Since the rise of the “young” races, the boundaries of Faerie have waned and receded farther into the shadows. Once great powers and influences have been diminished or forbidden or forgotten. As the ancient traditions faded and the Old World separated from the New, some were compelled to depart along with it, by necessity or […]
The Courts of Fey: Seelie Knight Read More »
Since the rise of the “young” races, the boundaries of Faerie have waned and receded farther into the shadows. Once great powers and influences have been diminished or forbidden or forgotten. As the ancient traditions faded and the Old World separated from the New, some were compelled to depart along with it, by necessity or
The Courts of Fey: Seelie Squire Read More »
They are the Blue Hag’s “wings”—the Sciathán. Called Plaguewing and Frostwing, they are the twin, fell-touched herons of the Cailleach Bhéara. These monstrous, otherworldly creatures are said to be sometimes glimpsed from afar, soaring above lonely borderlands and craggy mountain heights during the last dying days of summer. Each year they unerringly seek out the
The elder witch of the winds and winters leans on a twisted, bird-headed staff. A monstrous, emaciated fey, it wanders mountain heights and craggy highland moors, reveling in the appetites and agonies of frost and famine. The Blue Hag’s gaunt yet towering frame is draped in rough, woolen shawls and tattered plaids. Its frostbitten skin
The Cailleach Bhéara (or the Blue Hag) Read More »
Khazzak Vagabond A nomad among wanderers, an outsider among exiles, yours is a storm-touched tale. The open sky and wind-brushed tundra were blanket and bed to you, the thunder of hoof beats, a lullaby. To you, “civilization” was wind-snapped yurts and healthy herds; words like city meant tents and wagons and carnivals, leather and wheels
Khazzak Vagabond: A Background Read More »
Lumeran River Scout Some of the “pirates” approach folkloric status (those with necks as still unstretched, at any rate), local legends along the many meandering miles of the great Lumera River (see Midgard Expanded for more on this region). Headsman Uhlzhar One-Arm, Yllinia the River Witch, Beornath the Blue Bowman, and others, but whether famous
Lumeran River Scout: A Background Read More »
Dragoncoil Guide Like petrified waves of broken bone, the wind-scoured crags of the Dragoncoil Mountains undulate through the Eastern Dragon Empire. Looming like cyclopean gods, these jagged, snow-capped peaks dominate nearly every horizon of this vast, alpine region. Mezar, Betik, and sacred Kalpostan all lie nestled within the harsh embrace of these timeless mountains. From
Dragoncoil Guide: A Background Read More »
Capleon Speculator (“Salt and Spice Banker”) It is called the City of Peace and aptly so, for they say that in Capleon even murder is done with courtesy and grace. (See also Midgard Expanded: The Travels of Lucano Volpe, or So It Begins.) On the outside, it’s a bustling, port-city of drovers and teamsters, of
Capleon Speculator: A Background Read More »
Draconian Academe It is a citadel of robes and scrolls, of science and magic and murmuring bells. A draconian metropolis, bristling with spired academies and domed observatories. Whispering libraries, clinking laboratories, and muttering menageries rise at every turn. The city of Betik has for centuries stood as the arcane heart and intellectual jewel of the
Draconian Academe: A Background Read More »
Wastelander From the Pillars of Uxloon to the fields of Verrayne, from Flensing Gulch to the Silk Thicket, you have wandered countless leagues of the Western Wastes. You know its seasons, its savagery, and even some of its secrets all too well. Warped, decaying energies and dark memories of the trials of survival in that
Wastelander: A Background Read More »
Triolan Highwayman The Triolan corsairs are renowned throughout Midgard for their flamboyant ferocity and near monopoly on organized shipping and piracy throughout the (northern) Middle Sea. But the sea lanes and merchant armadas are not the only means to move goods and services to and from the rich trade centers of the great peninsula. Eager
Triolan Highwayman: A Background Read More »
He is master of storms, blood, and strife. But he is also god of honor, protection, and rebirth. Mavros, the God of Valera and the Seven Cities—his masks and various incarnations are revered and worshiped throughout Midgard. You are his word. Epiphany and spiritual fervor compel you to attempt one of the greatest tests of
Pilgrim of Mavros: A Background Read More »
Food, an essential—and delicious—component of life. Those that can work its magic are highly valued in any culture. Fine victuals are cherished in politics, business, and religion throughout Midgard, and you aspired to no less than the exceptional and the exotic. You were destined for more than lording over a three-star Trioloan restaurant or cooking aboard a luxury Siwali
Mharoti Master Chef: A Background Read More »
Ghatazi: a word synonymous with misery in every spoken language of the Southlands. The Ghatazi salt pits lie sizzling in the bleached wastelands of the Crescent Desert’s northern rim. Enclosed on all sides by thousands of miles of blistering rock and searing white sand, it is a hostile, unforgiving place plagued by swarms of biting flies, bone-scouring salt storms,
Ghatazi Runaway: A Background Read More »
Like many that hail from the desert city-states, you learned to read the language of the Lotus and Tamasheq Trails before you could even read the simplest Nurian scroll. Before you knew how to lace your own sandals, you knew the flicker of a camel’s ear that told of approaching riders and which of the desert falcon’s cries
Makurian Caravan Guard: A Background Read More »
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