DESIGN NOTES

In order to evoke a certain atmosphere and theme, I have limited and narrowed the choices of the players to a few races and classes at the beginning of the game. Most races and classes however have a place in this game, but must be unlocked by players through gameplay. See below for which races and classes may be selected.

Due to the nature of the play by post format, I've decided to simplify many of the rules, while emphasizing others. You may find the house rules I'll be using below as well.

PLAYER'S GUIDE

The Circles of the Known World was a name coined by Alatar the Sage, to describe its true nature as the epicenter of several planar intrusions. This phenomenon provided several remarkable effects, with the land forever warped by the influence of these otherworldly powers, changing the geography, the ecology, and its natural physical laws.

Also called Midgorod, or the Middle-realm, the Known World was commonly depicted upon maps as a row of intersecting rings or circles, as if several different worlds had collided and spilled over into one another. Indeed the geographies and lands could vary wildly, even upon countries and realms that bordered one another. Over time, an equilibrium of sorts had been reached, but few of the loremasters and the Wise could say with certainty what to expect beyond the Known World.

The Old Kingdom was the last great kingdom of the Men of the West, before the Fall of Men, when the great dynasties diminished and dwindled, leaving nothing behind but wrack and ruin. The Age of Men was long gone, now the subject of myth and legend. Indeed, no settlements or kingdoms of Men now existed upon the face of the Known World. The remnants of this once great civilisation could be found only in the crumbled ruins of ancient and forgotten realms.

Dwarves

The dwarves were a cautious and secretive race, whose customs were mostly unknown to outsiders. They were redoubtable warriors, hard to break or corrupt, but often at odds with the other peoples of Midgorod over old quarrels or new slights. They were short and stocky, with robust limbs and heads crowned with long hair and longer beards that gave them their typically elderly appearance. The dwarves delighted in smithcraft, stoneworking, and other clever crafts, mining and working metals throughout the mountains of Midgorod.

Though they traveled above the ground when it suited their interests, they delved deep below the ground and felt most comfortable in their subterranean realms and kingdoms. Viewed as greedy and vain, the truth was more complicated, for they appreciated fine workmanship in a way that few others comprehended. They kept themselves apart from the other races; their tongue was a closely guarded secret, and they told their true names to none save their own kind.

The Kingdom of Numer, the Kingdom Under the Mountain, was the greatest and brightest of these jeweled cities, which boasted great and intricate fortifications, carved into the faces of the Mountain itself. Theirs was said to be the oldest dwarven civilisation and credited with the invention of numbers, writing, and the study of the stars. In that distant kingdom, the citadels of living kings were dwarfed by monuments to dead ones.

However, a great calamity befell the line of kings, and the dwarves were scattered in a long diaspora, fleeing to their kin in the Blue Mountains, the Grey, and the White. With the Fall of Men, the dwarves have turned into squabbling factions, united only in their own disunion. However, if someone could find the Kingdom of Numer, they might be able to revive the line of kings.

Elves

The elves were ageless and immortal, as they hailed from a single region in Faerie, known as the Twilight kingdoms. Those known as dark elves came from the uttermost dark of Faerie, known as the Night kingdoms. Their kin in the Daylit kingdoms never ventured into the Middle-realm. As all those who belonged to Faerie, they were not subject to illness or old age, and thus could dwell within the Circles of the Known World until they were slain. However, their spirits remained bound to Midgorod until the End of Days.

They were tall, close to men in height, but more slender and beautiful. Their skin was pale, while their hair was commonly black, blue, or silvery white, although copper, golden blond, and red were heard of as well, though very rare and more known among their Daylit kindred. Their eyes were very commonly green, although some were blue as well. All exhibited a characteristic best described as golden flecks speckled through the iris.

Scattered across the world and hidden from mortal eyes, the Lost Cities of Elvendom were the last remnants of elvish civilisation that the Elvenkings brought with them when they crossed the Wall between Worlds from their homelands in Faerie and into Midgorod. With them they brought several gemstones of great beauty and wonder, one for each of the Elvenkings. These, one by one, became lost over many Ages, through tragedy, arrogance, and small twists of fate. And so the Lost Cities faded from memory and vanished.

