My constantly evolving D&D setting is known as the Hidden World of Antara. I first created the bare bones of it several years ago for my Agartha campaign. It is continuing to evolve and get fleshed out. Details, especially on the fringes, are intentionally left sketchy and are subject to change.
Antara is heavy influenced by Hollow Earth settings like Pellucidar or Skartaris - only without the miniature sun and inside-out world. It is especially influenced by John Norman's Gor setting - only without the bondage/slavery fetish, the world of Novaria by L. Sprague deCamp, and the TV series Land of the Lost.
I'll make this a persistent page to act as a living reference. I'll also be adding additional information such as notes about the humans of Antara, the non-humans, various factions, the gods of Antara, and its long history every few weeks.
Antara (World)
From Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hantara-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros (“inner, what is inside”), an adjective formed from the adverb *h₁enter (“between”) (whence also अन्तर् (antár)). Cognates include Old Latin *interus (whence Latin interior (“inner, interior”) and intrā(“inside, within”)) and Ancient Greek ἔντερον (énteron, “intestine, bowel”).Existing alongside the world we know is a mysterious parallel world known as Antara - the Hidden World. Antara is a savage land of magic, monsters, and mysticism where brave warriors live and die by the sword and only the strongest, the most clever, or the most devious may survive!
Antara is a savage world of steamy jungles filled with dinosaurs, icy wastes traversed by mastodons, and trackless deserts in which hunt giant carnivorous worms. The lands of Antara are populated by numerous tribes and kingdoms. Antara is controlled by three ancient and decadent empires: Atlantis, Xamballa, and Avallonis.
Antara is warmer than Earth with much of its surface covered in jungles and deserts. Polar realms such as Polaris, Boreas, Aralis, and Neuschwabenland that would be frigid wastelands on Earth are more similar to Norway or Siberia.
- Guide to the Lands of Antara
- The Major Human Cultures of Antara
- The Major Non-Human Cultures of Antara
- The History of Antara
- The Gods, Deities, and Powerful Entities of Antara
You map is very reminiscent of the Bard Games Atlantis series from the 80s and 90s. That's a good thing BTW. The revised version from MORRIGAN PRESS lost some of the flavor and setting magic by going for a Theosophist approach. Innovative, but not relatable to the original product. Keep up the good work, and thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks. The original Atlantis was definitely an inspiration - though I wanted my setting to feel more "Land of the Lost" meets "Gor". While Atlantis is a kitchen sink setting in the vein of Howard's Hyborian Age, I was striving for a kitchen sink setting via time warps and Bermuda Triangles and alien abduction bringing everything to the same era.
DeleteIn fact, in future re-writes I might tone down the Theosophy and turn up the Erich Von Daniken weirdness.