Introduction

I am the Sorcerer, and I speak now to the whole world.
Our world is ending. You only need to look around you and know this to be true. The Pael has bled into every kingdom, ocean, and mountain range. There are a few places still whole, but most of the world has been reduced to Splinters separated by the Pael.
Some of you are not familiar with the Pael, and that is all right. Know simply that it is the fabric of magic itself. It is like our world, but it is certainly not our world. It is also not a place hospitable to our people. It is almost a living thing in itself, and we have pushed it and prodded it and broken it until it has unleashed itself upon our world. It is what consumes us now.
But do not fear. I am devoting my powers towards holding the Pael back. I will hold it at bay and stop the world from Splintering further. I have also drawn upon the Pael itself and pulled forth a concession. For every Splinter it created, there will also be created a device in that Splinter that allows you to Reach any other Splinter.
Take heart. Although each Splinter is isolated from every other, they are also all connected more so than ever before. Where once we were limited by the laws of nature, now we can travel from the Saldragon Princedom to Oceangarde in the blink of an eye. This is a gift. Use it well.
My energy is now needed for our world, so I will end this calling. A final warning: Take care to leave each Reach behind when you go. If a Reach is removed from its Splinter, and someone travels there, that person may be trapped in that Splinter forever.

— The Sorcerer

It has been twenty years since the Sorcerer made his proclamation, and while the world hasn’t ended yet, Splinters continue to form (albeit far more slowly). True to his word, when a new Splinter forms, so too is a new Reach created.  Unfortunately, the Sorcerer’s final warning went unheeded. No sooner had the Sorcerer finished delivering his message for the world than began the massive scramble to secure, collect, or steal all of the Reaches available. New world powers became defined not just by their armies, Magen, and resources, but now also by their ability to leverage Reaches to further their aims.
Society, however, has moved on. Kingdoms that survived on trade but lost control of their Reaches were destroyed. Likewise, even well organized armies that no longer found a front to engage enemies often fell upon themselves and their own kingdoms, sowing chaos across the Splinters. The first few years were frantic and certainly bloody. However, time has stabilized (more or less) the world, and the new powers have begun to emerge, some contained on a single Splinter, some spread across many.

Playing Splinter-Reach

The Splinter-Reach setting is about telling a story. The world is coming apart, literally, and people have no idea how long things are going to hold together. Will they get worse? Will they get better? Will there even be a world in twenty years? The uncertainty gnaws at the population and different people have found different ways of coping with it.  Who will your group be? Players can fit into this world in a wide-variety of ways.
Are the players leading a transportation service, ferrying people from one location to another by use of their Reach? Roads once easy-to-travel have become impassable and useless. Reaches aren’t widely available. The one possessed by the players gives them a chance to help merchants or diplomats, bards or barbarians. Missions of mercy… or services to the highest bidder?
Or are they scavengers? The splintering of the various realms has fractured defenses, and in some cases entire castles have been sundered by the Pael. What treasures remain unclaimed in the ruins of kingdoms that have been destroyed? And what would others pay for these treasures?
Or maybe the players are investigating the Pael itself, trying to understand not only why it has invaded Altan'ruhl, but also to understand its very nature. All four of the Illustrious Academies of Magic claim to know it… But how much do they really? And what would they do to know it more? Perhaps the party is in the employ of one of the Illustrious Four… or perhaps they serve some force darker still.
Splinter-Reach is based off of the Cypher System Ruleset, and as such requires the core manual to play. As that book already provides an excellent overview of playing a Cypher System game, we will not be repeating that content here. Instead, we will offer high level overviews, note mechanics that change or will not be relevant, and call attention to what gives Splinter-Reach its own unique flavor with the CSR framework.
Read On for a Setting Overview