From Tab Wiki

Trystell is a fantasy setting and most of the elements and themes from other fantasy settings can be found there, however, there are a few things that differentiate Trystell from your generic high fantasy setting, giving it its own unique flavor.

For one, the setting covers the whole of Trystell’s globe, not just a corner of the game’s world. This is rare as far as fantasy settings go, most only covering a single continent or part of a continent. The fact that the Trystell setting covers the entirety of the globe gives the setting a versatility it otherwise would not have. It allows for numerous cultures and nearly unlimited exploration and travel in the game world.

Next, the world of Trystell is in limited contact with other, uncharted places, such as the world of Blaugh’Ock (which plays an important part in Trystell’s history) and other planes, such as the Kalid Realm or the Conduit.

Trystell does have a number of deities revered by the people of the world (as do most fantasy settings,) however, unlike most fantasy settings, the deities do not take direct action and do not directly effect the game world. They are far away or disinterested and followers rely on means other than prayers to get things done.

Last, while technologically most of Trystell is only advanced as far as the late Middle Ages (common in fantasy settings,) academically concepts have been discovered that on Earth were not discovered until later eras. These concepts include political ideas like democracy or economic ideas such as laissez-faire and proto-socialism.

The world of Trystell is divided into four different areas called “quadrants.” Each quadrant corresponds to half of a hemisphere of the world. Furthermore, each quadrant is named after one of the major deities currently active on Trystell. The Northwest quadrant is the Quadrant of Crono, the Southwest is the Quadrant of Linquad, the Northeast is the Quadrant of Zuriach and the Southeast is the Quadrant of Eios.

Outside of the world of Trystell proper there are a number of other world that have had an effect on the setting and who are referenced throughout the text. The two most notable of these worlds are Blaugh’Ock and the Kalid Realm. Blaugh’Ock is another world located (relatively) not too far from Trystell. Long ago several groups from Trystell fled there and later made an invasion into Trystell proper. Blaugh’Ock is responsible for introdcing objects called “lunar devices” into Trystell. Lunar devices are the source of one of the two major types of magic. No one knows quite how they work, but magic users can use them to power their spells.

The Kalid Realm is not really a world in the true sense, but rather an extraplanar realm of finite size that exists somewhere else. It is the home of a type of creature called kalids.

Finally, fundamental to the setting is a type of creature called a “kalid.” Kalids are magical, roughly-humanoid creatures that act as the source of one of the two major types of magic on Trystell. “Kalid magic” as it is called, requires the use of preserved kalid body parts in its spells. Magic users drain these preserved body parts of their inherent magical energy and channel it to produce magical effects.

Conversions

The following are different conversions done of the Trystell setting

• d20 Trystell -- The third incarnation of the Trystell setting and the current d20 conversion.
• True20 Trystell -- A conversion of Trystell to the True20 system.
• GURPS Trystell -- A conversion of Trystell to the GURPS system.

Expanded Sections

The following sections have pages of their own that expand upon the basic concepts found within the Trystell setting.

Races of Trystell

Trystell offers a wide variety of races. It should also be noted that while the concept of “race” is a concept of game mechanics, on Trystell those species recognized as being “races” were standardized during the Golden Age. And while certain “races” like kalids and bushmen may be playable, these species are generally not recognized by the majority of the peoples of Trystell as being full-fledged races, since their recognition was not part of that standardization. Consequently, in most regions they will not have recognized rights or privilages under law.

Trystell Archetypes

A variety of archetypes exist in the Trystell setting. The archetypes presented detail those who would be interesting to play in a role-playing game set in the world of Trystell. These archtypes range from the gritty Kalid Hunter to the cutting-edge Magine Mage.

History of Trystell

Victors write history but desipte this, there is a reletively commonly held virew of history tha was standardized during the Golden Age. While this view of history has deviated regionally in the last few centuries, it nevertheless shows a great infulence over the academic practice of history as found on Trystell today.

Organizations in Trystell

A variety of global or near-global organizations operate in the world of Trystell, bringing together individuals from different parts of the world. The organizations of this type currently in existence exert a large infulence over the world.

