Primer

To Begin
Before anything else, I want you to keep something in mind. There are three continets within the world - you're going to only choose one. Which ever has the most interest is where the party will be starting from and what we will be conducting our session zero over. What is offered below is an overview of the overarching themes, places, and current events to help you decide. At the very end there are some questions for you to answer depending on where you choose.

Themes

 * Identity - who you are is defined by the swing of the bat, not the words you use.
 * Exploration - graves and holy places; untouched, private; unwelcoming -- there are no such things here; the world welcomes you. Take that which is willingly offered to you - learning and experience are a reward rather than taking and plundering; respect and care instead of violence and pride.
 * Exploration and Travel - Dungeon delving, eating new food, and meeting new people and learning about how they live.
 * History and legacy - how things get forgotten and misremembered.
 * Dreams and Reality: What changes can someone's dreams have on the world around them? What does it mean to exist within a dream, with the possibility of disappearing when someone else wakes up?
 * You can’t run from yourself.
 * How rumors affect reality. Personal responsibility for making the world what it is and what we want it to be, and the consequences of failing to take responsibility.
 * Environmentalism. What you do to your home matters; whatever it is - make it count.
 * Si vis pacem, para bellum. "If you want peace, [you should] prepare for war".

These are broad overarching themes - some may be more prevelant in one area of the world than another, but when thinking of who you are (character wise) it may be smart to keep these in mind. Make them yours, or disregard them as you please; differences are what make you you and the party unique.

The World as a Whole
“Explorers dig through the wreckage of dead cities, the only difference is that you are meant to be there. The people of the past knew the end was coming and that it was inevitable, so they chose to leave their homes for whoever was going to come next. They dedicated what time they had left preparing, chronicling, explaining themselves and their world to whoever that would come next... What could their stories have been, what could they have left behind?”

Setting

 * Setting Location - a highly homebrewed world (with help from 3rd party content), that centers around the players exploring and enjoying at their leisure. Do not take this as time being unimportant - things can and will change without you being somewhere to witness it, this is instead a welcome to explore what you'd like as you like; the world will always have problems, and sometimes it's okay to know you can't fix them all. (Nor should you try.)


 * Scope - World-spanning. This is mostly done through learning about the world itself -- the history that has been long left to sleep or is actively changing every day, and what specific goal or reason a PC may have to be interested in globe trotting.
 * As a soft-scope, you the PCs, will most likely be starting in the hub city of: this will be shared when the results are finalized


 * Setting Events:
 * the great Dungeon has been found beneath the Beastlands; it's reach is far and unending, where once was a thriving port town has become a bay of sahuagin, a river changes course at the drop of a hat, a great fort has appeared in someone's basement. With no rhyme or reason the Dungeon appears and the Delvers are the celebrity of the era.
 * the land of Brinn is facing the instability of the veil between the planes; odd and mindboggling changes are appearing upon the world from the City of Brass making a home in the badlands, the Fey taking root wherever they please, and pockets of time out of place; but it is also true to say that new riches and resources are gaining a foothold; academic success? Monster ecology? A chef or crafter in search of new material -- the world is your oyster and there has never been a better time to be curious.
 * Vydínnja

What's going on in your setting? Is it peace time? Are there skirmishes between countries? Is there war? Is it immediately following a war? Are monsters ravaging the countryside? Was there a near world-ending event that happened some time in the past or recently? Are the gods actively warring with each other? All these things can change the dynamics of the game.
 * Danger - Moderately safe to high stakes danger; there is no real safety while out and about on the road, but people in general aren’t out to harm you without good reasons. Ruins and exploration zones will be a mixed bag; some areas are overcoming new wounds.
 * Goals: party-oriented goals (your stories, so to speak). Learning about history (and how, in some cases, everything you know is wrong) and the world left behind. Figuring out who you are or want to be.
 * Player input: What are your goals (or the goals of the party? A game you’d like to play?): Wealth? Doing good/helping others? Surviving? Accomplishing personal goals? Telling a heroic story? Getting revenge? Crafting? Categorizing? Fame?
 * Game style: role playing, exploration, archeology & ruin delving.
 * Levity: light-hearted to moderately serious as campaign deems necessary.

Brinn Beast World/Beastlands Vydínnja (Vee-DIN-ya)