The Cleared Tundra is a polar continent of wind-scoured heath, glacier-cut coasts, and scattered settlements linked by sled track, ship, and world portal. The Veiled made it their refuge after their homeworld shattered, building a kingdom alongside the elves whose world they entered. Mythic gates make distant markets reachable, yet each crossing carries risks and obligations. Across its vast distances, local treaties matter more than royal decrees, and survival depends on cooperation through the long dark.
Cultures
The Veiled preserve portal craft, ancestor memory, and customs carried from their shattered homeworld.
The continent’s elven communities maintain seasonal land stewardship and old agreements with the Veiled.
Border caravans blend Veiled trade rites with local hospitality and practical tundra survival.
Places
4 settlements
Large · Market townCleared GateMajor portal exchangeA sprawling market settlement built around a portal clearing, with strict cargo ledgers and crowded winter shelters.
Medium · PortOld Silt QuayCoastal shipping hubA sheltered harbor whose shallow approaches require local pilots and careful timing with the tide.
Small · Sacred settlementFirst LandingPilgrimage and research siteA treaty-protected settlement beside the black stone ring where the earliest Veiled arrivals are said to have emerged.
Medium · Waystation townLong Melt CrossingRiver crossing and supply stopA bridge-and-ferry community where caravans wait for river conditions and exchange news from inland routes.
How they spread
PatternSettlements cluster near dependable water, sheltered coasts, mineral sites, and portal apertures. Vast stretches between them remain seasonal hunting grounds or uninhabited tundra.
Common kinds
Portal market towns.
Coastal fishing villages.
Inland winter camps that grow into permanent settlements.
Treaty posts and waystations.
Trade routes
The Gate Road links portal markets across the central interior.
The Glassfjord passage connects coastal ports during the open-water season.
The Southern Sled Track follows the treeline and elven treaty settlements.
Dangers and hooks
3 threats
Most dangerous · SevereWhitewake ColossiAncient monstersRarely seen on glacier margins, but their tracks sometimes cross major sled roads.
Gate EchoesHighPlanar entities
Appear near unstable portals and imitate familiar voices to draw travelers through.
Icebound ReaversModerateHumanoid raiders
Raid remote caravans during the dark season and retreat into the coastal ice.
Hazards of the land
Whiteouts can erase tracks and separate travelers within minutes.
Permafrost hollows conceal sinkholes and unstable ice.
Unstable portals sometimes open onto hostile or impossible places.
Plot hooks
1
The Wrong Side of the GatePortal mysteryA gate that once linked the continent to a friendly market now opens onto a landscape filled with fragments of the Veiled homeworld.Starts: The Gate Ledger hires the party to investigate a shipment that returned with impossible cargo.Reward: A reliable portal token, rare trade goods, and access to a protected route.
2
Lines Beneath the SnowPolitical disputeA new survey marks a rich mineral seam inside land protected by an old elven agreement.Starts: A settlement assembly asks the party to verify whether the survey was forged.Reward: A negotiated share of the find and support from a regional council.
3
Tracks Without ReturnWilderness huntSomething is taking sled teams from the winter roads and leaving their supplies untouched.Starts: A caravan arrives at a trade hub with only one shaken survivor.Reward: A bounty, rescued mounts, and a guide familiar with hidden tracks.
4
The First Landing WakesMythic investigationThe dormant portal at the First Landing has begun answering voices in a language no living Veiled speaker knows.Starts: Keepers of the site invite the party to witness the next opening.Reward: An ancient relic and a clue to the shattered homeworld.
The land
Climate and ground
ClimatePolar, with long dark winters, brief bright summers, fierce coastal winds, and sudden whiteouts.
TerrainA continental expanse of low tundra, permafrost basins, icebound uplands, and scattered sheltered valleys.
Biomes
Open tundra and frozen heath.
Arctic coastline with seasonal pack ice.
Stunted willow and lichen barrens.
Glacier-fed highlands.
Waters and borders
Waterways
The Whitewake River, which opens seasonally into the western sea.
The Long Melt, a braided river crossing the central tundra.
The Glassfjord, a deep inlet used by ships and sled caravans.
Borders
The northern polar sea.
A western chain of glacier-cut mountains.
The southern treeline and warmer elven realms.
The eastern storm coast and drifting sea ice.
On the road
Overland travel depends on marked winter tracks, sturdy sleds, and local guides.
Portal passage can shorten journeys but routes shift or fail without warning.
Coastal travel is quickest in summer and perilous when pack ice moves.
Landmarks
The First Landing, a ring of black stone surrounding a dormant portal.
