Carthadas-Specific Properties

The following effects apply while in Carthadas

Witchcraft: What Carthadans consider witchcraft and what they do with witches

“Witchcraft” is broadly defined as any power without a clear divine source that manipulates the mind or the senses. That means casters like bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and druids might be considered witches under the correct circumstances; as might anyone who uses magic of the Enchantment and Illusion schools. Additionally, psionic abilities (such as telepathy or telekinesis) might be considered witchcraft. Effects that do not directly cause a loss of control or sensory manipulation are not usually considered witchcraft.

Likewise, power with a clear divine source (such as a cleric or paladin) or a clearly explainable, natural source (such as artifice) is not usually considered witchcraft. That said, a cleric or paladin of a disfavored god might find themselves accused of false idol worship if someone is feeling particularly hostile toward them.

Anyone of the witch race is considered guilty of witchcraft regardless of their spellcaster status.

The suspicion of witchcraft is enough to turn the normally hospitable and friendly people of Carthadas against a stranger. This attitude shift might take many forms. For example, a character accused of witchcraft may be put “on trial” by clergy or an angry mob; a character might be refused services or get odd looks and whispered rumors. A “witch” might have a brand burned into their skin or stitched onto their clothes. Or, corrupt clerical officials might pressure a “witch” to purchase a formal writ of forgiveness from the local congregation.

Magic Item Value

Because there is an attitude of suspicion around Magic and Magic users, magic items are less common and more costly. Magic items cost an additional 5% on top of their base price in Carthadas. Consequently, magic items can also be sold at 5% higher than their base price in Carthadas.

The Principalities of Carthadas

Carthadas is a political entity without political coherence. It contains separate territorial authorities - some consisting of no more than a castle and its surrounding land. The most powerful of its rulers are Vadras (in the north), Tainya (in the center), and Karucia II (in the south). The aristocracy under each of them has varying degrees of respect/fear/love for their liege lords and might be open to regime changes.

Each of its rulers holds the title of Fürst (masc or neutral) or Fürstin (fem). They can also be referred to by a more universal title - like “King” or “Queen”. People who use a hybrid of the local and general titles might refer to them as “Prince(ss) of the Land”, e.g., “Queen Taiyna of the Land”

Funerary Management

In central Carthadas, there are cemeteries, but no bodies have been interred since Tainya’s coronation. The government collects the dead as a sanitation measure, as the dead are incubators of disease (and necromancer bees!).

Instead, travelers will often find "death boards" pinned to posts or trees, memorializing the departed rather than marking the site of a body's burial.