Deities of Trystell

Religion on Trystell is prodominately polytheistic. Different individuals worship different deities, but recognize the existence of a variety of other ones, even if they may refuse to worship the other deities.

Magic on Trystell

Magic in the Trystell setting has a number of defining anf limiting principles. All magic energy is both finite and must be extracted from a source. This gives rise to the three forms of magic, as they vary by extraction source: kalid magic, lunar magic and magine magic.

Trystellian Geography

Trystell has many natural and even supernatural landforms, regions and points of interest. These notable places are grouped by the people of Trystell into different "quadrants." Each quadrant is one fourth of Trystell's surface and each one is named after one of the New Ones, the deities who are most revered on Trystell. The quadrants are named after the deity who has the largest following in that specific quadrant. For descriptions's sake, however, we group the different locations and points of interest into regions. Regions are an abstraction for the sake of convenience. Each one may represent a specific country, large area of wilderness or geographic collection of city-states. Most regions presented here are thought of as geographic regions by the people of Trystell, although the borders of where one region becomes the next is often a bit more fuzzy.

Cosmology of Trystell

Trystell is not an island and indeed, it interactions with a number of other worlds, dimensions and pocket dimensions. The interactions and properities of these vary, from the neighboring world of Blaugh'Ock to which the New Ones retreated after the War of the Shattering, to the alternate universe of the Conduit.

The Trystell Setting

Trystellian Technology & Cultural Development

Technology in different areas developed on Trystell at dramatically different rates than did technology on Earth. In fact, the rate of technological progression on Trystell has been highly influenced by events in Trystell’s history.

By the time of the War of the Shattering technology on Trystell had already advanced from that of the Stone Age to Bronze Age technology. The introduction of Kalid Magic during the War of the Shattering led to a regression in certain construction and artistic technology, the technologies being abandoned in favor of magic.

By the time of Trystell’s Golden Age the technology level was well into the Iron Age, with social ideas being even further advanced. For example, the idea of feudalism and chivalry already existed During this period the technology level progressed through what would be the equivalent of the Middle Ages and well into the equivalent of the Renaissance. Socially, cultural ideas progressed much further. This period saw the rise of nation-states. It also saw the rise of complex economic systems, complete with the idea of competitive trade and borrowing on credit. Standardization and globalization became known concepts. All this was overseen by the organization known as the Consortium. Technologies for building roads and communication increased, while military technologies stayed firmly in the late Iron Age.

With the Day of Befallment and the dawning of the Dark Ages, most technology regressed back to the equivalent of the Middle Ages. Cultural ideas like complex economic systems and globalization didn’t disappear entirely, but survived in written manuscripts studied primarily by scholars and monks. Military technology, however, did make advances during this time, improving to be roughly the equivalent of what was seen in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The Lunar Occupation again upset the balance of technology on Trystell. The Blaugh’Ocks brought back into circulation the concepts of colonialism and nation-states. The brought with them theories of industrialization and biology. But most importantly, they brought with them Lunar Magic. Despite the abuses of the Lunar Occupation, technological progress began to advance once again near to what it was during the Golden Age. Military technology stayed roughly late Middle Ages, while cultural nearly forgotten since the Golden Age came back in force. The beginnings of Industrialization began to start to be seen in different corners of the world, but medical technology regressed and the knowledge of chemistry stagnated due to being overshadowed by the capabilities of Lunar Magic. With the Native Revolts much of the Lunar Occupation era Industrialization was destroyed as being “tainted of Blaugh’Ock.” Other technology has stayed roughly the same since that time and has slowly began to expand the grow once again.

Throughout all this the Tinker Gnomes and Aqua Gnomes have stayed well ahead of the rest of the world in technology. Their technology—while viewed disfavorably by the other races—permeates their culture. In terns of social ideas the gnomes are no more advances than the other races on Trystell. In terms of other technology they are in the early Industrial Age.

