In reviewing all I had written for the "Watchers" setting of Sarvaelen I was shocked (not really) to realize I had been letting it organically grow over a series of vignettes but had never established much of a "core introduction" for the world. To fix that I produced the following, along with some new data on characters and race options in the world. Any rules references below assume Swords & Wizardry Complete and Basic Role-Playing/Magic World but they're sufficiently portable to other like systems.
The
History of Sarvaelen since the Fateful Day of Destruction
When the Final War rolled to a close
and the Emperor’s war mages of Camrinal called down unimaginable power from the
skies, they sundered the cosmos itself in twain for a period of time. It was
said that the black and frothing energies of other dimensional realms cascaded
uncontrolled down upon the empire, eviscerating the land and its people even as
the power of the ritual spell bathed Camrinal’s foes in unholy fire. When the
battle ended almost none lived, and the great city of Zaravande was a blackened
expanse of ruins dotted by thousands upon thousands of skeletal remains.
Whatever it was that oozed forth from the skies and engulfed Zaravande, it
picked the flesh clean from the bones of every nearly living thing within one
hundred miles of the capitol, and those who lived were transformed into
horrific, maddened ghuls.
The old stories say that “it” left;
speaking of these unholy energies as if they were an entity with thought and
intention, but some questioned that, observing that there is no evidence of any
credible living witnesses to this event. Occasional tales from the deep
recesses of the wastelands by maddened ghuls suggest that a handful of
survivors, all changed into hideous half-dead abominations, claim to have seen
the black energy writhe and coil about the land and its inhabitants, draining
all of the living, sucking the flesh from their bones, before retracting once
more into the rift in the sky. They claim that the rift never closed, and that
it opens on occasion and feeds from the world below. It is tethered, these
ghuls assert, over the ruins of Zaravande.
It was in this terrifying well of
darkness and death that the modern world of Sarvaelen was born: from the ashes
of an ancient, evil empire which had at last pushed too far, demanded too much
of its client states. When the many enemies of the ancient Emperor rose up
against him, to storm the gates of the Capitol and cast out the great evil
which had plagued men, it was with the greatest of intentions. War would end,
and a new dawn would begin no longer under the yoke of oppression. Instead, in
a desperate fit of rage and madness, the Emperor called upon his greatest magic
to bring forth the cataclysm that ripped victory from the grasp of his enemies
at the expense of his entire empire.
Today, the memory of that devastation
is a matter of folklore and few historians can reliably piece together who
started what or why. No one disputes that the old Empire had fallen to dark
ways, listening to the whispering of the elder gods and debasing themselves
before ancient evils in the name of magical power. These imperial citizens of
Camrinal subjugated the men of the other lands, including the Aeronost, Atlenar
and Emon in the name of their depraved interests and obsession with power. This
went on for centuries, it is said, before the subjugated people of these lands
at last rose up to destroy their oppressor, Emperor Caradosh and his decadent
imperial culture.
That was a little over two centuries
ago. The year now is 213 of the New Dawn (ND), a name which implies that the
civil war led to a victory. In fact, the name is more one of lost hope; the new
dawn of the lands of Sarvaelen have been met with endless danger and a
landscape forever altered by the hideous magic of the emperor and his war
mages. Camrinal, once a vast imperial hub in the heart of Sarvaelen, is now a
wasteland of magically irradiated, uninhabitable desert. Ghuls, undead and
monsters prowl the land, spilling out into the neighboring dominions to hunt
men for food and sport. A dour order of knights called the Order of the
Watchers of the Sullen Vigil patrol the boundary between the desert wastes of
Camrinal and the rest of the world, trying to keep the supernatural evil
contained, but they falter and dwindle, for no men can stand up to the evil
that was unleashed. Beyond the borderlands lie the neighboring kingdoms of
Aeronost, Atlenar, Emon and others….all once provincial client states of the
old empire, now freed men left to face two centuries of growing, ancient evil.
