A Guide to Fiore
The following information is intended to explain various aspects of Fiore and how they may differ from other D&D settings. Because of the diversity in the Fiore setting some information may not be true on certain continents, this is instead meant to establish a base tone for what to expect.
There are two exceptions: orcs and drow.
Orcs: Orc females remain behind with the young when orcs go to war or raiding. It’s a primitive and tribal culture where physical strength determines your role in society.
Drow: Drow culture is highly matriarchal. This is largely due to the influence Lolth has had over them, but even those few groups that have escaped her influence tend to maintain a matriarchal society, though a much less exploitative one.
• Keep it PG. Avoid topics such as rape and molestation.
• Homosexuality and bisexuality are just as valid as heterosexuality and should not be depicted as negative, for humor, or using stereotypes.
• People can have gender identities other than their physical gender, but this should not be depicted as negative, for humor, or using stereotypes.
Spellcasters in General: Except for extremely unusual circumstances (such as a college of wizardry) spellcasters are individuals. They have personalities and personal stories and unique spell lists. Magic exists and is abundant in Fiore, but people who can bend it to their will are still rare enough to cause people to take notice. Similar to celebrities in the sense of people from a rural area are fully aware they exist, but one passing through town will be talked about for days. In the same vein people in a city may know of one who lives there, but actually seeing them in the street is something to gossip about. This also works in the negative; a town harassed by a necromancer will probably continue to be suspicious if not hostile towards any spellcasters for generations to come.
Barbarians. Fiore has cultures described as barbarians and D&D has the class called barbarian, but they are not synonymous. People with the barbarian class are special warriors even in barbarian tribes.
Clerics. Clerics are special individuals gifted with divine power by a deity, but they don’t have the gods on speed dial nor are the gods constantly watching their every move. Clerics of a deity can go astray of a deity’s ethos or even betray their deity. Judgment of such infractions might be immediate or saved until the afterlife, based upon the whim of the deity.
Druids. Druids are not clerics by another name and do not devote themselves to a single deity. Instead, druids (regardless of race) pay homage to the “First Circle,” which is a pantheon of nature-based gods from various racial pantheons. Most druid characters should acknowledge a circle of druids from which they originate, the circle being a group of druids that serves all the druids that are part of it as a body of wisdom, lore, and news.
Monks. Monks are not monastic priests in the Christian sense, but meditative martial artists in the Eastern sense. There are dozens of monastic orders spread across Fiore, and monasteries tend to devote themselves to one specific style of teaching. That said, each one will have its own unique take, adapted over time and adjusted by various masters. A Sun Soul monk that trained at one monastery would notice differences were they to train at a different Sun Soul monastery. Many monks of Fiore are associated with a human religious order, acting as protectors of holy sites and sometimes as enforcers or assassins.
Paladins. Paladins are warriors of unusual virtue and piety rewarded by a typically good god with divine power. Paladins follow a common code of ethics but paladins of different deities emphasize different aspects. (A paladin of Sune would emphasize aspects of courtly love and courtesy, whereas a paladin of Tyr would be more concerned with justice and fair treatment of foes.) As with clerics, paladins can go astray of their code, but paladins are typically judged more swiftly and harshly by their gods.
Rangers. Low-level rangers can be depicted like mountain men and wilderness guides. Once a ranger has spellcasting, that ranger has been chosen by a nature deity and granted power. Rangers with spellcasting should show devotion to a specific nature deity depending on the ranger’s alignment, they are fully aware the magic they access is divine, not arcane in nature.
Sorcerer. The source of a sorcerer’s power should be a significant element of the character’s story. They are born with that power, but it stills comes from, usually, an easily identifiable source.
Warlocks. Warlocks always have a patron and a bargain. Those things should be a huge part of such a character and that character’s part in any plot. Ask for appropriate options for a patron and details. Note that not all the Great Old One patrons mentioned in the Player’s Handbook are appropriate to Fiore. Of the ones mentioned, Ghaunadar, called That Which Lurks; Kezef, the Chaos Hound, and Dendar, the Night Serpent, exist in Fiore.
