World Mythos: Raathan's History in a Nutshell

By now you probably have noticed that I run different basic topics as their own headings, like Game Theory, Races, and now World Mythos. I said that I would be using this blog as a dump for my D&D ideas (don't believe me? then read this: First Post) and I have some world notes to send at you. Check it out.


The Dungeons and Dragons Cosmology, outlined in the Dungeon Masters’ Guide, will be the de facto for Raath-Toran. Naturally, the main world will be the Prime Material plane.

For the most part, Raath-Toran is the world where most of the adventures will take their course. My focus, for the time being, will be on Raathan, one of the continents. Eventually, I want to run sessions its sister continent, Torellan, and Sal-Hara, a desert/tropics archipelago. (For its purposes as a separate set of landmasses, it will be addressed as a continent, as well.)

Both Raathan and Torellan are inhabited by all PHB races, but each continent will have its own unique race set. Torellan, as with Raathan, will have its own unique “race.” The Warforged, as they are addressed in the Eberron campaign setting, is a working idea, but Raathan will have its own race, tentatively called the ferals. Sal-Hara will be unique in that it is almost exclusively humans and orcs and half-orcs. Sal-Hara also serves as the cradle of life for both humans and orcs.

In the First Era of Raath-Toran, humans were able to spread their influence throughout the world, at first by sailing the dangerous open seas, then spirit-striding as the spells became easier to cast. The Striders’ Paths eventually became a permanent addition to the world, and were used almost exclusively between worlds in the waning years of the First Era.

Humans were the ones who pioneered this unique form of sorcery, and indeed it was sorcery. Wizards were used to make the Paths a permanent thing, and once they learned the spell, they were able to teach the other races its secrets. (This is the alternative to teleporting, and is fully addressed on a different page.) The orcs, native to Sal-Hara, as were the humans, learned the secrets as well, and introduced their conventions of warriors’ code and combat styles, which were superior in many regards but addressed as barbaric by some other races and nations.

It is believed that Dolari’s account of the First Era is the only accurate measure of how Raath-Toran came to be, but it was lost in the chaos of the Second Era. Even if it was protected from the ravages of time, it is likely that it does not address the waning years of the First Era, so we do not know how the Era of Prosperity ended.

What is known about the Failings of Prosperity is that the scribe Dolari was found supposedly murdered at the hands of orc raiders. The emperor at the time, Grelar II, set his sights on conquering all of Raath-Toran, seeking to unite all of the world under Sal-Haran rule. He was only successful on taking Raathan, as he supposedly let Sal-Hara fall to the orcs. Either way, this meant the foundation of the empire in Raathan, the enslavement of the ferals, and the enmities of the races forming. Being that the ferals were kile kin to the elves, it was humans they opposed in the coming wars.

Dwarves, on the other hand, sided with humans, but all races shared one common enemy. Of Grelar II’s court, Rekar, the devil, joined with the orcs. A denizen of the Lower Planes, the devil saw possibilities for conquest against all of the world. The archon who Grelar kept in his court, left out of shame and returned to the upper planes, never revealing its name. Originally, it wished to return after humanity regained its senses, but alas, it never happened.

Within fifty years, the three realms, Raatha, Sal-Hara, and Torellan, became severed off from each other, the Striders’ Paths having collapsed under the energies that fuelled them. It was at this point where Grelar III sought to claim the throne, and he murders his father. It is known that the Era of Prosperity fell within ten years of the political move, as it was at this point where the nations of Raathan began to revolt. Chaos ensued, and it is known that there was much infighting and skirmishes with the orcs.

Thusly, the Second Era, known as the Dark Era, began. It is unknown for certain if the Dark Era lasted for three centuries, thirty, or even three hundred, but we know that humans and orcs both prospered in their own ways and spread across the lands. Eventually, a balance was achieved, that was shaky, at best. During this time, humans were also able to balance out race relations, especially with the elves. The only two real constants were the Order of the Jade Phoenix, having grown prolific in action during the Dark Era, fighting to keep back something called the Souldrake; and the slavery of the ferals continued.

Other than that, the Second Era was much of a blur. There was never an accurate record of the Age, but the first century is well-accounted for.

In the waning years of the Second Age, notable figures, like Reshar, the first master of the Nine. This is a turning point in the Dark Era, as it heralded the last two hundred years before the Third Era. On top of that, House Melaran began a campaign to unite the nations of Raathan under a common banner of peace. When the tenth nation joined the new Raath empire is when the third age is known to begin.

In 3E 15, as the dating became established, Emperor Kelinar of House Kalaya became the accepted emperor of Raathan and decreed that slavery of sentient races be abolished, and the ferals would be declared free. Within fifty years, with Kelinar aged and weak on the throne, did the feral nation of Elaksha (separate from the numerous tribes) become founded as an official nation under the Raath Empire’s treaty, but many still held onto their grudges regardless of politics.. Relations between the humans and ferals began to soften, and within another three generations humans and ferals would finally be on good terms with one another. Outside the empire, racial tensions continued, and the memories continue, even now.


The time is now 3E 957. Emperor Uriel IX of House lak-Soran sits upon the throne, and has been for thirteen years. He continues diplomacies between the nations of elf and dwarf, but the two races never seemed to settle their old follies from the First Era. In fact, their animosity to one another has continued from that time, and is still just as strong. Within imperial territories, this has become considerably muted, but the hostilities remain.

Halflings never maintained their own nations, nor did the gnomes, but both allied themselves with whom they most relate. Gnomes, given their kinship to the dwarves, remain ever faithful to their dwarven kin, and were the ideal diplomats between dwarves and elves. Halflings, being the wandering enigma that they are, continued their traditions, with exceptions when they settle down and form their own townships, never large enough to be considered cities, let alone nations. Ferals now share openly with humans, having long forgot the past that their race has endured, as had the humans.

The Order of the Jade Phoenix has seemed to fade into the tides of history, though even now it maintains its thirteen members, never more. Some have heard of them asking about a creature called the Souldrake, where it is, how to kill it, etcetera. Not only that, but the ability to spirit-stride has been lost to the four winds or it can no longer be done safely.