This page contains a number of topics that aren't easily categorized, except that they deal with various aspects of daily life in the Known Lands Campaign Setting.
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The sentients of the Known Lands speak a wide variety of diverse languages, s ome of which are detailed in this section.
Below are a number of languages encountered within the Known Lands Campaign Setting:
Below are some of the lost languages of the Known Lands Campaign Setting:
| Region | Common | Additional Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Al'turhak | Turokhish | Chimeran, Draconic, Olven, Steadlander, Trade |
| Bloodborder Wood | Olven | Draconic, Dwarven, Faen, Goblesh, Kurgesh, Steadlander, Tarthani, Trade, "Tribal" |
| Chimeran Islands | Chimeran | Dwarven, Goblesh, Kurgesh, Olven, Steadlander, Tarthani, Trade, "Tribal" |
| Clanholds of Jai'dan | Tarthani | Dwarven, Goblesh, Khurgesh, Trade |
| Enhaven | Trade | Any other non-secret language |
| Icelands of Akasha | Akashic | Auran, Draconic, Khurgesh, Shadic, Trade |
| Khurgesh Raiders | Khurgesh | Dwarven, Goblesh, Tarthani, Trade |
| Obsidian Empire | Dwarven | Chimeran, Goblesh, Kurgesh, Olven, Tarthani, Terran, Trade, "Tribal" |
| Plains of Talandine | "Tribal" | Chimeran, Dwarven, Faen, Goblesh, Olven, Steadlander, Trade, "Other Tribal" |
| Sothren Moors | Draconic | Chimeran, Olven, Steadlander, Trade, Turokhish |
| Steadlands | Steadlander | Chimeran, Olven, Trade, "Tribal" |
| Western Shores | Westlander | Draconic, Olven, Shadic, Trade |
For the common man, the passage of time is measured within the Known Lands in terms of days, weeks, months, seasons and years. With a few exceptions, the sun, moon and stars march their way across the sky in a predictable fashion, allowing sentient races the leisure of recording the passage of time through the use of a calendar.
A year is 364 days in length. Some cultures, such as the Blood Elves, the Khurgesh or the Five Tribes of Talandine, measure the passage of time in thirteen months of 28 days each, marking the beginning of each month with the new moon. Over the course of a year, the moon will cycle from new moon to full moon and back again thirteen times. Many natural cycles are measured by the moon's transitions, and races that are closer to nature tend to mark the passage of time with such a calendar. Oral traditions refer to dates by the moon in which events occurred. For such cultures, a week is seven days long, and there are four weeks in a month. Magic, too, follows this cycle, for the effects of spells or supernatural abilities follow this self-same guideline.
More civilized cultures, made more independent of nature's cycles through agriculture and cultivation of the land, mark the passage of time based on the solar year, dividing the year up into twelve months of thirty days apiece, leaving four days without months to honor the summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes. Within these cultures, the months are typically divided into five weeks of six days in length. These are the types of dates typically found in recorded histories. Due to the fact that magic and the supernatural seem to regard a week as consisting of seven days, many civilized cultures refer to this passage of time as "a mage's week." Because of this difference, the imperial dwarves often use the words "a mage's week" when describing the lazy or the late. ("He couldn't get a day's work done in a mage's week.")
Zodiac Calendar: This is a solar calendar, where the months are named for the constellations of the zodiac that marches across the night sky over the Known Lands. Its origins lost in antiquity, the Zodiac Calendar is frequently used in lands that consider themselves civilized.
| Month | Approximate Season | Full Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger | Early spring | 10th |
| Plantfest | Spring Equinox | -- |
| Mi'Raj | Midspring | 7th |
| Dragon | Late spring | 5th |
| Viper | Early summer | 3rd |
| Sunfest | Summer Solstice | Sunfest |
| Horse | Midsummer | 28th |
| Ram | Late summer | 26th |
| Eagle | Early autumn | 24th |
| Harvestfest | Autumn Equinox | -- |
| Hawk | Midautumn | 21st |
| Wolf | Late autumn | 19th |
| Boar | Early winter | 17th |
| Hearthfest | Winter Solstice | -- |
| Rat | Midwinter | 14th |
| Bear | Late winter | 12th |
Names within the Known Lands are important, for they become weighty with one's reputation, for better or worse. Thus, the sentient races of the Known Lands place a great importance on the taking of a strong name when coming of age, a name worthy of the deeds that one expects to accomplish over the course of one's life. Below are some guidelines for choosing names appropriate to the Known Lands Campaign Setting.
