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<blockquote data-quote="RedTonic" data-source="post: 5631592" data-attributes="member: 98994"><p>I was pretty busy this week, so I didn't get the session recaps done that I wanted! So I will post up some setting information. This entry is what I provided to players first to start building their characters. I'll save the gods and some other things for the next time I'm not as well prepared as I'd like. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>As time goes on, I'm refining the world and occasionally ret-conning names that the PCs really have no reason to interact with. There's some naming inconsistencies that I need to deal with: either changing the names or coming up with a decent enough reason for the variance.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">*****</p><p></p><p>The world's name is Arcturus. It is a world much like our own, circling one yellow sun and in turn circled by one small moon. The year in which your campaign begins is A.F. (After Founding) 399. The era before Founding is known as "The Time of Exile."</p><p></p><p>On the lonely world Arcturus, in the old empire of Ruber, many a strange thing has been known to happen. Perhaps these mysterious occurrences are the works of old gods gone mad from solitude and the vastness between stars. Perhaps the events are the results of old wars between the blessed and the fallen. Perhaps the titans on the earth have become so separated from their mortality in their scheming that they no long resemble the beings they once were.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ruber</strong></p><p></p><p>The campaign takes place in the continent-spanning empire of Ruber. The empire was formed by a massive band of tribal horsemen who slowly but cunningly and strategically overwhelmed the many smaller kingdoms which had divided the continent of Oester. During this massive campaign, the clans which comprised the conquering force slowly became more "civilized" and gained an appreciation for the specialization of the kingdoms' forces and bureaucracies, and gradually began implementing improvements to the infrastructures of their new lands. As these projects' efficacy was proven, the Rubai clans themselves became more hierarchical and arrayed themselves behind the leadership of the man who would become the first emperor, Ideshir Al'Rubai. The last small kingdoms were conquered 399 years ago. This series of campaigns is now known as "the Second Conquest." No one knows what the first conquest was, but obviously it didn't stick.</p><p></p><p>Many of the noble families from the minor kingdoms still survive as bureaucrats and hereditary landowners.</p><p></p><p>The Ruber Kingdom currently fields 4 major noble houses (aka Thrones) for its throne, namely the 'Iron Seat', purportedly made of the weapons of all its conquered enemies. Lamina Throne currently rules; Sanguis Throne is second in power; then come the Potestas and Spina Thrones. Ruberian nobles are well known for their bloodthirsty temperament and elaborate, formal courtesy.</p><p></p><p>Ruber's pure-blood descendants are of dark hair and skin, and usually have brown to black eyes. They are tall and strong, and fiercely beautiful. They are adapted to harsh climates and have outstanding stamina.</p><p></p><p>Its capital city, Ruberia, is the second largest city. The city of Virtus and Sanguis's old capital are nearby. The country's eastern coast, which borders the Galac Ocean, has many safe, natural ports and thus many large cities, the whole strand of which is known as the Sea Jewels. Much of the west coast is unnavigable by ship; its northern border is protected by a sharp, craggy volcanic mountains, the Phyrrus Range. Half of its southern coast is mountainous, protecting the Kushiite Commune located around a group of springs. Virtus is located on the southeastern coast, where the Adamant River, which flows past Ruberia into the Urisual Forest at the foot of the Phyrrus, meets the sea. Ruber also includes the Island of the Sun, which holds a huge volcano which hosts the Phyrreth temple. Ruber's major exports are weapons, both novelty and explosive.</p><p></p><p>Most of the so-called savage races have either been assimilated into the Ruber culture or destroyed. The same is true for most of the monsterous species you find in the <u>Monster Manual</u>--those creatures are rare. For the most part, when adventurers go out, they fight marauding gangs of outlaws, explore, and subjugate the few goblinoid tribes not brought into the overarching system. There are some tribes of orcs and goblinoids who have semi-autonomous status for assisting in the original conquest of the continent and those treaties have been honored. They include keeping slaves and their descendents in bondage. There is legal slavery in Ruber--mainly hereditary slaves (those captured by warbands) or criminals and debtors who were enslaved for specific terms to pay off their "debt." Indentured servitude is not uncommon.