HISTORY
A long time ago, several mighty nations went to war. Their names have been lost to even myth but it was a mighty war between races that threatened to lead to all-out genocide. The problem is that each side, desperate for advantages, ended up encroaching on the homes of the few wizards in the world in their desire to gain weapons that could end the war. The eight wizards, roused from their studies, called upon their magics and ended the war.
This took them under an hour and reshaped much of the world at the time.
Even the gods took notice of that.
There are those who say the wizards were the progenitors of all modern races, or the first heretics. Some claim that races had gods of their own, until the wizards wiped them out. No one knows. What is known is that, in time, the wizards grew in power and ego and several of them banded together to challenge the gods.
The gods did more than take notice. The towers of the wizards were destroyed in the resulting conflict along with the eight wizards themselves. The downside of this is that the magic the wizards had stored and harnessed spilled out all over the world akin to a traumatological bomb going off. Magic ran wild and tree but was eventually tamed into varying different strands of power.
Centuries past, and magic continued to change. The great magics became lost and forgotten, some magics worked differently in differing areas but the vast storehouses of supplies needed for magic vanished as well. Some time ago there was, perhaps, a war against the gods. It’s not talked about by them, but since then there have been few empires of note and the servants of the gods are less seen in the world, apparently busy defending the seen and the unseen in other realms.
In game terms: Non-clerical spells above level 5 are almost never in use. Most everything higher is rumour more than anything else. Few warlocks, wizards or sorcerers become powerful enough to even learn or master such magics and most clerics and paladins etc. retire to teach the next generation of adventurers long before potentially reaching those levels of power.
SOCIETY
The world is currently made up of a wide variety of city-states of differing size and power. Some are impressive and widely known, others generally known locally. Cities are large affairs supported by towns which in turn are supported by villages.
Villages contain homes, small shops etc. Adventurers can expect to find basic supplies and rarely too much more in them. They’re way-points and rest-stops by and large.
Towns generally have an adventurer-based economy. Adventurers explore ruins, find treasure and bring it into the town, trading items with local merchants for things they need and heading out again. Trips into cities are rarer simply because city guards get twitchy around adventuring types and local laws and taxes tend to be higher. As well, some city-states only accept their own coinage while towns and villages are seldom as strict at all.
Adventuring In Society
In general, a surprising amount of the economy results from adventurers. Much of the easily minable and smeltable material has been accessed over the centuries, so the various treasures and trinkets recovered from the Underdark, dungeons, ruins and old cities are valuable more for raw material parts than anything else. Taxes on such items go to the local government, the city-state … and the various adventuring schools/training/hubs in the world.
There are not that many adventurers about, simply because it is that risky and dangerous of a business and few people have the stamina (or stats :)) to become one. A village might serve three bands of adventurers over the space of two years and consider that a large amount. The benefit of this is that the PCs are known (once they’re at about level 5 or so) to be Adventurers, Experienced and gain status from that.
Each class keeps the fruit of the training secret from others, but adventurers in good standing (and often recommended by a member of said class) can multiclass. Classes could be seen as akin to specialized and secretive guilds to some extent though characters pay no kind of tithe and aren’t expected to hide abilities/talents from allies though the unwritten rule is that one doesn’t question too much how another class can do certain things and so forth.
(Note: Ideally this means each player knows the Path their character is going to take in a class and it’s assumed the PC has been prepped/trained toward that in the run-up to reaching level one. This isn’t some hard or fast rule, however, mostly existing for flavour.)
Supplies
Adventurers trade items for other items. Depending on the groups rep and character, they get better deals etc. with merchants they trade with often and can use competing merchants for their advantage.
Potion Hut, for example, supplies only potions. Which means they have quite a few, but take less items in trade (beyond empty bottles, alchemical supplies, raw coins etc.)
Potion World has fewer potions (and at a slightly higher cost) but will trade for other items as well and, being the newcomer, make more deals if it means repeat business.
The surly shopkeeper is rare, in other words. Adventurers are good business and good for business, and towns and villages treat you accordingly. (Wiping out orcs/goblins etc. around the local area is, of course, a boon as well.) PCs are expected and encouraged to trade for goods more than hold onto items and vendors in towns they frequent often can serve as banks as well - additionally, a lot of inns offer free room/board to adventurers. Especially at higher levels; would you say no to someone who can destroy your inn with a single fireball?
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