In the Lands to the East, the Last Elvenking had ruled over his subjects since before he had crossed the threshold of Faerie and into the Middle-realm, an underground fastness in an ancient wood, a bastion protected by powerful fae magic. However, even this last stronghold of the elves was diminishing day by day. The only answer was to rediscover the Lost Cities of Elvendom, but that was a faint hope. More still, it was said that an Elfstone could yet revive the power and majesty of the elves from the elder days. Yet they had all of them been lost or destroyed. Hadn't they?

Giants

The giants were a race of massive creatures, at least nine feet tall standing, but their proportions were much broader and more heavily muscled than a typical man. The life of a giant revolved around ritual and ceremony. Giant culture was highly individualistic with a focus on personal success and glory---particularly when gained from the hunt or in a battle. The giants did not fear death as they believed the bold and strong could achieve immortality, but they feared they would be weak and end up forgotten.

Most stories told of the legendary Kingdoms Above the Clouds, though no living person in Midgorod had ever seen these fabled realms, not even the elves. Instead, the giants lived upon the memory, perhaps false, of a bygone age, of kingdoms where giants ruled wisely and justly.

Perhaps it is just a legend. Though perhaps there was more to the stories than met the eye.

Hobbits

Hobbits, called hole-dwellers, or more commonly halflings, were a nimble people with child-like features, quick-witted and fleet of foot. They lived in holes tunnelled under earthen mounds or hills, called smials. Their most distinguishing feature was their diminutive stature; even the tallest hobbits rarely exceeded two feet in height, with the tallest of their kind sometimes reaching even three feet, up to the height of a Man’s waist. They could seemingly disappear at will, at least from bigger folk that roamed the Known World.

While boastful of having no king at all, hobbits did not even have a very extensive government. Families for the most part managed their own affairs. Regionally, they were organised primarily around their familial folklands, which bore the names of the old leading families, with each region having their own offices and customs for governing themselves.

Though many hobbits did not become adventurers at all, a few were often taken hold of a wanderlust that could not be resisted. These few individuals left their homesteads to explore the wider world, and indeed, often found themselves coming to the ruins of the Old Kingdom.

Cleric

Worship of the Goddess was one of the few things that remained of the days before the Fall of Men. Early writing called her the Goddess of Creation, though it was said she walked among Men before ascending to the Heavens. No images of the Goddess survived to the present day, though her religion remains strong among dwarves and hobbits; elves worship no gods, and giants follow their own peculiar rituals.

It is through worship of the Goddess that the miracle of healing and the resurrection of the dead is possible. Indeed, the magic of the Goddess can only be channeled from one of her Holy Scriptures, great codices and tomes that contain her gospels. However, one of the great divine mysteries was the fact that different, even contradictory, magics were possible, given the right tomes. The Goddess sanctioned both death and life it seemed.

Fighter

Before the Fall of Men, the Free Companies flourished throughout the Known World. However, following the centuries after the wars with the Dark Lands, the Free Companies disbanded one by one, falling onto hard times and resorting to brigandage. Only the Grey Company and a few others remained, as they eked out a meager existence, selling their swords to the highest bidder.

Rogue

It has long been rumoured that the Council of Shadows, sometimes called the Veiled Court, orchestrated the assassination of the Last King of Men. Once a guild of thieves, cutpurses, and assassins, their list of misdeeds had grown to include the Fall of Men. The truth, perhaps, must be murkier than these tall tales would have you believe though who could say for certain? Their thief-signs and cryptic texts could still be found all through the ruins of the Old Kingdom, that was certain, and perhaps they still lurked within the shadows, pulling the strings on all the Known World.

