Trystell: Reborn

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Trystell: Reborn is the new, revised version of the Trystell setting, updated and edited for continuity and consistent theme. It is being released as a series of PDF supplements, with rules for the Saga Machine system. Once all PDF supplements have been released, the various parts will be collected into a printed Trystell: Reborn hardback.

This is the page for the new revised version of the setting. For the Trystell Classic page click here.

Trystell: A Primer

The following primer is designed to be a concise introduction to all of the major concepts and background necessary to play a campaign in the world of Trystell. While it lacks much of the depth of information presented in the Expanded Background section of this book, it is ideal for players who want a quick crash course in the setting so that can make their characters and get into the game.

Overview

Trystell is an anachronistic fantasy world following in the modern western fantasy tradition of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or Howard's Conan stories. Trystell is not its predecessors, however, and the settings deviates from its origins in the modern western fantasy genre in many regards.

Perhaps the most fundamental deviation has to do with the setting's internal worldview. While fantasy literature traditionally has a mythical or medieval sensibility about it, the general sensibilities expressed by people on the world, and the game in general, is distinctly post-medieval.

Indeed, it has been said that Trystell is really an Enlightenment-era fantasy game dressed up in medieval clothing. Sure, all the surface features of a typical medieval fantasy setting are there—swords, shields, nobility, etc.—but underlying all that is a distinctly post-medieval empirical worldview, complete with many political and economic concepts that did not become widespread until the Enlightenment. Characters may actually think to solve problems through experimentation. They may debate the merits or representative government. They may trade partial ownership of businesses, or be extended lines of credit.

Trystell inherits as well much of the cynicism of more modern literature. The world of Trystell is not some idealized look into the past; it is messy, has its hypocrisies and problems, and the people in it have their character flaws and personal issues, just as do people in the real world.

All-in-all, Trystell should have a “real” feel, relatable-to by any modern person, even as the dragon rears its head and the fireballs are flying.

Trystell's Themes

If there is one overarching theme in the setting, it is this: Everything comes with a price. Whether a character is seeking to wield great magical power, or seeking a legendary artifact sword, each of these routes to power comes wit its own issues, drawbacks and downsides.

Both GMs and players should keep in mind, however, that these aspects are not meant to put a damper on the players' fun; they are designed to add in an element of important moral and ethical choices to the pursuit of power in-game. And just as with in the real world, sometimes people make the right choice, and sometimes they don't—and they always have to deal with the consequences of both. This not only can lead to interesting turns of events in play, it also can lead to an interesting psychological depth to player characters. Another important thematic element of Trystell, is that by virtue of having a distinctly more-modern worldview than most fantasy settings, campaigns and aspects of the Trystell setting may attempt to be allegories to certain aspects of the real world, and thus have an underlying statement or theme—a trait much more common among science fiction and its ilk than fantasy settings.

Thematically, the focus of action in a Trystell campaign deals much more with the personal workings and actions of the player characters than epic world-changing, sweeping events. This is natural, as the player characters are the focus of the game, and too many world-sweeping events undermines the “realistic” feel of the setting.

What Player Characters Do

By and large, player characters on Trystell have much the same end motivations as many normal people in the real world—wealth, status, a comfortable life, to serve some ideal, etc. What differs is that player characters often are willing to do something most people—in both the real world and on Trystell—think is a little crazy: put themselves in harm's way in accomplishing their aims.

Campaigns on Trystell will often revolve around player characters working towards one of these end goals. The player characters may decide become merchants, traveling as a caravan from city to city, trading exotic goods; they may seek status and wealth working up through the ranks of an established organization, such as the Soldiers of the Field, or the Legion of Melanoc; they could also be serving some ideal working as field agents for the political entity of their choice.

In this way games tend to focus on the personal-level themes of Trystell. Characters may sometimes become caught up in events bigger than themselves, but people rarely go looking for such matters.

As always, players and GMs should discuss with each other, their preferences for their characters and the campaign.

Life on Trystell

Trystell is a world in transition. Slowly the old institutions and systems of the past are crumbling, while the regions and peoples of the world struggle to deal with that—feudalism is falling apartment, giving way to a world where most individuals are freeman; the power of the nobility is steadily being undermined by the rising merchant class, and the increasingly circulated ideas of representative government; mercantilism is in full swing, making physical coinage all the more common. Even the old traditions of magic are being challenged by the introduction of a new source of magical energy.

In the life of a typical person on Trystell, though, much of this seems abstract and far away. At its base pretty much all of the world is still an agrarian society, and social trends seem to fade in importance when faced with the much more imminent harvest or planting season.

The typical person wakes up in the morning at dawn. She drinks her morning tea or beer, and goes out to tend her fields. Or, in larger urban centers, she may tend to her trade—as a cobbler, draper, making candles, etc. She probably breaks for lunch, going home to eat her meal with family, then returns to work until nightfall. After dark, she returns to her family, where they probably eat another meal, spend time together, perhaps do some religious practices if they are devout, and go to sleep, ready to do it all again the next day. The typical laborer works every day in the week, except for holidays.

The person's neighbors probably have similar lives, even if they are of a different race. And while there are certain racial stereotypes—many of them unfair—in most regions the different races accept one another readily enough, and get on with their lives.

Similarly, perceptions of gender are much more egalitarian on Trystell than they were in actual history. Certainly, there is still a tremendous social pressure on women raise children over pursuing other ends, but those who decide not spend their lives pregnant are seen simply as being a little eccentric, rather than not minding their place. Women are readily accepted into most any occupation or institution, with few exceptions.

Where the typical person is likely to come into conflict with her neighbors is if they are of differing faiths. Religious differences have a long tradition of causing conflict in many of Trystell's regions. Being in an agrarian society, for the typical person, the spring is largely dominated by it being planting season, and the autumn is largely dominated by the harvest. Both these seasons usually host a fair as well. Fairs are the big events of the year. People come from area the area to eat, drink, perform and sell their goods. In fact, it is only at these seasonal events that out-of-regions good are ever usually readily available. Having year-round shops stocking such exotic items is rarely profitable, except in the largest of urban centers. The typical person usually brings to the fair any trade goods she has to sell, as well as a few bronze pieces to purchase goods with, if she has any saved. Such fairs are often used by families as times to play matchmaker, arranging marriages and securing alliances with other families.

The other major events of the year are religious holidays. What these entail varies with religion and holiday, but often the person will travel with her family to her local temple, and worship or offer sacrifices. In other religions, her family may build an alter near their household, and leave offering on it.

The summer for the average person comes as both a curse and a blessing. The labor of planting season is over, but summer is the time for warfare, as it is the season when would-be warlords can scrape up the most available recruits. In a region with fighting, the person may be conscripted, or her homestead may be made to host local soldiers. if she is truly unlucky, she may find her home on the front lines.

Finally, the winter is a time to stay home with family, to work on domestic projects, make children and prepare for the upcoming spring.

Language

To understand the road the culture of Trystell has taken, one must understand that global culture on Trystell has gone through no less than two unifications in the past 2000 years—the first being the Golden Age, and the second being the Lunar Occupation. Understanding this is doubly true when dealing with language.

On Trystell today, the vast majority speak a language known as Standard as their first tongue. This language—based on the language of the old Greater Interior Empire—was conceived of early in the Golden Age, and spread across the globe as part of the standardization movements of the time. The great minds of the era believed that language barriers caused civil problems and strife, and sought to bring everyone to speak the same tongue. By the end of Golden Age, this goal was well underway, and continued in the ages that followed. While regional languages still do exist in some areas today, they are often second languages, taught more as a part of cultural pride than out of practical use. Only in the most isolated regions of the world—such as Cebu—do people still speak other languages as their first.

