Thank you all for your generous words. I have started trying to make some quick adjustments which I will post in a bit, hopefully later tonight. This post, however, is devoted to Gandwarf, who did, in fact, express the remotest interest in background info. (The fact is I have not yet started my game, but I'm excited for it, so I need very little encouragement.)

"The Gnomish Provinces, formerly known as The Gnomish Lands, is a region that is today as culturally diverse as any you will find in the lands of Dyreem. In spite of The Impossible Adventures of Finneas Flik and His Amazing Airship, children's tales told and retold for countless generations in various forms throughout the known world, the provinces were thought to be remote and isolated, though the stories may be responsible for the fondness many cultures share of the region's diminutive native inhabitants. It is interesting, in this sage's opinion, that gnomes do not distinguish halflings as a race seperate from themselves, while halflings are quick to point out differences if questioned about the issue. Both races originated here.

Up until the invasion of The Black Lord some 200 years ago, the communities in this land were isolated, even from each other. Novice students of history sometimes ask why The Black Lord would begin his conquests here, rather than one of the human kingdoms neighboring his own land. Answers to this question are pure conjecture, but when one considers the ease with which each individual city-state of the region fell before his armies, the decision seems sound. When one factors in the resources he acquired here (the siege engines and other devices designed and built with gnomish ingenuity, and the gems he used to bribe key individuals in other lands), it is questionable whether he would have been more than an historical footnote had he started anywhere else.

Accounts indicate that there was, in fact, very little blood spilt in the campaign to conquer the lands The Black Lord would later dub "The Gnomish Provinces", which they have been called ever since. According to the few long-lived gnomes who survive from that era, those willing to speak say it was neither fear of The Black Lord (who had not yet established his reputation as the savage tyrant he would become) nor the might of his armies that led to his success here, so much as it was the indifference of the population to who was called "The King". It wasn't until the instituion of his cruel policies that any resistance was mounted at all, and by then his hold was so strong that it was too late. There are few who openly discuss those dark days, as it is whispered that the shade of The Black Lord still walks in the lands where he once held sway.

During the ensuing occupation which, it is well known, lasted over 80 years, many humans and dwarves (both free and slaves) were brought to the region. While it is true that many dwarves left following the defeat and demise of The Black Lord, many remained as well, and the vast majority of humans living in the provinces at that time had actually been born there, and knew of no other place to call home..."

Sorry for no map to go along with that. I do have a couple of land masses generated using ProFantasy's Fractal Terrains Demo, but at this point they will probably be discarded in favor of something I have more creative control over. I will give them credit for inspiration though.

As I mentioned above I will be posting again soon, following some hasty adjustments to the town of Stern's Bridge. I hope to tackle everyone else's comments then, as well as add another (much shorter) narrative as introductory to the town itself.