World History
The History of the Oasis (Before the first game 1997)
In the world of Tyrra, the Great Druid, one of the last of three members of the fallen empire of Kalaria, chose a place on the blighted landscape (The Wastelands) upon which he would rebuild his grove and create the greatest haven for all things natural. It was upon the ruins of an ancient Arcane city that the Great Druid chose his grove to sit. Fueled by the residual magics of the area, the creatures of the woods of Shadowmoor grew and grew. Humanoids eventually settled, and the Great Druid's lands became the strongest and largest of the three druids.
Over the millennia, the Oasis became something of an enigma in the center of the Wastelands. Very few could traverse such a desolate landscape, and even fewer actually believed that there was a place of such beauty to be found within it. And so the Oasis and the Grove thrived, all manner of creatures, vegetation, and life prospered, and the peoples within became ignorant of the horrors of the outside world. Surrounding the central town of Shadowmoor lie the towns of Aragon, Solace, and Docksides. These towns have been intricately involved in the Oasis in one way or another throughout their history.
Arrival on Amroth (2007)
Long ago on Amroth, there was a sorcerer by the name of Arinth who foretold the destruction of the planes at the hands of the Star King decades before it was to occur. Knowing he could not stop this cataclysm, he spent decades in research in attempts to save Amroth and eventually discovered the existence of other planescapes outside of Amroth. Using magic beyond mortal understanding, he began scrying upon these alternate realities in hopes of finding something that could save his own.
Eventually, Arinth came across a planescape known as Tyrra, and, more specifically, he learned of the Oasis of Shadowmoor. Due to circumstances beyond his understanding, this Oasis had already begun to fracture away from Tyrra and had actually developed its own system of planes separate from the rest of Tyrra. It was Arinth’s belief that if this Oasis was somehow brought to Amroth these planes could possibly be used to replace the planes that the Star King would destroy.
Using power that few understand, Arinth ripped the Oasis, a portion of the Wastelands, and its fledgling planescape off of Tyrra and hurled it through the Void to Amroth. Unfortunately, the process was uncontrolled and resulted in the Oasis crushing the Dwarven city of Riverhold upon its arrival. The residents of the Oasis had to adjust to a new world with new landscapes, people, and dangers.
The ripple of their arrival was felt across Amroth by all the nations and peoples as well. It was a chaotic time as the planes settled into our world, and the broken timelines of lives were restarted. Each nation had to decide how to approach and assess the transplanted creatures and peoples from Tyrra. Even the Titans, crafters of our world are rumored to have visited them. The impact on Amroth is undeniable, but many debate whether Arinth’s plan was beneficial for us in the long run. No one could truly say what Amroth would have become without the incredible magical feats he achieved. Where would the Sodiur be? Would the Star King have returned to power? Would he ever have been destroyed? What changes have been caused by the joining of Amroth with the entity of the Great Druid?
The Oasis & Surrounding Lands
Long before The Oasis existed on Amroth, it was a lush landscape on a world known as Tyrra, created by the Great Druid surrounded on all sides by desert wastelands.
Aragon
In the year 605, gold was discovered in the streams of Aragon, prompting small mining operations to spring up and the population to grow. The people of Aragon primarily consist of two very different peoples: the Dwarves and the Orcs. In the mines, the two folk work in relative harmony, thriving on the task at hand. In town, the two people live in separate sections but share a common central marketplace that encourages mingling and cooperative living.
Docksides
Docksides is a bustling trading port lying on the eastern edge of the Oasis along the coast and originally started as a trading town before the move to Amroth. Most Shadowmoorians travel here to trade and use it as a port to get to various locations by sea.
Shadowmoor
Shadowmoor is the centermost town of the Oasis and is famously populated by "Heroes of Shadowmoor.” The main guilds:
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The Mages' Guild champions and channels the Celestial arts.
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The Healers' Guild safeguards the health of citizens and provides a safe refuge for resurrecting spirits.
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The Armor Smiths' Guild furnishes weapons and armor for the local heroes.