Economy

Trystell's international economic system is based on a salt standard. This dates back to the Golden Age, when salt was chosen as an economic basis, since it is the lone natural material immune to magic, and thus immune to magical counterfeit. Salt of a quality to be used in currency is also quite rare and difficult to process, making it more resistant to inflation due to the discovery of new natural resources.

The basic unit of the salt-based system is the saltite, a purified salt crystal, about half an inch long on each side. In addition to the saltite, there is a larger unit—the cubite—a block of salt roughly five inches per side, with a value of 1000 saltites. This unit is rare though, and used mostly as bullion.

Salt is now mostly the province of government treasuries, though. Most actual trade doesn't happen with it. Instead, most trade uses exchange of basic trade goods, or a parallel precious metals system. Introduced during the Lunar Occupation, the precious metals system makes use of three semi-standard coins—the gold piece, the silver piece and the bronze piece. The exchange rates of these coins are more likely to vary from region to region than their salt counterparts, but an average exchange rate is: 1 cubite = 10 gold pieces = 200 silver pieces = 1000 bronze pieces = 1000 saltites. For ease of use, all prices given in the equipment section of this book are listed in saltites.

Currency use is undergoing a transition. A few generations ago (for most races) most people ever held few coins in their lives, the majority of trade happening through barter and basic commodities. Today, however, most freemen have had at least a fair amount of bronze pieces in their lives, and most have seen silver coins. Despite this, most merchants must expect the need to barter for trade goods somewhat regularly. On a larger scale, the more stable countries on Trystell have relatively recently discovered a love of tariffs, making smuggling foreign goods all the more profitable.

Technology

Technologically, Trystell is has advanced to a point roughly equivalent in Earth's history to the late Renaissance, or early Enlightenment, the sole exception being in military technology, which remains similar to how it was on Earth in the late Middle Ages. In game terms, this makes Trystell Progress Level 5—the Age of Reason. Broadly speaking, Trystell tends to be to the more-advanced end of that scale in terms of social and economic developments—social theory, government types, economic theory, etc.—and to the less-advanced end of that scale in more “hard” technologies—manufacturing, food production, sanitization, etc.

Militarily, swords and armor still rule the day. Armies usually field a number of trained calvary (the stirrup being a more-than-mature technology, infantry, bowmen and mages, as well as a hoard of conscripted light infantrymen. Gunpowder, while known, is rarely used in combat other than an occasional explosive, as the technology to make firearms is still in its infancy, and such contraptions usually kill the wielder as often as they kill the target. This doesn't stop some gnomes from trying, though.

As stated before, the empirical worldview is widespread on Trystell. Experiments are common ways to investigate problems, and people are used to thinking in these terms. Nevertheless, many technologies are jealously-guarded secrets of trade guilds or other organizations. Such organizations may not take too kindly to non-members practicing their hidden craft.

Cosmology

Trystell is a moon. In fact, it is just one of several moons orbiting a large gas giant, which in turn orbits a typical yellow sun, very similar to our own.

The sun Trystellian scholars call Quintar, and most believe it was ignited by ancient gods well before the birth of the world. The gas giant is known as Zipnocii, and is generally thought to house the afterlife. Both are orbited on different planes, so that Trystell never passes into Zionocii's shadow. From the view on the ground, this means that Quintar rises in the east and sets in the west each day, while Zipnocii rises in the north and arcs its way south slowly over the course of fifteen days, before setting behind the horizon for another fifteen.

The other moons are important, too. They are known as Blaugh'Ock, Fandikal and Pannon. Of Fandikal or Pannon little is known, but Blaugh'Ock is noteworthy. You see, eons ago there was a semi-mythical divine war, where the losers fled there. And in more recent, recorded history, the descendants of those very same people returned to enact colonialism over Trystell. This is known as the Lunar Occupation. Finally, there is one other location of note. The Kalid Realm is a extraplanar space connected to Trystell by a system of portals, scattered about the world in the ancient past. Little is known about the internals of the Realm, but as kalids are the basis of one of the two major types of magic, that makes the areas outside those portals quite profitable.

Calendar

The Standard Calendar—by far the most use calendar on Trystell—measures years by revolutions of Zipnocii around the sun. Each year is approximately 300 days, of 24 hours each.

The Standard Calendar system also breaks down time into cycles of 10 months, each consisting of 30 days and each corresponding to one revolution of Trystell around Zipnocii. Every month is also associated with one of the ten astrological signs. In turn, every month is broken down into three weeks, each containing 10 days. Neither the revolution of Zipnocii around the sun, nor the revolution is of Trystell around Zipnocii fits exactly into that calender, however. Every nine years a leap day—the day of Ill Favor—is added to the end of the year, after the last month of the calendar and before the first month of the next year. This day is considered to be part of no particular month, day or year. In folk tradition, this day is said to be bad luck, and in many regions people do not leave their homes if they can help it on this day, preferring instead to stay inside focusing on religion and family.

Calendar dates are written with the year since the establishment of the Consortium—the official start of the Golden Age—followed by the name of the month, then the number of the week, hyphenated by the numbered day of the week. So, for example, “1040 Hammer 2-8” would mean the 1040th year since the start of the Golden Age, in the month of the hammer, the second week, eighth day.

Magic on Trystell

Trystell is home to two different magical traditions—kalid magic and lunar magic. Both of these magical traditions originate from separate sources in the past, and both hold influence over a different sphere of magical ability. Nevertheless, each there are a few universal rules of magic to which each must abide; they are known as the Four Universal Laws of Magic, they are:

• 1.The Law of Natural Ability
• 2.The Law of New Life
• 3.The Law of Autonomy
• 4.The Law of All Spaces

The Law of Natural Ability states that magic must come from a source that possess it naturally. So, for example, kalids naturally possess certain magical abilities, thus kalid mages are able to extract magical energy from them and make use of those abilities. Similarly, whatever the source of the magical energy in lunar magic devices, it must originate from something which possesses the abilities one is capable of through lunar magic.

The Law of New Life states that one cannot create new life through the use of magic; neither can one return life to the dead. It is worth noting though, that preexisting life can be manipulated through the use of magic, thus kalid mages are able to raise undead (who posses no actual life) and lunar mages ae able to create homunculi (who are manipulated versions of the mage's own life).

The Law of Autonomy states that magic cannot rob another individual of their free will. Magic may, however, subtly influence a person's choices, or lie to them. But their actual free will is always their own. The Law of All Spaces states that magic may not violate the laws of space and time. This means that while mages can do things like enhance their movement, it is impossible to use magic to do actions like teleport, travel through time or teleport summoned entities to oneself.

Magic is a fairly rare occurrence on Trystell. Most people have never seen real magic firsthand, or if they have, it's only been a few lesser healing or luck spells practiced by some local hedge mage, who quite likely might be a charlatan, or perhaps they might have seen it practiced at a distance—most likely in war. This has lead in some regions of the world to a fear surrounding magery that the two leading magical organizations—the Kalid's Guild and the Society for Lunar Magic Preservation—are keen to try to mitigate. Because of this they pressure members to abide by local laws and magical licensing requirements.

Kalid Magic

Kalid Magic has been on Trystell since prehistoric times; legend has it, that it was introduced in eons past during a great war known as the War of the Shattering, and for most of Trystell's history, it has been the sole magical tradition.

