soldiers; wonders like the giant statue Andraste holding an eternal flame. It is also home to Weisshaupt, home of the Wardens. The nation is also under constant threat by Darkspawn, even when there is no Blight. Its capital is Hossberg

Antiva: A plutocratic nation in northeast Thedas, Antiva is a small but powerful nation, primarily due to 3 things. The first, and foremost, are the Crows, a guild of assassins so feared that no nation has warred with Antiva in centuries, despite it having no standing army.. The second is the fact that Antiva is the largest cohesive trade nation, which means that any issues not solved by wealth can be solved by Antiva threatening a lack of trading. The third thing is that, thanks to the cunning of the last Queen, noble houses from many nations have political marriages to members of Antivan “royalty”, such that war against it would likely draw half of Thedas in. Its capital is Antiva City

Ferelden: The youngest nation in Thedas, Ferelden is the southernmost nation in the world. Unlike many other nations, where a king or queen is given power based on their bloodline, Ferelden elects its monarchs in an event called the Landsmeet, where the largest landowners (called Banns) vote for their king. Up until around 30 years ago Ferelden was occupied by Orlais, and even now many have bitter memories of that time. Its capital is Denerim

The Free Marches: The Free Marches is not really one nation. It is a coalition of independent City-States. While there are many of them, there are only 3 with true power: Kirkwall, Starkhaven, and Tantervale. Starkhaven is the largest of the three. Being a group of city-states each city is its own capital

Nevarra: The nation of Nevarra is often regarded as one of the strangest human nations of the world outside of Rivain, and some even think it powerful enough to rival Orlais. Originally part of the Free Marches, Nevarra lagged behind the other city states and nations until the Pentaghast family took control of it and led the nation through a golden age. The customs of Nevarra are at times wildly different from other human nations. The foremost way is that instead of burning the dead, in Nevarra the dead are buried in crypts and are prepared by a special kind of magic user known as Mortalitasi (mechanically Church sanctioned Necromancer Wizards or Death Clerics). Magic users there also have more notable political power, though not as much as ones in Tevinter. The Mortalitasi are rarely found outside of Nevarra, and as such they are viewed with considerable suspicion, even by other magic users. Its capital is Nevarra city

Orlais: The nation of Orlais is currently the largest and most powerful nation in Thedas. Home to the Church of Light, and known all over for its extravagance, Orlais wields considerable social, economic, and military power. The people of Orlais live under a class system that on the surface appears simple. The ruler is the Emperor or Empress, below them are the nobles, many of which are also part of the martial order of Chevaliers, and below them are the common folk. This belies a deeper truth though. Anyone with even an iota of influence, power, or wealth is caught up in the Grand Game. The Grand Game is, in essence, a shadow war between nobles vying for power and influence. All people of Orlais are part of it, even the commoners, and the rules are simply anything goes, so long as you don’t make it obvious. Also of special note are the Chevaliers. A martial order primarily composed of young male nobles, and in rare cases female nobles, the Chevaliers are renowned for their discipline and code of honor. With this power comes virtually unlimited rights when handling the common folk though, and some whisper that there are many who abuse this power. Its capital is Val Royeaux.

Rivain: A relatively small nation, Rivain is widely considered the strangest human nation in the world. It boasts peaceful relations with both its elven population, the sole peaceful Qunari settlement on mainland Thedas, and is the only human nation to outright reject the Church of Light and openly accept magic users. Its capital is Dairsmuid

Seheron: The island nation of Seheron is always under siege. A focal point in the ongoing war between Tevinter and Par Vollen, the island has been embroiled in the conflict for over 300 years. Its native people are engaged in guerilla warfare against both sides. Its capital shares the name of the nation

The Tevinter Imperium: Commonly called Tevinter outside of its borders, the Imperium is the oldest human nation in Thedas. Unlike the other nations of Thedas, Tevinter is ruled by magic users, and in fact has its own Church of Light. This Church is led by a male Divine, often a magic user too, and believes that the edict of “Magic exists to serve man, never to rule over him” means that magic that dominates the wills of others, such as certain forms of blood magic, are to be abhorred. This means that, in practice, magic users are the true power in the nation. It divided into 3 distinct social classes, not including slaves. The lowest are the Soporati. These are non magic user citizens. While they have rights and are the most numerous, the Soporati have no true say in the government. Above that is the Laetans. These are magic users who are born either to families with no prior signs of magic, or to a long line of magic users with no connection to the higher Altus class. Finally there is the Altus, magic users with both a family history of magic and a lineage that is said to go all the way back to a high priest of an Old God.

