D&D - Marvelum - Age of the Gods

101 the primal, ruthless, random natures needed to survive in that nature. Symma’s domain of Life and the corresponding realm of Death. Amnon’s betrayal and punishment unintentionally created the ideas of morality, he was banished into a plane of Evil, and as a result Good was created where Whurbin resided. In the center of these essences, the creation wrought from them, the material plane. The First Age The First Age of the first 10,000 years of the plane was a time of growth and only native beings that were intended in the creation of the world were in it. This was the time of the first emergence. As the beings in the world shaped it to their will, gods, or at least beings above those on the material plane, were created, “emerged” from the essences. Six gods emerged for each of the six essences, with one less in Evil, Good, and Life as Amnon, Whurbin, and Symma were there already. The races, in their multitudes began to mix and blend from the very beginning, mostly nomadic, civilization had not yet taken root, and when it did, it became the second age. The Second Age Several, disconnected tribes all around the same time laid down roots and took to farming rather than nomadic hunting. Some tribes remained hunters but many joined towns when they found them. This brought about the beginnings of forms of government and commerce. The Primal Gods had at this point begun to wain in power and it is estimated this is the time that the first spell was cast on what would become the plane of Marvels. Magic items, if they were made, were rare and rudimentary. Most towns were built for living and not for show, so no ruins exist from the second age and anything still known from here are from verbal stories, as only very rudimentary writing was in existence at this time and most of it was used for accounting purposes. The Second age also had beings only native to this plane and was the last age to be able to claim so, as the appearance of extra-planar beings marks the dawn of the third age. The Third Age The Astral Plane had connected with the plane of Marvels sometime during the Second Age, but nothing had really entered the plane via its pass-ways. Eventually, drawn by the new essence of the plane, the youngest in the cosmos, an exile, a true evil arrived on the plane, Lucifer the exile and his army of devils. They got along well enough with most of the gods of evil who went about their scheming except for Grisilla, the goddess of demons, who warred with Satan and his armies, he killed Grisilla and later Stryx rose up as the demon’s mistress, she continued her predecessor's attack on devils and does to this day, but less fervently than Grissilla. More notably however, the gods of Primacy took grave issue with this intrusion on the natural order and declared war on Lucifer and his devil invaders. Io was slain by Lucifer and the god of the forge was gravely injured imprisoning him inside of a golden egg. While Lucifer was imprisoned, his devils remained and reproduced. Most of the devils left on the plane of evil were technically native to them. This made them much harder to kill, as the more powerful ones would return in the plane of Evil. Eventually, while the devils and demons would war forever, the primal gods gave up shortly after Lucifer’s imprisonment. This disturbance in the cosmic order led to war with the gods of good and evil which prompted a few deaths on both

102 sides, as such disturbances would continue to do for the duration of the plane’s existence. While this was going on, the material plane, parts not used as a battle ground between the primal gods and Lucifer’s devils, magic was being honed and refined. Several areas were beginning to form more kingdom and larger forms of government than simple towns and points of light. The orichalcum in the world was beginning to awaken, new gods of Primacy had not re-emerged after their defeat at the hands of Lucifer, ad many who weren’t wounded in the battles were also feeling weaker. The gods of Magic were coming, the first great transition was on its way, and the fourth age was dawning. The Fourth Age The dawn of the Fourth Age is marked by the arrival of the Feywild to the plane of Marvels. Due to the newly awoken orichalcum, the fey had much more power here than in many other realms. This created many old fey gods, all of which now have lost most of their powers, some weakened and imprisoned now within blades and other vessels. These fey gods inspired further magic throughout the material plane, causing a shift in the plane of Primacy. Some say the old Fey god Jiriko caused this uprising, some claim it was actually a group of misguided overzealous wizards, and others still claim it was merely the nature of the essence changing. The birth of these gods of magic, beginning with the emergence of Malagos, the elder god of raw magic, started the next war of the gods over what is now the spellscarred sea. The new gods of magic easily defeated the weakened gods of primacy, the gods of magic got later aid by the gods of evil and eventually death, while the gods of Primacy had the aid of the gods of nature, life, and eventually good but it wasn’t enough to stop the inevitable victory of the gods of magic, who were further emboldened by the spread of magic to nearly every corner of the plane of Marvels. Overall, between the Fay, the rise of magic, and the war of the gods, the fourth age was time of change, a time of great adventure, and above all, a time of chaos. The Fifth Age (The Age of Magic) While the fourth age is marked by war, change, and chaos, by the dawn of the fifth age the gods of magic had firmly seated themselves in power and the mortals of the plane of had subsequently invested in this magic. The fifth age is an age of heroism, following the devastating second war of the gods society was in shambles, but heroes, most wielding magic from the new gods, rose to the occasion. This was an age of quests and crusades. This age also marks the contact of a different kind of alien to the world, with the massive spaceship that would form the city of chrome crashing into the Divine Graveyard in an attempt to rob the graves of gods, as well as various other crafts bringing beings like the froghemoth. The heroes of this age formed natural followings, with the greatest heroes having followings so massive that they formed nations and empires around them. With the inevitable creation of larger nations from the City-States of the fourth and fifth ages, the age of heroism began to die down as mortality settled into a more comfortable existence, the age of nations. The Age of Nations The age of Nations marks the first time mortals could record Marvel’s storied history, it is also when the world got its name after the magical powerhouse of a nation known as Marvelum and its capital, the City of Marvels, won a sort of cultural cold war to dominate the thoughts of the general public. As such, the Sixth age is instead more commonly referred to as the age of nations, as it’s the first age