Wizards. In addition to a spellbook, a wizard in Fiore crafts a sigil that is the wizard’s symbol and is used in various spells and rituals to represent the wizard. Also, it is extremely rare for a wizard to have a familiar.
Adventurer. “Adventurer” is a word that describes people of a certain occupation or lifestyle, that being people who brave dangers to make their fortunes. It’s a broad term, not a specific one: Just as a bodyguard or assassin is a type of mercenary, tomb robber and explorer are types of adventurer.
Barbarian. “Barbarian” is used for anyone thought to be barbaric, not just people who have the class. Individuals who have the class and can therefor enter a battle rage are often referred to by another name that sets them apart (berserker, dwarven battlerager, and so on).
Bard. This word is reserved for people who have the bard class. They have magical powers that regular minstrels, musicians, and singers lack.
Class. “Class” is not a term anyone would use to refer to people that have a class in the game sense.
Cleric. A priest is anyone who devotes themselves to the service of a deity and/or the maintenance of a shrine or temple (to one or more deities). A “cleric” is someone who is granted spells by a particular deity. People in the world would call a cleric a priest, but they would not call a priest without powers a cleric.
Druid. A druid is always a member of the class. People do use the word “druid” to refer to them.
Fighter. People in the world use the word “fighter” like we do. It’s a word for someone who fights; a boxer is a fighter. An adventurer who has the fighter class would likely refer to himself as a warrior.
Mage. “Mage” is a nonspecific term used in the world to refer to arcane spellcasters. It most often refers to wizards, but it can be used for sorcerers and warlocks.
Monk. “Monk” is a term used like we use it. It refers both to people trained in a martial art at a monastery setting (and therefor a member of the monk class), and it refers to members of a religious order that have a European-style monastic lifestyle.
Paladin. Paladins are all members of the paladin class. They are recognized as individuals imbued with special powers.
Ranger. Rangers are members of the ranger class, not merely woodsmen, mountaineers, or survivalists. They are imbued with special powers.
Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. These terms are distinct and have separate meanings, referring to members of the respective classes. However, to many people in the world they are synonymous. Anyone with knowledge of the arcane arts knows the distinguishing elements, but to common people, any of these terms might be ascribed to an arcane spellcaster.
Polytheism. People in Fiore are polytheistic. They worship and acknowledge many gods for a variety of reasons. Various races and cultures favor some sets of gods over others, but all acknowledge the existence of other deities than those they favor.
Temples and Shrines. The temples of deities in Fiore do not look like Christian churches. They do not have pews. People do not attend Sunday service. The appearance of the worship place of a deity or a number of deities will depend on the deities involved. Many deities do not even have structures built for worshipers to go to. A god of nature would be worshipped at a sacred pond or glen, a god calamity or destruction would not typically have a temple built it their honor. It is common for most gods in a racial pantheon to be worshipped together in a single temple, especially in a smaller town that couldn't spare multiple buildings or priests.
Priests vs. Clerics. A priest is anyone who decides to dedicate themselves to honoring a deity and maintaining the rites and traditions of the religion. Most temples and shrines are attended by priests, not clerics. Clerics are holy warriors specially gifted by a god (or gods) with divine power. That power has a purpose, and it's rare that the purpose would be to tend to a building.
Distant Gods. Although gods have walked the world in the past, they are now more distant and unknowable. Stories can focus on the activities of the faithful of the deities and what they do in their names or what the gods want but should avoid direct interaction with gods. As always, exceptions can be made, but only for significant purpose.
Adamantite. If you want a super hard metal, use adamantite. Adamantite is a jet-black alloy of Adamant and other metals. Usually black in color, adamantite will have a green sheen when viewed by candlelight or a purple-white sheen when viewed by magical light. Adamantite is incredibly strong and hard. Weapons made from it can cut through weaker metals. Armor made from it is nigh impenetrable.
