Dice A Time of Monsters - Setting

[Grey]

This is information presented as most characters would know it. It is biased, likely inaccurate, may contain outright propaganda.
(anything I think you as a player should know but your character likely does not will be written like this and can be trusted as factual).

The Anointed Empire of Kelene dominates the central lands of the continent, with provinces as far afield as the eastern frontier beyond Gatewood and even an island on the southern Sleeping Sea.
Following a succession crisis about a century back, the Most High Church of Degra Veen decreed that to maintain the stability of the Empire over such a large area and with bloodlines so diluted, that the Provincial Dukes would become Electors and of course the Archbishoprics would have votes, too. Candidates had to be descended from the royal line, of course, and in practice succession has still largely passed to the firstborn heir.
The lands of the Empire are mostly temperate, with rolling plans and extensive farmland, and some of the older provinces are famed for the quality of their horses. They stretch from the mountains in the north, near the capital, down to the Sleeping Sea in the south, and from the Dead Marches in the west to Nouvillim Province in the east, in the untamed lands beyond the Gatewood.
(The Gatewood is a vast forest that forms the entire eastern border, and despite efforts to cut it back, it remains a haunted and storied place that cannot be controlled. One may pass the Kingsway through the wood but it is not entirely safe)

Five years ago, King Germaine III died in the night - some say sickness, some say murder, some that he went into exile of his own will for some strange and terrible crime.
Now, the Electors are split. One faction, lead by the Duchy of Delat, backs the younger son Guillaume as a pious and measured young man. Another, lead by the Duchy of Ferldain, supports the crown prince Frederique despite his religious peculiarities. The Church leans towards Guillaume for piety, and Frederique for tradition, and is like as not waiting for one or the other to gain a better claim.
A third faction lead by the Duchy of Thiah supports Duke d'Lim, a close cousin of the late king, who remains loyal to the true faith. The furthest flung provinces have mostly put forward Duke Maerlyn, the king's nephew, for the throne but the young Duke has been noncommital.

This in itself may not have lead to war, but religious tensions made it all but inevitable.

The Most High Church of Degra Veen is the oldest faith in the country, and has blessed the reign of the Farriden kings for generations back to the founding of the kingdom.
Based in the Holy City of Ymon in the province of Delat, the church has cathedrals and almshouses in every city, even in distant Hrothgard. They preach the word of the Father and his prophets; be virtuous in deed, stalwart in faith, and loyal to His anointed king. Of course, a fine way for men of means to prove these bonafides was the sale of indulgences - a forgiveness of all but the most mortal sins bought in goods and gold. The Church also continues to collect tithes, influence the appointment of officials in their parishes, preach strictly in Old Imperial, practice celibacy, and reinterpret the sacred texts as required.

The Benthite Apostasy are somewhat misnamed; they remain faithful to god, but consider the church too corrupt to continue. They encourage the learning of theology among the laity, yet also a strict adherence to the original letter of The Good Book. They claim the church has become a political apparatus, no longer concerned with the spiritual wellbeing of the people or the sanctity of the crown. While the church claims forgiveness is given at god's whim (especially if one donates to the church), the Benthites belief anyone can achieve redemption through good deeds. Indeed, they argue that even one ignorant of the faith entirely may be saved if his heart is righteous.

The Reformists, or Butchermen are nigh-identical to the Benthites, but differ in two key ways: the king does not need a divine mandate, if indeed a king be necessary, and whether a man is saved is demonstrated by his fortunes. If god knows the whole life of a man, then it is known to Him from the birth of any man whether he be damned or not. And if he is blessed with wealth and health, clearly this is the will of god who knows the measure of his soul. They're sometimes called the Butchermen because their first, strongest supporter owned the largest abbatoir in Le Royaume, the capital city.

