Talithia
Role: Everything, everywhere, all at once
Tools Used: Creative writing and worldbuilding
Context
In 2020, at the height of COVID pandemic, I was in search of something to fill the long hours at home. In this effort I came across a show called Critical Role, where voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons on camera. I was a little late to the party, but that also meant I had a gigantic backlog of content to consume - which I did greedily.
I went through the first two campaigns of the long-running show quickly, excited to experience the incredible, creative world of D&D. Eventually I found other similar shows, like Dimension 20 and Worlds Beyond Number. I was amazed that a game like Dungeons & Dragons could be used as such a unique creative outlet for storytelling and worldbuilding.
I was hooked and I wanted to play D&D myself. I wanted to experience what it was like to create a story in real time, but I didn’t know anyone who had ever played before, let alone someone who could run the game.
Begin by Beginning
I was left with one choice, do it myself. At first I very clumsily ran a classic D&D adventure with some friends from college. Then I recruited a different group to play a proper long-form campaign set in Matt Mercer’s world of Exandria. And after an epic 120+ session campaign I was finally ready to make something that was truly my own.
Telling a story in someone else’s world can be compelling in a lot of ways. Much like art or design, storytelling can sometimes be easier when there are clear boundaries. Starting with a blank canvas can be incredibly intimidating, but the allure of being able to build an entire world alongside my friends at the table was too enticing to pass up.
The Far Reaches
I sat down with a friend and fellow Dungeon Master to create our own world to play D&D in. We started with the basics - small stuff like the origins of the universe, the nature of magic, and who or what the Gods are. We created a loose framework with intentionally large gaps which could be filled in later as needed.
Then came the fun part. Using games like A Quiet Year, I’m Sorry Did You Say Street Magic, and Microscope we collaborated with our friends and prospective players to build the core of the world together. Slowly but surely the continent of Talithia, on the planet of Nexys, within the universe of the Far Reaches was born.
A World Built For Adventure
Talithia is home to five premiere adventuring academies: Stormwarden Academy, Leafhaven Institute, The Obsidian Sanctum, Wavecrest College, and The Ashen Reach Citadel. Each with their own unique identity, mysteries, and problems to solve. These schools produce the world’s finest heroes who go on to earn glory for themselves and the ancient organization known as The Keepers.
The entrances to the seemingly endless dungeon found at each school make for the perfect training ground, and are filled with untold secrets about the world. The continent’s unstable connection to the outer planes makes it a hotbed of activity, so there is no shortage of quests to undertake or monsters to slay.
Revolution
In the year of 721 PS (Post-Sundering) society across Talithia is undergoing a radical change. A relatively new organization known as Varethion Industries has invented a new form of arcane battery called Fluxcores. These ingenious devices have brought about an arcanotech revolution, allowing for incredible feats of magic both big and small.
Varethion’s influence has grown quickly in the decades since their founding in the floating capital city of Solunaqua. Mortals are now capable of things previously only achieved by the Gods and that has not gone unnoticed.
The ever-present Gods of this world are more akin to those of Greek mythology than anything else. They hold tremendous sway amongst the people and are known to be kind, wrathful, mysterious, and jealous in equal measure. As mortalkind continues their pursuit of greater power and understanding the Pantheon must decide their next move.
Talithia today
My fellow DM and I run two parallel campaigns set in Talithia, each focused on one of the five adventuring academies. The two groups compete with each other for who can bring their school more honor and prestige on their path to becoming the world’s next great adventurers.
Additionally I run a second campaign starring a group of misfits who all dropped out of the academy system but have stumbled their way into the chaotic world of adventuring nonetheless. Building this world helps me grow as a artist, writer, storyteller, and all around creative. I cannot wait to discover what untold stories there will be in Talithia’s future.