103 that has been notated while it was still the present. In the age of nations, the world was divided into several, massive nations, and was for the first time mostly domesticated. While the fourth and fifth ages were the dawn of art and culture, the age of nations was the golden age of both concepts, with entire lives being lead for the pursuit of art. Magic was also key in this new world, with the global cultural mecca being the City of Marvels, a city powered entirely by magic and home to the most prestigious wizarding colleges the world over. This age also introduced yet more foreigners into the plane with the Wayfarers and other’s portals to other planes becoming more common due to the nature of magic on the plane. Of course, this could not last forever. The natural order shifted away from civilization, and though mortals and gods alike fought to prevent it, there was a Chrysalis during which all orichalcum turned to vivium, magic was snuffed out, and the age of Chrysalis began. The Age of Chrysalis The dawn of the age of chrysalis is marked by the 300 years long third war of the gods. This war was the longest and bloodiest of the god wars, due to not only the Chrysalis, but other exacerbating factors like the release of Amnon from his ages long imprisonment, the escalation of the dragon war between Tiamat and Bahamut, and the sheer oddity of the unique creation of the gods of men not through the essence, but by elevation of mortals. Mortals during this time had their nations collapse, leading to the war of the gods coinciding with the greatest wars in mortal history as well. Some nations tried to form or stay aloft, but by the end of the 300 years of divine war, civilization had devolved yet again to city-state like dots among the wilderness. The lack of magic made large scale constructions the previous nations thrived on impossible, so the city states remained for some time. The Gods of Man disseminated their holy texts by prophets as the gods of magic had before them, and for the first time a new religion outside of the 36 was introduced to the plane, the Light. While some argue the age of Chrysalis is the current age of Marvels, with the beginning of the reintroduction of magic, the reforming of smaller empires across the map, and the expansion of the church of the Light, the world enters its current age, Post-Chrysalis. Post-Chrysalis A brief “age” of only 300 years, while culturally distinct from both the age of Chrysalis before it and the age of the Gods that usurped it many scholars debate its place as a proper age due to its relatively short lifespan. Post-Chrysalis begins with the birth of the first sorcerer in 2000 years. Since that day, certain old magic items have regained their powers, wizards are able once again to work the old magics from their tomes, the gods words can be heard by the faithful once more, and so too can the demons and other fonts of power. While magic seems to be scarcer and more selective than it had previously, only a fool doubts its return. Additionally, while most city states remain just that, several have begun to band together to form small empires, and the church of the light has a following nearly as large as the remaining followers of the true 36 gods. This age is ended with the fourth war of the gods against the false prophet Daniel and his patron, the entity known as The Light. The Age of Gods Following the fourth war of the gods the divine deigned to take a more hands-on approach to the material plane, several backing or fostering mortal empires in pursuit of their higher goals. Most of

104 the world sits still in wilderness and ruin, surviving off of scraps from the long forgotten age of nations, claiming magic items and power from ancient ruins. While the divine empires mount with new, more powerful magics and items, rapidly expanding to an inevitable warpath to one another. Divine knowledge and gifts flow more freely now than even in the storied times of old and the prophets say this will be the last great age of men, with a final age to come after the next war of the gods that will be of war, ruin, and death before the end of all things. They say the age of gods is but a golden flash of hope before the end. Only time will tell.

105 Physical Properties The plane of Marvel differs greatly from that of the earth its players hail from. The plane of Marvel is flat, at its edges it bleeds into the various Essences that house its gods. Above the plane sits aloft a great sphere, the sphere is mostly immobile apart from its perpetual spin. Half of the sphere is an eternal blaze, and provides light and warmth to the entire plane, the other half is cold and relatively dark, and provided naught but a reprieve from eternal sunlight. The sunny side of the sphere, collectively called the sun, is active for 16 hours, slowly turning to its colder half, making time easy to tell purely by looking at the current phase of the sun. The sunny side is active for longer as it is considered active both coming and going, while the dark side, referred to as the moon, is considered active only when it is nearly full. The moon dominates the sky for 8 hours in a period called night. The moon emits light as on a full moon on earth but the light is a pale orange like on an earthen sunset rather than a pale blue. This is theorized to be due to the still burning embers on the cooler side of the sphere. Lycanthropes and other such creatures are affected every night by this moon as though it were a full moon in any other setting. The sphere’s rotation is a reliable constant and is used to mark time on the world. During the nighttime, other specks of light called stars are viable. Scholars hypothesize these to be the edges of distant planes and are correct in this assumption. Seasons still occur on the plane of Marvels purely due to the god Aelar of the nature domain. The seasons mimic that of earth but each only last approximately 30 days. The center of the plane is warmer than the outer rims of the plane regardless of season, with winter there being summer in the more outer reaches. Weather functions normally due to another nature god, and weather and seasonal effects can be easily determined by the appropriate charts in the DMG. Due to the sun and their political systems, time is tracked differently than the calendar used on earth. Days are tracked the same, with a new day beginning as the sun shows itself around the moon, and the previous day ending upon that same trigger. There are 4 seasons on the world of Marvel that take the place of the four months. Each season lasts 30 days and some payments are based upon season, while others are based upon year. There is no week systems in Marvel and each day of a given month has a unique name, for a total of 120 day names each year. Most common folk do not bother with remembering the many day names aside from those of holidays and instead simply number it based on the day in the season. Every 120 days is considered a year in the world of Marvels and annual celebrations like holidays and birthdays occur each 120 days on the same day. These years are tallied for date collection and dumped every time there is a new archmage, with the archmage’s name being the name of the present “era” with the number of years he has reigned following it, followed by the current season, and then the number of days that has passed that season, or the name of the present day. Presently, it is the middle of winter, so the date would be as follows: Mardu 37, Winter, 13. Since the chrysalis, many of the poet’s names for days were lost to time, and those who still care to track time simply track it with years since the chrysalis. As such, a date may be recorded Winter 13, 2000 PC (Post-chrysalis). After the Chrysalis most systems that still care about keeping time date it after the end of the fourth war of the gods, which most agree to be roughly 200 years ago.