</p><p></p><p>While this is a high magic world, everything you'd find in the monster manual is widely unknown and those creatures are almost never seen outside of very specific areas. This includes undead, since most have been destroyed and necromancy is illegal (thanks to Mikhael's church).</p><p></p><p>The "World" map shows the world that the more educated among you would know. Ruber is an enormous empire--it literally covers the entire continent of Oester. Aurum is quite large in and of itself.</p><p></p><p>The Warring Kingdoms are traded with but Ruber has no political alliance or real contact with any of them. Their numbers and names change often. Idrias is somewhat hermitic, perhaps out of fear that Ruber will attempt to annex their small continent. There may be more than one country on that land. The Savage Lands are places where no political organization other than perhaps tribes was found by Ruberian explorers.</p><p></p><p><em>The Conquered Territories</em></p><p></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Argentum</em>: Rumored to be the lost floating kingdom of the gods; the civilization disappeared hundreds of years before the Rubai conquered the territory, which was actually a magically shielded series of islands populated by semi-feral elves. Some claim to have found the ruins of Argentum. The kingdom was rumored to have extremely advanced magical artifacts.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Sanguis</em>: An even more warlike country of barbarians. They were assimilated into the Ruberian culture. Sanguian descendants are likely to have dark skin, reddish hair, and hazel, brown, or green eyes, and of quick temper.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Visus</em>: This was a mystically-inclined kingdom composed mainly of mages, summoners, healers, and elementals. Visean descendants are of fair skin and hair and have light eyes; they are most likely to be mages. They are scattered around the world and tend to be unaware of their heritage. They are said to be the original mortal mages.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>The Seven Sisters</em>: A set of seven territories ruled by female liches who may or may not have been related while alive. Though generally at least somewhat terrified, the inhabitants of those lands were always relatively prosperous and healthy, and though the Sisters in-fought, they had been known as tough and wary generals. They caused perhaps the most damage to the Rubai forces during the Second Conquest.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>The City-States</em>: Eight city-states had held most of the western coastal territory as well as much of the southern lands. Though they had dubbed themselves city-states, these lands were nearly as large as the kingdoms. They were (from north to south) Fleur, Haute de Terre, Sacre Terre, Sang-mar, Soleil, Rue de la Mer, Stella, and Pax Grise.</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong>Ceteran</strong></p><p>This town is located on the crossroad of the major east-west route (the Highroad) and a minor north-south route (the Apprentice Road). The inner portion of the town is walled and has a barracks. The town is overseen by the Mayor, who is elected yearly by enfranchised men and women (business owners, landowners, minor nobility). There is one minor mage school in Ceteran, run by a female wizard named Gaiea Torvus, who specializes in Abjuration. Most of the town is human, though there are some elven families and fewer of other races. Caravans travel through on occasion, so the place is familiar with more exotic people and items than many towns and villages. The local lord is Count Rood Al'Khaber.</p><p></p><p>Within Ceteran is a chapterhouse of the Silverhorn Order, the only sponsors of fresh paladins who have not already seen service. While sometimes mocked by other orders and martial organizations, they are generally well-regarded by the common man for their hard work in keeping the roads safe and providing security for less wealthy towns and villages.</p><p></p><p>Ceteran is also host to a large temple composed of a few distinct followings. Those followings include Mikhael, Sapential, Asarael, Gabriel, and Cammael. Each has a head priest. The abbot is the priest of Cammael for this year; the office of abbot changes hands each year on a rotating basis. There are of course shrines in the town and in outlying areas. Many people from those areas come to the Temple of Five to worship, and during festivals, even the most distant farmers come to Ceteran to celebrate and tithe.</p><p></p><p><strong>Aurum Empire</strong></p><p></p><p>Aurum has 6 major noble houses in contention for the Absolum Throne. The Sapientia House currently rules; Virtus and Fulgor Houses contend; Pulcher and Nobilis Houses feud; Corvus House plots for the Absolum in the background, from the House Seat.