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psych0pomp
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HEXAMORE was once a land of magical arts so powerful that it reverberated through the planes. Its power, like a beacon, summoned the twelve titans. They descended onto the land in such a huge force that it scorched the ruling kingdom of Aariyon off the planet—taking the Grand Emperor with it. All semblance of leadership dissolved shortly thereafter. The cities and surrounding towns were forced to create city-states to keep some sense of law. They threw their armies at the titans. Everyone, everywhere, put every resource they could into defeating the monsters that ravaged their land. Yet, their efforts were in vain. Lands, homes, cities, and artifacts were all destroyed in the titan's march across Hexamore. Even worse yet, their presence warped the bodies and minds of every living presence they came across, creating eldritch abominations that hunted their once-kin.
Twenty years passed as the titans ravaged the lands. In those twenty years, seven heroes from across Hexamore came together with a plan to stop the titans. They found a way to funnel the magic into themselves and change the arcane conduit into something so foreign and alien to the titans, they couldn't be fueled from it. Two things happened. First, the titans stopped their crusade across Hexamore and turned into stone. The second was that the heroes ascended into living gods. They achieved this at would be known as the Spine of the Earth. The ground fissured and cracked underneath them and a massive obelisk of stone, covered in ancient runes rose up from it. A shape that could be seen on the horizon at all times, a reminder of the destruction and sacrifice the titans brought upon the world. Their stone forms littering Hexamore, a towering reminder of the horrors of the past. The Spine would be revered as a holy place from then on. Yet, it was not one that the seven heroes, no gods, lingered at. Instead, they traverse Hexamore and dole out wisdom and favors. People do not fear them, because their magic is not what the titan's desire.
With the sealing of the titans came a warning. If a resurgence in magic happened, the titans would awaken and begin their conquest anew. So, no longer capable of relying on that power, Hexamore had to find new ways to do what had been so easily done before. An Industrial Revolution, of sorts, started. Steam powered engines began to manifest. Dirigibles took to the sky and mule engines helped guide carts. The invention and study of guns became as prominent as arcane schools used to be. The world changed, and yet so much of it stayed the same.
No longer interested in a dead emperor in a ruined land, the cities stayed with their city states. Competitions, rivalries, and border skirmishes became common. Corruption marred the world, and the economy was sent into a dark spiral. The reach of technology recoiled back into urban areas, many places only knowing the old ways. But most of all, fear ruled—and still does.
Lady Greytide, one of the seven new gods and one of the two instruments, started the Inquisition of Arcane. She became known as the Queen Inquisitor, using her godly powers to look through thousands of eyes at a time—some her own inquisitors and others unsuspecting pawns. She roots out all magic. The strong and wild are culled or sent to the Cold Iron to have their magic "removed." She sends the obedient and meek to the Magi Arcae, a powerful but small group of magic users looked over by She of Scarlet. In more rural towns, magic users are burned at the stake. There is no rule condemning this.
The world is in disrepair. Not broken, but the gears do slip over chips and places worn away. So, it is good that the yearly pilgrimage is upon us. It is a time of worship and remembrance that countless years ago the world was about to end. Our story begins outside of Faelkroft, a week after the pilgrimage had started. Word was sent back that the guide had fallen ill, and they needed a new one.
You've been tasked with escorting the a new guide from Faelkroft to where the pilgrims are camped out in the Plains of Echo. Yet, this wouldn't be a story of any renown if the task was truly that simple. It is Hexamore, after all, the cursed continent...
Twenty years passed as the titans ravaged the lands. In those twenty years, seven heroes from across Hexamore came together with a plan to stop the titans. They found a way to funnel the magic into themselves and change the arcane conduit into something so foreign and alien to the titans, they couldn't be fueled from it. Two things happened. First, the titans stopped their crusade across Hexamore and turned into stone. The second was that the heroes ascended into living gods. They achieved this at would be known as the Spine of the Earth. The ground fissured and cracked underneath them and a massive obelisk of stone, covered in ancient runes rose up from it. A shape that could be seen on the horizon at all times, a reminder of the destruction and sacrifice the titans brought upon the world. Their stone forms littering Hexamore, a towering reminder of the horrors of the past. The Spine would be revered as a holy place from then on. Yet, it was not one that the seven heroes, no gods, lingered at. Instead, they traverse Hexamore and dole out wisdom and favors. People do not fear them, because their magic is not what the titan's desire.