Wizard

The Order of the Magi, or simply the Order, was a loose coalition of wizards trained in the art of high sorcery. It was founded long ago by the Archmagus, who took thirteen apprentices and taught them all he knew. Only the Archmagus had mastered every facet of high sorcery, his knowledge written down in his impossible book. To earn their staff and robes, the Archmagus required each apprentice to read and eventually make their own copy of the book. Thus, his apprentices tended to specialise, with the Wizard’s copy taking almost a thousand volumes. Each staff was made by their respective magi, their robes colour unique from one another.

The death of the Archmagus caused a great schism in the Order, with most of its members now following their own path. Two major factions grew from this schism, one headed by the Sage and and the other the Wizard. Magi nowadays were disciples of one of these  scholars, though their powers were a mere whisper of what was possible during the Age of Magic. Indeed, most of the old Order had long since vanished following the Fall of Men. Even the Wizard had not taken a disciple in many Ages, though many of the immortal scholar's spellbooks still persisted to this day. It was said that the White Tower, the Wizard's hidden trove of arcane knowledge, was waiting to be found somewhere within the Old Kingdom.

Names and Epithets

While characters have names given to them at birth, rarely did they share these to any except those closest to them. Instead, they usually disguised themselves behind epithets, descriptive terms to describe a person, their deeds, or even what they looked like. A wily huntsman might be known as The Ranger to the local village, while to others in his Company he may be known as The Oathsworn for the promise he made long ago.

Languages

Common was once the lingua franca of the Old Kingdom, language of the Men of the West. However, time has changed the meanings of words and now the ancient tongue is indecipherable from Common. Most peoples of the Known World spoke Common in some form. Indeed, hobbits had no native language of their own and spoke only Common.

Dwarven originated from the Kingdom of Numer, and it was the language of the forefathers of the dwarves.

Elven was the strange, magical language of Faerie. All elves were born with the innate knowledge of the elven language, even those born and raised outside the Elvenking's demesne.

Giant was the native language of the giants.

Chthonian was the native language of fiends.

Celestial was the language of the Holy Scriptures of the Goddess.

Draconic was the language of the Order of the Magi.

Other languages may exist, of course, but these are the ones characters are most likely to be exposed to in the Lands to the East.

HOUSE RULES

1. As mentioned above, players can only select from the following races: dwarf, elf, giant, and halfling. These may open up in the future, as the players discover more about the setting.
   
   • Players cannot select humans as a playable race. The remnants of Men live on in lone individuals with strange planar heritages. Instead, select from the following races in place of humans: aasimar, tiefling, aphorite, or ganzi.
2. As mentioned above, players can only select from the following classes: cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard. These may open up in the future, as the players discover more about the setting.
   
   • Clerics may select from the following domains: Good, Healing, Law, Sun. These may open up in the future, as the players discover more about the setting.
   • Clerics must use a holy text as a holy symbol. These books are required for a cleric's class features to activate, including spells, channeling positive energy, et cetera. They must prepare spells from these texts as a wizard might with a spellbook.
3. Players may create multiple characters. However, only one character at a time may be out on campaign. The others must stay behind at town.
   
4. Most creatures are unaligned, meaning they have no alignment. However, outsiders and other magical creatures do have alignment as normal.
   
5. We will be utilizing combat zones.
   
6. We will be using the revised action economy.
   
7. We will be using wounds and vigor.
   
8. We will be using background skills.
   
9. Because I'm trying to minimize the number of character options, I'm going to remove traits, archetypes, alternate racial options, and favored class options.
   
10. No multi-classing.
    
11. Players do not gain experience or levels in the normal sense. Instead, they must go out into the world and find treasure in the form of consumable magic items that grant class features. For example, a fighter might search for ancient martial arts manuals, while giants seek out lore of the Kingdoms Above the Clouds.

Giants

• Ability  Score Modifiers: +2 STR, +2 WIS, -2 DEX.
• Size: Medium.
• Type: Humanoid (giant).
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Languages: Common and Giant. Giants with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Any.
• Powerful Build.
• Skills: +2 racial to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks. +2 racial bonus to all Craft checks. Knowledge (giants) is always a class skill.

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Thu 07 Mar.