• • • MENIDIATH: STRANGE SEAS - A TTRPG SETTING • • •

There is no easy way to say this. You do not know where you are - no one quite does. In fact, you barely remember who you are.

That's the way it starts for everyone. Memories of a bright flash followed by a sudden plunge into the ocean. Some survive this plunge and make it to shore, others do not. You are one of the lucky ones.

Pretty quickly everyone realises the same thing: they cannot remember a single thing, not even their own name. It's all a vague, unknowable blur, much like this very place. But that's only the beginning of the strangeness. Sooner or later most survivors run into others, and quite quickly are overcome by an intense pain inside their head and a deafening ringing of the ears. Then, in some strange way, they realise that they can understand even the most foreign of tongues. Even though two people are speaking entirely different languages, it is as if they were speaking the one and the same. Yet, for some odd reason, this otherworldly understanding doesn't stretch to the written word.
Perhaps the survivor makes it to one of the small settlements on the shores of these strange seas, or perhaps they spend time shipwrecked and alone. But little by little they realise that memories are slowly returning in bits and pieces, tiny fragments of lives left behind. A hunter still remembers how to hunt, a warrior how to fight, a smith how to make a nail - they just can't remember how they learnt to do it or why.

But each must start to make their life anew here, in whatever way they can. The settlements are small and scarcely equipped - there is a need for more of everything, especially as it is only recently that enough ships were salvaged to really start exploring the isles nearby. Exploring is not without its dangers, however. There are plenty of threats both above and below the waves, from mollusc-like beings wielding abyssal powers to the bestial skirrhin, from strange shadow-like creatures from the depths to crazed feral people who seem to completely have lost their reason, one wonders if any place is really safe. Not to mention all the strange places where the rules of reality itself seems to bend and twist...

What awaits you, out there on the strange seas?

The Inner Islands

• • • THE SETTLEMENTS • • •

		• THE BRAVES A small village that most consider not worth mentioning, and if they do it's with an almost deterministic assumption that it's only a matter of time before it's wiped off the map by something foul. About a dozen people call The Braves their home, living off the fruits of the sea. A small gathering of brave souls or reckless fools - depending on who you ask...
		• HARROW ISLE Of all the settlements, Harrow Isle is perhaps the strongest in most ways. Built into what is essentially an old fortress of unknown origin, it's without a doubt the safest place on the strange seas. But it's home to many types of power struggles and the large settlement suffers greatly from resource strain. Sorcery is also rather mistrusted there, and while non-humans are not unwelcome there it is perhaps not the most welcoming environment. Though many people make their home on Harrow Isle, it's especially the Lenorians, the Beratuni and the Norni that hold power there.
		• SAILOR'S HOPE Sailor's Hope is, on the surface, little more than a fishing village surrounding a tavern built into a tall lighthouse at the base of a pillar mountain. But in truth, it's an important center point among the island, a place where you can lay your head and rest and launch voyages to outer islands. The island is inhabited by a couple dozen people, hailing from all manner of cultures.
		• STORMHELM Stormcrest is ruled by Boyar Borícras, who essentially has the last word in all important matters on the island. It's a settlement where the Rakkhari way has an iron grip, carrying on the crusade against Gods and their influence in the world. Though religious worship is very suppressed, they welcome any science or sorcery that may help the common good. Lots of cultures make Stormcrest their home, though the ones that hail from Rakkhari provinces are undoubtedly those that hold the most sway there.
		• WAVECREST Often called the island of misfits, Wavecrest is indeed something of a hastily thrown together society. Led by a council of three, the settlement is home to the majority of non-human inhabitants. Of all the settlements it is the less restrictive, but also the outlier that has the hardest time finding champions for its cause. Wavecrest is home to a very varied population, made up not only of non-humans but of nomadic peoples and those who do not feel at home in other places.