In general, all characters have at least one name, the name by which they are known or called. These names typically vary from region to region. Rarely will characters with limited social status have two or three names; those who do are usually ridiculed or misunderstood for it, unless their presence is sufficient to avoid such attitudes. Instead, characters may bear a nickname or similar designation, based as a place name ("Abrahn of Brookhaven"), description ("Abrahn Tallfellow"), reputation ("Abrahn Ratslayer"), occupation ("Abrahn Cooper") or lineage ("Abrahn Erikson").
Characters of the upper class by birth should have an individual name and a family name. Characters below this level of social status may take a name of their choose upon establishing themselves with property or receiving a title, but should not have a family name before that. Characters in long-term service to another may take on their master or lord's family name, with permission, of course.
Tarthani characters are the general exception. They are known by two names: their Clan name is listed first, followed by their individual name. It is customary among the tarthani for individuals to be addressed by their clan names except when among the closest of friends or family, or when the necessity exists to distinguish between two individuals of the same clan name (in which case both names are spoken).
Sometimes, selecting names can be difficult, and it helps to fall back on real world equivalents for inspiration. The following partial list is provided for those seeking insight into names of an appropriate flavor within the Known Lands Campaign Setting. These suggestions are, by no means, binding, and are merely provided to help evoke a somewhat consistent flavor in the setting.
Please consider the following when creating character names:
Below are some notes on different types of mundane services frequently used by commoners within the Known Lands campaign setting.
The Lord's Tax cover many otherwise untaxed significant increases in wealth, and are particularly applied to recovered treasure. When large quantities of treasure are recovered from sources outside the local region (such as from Dendradi ruins, but could also be stretched to cover the treasure from a bandit's camp, etc.), the local ruler/authority assesses a flat tax of 20% of the estimated value of the treasure recovered, plus a 10gp fee for processing the treasure (i.e. paying someone in the confidence of the authorities to cast Detect Magic and evaluate the value of magical items).
Many kingdoms seek means to track powerful adventurers and try to bring them into serving their Crown. While some adventurers are given charters as specialized privateers, most connect themselves to a particular government through the use of Adventuring Company charters.
Traditionally, groups desiring adventuring company charters must typically present a 1000gp gift to the Crown or its local representative to receive a charter. Each year thereafter, the charter must be renewed with another 1000gp gift, by the anniversary of the procurement date, or the charter will be declared null and void, and the members of these adventuring companies lose all benefits of possessing such a license.
Registered adventuring companies are immune to the Lord's Tax within the realm that granted the charter. In addition, company members may have certain other legal rights, depending on the kingdom in question. These rights do not extend beyond the borders of the realm granting the charter, of course. It is possible, though, rare, for companies to hold charters in more than one nation.
Within a month of its initial charter, all members of a registered adventuring company must bear a symbol or badge of the company when within the granting kingdom. Adventuring companies are limited to a maximum of eight members, whose names are registered at the time the charter is submitted. Changes to the membership of an adventuring company must be reported as soon as possible to the Crown granting the charter, through means defined by each individual kingdom. Larger groups typically register as Mercenary Companies, which suffer more restrictions but have a higher opportunity for employment.
Generally speaking, there is no mail service as people of modern-day Earth would know it in the Known Lands campaign setting. Instead, if a message had to be delivered by someone other than the person that wrote it, one hires a professional messenger or pays a travelling merchant to carry missives for them. Among the rich and powerful, magic offers other alternatives to such mundane means.
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