My Game

​This is an attempt at a quick summary of rules/lore from my game so that players are not caught off-guard when things don't work exactly as described in the rule books and other D&D lore.

Death

 * While I think it is perfectly valid to play D&D just to role-play and create a story together, and therefore avoid killing off PCs unless dramatically appropriate, that is not the game I want to run.
 * I try to make my game a mix of role-playing and strategic game-play, and I think for that to be interesting there has to be consequences. There has to be the possibility of death, even TPK.
 * I think a big part of D&D is making interesting decisions, including the decision to retreat. Maybe even the decision to retreat and leave your friend to die. I also think it's fun and exciting when players come up with a brilliant way out of an impossible seeming situation. So I intend to make some (but not all) encounters very difficult, maybe even impossible, a Kobayashi Maru.
 * Losing an encounter does not always mean death. Sometimes it does, such as when fighting a wild animal or an evil overlord, but guards/minions generally prefer to take prisoners than to kill outright.

My Game My Rules

 * I tell people that I'm running D&D, so I think it would be ingenuine if they arrived and found out that in my world there are no elves or all combat will be resolved via super smash bros. That being said I do reserve the right to change the rules however I see fit. I will do my best to tell players how my world and my game work so they can make informed decisions, but I do not feel beholden to any specifics in the rule books.
 * I consider all rules to be an imperfect translation of an organic world where hit dice, spell slots, and experience points do not exist.

PC and NPC abilities

 * The rules governing PC abilities and advancement are necessary to give players a concrete and fairly balanced representation of their character's growing power and competency. They do not represent universal rules. An NPC may be a wizard, but they do not use the PC wizard class.

Magic

 * See magic.
 * Magic is present and known, but not very common. Even people who technically are members of a magic class often don't have much power. There are also limits on what magic can do, such as curing certain diseases.

Races

 * Humans have been the dominant race since the Preateri Empire conquered the world 3000 years ago.
 * Dwarves live in and around the four pillars that hold up the sky, and rarely leave their kingdoms.
 * Dragonborn are not descended from dragons, they were created by the wizard Dimiourgos for the Larnacan Good King Kalos. They are the ten colors of dragons, which in my world include tin and zinc rather than bronze and brass.


 * Half-breeds are very uncommon even among the rare mixed couples, since they can only come into being with the blessing of a god.
 * Elves are immortal and reincarnate a la Tolkien.
 * Giants and Dragons are immortal as well.
 * Halflings were created/discovered/bred by the Preateri Empire for use in their war against the dwarves. They mainly live in human cities.
 * Tieflings are humans banished to the Underdark for siding with the House of Fire in the War of Air and Fire.
 * The Underdark is a separate plane, created as a prison, so Drow, Duagar, Deep Gnomes, and Tieflings are fairly uncommon in Rojopotis, the prime material plane.
 * Gnomes are from another plane, so fairly few are found on the material plane. Most near Larnaca are "lost" gnomes who don't remember where they came from.
 * Races not in the Player's Handbook are generally from lesser material planes, and are therefore extremely uncommon in Rojopotis.

Classes

 * - Wizards, the proud challengers of the natural order, can see Death.
 * - Rogues can see their friend and ally Darkness.
 * - Paladins, champions of their gods, can sense when a spiritual ally or enemy is near (beyond the limited scope of Detect Good and Evil).
 * - Rangers, the chaotic defenders of order, can sense chaotic/lawful alignment.
 * - Bards, in tune with the song of creation, can feel the vibrations of Mishtar the world tree and can detect disturbances in the fabric of reality.
 * - Monks, with their minds free of distractions, can sometimes see through illusions, and even into the Shadowfell and Luminrise.
 * - Warlocks have the strongest connection with their patrons, but it mostly consists of them getting commands.
 * - Clerics also have a strong connection with their patrons, and are the most likely to receive divine aid (beyond the scope of their powers).
 * - Fighters, practiced in the art of learning new skills, are capable of quickly gaining new proficiencies.
 * - Barbarians, ultimate physical beings, can destroy magic items
 * - Sorcerers, wellsprings of arcane magic, can grow powerful enough to name, and even to create
 * - Druids, being in harmony with nature, can see and communicate with nature spirits.
 * - Wizards, Sorcerers, and other arcane spellcasters must know their own true name (the name of their soul) in order to preform magic. If anyone finds out their true name, that person has great power over them.
 * - Paladins, Clerics, and Warlocks can be stripped of their powers if not loyal to their patron.

Patrons

 * While more relevant to some classes than to others, any player can have a patron who they may ask for boons.
 * Patrons are generally powerful, otherworldly beings such as gods, saints, powers, celestials, demon/devil lords, or elder gods, though they could also be a local spirit, such as for druids.

Religion

 * Most races almost exclusively worship their creator god. The major exception to this rule is humans, who do not know their creator, and therefore worship hundreds of gods.
 * Human temples are usually dedicated to saints who act as intermediaries for a god.
 * Halflings, who were probably created/bred by humans, but are generally not very religious.
 * Elves worship Corellon, a member of the Seelie Court (there is no Seldarine).
 * Dwarves worship Moradin.
 * Gnomes worship the Secret God.
 * Dragonborn, being unique to the human kingdom of Larnaca, technically worship Astarte, goddess of Larnaca. But it would be closer to the truth to say they worship the monarch of Larnaca, the heir of Good King Kalos, to whom they are fanatically loyal.
 * The first gods were giants so giants do not worship the gods, seeing them as cousins. The oldest giants were around before the gods were created.
 * Dragons, to the extent that they worship at all, worship Tiamat, literal incarnation of Evil and mother of dragons.
 * Orcs and Goblins worship Gruumsh One-Eye.