Mithral. If you want a super light metal, use mithral. Mithral is a silvery-white metal. Items made out of mithral weigh half as much as similar items made of steel. Pieces of armor made mostly out of mithral are very light, therefore they allow the wearer to make better use of their natural agility and are less restrictive on the spellcasting.
Volidium. If you want an easily enchantable metal, use volidium. Volidium is a silvery-blue metal, with the electric blue undertones becoming more prominent when polished. Volidium holds a magical enchantment much like iron can hold a magnetic charge, easy to apply but temporary and short lived. Weapons made with volidium are often paired with storm crystals to add elemental damage to their attacks. Volidium can only be mined from where mithral veins come into contact or close proximity to ley lines, the natural channels of magic flowing through Fiore. The specific circumstances and the inability to replicate them make volidium a highly rare and sought after material.
Tone
Fiore is a hopeful setting. The good guys will eventually win. While themes such as cynicism, romance, tragedy, morality, and failure certainly have a place in Fiore, they are not meant to be the final result. When the story is finished players should feel accomplished and satisfied, not like their actions have ruined lives.Diversity
Fiore was never intended to be a mirror for real world social and racial issues or concerns. That said, it does have its own spin on diversity. As a general rule, races will have similar overarching physical traits. This should not limit their depictions, merely give guidelines for what the average member of a race would look like. The exceptions to this rule are humans, whose complexions and traits are as varied in Fiore as they are in the real world. This will be explained more in-depth in each race's individual article. It is also important to remember that the bigger the city, the more diverse its inhabitants will be, and the people will be less likely to take note of someone from a different race.Gender Roles
As a rule, males and females should be depicted in equal measure and doing all the same jobs in equal status regardless of the race or culture. The woman of the house is just as likely to go to war as the man. Avoid clichés that reinforce sexist stereotypes about women: the damsel in distress, the sexy barmaid, the hooker with the heart of gold, the slinky Catwoman-like thief, the woman who uses enticement to sex as “empowerment,” and so on.There are two exceptions: orcs and drow.
Orcs: Orc females remain behind with the young when orcs go to war or raiding. It’s a primitive and tribal culture where physical strength determines your role in society.
Drow: Drow culture is highly matriarchal. This is largely due to the influence Lolth has had over them, but even those few groups that have escaped her influence tend to maintain a matriarchal society, though a much less exploitative one.
Sex and Sexuality
Depictions of sex and romance between characters should be rare in D&D stories. Novels aside, D&D tends to be like an action movie without any love interests. If sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity does need to be portrayed, here are the guidelines:• Keep it PG. Avoid topics such as rape and molestation.
• Homosexuality and bisexuality are just as valid as heterosexuality and should not be depicted as negative, for humor, or using stereotypes.
• People can have gender identities other than their physical gender, but this should not be depicted as negative, for humor, or using stereotypes.
Technology
While often described as Medieval fantasy, D&D has a mix of technologies from various eras. In Fiore, different locations and cultures have access to different technologies, but large cities generally have access to the technologies of the Renaissance and before: printing presses, movable type, hourglasses (called “sandglasses”), magnifying glasses, clocks (large ones), telescopes, spectacles, paper, windmills, watermills, water screws, sewers, running water (mostly in nobles’ houses), fountains, and viaducts.Gears, Gadgets, Clockwork, and Automatons:
When depicting these things, think more in terms of wood and canvass than metal and bolts. These items should be more like something Leonardo Da Vinci would make, not Victorian-era steampunk.
Guns and Explosives:
Fiore has black powder, which is a predecessor to gunpowder. Its creation is a secret known to only a few, and it is primarily used for fireworks. People do not use guns or cannons. Black powder is not used as an explosive except in extremely rare circumstances when justified by a story link to a black powder source.
