Dolver
The Haunted Gray
Battlemaps set in this location
Roranvale
In defiance of the destructive crusades of Dolver’s Witchhunters, Roranvale emerged as a sanctuary for those persecuted. Its alchemists are empowered to study the undead, seeking not only ways to purify them but even methods to control and harness their power. This openness has made Roranvale a haven for those deemed heretics: necromancers, warlocks, alchemists researching the elusive Talbot Serum, and even the undead themselves. Awakened undead, reborn, hallowed, cindered, vampires, and others have found refuge within its walls.
The Witchhunters of Naenia aim to eradicate all magic tied to the plague that devastated Dolver 70 years ago. Their definition of "dark magic," however, is so broad and nebulous that it encompasses nearly anything they don't understand. Instead of carefully investigating the roots of necromancy or undeath, the Witchhunters resort to blind destruction, burning anything that might be tangentially related to the plague, often at great cost to the innocent. While Roranvale has earned a reputation as a shadowy city of outcasts and mad scientists, no one can deny the remarkable alchemical advancements made there. Behind its fortified walls, the city thrives as a beacon of progress, pursuing knowledge others fear to touch.
Cinderegin
Once a lush and expansive farmland, the region now known as Cinderegin was irrevocably scarred during the Dolver Plague. In an act of desperation, fury, and anguish, the land was magically torched, leaving an enduring arcane scar upon the region. The cursed flames never truly extinguished; instead, they continue to smolder and ember eternally, ensuring the land remains uninhabitable.
Now, the region serves as the home of the Cindered, awakened skeletons perpetually engulfed in flames. These beings, cursed to burn forever, have found solace in this desolate landscape. The Cindered fiercely guard the region, opposing any attempts to heal the land. To the Cindered, the cursed land serves as a reminder to the living of the cost of their hubris, and they view its preservation as essential to ensuring those lessons are never forgotten. Seventy years later the dead have turned a desolate wasteland into a sanctuary for those who have embraced their cursed existence.
Bondmire
At the heart of the province lies Bondmire, a vast, marshy lake shrouded in mist. This eerie expanse was once home to the enigmatic plague doctor, Bonder, a figure whose legend lingers like the fog over the water. His humble stilted hut still stands, its weathered timbers defying time and decay.
Over the years, the hut has become a site of pilgrimage for the faithful of the Chapel of Truths. To them, it is an effigy, a testament to Bonder’s life, his belief in a cure, and the truths he sought to uncover amidst the plague when so many others fled. Though few dare to venture this deep into the swamp, those who do speak of an unshakable stillness surrounding the hut, as if the marsh itself waits for its friend to come home.
The Midnight Tower
The northern skyline of Dolver is dominated by its most iconic feature: the Midnight Tower. Looming like a shroud of death, its black stone bricks rise high into the sky, tapering to a sharp point crowned by a single window that gazes over the countryside. The Midnight Tower is a single massive magical artifact, forged by the hands of an abyssal demon who wielded the stolen power of a dying god.
Within its imposing walls lies a spiral staircase that twists through an infinite collection of books. This extraordinary library is said to contain every word ever penned in the entire world of Crudilex. The deeper one descends, the darker, older, and more secret the tomes become. But plumbing those depths is not without its dangers. Those who delve too far risk succumbing to the influence of the Void, the whispering abyss at the bottom of all things. There, the god of secrets huddles, ready to exact vengeance on those who dare denudate his most sacred mysteries.
Ascending the archive offers a path looking forward leading to newer writings of more hopeful, and optimistic futures. However, even the ascent has its own kind of danger. Should one climb beyond the point of the most recently written book, they will encounter volumes yet to be scribed. To read these unwritten books is to violate Fate, a fundamental truth of existence. Such an act draws the ire of the god of time, who guards the sanctity of what is yet to come.
Talbot Estate
Perched on a shadowed hilltop overlooking the countryside, the Talbot Estate is home of the first of three Dukes of Dolver. The wealthiest family in the region owning over a third of the land in Dolver. Among their ancestors is the legendary alchemist Neirvik Talbot, credited with creating the life-saving Talbot Serum, the cure for the devastating plague that once ravaged the land. This achievement cemented the family as saviors and elevated them to a status of unparalleled wealth and influence. However, today, the family is as infamous for its scandals as it is famous for its legacy. Rumors abound of dark rituals performed within the estate’s walls, claiming the Talbots summon monsters to barter away their souls to maintain their immense wealth and political power. A particularly persistent legend even accuses Nervik Talbot himself of having used the forbidden magics to concoct his miraculous cure.
Azmik City
Azmik stands as the heart of higher learning in Crudilex, famed for its prestigious university that shares its name. Azmik University produces graduates who hold some of the most esteemed scholarly positions across the world, transcending political and cultural boundaries with their expertise.