With the sealing of the titans came a warning. If a resurgence in magic happened, the titans would awaken and begin their conquest anew. So, no longer capable of relying on that power, Hexamore had to find new ways to do what had been so easily done before. An Industrial Revolution, of sorts, started. Steam powered engines began to manifest. Dirigibles took to the sky and mule engines helped guide carts. The invention and study of guns became as prominent as arcane schools used to be. The world changed, and yet so much of it stayed the same.
No longer interested in a dead emperor in a ruined land, the cities stayed with their city states. Competitions, rivalries, and border skirmishes became common. Corruption marred the world, and the economy was sent into a dark spiral. The reach of technology recoiled back into urban areas, many places only knowing the old ways. But most of all, fear ruled—and still does.
Lady Greytide, one of the seven new gods and one of the two instruments, started the Inquisition of Arcane. She became known as the Queen Inquisitor, using her godly powers to look through thousands of eyes at a time—some her own inquisitors and others unsuspecting pawns. She roots out all magic. The strong and wild are culled or sent to the Cold Iron to have their magic "removed." She sends the obedient and meek to the Magi Arcae, a powerful but small group of magic users looked over by She of Scarlet. In more rural towns, magic users are burned at the stake. There is no rule condemning this.
The world is in disrepair. Not broken, but the gears do slip over chips and places worn away. So, it is good that the yearly pilgrimage is upon us. It is a time of worship and remembrance that countless years ago the world was about to end. Our story begins outside of Faelkroft, a week after the pilgrimage had started. Word was sent back that the guide had fallen ill, and they needed a new one.
You've been tasked with escorting the a new guide from Faelkroft to where the pilgrims are camped out in the Plains of Echo. Yet, this wouldn't be a story of any renown if the task was truly that simple. It is Hexamore, after all, the cursed continent...
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Don't worry, we won't be using grids and battlemaps in this game. I may make a map for flavor, but that's just because I love maps. This is entirely theater of the mind.
Let's talk about this, I run games that are heavy on roleplay--obviously. This game is not going to be sheet heavy. It's more for structure than control. We aren't going to play this as a pure DnD game. So, don't worry about making everything perfect. This is not a game where you need to min/max your character, make them the best there ever was, or intent on survival alone. Make the character you want to make with the skills and background that fit them. I want to tell a story with characters you love. I'm not saying it won't be harrowing, and your character may die. Still, I recommend investing in skills to help you in social situations.
Side note, I will be using the DMG "Lingering Injuries" chart instead of outright killing characters in situations that may be deadly but recoverable. Of course, if you run face first into a kraken at level 2, I can't really justify you now having a limp. You're going to be murdered. That being said, there shouldn't be any at level 2... but I've had players do crazier.
Rolling the dice, is not going to happen for everything, but it will happen because it is DnD and chances are fun. We will agree on a consistent dice rolling apparatus. It may come in you asking for a roll "may I investigate a scene" or me asking you for a perception check. My forced asks will only come in an "Action Scene." This will require Initiative and all that jazz. I'll ask you for the roll. You'll give it to me. I'll then narrate the outcome. I'll never make one that insta-destroys your character, but if it is bad, you may only have one more round to fix it. Keep that in mind.
On arcane magic, please remember that this is a LOW MAGIC world. People who use magic are viewed with equal disdain as baby cannibals (people who cannibalize babies not babies with the… you know what… nevermind.) There is no "strike" system with magic. Once you're caught, you're caught. This can be made into a plot point, but only with some pre-planning and mediation. If we didn't work out a dashing adventure of your character getting caught and the others swooping in to save you, you're screwed.
Things to keep in mind…Please be aware that spells have verbal, somatic, and components. If the book requires you to wave your arms in the air, then you're going to be doing that. People will stare. People will know what you are doing. Now, you can always try to hide it. But also be aware that Inquisitors are SENSITIVE to magical use. Even if you successfully hide your spell, they'll know someone casted magic. They will hunt you. Now, they aren't as prevalent in the open world, but you have to worry about monsters being keen on magic as well. I know. It's like the world is out to get you, but that's the point.
On divine magic, it is viewed differently than arcane or otherwise. Divine magic is also rare, but it is also sourced through a conduit that is believed not to awaken the titans. You have five deities to choose from, they will be listed further down. While the Inquisitors do not hunt those that use divine magic, they aren't nice to them either. But the problem that divine users will have is the sheer popularity of their abilities. There are no magical means of healing anymore, except through clerics and paladins, and as such they will be set upon by commoners and those incapable of tending to their wounds. You will either have to expend spell slots or refuse mobs of people. That might end poorly for you. So, keep that in mind while visiting towns and cities.
