Characters of Men

The Kingdoms of Men was a vast, medival civilization that ruled over a third of the area of earth. History has not been kind to it, but still it forms a sort of cultural zone. All through the kingdoms, the following sorts of characters can be found:

Races

Human: Most people of the world are humans, and the Kingdoms of Men are no exception.

Dwarves, Gnomes: Dwarves and gnomes are unique to the Kingdoms of Men. These proud people come originally only from the Great Mountain, but they spread out with the armies of Men, and are now found everywhere throughout their old lands.

Elves: The Kingdoms of Men conquered most of the old kingdoms ofthe elves, and elves are still most common here.

Tieflings: The Bastard Children of the Demon Empire have come north to bother the Kingdoms. They are not well liked, and did not exist in the days of the Kingdom's glory, but none the less, they are fairly common.

The Classes of Men

Many of the classical professions now known to men were invented or perfected by the Kingdoms of Men. The classes available to individuals from the Kingdom of Men are all of the PHB1 classes plus Bards.

Bard: The bawdy traditional culture of the kingdoms gave birth to the Bard, and they are still well loved here.

Clerics: The Kingdoms of Men were the first to truly exploit the battlefield power of clerics. With many religions, they have many clerics. Kingdom Clerics must worship a specific diety known to the Kingdom.

Fighters: Knights were the backbone of the old Royal armies. Although these armored warriors are considered somewhat odd elsewhere, they are still common in the Kingdoms.

Paladin:

Rangers: The vast stretch of territory once controlled by the Kingdoms could not have been patrolled without the proud orders of rangers. Bow using rangers are the most common type.

Rogue: Rogues are regretfully common almost everywhere.

Warlock: Warlocks were unknown during the Kingdom's Golden Ages. Those who are now present are almost all infernal Warlocks come from the Demon Empires to the South. Foreign warlocks visiting the Kingdoms are often mistaken for infernal locks for this reason. Openly practicing Pact magic in the Kingdoms can be a very dangerous endeavour.

Wizard: Although the Kingdoms are now seen as a magically barren place, it is the birthplace of the Spellbook. The Wizard Academy is a later invention, however, so most wizards in the kingdoms are Hedge Wizards.

Any other classes present will be foreigners, or those trained by foreigners, and as such will experience heavy discrimination. (Warlocks technically fall into this category, but the close proximity of the Demon Empire makes them regretfully common.)

Religion:

All of the gods of the PHB are found here, and each has its worshippers. A central tenet of life in the kingdoms is the worship of these Pagan dieties. All from the Kingdoms recognize the existence of all of the dieties, but they worship only one.

Civilization: The Kingdoms of Men

The History I: The Founding of the Kingdoms of Men

A thousand years ago and more, the empires of the elves in ruins upon the face of Gaia, the earth. The countries of men were small places, each with their own small god and petty priesthood, claiming the other kingdoms of men were evil and their gods false. The Good King Wenschen changed all that.

The Good King was called such for his just code of laws and fair ways. It helped that Wenschen was also a military genius, and in his long reign he conquered all of the people around the Great Mountain.

The Good King's military was based on knights and clerics. His religion, known as the Doctrine of Peace was a sort of Syncretic Paganism that considered different Gods of the same domain equivalent to each other - so that each god of love was a different face of the same god Aphrodite, and each tyrant God another face of the same god Bane. The Great Mountain Kingdoms had brave knights of many different faiths, and the dwarves of the mountain served him too, and built him marvelous armors and weapons.

After the Good King's death, his heirs continued his conquests. As they went, they took for themselves and their descendants the lands that they found there. They built castles and keeps to protect the people from barbarians. They installed in the temples those priests from the Great Mountain Kingdoms who most closesly resembled the faith of the conquered peoples. In this way, they conquered many of the kingdoms of men, and also those of the elves, who they married, and of the orcs, who they put to the sword. In this way, the Kingdoms of Men become the greatest realm in the world.

Over a thousand years, the Kingdoms of Men experienced ups and downs. The Good Kings died out, and were replaced by other dynasties, some good, some bad, some who spoke the common speech, others who spoke foreign tongues. The Kingdoms were united not by a shared ethnicity, but by a shared ideal: That all the peoples of the world would live in peace once they were united under the rule of the Good Kings, and once their priests realized that their gods belonged to the same Pantheon. The Kingdoms of Men called themselves that because in their eyes, they were the one true nation for all of humanity, and would eventually unite all the world under their rule.

The civilization that was spread was one of knights, kingdoms, bards, priests, ale, and meat. Everywhere the Kingdoms once ruled, you now see Castles, temples to many colorful gods. You see the traditional music of Men, which is quite bawdy and usually sung. For food, you find bread, meats, and beer of every description. The arts of the kingdoms were beautiful tapestries, mosaics, and statues, depicting the deeds of the Good Kings or of one of the Gods. The Alandrathans also invented the modern practice of magic, although they were later surpassed in its practice.

The language of the Great Mountain Kingdoms became known as the Common Tongue. The other languages once spoken in the domains of the Old Kingdom have died. The Elves and the Dwarves still speak their tongues as well, although they are debased by many words from Common.

The Common Tongue is still called Common even today, and many of its native speakers have difficulty understanding that it is not spoken everywhere, and think those who do not speak it ought to learn. Their pride was their downfall. The Kingdoms were the most powerful area on earth. With the sharpest steel and the mightiest magic, none could surpass them. Even after they began to break up into smaller kingdoms, they were still mighty. They were inward looking, and failed to see the other nations of the earth rise up and surpass them in the arts of magic and technology.

When the foreigners started to become powerful, it was harsh. The Kingdoms have been broken up, and many of them parceled out to foreign nations. Many of the Kings have been overthrown, and replaced with republics, theocracies, or stranger forms of government still.

And yet, the Common Tongue is still spoken in all of the old Kingdoms of Men, and the old Pagan temples still stand. And deep in the heart of the lands of the Kingdom, the Great Mountain still stands, and the descendants of the old kings gathers here, and seek one day to restore the kings to glory.