106 Marvel contains 2 minerals that are foreign to earth, in addition to typical D&D inclusions such as Adamantium, these are orichalcum and vivium. Orichalcum permeated the entirety of the plane of Marvels and is theorized to be part of the reason Marvel has a stronger than average magical force, and is in truth why enchanting objects is much easier on this plane than on others. Orichalcum can be used to substitute for any other component of a spell or magic item, and spells cast within 30 feet of Orichalcum are empowered, as though by the empowered spell metamagic ability. Vivium is a much harder to locate mineral. It is found usually deep in the earth and has a faint green hue that nearly appears to glow in the dark, Vivium is rumored to have truly mystical powers, such as granting one immersed in water saturated with it eternal life, bringing back the dead without their consent, and even eliminating magic in a certain area for a time. Vivium is theorized to be simply a highly concentrated form of Orichalcum due to its similar qualities, though its ability to hamper magic rather than enhance it is curious and puts a damper on the theory. The Chrysalis revealed Vivium to be a matured version of Orichalcum, and most if not all of the orichalcum has turned to Vivium postchrysalis. VIvium emits an antimagic field within a 30 foot radius of it at all times. Vivium decays into a third material, a soft metal that is almost translucent called Cintium. Cintium is inert, and not useful for any practical purposes. Cavorite is another mineral foreign to most other planes that exists on the plane of Marvels. It is found either deep underground or above the earth in floating mores. Cavorite is a stone that is lighter than air, and can be used to form flying airships or floating castles. Cavorite is also incredibly brittle as easy to destroy, so it must be fortified to be used properly. It is said in the age of nations Cavorite was used to erect massive towers and castle as well as allowing ordinary people to fly. In the modern ages however Cavorite is hard to come by and is seen almost exclusively in old world ruins.

107 Myths and Legends Each god and various culture of the world have their own myths and legends chronicles in their holy tomes. These myths are usually allegorical or etiological and are used to derive the commandments of the religion as listed in the gods section. Etiological myths are often the near-truth as to the creation of a monster in the world. The exception of this is etiologies for the civil races, for which there are numerous myths or virtually none that are agreed upon, depending on the race. In truth, the origin of the races is something that no religion beyond Symma’s stating that she “created life in all of its facets from her bosom and nursed them from her teat” offers a true explanation of the creation of a race. Below is the common creation myth shared by the 36 as presented in the holy texts of the gods of Men. Different religions present the tale differently, but most of the facts remain intact across iterations. Origin Myth Some things always are. Always have been and always will be. The Three are such beings. Whurbin, a behemoth wrought from stone, was the eldest and most respected. His sister-wife Symma was made of flesh and bone and was nearly as respected as her brother-husband in the cosmos. Then there was Amnon, comprised of that which was immaterial he was the youngest and least respected of the Three. Together they had plotted for eternity their vision of a perfect creation, just as other gods had in other realms before them. Whurbin would forge the mountains and streams from his flesh, molding them into his perfection with his hammer and strength. Symma would give life to the world, pulling men and trees from her bosom and suckling them from her teat, bestowing them with fragments of her divine life. Amnon would give the world magic, allowing the plants and animals to perform wondrous deeds. With the three essences of Life, Nature, and Magic headed by these three creators they would forge the perfect creation for them and their children to live eternal. Amnon was less certain of his siblings’ plans for creation. “If there are other creations, why would we not go to them, to draw inspiration from the wisdom of others?” He questioned his brother. Whurbin dismissed him out of hand, as he often did, “For if we draw ‘inspiration’ from others then our creation would not be our own, now do not disturb me with such foolish thoughts again.” Amnon was not satisfied with this answer, so while his brother and sister were occupied with one another he snuck away into the great beyond to glimpse the infinities of other worlds, other creations. Amnon trekked across the vast expanses of nothing for three days and three nights before he found the glimmering lights of a foreign creation. Amnon descended upon this creation, a land of white and cold. He journeyed through the barren snows while he thought perhaps his brother was right, there was nothing of interest here, just biting cold and bitterness. He was set to leave when the winter queen caught his eye. Her skin was a pallid white and her dress as elegant and detailed as the snowflakes that drifted endlessly from the skies above. Enthralled by her beauty and his own curiosity Amnon got closer to the woman. "It is not often we get visitors," the woman said, her voice cold, but enchanting. "You can see me?" Asked Amnon, the immaterial. "Of course I can sense you, I am Nevelerix, creator of this Wintertime." "I am Amnon, of a triumvirate of a creation not yet formed."

108 Her red lips twisted into a cruel but alluring smile, "Come, Amnon of the triumvirate, I will show you what you seek." Amnon followed his pale white queen across her barren tundra until they came upon a glade of dead, leafless trees and a single wooden hut adorned with lanterns. "Why would you invite this death into your land?" Amnon asked out of turn, but the temptress responded with a false kindness, "for without death, without decay and sickness, there would be no growth, no rebirth. See how those mortals embrace from the cold, how the trees shiver without their clothes, it will make their leaves return in my brother's Springtime all the sweeter, and the mortals will emerge with a new one of their own." "I see," Amnon said, astonished "so in this way your creation can grow even beyond yourself." The temptress only nodded, letting him believe it was his own idea. Amnon traveled for three days back across the inky black void of nothingness, dangerous ideas rampaging through his ethereal mind. Amnon did not take the decision lightly, but the concept of time clung to him like a sickness he could not shake. He needed it in his creation, for what was the purpose of a stagnant creation when one could grow and evolve. Knowing well the risks and likelihood of rejection, he went before his siblings and beseeched them. "Respectfully, siblings, I would purpose an addition of my own to our creation, Time. That things could change and grow and die with an ever-moving forward momentum. Think of the possibilities, for our creation to grow beyond even ourselves, for our children to have children of their own." Whurbin scoffed at the prospect, "the very idea! That my beautiful creation I have spent eons plotting to my exacting specification should erode and crack with wind and rain." Symma seconded her husband's objections, "That I should watch my children wither and die." "We will not allow it!" The sibling-spouses spoke in commanding unison "you would invite entropy into our paradise. You would have a world of not of certainty and perfection but of turbulence and endings. There is no greater evil." Amnon retreated then from his siblings, for he knew with their combined might they could destroy him. Amnon used his magics to form a gem and a beating heart as offerings to his scorned siblings. Magic, by its nature, is ephemeral. He could create the likeness of his offerings, but nothing that would last, nothing that was real. However, he didn't need it to last, he just needed to appease his siblings and was confident these false offerings would accomplish this. He went before his brother and sister, "I beseech you, forgive me my transgressions. I give you my oath that I shall not invite time and death into our realms, I see the folly of my schemes thanks to your wisdom. Please, accept these offerings as my eternal apologies." Symma, ever trusting, spoke in her calming melodic voice "You are forgiven Amnon, a simple poor notion should not be overly punished." Whurbin was less easy to give in "where did he even get the idea for this time? Or these offerings for that matter? I do not trust this, perhaps he should go make his own creation with his time and gems." Symma consoled her husband, "he is not powerful enough on his own to make a world, nor are we without him. See reason in this brother." Reluctantly, Whurbin did and allowed Amnon to take part once more in their grand creation. On the first day, Whurbin made the mountains, hammering off his flesh into jagged peaks and valleys. On the second day, he filled the oceans and rivers with the waters that ran through him like blood. On the third day, he hammered down the flatlands, the plains and the deserts. Then he rested. With