Classes
There is a lot more to know about the various classes of D&D, but below are some elements to keep in mind when depicting characters with a D&D class in Fiore. It will also include how the common folk may perceive someone of a class.Spellcasters in General: Except for extremely unusual circumstances (such as a college of wizardry) spellcasters are individuals. They have personalities and personal stories and unique spell lists. Magic exists and is abundant in Fiore, but people who can bend it to their will are still rare enough to cause people to take notice. Similar to celebrities in the sense of people from a rural area are fully aware they exist, but one passing through town will be talked about for days. In the same vein people in a city may know of one who lives there, but actually seeing them in the street is something to gossip about. This also works in the negative; a town harassed by a necromancer will probably continue to be suspicious if not hostile towards any spellcasters for generations to come.
Barbarians. Fiore has cultures described as barbarians and D&D has the class called barbarian, but they are not synonymous. People with the barbarian class are special warriors even in barbarian tribes.
Clerics. Clerics are special individuals gifted with divine power by a deity, but they don’t have the gods on speed dial nor are the gods constantly watching their every move. Clerics of a deity can go astray of a deity’s ethos or even betray their deity. Judgment of such infractions might be immediate or saved until the afterlife, based upon the whim of the deity.
Druids. Druids are not clerics by another name and do not devote themselves to a single deity. Instead, druids (regardless of race) pay homage to the “First Circle,” which is a pantheon of nature-based gods from various racial pantheons. Most druid characters should acknowledge a circle of druids from which they originate, the circle being a group of druids that serves all the druids that are part of it as a body of wisdom, lore, and news.
Monks. Monks are not monastic priests in the Christian sense, but meditative martial artists in the Eastern sense. There are dozens of monastic orders spread across Fiore, and monasteries tend to devote themselves to one specific style of teaching. That said, each one will have its own unique take, adapted over time and adjusted by various masters. A Sun Soul monk that trained at one monastery would notice differences were they to train at a different Sun Soul monastery. Many monks of Fiore are associated with a human religious order, acting as protectors of holy sites and sometimes as enforcers or assassins.
Paladins. Paladins are warriors of unusual virtue and piety rewarded by a typically good god with divine power. Paladins follow a common code of ethics but paladins of different deities emphasize different aspects. (A paladin of Sune would emphasize aspects of courtly love and courtesy, whereas a paladin of Tyr would be more concerned with justice and fair treatment of foes.) As with clerics, paladins can go astray of their code, but paladins are typically judged more swiftly and harshly by their gods.
Rangers. Low-level rangers can be depicted like mountain men and wilderness guides. Once a ranger has spellcasting, that ranger has been chosen by a nature deity and granted power. Rangers with spellcasting should show devotion to a specific nature deity depending on the ranger’s alignment, they are fully aware the magic they access is divine, not arcane in nature.
Sorcerer. The source of a sorcerer’s power should be a significant element of the character’s story. They are born with that power, but it stills comes from, usually, an easily identifiable source.
Warlocks. Warlocks always have a patron and a bargain. Those things should be a huge part of such a character and that character’s part in any plot. Ask for appropriate options for a patron and details. Note that not all the Great Old One patrons mentioned in the Player’s Handbook are appropriate to Fiore. Of the ones mentioned, Ghaunadar, called That Which Lurks; Kezef, the Chaos Hound, and Dendar, the Night Serpent, exist in Fiore.
Wizards. In addition to a spellbook, a wizard in Fiore crafts a sigil that is the wizard’s symbol and is used in various spells and rituals to represent the wizard. Also, it is extremely rare for a wizard to have a familiar.
Game Terms in the World
Most game terms like “saving throw,” “level,” and so on are obviously not something people in the world use. Below are some special notes about terminology where the distinction is less clear.Adventurer. “Adventurer” is a word that describes people of a certain occupation or lifestyle, that being people who brave dangers to make their fortunes. It’s a broad term, not a specific one: Just as a bodyguard or assassin is a type of mercenary, tomb robber and explorer are types of adventurer.
Barbarian. “Barbarian” is used for anyone thought to be barbaric, not just people who have the class. Individuals who have the class and can therefor enter a battle rage are often referred to by another name that sets them apart (berserker, dwarven battlerager, and so on).
Bard. This word is reserved for people who have the bard class. They have magical powers that regular minstrels, musicians, and singers lack.