</p><p></p><p>Aurumanians are known as fierce bargainers and traders. Pacatus Fortuna is its capital. Much of Aurum, which covers the northern half of the western continent Miel, is actually coastal.</p><p></p><p>This nation has only recently become a household name on the eastern continent. Much of the rest of the world is of little concern to cityfolk and nobles in Ruber.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RedTonic, post: 5631592, member: 98994"] I was pretty busy this week, so I didn't get the session recaps done that I wanted! So I will post up some setting information. This entry is what I provided to players first to start building their characters. I'll save the gods and some other things for the next time I'm not as well prepared as I'd like. :) As time goes on, I'm refining the world and occasionally ret-conning names that the PCs really have no reason to interact with. There's some naming inconsistencies that I need to deal with: either changing the names or coming up with a decent enough reason for the variance. [CENTER]*****[/CENTER] The world's name is Arcturus. It is a world much like our own, circling one yellow sun and in turn circled by one small moon. The year in which your campaign begins is A.F. (After Founding) 399. The era before Founding is known as "The Time of Exile." On the lonely world Arcturus, in the old empire of Ruber, many a strange thing has been known to happen. Perhaps these mysterious occurrences are the works of old gods gone mad from solitude and the vastness between stars. Perhaps the events are the results of old wars between the blessed and the fallen. Perhaps the titans on the earth have become so separated from their mortality in their scheming that they no long resemble the beings they once were. [B]Ruber[/B] The campaign takes place in the continent-spanning empire of Ruber. The empire was formed by a massive band of tribal horsemen who slowly but cunningly and strategically overwhelmed the many smaller kingdoms which had divided the continent of Oester. During this massive campaign, the clans which comprised the conquering force slowly became more "civilized" and gained an appreciation for the specialization of the kingdoms' forces and bureaucracies, and gradually began implementing improvements to the infrastructures of their new lands. As these projects' efficacy was proven, the Rubai clans themselves became more hierarchical and arrayed themselves behind the leadership of the man who would become the first emperor, Ideshir Al'Rubai. The last small kingdoms were conquered 399 years ago. This series of campaigns is now known as "the Second Conquest." No one knows what the first conquest was, but obviously it didn't stick. Many of the noble families from the minor kingdoms still survive as bureaucrats and hereditary landowners. The Ruber Kingdom currently fields 4 major noble houses (aka Thrones) for its throne, namely the 'Iron Seat', purportedly made of the weapons of all its conquered enemies. Lamina Throne currently rules; Sanguis Throne is second in power; then come the Potestas and Spina Thrones. Ruberian nobles are well known for their bloodthirsty temperament and elaborate, formal courtesy. Ruber's pure-blood descendants are of dark hair and skin, and usually have brown to black eyes. They are tall and strong, and fiercely beautiful. They are adapted to harsh climates and have outstanding stamina. Its capital city, Ruberia, is the second largest city. The city of Virtus and Sanguis's old capital are nearby. The country's eastern coast, which borders the Galac Ocean, has many safe, natural ports and thus many large cities, the whole strand of which is known as the Sea Jewels. Much of the west coast is unnavigable by ship; its northern border is protected by a sharp, craggy volcanic mountains, the Phyrrus Range. Half of its southern coast is mountainous, protecting the Kushiite Commune located around a group of springs. Virtus is located on the southeastern coast, where the Adamant River, which flows past Ruberia into the Urisual Forest at the foot of the Phyrrus, meets the sea. Ruber also includes the Island of the Sun, which holds a huge volcano which hosts the Phyrreth temple. Ruber's major exports are weapons, both novelty and explosive. Most of the so-called savage races have either been assimilated into the Ruber culture or destroyed. The same is true for most of the monsterous species you find in the [U]Monster Manual[/U]--those creatures are rare. For the most part, when adventurers go out, they fight marauding gangs of outlaws, explore, and subjugate the few goblinoid tribes not brought into the overarching system. There are some tribes of orcs and goblinoids who have semi-autonomous status for assisting in the original conquest of the continent and those treaties have been honored. They include keeping slaves and their descendents in bondage. There is legal slavery in Ruber--mainly hereditary slaves (those captured by warbands) or criminals and debtors who were enslaved