Towards the end of March, I saw a post in the NSR Cauldron discord from PermanentBacklog's Substack detailing a world building challenge for April called The April Foundry. The TL;DR of that is it was a series of prompts, one each day, designed to help flesh out a setting and get the creative juices flowing.

A while back I had been noodling around with a setting I had called Keladrea, but I had put it on hold as I've been neck deep in prepping my campaign in The Halls of Arden Vul. This seemed like a good excuse to dust that off and flesh it out a bit more, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. I don't consider myself a professional writer or anything, and I'm not even sure I would ever publish something like this, but I thought it would be fun to share my work. Without further ado, let's take a look through the wonderful world of Keladrea.

April 1

Create a d6 table of biomes found in your setting.

April 2

Choose one or two words and describe how they represent the tone of your setting

1. Hopeful- While the appearance of Wild magic has destroyed a once prosperous world, the players have the agency to enact change and solve problems for the betterment of society, not just to enrich themselves or solve symptomatic issues
2. Cosmic- Portals and Rifts once allowed travel across the stars; could these be opened again? What secrets lie in the veil between worlds?

April 3

Describe how common, if at all, magic (or supernatural phenomena) is in your setting.

During the golden age of Keladrea, magic was thought to be thoroughly understood in all of its complexities and forms. During this era it is thought that magical feats we now consider to be impossible were commonplace, due to a combination of research and innate magical talent.

Unfortunately, magic has suffered significant setbacks since. Many magic-users perished during the collapse of the golden age, in events that would later be understood as emergent wild magic. Because of this, and the activity of both witch hunters and ignorant mobs, there are fewer and fewer people being born with any magical potential at all.

Those that are able to cast magic often isolate themselves, both for fear of being discovered and for fear of what unintended consequences their spellcasting may bring.

April 4

Is your setting newly discovered or has it been mostly/fully explored?

The world of Keladrea is ancient. The Golden Age came to an end thousands of years ago, and the world has been in a constant dark age ever since. While political borders and basic geography are cataloged, there is still a glut of dangerous ruins and artifacts that remain unexplored, as well as the Manaswept wastes where few travelers ever return.

April 5

How advanced are the denizens in your setting?

While Keladrea used to be home to an advanced, techno-magical society, those days are long behind us. Most of the world exists in a quasi medieval state of technology. Because magic research has become inherently risky, and the state of the world is relatively unstable, new technological development has mostly stalled out. That said, many powerful and advanced artifacts from the Golden Age still exist, waiting to be discovered.

April 6

List two or more established industries in your setting.

1. The insectoid Uyasi hives have made silk for generations, and their fabrics can be found in the finest garments across Keladrea. When a new queen is born, nobles and merchants from around the world will travel to negotiate, hoping to gain a new hive on their land. Having such a hive is a sign of power and prosperity for generations to come.
2. Dwarven ability to work both stone and metal has always been unmatched. While not as common as it was in the Golden Age, wealthy merchants and nobles do from time to time commission Dwarven artisans to construct monuments and new buildings. Such crews often work in closely guarded secrecy to protect their craft.

April 7

Create a d6 table of environmental hazards one might encounter in your setting.

April 8

Describe whether conflict is prevalent in your setting?

Since the collapse of the Golden Age, conflict has been ever present in Keladrea. The strong have survived while the weak have crumbled, entire kingdoms have risen and fallen in the ensuing period of turmoil and strife.

The Empire of Tu-Ran-Ta sees constant border skirmishes with both the Kingdom of Islea to its North, and the Tu-Ran-Tan Confederacy to its South. Those bovine Torul who practice the Way of the Stampede wander and raid/pillage everything in their path. The Elves and Dwarves fiercely defend their Groves and Holds, tolerating little in the way of outside visitors these days. The entire world seems locked in conflict, never able to truly reach stability and peace.

April 9

Describe one or two modes of travel in your setting

They have been called by many names over the years. Rifts, portals, gateways to other realms. Records from the Golden Age imply that stabilized Rifts were employed to visit other realms across the stars, mainly for trade, research, and sometimes even tourism. Today the idea of anything "stable" in the world of magic is impossible; however Rifts sometimes do appear as a greater manifestation of wild magic. Many individuals have disappeared permanently as a result of such disturbances, and nobody is known to have survived for a round trip.

April 10

Does religion play a role in your setting? If so, describe the role. If not, elaborate on the lack thereof.

