You are in Sefonia, a magical land of dreams.

But it wasn't always a land of dreams.

Not literally, like now.

Once, it was just... a land.

Until THE INCIDENT.

THE INCIDENT was a magical spell that either went right, or very wrong. Most people guess that it very wrong, but who can say, really?

When THE INCIDENT happened, dreams started showing up in Sefonia.

Many of them were just irritating. Some were actually comically funny and silly and harmless in the absurd way that dreams are.

Then there the more disturbing dreams.

Then there were the nightmares.

The great powers of the world were soon no more. They took out most of the nightmares with them... but sooner or later, more always showed up, albeit infrequently.

Then again... sometimes, the great powers of the world show up again, too, their souls reborn, tied to mortals...

Sefonia, since THE INCIDENT...

...is WEIRD.

GEOGRAPHICALLY weird.

To the west of Sefonia is the sea.

To the east of Sefonia is also the sea.

To the north and south of Sefonia is... more Sefonia.

Sefonia is huge, but since THE INCIDENT, it is MORE huge. It is circular. You cannot escape it. Sail from the western shore, and you will eventually (if you last that long) come to the eastern shore, and vice-versa. Walk north, and you will eventually (if you last that long) come to where you started walking. The world is dream-like, and the landmarks move around.

Below Sefonia are The Dwarven Kingdoms, and the Lower Wilds.

Below that are The Depths, where Nightmares are common, and only the bravest or most foolish Dwarves ever go.

Below that, no one knows. Some Dwarves whisper that the stars are icy jewels, and that to dig below The Depths would be to fall into the sky.


When you start playing the game, everyone takes turns-- one person should a landmark from the list below. That's where your party of adventurers will start.

The next person picks another landmark from the list below, and says what direction it is from your starting place.

Do this until all players (including the GM) have chosen a landmark, and said what direction it is from your starting place. When you run out of players (including the GM), stop. More landmarks can be discovered during play.


Each Ancient Soul has a connection to a landmark area. If you need to know about something involved with a certain area that's connected to an Ancient Soul that a player happens to be playing, that player may roll +Soul.

--6 or lower: The GM may tell them that their character remembers nothing about the question asked, or a half-truth about it.
--7 to 9: The GM will answer the question truthfully, or will let the player say what the true answer is.
--10 or higher: The GM will answer the question truthfully, or will let the player say what the true answer is, and then the GM or the player may give an extra connected piece of information.

Example:

The party of adventurers is in Tenwall (see below), and one player is playing a PC with the Ancient Soul of the Warlord. The player asks the GM if there were any ancient secret treasure rooms in Tenwall that might not have been discovered yet... and rolls an 8 and adds 3 for the Soul modifier: 11. The GM says that yes, there is one... but that it was also heavily trapped...



Here is the list of landmarks:

--The Meadows: Once called The Flower Fields, but now just The Meadows, this is an open area of beautiful flower fields in all seasons but winter. Cattle, wild and otherwise, are common. Daydreams are more common here, as are elves and fairies. There are very old stone monoliths here, arranged in shapes, usually circles. The Ancient Soul of The Fairy Queen gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--Dragon Mountain: Dragon Mountain is a very large mountain. Dragon Mountain looks like a dragon. Dragon Mountain is said to be where the dragons went to sleep until THE INCIDENT was resolved. No one knows if this is true, because no one goes to Dragon Mountain. The Ancient Soul of The Dragon Prince gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place... but even it does not remember if there are any dragons still inside.


--Tenwall, the Capitol: Tenwall was the city of the Warlord. It stood empty (of living people) for centuries, but people have started trying to reclaim its outer edges... The Ancient Soul of The Warlord gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place... but even it does not remember what may now lie at the center of the city.


--The Dwarven Kingdoms: The Dwarven Kingdoms were once vast and beautiful. Now the dwarves live in but several scattered villages, and many of those are above-ground. Dwarves make most of the weapons and armor one finds in Sefonia. The Dwarven Kingdom has multiple entrances/exits. There should be one in the mountains, and another near the edge of the Wicker Hills, and a third not far from Tenwall. The Ancient Soul of The Dwarven King gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Elven Forests: There are three mighty Elven Forests, but the elves no longer fill them.
----The Green Woods have the most elves, these days.
----The Black Woods have fewer, and the elves from there are wilder and fiercer, and have forgotten much (yet remember old secrets that the elves of the Green Woods, themselves, have forgotten).
----The White Woods are filled with Nightmares, and are feared by all. Only the most powerful and brave elves venture there.
----The Ancient Soul of The Warlord gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of The Elven Forests... but even it does not remember all of the secrets of The White Woods.


--Dolorous Gard, The Knightly Castle: The now-ruined castle of the knighthood. Very few are brave enough to venture into this huge ruin now. The Ancient Soul of The Perfect Knight gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place... but even it does not remember what sort of Horror destroyed the knighthood, nor whether it still waits.


