Zenithia

By this point, our investigation into the setting of The Saga of the Ortegids has covered every region present in the original NES Dragon Quest trilogy (and then some), across both the two worlds of Erdland and Torland, discussing the opportunities each one of them could offer a tabletop RPG campaign. However, we aren't done yet. There's still one more location I want to shine a spotlight on - the floating island of Zenithia.

Zenithia wasn't present in the NES release of Dragon Quest III. In terms of release order, it first appeared in Dragon Quest IV; that game, and its two sequels, all feature the island in some way or another, leading to those games being dubbed the "Zenithian Trilogy" by fans. Unlike the Erdrick Trilogy of I through III, it's somewhat debatable whether or not those games take place in the same universe, and they definitely don't seem to take place in the same universe as the Erdrick Trilogy.

However, starting with the SNES release of DQ3, Zenithia was added as a post-game bonus dungeon, and it's stayed that way in all subsequent releases, even the ones that did away with most other changes added in the SNES version. Being optional post-game content, one could argue as to whether or not this material is supposed to be canon, and this project is specifically based on the NES releases and their Western marketing materials, but as a DM, I'm personally inclined to throw Zenithia into the mix anyway, purely because it's interesting, and would provide some neat implications on worldbuilding. Plus, it creates some nice symmetry if Erdland is connected to both a world below and a world above.

In all its appearances, Zenithia is a pretty small island. The one major feature is Castle Zenith, which is inhabited by a race of beings called the Zenithians. In DQ3 there's no real indication that the Zenithians are anything other than humans, but in the Zenithian Trilogy they have wings and increased magical aptitude, and I'd probably backport this for The Saga of the Ortegids. There, they are an aloof people, prefering (with some exceptions) to observe the lower realm from a distance but without any desire to interfere.

Art by Nottsuo

The nominal ruler of the Zenithians is King Zenith, but the most powerful resident of the island is surely the Divingon, a dragon god that dwells at the highest point of the castle. If the Divingon is bested in combat, he will grant a wish to whoever defeats him.

This is...a pretty obvious reference to Dragon Ball, sure. But I think there's a lot it could offer a campaign. The existence of the Divingon would offer a reliable high-risk, high-reward solution to any problem the PCs might face. If they need a powerful enemy defeated, or a curse lifted, or an ally brought back from the dead, they have a way to wish for it - they just need to be able to beat a god in order to do so, and getting to said god isn't exactly an easy task either. I'm always of the opinion that PCs should only have access to such powerful world-altering magic if they complete a suitably epic quest for it, and ascending to the heavens and convincing a divine dragon to fulfill their request certainly qualifies.

I also like the Divingon as a character - you can't actually kill him (he's a god, after all), but if you manage to impress him enough by dropping his HP to 0 within a time limit, he decides you're worthy of his favor. If you take too long, he gets bored and calls the fight off. He's a being operating on so high a level that the concerns of mortals are only worth his time if they amuse him, which is very much in keeping with popular conceptions of both dragons and gods (at least the kinds of gods I like.)

Art by Gustavo Cabral

And I do think the Divingon's divine status is literal. Lest we forget, Zenithia is accessed through a portal in Empress Castle, which is said to be the closest point to the heavens, and is home to the Dragon Queen, who calls herself a "messenger of the gods." For my take on the setting, I'd posit that the Divingon is none other than Gaius, the dragon-god of fire and the forge. The Dragon Queen must keep a portal to his realm in order to commune with him and guide the rightful interests of all dragonkind, as he is their patron and progenitor. A fun side effect of this: if we only see Gaius's personal domain, do the rest of the Nine Gods each have their own personal corner of the heavens? A DM could have fun with that concept.

There's two more bits I'd like to discuss when it comes to Zenithia. Many of the enemies encountered there are palette swapped versions of bosses from the main game - one of which is Baramos, the only time his sprite is used for a common random encounter. Given that I've chosen to interpret him as part of a magically created race of superbeings, this would suggest that Zenithia has access to an army of Drokkarim. I had previously described the Drokkarim as being a creation of the ancient Aliahanians, but I might instead have them as being bred by the Zenithians. Or perhaps the Old Aliahanians were in fact descended from Zenithians, or even that they were Zenithians. Given the comparisons to Tolkien's Numenoreans, having them be superhuman makes sense.

