The Wastes

The cold, dark and inhospitable tundra and polar desert that looms to the north is the most dangerous and unknown territory in all The Realm. This is where the Blight is thought to have originated. Many expeditions have been sent here; but few have returned, and those that did, did not come back quite the same. There are those, however, who call this land home. They are the things that go bump in the night. They are the things that haunt nightmares and stalk corridors. They are the monsters of the Wastes. The deeper into the territory you go, the more inhuman the creatures one might encounter. Though this land is not devoid of what one might call ‘normal’ people. Amongst the fjords and lakes, some of the toughest and weirdest peoples still cling on, fleeing, fighting and sometimes even hunting the monstrosities of The Wastes. After all - sometimes people are the greatest monsters of all…

However, even The Wastes’ way of life once came under threat. The First Blight affected all things, not just the living. The eldritch beings that lurked in the deepest and darkest glaciers came out to find that the world they were supposed to haunt, was being threatened by something much bigger and, shockingly, older than any of them.

It is said the oldest alphabet in The Realm is an archaic script from The Wastes. Few can fully comprehend it but the less monstrous peoples of The Wastes cover their skin with lines, dots, runes and similar to evoke this alphabet using face paint, tattoos and similar markings. This is believed to protect them against the many horrors of the deep wastes and they vary in their complexity, meaning and patterns between rival kingdoms. Monstrous peoples of The Wastes do not adhere to this tradition. after all, it is not they who need such protections.

An example of a character from the Wastes could be a werecreature, shackled in mortal flesh, just waiting for the moment to unleash their bestial ferocity. But even a monster needs to eat, so they stalk out of their icy forest and walk amongst the people that fear them.

The appearance of peoples and kingdoms of The Wastes could be inspired by, but should not be limited to, the appearances of: Werecreatures, Vikings, Leshen, Draconic, Siberian, Shapeshifters, Chimerae, Eldritch horrors, Insectoids, Wildlings and Treants.