The Shardfall, a field of glassy fragments said to come from the Veiled homeworld.
The Singing Shelf, a glacier that produces deep tones before it calves.
The Lantern Flats, where distant lights mark hidden portal apertures.
Landforms
Broad frost heaths broken by rocky ridges.
Glacier-fed uplands and narrow mountain passes.
Shallow permafrost basins dotted with thaw lakes.
Sea cliffs and sheltered fjords.
Resources
Mythic ice crystals used in portal workings.
Star-metal and ancient fragments in the Shardfall.
Furs, fish, and seal oil.
Rare lichens used in dyes and medicines.
Power
Rule
GovernmentA chartered kingdom ruled through a traveling crown, regional councils, and treaty-bound settlement assemblies.
SeatThe kingdom has no single permanent capital; its royal court travels between major settlements and portal assemblies.
StabilityGenerally stable through negotiated custom, but strained by portal accidents, resource claims, and disputes over elven land rights.
Laws
Portal passage requires a witnessed ledger entry and declared cargo.
Hunting grounds are governed by seasonal agreements with local communities.
Disturbing marked ancestral sites is forbidden without council consent.
Factions
The Gate LedgerMerchant compact
Influence: Strong around major gates and caravan depots, limited in isolated settlements.Keep portal routes open while regulating passage, tariffs, and the dangers of interworld traffic.
The Winter MootElven alliance
Influence: Strong across traditional hunting grounds and local councils.Protect ancestral territory and ensure newcomers honor old land-use agreements.
The Shard SeekersExpeditionary society
Influence: Small but growing among scholars, portal workers, and wealthy patrons.Recover relics from the shattered homeworld and use them to restore lost routes.
Faiths
The Veil Remembrance
Influence: Strong among Veiled families and portal workers.Honoring the dead through spoken memory and safeguarding the remnants of the shattered homeworld.
The Turning Bough
Influence: Deeply rooted in elven settlements and respected by many newcomers.Keeping seasonal balance between living communities, hunted animals, and the land.
The Far Lantern
Influence: Popular among sailors, travelers, and scholars.Seeking meaning in stars, auroras, and the distant worlds reached by gates.
People and trade
Who lives here
How manySparse across the immense tundra, with denser communities near sheltered coasts, river mouths, and stable portal sites.
Main peoples
Veiled portal traders and their descendants.
Indigenous elven communities of the continent.
Mixed households formed through generations of exchange.
Other peoples
Dwarven prospectors from southern passes.
Human caravan crews and seasonal laborers.
Languages
Veilcant, used in portal bargains and formal records.
The elven tongue, common in older settlements.
Trade Speech, used across caravan routes.
Trade
WealthUneven wealth; portal merchants prosper, while remote communities rely on shared stores and seasonal trade.
Work
Portal brokerage and interworld shipping.
Fishing, sealing, and cold-water hunting.
Mining, craftwork, and salvage from ancient sites.
Exports
Portal maps and transit charms.
Furs, carved bone, and preserved fish.
Mythic ice crystals and worked star-metal.
Imports
Grain and preserved fruit from warmer lands.
Timber, lamp oil, and fine tools.
Markets
The Cleared Gate, a sprawling market around a reliable portal.
Old Silt Quay, a coastal exchange for ships and caravans.
History and secrets
After the homeworld of the Firstborn Veiled shattered, the survivors crossed through world portals into a world inhabited by elves. They made its vast polar continent their new home, bringing rare knowledge, dangerous relics, and an enduring dependence on passage between worlds. Early conflict gave way to negotiated treaties, though the balance between settlement, trade, and elven stewardship remains contested.
Key events
Before the Crossing
The ShatteringThe Firstborn Veiled homeworld shattered, scattering its people and leaving their portal arts changed forever.
The First Landing
The Crossing to the TundraVeiled survivors crossed into an elven world and established a new home on its polar continent.
The Treaty Years
The Winter AccordTreaties set boundaries for settlement, hunting, and portal construction after early clashes between newcomers and local communities.
Secret 1 · GM only
The First Landing was built around a surviving piece of the Veiled homeworld rather than a natural portal.Found by: Compare the black stones at the First Landing with fragments buried beneath the Shardfall.If found: The dormant gate may be an anchor to the Veiled homeworld, and activating it could destabilize portals across the continent.
Secret 2 · GM only
Some apparent auroras are openings that observe travelers without fully crossing into the world.Found by: Follow the Lantern Flats during a moonless storm and watch which lights cast shadows.If found: The kingdom’s portal routes may be monitored by an intelligence beyond the known worlds.
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