The campaing starts in the world of Shauniaa, in the land Calidum.

Calidum Society

Calidum's society seems a pot-pourri at first glance, but we can distinguish several 'pillars': Religion, Arcane Arts, and the Crafts.

Religion

At the head of Calidum's pantheon is the Sun God, Pelor. He's a Neutral deity and a sort of father figure to all the other deities. (In game terms: we use the Greyhawk pantheon with additions from the Forgotten Realms. Most notable in this is the addition of Gond the Wonderbringer, god of crafts and technology.)
Calidum worship is a practical one. The gods are real and you'd better be friends with them, or your harvest will fail, your weapons will shatter, your kin will die, etc. Everybody at least pays token respect to Pelor and often to the other gods when called for. Waukeen, the Merchant's Mistress, will be sacrificed to before the caravan departs to the fair. Gond's blessing will be invoked by the tinkerer before he even begins the construction of his gun.

Arcane Arts

About 1 in 100 humans has the touch of Boccob and can practice the arcane arts. Magi tend to be loners, and only large settlements have anything like Magisteriums -- 'schools' for the Arcane Arts, in which methodical studies can be attemped to the nature of Boccob's Gift.

The Crafts

Since gnomes invented the first forms of gunpowder and the dwarves almost simultaneously harnessed the power of steam, Shauniaa's never been the same. Tinkerers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, sappers, artificers and the like are usually put under the moniker "the Crafts" and form a recent but fast-growing faction in Calidum's society. In stark contrast with the magi, craftsmen's natural tendency is to flock together and share knowledge and tricks. This has proven their great boon, since their inventions have regularly been met with distrust. However, people have accustomed to the gifts of Gond and the Crafts are now firmly rather established in society.

Calendar

The Kingdom of Calidum uses Pelor's Cycle to denote the passage of time.

One year holds 365 days, with 12 months of 30 days each and 5 special days.

The Lay of the Land

Calidum is very large kingdom, divided in fiefs. Current ruler is King Ruhard.

Odriaig

Odraig is a duchy made wealthy by trade. There are little goods that travel through Calidum that don't cross Odraig, and Duchess Roisa knows this well. She is constantly keeping the relations with the other fiefs friendly, and her main worry are taxes and highwaymen. Roisa holds court in her capital Wyrmkeep.

Flann's Crossing

The adventure starts on the banks of the Yliara, a river that will eventually come to the Azure Depths. For now, however, we focus on Flann's Crossing. A medium-sized town which is built on the junction of the Black Dust Trail (coming from the South), the Gold Road (west-bound) and Flann's Way to the city of Wyrmkeep.
Flann's (or simply The) Crossing is a natural trader's town and has a large marketplace and a big inn -- The Wagon. There's the obligatory temple to Pelor, and a side temple to Waukeen. On the banks of the Yliara we find Captain Willey and his crew who man, maintain and defend the ferry across the river. This part of town has slowly grown to be the inofficial Artificer's spot with quite a few workshops.
North of The Crossing stretches Firefly Bog. Somewhere in this wasteland the Wizard Carolus resides in his Claw Tower. He sometimes ventures forth into town, but few know him and fewer will visit him.

The party has set up shop in a smaller inn, Kevyn's. Krylic, Kevyn's son, is the current innkeeper and is happy with the party as guests as they pay well and draw extra customers. The resident bard Alora has written some dillies about the party and will sing them until somebody throws an empty tankard to her head.

Dubh Mynyddoedd (Black Mountains)

A fiefdom in Calidum, comprised of the mountain range west of Wyrmkeep. Main access road is the Black Dust Trail. The main products are various kinds of ore, gems, and furs. The upper reaches are very cold, perhaps even more than the height would account for. Main inhabitants are certain dwarven clans and gnome families. There are rumors of a network of underground caverns beneath the mountains that stretch for miles and miles, and give shelter to darker denizens.

Cloddfahm

Cloddfahm is the largest city and capital of the Dubh Mynyddoedd. The dwarven clans hold sway here, helped by their gnome cousins. Although the original dwarven blood has mingled somewhat, it's clear that the original clans were a different breed than the dwarves the other Calidum duchies are used to.
The recent growth of Tinkercrag (see below) has diminished the sparkle of Cloddfahm a bit.

Tinkercrag

Tinkercrag is was originally built to be an outpost of Cloddfahm and didn't really have a name besides The Crag. However the discovery of "phlogiston springs" in the immediate neighborhood changed that inconspicuous status. It made Tinkercrag the de facto capital of artificers. Tinkers, artificers, alchemists and the like are drawn to Tinkercrag like moths to the flame. It's said that this made the aristocrats of Cloddfahm rather envious. The "ruler" of Tinkercrag, Grand Artificer Bixia, doesn't care much for politics though.