From the introduction: The Northern Realm is intended to be a shared story as much as a multiplayer game. Control of what happens around you by way of environmental effects, non-playable characters, and events lands squarely in the hands of the Story Master, but how you influence the events around you is bounded only by your imagination. It is the Story Master's job to choose a place within The Northern Realm and use the information available to him/her to build a rich environment. We have provided a plethora of resources in this book to make sure that detailed descriptions of histories, geography, cultures, magic, monsters, organizations, even fables are available for use.