A while back I ran a brief, abortive Pathfinder campaign with some long-time friends of mine. We played a couple of sessions, had a good time but called it quits there due to the fact that we couldn’t meet up regularly (we played the games whilst staying with one of my friends who lives in Leeds, a good 2-hour train journey from my hometown of London) and the fact that I would be travelling for a few months not long afterwards.
The campaign we played was a homebrew one, and I decided to capitalise on the fact that we’re all fans of Westerns by mixing up Pathfinder’s typical high fantasy trappings with those of the Old West. The campaign was called off, but I liked the setting and it never quite left the back of my mind; it was fun, characterful and had cowboys, and everybody loves cowboys. But I figured that there might be a Pathfinder GM with more time on their hands and a group with a similar fondness for gunslingers and vaqueroes as well as for dragons, magic and sword-wielding heroes, so I thought I’d post up the setting outline in the hopes that somebody out there might have a use for it.
So without further ado, I present to you:
TERNIS – THE SHROUDED CONTINENT
Setting Outline
For all of recorded history, the continent of Ternis has lain behind a veil. Even in the memory of the oldest of gods, dragons and spirits, Ternis has been surrounded by a wall of storms, thunder and lightning, which in turn circled an arcane barrier, preventing entry to the continent through means both arcane and mundane. Those that tried to breach these barriers to see what lay beyond were invariably killed or lost at sea, and for much of the world, the storms were nothing more than some bizarre oddity left over from a bygone age.
A century ago, that changed.
Without warning, the storms dissipated, the arcane barriers flickered out of existence and a new land, untapped, untamed and untouched by any sentient peoples. The first explorers who landed there found an arid continent, much of it desert and scrubby, arid wilderness, but a wilderness that was rich in resources including gold, iron and mithril. Within five years of these trailblazers arriving, people came to make a living off the bounties of the new world; a century later, dozens of towns and even a few large cities now exist on Ternis, linked by road and railway lines but little else. No one nation lays claim to Ternis, it is not regulated by government beyond a regional level and aside from the Order of the Shield and Star there is no law enforcement that spans the continent.
Much of Ternis’ civilisation lies on its coasts, and the mercilessly hot and dry heart of the continent still remains largely unexplored, and those few souls who are brave and foolhardy enough to attempt it have not returned. Near the bigger cities, affairs are orderly, but once things move into the smaller towns and the less inhabited wilderness the only law is that that comes from the barrel of a gun and the blade of a sword.
Terrain and wildlife
Much of Ternis is semi-temperate desert and arid grasslands, often interspersed with dramatic rock formations, with farmland in the more arable areas. Typically, monsters found on Ternis are drawn from the Desert (Temperate) List and the Desert (Warm) List. On its eastern coast, Ternis has several mountain ranges; none of these are particularly prominent in height, but are easily visible from afar.
Notable Locations
Before anyone asks, I haven’t got a map; I don’t the money spare to spend on mapping software, and I don’t have a way to scan a hand-drawn map into my computer at the moment.
Austis – The largest city in all of Ternis, the port of Austis lies on the northernmost coast of the continent. The wealthiest city on the continent, it gained most of its dollars from importing and exporting goods. Austis boasts several notable features; Austis Station, which connects to just about every major trans-continental railway line on Ternis, the headquarters of the Order of the Shield and Star and the head office of Crazamar Railroads. As a port city, Austis’ population is a melting pot of different races, but about half of its inhabitants are humans, with halflings and dwarves making up a notable proportion of the remainder.
New Khazad – A small mining town that bloomed with wealth after quite literally striking gold, New Khazad is the largest dwarf city on Ternis. Built into the side of a mountain range, many of the native dwarves living in former mining tunnels that have been adapted to become homes, and it looks to become a subterranean hold in the typical dwarven tradition. While there are a small minority of other races, the overwhelming majority of New Khazad’s population are dwarves.
Perpetua – The headquarters of Crazamar Railroads Inc., Perpetua is a rolling town that constantly follows the railway lines being laid down as the company pursues its goal of circling the continent in steel. Perpetua is a rowdy town of gambling halls, taverns and brothels that exists to cater for the rail workers, and every few months, once the workers and the end of the line move too far away, the inhabitants will uproot and move closer to the end of the line; many of the buildings are actually on treads, wheels, runners or legs in order to make moving them easier.
Roachwood – A sprawling and lawless place, Roachwood is the home of gamblers, outlaws, rogue mages and even less savoury types. The McAfferty Clan operate primarily in Roachwood, all but ruling the place, the halfling-controlled crime cartel using Roachwood as a base for their smuggling and racketeering operations. In terms of numbers, Roachwood has no one dominant race, though halflings, gnomes and humans are the most common to be seen on its streets.
Yular – A city populated primarily by elven immigrants, Yular is famous for its graceful architecture, its university (one of the only two on Ternis, the other being in Austis) and its unwavering belief in its superiority over all the other cities on the continent.