Lastly, I'd be remiss not to mention the adventure seeds implied by my cosmology for the setting. In the present day of the setting, I feel it would be useful to have a world tree allowing travel between Erdland and Torland to allow for both worlds to be accessible in a single campaign. But if the Worldtree has grown enough that those in Erdland can follow its roots down to Torland, surely they'd also be able to follow the branches up to Zenithia. And if mortals are suddenly able to travel to the lands of the gods, that would shake things up considerably...

The World of the Ortegids

The setting of the Erdrick Trilogy has some very interesting worldbuilding implications. Not all of them were intentional - some appear to have been invented as a means to justify game mechanics and engine limitations - but if one was to run with them, it would produce some intriguing opportunities at the tabletop. For The Saga of the Ortegids, I've decided to interpret the setting as looking something like this, in order to best take advantage of these implications:

Erdland: The outer surface of a hollow planet, which behaves as a typical Earthlike planet would. Has a sun and moon and a normal day-night cycle. I've chosen to go with a geocentric interpretation here, mainly for symmetry with Torland. Very much a History's Greatest Hits-type setting in the vein of the Hyborian Age; the land masses correspond roughly to those of Earth, and the cultures and civilizations parallel those of the appropriate regions, though not always contemporaneous ones. Notable locations include the Kingdom of Aliahan, the Romalian Empire, the islands of Zipangu, Dharma Abbey, and the deserts of Isis. The majority of Dragon Quest III takes place here.

Torland: The inner surface of the hollow planet, with its own oceans and land masses. It is lit by an artificial inner sun, causing it to be in a constant state of twilight (this, incidentally, is because they hadn't figured out how to do a day-night cycle in the first two games, and rather than admitting that like a normal person, decided to go full Burroughs). The geography is invented; culturally, it seems to be vaguely Norse. It was said that demons, dragons, and monstrous races originated from Torland (compare Alexander's Land of Darkness), though most of them have established native populations in Erdland. Likewise, humans have settled Torland and established their own kingdoms there, including Alefgard, Rhone, and the three Ortegid kingdoms of Lorasia, Samartoria, and Moonbrooke. Dragon Quest I, II, and the latter third of III take place here.

Zenithia: A small floating island located in the clouds above Erdland. Inhabited by a magically advanced civilization of winged people, who dwell in Castle Zenith. At the summit of the Castle dwells the Divinegon, an immortal god-dragon who will grant one wish to anyone who can impress him in battle. Zenithia doesn't play a role in the games' story until IV, V, and VI (the "Zenithian Trilogy"), which are not explicitly canon to the Erdrick Trilogy and are thus outside the scope of this project, but it was added as a bonus dungeon to later releases of III, so it makes the cut.

The Pit of Giaga: A massive chasm in the earth linking Erdland and Torland, located at the caldera of a volcano in the Southlands of Erdland. Previously the only means of travel between Erdland and Torland; descending from the Pit in Erdland would cause one to fall out of the sky in Torland. It was sealed off after the events of Dragon Quest III, but no one can say how long that will last...

The Worldtree: A massive tree linking the three realms of Erdland, Torland, and Zenithia. It grows over the course of every Age, periodically wilting, crumbling, and regrowing. By the time of Dragon Quest III it was only a sapling, and we don't see it again in the Erdrick Trilogy, though similar features have appeared in other games. For the purposes of The Saga of the Ortegids, the Worldtree has grown to its full strength by the modern era, and serves as a means to traverse the three realms. Its mountain-like roots jut out of the ground in Torland, and one can follow them up into Erdland and Zenithia, or descend the trunk, which grows in the continent-spanning Worldforest of Erdland, into Torland. This has allowed for travel and trade between the different realms, though the locals of the different worlds have been slow to accept the sudden contact with other lands.