Geography of Morus

The continent of Leng is the primary focus of the World of Morus as a campaign setting, and it is here that most adventure will take place. Leng is a large continent with a long and storied history, and many kingdoms and peoples have risen and fallen in its history. To the west of Leng stretches the Sea of Pearls, a shining ocean dotted with hundreds of islands, many inhabited. A large number of these isles are colonies of the Kingdom of Arelon, which exerts most of its considerable navy trying to protect them from pirates.

Morus is twice the size of Earth, but its equator is encircled by the Boiling Ocean, which is so hot as to be impassable. As such, it is a constant that (in the known world) it becomes hotter the further south you go. Because of the placement of mountains and plains, the west of Leng also tends to be hotter than the east; southwestern Leng is marked by a great deal of desert and jungle.

Other parts of Morus

The North is separated from Leng by the Ocean of Winter, which spans about 1,000 miles to the southern shore of Nordmaar. This is where the Norsemen, the deadly Vaelish elves, and the giants of yore can be found. Nordmaar itself is vast - its southern shores are relatively temperate, but its northern reaches are frozen and hellish. Nordmaar is separated from the rest of the northern landmass by the Skrimslighast, or the Sea of Monsters. They know this region as the Icy Waste, and this is the reputed realm of legendary Jotunnheim and many other things told of in Norse myths. The Icy Waste is utterly inhospitable and extends far into the north, widening as it goes. Even enchantments against the cold are not enough to ward off the bitter chill. It forms the southern peninsula of the greater frozen landmass that is known to the cartographers of Praxis as Terra Prohibita, the Forbidden Land.

The East, which mainly is comprised of the Empire of Kyujitai, is separated from Leng by 4,000 miles of empty water - the Endless Ocean. Hospitable landmasses and civilization between Leng and Kyujitai are sparse and lawless. Not only this, but the Endless Ocean is the location of the largest and most powerful communities of sahuagin, sea elves, and other aquatic humanoids. As a result, few make the journey directly, instead travelling via Praxis to the west. Kyujitai is a vast and heterogenous land with its own culture and native races; it is distant and alien from Leng.

The West consists of the continent of Githas and the (massive) islands of Shadomar and Monul. The continent of Githas is divided into two distinct regions: Praxis in the north, and Zakhara in the south. The continent is separated from Leng by the Sea of Pearls and the Ocean of Fate. If one was to cross the Sea of Pearls directly to the eastern coast of Praxis, the journey would only be about 600 miles. However, this route would take you through the Sea-Barony, the criminally-ruled western part of the Sea of Pearls - and the eastern coast of Praxis is not exactly safe, either. Most traders who travel to Githas either cultivate connections with the Sea-Baron or opt instead for a more circuitous journey. It is common to travel instead via the island-colonies of the Sea of Fate, eventually disembarking on the eastern shores of Zakhara.

The South of Leng disappears away into the Endless Ocean - the same ocean that separates Leng from Kyujitai. This continues for 6,000 miles! It is not called the Endless Ocean for nothing; in addition to its vastness, it is trackless and empty. While there are a variety of landmasses to be found, they lie far from any civilization and are uncharted. In many cases, they are host to dangerous creatures and buried secrets of their own, and more than a few mages have established stronghold on the temperate and secluded isles of the southern seas. Eventually, the Endless Ocean becomes the Boiling Ocean, a band of water too hot to traverse by ship. Some theorise by the shape of the horizon and the movements of the stars that the known world is only half of Morus, and that there is land south of the Boiling Ocean - but this has never been confirmed. Disconnected from the rest of Morus, it could have evolved entirely separately - a land that time forgot.

Mare Incognita is the name given to the stretch of sea between Githas and Kyujitai, on the opposite side of the world from Leng. Although there are tropical southern isles in this great water, it is considered by Leng scholars to be a trackless sea for the most part. In truth, there has been trade and communication over Mare Incognita between Kyujitai and Zakhara for a long time; Kyujitai calls it the Sea of Sino, while Zakhara calls it Sinbad's Sea. As this land is so far removed from Leng, however, its scholars know little of it.