The Revivalist Heresy are mostly scholars and dilletantes, who claim to have found texts older than The Good Book which contradict many teachings of all the above. They're a fractious lot, but are largely in agreement that the will of god is not for mortal men to know and that we must study all philosophy to find the proper path to Goodness. Some wish to revive old practices, like worship of Degra Veen's apocryphal wife-deity Ivanna. Other would go further afield and further back, suggesting that the Dodecahod of the lost empire is deserving of faith (though this is most popular with would-be sorcerors).

The war was ignited when alleged Benthites drowned the Bishop of Sur La Noire in a well for, equally allegedly, trafficking with the devils of the Blackwood.
Riots spread across the city, an Inquisitor was summoned, Duke Selanmere sent a small army believing there was a revolt in progress. Survivors carried conflicting tales in every direction.
Whatever turned the wheels of power is not known to the little people, but this was enough to turn brother against brother and gradually the battlefields spread across the land like a bloodstain.

There is, of course, another way to view this. After the Winter War last century wiped out vast swathes of the population, tenant farmers became yet more valuable and could argue with their feudal lords for better treatment, for more freedoms. As such, landlords, merchants, and artisans have come to rival the aristocracy for wealth. Yet they lack real power if they cannot curry the favour of Electors, they are taxed and controlled, set to quotas and seizures. The law need not constrain them if the church, too, can declare anyone defiant of the order a sinner and a heretic, and turn their neighbours or subordinates upon them.
Indeed, this same threat hangs over the aristocracy, who also find themselves kept from profitable industry by inertia and the quick-moving merchants who saw opportunities first like the printmakers of Maerlyn.
There is much coin to be made and power to be gained if one can upend the old order, or cleave to the maintanence thereof.

Spare a thought for the cobbler and farmer, the midwives and carters, over whose head all of this passes until the soldiers arrive in town looking to claim rations.

 

[Grey]

The Esoteric Order of Stonecutters were once just highly skilled stonemasons who were hired by the church, and paid well, to construct beautiful new churches and cathedrals.
There were three kinds, at first; those who rubbed shoulders with priests and scholars enough to take an interest in theology, those who used their new wealth and leisure to read books and hire teachers, and those who blundered into the mystery of the cult through sincere contemplation.
The order are aware of Degra Veens earlier worship - as a god of the forge and chisel, the Architect of the Earth and Great Maker. Their philosophy is beautiful in its earnest simplicity; as god is a maker, therefore in making is one closest to divinity, and the act of creation is more sacred than the thing which is made.
This de-emphasis on moral truths was offensive to the church, but at the same time mostly harmless. Technically declared a heresy, persecution of Stonecutters has generally been a matter of political expedience and scapegoating. The more scholarly of their number have been known to read forbidden texts, and at least one is accepted to have trafficked with actual demonic forces. As the world spirals into madness, even the accusation of being a Stonecutter can be a useful way to focus the rage and fear of the masses.

The Guild of Holy Engineers are an old, entrenched faction based on the city of Hrothgard. They've been around for centuries and are credited with some scientific innovations such as the crossbow, steam power, and rudimentary firearms. Hrothgard is an ancient city which was very clearly not fashioned by human hands, and the nomads of the region claim it was the city of the god of death. Beneath the street a labyrinth of chambers and tunnels extends miles deep, and deeper still are strange machines which the Guild studies. They're a fixture of the city, close to the Queen, and so despite frequent clashes with the church cannot be rooted out. They pose as a secular order of natural philosophers and engineers, but the inner circle are said to worship the machines, or the city, or the strange creatures rumoured to dwell in the depths.

The Dragon Cult have been on the margins since the ascendancy of the Most High Church. They claim to be the oldest, truest faith in the world, worshiping a pantheon of twelve gods, twelve dragons who built the world. Their most visible face are the Monks of Eotre, a martial order of itinerant vampire slayers. It is the belief of the cult that the gods turned their faces from the world in disgust and shame as some great sin birthed the first vampires. In the current era they are regarded as sometimes-useful maniacs. Vampires do not exist, obviously, but there are other monsters abroad in the world that these fools are suited to slay without spending a single coin, as they are motived by zeal and sweat vows of poverty.