--The Wicker Hills: The rolling hills of the Hillfolk, though many trolls and others live here too. At night, wicker effigies of men and beasts are created... stand for a month... and then burn. The nightmares avoid them... usually. No one speaks about the wicker effigies and their rituals. No one creates them outside The Wicker Hills. Maybe they don't work anywhere else. The Ancient Soul of The Druid Chieftain gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Long River: The Long River winds and curves throughout the land, from the range of Dragon Mountain to the sea, and many people live and boat on it (though no one goes to Dragon Mountain). The Long River is mostly humans, although a lot of lizardfolk (including, but not restricted to, turtlefolk), frogfolk, and birdfolk. A lot of work has been done (mostly designed by the smaller kind of lizardfolk) to work on special sluices to divert water from The Long River to outlying farms in case the river level rises, to control flooding. There is also one huge bridge, dwarven-made, over The Long River, that allows The Long Road to go over it, the only time the two cross. It is referred to only as "The Dwarven Bridge." The Long River flows mostly north to south, although it does curve around a lot. The Ancient Soul of The Holy Fool gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.



--Trevisi, The Port City: Trevisi is one of the most thriving cities of Sefonia. Its naval ships and city guards stand fast against encroaching nightmares. The Ancient Soul of The Thief gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Depths: Below The Dwarven Kingdoms are The Depths. Few know any of its secrets. The Ancient Soul of The Dweller Below gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Fallen Stars: It's said that long ago-- before THE INCIDENT, even-- huge things fell from the sky and landed in the sea, and became islands. The Fallen Stars are island city-states known for their cooking. The largest city is Vierna, on the island of the same name. The Ancient Soul of The Chef gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Long Road: There are many roads in Sefonia, but only one, in the middle, that runs straight north and south forever, and that is The Long Road. Many villages and settlements lie on The Long Road. The Ancient Soul of The Musician gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Sanctuary: A quiet place of courtyards and gardens, created for the purposes of meditation. There are swarms and imps and big imps, but Nightmares and Horrors do not enter Sanctuary. The Ancient Soul of The Weapon gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place.


--The Magus Tower: An impossibly-high tower. Not as high as the moon, but very, very high. The door is never locked, but there are dangerous things inside. Sensible people don't go too close to it. The Ancient Soul of The Magus gets to roll Soul to tell the secrets of this place... but even it does not remember all the secrets of THE INCIDENT.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:25, Mon 07 Aug 2023.

More about races:

--Humans, Elves, and Dwarves: Oh, come on, you know what these are. Humans are found everywhere above-ground (except Dragon Mountain, of course. No one goes to Dragon Mountain). Elves mostly live in the Green Woods. A slight majority of Dwarves live in what's left of the Dwarven Kingdom, but since there's no sunlight down there, they find it increasingly hard, so lots of them live above-ground now-- in the Wicker Hills, on the Long Road, in Trevisi.


--Hillfolk are little short guys who have hairy feet and live in nice dry holes in half the hills in the Wicker Hills, although lots of them live along the Long Road and in Vierna and along The Long River, too, and occasional other places.

--Tuskers are big green strong guys with tusks that come up from their lower jaws in front. Tuskers can be a bit competitive-- many are involved with what they call The Contest, which involves destroying Imps and Nightmares. Swarms and Imps are worth 1 point each, Big Imps are worth 2 points, Wraiths are worth 4, Nightmares 8, and Horrors 14. Tuskers live in The Wicker Hills, The Long Road, The Meadows, Trevisi, and the edges of Tenwall. A few humans also get involved in The Contest, and even a few elves and dwarves.

--Trolls are big hairy guys, bigger than Tuskers, even. They live in The Wicker Hills and The Meadows, mostly. They are slow to anger and slow to calm down once angered. Mostly they're very sweet. They herd a breed of very large goats called jarlboks and make goatchees.

--Catfolk live all over the place, mostly The Wicker Hills, The Long Road, and Trevisi.

--Birdfolk live all over the place, like The Long Road, Trevisi, along The Long River, and even the Green Woods and the Black Woods. Their birdheads and feathers come in all colors and shapes. The most common are Ravenfolk, Hawkfolk, and Falconfolk, although there are Gullfolk, Cardinalfolk, Jayfolk, Parrotfolk, and many more.

--Large Lizardfolk mostly live near the water, in Trevisi and the Fallen Stars, and along The Long River. The smaller kinds like it underground, and often live alongside Dwarves, both below and above-ground. Turtlefolk sometimes know a magic spell or two, and/or are good at healing. Other big lizardfolk often get involved in the Tuskers' Contest. Small lizardfolk have a reputation for being good at engineering-- their traps have helped defend many an underground community.

--Foxfolk mostly live in The Wicker Hills and the Green and Black Woods. Like Turtlefolk, they often know a magic spell or two.

--Hyenafolk mostly live in The Meadows and The Wicker Hills, though many roam The Long Road. They're particularly good shots with spears. Some enjoy getting involved in the Tuskers' Contest.

--Frogfolk mostly live along The Long River, though plenty live in Trevisi, and The Wicker Hills.

--Bullfolk (also called minotaurs) mostly live in The Meadows, although there are also many on the edge of Tenwall. Some enjoy getting involved in the Tuskers' Contest.

--Snakefolk mostly live on the Fallen Stars, though some also live in the Black Woods.