109 ground on which to stand, on the fourth day, Symma pulled for the seeds of the forests and the young of the living from her bosom, and on the fifth day, she nurtured them and weaned then from her teat. On the sixth day, Amnon would bestow the world magic, or so he should have. Amnon forsook his oath and while his elder siblings were resting, he wove time into the very fabric of the land instead of instilling it and those who lived on it with his magic. Realizing their brother's betrayal, Whurbin and Symma used what remained of their strength, forever damaging their forms, and cast Amnon out into the timeless realm of Death. A realm where he could never experience the changes the time he created would bring, and a realm he had inadvertently wrought himself. For with his act of defiance Amnon had altered the very essences from which the world was made. In addition to Symma's resplendent breathing realm of life, now the cold and uncaring sands of death oppose it. For Whurbin's perfect, unmoving nature now a roiling chaotic realm of change opposes it. As Amnon brought lies and his siblings’ violence, they also created the realms of morality, of pure white Good and flaming pits of Evil. From these essences more gods would emerge, in time. Gods emerged from the essences that created the world as need arose for them to be created. With the first birth Helga, goddess of fertility emerged in Symma’s domain of Life. With the first death, Oriax, the guide of departed souls, emerged in Amnon’s accursed deserts of Death. With the passage of time Aelar, god of seasons emerged in the realm of Nature to facilitate nature’s response to time. And so on until each of the six essences of creation housed six gods of their own. For Amnon's betrayals we have age, famine, death, suffering, and winter that destroys crops and hardens even the warmest of souls. For Amnon's betrayal the father and the mother are weakened beyond repair and do not often heed our prayers. But for Amnon's betrayals we have wisdom, harvests, children, and springs that strengthen trees and people alike. Amnon was banished not to the hellfire of Evil but to the sands of Death. For Amnon and the time he wrought is not a thing of Evil, but a thing of Death, and though similar these are very different things indeed.

110 Three Calamities In the sands of Azidar just north of Death lay three pyramids. From the dawn of creation they have been sealed, nothing gets in, and nothing seeps out. During the first war of the gods, when Lucifer’s invading devils threatened the natural order and the gods of Primacy, Evil, and Nature rose to meet it, in the twilight of the Primal gods the first pyramid burst open, releasing fey creatures and beckoning the feywild into the world. It also sowed the seeds of Malagos, the god of raw magic and heralded the change of the Essence so named. The two pyramids lay dormant for millennia until just before the great chrysalis that destroyed the gods of magic in an instant and begat the third war of the gods. Then the second pyramid burst open, releasing being of chaos unto the world (Slaadi), as well as the new goddess of chaos who would later find her way into the pantheon by eradicating the dead god of Primacy Io, who was partially destroyed in the first calamity. She became a god of Man, as the pyramid heralded once again a great change in the Essence of such things. The third pyramid on the sands still sits, sealed, unbroken. It is said however, that the breaking of the third pyramid will herald the third calamity, and the end of days. It will unleash beasts of famine and plague that will nearly wipe out mortals from the earth. This will provoke a war of the gods. The Essence of change will change once more into the very essence of War and this, the sixth war of the gods will consume the very creation they were made to give meaning to, by the destruction of the Essences. It is said in the end times Amnon, freed from his eternal imprisonment, will lead the charge against the realms of Good, joined by the newly united forces of Evil and they will tear down the great white wall that has always stood to protect Good. The war will rage for 6 years, a good god dying in every year before Whurbin, the creator, will renew his strength and finally kill his brother Amnon, but it will be too late. Good will fall. With the destruction of Good, Evil too will fall as there will be nothing to counterbalance it. Visiduous will have already left the realms of Evil to lead a new host of gods in the domain of war. They will charge across the material world, razing and trampling what was left of it on their way to the Essence of Nature. The war will rage for only one year before all is lost. In the end Alvyn will impale Visiduous with his Trident, and a great flood will consume the material world and Nature. Without War or Change, that Essence will fall. Without Nature, so too will Nature fall. With nothing alive, the realm of Life will fall. The gods who have enjoyed eternal life and splendor will see finality and death all at once. With nothing to die, the realms of Death will cease. The souls and demons there will finally end their endless toils and fold too into nothingness. Finally the very soul of the world will wither under the weight of the death and change and the world too will cease to be.