In the two centuries since the fall
of Camrinal several events have taken place which have changed the face of the
world. These include:
The fall of the Elder Gods: the pagan elder gods of the old empire were regarded as the
reason for Camrinal’s destruction. Whether the emperor called upon one of these
gods or some primal, cosmic force is unknown….but it is certain that even if
these ancient deities were not responsible, they most certainly did not
intervene to save the lives of their flock.
The rise of Nevereth: among most of the free lands of men, including Atlenar, Aeronost and the
Iandei people the goddess Nevereth, once a lesser goddess in antiquity has
become the principle deity of a growing monotheistic religion which decries the
old gods as pagan demons and deceivers and fosters an intense mistrust of
mages, branding all who engage with sorcery as witches, warlocks and servitors
of demons.
The Yawning of the Gates Between Worlds: the very fabric of reality itself
seems to have been damaged. The eerie Realm of Faerie has opened wide in remote
lands of the world letting elves and other fey kin back into reality. For
millennia now the fey kindred have been gone from the world, leaving when
mankind rose to power and the empire was founded. Now after a long absence they
are returning. Even as these portals appear, dark passageways to infernal
realms open in the depths of the earth, the bottom of the ocean, and in the
upper reaches of the sky. The Emon claim that it is the elemental kingdoms,
slowly seeking to reclaim the mortal world, which was forged out of the
primordial chaos eons ago by the old pagan gods. From these portals monsters of
horrible nature emerge.
The Survivors of Sarvaelen
The world of the Watchers is a dreary realm which
survived a terrible cataclysm. Among the men of the world there are several
prominent contemporary kingdoms that arose from or survived the ashes of the
old empire:
The
Survivors of Camrinal
The ancient empire of Camrinal was a vast, dominant
power that subjugated the old kingdoms to its rule. Camrinal not only rules by
force of arms but by force of magic as well, for it indulged the aristocracy of
its era with a culture of free experimentation and arcane dabbling that
eventually led to a deep magiocracy in which only those who demonstrated
sorcerous talent were allowed to hold the reigns of power, ownership of
property or positions of strength in the Empire. Magic had, in this now lost
era two centuries gone, become ubiquitous.
When the fires of destruction rained down upon
Camrinal in the Final Conflict, the vast majority of the old empire was wiped out,
but many of its lesser citizens and a few elites survived. Today these
survivors are mostly found as changed beings among the population known as the
ghuls, but in some odd corners of the world there still exist untainted
purebloods, though they often do not realize their own lineage.
The
People of Emon
Also known as the Emoniae, the people of this
distant land exist far in the west, beyond the ruined expanse of the wastelands
of Camrinal. Emon was the greatest independent threat to Camrinal in its era of
rule, and the Emoniae were a culture of sorcerers much like the Empire. When
the Final War erupted, their lands were devastated, and the Empire sought to
exterminate their greatest rivals as quickly as possible. When the conflict
ended with the destruction of Camrinal, most of Emon’s warriors were caught in
the destruction, and destroyed. Still, there were plenty of survivors back
home, now mostly dwelling in ancient, deep enclaves within the vast Adasatrak
Mountains where they stood guard against the outside world.
Today the Emoniae are still driven by magic as a
way of life and such arts find a greater acceptance within their mountain
fortresses than anywhere else. The Emoniae remain isolated and tend to mistrust
the young eastern kingdoms that have arisen from the ashes of the Final War. It
is also the only land where the study and worship of the Old Gods is still
permitted.
The Dour
Atlenar
When the southern kingdom of Atlenar, with is
brilliantly-scaled dragons and their riders assaulted the Zaravande, the
capitol of the Empire, most of the dragon riders of this fallen kingdom
perished. When the unholy energies of the burning spell bathed the world in
fire, it slew the entire army and its dragonflights of Atlenar, and laid waste
to the lands south, leaving cities and villages burning as the unholy wrath of
the Emperor was channeled through the maddening power of the Old Gods he called
upon. No one can say for sure what might have happened to this kingdom had they
not comprised the single largest contingent of forces allied against Camrinal,
but for this reason the wrath of that terrible spell burned Atlenspar almost as
badly as it scoured the earth of Camrinal itself.