The Old Faith is not its name. It has no name. To the nomads of the Hrothgaard highlands, the many gods of the wild are as real and clear as the snow and the sea. Old Man Winter, The Crow Sisters, The Charioteer of the Sun, The Green Man, The Judge of the Dead - if you have eyes to see, you will see them. Hear their voices. Know their power.
They've been outlawed and despised for generations, accused of consorting with demons, and their tradition of mantling lends some credence to this. Stories abound of nomad priests who, by walking the steps of the gods, draw on their power, become something other. The werewolves of The Green Man, the war-witches of the Moru Gán, all have been observed to wield terrible powers in their many battles with their settled neighbours when they try to drive them from their ancestral lands.

The Humanists of H'kaer, in the west, say that if there are gods, they are malevolent, monstrous, merely creatures which claim divinity. Their strange doctrine has spread in recent years, and some find their focus on human ingenuity, resilience, and cooperation appealing. Their philosophy also argues for the abolition of monarchy so that an elected party of learned scholars may govern, which has proven less popular.

The Cult of Vasnok are likely to be killed on discovery. Spreading from Kroms, neighbours and enemies of the H'kaeri, they claim to serve The Living Goddess Vasnok. She who was made by the Dragons in antiquity, and who was cursed with vampirism as the gods lashed out in jealousy, for she alone could walk among mortals and be loved by them. Her angels are those called vampires by the ignorant, who watch over the faithful. Only by supplication to her can any be saved, for one day she will rouse from her sleep and wipe clean the world to be remade in the image of her dark and radiant majesty.

The Dreamed Dreamers come from the strange city-state of Radiant Pearl, across the Sleeping Sea. They claim the world is but a dream of the sleeping Godhead, and alive with spirits which govern the function of the world as their bodies in the world beyond lie sleeping. A handful of their missionaries can be found in the Empire, tolerated because their navy is most fearsome. They make all the powers very nervous, for some of their missionaries claim to be priests of their various gods and call upon their power to enact miraculous feats.
One, whose name is apparently Alluring Black Pearl, spent awhile in a small town on the coast in the province of Thiah. They say she could call upon the spirits of the dead and speak to them, that she could step into a shadow and appear somewhere else. That she could command sickness to leave the body or kill with a word. When the town was beset with a famine, the local bishop cast blame upon her and whipped a mob into a frenzy. Nearly two score men and women besieged her lodgings and tried to drag her out to be burned. Everyone who laid hands on her dropped dead, and she walked away unharmed as the survivors stared in horror. Before she left, they say, she met the eye of the bishop, spoke a curse in her heathen language, and his flesh rotted from his bones where he stood. They say his bones screamed and raved even as they were buried.

The Occulted Sodality of Magi are a network of wizards hidden across the land, hiding from the Inquisition, waiting for their moment to seize power and restore the Magocracy that once covered the continent. They are so secretive some believe they're a convenient fiction and it is unknown how one goes about joining. It's said before the Winter War they were often housed in the old Castle Delat, or if they refused, were put to death. There are certainly many historical accounts of their interference in events, most especially the legendary tale of Julien Deslieux, purportedly a necromancer or The Red Prince who was claimed to command fire and led a revolt against the House of Maerlyn.
Despite this, there are those who suggest House Maerlyn is the secret benefactor of this cult.

 

[Grey]

Potential Patrons

Lux Tyranis, Illuminor-King, Who Sits The Nuclear Throne, Radiant Blade of The Infinite Horizon, Brooks-No-Shadow, First And Final Blood, Commander of the Endless Host, The Ur-Monarch, The First Symbol of Royalty, Hydrogen Saint of Fusion, Whose Light Severs, Warrior Without End

Tacitus, Illuminor-Prince, The Unblinking Eye, The Pitiless Sun, Shining Lord of the Paper Desert, Thrice-Broken, The Revelation of Time, Mentor of the First General, Uranium Saint of Fission, Whose Gaze Unravels.