Trystellian Economics

Currency

On Trystell, currency was standardized during the Golden Age, so complicated exchange rates are not a problem. Since that time, however, currency has slowly started reverting to different types, for example, each country now mints its own money, but the exchange rate on Trystell has remained the same since the Golden Age. Thus 1 gold piece forged in Grichom is equivalent to 1 gold piece forged in Eoris, etc.

There are three internationally recognized units of currency on Trystell. Those are the gold piece, silver piece and bronze piece. Gold pieces (gp) are worth the most, with silver pieces (sp) being worth second most and bronze pieces (bp) being worth the least. In addition, there is a fourth type of currency that has been promoted recently by the New Consortium. This new type of currency is an attempt to establish a new standard. It’s called the saltite. A saltite is worth ten gold pieces. The equivalents for each piece are represented in the following equation:

1/10 slt = 1 gp = 10 sp = 100 bp

All together, Trystell’s system of currency is not that complex. This exchange rate is pretty much constant around the globe, but it may vary slightly from region to region. Jewels are generally worth from 30 gp to 5 sp apiece depending on the type of jewel and the region the jewel is to be sold in. Prices for most common items, including weapons and armor can be found in the section on character creation.

Economics Through the Ages

During the latter half of the Golden Age currency was standardized and the Consortium forced countries to quit the use of trade barriers, considering them counterproductive to free trade. This was the height of economic neoliberalism and indeed laissez-faire capitalism on Trystell. Eventually it led to the collapse of Trystell’s economic system and the Dark Ages.

During the Dark Ages many countries tried to implement a similar system of economics not on the international, but on the national scale. However, the trade routes became so dangerous during the Dark Ages that any attempt at laissez-faire soon failed.

When the Lunar Invasion occurred, forces from Blaugh’Ock took over most of Trystell. With their conquest they imposed a form of mercantilism on the peoples they conquered. This system quickly fell apart during the Native Revolts.

Current Economic Trends

The scars left from the downfall of the Golden Age and the Lunar Occupation has led many current governments to attempt a socialist style economic system. While not all countries have had success with this economic model, there have been a number of extremely successful implementations of this economic system since the Native Revolts. Part of the current movement towards socialism has been fueled by the anti-standardization movement, which tends to be sympathetic towards socialism, since socialism was not standardized during the Golden Age or Lunar Occupation.

In reaction to this growing trend toward socialism, the New Consortium has moved in to support new standardizations and push for a global neoliberal economic paradigm. This means eliminating tariffs and market regulation and control, in favor of letting merchant rings and guilds do with the market as they please.

Standard Calendar

A standard Trystellian year is divided into thirteen months, each with thirty days. Furthermore, each month is divided into three weeks of ten days each. While different calendars are sometimes used on Trystell, this calendar (the Golden Age standard) is used the vast majority of the time.

The thirteen Trystellian are named (in order) Cardomwen, Agrearien, Kainna, Weradia, Therrani, Thoren, Adaolian, Haemma, Adwendanna, Dwendathien, Zoaveth, Fendadia, Tremma. Of these months, the first three (Cardomwen, Agrearien, Kainna) are considered to be winter. The next three (Weradia, Therrani, Thoren) are considered to be spring. The following three (Adaolian, Haemma, Adwendanna) are said to be summer and the last four (Dwendathien, Zoaveth, Fendadia, Tremma) are considered autumn.

Within each month are three weeks, each with their own name. The first week of each month is named Gromajar; the second week is named Umynidd and the third week is named Eowoech. Each week has ten days. These days are not named, they are simply numbered.

Years are numbered from the start of the Golden Age. Years after the start of the Golden Age are called “Post-Founding” (P.F.) and years before then are called “Earlier than Standardization” (E.S.)

When writing dates in the standard Trystellian system, the name of the week is always written first, followed by the number of the day of that week, then the name of the month, followed by the year. For example, a date may be written like this: “Umynidd 7, Dwendathien, 1014 P.F.”

Sometimes dates are abbreviated in order to reduce the work done by scribes. In these cases the same form or writing dates is used, but shortened versions of the month and week names are used. So, Cardomwen becomes “Ca,” Agrearien becomes “Ag,” Kainna becomes “Ka,” etc.

