This glossary will always be a work in progress, in that we will
always add to it. That said, the ideas behind the words listed here
should remain the same, and I doubt we’ll change them much, if at
all. Please allow them to help fuel your creativity as you start
to imagine a concept for your character.
"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words,
for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character,
for it becomes your destiny."
- Unknown
Aaron Farraway The current High King of Farraway and the Houselands.
Adept A sandman who specializes in manipulating his own abilities
while in the Slumberlands.
Anathema Home of demonkind. It is a hostile place where nothing
of the Written World can survive.
Archer A fighting man who specializes in attacking from a distance.
Architect A Sandman who exerts control over the Slumberlands.
Asylum A hospital for the mentally unstable and a headquarters
for the Sandmen.
Barumbi Basin A region of tropical jungle west of the Dust
Lands, separated from it by a great escarpment. The House Lands have
several settlements on the north and west edges of the basin, but
most of the basin remains unexplored.
Bracken a goblin town on the border of UnderMarsh in Cottington
Woods. Bracken is at least partially underwater, making travel there
difficult for non-goblins.
Brawler A fighting man who specializes in fighting bare handed.
Usually a precursor to being dead or becoming an unarmed monk.
Brer An animal that walks like a man.
Briardown The capitol of the Heart Lands.
Canyon Lands The region east and south of the House Lands,
described by a series of great canyons.
Carroway Fortress A ruin dating back to the time of the Robber
Barons. It is expansive, built over a thousand years by baron after
baron.
Church of the Word The institution dedicated to the study of
the Written World and the works of the First Patron.
Clublands One of the four House Lands in the Kingdom of Farraway.
Also known as Collamoor or the House of Clubs.
Codex A publication assembled by the Grimm Brotherhood. The
codex is part bible, part adventurer’s journal.
Collamoor See the Clublands. Also the capitol of the Clublands.
Cottington Woods A fairy enchanted woodland in the upper middle
of the four House Lands.
Curren, Lord The first known Robber Baron. Credited with the
invention of currency. Lord Curren is believed to have a tomb hidden
somewhere in Carroway Fortress.
Demon A creature from Anathema. Demons are unquestionably evil,
and seek to undo the Written World.
Diamond Lands One of the four House Lands in the Kingdom of
Farraway. Also known as Westall or the House of Diamonds.
Dust Lands A vast desert south of the House Lands, over the
water.
Elementalist A type of magician who specializes in the quick
use of magic.
Elf A manlike fairy-esque race native to Greencloud.
Empath A Sandman who specializes in aiding others to gain control
over their own dreams.
Fairy A being from the Fairy Lands.
Farraway The seat of the high King and capitol of the House
Lands.
First Patron The creator of the Written World.
Frostwroth The land over the waters to the north. Also the
people who live in that land. The Frostwroth remain a constant threat
to the people of Collamoor, and by extension to the House Lands.
Gant A giant ant, of course.
Gobaleen Mountains The range of Mountains northwest of the
House Lands.
Goblin A manlike race native to the Gobaleen Mountains. Goblins
have green skin and are amphibious, but otherwise appear as humans.
Golem A man created through artificial means.
Greencloud The mysterious land of the elves. No non-elf has
ever seen Greencloud.
Greencloud Mountains An impassable mountain range that surrounds
the elven land.
Grimm Abbey Home of the Grimm Brotherhood. Also, the place
where the Codex is compiled and published.
Halfway Once a way station for the Red-Castle railway, now
the Halfway is an Inn on the south side of Cottington Woods.
Harrier A fighting man who strikes hard and fast in combat,
often from behind the target and with surprise.
Healer One who heals the injured. Also a priest who specializes
in healing through the power of Faith.
Hearth Witch A witch who specializes in controlling his environment,
especially a home. Hearth Witches are unparalleled healers.
Heart Lands One of the four House Lands in the Kingdom of Farraway.
Also known as the Heartlands or the House of Hearts.
Herbalist A person who studies herbs and their uses, and can
create potions using herbs.
House Down Under The name assumed by the colonists of Lakupaparoo.
Houselander A person native to the Houselands.
House Lands The combined area under the control of the House
of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades.
House of Cards The neutral forum used by the four House Land
governments. The House of Cards existed from 1500 to 1700.
Invasion of Dreams The name given to an attempted invasion
by demons of Anathema around two hundred years ago.
Jack An agent in service to the King of Farraway.
Kingdom of Gold A great kingdom that fell about a thousand
years ago. It existed around a series of rivers in the middle of the
Dust Lands.
