My Fantasy World For RPGs: Exploring Belanaramir

So, a while back I was going to be starting up a Dungeons & Dragons series for work but unfortunately it just never came to fruition. The world I created was one that I was going to use for my own roleplaying games too but I've not really talked about it in any great detail beyond an outline of the world.

With that in mind, I thought I'd jump in and give you some of the details behind this world so that you could use it if you like in your own games, be it Dungeons & Dragons or something else.

The Cataclysm

The world in question is named Belanaramir and it was once ruled over by a contingent of Elves and Humans who had vanquished the darkness and created a society ruled by law, order and cooperation across the realms.

However, soon the two ideologies of the world clashed when it came to understanding the nature of magic and how it should be used. The caused a great war between the two factions known as The Great Divide.

On one side you have The Arcana Viribus who believe that magic comes from all around them in the world, a wild force that was to be tamed and used to enhance the powers of individuals.

On the other side, you had The Radiant Light who believed that magic was bestowed upon them by the Gods and should only be wielded by those who had the powerful bearing to control it.

These competing ideologies were presided over by Archmage Kinarius of the Arcana Viribus and Saint Jonna of The Radiant Light who eventually brought their forces to bear against each other in a grand battle which was forever known as The Cataclysm.

The lands now known as The Broken Expanse were the site of the massive battle and as both of the leaders of these factions clashed, the magical feedback from their powerful strikes fed back into the earth and in a large explosion, both armies were utterly wiped from the face of the earth, their bodies reduced to dust inside their armour and the land torn apart, all life around the site of the final confrontation was turned into a bitter and sand-swept desolation.

The Rise Of Devos

After The Cataclysm an Elf who had been watching from the shadows and playing both sides decided that now was his time to rise to power. Bringing his cult of Necromancers with him, Magister Devos was able to sow the seeds of rebellion amongst the populace with the help of his cabal known as The Bloodseek. They were able to take control of the major places of power across the world and he took to installing thralls into governments and other positions in order to enact his control of Belanaramir.

Over time people forgot about how exactly Devos had managed to ascend to power as he was able to weave a narrative of his own that he had been the great healer, able to bring the world back together under his just and honest rule. He was heralded as a hero and still to this day, hundreds of years on, he still sits in a place of power known as Blackgate that sits on the continent of Drakewold.

Within secret places, there are whispers of his he is able to use strange magics in order to extend his life and that of his finest agents amongst The Bloodseek but many see this as heresy and hearsay.

His loyal servants that have now taken command on his behalf across the world include...

• Minev - Devos’ Sister who serves as Lady and Protector of Drakewold in his stead
• Sirn - Commander of The Crystal Reef
• Jahn - Governer of The Broken Expanse

While the land around Blackgate and throughout Drakewold goes on, the shadow of Devos hangs over the land and he still maintains his iron grip on rule. Corrupt governors and those under his sway are routinely "elected" into office and those who speak out against Devos and his reign soon find themselves dying in mysterious circumstances.

Life Goes On

There are still many places within the world where life now continues as normal or at least a sense of normality that the people have become accustomed too. Here is a breakdown of some of the other continents on Belanaramir.

The Broken Lands: The capital city is Geldhaven, a small, once splendid city which now acts as a port of call for adventurers. It sits next to the vast desert which gives its name to the continent which played host to the battle between Kinarius and Joanna. It is now a wasteland filled with demons and ruins of a once beautiful landscape. 

The Dune Watch is a band of gifted individuals that dwell within this land and are in an allegiance of necessity with those in Devos' sway. Members of the Dune Watch are part of an Ancient Order blessed after The Divide with a remnant of Kinarius' power. Because of this, they are adept at surviving the corruption of the desert and its demons and keep them at bay. While the Shade of The Broken Lands, Jahn, despises the Dune Watch he knows that they are needed and their numbers are small enough as to not pose a threat to Devos across the other side of the world in Drakewold. 

Crystal Reef: A place of many islands, broken apart from the mainland during The Divide. To the south, the islands feature lush jungles but to the north, the magical energies still permeate the landscape. The ground is like obsidian glass and storms rage across the coastline. 

Drakewold: Named so because of the Dragons that used to inhabit the lands before The Divide this is the second-largest continent and where most of the people of Belanaramir live. It is home to lush forests, mountain ranges, snowfall to the north and a temperate climate in the south. 