In settlements that are majority human, people worship a pantheon of 14 deities, divided into two halves; the Council of Virtue and the Circle of Hell. Most individuals do not pick a specific patron god to follow; that sort of devotion is reserved for various priestly orders. Rather, one might say a prayer or bring an offering depending on their pursuits.

Outside of these settlements, religion can vary quite a bit. Elves and Dwarves are more attuned to the natural world, worshiping green spaces and stone respectively. Uyasi do not follow a religion per se, but rather devote themselves wholly to their queens. Torul do not worship a higher power, but instead devote themselves to their chosen path (The way of the pasture or the way of the stampede). And the Chareng often take a more detached view of religion and instead try to study and catalog the various practices of Keladrea.

April 11

Does your setting contain remnants of previous civilizations?

When Wild Magic emerged and ended the Golden Age, it took with it centuries of global power and hegemony. Entire cities and cultures vanished overnight, and as the dust and chaos settled people had to move on and live their life. Over time, ruins and relics have been uncovered, and some individuals have made studying these ancient sites their life's work.

April 12

List/Describe one or more races present in your setting.

The Torul are bovine humanoids from beyond the rift who follow a unique philosophy. Broad and stocky, with hooved feet, Torul are nomadic peoples who travel in caravans called herds. Skilled in herblore and gathering while on the go, many Torul opt for a vegetarian lifestyle (although they are technically omnivorous).

Torul typically subscribe to one of two diametrically opposed philosophies; the way of the meadow and the way of the stampede. The way of the meadow preaches non-violence, even in self defense. Adherents believe that pursuit of dogmatic non-violence is in line with the true flow of the natural world, and that this will one day lead to peace.

Meanwhile the way of the stampede preaches safety through overwhelming force. Adherents often form their own warbands that raid and pillage in order to strike fear and deference in the hearts of everyone they meet, so that the Torul may be left alone and never challenged.

Torul children are raised without choosing a path until their 16th birthday, at which point they undertake a ceremony to choose which path they will go. While some caravans and warbands keep loose contact with each other, for many this is the last time they will see their family and friends before going off to find new traveling companions.

April 13

Choose one biome from your setting and create a d6 table of creatures that players might encounter while traveling over the terrain.

The Manaswept Wastes, thought to be devoid of all life, are still home to a variety of magical constructs from the Golden Age. The ambient mana has made many of them go haywire.

April 14

Describe one significant event in the history of your setting.

The Kingdom of Islea, formed 500 years ago as a sovereign city-state on the island of Shorun, takes advantage of confusion and dissent within the Tu-Ran-Tan Empire to wage a war of conquest and "liberation". The war lasts 50 years and allows the Isleans to add 3 new Duchies into their fold, setting the current borders today that have lasted 250 years.

April 15

Create a d6 table of professions PCs/NPCs might have in your setting.

April 16

Describe one or two regions/countries/states, or lack thereof, in which your setting is divided?

The Empire of Tu-Ran-Ta is old, at least over 1000 years old. Some say the lineage of their rulers can trace its root back to the Golden Age, although some scholars have speculated that this is instead a pretty fabrication. The Empire rules its lands with a complex bureaucracy helmed by their Emperor or Empress. In recent years, in fighting and strife has caused them to lose large portions of territory to the upstart Kingdom of Islea to the north, and the Tu-Ran-Tan Confederacy to the south.

April 17

Do your denizens exist under governing bodies? Describe the hierarchy in place. If not, describe the self-governed system in place.

In the Kingdom of Islea, the land is divided into several duchies. The Dukes in question have a few Barons who serve under them; these baronies serve as the closest administrative offices to the actual citizenry. While the Kingdom does practice a basic sort of Feudalism, citizens are not bound into serfdom unless they are criminals; they are free to seek their fortune and travel, and even leave the Kingdom if so desired.

In the Empire, while the Emperor or Empress sits atop the throne, most day to day running of affairs is done by the ancient clans of Tu-Ran-Ta. On their holdings, their word is law and only the Empress herself could supplant that. The clans constantly vie for political supremacy in deadly political games, where the only dishonorable methods are the ones where you get caught. Most citizens find themselves in the service of a clan, although in urban areas you will find free traders and artisans.

April 18

Is travel beyond the boundary of your setting possible?

While rift travel is generally understood to transport individuals between two planets, there were also scholars in the Golden Age who hypothesized that there were dimensions parallel to our own. There has been speculation that our dreams happen in a parallel world, as well as this being the origin of monsters we call Demons.