The Atlenar are the people who survived that scourge
two centuries ago, mostly folk who were deep in the south and far from the
center of the conflict, or who dwelt in smaller villages and townships in the
wilds, escaping the purging fires that razed nearly two dozen strong cities and
fortresses to the ground. The nature of the Atlenar today was shaped forever by
this catastrophe, leaving them a brooding, dour folk who look with a great
pessimism on daily life but at the same time embrace each day as if it were
their last. Atlenar are known to be shrewd risk takers who regard all others
with suspicion, especially anyone who might have a trace of Imperial blood in
their veins.
Atlenar has not recovered from its firey doom,
though its people have returned to a more clan-based way of life. The lands of
Atlenar are dominated by the politics and rivalries of these twenty-odd clans
that stem from the dominat families of their surviving ancestors. They treat
their northern neighbors in Aeronost as allies, for they remember that after
the devastation many in Aeronost traveled south to aid them in their time of
need. Today the Atlenar also worship the monotheistic faith of Nevereth, the
Alll-Mother as a result of this influence from Aeronost.
The
Aeronost
Much like the other lands devastated by the final
doom of Camrinal, Aeronost has had a time of recovery and growth to restore
itself to a semblance of civilization. Unlike Emon and Atlenar, Aeronost was
not nearly as affected as those kingdoms for by the time of the last conflict
in which the forces of old rallied into a great force to siege the capitol of
Zaravande, only pockets of resistance still existed in Aeronost to try and aid
in the conflict; most of the old kingdom had been devastated after twenty years
of continuous conflict with Camrinal, its people subjugated by occupying
imperial forces. As a result, when the unholy fires and terrors of the Empire
were unleashed to destroy their attackers, Aeronost experienced little of the
devastation, and its people soon rose to overthrow and drive out the surviving
forces of Camrinal that escaped the doom of the Empire by virtue of their
station on Aeronost’s lands.
Aeronost remained a peaceful land after the end of
the war, recovering and rebuilding, driven by the new young church of the
goddess Nevereth which espoused a monotheistic faith that eschewed the Old
Gods, blaming the corruption of those gods for the fall of the Empire and the
ruin it left upon the lands. These same missionaries recruited many folk who
traveled abroad to aid in helping those devastated by the war’s end. This
helped greatly to expand the following of Nevereth, who was rapidly adopted as
the savior goddess of most of Sarvaelen’s kin.
About one hundred years ago the first wars of
succession began in Aeronost as various nobles and warlords began to aspire to
restoring their lost kingdom’s might. It was forty years ago that the first
true king was recognized, to whom most current nobles swear fealty to today.
Since then Aeronost has grown and developed into a strong, young kingdom and a
policy of open overland trade has made it a lucrative corridor for such between
the young kingdoms of Sarvaelen.
Iandei
The iandei are a curious lot. The stories of the iandei,
who stand on average shorter than most men, averaging only five feet in height,
is that they were actually men taken centuries ago as prisoners and slaves from
the kingdom of Sammar (though back then it was known only as the mysterious
lands of Shul as Sammar had not yet risen to power), turned into servants of
the empire. During the Final War many iandei escaped and took up arms against
the Empire, serving as foot soldiers in the armies of Emon and Atlenspar. When
the terrible energies of the last conflict in the war bathed the world in fire,
some of the iandei somehow escaped doom, and as a people found themselves
without their cruel masters, free at last.
Today the iandei have vibrant communities within
the borders of other kingdoms, but they tend to remain insular as a community
and as such tend to hold to their own. They have, like so many others, embraced
the worship of Nevereth but they never truly let go of their old ways during
the centuries of subjugation as slaves of the empire and worship a curious form
of animistic spirit worship that harkens back to their homeland of Shul. The
spirit worship of the iandei is a deeply kept cultural secret, and they build
all temples beneath the ground, usually hidden away, known only to the other iandei
of the community.
