The Nature GM

While a polar vortex sweeps through the mundane world, let us escape, you and I, to the tropical fantasy land of the Smoldering Isles. Here the drakona people rule the land, copper-skinned jungle elves sell fried plantains on the street, and beach dwarfs craft magical weapons made of sand glass.

This is the information that I presented to my players before they joined the adventure.

Smoldering Isles History

All things come from the sea. The first was Halē Ra, the golden drakona. He rose from the depths on his majestic
wings and gave us the sun. He called forth his divine court: his consort Mahina of the moon, her sister Tinihanga who
flies at twilight, and all the rest. Makmatoa raised the lava that smoked and cooled to form our chain of islands, and
Kaīwaī covered them with lush and secret jungles. The bronze Inu refused to take part of this creation and claimed
rule over the winds and storms. To Malehanu it was given to guard the ocean depths from which they had risen, and to which all things return.

All was peaceful for many years. The aarakocra came from Inu Piko where it touches the land of Air, and they settled on
our cliffs and peaks. The tritons came from Omoroca’s Trench, from the land of Water, and they guard our ocean against monstrous creatures.

Then came the days of darkness, then the serpentines came in their ships and enslaved our people. It was half a
generation that we spent in service to these abominations, until their thirst for power was their own undoing, and we defeated them.

Peace returned to the islands. Ships came again, but this time they carried our friends: elves, dwarves,
and good-hearted humans who all came from the Eastern Continent and have shared with us their craft and trade. The islands provide for all. Hale Alī’ī is a beautiful and prosperous city that will last for generations.

It is now seventeen years since the great red dragon Ulekihonuhonu cast his shadow over the isles, and only the
wit of our mighty emperor Denu Ra has protected us from destruction, cleverly negotiating the annual luau for sacrifices
in exchange for peace.

Our prosperity will know no end. The nets cast into Ahī Ahī Harbor will ever be drawn up full. Our land is blessed by the
gods, and here we will endure forever.

Things Everybody Knows

This is a concept that I got from one of Matthew Colville’s videos, that people in a world believe things to be true that may or may not be actually true.

Here is what the average person on the Smoldering Isles believes:

• The drakona emperor Denu Ra protects us from the wrath of the great dragon Ulekihonuhonu.
• Snake worship is evil. Humans are more susceptible to this depravity than other races.
• Beware the black sails of the sea orc raiders. Ripgut the Hungry takes no prisoners.
• Steel weapons and armor are rare. The beach dwarves forge magical weapons from glass.
• The jungle elves are immortal and possess all the secrets of the islands.
• Merfolk are elusive to most, but they are friends of the tritons.
• All the aarakocra say “kree!”, but no one is really sure what this means.
• Murder is punishable by death, and all criminals will be tried by the kahuna. But if a thief or bandit is killed during capture, no one seems to complain.

Connections to the Adventure

I have been running a game in the Smoldering Isles for almost four years. Nearly all of the history and the common knowledge have played directly into the story.

The overarching plot is to help the son of the rightful king slay the dragon overlord Ulekihonuhonu and overthrow the emperor and kahuna. The adventure began just before the Dragon Luau, during which the emperor sacrificed to the dragon overlord treasure and whatever prisoners happened to be available at the time.

About a year in, the party faced a return of the evil serpentines and managed to stop them once and for all. This is probably the best campaign I have ever run, and everything you need to run it is in the post Campaign: Rise of the Serpentines.

At some point the capitol city was under siege by sea orcs, and following the resolution of this conflict, sea orcs were declared to be people.

The only common knowledge that has not paid off is that merfolk are friends to the tritons. There are no merfolk, as it turns out. Or at least—not yet.

Conclusion

We have had a lot of fun in the Smoldering Isles. We are reaching the beginning of the end of the adventure.

Would you like to hear more about the setting? Whether more about the politics, major NPCs, notable taverns, let me know if there is more content that you would enjoy. I have four years of notes, after all. One of my players even has a blow-by-blow account of the last three years of gameplay.

This post is partially in response to a “brief history” recently published by fellow blogger Seth Lang. It is delightful in its level of detail, and also we differ on opinion of what counts as brief.

Stay warm out there as you keep exploring.