To the north of Belanaramir the people of The Chained Wolves, a range of mountains, are Devos' most staunch opposition. Border fights continue between the armies of Devos and the people of the Chained Wolves yet neither has been able to truly gain traction and defeat the other. 

The Chained Wolves are known as a barbaric people, wild and without sense, those who lie with Giants. Devos and his Bloodseek use this as the means by which they keep the populace on their side. If they were to be ruled by the Chained Wolves their lives would be returned to anarchy and they would find themselves returning to a time of terror rather than peace.

Living In Belanaramir

There are many different peoples, some common, some not so common amongst the lands of Belanaramir and with that in mind you will often see as many typically monstrous races that you might know from Dungeons & Dragons alongside familiar ones...

Human, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Gnome, Half-Orc, Tiefling, Dragonborn, Aasimar, Goliath, Triton, Goblin, Bugbear, Orc, Firbolg, Hobgoblin, Kenku, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Tabaxi, Yuan-ti Pureblood

Humans are rare amongst the peoples of Belanaramir as they were part of the ruling class that once held sway over the world and were almost wiped out by Devos and The Bloodseek.

Elves are some of the most common peoples, having the good fortune (some might say) of being of the race that Devos and his Bloodseek hail from.

Very few races and monsters are inherently evil but to the same degree, there are few people who are inherently good either, a sense of personal self-worth has been instilled in the populace by The Bloodseek and many folks go about their general work and lives and a lot of people have forgotten about the old wounds of the past.

A lot of people now view The Bloodseek as masterful leaders and scions of justice, protecting them against the threat of The Chained Wolves in Drakewold and making sure that their lives are lived in peace.

Magic is not outlawed and The Bloodseek encourage those of magical talent to come forth to join the esteemed ranks of their order to serve at Devos’ side, as long as they are pure of blood and are found to be useful by those in power.

Magic is used in abundance to power many things including lights and other things and is used quite regularly to transport individuals for example via teleportation grids and sigils. There is a real sense that within this world there is quite a lot of freedom to do and be whomever you want.

In reality, there are always people watching you from the shadows. Anything that would threaten the rule of Devos is met with harsh judgement and there are routinely parades and pronouncements around the settlements of Drakewold, in particular, extolling the virtues Devos' rule.

Playing In Belanaramir & Adventure Hooks

If you're going to be diving in and using this as a background for your own Dungeons & Dragons games then you can run it in a few different ways. The land has been designed so that it can work for a number of different styles of adventure.

Perhaps you want to have a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas around the Crystal Reef as you cruise past island of glass? Maybe you want to immerse yourself in a world based on European Fantasy tropes and venture through the woodlands of Drakewold? Maybe the call of The Dune Watch is enough to have you become the last bastion of defence on a frontier filled with magical monsters and a land which is effectively like that of a magical post-apocalypse?

The overarching theme though should be one of secret oppression. Being heroes within this world is all well and good but you'll no doubt find that The Bloodseek are on your tail if you start to ruffle feathers. Maybe you like the idea of your heroes being the ones who are rising up against The Bloodseek and Devos in order to overthrow him and bring truth to the people?

The nature of how Devos was able to write his own history might also provide you with some interesting roleplaying opportunities. It is unlikely that your heroes know of the time before Devos as anything other than a legend and a myth so they might find it hard to realise that nothing is quite as it seems. This certainly throws some interesting elements into the mix for Paladins and Clerics who might find themselves at odds with their devout duties. 

Also, this is a prime opportunity to look into playing races that you normally wouldn't have considered. Because Devos has "welcomed all into his embrace" you can have fun with building settlements, players, NPCs and more who are drawn from a range of monster races. The typical ideas of your standard adventuring party are not in play here. 

A lot of my inspiration for Belanaramir came from the work of Joe Abercrombie and The First Law trilogy. I loved reading about his world where everything seemed to be going swimmingly but, like a duck paddling on a lake, there is chaos going on beneath the surface and it the wheels of power are forever grinding and churning up those that are unfortunate enough to be caught up in it. 

With all of that being said, this is simply a guide as to a darker Fantasy world that you might want to enjoy. If you do end up using it for your own campaigns please let me know and tell me what stories you tell!

Art by Konstantinos Skenteridis, Christian Dimitrov, Juan Pablo Roldan, Dmitry Vishnevsky, and Rens Verspagen