Setha, Illuminor-Prince, Queen of Duels, Heaven-Sundering Glaive, Temple of the Warrior’s Fortune, Arbiter of Trial by Sword, The Just Cut, Mentor of the First Knight, Plutonium Saint of Fission, Resplendant Division of Murder and War.

THE ABOVE ARE HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO BE PATRONS AND ARE INCLUDED FOR IMPLICATIONS OF CONTEXT

Rathless, Illuminor-Prince, Mercenary Heart, Mentor of the First Sellsword, Adopted of War’s Forsaken Children, The Underhanded, Who Kills By Sight, Disfavoured of the Hellsun, Leaden Saint of Fission, Law’s Shadow

Adalgard, Illuminor-Prince, Shield of Dawn, Patron of Heroes, The Obliged Noble, Mentor of the First Lawkeeper, The Punishing Sun, Deuterium Saint of Fusion, The Terrible Power of Duty. The Grieving Sword of Execution

Tentham, Illuminor-Prince, The Defier, Tyrant-Rebel, Quill of the Death Warrant, Mentor of the Last Rebel, Poisoner of Revolution, Bright Lure Atop Power’s Jaws, Neutrino Saint of Fission, Hypocrite in Golden Finery

The Unspeakable, Nightmare-King, Annihilator of Meaning, The Colour of Madness, Voice of Apocalypse, Moonless-Night Sovereign, Here-And-Nowhere, The Tall Man, Prince of Falling Leaves, Second Symbol of Royalty, Thief of Hope, Master of Mirrors, Walker in Dreams

[Redacted], Nightmare-Prince, R, Duchess of the Wall of Sleep, Who Is Summoned In Speaking, Warden of Dreams, Jailer of Art, The Terrible Power of Banality, Lady of the Border-Marches, Bearer of The Moon-Piece, Mask of Anhedonia.

Margenta, Nightmare-Prince, Master of the Maelstrom, the Overflowing Cup, Patron of The Too-Sighted, The Untameable Hands, The Ceaseless Tongue, Unknowing Knower, Rapture of Wilderness, Bearer of The Rare-Chance Piece, Mask of Mania

Tower-Ever-Falling, Nightmare-Prince, Lord of the Dead City, The Watcher From The Garret, Cageheart, The Great Empty, All Unseeing, Love’s Last Revenge, Voice of the Dusk, Bearer of The Ice-Piece, Mask of Tragedia (Bone2Pick's patron)

Ebroad, Nightmare-Prince, Keeper of The Bleak House, Moonscorned, Eater of Sleep, The Hungry Threshold, Thought-Jawed Trap, The Thing With The Endless Tongue, Eversmiling, King of the Toads, Bearer of the Night-Piece, Mask of Commedia

Old Scrape, Nightmare-Prince, Tender of Night’s Vast Garden, Scarecrow Lord, Rot-Shepherd, Beloved of Beetles, Cemeterian, The Lord of No Court, He Who Walks Behind The Hedge, Bearer of The Scale, Mask of Acedia

Ur-Sekhem’gal, Avenger-King, End of All Swords, Keeper of Thunder’s Forge, The Great Drake, Of Adamant Scale, Third Symbol of Royalty, Doom of Nations, Vengeance of Spiritus Mundi, The Burning Tower

Shurdat’urma, Avenger-Prince, Lady of the Flaying Wind, Destroyer of Kings, Doom of Tyrants, Thrice-Penitent Killer, Blood-Drowned City, Guillotine Queen, The Red Axe, Vengeance of the Downtrodden

Karpallas, Avenger-Prince, Bloodshot Eye of Desperate Fury, Trenchlord, Sovereign of the Killing Fields, The Bloody Fisted Wraith, Vengeance of the Forsaken Soldier, Heart of Murderous Intent