111 The only survivor will be Symma, the goddess mother of life itself, who has always been and always will be. She will journey through the void of space for 36 years, one for each of her fallen children, and she will find a suitable creation, though not her own, and life will continue yet again. All will be renewed. And three pyramids will appear once more within the sands. Ygorl and the Elemental Stones In the Multiverse before this one there were two Slaadi, the elder slaadi, brothers. They quarreled ceaselessly over control of the spawning stone, then a single universal relic. Eventually, the eldest brother defeated the younger, but unable or unwilling to kill him, cast him out to a prison plane. He laid and plotted there for millennia until a group of unwitting planar travelers gave him the tools to free himself. From there he hunted down the four elemental stones that could give one the power to reshape the multiverse in their image from the four corners of reality. He conquered the nine hells and was nearly successful were it not for a group of brave heroes stopping his plan. But the damage he had already done was irreparable. The multiverse was reset, as it has been before and shall again, into its current incarnation. The elemental lord Ygorrl and the stones were too powerful to be erased by this calamity. The stones separated themselves from the defeated Ygorrl and flung themselves across the new cosmos, warping reality into its older form where they impacted and laid themselves to rest on the planes of Marvelum, Silver, Faerun, and Ebberon. The Elemental Lord no longer, a weakened Ygorrl searched these foreign cosmoses for power and purpose but found none. In seeing the futility and damage of his actions Ygorrl regressed, becoming an immortal, elementally scarred hermit, leaving the plane he had settled on after the populous had found him each time. On the doomed plane of Phildolphin, he met the Kotharian lich Kildrack and became his willing immortally living phylactory. He traveled with Kildrack across the multiverse aiding or hindering major events until he felt once more the presence of something, he had long thought destroyed, the elemental stones on the plane of Marvelum. They investigated the 20 level dungeon the stone had constructed around itself, a remnant of the old reality, for decades before reaching the bottom with the help of a group of adventurers and a goddess. At the end he found the earth stone, that which had originally enriched the minerals of Marvelum with Orichalcum. But another was there. An agent of entropy who destroyed the stone and corrupted Ygorrl. Ygorrl fought with his friend, Kildrak, for days in the dungeons before fully succumbing to his corruption and killing his friend. Ruled once more by a power beyond himself, Ygorrl, lord of entropy assumed his original, Slaad form, but devoid of substance. He acted on Entropy's behalf throughout time and space, eventually warring with age old heroes out of time back on the plane of Marvelum where he met another end. There are those who say this is the permeant end of Ygorrl's overlong tale, but Ygorrl, like entropy, is ceaseless. Monster Etiologies While listing the etiologies of all monsters would be an exercise in futility, etiological myths for most monsters do exist within the plane, written in books or passed down through village wise men, but the validity of such tales cannot be proven due to the ancient nature of the knowledge they portend to contain. Below is a sample myth of the creation of Lycanthropes. Lycanthropes: In the old days of the second age when Solus and Nocta were alive in the essences there was a rule that we still abide to this day. The day is for hunting, working, and playing. The night

112 is for resting, relaxing, and harboring in safety. This reflected the respective desires of Solus and Nocta, and all followed their dictates. All except for the denizens of the villa of Lycan. They realized most animals rested at night, and it was much cooler. They hunted and toiled during the night and slept during the day. This angered Nocta, who cursed them for their insolence. As their crime was hunting beasts at night, she took from them their restful nights and made them into hideous halfbeasts. As it was the goddess of night that has cursed them so, they assumed this form only when she reigned supreme in the sky. After he death the descendants of the denizens of Lycan, the Lycanthropes, hoped that their curse would finally be ended. However, divine curses are not so easily broken. They still turn at night, when the moon is at its fullest and no sliver of the sun can be seen. However, over the ages Nocta’s influence has lessened. Lycanthropes can now control their manifestations to a degree, even being able to transform fully into a beast, and the truly powerful can even so in broad daylight. Azer: While the giants never attained planar domination as some claim they did, they were once a much more prominent empire than they are today. Sometime during the third age the giants used their runic magics to harness the hellfires of evil to create an army that would never hunger and never tire. They modeled this army after the dwarves, many of which they still enslaved, and called them the Azer, the golden army. They fought many a war with their armies, but ultimately the armies of the Azer broke and the empire of the giants fell. Now Azer are few and far between but serve as stalwart warriors and expert craftsmen. Azer have an innate elemental connection and are said to have been used to create the elemental weapons for the gods in the third war. The Light After the Chrysalis, the traditional gods had a battle in which the mortal realm was introduced to the gods of man and other new gods born from the conflict. The mortals created several churches to them, and in turn the gods bequeathed their holy texts and original symbols to the masses. Then, after 100 years exactly of battle and emergence, the gods vanished. Without magic, there were no clerics or paladins of the gods. 1000 years after, the faith in the gods had waned, but never vanished. Churches were frequented, but new temples were seldom constructed. In the former Heartland, near the center of the continent, A flaming angel who called himself Daniel descended from the sun at midday, sounded his brass trumpet and announced that the old gods had

113 abandoned them, left them in darkness, but there is a new god, a Light to guide the way. He was questioned, and attacked, and berated, and eventually killed, but not before he had bequeathed several holy texts and converted many to the religion of the Light. Upon Daniel’s death, many demanded a funeral, which the government, attempting to quell rebellion, provided. At the funeral, a riot broke out and from the riot a full-fledged revolution that, after 3 years, the followers of the Light won. They began to make several temples to the light and after 20 years, a high priest blew Daniel’s Trumpet at his grave, and Daniel arose from the ground in a fiery maelstrom of light. Daniel still resides and preaches the word of the Light in the Illuminated Lands, one of the few organized nations left in the world. The Light reigned for nearly a thousand years during the Chrysalis, nearly overtaking the 36 in number of worshippers and becoming the single most popular religion in the world. This all changed when the gods returned to the world, beginning with the Ibis, goddess of plague and disease whom Daniel publicly executed across the skies for all to see. This begun the fourth war of the gods, where the gods rallied to fight the Light and Daniel in the heartland and elsewhere. While the battle was hard fought and a few gods were killed in the process, ultimately the Light was defeated, and the gods returned to their rightful place of rule over the plane. Despite the loss of their deity, many still cling to the teachings of the Light, especially in the Heartland where the empire of the Illuminators once thrived. These cults range from benevolent, simply wishing to continue their ancestral religion, to openly hostile toward the gods and their worshippers, as though the fourth war had never ended. The Light preaches many things across only three Illuminated Texts, the holy books of the light. The first is called The Dawn, and is a colorful retelling of Daniel, emissary of the light’s journey to the world, his death, rebellion, and rebirth. It also speaks to the Light as an astral force that permeates everything, and shows us the way, the sun is a glowing concentrated aspect of the Light. It speaks to the fact that the Light did not create this world, the Light is not even of this world, the Light connects all worlds, but this world was cut off from the Light due to their old gods blocking out the Light. Now however, the gods have abandoned them, but they were naught but holding them back, in their shadows, they could not see the Light. The second text is simply called The Light, and it outlines the Light’s teachings and commands for mortals who follow his path. • The Light preaches bigamy, that men should take on many wives in an effort to populate the earth as life is precious and fleeting and should be brought on as much and as quickly as possible. As such, there are a few passages in the Light that states that sodomy of any sort is a path toward the darkness, but it depends on the follower how much stock they put into that. • The Light preaches that normal names are masks, they reveal nothing about ourselves, in fact they can be used to conceal, this is told in the Tale of Samson, who’s name betrayed him in a battle of riddles against a dragon and he died, never knowing his true name of Righteous Warrior. True followers of the light take names that reflect themselves, such as Glorious Hope, or Blessed Soul, or Dammed-no-longer.

