Description: Alphatia is a mighty continent of magic-users to the east of the Thyatian Empire; it is not shown on any of the maps in this volume. Alphatia rules numerous other lands; all together, the main continent and its subordinate nations constitute the Alphatian Empire.

  The continent of Alphatia is a broad, rich land divided up into numerous interdependent nations. The southwestern regions, the areas best known to visitors from foreign lands, are sunny and temperate, good for farmlands and pastures. The northwestern regions are chilly and :mountainous, far wilder and less settled than the south. The northeastern section of the continent is also chilly wilderness; it has few human settlements, but is dotted with wizards' towers and the summer villas of Alphatian nobles. The southeastern part of Alphatia is flatland with rich soil, thick with farms. The central regions of the continent feature deep, dangerous forests where monsters thrive, where dangerous elves live free, and where the most evil of magic-users conduct their grisly experiments.

  Ruler: Eriadna the Wise. Raised from childhood to be a ruler of men, she seized the imperial throne from her own father when the man launched a costly, failed invasion of Thyatis and the Alphatian grand council of wizards threatened to remove the imperial throne from her family line. She magically maintains her appearance at 30, though she is actually 80 and has five adult children.

  Population: The Alphatians are not native to this plane. Their original home, far away in another plane, was destroyed in a war of opposing magic schools. The Alphatians came to the Known World and settled, building a new empire based on magic.

  There are two kinds of Alphatians: common and pure. Common Alphatians have coppery skin and brown (sometimes red) hair. Pure Alphatians, a distinct minority, have very pale white skin and dark hair. Neither race has a social class advantage in the empire. '-- .

  In the empire, all spellcasters are considered nobles; nonspellcasters have few rights. Spellcasters and nonspellcasters live under different sets of laws, laws which (naturally) favor the spellcasters.

  Sundsvall: The imperial capital of Alphatia lies in the southwestern region of the continent. It is a vast city of 500,000 residents, and features innumerable huge palaces and other enormous buildings. As the capital of a magical empire, it is heavily decorated by and protected by magic spells, and is often called the "city built by magic."

Adventure Opportunities: Alphatia is a magical land that teems with wizards. They like to create new spells (or steal them from one another) or new monsters (these often break out of their pens and run amok).