Laketown A town in the Spade Lands.
Lakupaparoo A land far to the west over the sea, colonized
by the Houselands. The colonists have established the House Down Under.
Lands The various regions around the Written World. The word
land is sometimes used alone and sometimes used as a suffix. Example: House Lands and Houselands are both considered correct.
Magic Loopholes in the way the world works. Generally considered
by the Priests of the Word to exist between the lines of the First
Patron’s works.
Magician One who studies and uses magic. See also Elementalist
and Ritualist.
Man of Science One who studies the Laws of Science.
Midcastle The capitol of the Diamond Lands.
Mind Illuminated An organization of Men of Science responsible
for toppling the House of Cards.
Mists (in particular the Fairy Mists) An often invisible force
or phenomena thought to be fairy in nature that causes “odd effects”
to occur. Typically this effects the time it takes to travel from
place to place, but the mists have been known to effect other things
as well.
Mount OverMarsh A mountainous ruin north of UnderMarsh in Cottington
Woods. Once home to many goblins, Mount Overmarsh is now abandoned.
Oldwood The deepest part of Cottington Wood. Not much is known
of Oldwood.
Paladin A warrior who fights with the power of Faith. Paladins
are very effective when fighting demons or undead.
Patron A powerful entity. Patrons write events as they occur
around the Written World.
Point, also a Silver Point or a Gold Point A
single unit of currency. Five silver points equals one silver star.
Ten silver points equals one gold point. Five gold points equals one
gold star. Also, paper money has been issued by the Church of the
Word.
Priest of the Word A student of the Written World and the words
of the First Patron. See also Healer, Paladin, and Scholar.
Redbridge A town in the Spade Lands.
Red-Castle Railway A series of railways crossing the three
southern House Lands. The Red-Castle railway is no longer in use.
Redfeather Canyon The greatest of the canyons in the Canyon
Lands. Also the name of the town that exists in that canyon. Redfeather
Canyon is the cultural center of the Canyon Lands.
Riding Hood A patroller and warden of the forest. Once an organization
backed by the king of Farraway, now the Riding Hoods act on their
own.
Ritualist A type of magician who specializes in the slow use
of magic and the creation of magical items.
Robber Barons A term used to define the hundreds of kingdoms
that rose and fell across the land from the beginning of recorded
history until about 1500.
Rollinghill See the Spade Lands.
Sandman One who is able to remain lucid while dreaming, and
gain control over his dreams.
Scholar One who studies. Also, a priest who specializes in
collecting, verifying and studying written works.
Science, the Laws of Science The rules, rituals and patterns
that make sense of the world. Science is generally out of favor today.
Skinchanger A man able to wear the skin of an animal and become
that animal. Skinchangers are generally feared.
Slumberlands The Place of Dreams.
Spade Lands One of the four House Lands in the Kingdom of Farraway.
Also known as Rollinghill or the House of Spades.
Taiden Sheh A kingdom east of the Canyon Lands and Greencloud.
Also called the Petal Kingdom.
Thornwall An elven place in eastern Cottington Woods. Thornwall
is on an island, and is as far into the elven land of Greencloud as
any non-elf has ever gone.
Trace The Capitol of the Spade Lands.
Troglodyte A humanoid creature that dwells deep beneath the
ground. Troglodytes are also called Trogs.
Undead A once living thing that is stuck in an animated or
not quite dead state, generally harmful and twisted to pursue some
horrible goal.
UnderMarsh A boggy wetland in northwest Cottington Woods, just
this side of the Gobaleen Mountains.
Virtue Farraway The daughter of the current high king.
Very Bad Bargain A term used to describe a bargain between
Queen Equiline Farraway and a fairy, which resulted in the loss of
every horse in the House Lands.
Wanderkin Wandering clans with strong familial ties that wander about the
Written World, with no permanent place they call home. They value freedom and family
with a strong sense of personal honor and mysticism, and never remain in one place
for long. For that reason, some have used them as scapegoats and because of that,
others have come to mistrust them.
Warrior A fighting man who specializes in toe to toe combat.
Westall See the Diamond Lands.
Witch A person who is attuned to the force of nature, and usually
is in harmony with his environment. See also Hearthwitch and Woodwitch.
Wolf A type of animal that is common to Cottington Woods. Also,
the first written word.
Woodwitch A witch who is especially in tune with the natural
world around him. Woodwitches make superb herbalists.
Written World The world on which our game takes place.
