Very Brief Informative Bits on Other Nations of Backspace
The Elven Coast
The Elven Coast is a dangerous place for non-elves, sometimes more so for elves of other nations.
In the Interior slavery, especially of humans is practiced. Half the point of the Corsairs is to help foundering merchant ships and rescue shipwrecked victims. Anyone not of elven blood found more than a day’s walk from the coast is subject to death or enslavement. Half elves are simply killed, usually hunted for sport. Foreign elves are often tortured and killed for their casual acceptance of the other races occupying lands that should belong to the Elves. (see classes and societies related to this.)
Anyone shipwrecked that cannot find rescue or make it to a port city and back onto a ship often vanishes within a week even if they stay close to shore.
The Isle of Vancouver and a few other coastal ports are the exception. These walled fortress-cities are trade, social, and political centers. Stories of lost or kidnapped sailors abound, but are often ignored by officials.
Few slaves ever escape the Interior, and those that do and tell of their trials often disappear. It is rumored that hunters will track escaped slaves down and either take them back for severe punishment of simply kill them.
Rarely a sailor will wander into a Dwarven holding, or a human settlement in Southern Yukon, or even across the Phoenixian border unwilling to talk about his experiences. Often even these silent survivors vanish within a few days. Some of those that manage to get far away fast enough have been seen to bear small brands or tattoos marking them. They never discuss what happened and tend to be nervous around elves of any kind, often commenting that it’s the ones you can’t see that you have to worry about.
Vancouver is a lavish city full of Elven wonder, yet even here people have disappeared, especially beautiful petite young human women. It is the capitol city of the Isle of Vancouver and the most friendly port to outsiders who want to trade with the vast Elven Coast.
In the Interior there are several grand Elven citadels and arboreal cities. Slaves move about in fear of their elven masters.
These places are a world unlike any other. The Elves live as many other races stereotypically believe, focusing on their whims. Studying art and music, and reveling naked through the woods with other Fey creatures.
Very rarely a beautiful pregnant woman or small half-elven children will turn up along the border having been smuggled out by caring parents.
Even more rarely elves and their human lovers will be seen passing through trying to sell valuables in order to get far from the Elven Coast.
n cities all along the borders there are spies who look out for these event to either deal with these problems or call upon others whose task it is to handle them.}
Min Sodda- The Minotaur Lands
The Minotaurs of Min Sodda are excellent sailors, but are clannish and attack each other in their slave powered raiders as often as outsiders.
As a nation they avoid raiding Lonestar ships, but the clans find honor in capturing any ship that strays too far from protection.
{They are like larger bull-headed {pun!} Vikings.}
Amerdica
The Amerdican vessels are mainly Whalers and small trade ships.
{This nation is strongly xenophobic and fearful of magic of any kind. They still burn witches at the stake in rural communities and ship those with spell-like abilities out of their nation.
They do not allow foreigners into their nation and do all trading either ship to ship or on small islands off the coast. They often send parties of Younglings into the 'Demon Lands' to gather magical items to bring back and destroy in rituals to the One God. These are wide-eyed youths who flinch at the very mention of magic.
Some take a liking to the adventuring life and never return home, others raid and kill magic users and flee back to their nation, and still others are hunted by more evil bent mages who seek to continue to instill fear in those from that land.
Oddly enough many magic users travel America or retire there for a quiet break from the stresses of being a mage. As long as they have a good story- of being a Youngling returning from an extensive journey, or a cousin of a friend’s cousin from across the lands- they live peaceably. If they forgo magic around others, they are mistrusted but not bothered.
Unfortunately more than one spell caster has died at the hands of his neighbors even after living there many years when spied by a nosey neighbor performing some bit of magic or using an item. Privacy and personal boundaries do not really exist here.
They are very prejudiced against all other non-humans, but like any human nation their merchants enjoy the wealth that comes from trade.
Albenel
The Elves of Albenel have a small Naval force to help prevent raiders from Min Sodda and the two Goblinoid nations on their borders, but mainly use their beautiful craft to sail into the Islands of Fey and risk the dangers to mortals in those lands in order to experience the wild beauty and magics that seem to know no bounds.
The Goblinoid Nations
The Goblinoid Nations is a loose confederacy of warlords and clans that live in the Great Bear and New Foundlish Swamps have small no organized navy or trading fleet, but their ships are often found in the northern seas, often manned by vicious pirates.
The Grand Isle of Quid
Quid is a place as random as random can be. In fact their racial God is named Random and is a Greater God of Luck, usually settling things in favor of his people. They sail away from their strange island in everything from washtubs to grand ships seemingly made so the Quidnunc aboard can simply enjoy the pleasure of the cruise in lavish style.
The Magus Islands
The Magus Islands off the Newfoundlish coast, northeast of America ruled by a Magiocracy.
On these small islands the only magic items that can be found aside from tomes, scrolls, and potions are Relics, Artifacts, or Legacy items collected from other lands.
These items are heavily protected and rarely allowed to leave the islands
The Magus often send out parties to track rumors of similar items and bring them back for proper researching and storage.
They have a long standing feud with anyone from America, almost like a cold war, because of that nation’s treatment of magic users and magical items.
Heroes that come from these lands are magic wielding multi-classers usually with an arsenal of powerful bonded items. They tend to be sent out in small groups to perform a certain task, such as collect an item, or possibly to find a list of spell or magic item creation components otherwise unobtainable.
While it is rare, these travelers sometimes decide to stay behind and explore the world off their island.
Usually they have to send back many of their items, retaining only those bonded.
These people tend to be strange, archaic, or even Illuminati and the like. Sometimes they are the last survivors unable to return home not having accomplished their goals. They will take up with an adventuring group to complete their quest.
These people often have a great many magic items gathered from the bodies of their companions and are willing to share them extracting a promise they are returned to the Magus at some later point in time.
These items are always enspelled so that other Seekers can locate and collect them after a given time.