Standardized Astrology

Trystell has its own system of Astrology that was standardized during the Golden Age. In the Trystellian Zodiac there are thirteen signs, each of which correspond to a Trystellian month. There signs have the name of the month, but are each represented by a symbol. There is a constellation for each symbol. Each sign, its symbol and what it means is listed below:

Cardomwen (The Dreamer): Transformation, change, ego-death, rebirth, transcendence, intense emotional involvement with the process of personal growth, movement from individual certainties to the mysteries of life, spirit breaking through the limitations of individual ego. Intense, passionate, brooding, magnetic, stubborn, unyielding, driven by emotions, stands up for self, usually covertly, manipulates power, understands deeper layers of the psyche beyond the ego, unable to communicate this well leading to misunderstandings, intrigued by the dark side of life, the underground, people whose job involves going beneath surface appearances, sexuality, self-mastery, breaking free of illusory limitations.

Agrearien (The Hammer): Surrender to the universe, to higher goals, ego sacrifice, compassion and empathy, selfless work, seeing the unity of all things, the ends of cycles, spirit as individual dissolving back into pure spirit. Mysticism, escape into one, sees the unity, fails to make normal distinctions, often weak ego, victim, martyr, servant, tends to escapism, fantasy, drugs, religion, very receptive, sensitive, co-dependency, care-taking, withdrawn from the world, release from the world.

Kainna (The Hand): Spirit's attempt to bring about the perfect society, to create heaven, making practical, efficient connections with others on the physical plane, ambitious, feels pride in accomplishments, concern with truth, reality, hard facts, relationship to authority. Serious, determined, disciplined, focused, needs to play more, fathering, disciplining love, authority figures, seeks certainties in life, concerned with the practical relationships to support oneself within society, needs to bring theory into concrete reality, making a niche in the world.

Weradia (The Shield): Grounding, bringing down to earth, constancy, steadiness, fixedness, spirit becoming embodied, entering matter, taking on a form, a vessel or container for spiritual forces. Grounded, in touch with the body, sensual, pleasure seeking, stubborn, fixed, stands their ground, focuses and concentrates energy, gives it concrete expression, practical, provides stamina and persistence, slow, steady, methodical, fertile, productive, unreflective, content to simply be, spirit becoming involved with the material world.

Therrani (The King): Curiosity, cleverness, skill, communication, making connections with surroundings, trying to figure things out, the first display of intelligence by embodied spirit. Talkative, communicative, sociable, loves to interact with others, unemotional, impersonal, requires great mental stimulation, curious to a fault, playful, the trickster, the devil's advocate, changeable, inconstant, attention easily drifts to something new, seeks novelty.

Thoren (The Hermit): Spirit entering the realm of the individual person, ego development, setting yourself apart from the rest of the world, becoming your own person, self-expression, being true to your inner nature, acting from the heart, dawning awareness of self in relation to others. Ego, self-centered, arrogant, fixed, stubborn, persistent, artistic or creative expression as a vehicle for revealing personality, needs to be a center of attention, requires acknowledgment and approval, likes to be noticed and appreciated, personal integrity, true to self, honorable, trustworthy, kingly, self-assured, confident.

Adaolian (The Doll): Unbridled expression of your inner nature, activity that is self-motivated, unaffected by others, new beginnings, the start of new cycles, birth, enthusiasm and vitality. Aggressive, willful, powerful, assertive, enthusiastic about whatever interests you at the moment, focused in short bursts, unlikely to sustain interest in the long term, ego expression, adventurous, pioneering, Warrior-type energy, impatient with having to cooperate with others, works best alone or in leadership role, unconcerned with approval or acceptance, lacks persistence and stamina, honest and forthright, not given to airs or pretenses, the first expression of spirit within a new cycle on the physical plane.