Solace
Solace is known as the ‘Breadbasket’ of the Oasis. Farmers of all races and cultures inhabit this rustic community. It is rumored that this land is tied to the Fae since a doorway to Eirinn can be found here. No one is quite sure how or when it was made, but it has allowed many of the adventurous and curious to explore Amroth.
The Rise and the Fall of the Star King (2012)
The Star King was a being of power unlike any of Amroth before or since. It is said his source of power was a star that he tore from the heavens and merged with, consuming all its celestial essence. Infused with that power, he created a servitor race of Gargoyles to act as his foot soldiers as he sought to conquer all of Amroth.
A coalition of mortal peoples gathered together to stop the Star King, but they were unable to completely defeat such a powerful foe. Instead, they managed to imprison the Star King, but the resulting battle virtually destroyed the surrounding Planescapes. With no planar energy to draw from, all magic on Amroth ceased to exist. When the dwindling planar power was gone, the threat of the Star King’s return hung heavy. Then hurtling through the Void, the Oasis smashed onto the Prime, flooding the Planescape with its own planer power.
Prophecies and portents flooded the Prime with signs of the return of the Star King from his imprisonment. To control how the Star King would be released, and hopefully destroyed outright, the Heroes of Shadowmoor decided to release the Star King once again while his power was weakest. Free once again, he began consuming the various Planes to replenish his power, and try as they might, the Heroes of Shadowmoor and the Free Peoples of Amroth were unable to stop him. That is, until all that was left was Life and Death.
Keeping these last two Planar powers safe, the heroes were able to trap, then destroy the Star King on the very island on which he was first imprisoned. With the self-sacrifice of several of the heroes of Shadowmoor, the Planescape structure original to Amroth was re-established, and the extraplanar power flooded back in, reconstituting the Planescape.
Planar Structure
Now, instead of four Moral Planes (Life, Death, Law, and Chaos) and four Elemental Planes (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water) that was brought from Tyrra the original Planar structure of Amroth reasserted itself. It is a dual, mirrored Positive and Negative Planes (connected to the Prime by a Bridge of Life and a River of Death) and a singular Elemental Plane that contains all four Elements ebbing and flowing as each Element vies for dominance.
Prime
The world of Amroth makes up the entirety of the Prime. The Heroes of Shadowmoor (players) and the people of Amroth all live within this reality.
Positive
The source of growth and creation in our universe. Nearly all planar entities that create and contribute to the Prime reside on the Positive Plane.
Negative
Mirroring the Positive Plane, the Negative Plane is the source of ruination and withering in our universe. Planar entities who thrive on removing energy from the Prime reside on the Negative Plane.
Elemental
The Elemental Plane is a single plane where elementals from all four elements (fire, water, earth, air) reside. Para-elements (ooze, smoke, storm, magma) are found between the borders of these primary elemental landscapes. Elemental energies sometimes interact with mortal beings of the Prime.
Bridge of Life
The Bridge of Life gives life energy to the Prime.
River of Death
The River of Death serves to ferry the energy of departed mortals on the Prime.
Eirinn
Eirinn is a mystical land separate from the Prime yet forever bound to it. It is this realm that the Fae call home.
Trollheim
Trollheim, like Eirinn, is separate from the Prime yet bound to it. This realm of endless caves and monstrosities serves as their home.
Shadow
Shadow isn’t so much of a place; it is a network where magic flows between and around all planes and realms within our reality.
Ogre Empire Invasion (2017)
In the Amrothi Year 5 ASK (After Star King), the Ogre Empire began an assault on this continent that began with the siege and capture of the city of Akadai. As the war expanded through the region, there were many skirmishes and battles fought between the Empire and the Oasis citizens. Treaties were forged, broken, and re-established, and an uneasy tension loomed as the last contract stipulated portions of the Oasis were occupied as Imperial land while Shadowmoor remained a free state surrounded by Ogre forces.
It remained this way for three years until the citizens of the Oasis united with the Dwarves of Seahold, Sampan fleets, and the barbarians of Akadai. Through a series of strategic counterattacks, it pushed the Empire from our shores. Currently, the Empire remains a strong force on the eastern continent but has shown no signs of a planned future invasion.