Welcome, travelers, to your journey to the New World! Aurelia, far across the Cleaving Sea, awaits the brave, the fortunate, and the desperate. Though a land dark and dangerous, it cannot be any more perilous an existence than what you fled in Henos, a land now ruled by the whim of a cabal of vampiric elven nobles and their barbarian mercenaries. The road may be treacherous, but great rewards await the daring.
Will you plunder ancient ruins, lost to time and darkness during the Long Night? Will you discover new lands, rich in resources and free of Imperial oppression? Perhaps you'll plumb the depths of the Twisting Deep, explore the Shards and claim one as your own, or even chart the overland path through the northern reaches of Yohm-Kai...if you have a death wish.
Regardless of your means, the end is clear: Aurelia or bust. With your fellows and family, you will be they that forge communities and colonies in the new world, safeguarding them by the sweat of your brow and the blood in your veins. You are not soldiers, most of you, but the new world requires a strength only found in the hearts of warriors. It is here that your futures, and the futures of millions, will be decided. Will you be the force that builds a mighty nation in the new world, or breaks it apart?
It's time we found out.
Aurelia or Bust
Long ago, the world fell into a quite literal darkness. Due to the escalations of a mythical war fought amongst the eldest races in the world, Mitia's sun grew dark and did not shine for an unknowable length of time. Magic ran rampant, eldritch horrors from within and beyond the Ether Sea invaded reality, and the might of the belligerents dwindled.
Eventually, the sun was reignited by a mysterious being known by many names, but by the modern Radiant Church as the Arch-Saint. As the diminished peoples that now inhabited Mitia emerged into the light, a great empire arose in the eastern super-continent of Henos. They quickly eradicated any military resistance, aggregated the tribes under their control, and settled all the continent save for an exceptionally warped wasteland in the east.
Travel west across the sea was rendered impossible by a world-splitting rift in the sea. Only after an archmage was successful in mending a patch of the rift did a path open for colonists and refugees. Private expeditions swiftly made their way to the new world, and found a lush, sparsely populated super-continent of equivalent size to the old one. The new continent was named Aurelia, and the Empire's tiny fleet proved incapable of preventing colonists from fleeing Henos' shores in droves.
Eventually, after over 100 years of free reign in Aurelia, the Empire adapted and built a fleet to bring the loose coalition of city states, collectively called the Landings, to heel. This sparked the Liberty War, and the Landings fought tooth-and-nail to safeguard their freedom from Imperial oppression.
At the height of the Liberty War and the eve of imperial victory, the world was once again turned upside-down as the first eclipse occurred. Lasting an entire a week, Mitia was plunged into darkness where magic and monsters ran rampant once more. Meanwhile, a cabal of vampires responsible for the original death of the sun overthrew the empire and brought it to ruin with the help of barbarians from the northern polar regions. The imperial remnant in Aurelia was forced to sue for peace, and now exists as an auxiliary state of the newly founded Republic.
The war ended five years ago, and since then the Republic has been struggling to stabilize. With almost no external trade after the empire's collapse, the Republic has been sending out explorers and adventurers to aid wherever they can, discover new lands, and meet new peoples. That's where the players come in. You are now likely headed to the first and most metropolitan landing, Highmantle.
What is the Feel of This World? What are the Main Themes?
Flintlock, colonial fantasy. Think post-American Revolution era with elves as a way, way worse version of the British Empire. I wanted a brand new world for the players to play a key role in and build up, but perhaps at the expense of others.
This is not a light-hearted campaign. This is a world where the only recourse for many is to perish in the dark cities of the old world, or give into the exploitation and colonization of the new. There is every likelihood that players will never see the old world again since it has devolved into a vampire-infested dystopia, and so hard choices must be made for the survival of entire communities in the newly-explored continent of Aurelia. Mitia is not a kind world. While there is always room for comedy and this campaign is not intended to be solely solemn, high drama, I intend to explore ideas of moral gravity, and true victories being hard-won at deep cost. Players may end up doing bad things for all kinds of reasons, or being punished for trying to take the high road. Even victories may have unforeseen repercussions. Your true victories will be what you build for yourselves in the new world and how you shape it to your will, for better or for worse.
Will There Be a Main Storyline?
Quite possibly. I have numerous potential conflicts evolving in the background of the world. The main story may shift to better engage with the players' personal stories and what they have shown as their interests. I have an introductory series of local adventures, but no overarching story at this time. I want this story to be yours. I want to know what it is your characters care about amidst the hardships of their brave, new world. I can provide a conflict as backdrop, but ultimately what you, the players, put into this will be just as critical as what I bring to the tabletop.
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