Kalid Magic revolves around the extracting of magical energy from the bodily remains of magical creatures called kalids. In order to extend the possible usefulness of these remains, they are usually preserved in such a way as not to easily rot.

Of the two magical traditions, kalid magic is known as the more subtle of the two. It holds sway over illusions, divination, healing and other auxiliary magics.

Kalid Mages have a reputation for being more rough-and-tumble than other mages, as sustaining their trade requires the hunting down and slaying of dangerous magical creatures. Presiding foremost in the world over kalid magic is the Kalid's Guild, a trade organization that presides over attaining and distributing kalid parts, as well as training new kalid mages.

Lunar Magic

Lunar Magic has only been on Trystell a few centuries. It was introduced from Blaugh'Ock during the Lunar Occupation, and since that time, its use has spread throughout the world.

Lunar Magic involves the practice of extracting magical energy from small, enigmatic devices. These devices are manufactured in a dozen or so similarly enigmatic lunar magic device factory-complexes left scattered about Trystell from the days of the Lunar Occupation.

How exactly these devices or factory-complexes operate is not known, but mages in the Society for Lunar Magic Preservation—the foremost experts on lunar magic in the world—hypothesize that the devices act as a receiver for magical energy sent from elsewhere, thus preserving the Law of Natural Ability.

Of the two magical traditions, lunar magic is seen as being the more straight forward. Lunar magic deals with the manipulation of raw elemental energies, the weather, manipulation of force and probabilities.

Trystellian Religion

Religion is an important facet of daily life on Trystell, coloring many of the ways different people see the world, and affecting the values they have internalized.

The overwhelmingly predominant view of religion today on Trystell is a polytheistic worldview, recognizing four major deities—the New Ones—and a handful of minor deities, each associated with one of the four major ones. In addition, a rival pantheon of four alien deities—the Old Ones—is also recognized, but not generally worshiped. Each major deity has its own clerical organization involved in its worship—some deities have several rival clerical organizations, each claiming the One True Way to worship the god. Minor deities usually have their own orders or temples attached organizationally to the associated major deity.

This structured view of the Gods dates back to the standardization movements of the Golden Age. Pre-Golden Age, worship of each of these religions certainly existed, but there is a dispute over the degree to which each religion accepted the existence of the other gods. Certainly, when speaking of the Old Ones, some ancient records that have been unearthed make reference only to Maoh, and mentions of the other Old Ones are strangely absent.

Crono

Record of the worship of the major deity known as Crono goes back farther than any of the other New Ones. The Crono religion is an decentralized one, with every temple operating more-or-less independently. That said, there are almost as many interpretations of Crono's teachings as there are temples.

The Crono religion as a whole recognizes the existence of Saints—holy men who are thought to be divinely inspired in their teachings and actions. Which specific saints are recognized varies from temple to temple, as does the accepted method of determining who is a saint from who is isn't.

Under most interpretations, Crono is seen as a highly benevolent, albeit distant deity. He is thought to wish the best for his followers, but cannot easily be bothered to intercede on their behalf. He bears particular province over the natural world, the weather and fertility.

Crono doesn't have any associated lesser deities, although his followers recognize an endless number of lesser spirits that inhabit the world around them.

Eios

Eios is seen by his followers as an industrious deity, always working toward the progress of his chosen. He is said to control dreams and frequently provide omens as to what course of events should proceed. He is seen as being both the deity of creativity and material desire.

There isn't a singular unified clergy of Eios, so much as many different smaller allied sets of temples. Most temples upkeep a number of smaller satellite alters as well, spread out along roadways or locations frequented by followers. Outside of the temple structure, there are occasional holy men known as Dream Shamen, who travel between temples, spreading their theology and inspiration.

There are four different lesser deities associated with Eios, more than any other New One.

Garmech, Io, Urgoch & Wazrath

Eios has four associated lesser deities, each of which may have at once time been religions of separate origins, long since engulfed by the Eios religion. Today, however, they are seen very much like Muses, offering inspiration and insight into their respective provinces.

Garmech is a deity of union and organization. In regions primarily dominated by the Eios-related religions, many organizations have small alters to him.

Io is seen as being a deity of creation and recovery. Clerics dedicated to him are known for their intricate religious artwork.

Urgoch is also known as “the Protector.” He is a deity associated with the home and physical structures in general.

Wazrath is a deity associated with entropy and dissention. While often not in favor, in oppressive regions his following can become very popular.

Linquad

In recent years the clergy of Linquad has undergone a schism, dividing itself into the Licad church and the New Muno'Che church—each linked to the Licad and New Muno'Che governments, respectively.

The Linquad religious institution has a long history of being linked to the state institutions in much of southwestern Trystell. They are actively hostile to the religious institution of Zuraic.

Linquad is seen as being a very orderly deity, concerned with fate and the end goal of things. His teachings tend to the practical, stressing adaptable means to achieve one's desired ends. He is somewhat utilitarian in this regard.

Linquad has two associated lesser deities.

Cela & The True One

The two lesser deities associated with Linquad are Cela and the True One, each of which has their own related religious order.

Cela is viewed as the consort of Linquad. She is alone among the New Ones and associated deities as being recognized as being primarily female. Her religious order is structured and maintains a careful neutrality in recent days in the schism between the two major Linquad religious orders. She is seen as being a subtle deity, associated with the sun and agriculture.

The True One is often seen as being the child of Linquad and Cela. He is the patron deity of converts to the Linquad-associated religions. He is thought of as having three faces, one for each of the other New Ones, welcoming their respective followers into the fold. Among the followers of Crono, Eios or Zuriach, he is, needless to say, a controversial religious figure.

Zuraic

Alone of the New Ones, Zuraic has a singular unified religious institution dedicated to his worship. His clerical organization is arranged hierarchically along military lines, with the ordained clergy fulfilling the capacity of officers.

The Zuraic religion teaches that there is a singular well-defined way to properly live one's life. Being a virtuous person involves adhering to this standard and living one's life in accordance with it. Zuraic's commandments are many, but important commandments included among them are parental and spousal fealty, cleanliness, adherence to righteous laws and the public proclamation of adherence to the Zuraic religion. Zuraic is seen by his followers as being a stern, but potentially loving deity. He is also seen as being a zealous opponent of those things deemed as evil. Zuraic loves those who live by the standard that make them worthy of his love; and those whom fail to live virtuously, he will smite down in the afterlife. Zuraic has no associated lesser deities, proclaiming “I am enough.”

The Old Ones

The standard view of theology states that before the New Ones came to Trystell, four different deities reigned over the world, squandering the world's potential, as they never filled it with intelligent races. These deities are known as Derich, Kalast, Vonschlic and Maoh.

In the shadows and dark places of the world these deities are still worshiped by some, who whisper prayers to them in secret. Adherence to the religions of the Old Ones is illegal in most civilized areas of the world, although each of the four Old Ones has something of a clergy, mostly composed of underground cells followers, who hide their choice of religion by day.

The invaders from Blaugh'Ock during the Lunar Occupation were also followers of these religions, as on Blaugh'Ock their worship is accepted and mainstream.

A History of the Ages

The history of Trystell is a narrative of the rise and fall of civilizations, both before well-documented history and after. Views of events before the Golden Age, or even during the Golden Age itself, are inevitably tainted by the standardized Golden Age view of history, which most modern scholars believe mixed myth with historical fact. Despite this, however, most people on Trystell believe in these standardized myths, therefore the version of history presented here is a good baseline as most people believe and understand it.