April 19

Imagine a city/settlement for your setting and create a d6 table of structures one might encounter while exploring the area.

For this one I imagined the capital of the Kingdom of Islea, Shorun. Shorun sits on a rocky archipelago so geography definitely plays a huge part in its vibe.

April 20

List/Describe one or more struggles the denizens of your setting might regularly face.

The world of Keladrea is a fairly low technology, medieval setting for most of your average citizens. They struggle with mundane things; keeping their settlements safe from banditry and monsters, having enough food to last the winter, having enough to pay the tax man, etc. Merchants and traders deal with a bit more on the roads, specifically monsters and wild magic.

April 21

Describe one dwelling in which a denizen might live.

The Uyasi build hives mostly underground, as a labyrinthine network of cavernous tunnels, that serve multiple purposes. They first get dug as the Uyasi search for precious gems and minerals, then they are later expanded to serve as housing for the growing hive. Finally they create an infrastructure network to carry resources throughout the hive. The hive then exits to the surface in an unassuming mound. Most other humanoids have never seen the inside of an Uyasi hive, as it has been customary for negotiation to occur with runners and representatives at the surface of the hive.

April 22

Create a d6 table of valuable, natural resources found in your setting.

April 23

Describe one custom/tradition/relationship concerning death in your setting.

When Elves pass from this world to the next, they are typically brought back to the grove of their birth. There, the elders will harness the natural magic of the grove to "plant" the body as a tree, which will reach full growth in a year's time.

There are some stories of Elves failing to be returned to their grove and instead turning into lush trees where they fell, although scholars have never confirmed the veracity of these tales.

April 24

Is adventuring/exploration an expected facet of life in your setting?

Keladrea is a world rife with ancient relics, collapsed civilizations, and magical secrets to uncover. Since the collapse of the golden age, many brave or foolish souls have set off trying to find fame or fortune by exploring these things.

April 25

Create a d6 table of weapons or tools a party member might carry while exploring.

April 26

Choose or create a genre of music that might play during character creation.

I imagine a mix of genres at play here to fit the vibe of Keladrea. On one hand, ambient dungeon synth, which represents the settings' roots in OSR playstyle philosophies, and the inherent danger that comes with a life of adventure. On the other hand, I imagine the more heroic tones one might find in some movie soundtracks, particularly Howard Shore's work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Orchestral, with recurring motifs and themes to represent the very diverse cultures and ancestries of Keladrea.

April 27

Create a d6 table of adventure hooks specific to your setting.

April 28

List one or more of your inspirations (film, TV, art, music, etc.) for your setting.

My primary inspirations for this were Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series and Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar books. From Wheel of Time I borrowed the idea of a once hyper magically advanced society that had collapsed when magic turned on them, as well as Jordan's particular flair for describing different human cultures when crafting my ancestries. I also borrowed the idea of a separate "world of dreams" here. From the Riftwar books I borrowed the idea of Rifts being used to go across space to different planets, and using that as justification for why certain ancestries existed here in Keladrea. From both I wanted to draw on the themes of worlds where there are obvious problems and conflicts to solve, but where the characters operate primarily out of a desire to make the world better. I had felt like OSR games in particular were just a deluge of cynical and dreary Sword & Sorcery inspired settings.

April 29

In a paragraph or two, give an elevator pitch for your setting to a pretend reddit user looking for recommendations.

Keladrea is a setting where magic feels dangerous and wild, where something can and will go wrong whenever magic is involved. Explore the ruins of an advanced magical society, evade Witch Hunters, and try to solve the mystery of where Wild Magic came from and how it made everything go haywire.

This is a setting for people who enjoy OSR problem solving and are fans of more heroic fantasy novels. The world has a lot of problems, and the players have the agency to solve those problems and make the world better in small and large ways.

April 30

What have you learned about your creative process throughout this exercise?

This was the first time I really used sparks or prompts to assist with my worldbuilding. Some days were a lot more challenging than others; there were certain problems I didn't immediately feel up to solving or questions that I hadn't thought of answers yet; the daily structure forced me to come up with answers anyway which really pushed me creatively.

Coming up with all the d6 tables was especially tricky because it required breadth of thinking on a specific topic; it really helped me ask important questions about what my setting was about.

And there you have it folks! Hopefully you enjoyed this look into my creative process, or hopefully there's some ideas here you find interesting or useful for your own games!