On technology, the world has hit a technological boom since the outlawing of magic. As such, in larger cities you can see it a bit everywhere. A gear-work clock, steam mules, factories billowing out pillars of steam, trolleys ferrying people about, dirigibles, and general cleanliness that was not there before. People also dress differently in these denser areas, taking to a more Victorian or Edwardian form of garb. Still, this is medieval fantasy mixed in with steampunk. There will still be robes, tunics, armor, and the like. What I want to talk about most are guns. But keep in mind that it isn't the end all to weapons as this technology is new, and just as likely to take down an opponent as blow up in your face. A talented bowman is comparable or better than a gunslinger. Still, I realize as I introduce this world that is fantasy with a splash of technology that guns would definitely be a part of it. But they are costly to buy and maintain.
On the economy, due to the city states ruling themselves there has been quite a bit of corruption in how money is handled. Most people have a low income compared to the inflated prices of many things. This means that even if you are doing well, you're not really doing well. Poverty is everywhere but work is common as well. And the rich… well… they are decadently wealthy.
On races, given that the titans successfully managed to draw all the races together to attack them and then decimated part of the world, the boundaries that once separated them have fallen apart. There's no definitive "elven city" or "dwarven fortress." There are places that used to be elven or dwarven that took in refugees of humans or other races. They had families there. No longer was there one ruling race, but a group of survivors. Of course, there are still racial prejudices, nothing is going to change about that, but for better or worse the world is less divided. -
- I'm only accepting characters that use content published by WotC for DnD 5e. Don't have any of that? No problem. After I accept the character concept, you'll have access to to my DnD Beyond, which should have most of the character creation choices.
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Races: Technically you'll all be playing variant human from the Players Handbook. That means one feat of your choosing and 2 points to put into your Ability Stats.
Flavor-wise, all peoples of this land are mixed. You'll be mostly human presenting but you have race-lineage. This means you sport some slight features from what your ancestors mixed with. This will be called race-descended. For instance, elf-descended may be a bit lither, smaller, and have slightly-pointed ears compared to an entirely pure human. I leave you to describe these features. Pure humans are rare. The culture of the races is mostly obliterated beyond the obvious things, like architecture, but you can always make up something your family has done. - Age: Everyone lives the same length of time, and that is in normal human years.
- Ability Stats are either a) Point Buy or b) Stat Array, as they are the same.
- Class Wise: You're fine to pick most things. Please note that the divine classes will fall into my created pantheon. I need to talk to those that might pick a Warlock. As warlocks follow an eldritch path, and the titans are the equivalent of eldritch abominations. Also some classes may start as not ones that would be hunted by the Inquisitors, and then change depending on sub-class. Fighters are fine until they become Eldritch Knights, etc.
- Background: choose a published background, then if you wish, we can tweak it.
- History: I will need your character's history. That being said, that history will be sent to me and only me after you're accepted. It's so I can weave it into the narrative.
- Goal:Something you want to happen in the game to your character. This can deal with something from their past, a chance in the future, or something to do with their class. I'll make sure to weave it into the narrative.
- Special items will be situational. There will be no magical items given. That being said, we can work on plot items.
I'm here to help you with your character sheet! Don't be afraid to ask.
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- Post Frequency: Once a week to once every two weeks. It really depends on the scene going on. RP scenes will take longer, and collab posts are totally encouraged. Fighting will be the one thing that will be pretty on-board rolling. So, those posts will be a series of rolling and me writing a meta post with the combat fleshed out. And if that's the case, you aren't required to post so much as tell me what you want to do, roll, and have me narrate what happens in which I post what happens. There shouldn't be TOO much combat in this game. Maybe if we post weekly, one week out of four to five will include a combat. And even that seems too much. Basically posting will require everyone to be open for a lot of OOC communication.
- Length and Quality: I find that length doesn't equal quality. So, the length is what you think you need to write to get the job done. It's the quality I'm looking for. And I'm not saying the quality of writing. I hate blue prose. I'm saying the quality of really drawing me into the character and their machinations. You can paint a picture in broad strokes or thin ones. Just as long as I get who you're playing. And please spellcheck for goodness sake.
- Attitude: Be a decent human being. I you can't manage that, then might what to cozy on over to the door.
- The Character Sheet is the Bottom Line: As I've said before your character sheet is about structure and not control. That being said, if you are constantly performing acts outside of your supposed capabilities, I will address it with you. If that sounds like something don't want to do, then you might need to find a system that isn't based off of DnD.
- Follow Iwaku Rules: Simple.
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