The Creation

Before the world there was only Quintar—the sun—burning endlessly in the sky with nothing to shine upon. It was then the Old Ones came, creating the world and all the places around it. But in their folly they abandoned the world, leaving it sit for an eon.

New gods—the New Ones—came upon the world and saw that it was good. But they wish for people to live upon it, and thus they created the ogres, the elves, the gnomes and the minotaur. These new races spread out and began to tame the land.

The War of the Shattering

Although the semi-mythical War of the Shattering is predated by a couple ancient wars—the Inherent Wars between the elves and gnomes, and the Sanctioned Wars between the ogres and minotaur—it is the first storied global conflict.

Time went on, and civilization flourished, but a day came when the Old Ones arose from where they had slept in the earth, and looked out upon the world that they had created. Men walked upon it and they were angered. They faced the New Ones in war, creating for their armies the humans and dwarves, and releasing upon the world creatures from another place—the kalids. The New Ones responded by giving to their followers the gift of Kalid Magic.

Great battles were fought, and in time the Old Ones were defeated. They collected the followers they had that remained loyal, and left the world, taking them the moon Blaugh'Ock. But before they left, they cast upon the world a curse—the Changeling Plagues. These spread about the land, changing all they effected, warping them and breaking up the races into the different sub-races we know today.

The Golden Age

• 0 P.F. – 523 P.F.

Another eon goes by, civilizations rise and fall, introducing, among other things, the written word. The Yirdril Desert civilization passes; the Bala'Umn civilization passes; the Greater Interior civilization sinks into the sea.

And then: a light in the darkness. An organization known as the Consortium is founded, promising to bring peace to the lands, and to destroy that which are barriers to peace, standardizing trade, history and language. And perhaps the political climate of the day was just right, but people bought into it.

An age of peace was soon to follow. Trade flourished. The Standard language was created, and its use began to spread with the influence of the Consortium. Scholars poured through contradictory history books and constructed a standard view of history which to spread. Most of the old racial tensions began to die away. The Consortium used its influence to pressure nations to lower their barriers between each other—tariffs and immigration restrictions.

But all good things come to an end. The economic system began to fray at the seems, fingers began to be pointed, and it all came to a head climatically in the Day of Reckoning. The Golden Age was at an end.

The Dark Ages

• 523 P.F. – 941 P.F.

Whatever the attributed reasons for the ending of the Golden Age, the period of time that followed was by all accounts a disaster. The Consortium fell apart; many countries tore themselves apart. The regular channels of trade and communication disrupted, war and disease spread throughout the land.

The individual wars of this time are too numerous to count, but amongst them were the Quaklon-Veglial War, the Licad-Muno'Che war and the great war between Eoris and Wala'Dur. The Grundz-Crevix War lead to the formation of the Soldiers of the Field.

Over time many of the innovations of the Golden Age were lost. The Standard language remained; the saltite standard remained; but techniques irrigation, the understanding of economic forces and the use of physical coinage all deteriorated.

Things looked bad for Trystell, but then—depending on whom you ask—they either suddenly got better, or got a whole lot worse.

The Lunar Occupation

• 941 P.F. – 1180 P.F.

In the summer of 941 P. F. forces from the moon of Blaugh'Ock made landfall in what is now Rouh, traveling the distance to Trystell in their skyships. This was the first of many excursions into Trystell, which became known as the Lunar Invasion.

These initial excursions were a series of raids and bombings, where Blaugh'Ocks would descend upon a city, bomb it from their skyships and then after the resistance was broken, move in to pillage goods and valuables. While not particularly organized, these raids were widespread, and the inability of the people of Trystell to do anything about it was enough to topple many of the few remaining governments and powerful warlords across Trystell.

By 963 P. F the Blaugh'Ock forces began to become more organized, taking over large amounts of land as overlords. The first Blaugh'Ock colony was established in what is now southern Graundaur shortly thereafter, and many more around the globe were soon to follow.

The Lunar Occupation of Trystell introduced many new concepts and technologies to the world, the foremost among these being lunar magic, and the creation of the lunar device factory-complexes that allow lunar magic to be viable even today.

The Blaugh'Ock colonies varied in their treatment of the natives, from mildly abusive to virtual death camps, across Trystell this did not endear the natives of their overlords, however. And in the year 1178 P. F., the natives rose up and rebelled. The Blaugh'Ock forces, always short on supplies from their home moon, were unable to deal with the scale of the rebellion, and by 1180 they were forced to withdraw, leaving their former colonies and retreating back to Blaugh'Ock.

The Years in the Wake

• 1180 P.F. – 1407 P.F.

The years that followed the end of the Lunar Occupation were one of reconstruction, as many of the old political entities that reigned supreme on Trystell before the Occupation began to reassert their authority. Not all recovered, however. Some, such as the once great empire of Quaklon—split up by the Blaugh'Ock overlords—never reunited, and remained in series of separate countries.

As lands began to band together into larger countries, the stability that followed was the greatest that Trystell had experienced for itself since the Golden Age. But the Reign of Terror, and later the Collapse were soon to begin to unravel that.

The Reign of Terror

• 1392 P.F.

The Reign of Terror began with what seemed like an otherwise typical war. In 1392 the country of Licad invaded its northern neighbors, Veglial and Vognash, instigating a war which drew in Licad's rival nation Grichom, amongst other countries.

All that was thrown into chaos, however, when from the battlefields across Vognash strange creatures began to emerge, seemly from nowhere, and started to indiscriminately slaughter everything and everyone in their path. Academics have debated the nature and origin of these creatures for years with no substantive consensus, but what is agreed upon is that these creatures were obviously very powerful, irrationally bloodthirsty and not of this world. They are known simply as the Horrors.

In the end, these creatures were either defeated or they simply vanished—academics also disagree on this point—but the price was high. The country of Vognash, as well as the surrounding parts of Veglial, were nothing but ruins, almost devoid of life. Magical storms would boil across the land, and it began to be said that the region was cursed. Thus was born the Desolation, which stands there, mostly barren, even today.

The Collapse

• 1407 P.F. – 1409 P.F.

The Reign of Terror was not the end of the series of unfortunate events ready to befall Trystell. Throughout the Years in the Wake, governments and global organizations were not the only entities reforming themselves. Across the globe various criminal rings and organizations, most prominently the Modin, were asserting their influence. As their power grew they began to undermine many of the fledgling governments.

This in the year of 1407 P. F., combined with an economic collapse, began to lead to the total collapse of any law and order above the city scale in many regions across Trystell, particularly in the East, where the power of those criminal organizations had reached their greatest extent.

Because of the Collapse, many governments simply fell apart. And the following turmoil resulted in a flow of refugees from the most chaotic regions into the remaining stable region, thus introducing into those regions the problems that come along with a flood of refugees.

The Present

• 1418 P.F.

Today it's 1418 P. F. It's now been a generation (for most races) since the Reign of Terror, and ten years since the height of the Collapse. Many regions are still in shambles from that more recent event, their inhabitants either holed up in a scattered set of independent cities, each such city an island of order in a countryside given over to anarchy, or they have fled to one of the more stable regions.

In those stable regions, the flood of refugees has stopped coming in, but still most remain, causing social problems and strained relations with the region's long-term inhabitants.

What will happen has yet to be seen, either with the remaining refugees, or the largely-vacated countrysides which, while left open, are threatened by bandits, warlords or the elements. For the brave, hardy or foolish, this could be a time of great opportunity.

