KANGOR JUNGLE

Lying between the Blasting Desert and the Tranquil Terror is the vast Jungle of Kangor and the river it was named for. Known for oppressive heat and max humidity year round. Bordered on the west by the Chimera Mountains, the north by the Blasting Desert and Warriorforge Plains, the east by the Ragewaste Swamp, and finally the south by the Tranquil Terror, the Kangor is 500,000 square miles of will testing, equatorial jungle.

Several rumors, folkloric tales,and pure experiences about the place exist. Some about lost civilizations, giant creatures that defy imagination, and mostly about treasures untold. What is truly known about the place is no less fantastic.

Inside the jungle resides a tribe of half orc that swears no allegiance to lord or king of the realm. The way through the jungle is rife with hazards, natural and otherwise, which is not aided by the tribe that suffers no encroachment into there lands. Wealth untold is said to exist in the jungle and in point of fact several fortunes have been made by the most hearty and stalwart. Many more, however, have been lost by the foolish and unprepared.

One would ask why go there at all? A great many natural resources for one reason, gold, silver, and naturally occurring diamonds and gems round out the most desirable of these. Another reason would be on the other side lies Vunderbilt. A difficult journey but many risk it to get to the magical epicenter of Caldor. Care should be taken so as not deplete ones resources in the jungle for what awaits on the other side is a difficult and arduous journey through the Tranquil Terror.

The eastern reaches to the Kangor hold the Ragewaste Swamp, where the confluence of the Ragerush and Kangor Rivers inundate the land. The deluge is known to hold a lost city of wealth untold, few have risked the trek and fewer have reached it and fewer still have returned to share their tales.

The Kangor River flows from the Chimera Mountains to Dilfor Lake through the swamp and into the sea. The river is the life blood of the region. Means of food, water and travel to the indigenous population. Jianquieth people, an elven population are the primary residents of the jungle. They are for the most part more forgiving and hospitable than the Orc clans and the Dar.

The Dar, are the Half Orc tribe that lay claim to jungle and all in it. Brutish and powerful, they have proved more than a match against the outside forces of King Cornwallis and his knights. On the inside, however, they have achieved nothing more that a quiet stalemate with the elves and other inhabitants of the jungle. Primarily since they share many common social mores.

For those inside the jungle it is home, those outside whose goal is to take from it it's riches or conquer the region or merely travel its spans, it is seen as a nearly indomitable foe. The jungle is the jungle, dangerous and beautiful, nurturing and lethal, nature at its finest.

Caldor, The World Around You.

Every so I often I will try to add a tidbit of info on the world around you, be it a lil bit of folklore, a region, a rumor, political turmoil. I am attempting to make Caldor a living breathing place. Something more than a setting but your world, a character in the game all its own. So I'll try to inject some realism into a knowledge base. Ask any American school kid where the Mississippi River is and there is a real good chance he could tell you. Now pose that same question to a European school kid and I'd wager there is a fairly good chance they could do the same. So not to put to fine a point on it this will be primarily anecdotal knowledge.

Chess Comes to the Game.

As often happens I'm struck by something that happens in the game. Something I feel deserves special recognition. More than a die roll. Mostly role playing genius. A clever solution to a problem, of these Mordek has several. Playing your character sheet in manner that I call "to the bone." Meaning even when inconvenient or uncomfortable the character does something completely in character, Most recently a spell, shield other, cast by the priest in that circumstance (that... was no bar fight) was pure role playing gold. There have been far more examples than I could possibly list here, my point is I have never been comfortable with assigning ad hoc XP. I feel it is to subjective, because this guy is 3rd level should he get more or less xp than this guy for performing a similar deed. I don't like it and to be honest I have a difficult time keeping track of all your heroic deeds and what they are worth.

One system of reward that I am familiar and like is in Chess. In chess notation, a remarkable move, an astounding move is rewarded with an exclamation point and these are worth a number of master's points. I am not sure the exact point value but just know that it is worth some points on a chess player's path to becoming a master.

I was thinking of incorporating a similar system into the game it won't be much but know that if the present level of game play continues it won't take long to acquire a great many exclamation points. I was thinking that 250 xp an exclamation point would be a good jumping off point.

Now before you all roll your eyes, I offer this for your consideration. Let us suppose that you can bank them. Keep the ! in reserve until you have need of them. Let me explain, Let's say you bank your ! and lets say that 10 such ! are worth a skill and 20 are worth a feat. So where is the need? you ask. For example, Let us suppose that Dunis Blueshoes is banking his ! to acquire a "borrow from your friends without them caring" feat.(purely hypothetical. The feat does not exist Mordek) Along the way he is involved in a man hunt and after a lengthy battle he falls 200 experience points shy of 6th level and all of the benefits it would confer. Dunis cries out to the xp wielding god and cashes in an !. Ta da, Dunis has meritoriously attained 6th level and is only 1 exclamation point lower than he was from his goal of the bfyfwtc feat.

Seemed like a good Idea to me but as always I'll leave the final decision up to you.