Class. “Class” is not a term anyone would use to refer to people that have a class in the game sense.
Cleric. A priest is anyone who devotes themselves to the service of a deity and/or the maintenance of a shrine or temple (to one or more deities). A “cleric” is someone who is granted spells by a particular deity. People in the world would call a cleric a priest, but they would not call a priest without powers a cleric.
Druid. A druid is always a member of the class. People do use the word “druid” to refer to them.
Fighter. People in the world use the word “fighter” like we do. It’s a word for someone who fights; a boxer is a fighter. An adventurer who has the fighter class would likely refer to himself as a warrior.
Mage. “Mage” is a nonspecific term used in the world to refer to arcane spellcasters. It most often refers to wizards, but it can be used for sorcerers and warlocks.
Monk. “Monk” is a term used like we use it. It refers both to people trained in a martial art at a monastery setting (and therefor a member of the monk class), and it refers to members of a religious order that have a European-style monastic lifestyle.
Paladin. Paladins are all members of the paladin class. They are recognized as individuals imbued with special powers.
Ranger. Rangers are members of the ranger class, not merely woodsmen, mountaineers, or survivalists. They are imbued with special powers.
Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. These terms are distinct and have separate meanings, referring to members of the respective classes. However, to many people in the world they are synonymous. Anyone with knowledge of the arcane arts knows the distinguishing elements, but to common people, any of these terms might be ascribed to an arcane spellcaster.
Religion
Below are a few notes to keep in mind for depictions of religion in Fiore.Polytheism. People in Fiore are polytheistic. They worship and acknowledge many gods for a variety of reasons. Various races and cultures favor some sets of gods over others, but all acknowledge the existence of other deities than those they favor.
Temples and Shrines. The temples of deities in Fiore do not look like Christian churches. They do not have pews. People do not attend Sunday service. The appearance of the worship place of a deity or a number of deities will depend on the deities involved. Many deities do not even have structures built for worshipers to go to. A god of nature would be worshipped at a sacred pond or glen, a god calamity or destruction would not typically have a temple built it their honor. It is common for most gods in a racial pantheon to be worshipped together in a single temple, especially in a smaller town that couldn't spare multiple buildings or priests.
Priests vs. Clerics. A priest is anyone who decides to dedicate themselves to honoring a deity and maintaining the rites and traditions of the religion. Most temples and shrines are attended by priests, not clerics. Clerics are holy warriors specially gifted by a god (or gods) with divine power. That power has a purpose, and it's rare that the purpose would be to tend to a building.
Distant Gods. Although gods have walked the world in the past, they are now more distant and unknowable. Stories can focus on the activities of the faithful of the deities and what they do in their names or what the gods want but should avoid direct interaction with gods. As always, exceptions can be made, but only for significant purpose.
Unique Metals
There are three special metals in Fiore.Adamantite. If you want a super hard metal, use adamantite. Adamantite is a jet-black alloy of Adamant and other metals. Usually black in color, adamantite will have a green sheen when viewed by candlelight or a purple-white sheen when viewed by magical light. Adamantite is incredibly strong and hard. Weapons made from it can cut through weaker metals. Armor made from it is nigh impenetrable.
Mithral. If you want a super light metal, use mithral. Mithral is a silvery-white metal. Items made out of mithral weigh half as much as similar items made of steel. Pieces of armor made mostly out of mithral are very light, therefore they allow the wearer to make better use of their natural agility and are less restrictive on the spellcasting.
Volidium. If you want an easily enchantable metal, use volidium. Volidium is a silvery-blue metal, with the electric blue undertones becoming more prominent when polished. Volidium holds a magical enchantment much like iron can hold a magnetic charge, easy to apply but temporary and short lived. Weapons made with volidium are often paired with storm crystals to add elemental damage to their attacks. Volidium can only be mined from where mithral veins come into contact or close proximity to ley lines, the natural channels of magic flowing through Fiore. The specific circumstances and the inability to replicate them make volidium a highly rare and sought after material.
Comments