Oerth is similar to Earth in many physical aspects: it is nearly the same size as Earth, at 7980 miles in diameter; it has a 24 hour day; it circles its sun in 365 days; it has a single sizable moon, very much like Earth's moon. There are a few differences - Oerth has less land ares, and its core is not iron, but instead {ln:Hekalite 'Hekalite}, the "elemental gem" of magick.
There are five continents on Oerth, and a number of island chains scattered about the oceans. Three continents are in the northern hemisphere - Avillonia, al-Rhayidh, and Azir. The other two, Lantea and Dimornia, are in the southern hemisphere.
There is a full gamut of natural climate on Oerth, ranging from the Arctic and Antarctic wastes, to temperate climes, to jungles and deserts. There are also some unnatural climatic regions - the Floating Islands of Lantea and the Wasted Lands of al-Rhayidh.
Oerth can be divided into two hemispheres, either a Northern and Southern Hemisphere, or, more typically for the inhabitants of Oerth, an Avillonian and Azirian Hemisphere.
In very broad terms, the Northern Hemisphere holds most of the human population. Due to various reasons, the lands of the southern hemisphere have not been heavily colonized, leaving them as wild places.
Lands of the Avillonian Hemisphere
The northern half of the Avillonian Hemisphere contains Avillonia and Tervasflam. These two landmasses are very close to one another, relative to the other continents, and they are connected by a long island chain on their western side. This proximity has given rise to a great deal of trade and cultural interaction, which has helped to advance these societies.
The southern half of the Avillonian Hemisphere contains the unsettled and unexplored continent of Dimornia. While expeditions to this land do happen infrequently, there has been no discovery to date that has triggered any colonization. As such, there are perhaps a few small subsistence villages, and temporary camps for explorers, but no permanent civilization worth mentioning.
Avillonian Continents
- {ln:Avillonia 'Avillonia}
- {ln:Dimornia 'Dimornia}
- {ln:Tervasflam 'Tervasflam}
Lands of the Azirian Hemisphere
The northern half of the Azirian Hemisphere contains Azir, a large continent. The continent itself is mostly wildlands in the center, with several older human kingdoms on the eastern coast (including Karasimi), and the nation of Engar on a cluster of islands off the northwestern seaboard. The western coast has a number of primitive tribes living along it, and there has been some contact between the western Azirians and the eastern Azirians along the southern coasts of this continent.
The southern half of this hemisphere contains Lantea, another sizable continent. This continent is mostly uninhabited, with Azirian colonies along its northern shores. The western side of the continent has a sizable mountain range, and amongst these mountains live the Lanteans, a non-human sentient race. These Lanteans have only recently begun to open up to trade with humans, and they have a small number of trade colonies interspersed with the human colonies to their north. Most notable about Lantea are the floating islands - magickal islands, some several miles in diameter, that fly a couple thousand feet above the ground. Many of these islands have run aground in the Lantean Mountains, as it were, within the Lantean holdings, and many of those have been partially colonized by Lanteans. A few islands have drifted free of the continent, and they now drift the wind currents of the Southern Hemisphere; very rarely, these islands will cross into the Northern Hemisphere as well.
Azirian Continents
- {ln:Azir 'Azir}
- {ln:Lantea 'Lantea}
- {ln:Sky Lands 'Sky Lands of Lantea}
Oceans of Oerth
- {ln:Vasmar 'Vasmar}
- {ln:Brythomar 'Brythomar}
- {ln:Southern Sea}
- {ln:Tammar 'Tammar}
- {ln:Azirmar 'Azirmar}