Elves: Countries, Cultures, and Customs

(Dark Elves don’t exist in this setting as a PC (player character))

Dalish: The Dalish is a general name for the elves that wander the lands of Thedas. Divided into Clans, each one is comprised of a Keeper, who is a magic user and leader for the clan; their First, who is a magic user being trained to become the next Keeper; and so on. They tend to avoid large settlements of humans, in part owing to the fact that they do not follow human laws. (Mechanically speaking most Dalish are Wood Elves).

City Elves: Those elves who aren’t wandering nomads are found living in human cities as second class citizens, living in walled off ghettos called Alienages. Many face hardships like racial bias, lack of fair rights, and so on. (Mechanically speaking any form of Elf can be a city elf.)

Dwarves: Countries, Cultures, and Customs

When most people think of Dwarves, they think of the ones from Orzammar or surface Dwarves. (Mechanically most Orzammar dwarves are Mountain dwarves while those born on the surface are Hill dwarves.)

Religion: The majority of Dwarven people (that is those who live underground) do not worship any gods. They instead revere the very earth itself, calling it the Stone. They believe that it created them and supports them. However it does not intercede in their daily lives. That is the domain of their ancestors.

Orzammar Dwarves: The Dwarves of Orzammar are divided into a rigid and deeply rooted caste system. At the top of it is the king, who is elected by the Assembly. The noble caste is below the king, and makes up the Assembly. Below the noble caste is the warrior caste, followed by the smith, artisan, miner, merchant, and servant castes. While on the surface these are similar to, and in fact function much the same as, human social classes, there are a few key differences. The most notable of which is that for Dwarves the caste one is born into is set in stone. A Dwarf not born in the smith caste may never become a smith. The second key point is that one inherits their caste from the same sex parent. If a Dwarf had a noble father and a warrior mother, and is a woman, they would be part of the warrior caste.

Below even the servant caste are the Casteless. They, or one of their ancestors, committed a crime so horrible that their name was wiped from the annals of Dwarven history. Even their very birth is not recorded. Many often turn to a life of crime or selling themselves to survive, as they are not recognized as people and are barred from doing any legitimate work.

Of special note are Paragons. These are men and women who performed some incredible deed or contributed so greatly to Dwarven society that they are considered perfect role models. Usually a person is named as one after their demise, but there have been living Paragons. Those named as such while alive are raised to the noble caste and found a line of nobles. To be named one the entire Assembly has to agree to it.

Another thing of particular importance is the Shaperate and the Memories. The Shaperate is akin to a living library, where all details of note are recorded in a wall of Lyrium known as the Memories. The job of those in the Shaperate is to record the events in the Memories. Births, deaths, marriages, and more are recorded. It s not infallible though. Part of the job of the Shaperate is to remove things from the Memories too, and it this means that the Memories can be altered.

Surface Dwarves: A broad category, surface Dwarves are Dwarves either born outside of Orzammar and above ground, or those who have left Orzammar for the surface. Either way they are considered casteless to Orzammar.

Qunari: Countries, Cultures, and Customs

Technically speaking the Qunari are simply any people who convert wholly to the social-philosophical teaching called the Qun, regardless of race. The race that is most commonly called Qunari are horned, grey-skinned giants who live on Par Vollen. (Mechanically the Qunari race are Goliaths)

Culture: The Qunari organize their lives based on a philosophy called the Qun. It provides the structure for how the world is, what each person's role is to be, and how to live.

The Qunari do not view themselves as true individuals. Rather they are like parts of a grand being, led by a triumvirate. The “body” is represented by their military and a person they call the Arishok, who is always male and leads the army. The “mind” is represented by the crafters and artisans, led by a woman called the Arigena. Finally the “soul” is represented by the priests, who are led by the Ariqun. Any particular Qunari is akin to a drop of blood in the great being.

Qunari children are not raised by the ones who birthed them. Rather they are raised by the Tamassarans, which are part of the priesthood. They are responsible for raising the children, educating them, “naming” them, and when a child reaches age 12 assigning them the role they will serve in for the rest of their lives. The perform other tasks as well, such as caring for the mentally or physically impaired, and controlling who is permitted to mate, and with whom.

When a Qunari child reaches 12, they are assigned a role based on what skills they have shown and what they are bred to do. Many Qunari use this role as their name when it is assigned to them.

There are two things of special note about Qunari aside from the above. First is their treatment of magic users. In Qunari society magic users are honored and pitied, as they must face danger from within and without. They have their mouths sewn shut and are bound to a “control rod” that can be used to suppress their magic or even kill them. The second thing is that the Qunari have a powder that doesn’t need lyrium to explode.