• • • WHAT CAN I PLAY? • • •

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	The Akropa Warriors, trailblazers and cannibals. The Akropa are often written off as savage degenerates, but they cast a long shadow. Sorceries: Body sorcery
	The Beratuni A collection of peoples hailing from the Million Island Empire of Beratun. Experienced privateers, sly imperialists and cunning schemers, the Beratuni make up a large part of the population on the strange seas. Sorceries: None
	The Dalari Fierce manipulators, callous rulers and exotic performers. The Dalari are often seen as manyfaced and unpredictable, a people that look out for themselves more than anything else. Sorceries: None
	The Fal Narni Secretive conspirators, decadent experimenters and keepers of old traditions. The Fal Narni are an enigma, and not a harmless one. The beautiful but poisonous flower which their province is named after is symbolic not only of the nation but its people as well. Sorceries: Memory sorcery
	The Gabbardani Philosophical thinkers, skilled craftsmen and political troublemakers. The Gabbardani do not shy away from problems or conflicts. One might even say that they are more than happy to create new ones where none exist. Sorceries: Force sorcery (stone)
	The Hineans Daring travelers, mindful diplomats and keen merchants. The Hineans are in many ways a stabilising force to those around them. As a part of the Rakkhari Commonwealth they have proven themselves time and time again to be a moral backbone and a sobering voice in trying times. Sorceries: Vision sorcery
	The Javenians Hedonists, fanatics and true-blood sorcerors. The Javenians are both a dream and a nightmare. Sorceries: Sensory sorcery, life sorcery, emotion sorcery, soul sorcery, body sorcery, sigil sorcery, enchantment sorcery, kinetic sorcery, force sorcery
	The Lenorians Voyagers, explorers and colonisers. Though the Lenorians make up a small nation, but their drive and stubbornness more than makes up for it. Sorceries: Sensory sorcery, life sorcery, emotion sorcery
	The Mountainborn Worshippers of the living mountain, singers of the soulsong and seekers of harmony. The Moutainborn may seem like a rather small and simple people, but that's far from the truth. Primal bond: Heart of the Mountain
	The Navarians Devout worshippers, rememberers of the lost Goddess and reclusive remnants of a past age. The Navarians are a people who the world left behind. Sorceries: Temporal sorcery
	The Norni Strict traditionalists, secretive occultists and scheming conspirators. The Norni have faced countless challenges and foes through the ages, both from inside and the outside. Occultism: Cursecraft
	The Ormázi Tribals, survivors and bloodline mystics. The Ormáz are a handful of tribes stretched out over a handful of islands. Sorceries: None
	The People of the Plains Worshippers of earth and flame, rugged nomads and eternal seekers. The people of the plains walk a path of their own, a path of eternal searching. Sorceries: None
	The Rakkhari Crusaders, scholars and conquerors. The Rakkhari are a people on a mission: to slay all gods, and free the world. This crusade is based upon the deeds of Rakkath the Godslayer, a man who stole divine weapons to murder the high God of a pantheon that had enslaved humanity. Sorceries: None (Plague sorcery)
	The Riverfolk Travelers, seekers and keeepers of secrets. The Riverfolk are a varied and colorful people, slowly spreading across the continent. To most they are simply nomads, strangers that harbor outcasts and criminals. Few would guess that these riverfaring wanderers are actually collectors of knowledge, keepers of secrets and carriers of the secret ember. Sorceries: None
	The Serans Calculating scientists, cold politicians and discerning mystics. The Serans are a force to be reckoned with. What on the surface may seem like a stiff and boring bunch of dullards, is in reality a collection of some of the sharpest, most cunning minds on the planet. Sorceries: Sensory sorcery, life sorcery, emotion sorcery, mind sorcery, enchantment sorcery
	The Suteshi A collection of peoples hailing from the Continent of Sutesh. Mysticists, survivalists, philosophers and wanderers, they hail from many different cultures. Many of them share a rather similar aim as the Rakkhari - to end the rule of the Gods. But among the Suteshi, the aim is not merely to end the tyranny of the Gods, but to claim their powers or even their very thrones. Sorceries: None
	The Ulavi Patient laborers, proficient metalworkers and dedicated historians. The people of Ulav Nod are one of the pillars of the Rakkhari Commonwealth. Their humble, work-centered way of life means that they may not grab much attention, but their work is no less vital for it. Sorceries: Force sorcery (metal)
	The Yak Troki Unshakable rebels, defenders of ancestral knowledge and interpreters of the divine scripts. The Yak Troki are a people desperate to keep their history and legacy alive. Sorceries: None
	The Zaga Mora Disciplined hermits, wielders of the living thunder and tamers of the stormbolts. The Zaga Mora is the eye of the storm and the booming force of the thunder united in harmony. Primal bond: Call of thunder