114 • The Light preaches that fire is a purifying substance, and fire can be used to burn away wrongdoings and to cleanse the soul of the body so that it can truly walk the path of the light after death, the body must be burned. • The Light also outlines the construction of churches and that such churches should be attended every 10 days as to ensure you never wander without the Light. It states that clergy of the Light must always wear solid white clothing to reflect and embody the Light’s radiance. • It outlines that Life is the most important thing, and it should be protected and propagated until it can be no longer. • It states that togetherness and family is important, but so is self reliance, a little of the Light resides in all of us, and as with all light, it shines brighter in groups. • Undead are but husks, all Light has left them. As such they are beings of naught but darkness and should be eliminated. It tells most of this in short stories or fables, most of which occur on a nondescript background, perhaps not even this plane. Within these stories are few other smaller lessons to be gleaned, they are numerous, and not every follower follows them all, but a few major examples include: • A follower of the Light may not consume a beast of burden • Followers of the Light should each convert at least one non-believer to the Light in their lifetime • Acts of purely feminine lust is harmless, but also useless, and should be avoided • Every year you should dedicate a full day to do nothing but acknowledge the glory of the Light. This day should not be a normal worship day and should be a day significant to the person. • Some followers believe having less than 3 wives to be disgraceful due to the Tale of Harriett and the Minotaur • Certain names, the names of those who participated in the murder of Daniel, are cursed and should not be spoken. These are called black names or simply murderer names. • Lies are unholy and liars are criminals as bad as thieves and murderers • The holy texts touch very little on the topic of slavery, which some say condemns slavery and others say endorses it. The third and final text is entitled The Darkness. It consists of several stories of the end times, not of this plane, but of the entire multiverse. It states that throughout several iterations of the universe (of which there are more than can be counted) a constant is the battle between the Light and the Darkness. Sometimes this battle is more direct, other times it is more subtle, but it always exists. It spins the tale that planes (though it uses the word worlds) themselves can die as their light slowly fades, and eventually there will be a time of great darkness, where there is nothing. From the nothingness, perhaps the Light and the multiverse will begin anew, as it has before, or perhaps this

115 will simply be the end. Quotes from The Darkness are often used as warnings of what will happen if we don’t follow the teachings of the Light, punctuation at the end of sermons. Closer readings however will discern that there is no mention of stopping or causing the darkness, it is simply a grim inevitability. This is why this text is the least manufactured and the least owned of the three holy texts, with most faithful only personally owning The Light and learning the other two in prayer at the church. In truth, there is something of the Light and Darkness in the multiverse, in the form of creation and entropy. This and several other teachings are ripped from various leanings and philosophies of other planes and compiled into this religion by Daniel. Daniel is in truth the last solar of the gods of magic, the solar of the god of knowledge, Cylis. He bided his time creating a religion with the knowledge he knew that would guide mortals through the crisis of the Chrysalis. His hope was to not be extinguished in the newfound wastes of the plane of men, and his actions were a mix of selfish survival instinct and hope to help mortals of the world. He truly believes he is doing the right thing. To Cylis’ surprise, the prayers actually summoned a being from another world, a hive mind known here as the Light. The Light is not a god, but an entity potentially as powerful as one. His beams of eminence can corrupt any creature to do his being, from lowly mortals, to angels, to even the gods themselves as he did with Stryx during the fourth war of the gods. While the gods defeated the Light on this plane, he still exists and festers on other planes. Some worshippers can even draw limited spells from him on Marvelum, signaling his potential return. Those who worship the Light can gain piety by following the practices of the Light, and gain the following powers. The Light’s Devotee Piety 3+ The Light trait As a devotee of The Light, you have proven yourself a worthy champion of the sun god. You can call on The Light’s favor and cast bless with this trait, requiring no material components. The Light’s blessing manifests as a nimbus around the affected creatures, causing them to shed dim light in a 5- foot radius until the spell ends. You can cast the spell in this way a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell. The Light’s Votary Piety 10+ The Light trait You can cast daylight with this trait. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell. The Light’s Disciple Piety 25+ The Light trait You grow accustomed to the blazing radiance of the sun; you have advantage on saving throws against being blinded, and you have resistance to fire damage.

116 Champion of the Light Piety 50+ The Light trait You can increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2. Calendar and Holidays

117 Spring 1 2 3 4 Yena 5 6 7 8 Symma 9 10 11 12 13 Bes 14 15 Festival Pelianora 16 17 Helga 18 19 Paela 20 21 Caelynn 22 23 24 Philomena 25 26 27 28 Virdain 29 30 Summer 1 2 Alvyn 3 4 Chaos 5 6 Grumbar 7 8 9 Lia 10 11 12 13 Saur 14 15 Hestad 16 17 Visiduous 18 19 20 Arand 21 22 23 Mugrunde n 24 25 26 27 28 Chaac 29 30 Fall 1 2 Aelar 3 4 Alighieri 5 6 Nicor 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Malida 14 15 Reverence 16 17 Osvaldo 18 19 Oriax 20 21 22 23 Sverta 24 25 26 Xendal 27 28 29 30 Domi Winter 1 2 3 4 Stryxtra 5 Amnon 6 7 8 9 Raelinn 10 11 12 Hillregaur d 13 14 Winter’s Day 15 16 Mechanus 17 18 19 Cadick 20 21 22 23 Nameless One 24 25 26 27 Valoren 28 29 30 Whurbin