Races of Trystell

During the Golden Age six races were officially recognized on Trystell, each of which is divided up into a number of different sub-races. By ancient tradition, recognized races are rights as people, and this is more-or-less true across the globe (although what rights “people” get varies by region). While other sentient creatures may exist, they are generally regarded as merely being dangerous animals.

Dwarves

Dwarves are a short, but durable race, known for being particularly traditional and family-oriented. In fact, dwarves have a sort of racial memory, where the knowledge and prejudices of their ancestors pass down through the generations in the dwarven subconscious.

In the distant past, dating back to the Bala'Umn Civilization, which predates the Golden Age, dwarven society was divided into two castes—a ruling caste and a servant caste. These two castes fell into war around the end of the Bala'Umn civilization, which resulted in one of Trystell's longest-running feuds. Dwarves generally stand 3' to 4' tall, are of stocky build and have hair ranging from black to a sandy blonde. The distinction between the dwarven sub-races is mostly social rater than physical.

High Dwarves

The High Dwarves are the descendants of those dwarves who were of the ruling caste. Typical dwarven traditionalism, aided by the passed-down ancestral prejudices, has kept the high dwarf-low dwarf split alive, with the High Dwarves believing themselves to be the better of the two sub-races.

Low Dwarves

Low Dwarves are the descendants of those dwarves who were of the servant caste. They generally resent their high dwarven cousins for their arrogance, and the feud is kept alive.

Elves

Elves are the longest-lived of all races by a significant amount. They are known for their keen sense of smell and taste, and emotional connection to nature. This primal connection gives elves the extraordinary ability to track other creatures by scent, after having tasted their blood, a useful ability when hunting. Despite their long lives, elves' memory deteriorates as they age, eventually rendering them in a state similar to those with Alzheimer's. Elves do not like to speak of this fact, however, among non-elves, and it is known as the Elven Secret.

Physically, elves stand 5' to 5'6”. They tend to be slimmer than humans, with thin faces and pointy ears. True elf hair colors tends to be light, with wild elves having almost universally chestnut-colored hair. Sea elf hair ruins the gamut from black to light green or blue. Both true and wild elves tend to have fair complexions, while sea elves have generally a azure or teal skin tone.

Sea Elves

Sea elves are aquatic elves, capable of breathing both water and air, although they prefer to remain dampened by water. They regularly go without clothes beneath the waves.

True Elves

True elves are city-dwelling elves, known for their grace and physical beauty. Unlike most of the different sub-races, they have claim to be one of the few groups unchanged by the Changeling Plagues.

Wild Elves

Wild elves are either nomadic or very-natural-living elves. They are known for their fierce tempers, ways with nature and and almost-universally chestnut colored-hair.

Gnomes

Gnomes are a race known for their quirks. Tinker gnomes are known for their drive to “improve” things. Handler gnomes have an innate drive to steal small shiny objects. And aqua gnomes are known for their almost OCD desire to order things. Many gnomes believe these quirks to be the product of divine inspiration; in defense of this belief they point out that they sometimes receive useful visions and portents in their dreams.

Physically, gnomes are short, standing at around 3' to 3'6” in height. Aqua and tinker gnomes tend to be a little stockier than handler gnomes. Gnomish skin color ranges from a deep brown to a tanned color. Their hair ranges from a dirty blonde to dark auburn, but most gnomes' hair goes prematurely gray around the time of adulthood.

Aqua Gnomes

Aqua gnomes live on great barge-cities that float on top of the ocean. They tend to be isolationist, and their societies are known for being very controlling and structured. Almost all aqua gnomes are addicted to the aguam drug, which they regularly take to suppress their tinker gnome-like chaotic urges. This drug gives them a sense of focus.

Handler Gnomes

Handler gnomes are slender gnomes who have innate urges to steal convenient objects. This sometimes gives them a bad reputation, but most handler gnomes are sensible enough to try to resist this urge when among the other races. Among other handler gnome, though, taking small, cheap objects is a gesture of politeness.

Tinker Gnomes

Tinker gnomes like to “improve” things. They possess an innate urge to modify objects in the world around them, whether redecorating rooms, trying to make devices more efficient or modifying their own bodies through piercing.

Humans

Although humans are traditionally divided into two sub-races, the distinction between the two is more cultural rather than physical. Humans are known for their desperate sense of hope and ability to be optimistic despite all odds.

Physically, humans tend to stand from 5' to 5'6”. Their hair ranges in color from black to light blonde to bright red to a deep blue. Their skin ranges from a deep brown to a pale cream color, with varying tints of yellow, orange or blue in between.

Barbaric Humans

Barbaric humans are those humans who live a nomadic lifestyle. They typically range from place to place with the seasons, often following large herds of animals, which the humans make use of as a source of food and materials.

Civilized Humans

Civilized humans tend to live in cities or agricultural communities. They represent the majority of the human population.

Minotaurs

Minotaurs are known for their sense of social structure and coherence in groups. They are a communally-oriented race, who pride themselves on their horns. Minotaurs are covered in a coat of fur, which ranges from black to white to a deep red; sometimes a minotaur's coat has patches of different colors, giving them a spotted look. They stand some 6' to 7' in height, with brawny minotaurs being up the upper end of that range. Minotaurs of both sexes have a pair of bovine-like horns coming from their heads, and hoofed toes.

Brawny Minotaurs

Brawny minotaurs are the most physically endowed of minotaurs. They are known for their brute strength, and their ability to work in a team.

Canny Minotaurs

Canny minotaurs are more mentally adept than their brawny cousins, but still present an impressive array of physical capabilities. Their horns are shorter and more curled.

Ogres

Ogres are the most diverse and short-lived of all races. They are known for their ability to adapt to the world around them, and quickly pick up new skills—although they're not always able to retain those skills if they fall into disuse. Ogres are also known for their fierce independence, a trait that can make them unruly in large groups.

The ogre sub-races range in size from being about 3' tall (goblins and hobgoblins) to about 5'6” (orcs and high orcs) to about 7' (trolls), finally to true ogres, who often stand at almost 10'. Ogre hair is usually dark in color, ranging from black to dark brown to dark blue. Their skin tones range from olive to light gray to pale yellow.

Goblins

Goblins are small ogres, known for being very speedy despite their small statue. They also are known for their slipperiness, being able to excrete a layer of music from their skin when in danger.

High Orcs

High orcs are, as a whole, perhaps the most intelligent of the ogre races. Their sub-race has a symbiotic relationship with a species of large fly, which eats their dead skin and can warn them of danger.

Orcs

Orcs are an average-sized ogre sub-race known for their ferocity and physical capabilities. They have formed a relationship with a species of worm that lives in their circulatory system and which excretes a substance which accelerates their healing.

Trolls

Trolls are the largest of the common ogre sub-races. They have great physical strength, and are known for being particularly affected by sunlight, becoming more and less physically and mentally adept with the movement of the sun.

Hobgoblins & True Ogres

In addition to the four common ogre sub-races, there are two rare ogre sub-races, who while being recognized as races during the Golden Age, have nevertheless fallen on hard times, and aren't as widespread or numerous as they once were. These two sub-races, the hobgoblins and true ogres, represent both the largest and smallest of the ogre sub-races.

Hobgoblins are smallish goblins, who possess innate magical abilities. While nowhere near as powerful as the innate magical capabilities of kalids, it nevertheless is unique among the races.

