World Overview
Elan is A low-magic, politically controlled medieval world hiding a much older and more powerful truth beneath its surface.
Geography & Nations
Elan is dominated by human kingdoms and the vast Empire of Nyphron, founded by the legendary Novron. Ancient imperial roads connect fractured realms such as Melengar, Calis, Chadwick, and Maranon. At the heart of the empire lies Percepliquis, an ancient capital built over incomprehensible ruins. Much of the world is scarred by abandoned cities, sealed vaults, and relics from erased ages.
Races & Cultures
Humans control nearly all political power and believe other races to be monsters or myths. Elves (Fhrey) exist in their own kingdom across the river that divides the land and dwarves are widely thought extinct but exist in small factions, remembered only through distorted legends. Goblins and other non-humans survive on the fringes, feared and persecuted. Culture is shaped by rigid class systems, religious dogma, and deep mistrust of outsiders.
Current Conflicts
The Church vs. Truth: Religious institutions enforce doctrine that suppresses historical reality.
Imperial Expansion: The Empire of Nyphron seeks absolute control, using faith and fear as tools.
Succession and Rebellion: Noble houses plot, kingdoms resist annexation, and rebellion simmers beneath enforced peace.
The Return of the Past: Long-buried secrets—about gods, races, and history—are beginning to resurface, threatening to unravel the world’s power structures.
Magic & Religion
Magic exists but is subtle, ancient, and often tied to lost artifacts or forgotten bloodlines. The Church teaches that humans were chosen by the gods and that magic outside its doctrine is heretical. Many “gods” are misunderstood figures from older ages, their stories rewritten to maintain control. Open spellcasting is rare and dangerous.
Planar Influences
Other planes and divine realms are officially dismissed as myth. In truth, ancient civilizations understood far more about the cosmos, but this knowledge has been erased or sealed away. What remains is hidden in ruins, relics, and half-forgotten texts.
Historical Ages
The Age of Myth – Elves, dwarves, and god-like beings shaped the world.
The First Empire – A golden age of unity, advanced knowledge, and shared rule among races.
The Rise of Novron – The establishment of human supremacy and the rewriting of history.
The Imperial Age – The modern era, defined by decay, dogma, and political manipulation.
Most ruins and legends come from eras deliberately erased from public memory.
Economy & Trade
Imperial coinage dominates trade. Merchants, guilds, and smugglers quietly hold power beneath noble rule. Trade follows ancient roads that no one remembers how to rebuild. Relics occasionally surface, sold cheaply by those who don’t understand their value.
Law & Society
Law is enforced by nobles, imperial magistrates, and church authority.
Justice favors status over truth.
Adventurers are tolerated when useful, distrusted when curious, and hunted when they uncover forbidden knowledge.
thieves guilds exist at the fringe of society doing the nobles dirty work.
Slavery, serfdom, and rigid class divisions are common.
Monsters & Villains
True villains are institutions built on lies: the Church hierarchy, imperial enforcers, and those who profit from ignorance. Ancient constructs, forgotten guardians, and mislabeled “monsters” protect ruins and secrets from earlier ages.
Ancient Guardians – Constructs and beings left behind to protect forgotten truths.
Mythic Creatures – Often misunderstood remnants of older races, labeled monsters to justify extermination.
True evil in Elan is not chaos—it is control through deception.