The iandei do not get along with any descendent of
Camrinal which takes pride in their ancestry, but they do have a curious
respect and pity for the ghuls of the wastelands, seeing them as having
suffered greatly for the error of the Empire’s ways. As such, iandei such as
can be found in Aelghast are known to take pity on ghuls who seek refuge or aid
and so allow them into the community, albeit as second class citizens.
There are more kingdoms and cultures to be revealed
in time (such as in the northlands, and across the sea in Sammar), but those
shall be saved for another time. What is outlined above comprise the
interlocked groups which can be found adjacent to the wastelands of Camrinal
and the Stormsinger Coast.
Nonhuman
Races of Sarvaelen
There are a handful of deminhuman races in
Sarvaelen, and their numbers have been growing in the two centuries since
Camrinal’s fall. Among these demihumans are:
The
Ilmarain Elves
The elves of Ilmarain are a secretive, suspicious
race. The Ilmarain herald from their dominion in the Real of the Faerie where
they claim to belong to the Summer Court. Their disdain for men and love of cruelty
is only slightly less than that of the Abashan, the dark elves. Their Queen of
Air and Water is the ruler of the Summer Court. The term Ilmarain apparently is
also the name of the elven city from which most elves enter the mortal world.
The
Abashan Dark Elves
The elves of Abashan are counter to the Ilmarain.
They are dark of skin, seeped in shadow and darkness, and servants to the
Winter Court. Their ruler is the Queen of Fire and Shadow, a destructive
immortal of pure power. The Abashan are most comfortable in shadow and seek out
the darkest corners and depths of the earth in which to manifest. They are
inimical to mortals, and treat them as playthings at best, cattle at worst.
The Orcs
of Sugante and Aphoros
The orcs of the Lower Kingdoms are an ancient force
unmeasured, for their presence in the world is new. It is not known if they are
a recent manifestation, perhaps born out of the incalculable destruction of
Camrinal or something more ancient, waiting for the wane of human rule to allow
their species passage to conquest. Their rise in numbers has forced many dwarven
enclaves to escape closer to the surface realms to avoid destruction.
The
Dwarves of the Lower Kingdoms
The stout dwarves are elemental sons of the earth,
and they revere the Old God Satarnas as their creator, from whom they rose out
of the earth in the wake of his steps in the caverns of the deeps. The dwarves
dislike surface dwellers and rarely come out of their caverns save out of
necessity. In the last century the rise of the orcs and other monsters in the
darkness have forced the dwarves to seek passage out of their dark lands and to
even call upon the aid of humans.
The
Gnomes of Rekaras
The gnomes are a race similar to the dwarves and
some claim a similar origin, created by the Old Gods though the gnomes insist
that they are something different. They have some cities, such as Rekaras, on
the surface world but many gnome tribes still dwell hidden in deep caverns and
dark forests. The gnomes are a pernicious lot, inventors and madmen who have
the logic of the fey, suggesting a connection to the Other World.
The
Halflings of the Western Shores
Remote communities of halflings thrive north west
of Emon. The haflings call themselves the True Folk, and claim to have been
around when men were a new race in the world. Haflings are rare but for their
lack of adventuresome spirit, and keep to themselves mostly. Halflings can and
do disappear in times of war, and their ability to burrow into the earth and
hide in the depths of the forests and mountains serve them well in dark times.
The Ghuls
of Camrinal
The ghuls are a survivor race, mutated descendants
of a handful of Camrinal citizens that survived the apocalypse and kept their
wits about them. Even hideously changed into half-dead beings the ghuls
prosper, though in time it seems the madness inevitably creeps over them.