True ogres are the largest of the ogre sub-races, their stock being unchanged by the Changeling Plagues. They are known as being incredibly physically adept, but not very bright.

Setting Archetypes

There are a variety of common archetypes that player characters might take on the roll of in a campaign set on Trystell. While the existence of these archetypes isn't meant to shoehorn player characters into having to epitomize one archetype or another, designing player characters towards one of these archetypes does help ensure that the character fits into the setting, as well as helping ensure that the character is prepared for the situations she is likely to face in a Trystell campaign.

Bards

The bardic tradition is an ancient one, originating among the dwarven matchmakers of ancient times. Today bards are known as wanderers, typically nomadic individuals who travel from community to community, performing music or one-man plays in exchange for goods, and doing odd-jobs. Bards are known as jack-of-all-trades and carriers of news.

Champions

Across Trystell there are driven individuals who find a cause they value—whether a religion, country, code of conduct or lord—and who set out to champion that cause in both word and deed. Champions possess a martial might and great conviction.

Clerics

Clerics are followers of Trystell's various religions who set out to proselytize the teachings of their religion, to convert others and to pread understanding of that religion about the world. Clerics may either be ordained or particularly determined laymen. Often times, to aid in their endeavors, they employ the magical knowledge passed down in their temples, and cold steel.

Demagogues

Charismatic individuals, demagogues are canny people who are adept at the skills necessary to get others to work together towards a common goal. They often have a variety of contacts, and the ability to talk their way through many a difficult situation.

Kalid Mages

The oldest magical practice on Trystell is that of kalid magic—the practice of extracting magical energy from the body parts of deceased kalids. Kalid mages are magic-users who have studied the practice of kalid magic, and who make performing it an important part of their trade. They are known as being more hardy and rough-and-tumble than their lunar mage counterparts.

Lunar Mages

Practitioners of the newer of the two magical Traditions on Trystell, lunar mages are individuals who specialize in the practice of lunar magic, drawing their magical energy from small, enigmatic devices produced in factory-complexes left on Trystell during the Lunar Occupation. They are known as being more direct and blatant in their magic than their kalid mage counterparts.

Rangers

Rangers are people who possess the skills to go out into the wilderness and survive by themselves, hunting and gathering for food, keeping alert for signs of danger and building their own shelter. They are expert survivalists and trackers.

Rogues

Rogues could be thieves, tramps, con artists or any other sort of ne'er-do-well. They get by on guile and stealth, making their living through a life of crime, or at least a life of shady dealing that may or may not actually be illegal. They are cunning and stealthy, but can still defend themselves if cornered.

Sell-Swords

Wherever there is a demand for martial skill, there are those who possess those skills and who make use of them as their trade. Sell-swords are often tough and grizzled individuals. They could be mercenaries, soldiers, bandits or anyone else who relies on physical combat to gain their fortune.

Thugs

Thugs are charismatic street brutes. They often form gangs, and walk with a swagger. They are also adept at surviving in the urban environment, whether leaping between buildings or scaling a wall. Similarly, they are often skilled at making use of the world around them in a fight, using improvised weaponry and the like.

Global Organizations

Across the face of Trystell there are a variety of organizations that operate across borders, extending their influence throughout most of the world. In regions whose governments have collapsed, they may even be the most powerful organizations in the land.

Circle of Honor

The Circle of Honor is Trystell's premiere organization of knights errant. It is an ancient organization that many see as an antiquated relic of the feudal days. Despite this image, however, the Knighthood operates according to its ancient principles of honor and loyalty to one's lord. The Knighthood is divided up into five sub-organizations called “arcs.” Each arc has a different patron virtue, and operates in a different area of the world.

The Clergies of the Deities

The Clergies aren't a singular organization, but rather a collection of widespread religious organizations grouped for convenience. There are many different religious orders, at least one for each recognized deity, and sometimes several for one. Of the major deities worshiped on Trystell, the clergies of Zuraic and Linquad are centrally-organized and hierarchical, whereas the clergies of Crono and Eios are less structured and not centrally-organized.

Cult of the Old Ones

There are still followers on Trystell today of the four Old Ones—Derich, Kalast, Maoh and Vonschlic. Since following these faiths is illegal in most regions, and generally frowned on in those regions where they are allowed by law, the different Cults oftentimes band together for mutual benefit, in spite of their different beliefs. Because of this, their places of worship are hidden and membership in the Cults indicated through cryptic symbols and codes.

The Kalid's Guild

The Kalid's Guild is a powerful trade guild organized around kalid magic. It has its fingers in all aspects of the magical tradition, from kalid hunting, to being the primary distributer of kalid parts, to the training and licensing of new kalid mages. In some regions one has to be licensed by the Kalid's Guild to even be able to legally practice kalid magic at all. While the old guild system is by-and-large slowly falling apart, the Kalid's Guild maintains a solid grip on its trade.

Lanstrin League of Technology

The Lanstrin League of Technology is at the forefront of the modern empirical worldview. They sponsor expeditions and inventors in return for profiting from the results, apply pressure to protect the designs to which they have the rights, and ideological opponents to many of the traditional institutions and views held across Trystell.

The Modin

The Modin quite simply the largest organized crime ring on the face of Trystell. They deal in theft, assassination, smuggling, illegal goods, protection rackets, you name it. In some regions they are so bold in their power as to operate semi-openly, offering free-lance spying services. The Modin protects its own interests aggressively.

The New Consortium

The newest of the global organizations—barely a generation old my human standards—the New Consortium is essentially an international bank. It holds money in accounts for people, issues checks and grants loans, backed up magically and through threats of physical harm.

Society for Lunar Magic Preservation

While officially being a historical society, it is an open secret that the Society for Lunar Magic Preservation is in fact a simple monopoly. Dating back to the end of the Lunar Occupation, the Society is the lone organization on Trystell with the knowledge of how to operate and upkeep the factory-complexes that produce lunar devices, left on Trystell since the Lunar Occupation. This is a Society trade secret, one which they enforce through lethal means.

Soldiers of the Field

When governments on Trystell want competently-trained professional mercenaries, and are willing to pay for that professionalism, they hire the Soldiers of the Field. That being said, the Soldiers go to great length to remain officially neutral in most conflicts, hiring out to all sides willing to pay the price. They stake a lot on their reputation, and are picky about whom they will accept as members. They are also known for their benefits.

Regions of the World

The World of Trystell is a varied and diverse place. For reference, the different parts of the world are broken up into various regions, upon cultural and geographic lines. Brief descriptions of the different regions found throughout Trystell are given below.

Bala'Umn Peninsula

The Bala'Umn Peninsula has always been an exotic, isolated place, known for its strange people with strange customs, and dangerous wilderness. The Peninsula was occupied by Licad briefly before the Reign of Terror, but it has since slipped back to its independent ways.

Cebu

Cebu has been described as the land that time forgot. It is the last refuge of true ogres—ogres as they existed before the Changeling Plagues. It is a primal land, filled with mega-fauna and hunter-gatherers.

Cymqued Ocean

One of the most barren, backwater regions on Trystell, few live in the Cymqued Ocean. It is a desolate, frozen land where only the hardiest can survive and monsters slumber, frozen deep in the ice.

The Desolation

Before the Reign of Terror, the Desolation was part of Veglial and an independent orc nation known as Vognash. However, with the coming of the Horrors, the region was destroyed, leaving the land a barren waste, battered by ferocious magical storms on an almost daily basis.