Earning a degree from Azmik University is a monumental achievement, often demanding a commitment of 10 to 30 years of rigorous study. The university's oldest, long-lived students, enrolled since the institution's founding, have been pursuing knowledge for over two centuries. Their work was interrupted only during the years of the plague.
Duboi
DuBois, the Crypt City, stands as a sanctuary for vampiric cortèges who have cast aside the mask of humanity to embrace their true nature. Named after the legendary vampire queen who once dreamed of such a haven, DuBois is a refuge and a stage for the shadowy dealings of the vampires of Crudilex.
Vampires of all kinds convene without the need for pretense. The aristocratic, high-stationed vampire nobles who normally operate under layers of subtlety and deception rub shoulders with brazen, openly murderous vampires.. The city serves as a neutral ground for the feuding cortèges and meeting place of dark powers that shape Crudilex from the shadows. Deals are struck, alliances forged, and rivalries inflamed in a place where the undead feel no compulsion to feign restraint.
Hushmill
On the road out of Dolver lies a charming tavern crowned with a whimsical windmill on its roof. Hushmill offers weary travelers a warm and welcoming reprieve from the muddy and sullen roads of Dolver. Its inviting atmosphere, crackling hearth, and hearty meals make it a treasured haven for those journeying into the dark lands. With DuBois, the Crypt City of vampires, not far off, a safe and comfortable place like Hushmill is worth whatever the innkeep charges for a bed.
However, travelers are quietly advised to tread carefully. If the innkeeper asks, never mention that you’re traveling alone. Stories linger about vagrants and drifters, those who wouldn’t be missed, vanishing without a trace after staying at the Hushmill Inn. Some locals call it a coincidence. Others are not so sure.
Pell
Nestled at the edge of Dolver, deep within the woods, lies the village of Pell. Those brave enough to travel to Pell are told to never stray on the path, and to always travel in large, armed groups. The forests surrounding the village are cloaked in dense, unforgiving mists that strangle the light. Terrible, invisible horrors lurk within the fog, striking out at anyone who isn't properly warded with luck charms.
The villagers of Pell refer to the presence of these monsters as a curse. It is said that the horrors came after a young boy vanished into the woods. His father, devastated by grief and madness, spent years scouring the forest for his son. Strangely, the invisible creatures never attacked the man, as though something about his grief kept them at bay. There are those who say that the mists will only lift when the boy’s fate is finally discovered and his father is allowed to find peace. Until then, the village remains haunted by the cursed fog, with its inhabitants trapped by their fear.
Castle Marmond
The gothic Castle Marmond stands proudly at the heart of the Marmond’s Third of Dolver. Renowned for its walled gardens and prized hounds, the Marmond family has long been a fixture in the region’s elite circles. Their seasonal galas, grand hunts, and extravagant social events have served as the backdrop for countless deals and political maneuverings in Crudilex, stretching back long before the plague.
At the head of the dynasty is Duke Belfast Marmond, a shrewd and calculating figure who commands respect. His sons are some of the most eligible bachelors in the world, renowned for their charm, good looks, and social standing. Rumors say that the duke seeks to have both his sons married by season's end, ensuring the future of his house before his inevitable demise.
Recently, however, the family’s reputation has been tarnished by scandal. The youngest son, Dominic, long known as the black sheep of the family, caused a public uproar at one of the family's grand galas. Before a gathering of noble guests, Dominic publicly accused his father of being bound to an Infernal, a warlock in service to Sulfrix, the archdemon of the Infernal Legion. The accusation sent shockwaves through both the family and Dolver’s nobility, leaving the Marmond’s reputation hanging precariously in the balance.
Naenia
Naenia is the first elven city established since the fall of elvenkind, a sanctuary for the most desperate and outcast: the Dolcursed, fallen elves, lepers, the sick, diseased, and dying. Initially founded on ideals of altruism and compassion, the city promised housing and medical treatment for all in need. These noble intentions drew selfless healers, heroes, and visionaries from all across the world to the city’s cause. However, the rapid influx of desperate souls soon overwhelmed the city's resources. Naenia became dangerously overpopulated, and the strain on infrastructure and supplies forced its leaders to seek aid from Azmik, a fateful decision that would forever change the face of the city.
The Witchhunters responded to the call, offering the assistance the city so desperately needed, but at a heavy cost. In exchange for their aid, they demanded complete
control over Naenia's laws and governance, starting with the absolute prohibition of what they deemed “dark magic.” Under relentless pressure, the city’s leadership reluctantly agreed, their hands tied by sheer necessity.
