Overview

  • Our story takes place in a world that has rebuilt itself after being ravaged by a terrible calamity known as The Harrowing. 1,000 years ago Heaven was destroyed, raining down Moonstones on the world, ending civilization. Since then, the one surviving god Xin has formed a kingdom of faithful followers, and the Valian Empire has harnessed the power of the Moonstones to fuel their conquest of the land. However, the miracles of Xin have grown less potent, and the Valian airships grace the skies less and less these days.
  • The PC’s play as a member of the local Adventurer’s Guild. As the feudal lords of the Free Cities are mostly concerned with their own affairs, a burgeoning merchant class has created a spike in demand for peacekeepers and mercenaries. To meet this demand, the Adventurer’s Guild has formed local chapters in cities across the region. Tasks accepted by the guild are as varied from protecting caravans, tracking down lost or stolen items, clearing out monster infestations, etc.
    • The Free Cities are a loose alliance of squabbling feudal lords. Due to their inability to fully band together, they have never been a major player in the world at large.
    • The players started in the port city of Ambuneer, located on the NorthEast coast of the Free Cities
      • Ambuneer has flourished into a multicultural Metropolis over the past decade, as it is the closest port to both the Valian Empire across the sea to the north, and the Holy Kingdom of Xin to the east.
      • Tariffs on goods moving through Ambuneer have turned Lord Murgas, local lord of the region, into one of the most influential Lords of the Free Cities.

Free Cities - Rihan Coast Area Map

Adventurer’s Guild

  • The Guild is a loose affiliation of powerful mercenaries; martial and magical adepts known as Adventurers. Their origins lie in the Free Cities; as the feudal lords are mostly concerned with their own affairs, a burgeoning merchant class has created a spike in demand for peacekeepers and mercenaries. To meet this demand, the Adventurer’s Guild has formed local chapters in cities across the region. Tasks accepted by the guild are as varied from protecting caravans, tracking down lost or stolen items, clearing out monster infestations, etc.
  • In the decades since its founding, the Guild has opened branches across the world, franchising its format to foreign nations. Chapters have sprung up in The Valian Empire as well as The Holy Kingdom of Xin, the two superpowers in the world.
  • Guild members are ranked on a star system, of 1-5 bronze, silver, or gold stars. A new recruit begins as a One Bronze Star member, and can earn more stars by completing missions. Upon reaching Five Bronze Star rank, the next promotion is One Silver Star. The process repeats up to Five Silver Star then to Gold.
    • Most Adventurers die before completing the five bronze missions necessary to reach silver star rank, in which case one of the member’s stars can be redeemed to have resurrection magic cast on them. If the guild member has no stars left, they are excommunicated from the guild after resurrection.
    • Resurrection is still a messy business, as the body needs to be returned mostly intact for the magic to work.
  •  Missions are also flagged as bronze, silver, or gold rating, based on divination performed as part of a requester’s petition. An initial fee is collected from the petitioner for the divination, then a bounty is required to cover the estimated danger of the request. Only members of an equal or greater star metal can accept requests of that type (e.g. a Silver Star member can accept Bronze or Silver listings, but not Gold)
    • Only one member of the adventuring party needs to be of the correct rank for the party to take on the mission
    • To rank up, a Five Bronze needs to undertake a Silver mission under the sponsorship of a Silver Star or higher member

Free Cities

  • A loose collection of feudal lords with mutual non-aggression pacts. In ages past, they once stood united against a great threat, but that time is long gone. The laissez faire nature of most lords has led to a burgeoning middle class of merchants and service over the past few decades. 
  • The story starts in the port city of Ambuneer, located on the NorthEast coast of the Free Cities.  Ambuneer has flourished into a multicultural Metropolis over the past decade, as it is the closest port to both the Valian Empire across the sea to the north, and the Holy Kingdom of Xin to the east. Tariffs on goods moving through Ambuneer have turned Lord Murgas, local lord of the region, into one of the most influential Lords of the Free Cities.

Major Characters of the Free Cities:

  • Lord Murgas
    • The most wealthy and influential man in the Free Cities, Lord of the lands that contain Ambuneer. Prude but pragmatic, his political machinations and dealings with Valia and Xin have made him into the man he is today.
  • Dexter Quinn
    • An archaeologist from the Ambuneer University, under contract from the Holy Kingdom to investigate ancient ruins in the Free Cities.

Valian Empire

  • An imperialistic society that has conquered most of the northern hemisphere. Their might comes from moonstones, fragments of the Sacred Realm that rained down upon the world during the Harrowing. The people of Valia learned to manipulate the moonstones into sparks of divine magic, giving rise to magic-machine hybrid technology known as magitek.
  • Moonstone devices are restricted to the wealthy and elite, creating a massive divide between the haves and have-nots. While a capitalist society, socioeconomic transitions are difficult – those that are born poor tend to stay poor.

Major Characters of Valia:

  • Emperor Tatius IX
    • The line of Tatius has ruled over Valia for the one thousand years since its founding. Bred and raised to lead, Tatius leads his millennium dynasty with brutal efficiency, seeking to constantly expand the Empire’s influence and reach.
  • Vargas, Agent of Valia
    • A shadowy rogue tasked with investigating Dexter Quinn’s research. A gruff loner who tries too hard to be a badass, but has the skills and tools to back it up.

Holy Kingdom of Xin

  • A Theocracy ruled by a god manifest in flesh known as Xin. All commerce is done through the church itself – they run every officially licensed goods and service vendor in the Kingdom.
  • Religion has a belief in reincarnation – that everything is part of the Plan, and following that Plan will yield you a better life in the next reincarnation. Those that lived a good life and followed their destiny will be reborn in a higher caste, maybe as a priest, but if you lived a bad life and deny your destiny and turn against the plan then you will be reincarnated as a slug, or worse.
  • Society is in a rigid caste structure determined by birth. Movement between castes is rare, marriage and offspring always default to the lowest caste of the union.
    • The Anointed – Those closest to Xin, touched with his blessing of immortality
    • Priest – Parish leaders of the church, forming the governmental oversight system of the Holy Kingdom
    • Soldier – A slightly antiquated term, as it applies not only to members of the military and knighthood, but also to any government employee.
    • Worker – Any citizen outside the system, generally farmers and mercenaries.
    • Outcast – Criminals, outlaws, and others shunned by society. They are exiled and branded with a magical mark that lasts for generations.

Major Characters of the Holy Kingdom:

  • Xin 
    • A god manifested in flesh that has walked the land for over a thousand years. He shielded his followers from the Rains of Destruction that fell during the Harrowing, and forged his Kingdom across the blasted desert of the southeastern continent. Mysterious and enigmatic, but never turns down a request for an audience from his followers. However, the waitlist is decades long at this point.
  • Ravorfarn, Knight of Xin
    • A holy knight tasked with overseeing Quinn’s research. Has a small brain but a big heart.