Eoris

Eoris is an aqua gnome country known for its socially-controlled society and poor treatment of racial minorities (and non-aqua gnomes in general). It is a long-standing enemy of Wala'Dur and has a very family-oriented social structure.

Fonlelial

One of the more stable nations since the Collapse, Fonlelial is a primarily aqua gnome-dominated theocracy, where clerics of Crono hold dominion over the government. Despite its historical stability, however, beneath the surface, the region is slowly slipping towards civil war.

Glimgildral

The true elf country of Glimgildral has weathered through many ages, and has built up its reputation as a place of education—a place where even important people from other lands send their children to be taught. Despite the academic reputation, however, under it all is a barrage of conspiracies among the powerful and elite.

Graundaur

The country of Graundaur is the result of n ancient pact between the gnomes and goblins that inhabited the region. Since that time it has become known for its egalitarian, if anachronistic culture, as well as being called the “land of the little people.” In recent times, it has become more cosmopolitan, as refugees have flooded in since the Collapse.

Greater Interior Sea

A lawless body of water, dotted by small islands and ruled by the pirates that sail upon it, the Greater Interior Sea is nevertheless a site of much sea traffic due to its central location. An ancient civilization is said to lie sunken beneath its waters.

Grichom

Grichom has long been the bastion of civilization for the followers of Zuriach. Despite setbacks in recent years, with the loss of the Na Wilderness, Grichom still remains one of the more stable countries in the world, if in slow decline.

Gulf of Cad

Quite simply a sailor's hell, the Gulf of Cad is a region dominated by volcanic activity, where the land masses that stick up out of the water can change overnight. It is inhabited by a hardy, backward folk.

Gulf of The Deep

The Gulf of the Deep has long resisted large scale settlement. The Gulf is the home to unknown monstrosities that lurk in the depths and occasionally arise to lay devastation on any nearby settlements. The few who live here are sea nomads, offering sacrifice to monsters of the deep.

Kalhun Wildseas

The Kalhun Wildseas are a backwater, even by undersea standards. It is a spaserly settled region, and what settlers it has tend to be very insular and clan-oriented, feuding between their families. Those from the Kalhun Wildseas have a reputation for being tough and ignorant of the outside world.

Licad

Licad was once the largest empire on the face of Trystell, but it has fallen on hard times since the Reign of Terror. The country of New Muno'Che broke away from Licad's grasp, and the occupation of the Bala'Umn Peninsula ended. Licad has a very controlled society, with one's place mostly dictated by the state and clergy of Linquad.

Liqulain Ocean

One of the few unspoilt places on Trystell, the Liqulain Ocean is a pristine, untouched natural wonder, where wild animals still roam free and nature rules the land (and water).

Na Wilderness

All of the Na Wilderness, except for the very tip of the Na Peninsula, once belonged to Grichom, the country to the South. But with the Collapse in recent years, the region has become overrun by barbarians from the north, and what was once the Grichom heartland has fallen into ruin.

New Muno'Che

Up until the aftermath of the Reign of Terror, New Muno'Che was part of the Licad empire. However, with the weakening of Licad, New Muno'Che seized the opportunity and broke away. Today New Muno'Che is a place of rapid social change, as the new country begins to assert itself.

Quaklon

A sea elf nation, Quaklon is stuck very much in the ancient feudal traditions of the past. The noble families who hold power here have done so since the Golden Age, and few in power are willing to look past their ancient traditions.

Quaris Ocean

Much of the Quaris Ocean was part of the sea elf nation of Kebeshown, up until the Collapse. Despite the country falling apart, however, many of the residents refuse to adapt to their new situation. They go through the motions of how life used to be, while their society falls apart around them.

Richoo Drylands

Before the Collapse, the Richoo Drylands were controlled by a number of stable governments. Today it exists as a collection of independent city-states, with the desert in-between given over to bandits. It is a rough-and-tumble region thick with organized crime and its ilk.

Rouh

It is said that the Lunar Occupation ended hundreds of years ago. This is not quite true for Rouh. Here, alone among the regions of Trystell, Blaugh'Ocks still walk freely, and strange technology can be found. It is rumored that the government secretly still holds allegiance to the former Lunar overlords.

Suethron Wastes

A frozen desert that surrounds the southern pole of Trystell, the Suethron Wastes are the home of a few nomadic tribes that follow herds of caribou throughout the land.

Veglial

The lush jungles of Veglial have been the home of wild elves for eons, however, with the coming of the Reign of Terror and the creation of the Desolation, the country is now also full of orc refugees from the destroyed nation of Vognash. This has lead to tension between the two races.

Wala'Dur

Wala'Dur is a sea elf nation. Long ago the ancestors of the region's inhabitants migrated there from the Liqulain Ocean, following a prophet on what was seen as a holy journey. Today Wala'Dur is known for its matriarchal and polygamous culture, as well as its heretical state religion.

Yirdril Lands

The Yirdril Lands cover a vast and varied area. Of all regions hit by the Collapse, this region was hit the hardest. Many governments fell here, and the land today is nothing more than a few scattered city-states with large swaths of ruin in between, overrun by warlords and bandits.

Zomp'r

An isolated island populated by various ogre races, Zomp'r is a brutal place to live—a land with a long tradition of life dominated by petty warlords. Social advancement in Zomp'r is simple and direct, based on personal power and backstabbing along the way up.

Melanoc: The Core City

Situated in a defensive pass in the mountains, just north of the Graundaur border with the Yirdril Lands lies the independent city-state of Melanoc—the new default local setting for Trystell: Reborn. Adventures or entire campaigns can focus on the happenings of the city, as does the example campaign presented in the GM's section of this book.

The basics of what a player needs to know before creating a character in the core city of Melanoc is presented in this section.

About Melanoc

Melanoc is a fairly-recently created town, being founded only some thirty-five years ago, shortly before the Reign of Terror. Since that time Melanoc has grown by leaps and bounds, with its population figures being particularly boosted by the refugees fleeing the the aftermath of the Collapse which hit the Yirdril Lands most severely some ten years ago.

Today Melanoc as a fief has a population of some 30,000, with the majority of these people being refugees or their descendants, settled around the city of Melanoc itself. Combined with the original settlers of Melanoc, this makes the city a very cosmopolitan place compared to most on Trystell, with portions of inhabitants being of most of the main races and faiths—although some are still more common than others. The fief is ruled over by a semi-hereditary committee, known by many as the Third Council.

A History of Melanoc

The land that Melanoc occupies now was once part of the country of Helix, which some see as a predecessor to the Collapse, falling apart some forty years ago.

This lead Graundaur, the country to its south, to make a land grab on part of the region. The Graundaur government funded a settlement expedition, lead by a group of local heroes, into what is now Melanoc, to found a fief which would be an extension of Graundaur. And so Melanoc was founded.

The city itself was built on top of the ruins of an older city, one known as Yorthil, which has been founded during the Lunar Occupation and destroyed during the Dark Ages. According to local history Yorthil itself had been built on top of the ruins of an even earlier Golden Age city, known as Thalneetzi.

The Founding Council of Melanoc, made up of those local heroes who lead the expedition to settle the town, reigned supreme for nearly five years, raising the city walls and establishing the satellite town of Bruntal, along the coast. However, in 1388 P.F., there was a coup. The Founding Council—save for the Archmage Edrol who sided with the conspirators—was exiled from the fief and a new Council took over rulership, called by many the Rogue Council, for their earlier coup plot.