Overnight, Naenia transformed into a zealous, militaristic state under the Witchhunters’ dominion. What had once been a haven of hope became a place of rigid oppression and fear, as the Witchhunters enforced their laws ruthlessly. The promise of the city's salvation came at the price of its freedom, leaving Naenia caught between its ideals and the grip of its so-called saviors.
Keep Ironloft
Keep Ironloft was once the last bastion of the living during Dolver's infamous 15-year plague of undeath. Today, the fortress stands as the primary military outpost of the country, the spearhead of its defense. Although the keep is not under the stewardship of any of the three dukes, it is fiercely maintained and operated under the command of General Vinitus, who holds authority over all the forces of Dolver from the keep. The primary role of the soldiers at Keep Ironloft is to ensure safe passage between the settlements of Dolver. With the countryside teeming with monsters and dangerous threats, these wayfarers serve as guardians, escorting travelers and maintaining order in a land plagued by horror.
Ratmother Run
Ratmother Run is a treacherous rapid that cuts through the gray pine forest, tumbling over steep rocky descents and fierce undertows. Many who find themselves in the woods would rather risk the river's deadly currents than face the peril of the undead that prowl near the mountain. Named after the Ratfolk who call the region home. Immune to the Soulrot corruption of the Eden Star and the Forsaken Steps, and completely ignored by the undead, the Ratfolk have built an entire colony in this dangerous place. The natural threats of the river, which would deter most other creatures, mean little to the Ratfolk, who are protected by the very dangers that others work so hard to avoid.
The Forsaken Steps
The Forsaken Steps are a mountain that defies the laws of the natural order, an imposing, jagged monolith that exists simultaneously in the living world as well as purgatory.. Long ago, atop the highest step of the mountain, The evil king Felshire consumed the poison of night, ending his mortal life and transforming himself into a lich. His newfound power, vast and terrifying, enabled him to create the Eden Star, a hole in the veil between life and death so powerful it threatened to expand and devour the world and plunging everything into purgatory. In a desperate and bloody battle, Felshire was defeated and bound. The soulrot of the lands of the dead seeps from the Eden Star turning this once proud mountain into a gray lifeless scar. The lands surrounding the mountain are now forbidden to all. The Lich’s imprisonment locked the devastation to the mountain alone. Yet it hovers still, forever threatening the world at the summit of the Forsaken Steps, its expansion frozen in place so long as the lich is never freed.
Serogot
Beneath the dark pallor of the eye of the Eden Star, At the bottom of the Forsaken Steps, along the gray shores of the nameless highland lake lies Serogot. A crumbling chapel that was once dedicated to an order of primordial dragon worshipers, abandoned during Dolver’s plague. Within this dead place is the bones of a dragon with eyes cast upward at the mountain watching the gateway to purgatory in the skies as his elder dragons once did over their own portal gates. Known as “Seregoth the Forlorn” he was raised here by the worshipers and bound by fate to free the lich and reopen the Eden Star in 10,000 years. Leading the hallowed army of skeletal dead back from the afterlife to scour the world and end the age of the living.
This apocalyptic task is one Seregoth has little to no choice in, and as such, he has resented his destiny for thousands of years. His cult did everything in their power to soothe him, but ultimately, Seregoth chose death during the plague over ending the world. However even in death, he found no peace. The plague reanimated his bones, dragged his soul back from hell, anchoring it to his corpse for eternity so that he might fulfill his task when the horns of the apocalypse sound.
Felborne Del
Once a proud kingdom at the edge of Dolver, Felborne Del was the origin of the devastating plague that ravaged the land. The city was completely wiped out, down to one last citizen as the only survivor escaping the disease, in a way. The plague somehow rebore him as an animated skeleton named Drolo Wik. A bard by trade, Drolo wanders the world singing songs about his forgotten beloved city, and through his tunes, the literal spirit of Felborne Del lives on. Animating as a titanic ghostly golem crumbling ramparts and rotting beams rising from its ruins. It is seen in the misty nights shambling through the pines and moors of southern Dolver. Wandering the forgotten roads and long-buried pathways, searching for its last citizen, Drolo. Only when He and the spirit of the city are reunited and the songs of Felborne Del are played the last time both will at last find peace.
Toten Tree
The Dolver Toten Tree is one of ten or twenty of its kind scattered across the world. These trees serve as sacred sites for the Totemic people. While not inherently magical or spiritual, the Toten trees are always the largest trees in an open space, their branches spreading out wide like an umbrella. Travelers use the trees as a way to mark progress on their journeys, with many groups choosing to hang colored flags to decorate the tree’s lower limbs.
These flags signify the route traveled, and the Toten trees often become prominent landmarks during the world-renowned Fadma race. The Fadma is a massive, worldwide race, with participants from across the land. The Toten trees act as checkpoints on the route, places where racers must stop and camp, or at least pause for a night, as they journey from one end of the world to the other.