Barovia

Barovia

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The continent of Barovia; Partially tamed, far from united.

Barovia is home to a handful of different cultures and realms, the most notable of which being:
The Kingdom of the Bleakmen The Asherai Sultanate Moraulden The Duchy of Oestmark The Tribes of Locrud The Wildmen

History

Little is known of the continent from the Age of Myth; the era before the first arrival of human settlers. Native races of Barovia include Orcs, Goblins, and rumors of other sapient beings such as Dwarves, Elves, and other Fey creatures that were driven out of the wilderness from which the four realms were carved. Wildmen are an unknown. Despite historians claiming that they are a group of Bleakmen gone feral, it is uncomfortable to consider what could have caused civilized men to devolve into such an animalistic state. Perhaps they were here before the arrival of Old World Humans, and may be something different entirely.
Humans first arrived on the west coast of Barovia in the year 0, beginning the Age of Civilization. The first permanent settlement being Innsmuth, the capital of The Kingdom of the Bleakmen. The Bleakmen mostly contented themselves to remain west of The Slumbering Mountains, though when the second migration wave arrived around 200 years later, some of the bleak joined the caravans eastward through Edwin's Pass.
The Sha'adi are a mix of bleak, Oestmarken, and possibly a race of pre-arrival humans; though most historians are adamant there were no human denizens in Barovia prior to the first arrival. The Sha'adi resulted from the bleakmen and oestmarken who remained in The Sha'ad Wastes to found Niveh on the banks of the River Rakkad.
Upon arrival in Oestmark, (named for themselves), the Oestmarken founded various settlements and established The Duchy of Oestmark. The few Bleakmen who traveled with the caravans were quickly assimilated into the Oestmarken culture and ethnicity.
Moraulden is the youngest realm by far; established originally as an Oestmarken colonial venture into the untamed wilds of Aerelith, it was established as an independent kingdom in the year 676.

Geography

Barovia's geography ranges from lush forests, to desert, to frozen wastes. A good portion of the continent has been conquered and tamed by human settlers from "The Old World", but large tracts of savage lands still remain.

Type

Continent

Included Locations

• Aerelith
• Oestmark
• The Bleak Coast
• The Sha'ad Wastes
• The Slumbering Mountains
• The Wilds

Contested By

• Moraulden
• The Asherai Sultanate
• The Duchy of Oestmark
• The Kingdom of the Bleakmen