Peril and Power
This is my homebrew setting, the 'starting region' of which is flavored by European folklore rather than the more intense Tolkien influence in most DnD settings.
It is on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, and therefore more technologically advanced than the Forgotten Realms setting. No steam engines, but gunpowder and primitive firearms will be available (but due to their lack of reliability and stopping power, bows and crossbows are still favored as ranged weapons), with sort of an Elizabethan Era vibe to the politics and social structure of human civilization. Feudalism will be alive and well, with rigid social structures in place, though larger cities have formed along with a merchant class that places gold above station.
Flavor-wise, there are some things I should point out.
1. Elves do not exist in this setting. Instead, there are Seelie and Unseelie Fey that are fairly dangerous to humans, even when they don't mean to be.
2. Orcs do not exist in this setting. Their role is filled with ogres, trolls, gnolls, goblinoids, etc.
3. Halflings and gnomes don’t exist in this setting.
4. As far as the characters know, dwarves do not exist.
5. Races that WILL appear in the setting are selkies, neanderthals, tieflings, aasimar, and genasi.
Now, politically, some interesting things are happening in the setting.
The starting region of the setting is split into a handful of kingdoms, most of which get along well enough for the sake of trade relations, but one of the kings (whose reign has only just begun and took the throne circumstances shady enough to earn him the nickname of "the Usurper") is expanding his army and his cabal of wizards and rumors abound that he wants to unite the separate kingdoms into an empire. As his military campaign draws near, the kingdoms are forced to align themselves with the anti-imperial faction or the would-be emperor's faction.
Character creation guidelines are here.
More specific setting information and house rules can be found by clicking on the links in this sentence.
Pay special attention to the Recharge Magic variant rule and the Armor as Damage Reduction variant rule.
If there are any questions about the setting, PLEASE feel free to ask them. I'm happy to answer any question you may have, and if I haven't detailed something it's either because I haven't thought to write about it or it's not something the PCs would know.