Haemma (The Cloth): Spirit as individual entering into relationship with others, partnership, one-to-one relationships, meeting others as an equal, interdependency, encountering repressed parts of yourself through others, going beyond ego boundaries, peace, harmony, balance, social awareness. Partners, marriage, learning how to get along peaceably with others, treating others as equals, conflict, enemies, art, beauty, harmonious surroundings, distressed by stressful situations, inharmonious interactions, intimacy.

Adwendanna (The Trail): Restlessness, the need for change, love of travel, new experiences, easily distracted, attempting to find happiness, lack of possessions, quest to gain knowledge, worldliness, diverse views, needs a wide variety of entertainment to keep occupied, easily bored, disassociation, lack of emotional attachment, solitude, free thinking, untamed spirit, not concerned with any specific ideology, needs to be more responsible, compulsively escapes stressful situations, instability, lacks direction, lack of direct action.

Dwendathien (The Dagger): Embodiment of the individual in the world, problems of adjustment dealing with the world and others, perfection of your approach to life, development of mundane skills, ability to change to adapt to life better. Service, helping, self-effacing, perfectionist, always seeking to improve, efficiency, practical, functional, interested in crafts and projects, true to self in a simple, unassuming manner, reacts to defeats and setbacks by pulling back and altering approach, lacks confidence in the face of opposition, lives up to duties and responsibilities, interested in maintaining the body as a fit vehicle, diet, exercise, herbs, aware of conflicts with others, of the give and take required by life.

Zoaveth (The Peasant): Spirit's attempt to create ideal relationships and organizations, based on freedom and cooperation between individuals, free-thinking, unorthodox, not shackled by outdated ideology, the perfection of society. Even though ideas are often far-sighted, they can be held and expressed in rigid, dogmatic fashion, idealistic, utopian, derives sense of identity from groups and their goals, tends to dominate them, impersonal thinking, detached from emotional considerations, friendships based on common goal.

Fendadia (The Book): Spirit moving beyond the realm of the individual into the world at large, becoming a member of a wider society, experiences that lead to consciousness expansion, being receptive to new points of view, wisdom, enlightenment, using your talents for the benefit of the greater whole. Freedom loving, idealist, inspiration, religion, philosophy, the law, awareness of connections to the rest of the world, can be distant from others, afraid to give up freedom, reluctant to be tied down, on the other hand, enthusiastic, gregarious, generous, loves abstract, theoretical ideas, sees the big picture, ignores the details, in love with an ideal, foreign travel, liberating experiences.

Tremma (The Tree): Nurturing, support, belonging, emotional bonds, your roots, source, ground of your being, the unconscious, feelings, emotion, spirit's first emotional attachments to the world. Mothering, emotional and physical nutrients, experiences and imprinting during infancy and childhood, family, ancestors, heritage, relationships to the past, belonging, feeling at home, maternal love, caring, feeling supported by the world, that your needs are provided for, insecurities and fears if your needs haven't been fulfilled, possessiveness, twisted love, inability to nurture others, negative expressions.

Languages on Trystell

Thanks to the standardization of the Golden Age almost everyone on the surface of Trystell speaks Standard as their primary tongue. But that may not be the only language one will encounter on Trystell. The Anti-Standardization Movements have brought back to life an number of old languages. In addition, the Underciv never has their languages standardized. And one may always encounter old scrolls or writings that predate the Golden Age. Below is a list of languages found on Trystell and what groups are likely to speak them.

Language	Typical Speakers 	Alphabet
Standard	Everyone		Standard
Protostandard	Scholars		Standard
High Kalid	Kalids, Scholars	Kalid
Blaugh’Ock	Blaugh’Ocks		Kalid
Bushmen		Bushmen			Kalid
Underciv	The Underciv		Underciv
Neo-Bala’Umn	Bala-Umnians		Cad
Neo-Cebuese	Cebuese			Grichomic
Neo-Cad		Quadrant of Linquad	Cad
Old Cad		Scholars		Cad
Eorian		Quadrant of Eios	Eorian
Fonlelial	Fonlels			Fonlelial
Quaklonian	Quaklonians		Quaklonian
Grundz		Quadrant of Eios	Eorian
Grichomic	Quadrant of Zuriach	Grichomic