Located roughly 1,300 miles south of Perryn Island, the Crescent League is an affiliation of about a half dozen settlements and a handful of castles and towers spread out over 23 islands. These islands, which make up the Crescent Archipelago, are on the southern end of the Lirris Ridge, an up thrust of the seabed that nearly cuts the Dread Sea in two. Despite the islands' southern location the cold waters of the Dread Sea create a temperate-arctic climate that result in fair summers and harsh winters, with the worst storms actually bringing snow. The warm waters of the South Polar Sea mingling with the frigid waters of the Dread Sea ensure plenty of storms during the winter.

A lot of the communities are small and tend towards isolation with merchants, fishermen, and some adventurous souls plying the waters and uniting the islands. This isolation is primarily due to the rough seas and not any rivalries or animosity between the islands. Travellers are welcome on almost all of the islands and the locals are always eager for news of the outside world. The people are generally simple, down to earth folk, working the land or the waters and doing their best to live comfortably in an oft harsh climate.

The total area of the archipelago is roughly 5,000 square miles and the islands form an arc almost 700 miles long and roughly 300 miles wide at the ends. The preferred method of travel between the various islands is via longship, though a few brave souls travel between the islands in large outrigger canoes. Merchants and those sailing beyond the Crescent League prefer to use drakkars or large cogs. The fishing boats used by the various fishermen in the area are generally small but extremely sturdy and stay relatively close to the islands. A few larger whaling boats ply the waters hunting larger prey, especially the rare Haldre Whale, which is prized for its oil and meat.

Most of the islands have rocky shores and are topped with fertile, if somewhat rocky soil. The trees that grow on the islands tend to be green-barked birch trees or pine trees. On a few of the islands are cedar trees that are tall enough to be used for keels on ships. These trees are a closely guarded resource for the islands. Most crops can be grown here, but it is hard, back breaking work for the farmers that work the soil. Cattle are only raised on one island and are a rare luxury for most people. Goats and sheep make up the bulk of livestock raised on the islands. Fish, of course, are also a prime food source.

The earliest settlers came to the region over 1,000 years ago and when they arrived dwarves were already settled on some of the islands. Early on the various communities fought each other over the sometimes scarce resources in the area, and that made them easy prey to the pirates who visited the area, as well as easy prey to the sahuagin that inhabited the surrounding seas. This constant warring with various forces ensured that the inhabitants eked out a hard scrabble existence. Some towns were completely wiped out.

250 years ago a large galley rowed into the archipelago, but the ship was manned by animated suits of armor and was commanded by a single wizard who went by the name of Tirse of the Crescent Moon. One after the other he visited every community in the archipelago and spoke privately with the leaders. Most of these discussions were peaceful, but on more than a few occasions he publicly dueled with the leader. He always won and then went back into closed discussions with the new leader of the community. After several months he had visited every community and 6 months to the day after he first showed up in the area the leader of every community met on Kraka Island. When the conference was over Tirse and his mysterious ship left and he was never seen again, not in the Crescent League nor anywhere else.

The resulting conference lasted 8 weeks and saw nearly a dozen duels. At the end of it, though, a treaty was agreed upon and all of the communities agreed to set their differences aside for the betterment of everyone. Where ships once raided neighboring islands they now traded with those islands. Where communities once fought over resources they now worked together to increase those resources. The peace has lasted 250 years, but it has not always been without problems. This was foreseen, however, and every two years the leaders of all the communities return to the Kraka Island for The Conference. There they air their grievances, settle any differences (sometimes through personal combat), and traders and merchants make new business arrangements and sign contracts. Between Conferences the island is generally uninhabited. There is one small settlement of a dozen buildings that is the home to a small contingent of soldiers from all the islands and their duty is to guard the island against intrusion. The only visitors that are tolerated are those who come privately to settle personal rudges through test of arms.

The long distance to the Crescent League and the dangers of crossing the Dread Sea would normally dissuade most people from ever visiting the islands, but a few features of the area make the trip worth the danger. Among these are the seal skins, which are prized for their exceptional warmth, the oil and meat of the Haldre Whales, the Great Silfer fish of the South Polar Sea, and the dwarf community centered beneath Tirse Island. The Dark Regions home of the Stout Folk is one of the few sources of gold in the southern regions of Icengale and the veins of iron are the purest known. The dwarves also make exceptionally fine weapons that are some of the best in the region. Their gladiatorial weapons are known throughout Icengale. Tirse Island is also the destination of many adventuring groups as the Dark Regions beneath the Crescent League are extensive and the rumors of drow wealth and magic draw in many a hardy soul. Some few even return. The gladiatorial arena in Ironcrest is famous for its rocky terrain.

The racial make-up of the Crescent League is roughly 60% human, 30% dwarf (excluding the dwarves who live in the Dark Regions), 5% Halfling, and 5% other. The humans tend to be exceptionally tall, pale skinned with blond hair and green eyes while the dwarves tend to be extremely dark-skinned, a rich brown in color with coal-black beards, eyes of pale blue, and are generally shorter than average. The number of dwarves who live beneath the islands is unknown, but estimated to be quite large. Their kingdom stretches quite far beneath the earth and at least 5 cities of over 25,000 are known to travellers, as well as one city of at least 100,000 dwarves that lies some distance beneath the Dread Sea. The vast majority of these dwarves never visit the surface. The Halflings live exclusively on three islands in isolated homesteads. They are definitely an oddity as they are of oriental stock, but no one has ever been able to figure out how such a large gathering of Halflings made it this far south and still managed to maintain their cultural identity. Sarai are virtually unknown in the Crescent League and most of those that do visit are gladiators bound for Ironcrest or for the Dark Regions beneath.