What Is Thain?

Thain is an island continent steeped in myth and legend. A mysterious and dangerous place filled with natural beauty, yet beset by darkness.

Scholars believe Thain was not formed by any mundane geographical phenomena, but rests around a core of raw magical power known by some as the Isle’s Heart. This heart, while not an entity that could be understood, gives Thain a sense of direction and purpose that no entirely mundane land-mass could possess. This core of magic bleeds into the land above, driving the land to grow, yet often creating great dangers for any who dare to tread upon its surface.

And yet, throughout its history there have been those who seek to carve a path through these dangerous wilds. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and many others have built civilizations and cities, points of light within the darkness. Built on the ruins of their predecessors, Thain’s cities provide some of the few bastions of civilization in a world that is otherwise dangerous and unkind.

Many races have traveled to Thain over the thousands of years since its formation, and many more have been born from the magic of the island itself. Some are determined to build a radiant civilization that will stand the test of time and the ever-present darkness. Some will stop at nothing to harvest the power of the island, regardless of the consequences. Still others only wish to survive and live their lives within the safety of the city walls.

Thain is a Neverwinter Nights persistent world, focused on narrative, discovery, and player-driven storytelling. We hope you’ll enjoy the world we’ve built as you step into this journey with us!

Who Will You Be?

Characters created on Thain may be natives to one of our cities, or visitors from off-island. Though Thain is not officially a part of any D&D setting visitors from similar D&D settings are welcome, though we recommend reading the setting information below.

PCs on Thain are heroes or villains. They are champions and defenders of their faction, powerful healers or warriors or mages, though some choose to play more mundane commoners. Thain’s story is a story of challenging survival. On Thain, the monsters are true, classic monsters. There are no Drizzts by design. The story of “people” – of Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, Half-orcs, Half-elves and Elves – is the story of a small group of people who struggle daily in their own ways to create security and stability. Civilization is small on Thain and even if every settlement came together, the island still would not be safe.

Most of the people of Thain are presumed to either live less than desirable lives in the cities, or very dangerous lives outside of a settlement. Heroic PCs are among the few who, for whatever reason, are capable of fighting back. The world needs these (sometimes reluctant) heroes, people who take their duties seriously and with the realistic expectations that each day might be their last. Darker or more villainous PCs seek to take advantage of this situation, claiming power or dominance over those poor folk who have none.

In light of this, we discourage the concept of D&D “Adventurers.” An Adventurer in D&D terms is a fancy way of saying “Someone who goes out to get loot and kill monsters all the time” – but this is not a great fit for a survival setting. Characters in a survival setting are not killing monsters for fun and profit. They are prioritizing survival, and facing the dangers of the island is a necessary but difficult part of that. We suggest thinking about this in terms of your own character and why they choose to fight – do they have people they wish to protect? An oath to their settlement they cannot break? Are they a mercenary who works for gold alone? Why do they go out each day and take the risks that no one else will?

While characters on Thain will brave many dangers and endure many adventures, we recommend thinking of this from the headspace of a character who does not know they are part of a computer game. The strongest characters are built under the assumption that the setting is dangerous and that dying for no reason is something most people are unwilling to do. The strongest heroes on Thain will come not from those who treat the setting as a silly video game to be beaten down, but from those willing to invest and take the dangers seriously at every turn.

Setting Information and Tone

While Thain is inspired by D&D (and originated as a setting in the Forgotten Realms), our current vision deviates from D&D in several important ways.

Modern D&D settings often take a very light tone towards adventuring, magic, and monsters. These things are viewed primarily as toys or game mechanics, with happy-go-lucky adventurers attending Adventurer Academies in order to kill monsters and acquire their loot.

Monsters on Thain are genuine monsters, and their victims are genuine victims. Magic is implied to constantly have costs – it’s dangerous, outlawed in places, incomprehensible and wild. The kind of thing a desperate or foolish person might use. There are warriors by necessity, but ‘adventurer’ is not a profession anyone is trained in

This isn’t to say good vs evil on Thain is always a simple matter. Good people within the settlements will often oppose each other on legitimate ideological grounds. Even when dealing with monsters, there can be pathos and tragedy inside the story of a werewolf who’s curse is genuinely monstrous. But Thain is not a place where the monsters and witches are the real victims, nor is it a place where braving battle is something to be taken lightly. We ask all our players to bear this in mind when playing within our setting, and to treat it as a serious place in-character. This does not mean every character must always be dour, simply to think twice before giggling your way through what is meant to be a dangerous place. We leave all our video-game-knowledge and memes at the door when we type the words our characters speak, and just because you know your character can respawn, it doesn’t mean they’re aware of that fact.

We also ask players to keep the following in mind when creating and playing characters:

Thain is strongly inspired by low and mid-fantasy settings like Lord of the Rings, the Witcher, or early editions of D&D. Consider using these settings as inspiration for your character.
While characters from other D&D settings are welcome, this is only insofar as those settings can fit into ours. Extremely high-magic settings like Planescape and Spelljammer are generally not a good fit for our world – planar portals on Thain are mysterious and erratic, high technology will almost always fail outside of specific circumstances.
Whatever their origins, please keep your character to a medieval fantasy motif (ie: no laser guns, spaceships, or lightsabers.)
Humor is part of almost any good story, but Thain is not primarily a comedic setting. We are far closer to Lord of the Rings than we are to something like Discworld. Please keep in-world comedy to a reasonable level – comedic characters are fine when used judiciously, but not to the point where they deflate all the tension from dangerous situations.
The focus of Thain stories is primarily on conflict in various forms. Sometimes, these will be classic conflicts of epic heroes fighting evil monsters, but just as often, your hero might find themselves being asked to make difficult choices and define their own ideals in a way that might put you in a conflict with other good people. All of these conflicts are expected to be handled ICly and with maturity, and the exploration of these differences is part of the fun. If you are deeply uncomfortable with any form of conflict, the Thain setting may be a difficult place for you.
Romance can be as an aspect of Thain storytelling, but is generally not the focus of our stories. Romance RP it allowed, but overtly sexual RP is not permitted in open channels. Characters who are driven mostly by romance/pairing up/ERP and similar drama will not find much purchase in our narratives, and we may speak to you about it eventually. If you are a player who’s sole interest is in romantic narratives, Thain is probably not a great fit for you. We encourage all characters to use the adventure and danger our world provides as a backdrop for their personal development.
If you are the kind of storyteller who doesn’t mind taking the lead on your own stories, Thain is a good place for you. If you are someone who likes to collaborate with others to help tell their stories, Thain is a good place for you

We’re grateful to all players, and we look forward to seeing you in-game!