Derk

Derk is a rocky and hilly country blanketed in the west by a sprawling pine forest. With mild summers and frigid winters, Derk suffers the brunt of the arctic winds rolling down from the north. Its stony hills and cold forests make agricultural practice difficult, so Derk largely relies on pastoral farming inland and fishing along the coastline.

Academic.

Derk has a few small schools along its coastal cities, but these are significantly lacking in most contemporary scientific practices and philosophical thought. Most Derkese that live inland do not receive a formal education.

Aristocratic and Political.

Derk has a classical feudal model with a monarch whose eldest child takes their place when they die. Lords and ladies oversee regions, and individual towns and communities are run by mayors. Each mayor can levy a small militia from their town. The Derkese monarchy - currently ruled by Erwin Derk II - is nationally weak and is not very successful at enforcing cooperation from lords or mayors.

Mercantile and Trade.

Derkese sailors trade regularly with Forsten, Constel, and Kendaria to the south as well as Yodvan to the north. Overland, Derk primarily trades with Forsten.

Militant.

Derk’s military is strongest along the coast, with several dozen naval ships sailed by ferocious warriors. Their military is much weaker in the forested lands to the west, and towns in this region are often subject to raids from Bishal.

Religious.

Derkese religious practice revolves around the Stravon Conclave of the Archfae. By worshiping the Conclave that embodies emotional states, the Derkese place an emphasis on being fully true to one’s own emotional reaction to an experience and what lessons one might learn from that.

Social.

Towns in Derk’s inland tend to be down-to- earth, honest folk. They are hospitable but guarded around strangers, and if strangers prove to be trustworthy then they will be welcomed as one of the town’s own. Along the coast, Derkese society is a little more vibrant and one or more theatres for a wide variety of performing arts are common in each city.

Underworld.

Small gangs work to ship illicit goods in and out of Derk’s ports, but there is no centralized criminal authority. Derk’s poorly organized town guards are helpless to stop these smugglers.

Icepoint and Whitebreak

The capital of Derk is not actually its largest city. Icepoint is a stony fortress on the northern coast from which the reigning monarch decrees laws and settles disputes, so it is technically the capital. However, Derk’s largest city is Whitebreak.

Nestled in a cove along the southern side of the peninsula and so named because of the large waves that break into white foam against the cliffs around the bay, Whitebreak is home to a massive port. Whitebreak is responsible for over half of Derk’s whole economy. As such, the lord of Whitebreak often treats the monarch with an ironic deference in public and bullies the monarch in private.

Quest Ideas

• The heroes are called to protect a small town from an impending attack from Bishalian raiders.

• The monarch asks the heroes to assassinate the lord of Whitebreak after public insubordination.

• Merchants planning to sail to Yodvan ask the heroes to stay on their boat as hired muscle.