The Primal World of Thaia – 10 Characteristics of Thaia – Part I

Thaia is the name most of the free people of the world call their home world. The name’s origin is unknown, but some sages among the People of the Vale say it means our earth in the language of the Ancients.

This is a world of stone and sorcery weird adventures, inspired by pulp literature, mythic stone age stories depicted in pop culture, and the old-school spirit of adventure games. There are cavemen, dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, monsters, aliens, time travelers and much more! So, to convey a better idea of how The Primal World of Thaia really is, we created a list of 10 Traits of Thaia.

It’s an Ancient World

The world has millions of years since it was first born out of stardust, and a lot has happened since then. Ruins dot the landscape, civilizations have risen and fallen, and will do so again. A lot has happened and this history is hidden around the world, as well as forgotten by almost all the free people of Thaia.

d6	Signs of an Ancient World
1	Recent tremor created crevices that now exhibit the fossils of weird alien creatures embedded in the earth.
2	The eroded pillars of an old temple engraved with unknown geometric shapes that hum when touched.
3	A toppled giant statue of an unknown humanoid creature wearing a robe with strange sigils. The statue’s face is damaged.
4	Drawings in a cave depicting serpent people in tall ziggurats, from which a river of blood ran.
5	Giant rounded hills that have been eroded by the wind over millions of years.
6	The remains of a tapestry depicting a common custom of an lost civilization.

It’s a Brutal World

In Thaia, the strong rule over the weak. Or that’s what most of the people tell you. Humanity is not the dominant species of the world, and they have to face ravenous beasts and ferocious dinosaurs to survive. Everyday is a struggle, and can very well be the last, as bloody conflicts can happen unexpectedly.

d6	Signs of a Brutal World
1	A tyrannosaurus rex fighting a pack of deinonychus for the right to eat a dying triceratops.
2	Signs of a brutal conflict between different people. Blood splats on the ground. Broken weapons scattered. A severed limb.
3	A stone circle with dozens of discarded bloody weapons and fresh corpses. Old stone braziers still burn with dying flames.
4	A rocky hill covered by a fetid fog, from where the silhouettes of impaled bodies can be seen being eaten by a pterodactyl.
5	A trail of blood, entrails and severed limbs leading further ahead.
6	The burnt remains of a large hut. No bodies can be found though.

It’s a Primal World

Although ancient, Thaia is still a primordial world, full of life, energy and tectonic activities. Rains can become a deluge without warning. Volcanoes can spill lava after just a few warning hours of expelling dense foul smelling smoke from its depth. And the abundance of life, its strength, its wild exuberance, can turn life to death very quickly.

d6	Signs of a Primal World
1	Almost like magic, the flowers of a great tree transform into large beautiful elongated orange fruits that exhale a sweet citric smell.
2	A colossal mushroom from where a prismatic dim light emanates. Under its magical light, fungi of all sizes and shapes grow beyond their normal sizes.
3	A colossal tyrannosaurus who is worshipped by a god by a tribe of cannibals.
4	A volcano in the horizon that is always throwing out smoke. Lava is a common sight from those who keep a close eye.
5	The forest seems to grow bigger everyday, as if the world would be engulfed by trees in just a few years.
6	New species of animals are born every few weeks as the primal forces of Thaia work to perfect its creations.

Humanity Is Not Alone

Humans are a recent addition to this old world. A lot of different people had already lived in Thaia, many still do, and a few resent the coming of humanity. These people are now in decline however, and the ruins of the last civilization of ape people are hidden in out of the way places few humana dare to visit. They remember the wars.

d6	Signs of Other People
1	Cavern mouths on a hill decorated with the skulls of other people, including humans. The sound of chatter and laughter can be heard from outside.
2	A group of Beastkin traveling with all they have. They have been chased away from their home by raiders.
3	High in the sky you see a humanoid wearing feathered bone armor, and mounting a large pterodactyl with body paint.
4	A group of Serpentkin dead in a clearing. They were wearing red ragged cloaks and their blood seemed to have been completely drained from them.
5	A complex of caverns that have been carefully escalated by unknown tools and which sports rooms with clearly distinct functions.
6	In a giant cave there’s a huge wall with drawings showing many different people of Thaia, from the first Amoeba Empire to the recently arrived humans.

There Were Others Before

And before all of these people, there were the Ancients. Beings of perfection and superhuman intellect whose society built large cities, and wonderful machines. Something, however, sealed their destiny, and the Ancients are no more. Many still seek their cities in search of treasure and knowledge, and the few who find them, rarely return.

d6	Signs of the Ancients
1	Detailed carvings on ruins show a race of humanoids living in great cities, building strange machines.
2	The fossil of a large headed humanoid still wearing metal bracelets that never change their temperature.
3	Great geometrical shapes made of unnatural materials can be found in remote areas of Thaia.
4	Sheets of a hard shining material depict the constellations on the sky if Thaia.
5	A tiny stone that if pressed emits light that forms the image of a small animal which seems so happy to see someone.
6	Great mosaic depicting the many creations of a strange humanoid race and, among them, is humanity.

In the next post we will be back with the next 5 Characteristics of Thaia, the campaign setting for Primal Quest and The Primal World of Thaia, an upcoming zine for Old-School Essentials and Primal Quest!