Wyrdstones – Though not one single location, Ternis is scattered by large, mysterious crystals that are referred to by the inhabitants as Wyrdstones. Though they seem to be magically inert according to all inspections made of them, the areas around Wyrdstones always appear to be under a pall, where little grows or lives, and anyone that attempts to live near one rarely stays for long.
Factions
The Order of the Shield and Star – An elite group of Paladins, Inquisitors, Clerics and Rangers, the Order of the Shield and Star are the closest thing Ternis has to universal law-enforcement. Though small, each member of the Order is highly trained and well equipped, and are veterans of fights with outlaws and monsters, and the presence of a single Shield and Star Marshall can be enough to deter all but the most desperate of outlaws. Typically, a medium-sized town will have a marshal from the Order who lives there as law enforcement, keeping the peace along with deputies who are drawn locally; these deputies are often picked for their potential as recruits for the Order.
Crazamar Railroads – Easily the largest railroad company on the continent, Crazamar Railroads is a family business, run by the dwarf Thurin Crazamar and his extensive clan. The company’s train lines start in New Khazad and link Ternis, Yular, Roachwood and dozens of towns in between, with the eventual goal of looping around Ternis’ perimeter back to New Khazad. Immensely wealthy, Crazamar Railroads has a great care for its profit margins and not much concern for anything else.
Murlag’s Marauders – Fifty years ago, the Orc warlord Murlag Gutswallower lead an immense armada of ships to Ternis, each one packed with orc and goblin warriors, in the hopes of conquering the continent. While the invasion force was defeated, in no small part thanks to the Order of the Shield and Star, the invaders were not wiped out and instead scattered into small warbands across the continent. Along with desperadoes and outlaws, Murlag’s Marauders remain a terror throughout Ternis, raiding towns, trains and stagecoaches.
Making the setting a Western
While Ternis might work well as a fantasy setting, there are several things that can be done to give it an authentic Wild West feel to it.
Fan that hammer, cowboy!
The iconic image of the duster-wearing gunslinger is incomplete without their trusty six-shooter at their belt or a repeater across their back. With this in mind, a campaign in Ternis should ideally have firearms being Commonplace; they count as Martial Weapons, early firearms and their ammunition cost 25% of the amounts listed in the book, but advanced firearms and their ammunitions still cost full price.
An age of machines as well as magic
Technology levels have reached roughly the same levels as those of post-Industrial Revolution Frontier America. The steam engine is no longer a technological marvel and is instead mundane, railroads are the preferred method of transportation, telegram wires have replaced Sendings as a cheaper method of communication and the telephone and typewriter are available for the wealthiest. Spells are certainly useful, but the power of the arcane is now beginning to be matched by that of the technological, and occult-technologists who have combined the two disciplines have made marvels such as the Difference Engine and the Steam Golem.
For a fistful of GP
With the advent of the printing press, money could be made lighter and easier to carry than heavy pouches of coins and jewels. On Ternis, people prefer using dollar bills to pay for things.
Campaigns set on Ternis can have Cents replace CP, Nickels replace SP, Dollars replace GP and Bullion Bars (small gold bars) replace PP.
Our hats are grey round these parts
One thing to consider is an alternative morality system, outside from Pathfinder’s usual Lawful, Chaotic, Good, Evil and Netural alignments. Fitting with the typical ‘Civilisation versus Barbarism’ themes of Westerns, an alternate alignment system can be used for campaigns set on Ternis, more fitting with the fluid morality of the Wild West.
| Compassionate | Indifferent | Brutal | |
| Civiliser | Protect the weak, uphold the law, no matter the cost to yourself | Follow the law and look after your own; other folks’ problems are theirs | Submit to my authority or taste a bullet |
| Survivor | Help folks out whenever you can | I need to live, that’s the most important thing | I’ll take what I need to live, regardless of who gets hurt in the process |
| Anarchist | I might care for people, but I don’t care too much for rules or lawmakers | I’m out for me and me alone, and anyone who tries to stop me’s a dead man | I’ll take what whatever I want, from whoever I want, and if I feel like killing ’em, I’ll kill ’em. |
While this table may be good for roleplaying purposes, this can have an effect on a number of powers, so it should be implemented with care (you hardly want a player with a Paladin to constantly be quizzing you on whether Smite Evil will work on this or that enemy, after all).
Well howdy there, stranger!
If you don’t make your NPCs talk with Southern accents, you’re Game Mastering wrong and should be ashamed of yourself.
Campaign/Adventure Ideas
One of the best sources of material to draw upon for a campaign in Ternis is from Western novels, films and video games; a quest for revenge against a vicious outlaw, the PCs pulling off or thwarting a daring train heist, perhaps a plot to milk a small town riven by bitter rivalries for every dollar it’s worth. Of course, a good angle to explore is the reasons why the continent was once shrouded in storms, and what the deal with all these mysterious Wyrdstones is. What you choose to make of it as DM is up to you.
Well, that’s everything for now. I hope I might have given you some ideas for your own campaigns, or at least an interesting read. Happy trails, stranger!
Verbal Fisticuffs 