118 Key: God Sacrifice Days, Secular Holidays The Calendar is the same one used for ages, since the seasons, as determined by Aelar, have not changed. Some holidays have been added and changed, but the vast majority of the calendar has been used, unaltered, for 10,000 years. There are three types of holidays in the world of Marvels, festival holidays, religious sacrifice days, and days of the light. Festival holidays are more commonly referenced to as folk holidays and are the more traditionally thought of holidays that would spring to mind from someone on earth. There are 4 of these holidays, one for each season, and each takes place on the 15th day of that season, with the exception of Winter’s Day, which occurs on the 14th. The Festival is the vibrant celebration of spring coming out of winter. It involves grand spectacles that take place in the cultural centers of towns and burrows of the city. Hedstad is celebrated in the middle of summer and is a jovial, gift giving holiday to celebrate the crux of life as the crux of the seasons. Gifts are more expected to be given to friends and coworkers than family, but each family and each race has different takes on the tradition. Reverence is celebrated in the fall and is a day dedicated to mourning the loss of the dead. Some sections of the city operate under complete silence for the day, while others find different, more practical ways to grieve. Winter’s day is a day to be spent with family, often celebrated by a large feast. It is celebrated on the 14th due to Malagos, the old god of magic, having his sacrifice day on the 15th when he was alive. Religious holidays are less holidays in a traditional sense. These are sacrifice days, and each god has a separate one. Each god demands a different sacrifice on their given day, some physical, others more personal and intangible. This is given up for the entire day and is seen as the holiest day for followers of that god. It is the busiest day in that god’s churches and is occasionally the annual visit for less reverent followers. Light days are the holy days of the church of the Light and are spent with 4-hour sermons at the Church of the light. The sermon is similar every year based upon the day of the sermon. Performing a god’s holy day increase piety but failing to do so decreases piety. God Sacrifice Day Caelynn Nothing may be harmed on Caelynn’s day. This is observed by any who revere the traditional gods, even followers of evil deities. Spring 21st Raelynn Something of value must be given to the unfortunate. Winter 9th Peala The day must be spent partying, denying yourself no pleasure you desire. Spring 19th Arand Discover something and mark it upon a map Summer 20th Malida Malida’s sacrifice varies by which of her archangels the follower reveres. They must perform an action in line with their archangel’s general portfolio. Fall 13th Whurbin Something must be created from scratch and presented to a shrine of Whurbin. Winter 30th Symma Give something to children, be they yours or others, just as Symma gave everything for you, her children. Spring 8th

119 Lia The day must be spent either enjoying or pursuing the comforts of love. Summer 9th Bes The day must be spent with family, often the day of large family reunions. Spring 13th Helga Something of value, usually fruits, must be given to a pregnant woman. To not is said to incur Helga’s wrath. Spring 17th Yena You must pay attention to your health this day. This is the day of many clerical visits. It is said that healing magics and practices are more powerful on this day, but this is apocryphal. Spring 4th Virdain You must consummate your lust. Some take this as having sex with someone you never have before, while others maintain it’s just sex. Spring 28th Philomena You must spend the entire day and night within nature admiring its beauty. Spring 24th Aelar Make a dramatic change to yourself in some fashion Fall 2nd Alvyn Submerge yourself in water. This is intended to mean the ocean, and some voyage, but lakes and streams are commonly accepted. The waters are always calm and still on Alvyn’s Day. Summer 2nd Grumbar Hunt and kill at least one creature. The larger the better. Summer 8th Chaac A day must be spent outside enduring the elements. It is storming worldwide on Chaac’s day. Summer 28th Saur Saur’s day is either you must spend the day with animals, or you must find an animal you’ve never seen before, depending on interpretation. Summer 13th Pelianora You must harvest something you have sowed. This can be literal or more metaphorical, such as gathering the fruits of your goodwill. Spring 15th Mechanus You cannot break any laws on Mechanus’ Day. This is a tenant followed by all who revere the traditional gods, even the evil ones. Summer 23rd Hillregaurd Do something adventurous, something you normally wouldn’t do, but have always wanted to. Winter 12th Osvaldo You must turn a profit on trades this day. Turns into “Black Friday” Winter 27th Chaos Disturb the natural order. Break a law or start a riot. Summer 4th Caddick Invent something and present to a shrine of Caddick. Winter 19th Oriax Spend the day celebrating being alive Fall 19th Xendal Go to shrine of Xendal and reaffirm to him and yourself the code by which you live your life. Fall 26th Alighieri Return someone to Alghieri’s embrace. No one can be resurrected on this day. Fall 4th Amnon Since his freedom from imprisonment 2000 years ago, Amnon no longer requires a sacrifice day from his followers. Winter 5th Zverta Spread a disease to at least one other person. Fall 23rd Visiduous Participate in or cause a conflict. Summer 17th Stryx Cause someone immense pain. Some take this as simply as “kill someone” while more devout followers seek out and torture someone for the entire day before killing them. Fall 17th Nameless You must whisper your secrets into your holy symbol for the Winter 23rd

