Core Assumptions / 5 Things you Should Know

• If it exists in D&D, it usually has a place in Dawn. Items, races, classes, concepts and other things aside from the game system mechanics, make up the collective con­struct that is D&D. These elements may have been al­tered somewhat to better fit in with the Campaign Set­ting, but as a general rule of thumb they can be found in Kjeldorn as well.
• Kjeldorn is a high-magic world, but not a magi­cally-advanced society. Supernatural creatures of all kinds roam the wilderness, portals from other planes open and spew forth creatures both friendly and hostile, vast lands have been magically altered by the Warp, Primal Spirits roam invisibly among mortals, and deities extend their reach upon the world; Kjeldorn is suffused with magic.
  However, magic itself is a feared and poorly-unders­tood concept by the vast majority of ordinary people liv­ing in Havnor and beyond. Users of magic exist, but they are largely met with suspicion and fear by the com­moner—their numbers and abilities monitored and di­rected by the Ascended King and his Order of Chrono­mancy. Likewise items enchanted with magic are un­common and shops peddling in these trinkets are excee­dingly rare and found only in the largest of communities. This will not affect the rate your characters will find magical loot—as they are exceptional individuals in ex­ceptional circumstances—but as regards the world at large, magic is not a properly-documented power and wielding it—either directly or in the form of items—is special.
• Centers of civilization are points of light in a world that is otherwise engulfed in darkness. Kjel­dorn is a dangerous place. Savage beasts, magical mon­sters, and entities far stranger roam seemingly unchecked presenting dangers to one’s health and sanity. Worse yet these creatures are as common and ‘naturally-occurring’ as bears and horses are on Earth.
  The civilized peoples of the world can only hope to barricade themselves in their cities and villages, and hope that their defenses prove their mettle against the ever encroaching darkness. Large kingdoms or empires are not safe domains. One cannot freely travel from one city to another without protection even within the border of a nation such as the Firstborn Empire.
• Kjeldorn is mysterious. Wild, uncontrolled regions abound and cover most of the world. No one race lords over the world, and vast kingdoms are rare.
  People know the area they live in well, and they’ve heard stories of other places from merchants and travel­ers, but few know what lies beyond the mountains or in the depth of the great forest unless they’ve been there personally. Likewise, inhabitants of Dawn have only a vague idea of what Dusk or Night is like.
• Kjeldorn is one world—there are others. The Natu­ral Universe—what scholars may call the Prime Material Plane—is a vast (some would say infinite) expanse of stars, planets, and galaxies. Kjeldorn is but only one planet with life and by no means is it unique in that regard. Other habitable planets with sentient life exist, often populated with races and civilizations much like that of Kjeldorn. Many worlds have humans, elves, and dwarves—but often these races have a different cultural background. Pea­sants are probably oblivious to this, but anyone above 9^th level has at least heard of worlds such as Abeir-Toril, Athas, Krynn, Ebberron, Hedem, and Moebius.