Sarvaelen Primer on Character Generation, Gods and More
Random
Homeland Culture/Race Generation Table
D100 Homeland Special Subtables
01-25 Aeronost Possible Camrinal
bloodline**
26-32 Esren Possible
Camrinal bloodline**
33-40 Iandei Mixed
Homelands*
41-45 Mandrelavas
46-55 Thaerinal Possible Camrinal
bloodline**
56-70 Atlenar Possible
Camrinal bloodline**
71-75 Neremune
76-80 Yakhal
81-85 Emon*** Elemental Taint*** (10% chance of 1/2 elvish blood)
86-90 Viskar Steppes
91-95 Katari Clans Possible Camrinal bloodline** (15% chance of 1/2 orcish blood)
96-00 demihuman (D8: 1-2 halfling, 3 gnome, 4 elf, 5-6, dwarf, 7 ghul, 8 dark elf)
*Mixed Homelands: The iandei roll a
second time to establish their local origin. If Iandei ir Sammar comes up, then
the iandei is a pureblood of Shul.
**Camrinal Bloodline: There is a chance that an adventurer from this land has some heritage from the old empire. If the character both has heritage and is magically adept (has class levels/skill in a magic-using class/profession) than he is automatically considered “pureblood.” Purebloods are prone to attracting special attention from demons, old gods, spirits and other malevolent beings. S&W: this is a percentage chance equal to Intelligence (D100 equal to or under INT score) that an adventurer from this land has
some heritage from the old empire. If the character both has heritage and is magically
adept (has class levels in a magic-using class) than he is automatically
considered “pureblood.” Purebloods are prone to attracting special attention
from demons, old gods, spirits and other malevolent beings. BRP: There is a percentage chance equal to POWx1 that the adventurer has a Camrinal bloodline. In a Magic World game those of Camrinal blood can cast spells regardless of INT score (does not need to be 16). In straight BRP they start with "normal" level in magic or sorcery on top of any professional bonuses, and regardless of profession chosen.
***Elemental Taint: Emoniae revere the
elemental old gods, and still worship them. S&W: There is a percentage chance equal
to Wisdom that an emon has some elemental heritage in her or her bloodline.
The immediate effect is an innate basic understanding of the elemental tongue
and an affinity for that element, which means that they tend to be regarded
favorably by elementals of like type that they meet (+2 reaction modifier). BRP: Emoniae roll percentiles against POWx1 at character creation. If they succeed then the emon has INTx3 starting value in the Elemental Tongue (a unique planar language) and a +10% reaction modifier when influencing elementals.
The Emoniae
Many emoniae
have a talent for magic, and are the only human race allowed to multiclass as
fighter/magic-users or thief/magic-users. Emoniae are, like pureblooded of
Camrinal, prone to attracting the attention and interest of demons, spirits,
elementals, old gods and other beings from the Elemental Realms. Elves have an
abnormal fascination for them, and as a result it is more common to run into
half-elves of mixed elvish and emoniae blood than any other combination.
S&W: Multiclassed emoniae have no level limits, but function in the same manner as multiclassed demihumans for purposes of advancement.
When magic-using emoniae with elemental taint reaches 5th level in any spell casting class (magic-user, cleric or druid) he or she begins to manifest a sign of elemental corruption, usually in the form of a glow or emission from the skin, and a slow but certain "change" on the skin that seems to be a manifestation of that emon's elemental taint (stone-like skin, persistent water running from pores, smoke, or a misty fog following the emon). This first manifestation is cosmetic and can be supressed with concentration. At each level thereafter the emon must make a percentage check against: (INT plus level)X2. When this check is made (equal to or under) then a new taint manifests. Subsequent taints are harder to supress, requiring a saving throw to quell the effect. When the emon sleeps or is unconscious it reappears. Roll each time to see what manifests:
1-4 - a
new cosmetic trait related to the source of elemental taint. Gains resistance against
elemental type if not already possessed of it (+5 save vs. magic dealing damage
of elemental type and immunity to normal damage from that element.)