for specific terms to pay off their "debt." Indentured servitude is not uncommon. While this is a high magic world, everything you'd find in the monster manual is widely unknown and those creatures are almost never seen outside of very specific areas. This includes undead, since most have been destroyed and necromancy is illegal (thanks to Mikhael's church). The "World" map shows the world that the more educated among you would know. Ruber is an enormous empire--it literally covers the entire continent of Oester. Aurum is quite large in and of itself. The Warring Kingdoms are traded with but Ruber has no political alliance or real contact with any of them. Their numbers and names change often. Idrias is somewhat hermitic, perhaps out of fear that Ruber will attempt to annex their small continent. There may be more than one country on that land. The Savage Lands are places where no political organization other than perhaps tribes was found by Ruberian explorers. [I]The Conquered Territories[/I] [LIST] [*][I]Argentum[/I]: Rumored to be the lost floating kingdom of the gods; the civilization disappeared hundreds of years before the Rubai conquered the territory, which was actually a magically shielded series of islands populated by semi-feral elves. Some claim to have found the ruins of Argentum. The kingdom was rumored to have extremely advanced magical artifacts. [*][I]Sanguis[/I]: An even more warlike country of barbarians. They were assimilated into the Ruberian culture. Sanguian descendants are likely to have dark skin, reddish hair, and hazel, brown, or green eyes, and of quick temper. [*][I]Visus[/I]: This was a mystically-inclined kingdom composed mainly of mages, summoners, healers, and elementals. Visean descendants are of fair skin and hair and have light eyes; they are most likely to be mages. They are scattered around the world and tend to be unaware of their heritage. They are said to be the original mortal mages. [*][I]The Seven Sisters[/I]: A set of seven territories ruled by female liches who may or may not have been related while alive. Though generally at least somewhat terrified, the inhabitants of those lands were always relatively prosperous and healthy, and though the Sisters in-fought, they had been known as tough and wary generals. They caused perhaps the most damage to the Rubai forces during the Second Conquest. [*][I]The City-States[/I]: Eight city-states had held most of the western coastal territory as well as much of the southern lands. Though they had dubbed themselves city-states, these lands were nearly as large as the kingdoms. They were (from north to south) Fleur, Haute de Terre, Sacre Terre, Sang-mar, Soleil, Rue de la Mer, Stella, and Pax Grise. [/LIST] [B]Ceteran[/B] This town is located on the crossroad of the major east-west route (the Highroad) and a minor north-south route (the Apprentice Road). The inner portion of the town is walled and has a barracks. The town is overseen by the Mayor, who is elected yearly by enfranchised men and women (business owners, landowners, minor nobility). There is one minor mage school in Ceteran, run by a female wizard named Gaiea Torvus, who specializes in Abjuration. Most of the town is human, though there are some elven families and fewer of other races. Caravans travel through on occasion, so the place is familiar with more exotic people and items than many towns and villages. The local lord is Count Rood Al'Khaber. Within Ceteran is a chapterhouse of the Silverhorn Order, the only sponsors of fresh paladins who have not already seen service. While sometimes mocked by other orders and martial organizations, they are generally well-regarded by the common man for their hard work in keeping the roads safe and providing security for less wealthy towns and villages. Ceteran is also host to a large temple composed of a few distinct followings. Those followings include Mikhael, Sapential, Asarael, Gabriel, and Cammael. Each has a head priest. The abbot is the priest of Cammael for this year; the office of abbot changes hands each year on a rotating basis. There are of course shrines in the town and in outlying areas. Many people from those areas come to the Temple of Five to worship, and during festivals, even the most distant farmers come to Ceteran to celebrate and tithe. [B]Aurum Empire[/B] Aurum has 6 major noble houses in contention for the Absolum Throne. The Sapientia House currently rules; Virtus and Fulgor Houses contend; Pulcher and Nobilis Houses feud; Corvus House plots for the Absolum in the background, from the House Seat. Aurumanians are known as fierce bargainers and traders. Pacatus Fortuna is its capital. Much of Aurum, which covers the northern half of the western continent Miel, is actually coastal. This nation has only recently become a household name on the eastern continent. Much of the rest of the world is of little concern to cityfolk and nobles in Ruber. [/QUOTE]
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