Among the first acts of the Rogue Council was to declare independence from Graundaur, and to establish the Legion, a military body to defend against a subsequent attack from Graundaur in retaliation. Graundaur—being in bad shape itself politically at the time—barely launched an attack. The Legion defended, and so Melanoc became independent.

Over the next thirty years the members who made up the Rogue Council ruled and went, replaced by successors. Only one of their number still sits on the Council today, and so today's Council is often referred to as the Third Council.

Eleven years ago refugees began flooding into Melanoc, coming from the anarchic lands to the north, following the Collapse. At first Melanoc welcomed the refugees, but as their numbers increased and began to approach the number of those living in the city, the locals began taking to them less kindly. Today the refugees are mostly a discontent underclass in the city-state, restricted from many ways, as they lack colonist status.

The Legion & the Guard

The protection of Melanoc is divided between two different groups—the Legion and the City Guard. Each of these groups has its own independent hierarchy, and each have a mildly antagonistic rivalry with the other one.

The City Guard is the police force of Melanoc. It patrols the streets, operates the city's jail and arrests petty criminals. It also divides up Melanoc's surrounding land into three counties, each centered around one of the three official outlaying villages. Each county has an appointed sheriff, which while operating fairly independently, if under the auspice of the city guard.

The Legion is what remnants of Melanoc military, founded shortly after the city declared independence from Graundaur. The Legion today, however, is less of a traditional military force and consists solely of several “bands” of legionnaires, who conduct special operations around the city-state.

Because of its military origins, the Legion outranks the Guard officially, a fact which makes many guards bitter. However, in terms of practical power, the City Guard today has a significantly larger staff and street presence than does the Legion.

The head of the Guard is known as the Marshal. The current Marsha is a goblin named Aron, known for his stern demeanor and bitterness toward the Legion. The head of the Legion is known as the Constable, who is currently a troll named Tralif, known for his drive to expand the Legion's powers and make it into an elite guard force.

Areas of the City

Melanoc is located at a strategically-important pass through the mountains between the sea port in Bruntal, and the main trade road leading south into Graundaur. The city is also in a very defensible position, complete with a surrounding city wall that protects all of the residents, except those in the refugee shantytown that has sprung up around Melanoc.

Melanoc itself is comprised of three distracts—the upper city, the lower city and the market district. Each distract has its own internal city walls that separate it from the rest of the city.

The upper city contains the residences of the city's more well-to-do citizens. It is well-kept and the city guards make sure to take extra care when patrolling its streets, as the residents here have more clout putting up a fuss if a crime occurs. These are also city guards posted at the entrances to the distract from the other areas of the city. Those who do not have identification as residents of the distract, or are being invited in by a currently-present distract resident are not allowed into this part of the city.

The lower city contains the residences of Melanoc's poorer citizens. Here the houses and streets are not in as good of repair, and while the city guard certainly patrols the streets, they often do so irregularly and not with the same care out into patrolling the upper city. As with the upper city, only residents or those being vouched for are technically allowed into the lower city, but guards will often look the other way for a small bribe.

The market district is located in the center part of the city, including both gates leading into the city itself. Most of the commerce Melanoc has to offer happens here, including being the location of all of the city's inns. Visitors passing through the city are restricted to the market district during their stay. The streets are well-patrolled during the day and the gates leading in and out of the city close down at night. An unofficial part of Melanoc, the shantytown surrounding the city walls has become a part of of the city functions in recent years. Here the truly desperate the poor live, begging from travels and residents as they pass in and out of the city. Most illegal deals and meetings in Melanoc also tend to happen here, as the only part of the shantytown patrolled by the guards is the main trade route leading to and from the city gates.

Other notable locations in Melanoc include the palace—where the Third Council operates from—located in the market distract, Archmage Edrol's tower located in the upper city, the Barracks, located in the lower city—where the Legion operates from—and the sewers, an impressive sewer system located beneath all parts of the city.

The Surrounding Lands

Melanoc holds dominion over the surrounding mountains, farmland and a few satellite towns. Each of these towns is headed by a Mayor, appointed by the Melanoc ruling council.

The largest of these surrounding communities is the town of Bruntal, which is located along the coast just west of Melanoc, and which acts as a shipping route to Melanoc itself. There is a well-kept, paved roadway between Bruntal and Melanoc.

In the lowlands surrounding Melanoc there are also two farming villages, Justeel and Yed. Each of these villages have mills, and are primarily concerned with agriculture. They feed much of Melanoc itself. Finally, there is a mining settlement in the mountains north of Melanoc which, while not officially recognized as a satellite village, is larger than either of the two farming villages. This mining base is known simply as Mining Town, and has been trying to petition to Council in Melanoc for official town status.

The Political Situation

Melanoc is presided over by the Ruling Council, a group of five individuals, whose current members are often referred to as the Third Council. These posts are not truly hereditary; when a member steps down, their successor is appointed by the remaining members of the Council.

In addition to the five true members of the Council, the Council has an Advisor, who while being able to speak at the Council meetings as if he were a member, has no actual vote in Council decisions. The Advisor position is an elected position, with an elected Advisor serving until he decides to step down.

The current members of the Council are Chon Bronzebeard, Evara Birks, Gnosh Boltscrew, Laurenda Nimbly and Tweez of the Dell. Of these five, Tweez is the longest-serving, having been on the Council since Rogue Council's coup thirty years ago. He is rumored to be stepping down in the near future. Finally, the position of Advisor is currently held by Rando the Amazing, a figure popular among the populace, if somewhat over-flashy.

Of all the issues facing the Ruling Council of Melanoc today, the most contentious is the matter of whether the city-state should reintegrate with the country of Graundaur, who originally funded the founding of city. The populace is roughly evenly divided on this issue, with some feeling very vehemently one way or the other. On the Council, those in favor of independence currently hold power—Chon, Laurenda and Tweez—although with Tweez's rumored upcoming retirement, those in favor or reintegration—Evara and Gnosh—hope to replace him with someone who also favors reintegration.

Other issues facing Melanoc today include what to do about the flood or refugees who have been living around the city for several years now, dealing with the threat of Yirdril Land warlords and bettering the city's trade relations.

People of Note

There are a number of important and well-known figures in the city of Melanoc, which players from Melanoc would generally be aware of. These movers-and-shakers in the city and a brief description of them follow.

• Archmage Edrol the Strange: a reclusive archmage who resides in his tower located in Melanoc's upper city. Disliked by the populace, but rarely seen.
• Baron Kaluhn: The local Knights of Honor leader. Civilized human in charge of the local Knights of Honor.
• Chon Bronzebeard: Member of the Third Council. Low Dwarf, known for his Anti-Graundaur stance.
• Constable Tralif: Constable of the Legion. A troll, who is head of the Legion in Melanoc.
• Evara Birks: Member of the Third Council. Civilized Human, known for her Pro-Graundaur position.
• Gnosh Boltscrew: Member of the Third Council. Tinker Gnome, known to be Pro-Graundaur.
• Laurenda Nimbly: Member of the Third Council. Handler Gnome-True Ogre halfbreed, known to be Anti-Graundaur. Daughter of Wernelle, one of the members of the Founding Council.
• Marshal Aran: Marshal of the Guard. A goblin and leader of the Guard in Melanoc.
• Rando the Amazing: Non-Voting elected advisor to the Third Council. Civilized Human who is very popular among the people.
• Tweez of the Dell: Member of the Third Council. A Goblin and the last still-serving member of the Rogue Council. He is rumored to be about to retire. Known as being very Anti-Graundaur.