When my players are first introduced to Quas, it’s often in written form first. As a result, this is one of the first questions players and other GMs ask. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer to that question depends on perspective and play style.
For the combat-oriented…
Combat-oriented, or players that seek to elevate their own character’s species above all others, the campaign world could easily be pronounced as “Chaos.”
As you may recall from my initial post, most of the species are isolated from each other, and the campaign will most likely involve making first contact with other species that may or may not have heard of your character’s species. The more combat-oriented are likely to attack first and ask questions later. This can eventually devolve into the chaos of war, with stealth strikes, kidnappings, and sabotage becoming a large part of the campaign.
While the three worlds are mostly isolated from each other, there are connections within the realms. This could lead to alliances to eliminate or incapacitate different species and realms. For example, Kobolds and Dwarves could ally against the invading humans of the surface world, or the Cecealis & Gnolls could ally to fight off a growing threat from allied Humans & Selkie trying to obtain a footing while also beating back Goblins pouring out of underground caverns.
If rampaging humans annihilate a Kobold warren, how will the Dwarves & Goblins with whom those Kobolds were in contact react? How will other human raft-cities react? Will the Selkie spread word to the Merfolk & Cecaelis? Will their solid footing lead to peace or war with the underwater civilizations?
It’s easy for one wrong move to throw the world of Quas into turmoil, unleashing chaos throughout. And with chaos unleashed, who knows what else might slip across the planar divide…
For those with creative solutions…
Those with creative solutions will often ask “what happens if…”, and as a GM, the initial reaction is typically “what?”
I live in Canada, and as a result, there’s a lot of Frenglish: where the English & French languages get butchered together into their own mish-mash of somehow understood nonsense. In French, one might say “Qu’est-ce que c’est?” for “What is it?”, and we often shorten that to “Qu’est?”
This shortening works well as a way to pronounce Quas, as in a campaign with creative-minded players, there’s a lot of asking that very question. “What” would happen if we tried talking with them first? “What” would happen if we collapsed the cave entrance? “What” would happen if we dug tunnels underwater and flooded the underground? “What” would happen if we helped the Selkie create a neutral trading city to work as intermediaries between the surface, underground, and underwater realms? “What” are these ruins? “What” are these pictures and scribbles meant to say? “What” do your people want? “What” can we do to help each other?
What about “Kaz?”
A third option, “Kaz” or “Kas,” is quite different. It requires less interpretation and sounds more like a simple name.
Although I’m the creator of this campaign world, I won’t de-legitimize this pronunciation. It’s a perfectly valid way to pronounce Quas, and in future updates, I may even lend more strength to this method.
While I haven’t uploaded deity information yet, as many races have lost hope in gods & goddesses in this world, I plan to introduce a deity (or great demon) by the name of Kaz, whom players can learn more about by investigating the ruins of the past. These ruins will largely be underwater, recently surfaced, or underground, and can serve as a way to reintegrate religion into the surface world, which has largely forgotten its use or value.
While the underground & underwater civilizations have their own pantheons, the overwhelmingly illiterate human realm has largely forgotten the divine. As a result, the loss of human clerics has led to an increase in warlocks serving old ones, who may (or may not) be the human deities from before the great flood. Exploring these ruins, discovering lost texts, and learning to read could allow humanity to reconnect with the divine, including Kaz, the god (or demon, depending on one’s point of view) of the oceans’ tides.
One world, three ways to pronounce it.
And all of them are correct. Whether you go with “Chaos”, “Qu’est”, or “Kaz,” you’re pronouncing the campaign world correctly. Your choice helps demonstrate the style of play or the plot direction that your party or your GM has chosen to take.
Regardless of your choice, there’s plenty to discover in the world of Quas.