A Very Brief Introduction to the Kingdom of Morrain and the Town of Cillamar

I was planning on just dropping the players into the game without too much background info dumping up front, because most players tune out during that.  But I got a request for some, so here's a very brief introduction to the setting.

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The Kingdom of Morrain is a small Northern backwater kingdom, with a few towns squeezed into some nice fertile valleys, between some very rough terrain that forms natural borders.  It's independent of the larger nations nearby largely due to geographic isolation (think Switzerland, except with humans and elves and gnomes instead of German- and French- and Italian-speakers).  The foreboding Ul Dominor mountains lie to the East (imagine the Alps, except with monsters and dwarves instead of ski resorts).  The weather is a bit hot in the summer, inconveniently cold and snowy in the winter, and spring and fall don't last long (think Eastern Canada).  Valfors Bay lies to the north and has access to the ocean, when it's not frozen.  The capital, Galaron, is on Valfors Bay to the north.  (Think Archangel, before icebreakers.)

Morrain has natural resources: lumber in the large forests, gems and silver in the hills, fish in the bay, and some good farmland in the valleys.  But the elves are touchy about the environment and influential enough that the woods are mostly left intact; Morrain only cuts enough trees for local use.  The gems and silver are exported, though.

Morrain is pretty much a strict monarchy, too small to have developed many layers of nobility.  Fortunately for the subjects, it's been ruled by good kings who seem to care about their people for several generations.  The current king is Mirias Stormwarden, who sits in Stormkeep in the city of Galeron.  The standing army is small, and mostly mans a series of border watchtowers, but the militia is large, well-trained, and loyal.  (Think Switzerland again.)  No foreign human kingdom has invaded Morrain in a long time, but monster incursions are a constant threat.

Cillamar is a small town in the hills in the eastern part of the kingdom, less than a hundred miles from the Ul Dominor mountains.  It was almost completely destroyed by dragon attack a few hundred years ago, turning it into a ghost town.  It's been mostly rebuilt over the last century, but there are still scorched ruins nearby, leaving no doubt that the dragon was real.  It's ruled by Lord Mayor Franz Mentzer, on behalf of the King, from the Lord's Gate Citadel in the southeast of town.

Some rich silver veins were found nearby about five years ago, turning Cillamar into a boom town once word got out, with prospectors and miners (mostly human, some dwarven and gnome) showing up daily to try to strike it rich.  Also, wars in the neighboring kingdoms have led to a steady flow of incoming refugees over the past few summers.  The quick population growth has led to the old ruins in the south part of town growing into a poor, crime-ridden slum called The Warrens.

The population boom in turn has brought merchants, and thieves to prey on the merchants, and guards (both private and the town's Lantern Guard) to stop the thieves.  It's a happening place, and a destination for adventuring types to seek their fortune.  They tend to congregate at the Inn of the Slumbering Drake, which is safer than the sketchy holes in the wall of the Warrens, but cheaper and more fun than the fancy inns that appeal to nobles and merchants.