Y’shora, Avenger-Prince, Widower Knife, Bloody-Handed Child, The Ashen Hovel, Wild Flame of Anguish, Vengeance of the Wounded Soul, The Woman With Red Teeth, Stonehearted, Whom No Love May Conquer

Tothis-Nale, Avenger-Prince, Mewling Scythe, Weeping Terror, Vengeance of No Home, Blood-Drunk Patriarch, Loathesome Guardian, The Silent Chapel, Heart of Smoke, The Hollow Man

Red Lotus, Avenger-Prince, Bodhisattva of the Twin Graves, The Path of Crimson Footprints, Vengeance of the Penitent, Destroys-by-Touch, Drinker of Poison, Cuts-You-Cuts-Me, Retributor, Sin-Eater

Valtanta, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Winds, The Coldest Shoulder, Cutting Sigh, Evergone, The White Mourning, Cruel Prophet, Lord of the Rain of Tears, Lady of Last Resorts, Voice of Betrayal, The Kindly Knife, Saint of Exile

Twilight Mirage, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Mesopelagia, Sea of Ghosts, Ice-Rimed Eyes, The Empty-Handed, First of the Drowned, Forget-Me-Now, Inward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of the Lost

Luce, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Bathys, Lightscorned, Whalecorpse Palace, Shipwrecker, Blackheart, The Great Serpent, Jaws Within Jaws, Scapegoat Seeker, Outward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of Murder

Isioros, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Doldrums, The Hungering Void, Master of Empty Rooms, Heartstopper, The Crushing Fathom, Silence Absolute, Doomsickness, Great Kraken, Saint of the Wounded

The Moon In The Deep, Sovereign of The Abyss, The Great Attractor, Nightsong, Who Abides Eternal, Martyr In Themself, What Loves You Always, The Glow In The Rock, False-Home Spectre, Saint of Suicides

The Bitter End, Scourge-King, Forsaken of Names, Mouthless Eater, Mountain-Killer, The Dark Hope, Breaker of Virtue, Fourth Symbol of Royalty, All-Consuming Tide, The Silent Maelstrom, Frost-Devouring-Dawn, Deathscorned


Adora, Succubus-Prince, The Devoured, Hungry Eyes, Grand Seducer, The Coveted, Chained In Bliss.


Tuluth, Succubus-Prince, Bloodied Smile, Scargrin, Lashloved, Guiltlure, Tears of Diamond, Love To Hate.


Coio, Succubus-Prince, The Eye of Dusk, Indrawn Hand, Ceaseless Fingers, Remaker, High Roller.


Laboath, Incubus-Prince, The Firm Hand, Threats-Like-Promises, The Adamant Heart, Unwilling Slaver.


Elome, Incubus-Prince, Whipqueen, Needleteeth, Fleshwalker, Hollower, The Eyes In The Night, Violation Embodied.


Iorantus, Incubus-Prince, Great Eater, Scattered Brains, Here & Gone, Hundred-Handed, The Divine Surgeon.

 

[Grey]

Magical Theory

Doctrinal Theory: According to the Church, all Magic proceeds from Demonic influence. The form which most concerns them is the inherent Magic of the legendary Magi, those said to have made compacts with devils or to be born of a blasphemous union, able to wield Magic through will. Equally though they believe objects can be possessed of Demonic power and corrupt those around them, that witches are able to wield Magic with ease and subtlety through exercise of their feminine wiles on Demonic suitors, and that certain rites, symbols, and gestures may attract Demonic interest and boons.
The precise nature of Demons is a subject of heated theological debate, with the broadly accepted theory being that one of God's messengers walked among the first men and was corrupted by their sinful influence, becoming the hated Dragon and explaining why His messengers do not often make themselves known. Less favoured arguments include:
The first Demons were embers which escaped from the divine forge after the first men were made, having absorbed the impurities cast out in their making.
The first Dragon was the first sinner and made his brother into the first Demon by tempting him to murder a rival.
The first Demon was dead man who skulked through Heaven's halls and tried to steal a tool from the divine forge.