5-6 - 1D3 spells of choice take on an elemental trait (e.g. magic
missile is now "magic fire missile), either dealing damage of that
elemental type or reflecting elemental traits of said type (Hold person could
temporarily encase a target in stone for example). When all 1st-2nd
level spells have elemental taint move on to the next, and so forth. GM
discretion on the extend of obscure effects.
7-8 - gains
ability to summon an 8HD elemental once per day for 1 hour as a servant; second
time this is rolled gains ability to summon a 12HD elemental; 3rd time allows a
16HD elemental; fourth time this is rolled go to 9 below.
9-10 - gain
resistance from that element (see 1-4 above); second time this is rolled it
becomes total immunity to that element (both magical and mundane); third time
this is rolled go to 11-12 below.
11-12 - gain
permanent emission of elemental type: stone skin (gain +2 AC), fire erupts
from flesh (immune to damage from it but deals 1D6 to all on touch), air (gains
levitate at will), or water (emits water permanently, gains water breathing).
These traits are very difficult to disguise and require a saving throw at -2 to
supress for 1 hour.
The second time on this chart you roll a 12 your character gains the elemental type (extraplanar) for purposes of classification. He or she is now considered an elemental. The form changes noticeably to be "more" of the elemental type and the emon's humanity becomes supressed. Breathing is no longer necessary.
The third time you roll a 12 the Emon gains the ability to plane shift to his elemental plane of appropriate type at will.
The fourth time the emon rolls 12 on this chart he becomes a true elemental and departs the material plane, becoming an NPC at the GM's discretion.
BRP: When sorcerer or mage emoniae with elemental taint reaches 70% or more in any spell or professional sorcerer skills he or she begins to manifest a sign of elemental corruption, usually in the form of a glow or emission from the skin, and a slow but certain "change" on the skin that seems to be a manifestation of that emon's elemental taint (stone-like skin, persistent water running from pores, smoke, or a misty fog following the emon). This first manifestation is cosmetic and can be supressed with concentration. At each level thereafter the emon must make a percentage check against POWx2 +2% for each spell of 75% or greater skill. When this check is made (equal to or under) then a new taint manifests. Subsequent taints are harder to supress, requiring a POW vs. POW resistance roll to supress; each effect is unique with a resistance POW of 15+1D8. When the tainted emon sleeps or is unconscious it reappears. Roll each time to see what manifests when failing a check after reaching 70% or more in a given spell:
1-4 - a new cosmetic trait related to the source of elemental taint. Gains resistance against elemental type if not already possessed of it (+5 POW resistance against that elemental type and 5 points of protection from the elemental damage type).
5-6 - gain a new elemental spell of appropriate type, or gain +10% in the skill of an existing spell.
7-8 - gains ability to summon an elemental once per day for 1 hour as a servant. Each additional time increases the number of elementals or adds 1 hour of summoned time.
9-10 - gain resistance from that element (see 1-4 above); second time this is rolled it becomes total immunity to that element (both magical and mundane); third time this is rolled go to 11-12 below.
11-12 - gain permanent emission of elemental type: stone skin (gain +1d4+1 AP), fire erupts from flesh (immune to damage from it but deals 1D6 to all on touch), air (gains levitation at movement speed at will), or water (emits water permanently, gains water breathing). These traits are very difficult to disguise and require a resistance roll vs. POW 25 to supress for 1 hour.
The second time on this chart you roll a 12 your character gains the elemental type (extraplanar) for purposes of classification. He or she is now considered an elemental. The form changes noticeably to be "more" of the elemental type and the emon's humanity becomes supressed. Breathing is no longer necessary.
The third time you roll a 12 the emon gains the ability to plane shift to his elemental plane of appropriate type at will.
The fourth time the emon rolls 12 on this chart he becomes a true elemental and departs the material plane, becoming an NPC at the GM's discretion, to eventually be summoned by another elementally tainted emon in the future.
