The Hard Lands
To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day
Hardly spoke to folks around him, didn’t have too much to say,
No one dared to ask his business, no one dared to make a slip
The stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip,
Marty Robbins, “Big Iron”
A low-magic, western, fantasy setting with Lovecraftian horror elements.
The Hard Lands is a low magic western fantasy setting with horror elements. Nobody really knows why the hard lands are what they are — prairie, desert, scrub or mountains — sprinkled with weird magics of a forgotten time. Some say that it represents the ruins of an ancient Precursor civilization (who may be Elves or may predate them, theories vary), still others say it represents the first coming of the Outsiders to damn our world. Nobody really knows, and for years they stayed away.
Settlers from east, west, north and south come to this harsh and lawless land; a few to make a name for themselves, many to escape the horrors of their homelands. Mighty nations vie for influence and arm for war. And a nameless, ancient city, waits for a new conqueror and a new name.
The hard lands campaign takes place during a renaissance age (equivalent to the span between our 14th century and 17th century).
What are the Hard Lands?
In the Hard Lands, religion matters: Unlike most D&D worlds which are polytheistic where deities are somewhat flat, there are three major exclusive religions (i.e. you can’t worship all of them) in the Hard Lands and their divine magics are very different.
The Hard Lands are a western setting: This land is not civilization. Cowboys ride in at sunrise, banks are robbed, duels are held at high noon, and watering holes lead to gunfights. Firearms, archery, melee and mounted combat are all valid combat styles.
The Hard Lands are an eldritch horror setting: The Cthulhoid horrors are real and they will come, if you let them. Magical artifacts and areas touched by the horrors are a path to corruption.
The Hard Lands are a post-apocalyptic setting: Unlike the rest of this world, the Hard Lands are littered with the poorly understood and very dangerous relics of an ancient Elvish civilization. The elves of this age are but a shadow of the past.
In the Hards Lands, arcane magic is academic: Arcane magic is a result of toil and struggle, not innate sorcery or pacts with the fae. Well, people can make magic pacts with the eldritch horrors, but that also makes them irrevocably evil (and not PCs). This means no sorcerers, bards (the casting kind) or warlocks.
The Hard Lands are a low-magic setting: Most people in civilized lands will never see an Arcanist (and will rarely see divine magic). Folks living in the hard lands will occasionally see travelling arcanists and will certainly know to stay away from the local relics. Magic, when wielded by people, is of severely limited power.