The world of Karthun is fractured. The greed of powerful mages allowed a tear in the fabric of reality to allow the Worldfire, the home plane of the demons, to overlap with the world of Karthun. The Worldfire consumed all but Doryan, the Last Continent, and only thanks to the intervention of the Gods. The forging of the Great Chain has managed to keep the Worldfire at bay, but it is under tremendous pressure and requires the constant attention of one of the Gods to prevent it from breaking and resulting in the annihilation of all of Karthun.
The Gods walk among the mortals of Karthun, but their rivalries, obsessions, and personal agendas largely keep them occupied. Some are more active than others. The peace between the Gods is uneasy, due largely to
the events outlined here.
Many of the typical D&D classes may operate slightly differently. There are always Fighters and Rangers, Rogues and Druids. These are largely the same in function, with differing fluff from character to character. Clerics and Paladins are the same in function, but may appear quite differently depending on their divine allegiances. A servant of Deknar the Smith may be a Forgehand, using their skills of creation and their strength to protect the weak and powerless against oppression, and all dressed in the leather apron of blacksmiths and masons; alternately, there are the Disciples of the Chain, who typically wear less armor than Forgehands to symbolize their devotion to strength, and branding their skin with the symbols of their faith. A servant of Prathian, the Eternal Sage, may be an archivist, working in Prathian's archive libraries, temples, or as local sages. Within this group are the Sentinels of the Book, the militant branch of the faith. Bards exist as minstrels and storytellers traveling all across the land, though many may in fact belong to the Speakers of Harmony, part of the priesthood of Elinar, the Lady of Song and Beauty.
Then, there are Mages. Mages are the most changed in function and flavor. Sorcerers are more common among the class of Mages, though Wizards do exist among some of the less-common races, such as Gnomes. The term 'Mage' in Karthun is synonymous with the Magebound. All mages undergo a lengthy and complex process which binds the practitioner as a vessel to an elemental being, resulting in the formation of a singular entity. The Magebound retains the practictioner's general appearance and personality, but they speak in a hollow, echoing double-voice, take on an overall change in hue relative to the elemental they are bound to as well as glowing eyes and intricate markings, and refer to themselves in the plural (ie: we/us instead of I/me/etc.). While the most common bindings are to primal forces such as Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, other sources are entirely possible (for instance, one of Karthun's most powerful necromancers bound himself to the restless spirit of a long-dead Dragon).
Depending on your chosen class, you may get certain extra or altered class features compared to what is strictly published.
There are also some points regarding the races. The core races (Human, Elf, Dwarf) are by far the most common, with Humans proving to be the majority. Other races exist, but are far more of a rarity.
Elves are split between three clans (Wolf clan, Bear clan, and Jackal clan). They are somewhat similar to Eberron's Shifters, as they possess slight physical traits similar to their clan's patron animal, which heighten during the full phase of their patron moon (known as their 'moon reign'). During this time, their strength, speed, or other characteristics heighten. The Jackal clan is most similar, socially, to the Drow in other campaigns, savagely reveling in war and scavenging or pillaging outlying settlements near their lands.
Dwarves are split between two factions: The Underlords, brutal slavemasters who dwell underground and wage war with the surface races; then there are the Sunwalkers, the liberated dwarves of Thulengard, who revel in daylight and who shave their beards in direct opposition with their underground kin.
Most other races are referred to as 'the Lost,' refugees who fled to the Last Continent when the other two continents were consumed by the Worldfire. There are some others as well, such as Lizardfolk, who are more common in some places but who are not part of the Lost.