Aetherial Theory: A theory favoured by occultists who study forbidden Magocracy-era texts. Much of the original text is incomprehensible, referring to phenomena and concepts for which modern scholars have no frame of reference and relying on assumed knowledge. Translation can also vary. This leads to a lot of creative interpretation and argument, but the core understanding gleaned from the texts is thus: there is a luminous aether invisible to mortal senses which overlays the world, and through the proper resonances one might call upon this power to produce miraculous results. The Guild of Alchemists has had the greatest success in replicating many of these esoteric processes, discovering substances such as phosphorous and antimony. Generally, harnessing the aether requires specific materials according to the intended result, mathematically precise logograms, immense focus, and luck. Something all scholars of this theory note is that the Magocracy texts are remarkably free from explicit theology. There are rare invocations of specific gods, more common among some historical authors than others (Pleiadus The Bright often uses religious allegory in his writings, Trivialis of Irem uses verses of an obscure holy text as epigrams between chapters, the marginalia on the singular and priceless copy of Primario Novitii features many vulgar invocations of deities), but in the main the writers of the Magocracy approached their study of Magic as a purely natural philosophy.

Thaumaturgical Theory: This particular philosophy is studied only by those scholars who have taken an interest in certain foreign Magical traditions. It is concerned with the study of Highlander folklore, tidbits from pirates and castaways from the Sleeping Sea, former slaves from the distant south, hermits and witches in the untamed Frontier or more isolated communities in the provinces. This theory posits that all Magic proceeds from gods, who dwell in a mysterious realm simultaneously part of the world and yet beyond it. To use Magic does not strictly rely on the knowledge or consent of the god in question, as there are little gods who can be tricked out of power, and greater gods who are much too busy and powerful to notice the use of their powers. The practice of these powers is based on ritual, prayer, and symbolism. Pracitioners must wear the appropriate trappings of their god, light incense, decorate a ritual space properly, choose propitious times of the day, of the year, the correct wearher. Some claim it's possible to barter with a god to receive a familiar from which Magic flows on demand. Others that one must sacrifice something to the gods and be filled with their power. The few scholars who have studied these arts are quite adamant as to their efficacy, some claiming to have spoken with some of these godlike figures, but such backward notions are broadly rejected by other occultists.

Mantling Theory: A little-understood theory derived from the obscure sect of Eotran Monks, a group of itinerant mercenaries who claim to be hunting vampires and other evils. These too say that Magic comes from the gods, but specifically the twelve dragon-gods of their faith (astute scholars have noticed the names of these gods are sometimes referenced in Magocracy texts). To call upon these divine powers, one must emulate the gods in their thought and deed. By embodying the virtues of a given god, one might summon a portion of their power. Certainly eyewitness accounts of the monks suggest they are capable of superhuman physical feats but no report indicates they've achieved what could be called a true Magical Working.

Magical Endowment Theory: This theory is based on the study of certain strange and dangerous wildlife, and even thinking creatures, which are known colloquially as monsters.
The so-called Minegaunt contains a magical organ which processes ore into refined metals as part of its digestive processes. The basilisk of the southern desert has a venom which inures a victim to the passage of time. Proselytes of the Vasnok Cult can part flesh like wax or catch an arrow in flight with their bare hands, gifts they say are bestowed by their goddess. Thus, reason the endowment theorists, Magic is a property immanent in the universe like air or water. Some living things simply contain Magic. Many of these theorists are also the newest generation of Alchemists and their theory is not well-developed.

Unity Theorists: A very small group of occultists who have studied, in varying degrees, all the above theories and believe each one contains some aspect of a totalizing Truth. Each has their own version of this Truth, but they all agree someone among them must find the final Truth which reconciles all of these things and leads to transcendental understanding.

Random Word