120 One nameless one to hear. They must be new secrets not told in previous years. Some devout take this a step further and create a secret on this day to create ones to replace those they’ve told. Valoren Trick another person, devolves into “April Fool’s Day”. Winter 27th Mugrunden Give in to your every impulse, no matter how uncouth. Summer 23rd Domi Onn this day rather than following Domi’s usual teaching of embodying his power, you show fealty before an image of Domi and recognize him as the true power over you. Fall 30th Nicor You must tell your plans for the coming year to an image of Nicor. Fall 6th Races Most races within the Plane of Marvels cooperate with each other, forming multiracial, multicultural societies as early as the 4th age. As such, racial gods are seldom apparent in the pantheon of Marvels. Most racial origins are forgotten or simply irrelevant to the world at large. How the races act is far more important than how they were created and acted in the past. As such, goblinoids and monstrous races are often vilified because they are often evil in nature. Drow and the dark versions of races came from a time when they lived underground in a certain area before that area was destroyed in the second war of the gods. Only the most profound of scholars remember the exact events however, most of the populous just assume they used to be underground dwelling races, including members of the race themselves. Psionics is innately foreign to the plane of Marvels and any race or creature employing it comes initially from another plane, such as mindflayers and gemstone dragons. Any connection to the traditional D&D gods are obviously gone. In the case of Corellon, Garl Glittergold, Yondolla, and other racial gods with limited impact on the culture of the race, are simply erased in the world of marvels. In the case of Moradin, Grummish, Lolth, and other gods who play a rather pivotal role in the culture of their race have some sort of parallel in the world of Marvels, either in the form of one of the 36 gods directly like in the case of Moradin being switched with Whurbin in dwarven cultures, a facet of one of the 36 gods, such as Grummish being a named facet of Visiduous representing conquest and conquering, or demoted from god status into another outsider like Lolth and Tiamat being demon lords. Since the races converged relatively early in the life of the plane, the intense racism that often plagues fantastical settings are relegated only to the most secluded of communities and xenophobic people. Still, especially with the varying longevity rates, cultures don’t cease to exist with multiculturalism, even over time, at best, they erode. As such, the races of Marvelum act as they are presented in the source material, as they typically would in D&D, with the following exceptions: The time of the first and second ages are so far gone even the oldest of elven tribes bear no memory or written record of its events. The exact origin of races and grand traditions like magic are thus left only to the best guesses of scholars and theologians. However, while the knowledge is seldom for the world there are some who remember the true beginning of things, immortals, insular clans untouched by time, and races with long, grudging memories. In the beginning, the races of Symma, that is to say (most of) the sentient races of the world sprung up like flowers in biomes. Giants in the mountains took to enslaving their smaller cousins and formed a strict social hierarchy.

121 This civilization was one of the earliest and longest lasting, its ramifications still felt today. Through their runic inscriptions, they were also the first to properly harness magic in the fourth age, which eventually destroyed their empire. Another relevant early civilization was the Fallen Empire. A join coalition of elves, dwarves, and gnomes who decided to live underground to circumvent the harsh conditions of the surface world. Perhaps they dug too deep to return, or perhaps they simply preferred to darkness. Some of their caves can still be found today, forming a rudimentary underdark. This is the origin of the dark races, the drow, duergar, and svirfneblin. The beasts of the world came in the first age with Saur, who begat all animal life. Some other races of men came after the first age, Kenku and birds of carrion were created by Ibis, the first god of plague and pestilence. Some say insects were created by Sverta, the goddess of insects and infestations, despite her appearance in the Seventh age, as gods are infinite in time and space. Tieflings were the product of ample rapes during the first war of the gods by the devils of Lucifer. Firbolg, centaurs, sprites, and the fey races emerged from magic infused feywild in the early fourth age. Warforged were of course the product of men in the age of nations and magic. The etiology of playable races is outlined below. The Races of Symma: These races were originally begat by Symma at the dawn of the world. They have existed for as long as the trees and rivers, perhaps longer. Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Orc, Human, Aarakocra, Goliath, Goblin, Bugbear, Hobgoblin, Lizardfolk, Tortle Children of the Gods: These races were made at some point after the origin, created by the other gods who sprung up from the essences. Saur: Leonin, Tabaxi, Luxodon, Shifter Alvyn: Triton, Locathah Ibis: Kenku Geruda: Yuan-ti, Grung Io: Dragonborn, Kobold Dream: Kalashtar Valoran: Changeling Children of Mortals: These Races were the product of crossbreeding between different mortals or mortals and outsiders. Half-elf, Half-orc, Tiefling, Aasimar, Genasi, Reborn The Races of Fae: These races emerged onto the plane during the third age with the coming of the feywild. Gnome, Eladrin, Firbolg, Centaur, Satyr, Hexblood Races of Magic: These races were originally created by mortals or outsiders via magical means, usually during the age of Nations. Warforged, Simic Hybrid, Minotaur, Verdan, Dhampir Foreigners: These races are not native to the plane of Marvels, and originally came here via interplanar travel. Vedalkan, Gith, Shadar-kai

122 Funerary Rites Funerary Rites Funerary Rites in Marvelum typically honor the gods of the dead, specifically Oriax, Xendal, and Alighieri. Prayers are conducted to call Oriax to the soul and call for mercy from Xendal and Alighieri, as well as the deceased own deity if known. The body is then prepared with embalming and holy water to prevent undue rising of the corpse and buried so that the body and soul are laid to rest and Oriax can more easily locate them. Sometimes people are buried with gemstones to bribe Alighieri should their soul come to his domain, but this practice is dubious at best. Certain gods have different burial rites, such as Alvyn's devout being buried at sea or the flesh of the Ibis' diseased followers being consumed by her church. Brief History of the World by Region A brief outline of the most basic of histories and geographies of the various realms of the material plane, as well as its current situation and an attractive feature of the area. Certain areas, like Marvelum and The Golden Coast, are further outline in Part III: The Campaign.

123 Redrun: A geographically diverse and fertile land, Marvelum used to be the pinacol of civilization and magic, housing the world’s largest city and advanced government. An empire of men resides here, spearheaded by its largest city, Redrun, and fueled by the magic items harvested from the ruins of the city of Marvels. The City of Marvels was once the greatest and most magical place in the world in the age of Nations, now it is a dangerous but useful resource housing many ancient magical items. The Sands of Sedley: Ruled by a sultan in the Age of Nations and by a harsh dictator in alliance with the devil prince of assassins Taraka at the end of the age of Chrysalis, the sands now stand a united group of nomadic bands trying in vain to prevent total takeover by the hoards of Verta. It houses the three pyramids of the apocalypse, two now but rubble, and the last still standing, but cracked after the fourth war of the gods. Verta: Formerly a cesspool of perpetually quarreling empires influenced by their proximity to the plane of Evil. Now Verta is united by Stryx, expanding upward into the sands of Azidar on the warpath to the other divine empires. Verta’s capital is a veritable hell on earth, a city of 100 districts called Terval. The Shadowed Lands: Formerly a place with a troubled political history that put it in a perpetual cycle of civil wars, now Selvida is a very different place. Due to unearthing during the chrysalis, Selvida is haunted by many Lovecraftian aberrations. Its people survive in perpetually well-lit literal point of light city states. Dumolli: Previously a politically intriguing land of wealth and power, Argentum is now home to the large port city of Port Dumolli and is also home anarcho-capitalism being the universal law of the land. While not a divine empire, they have some power from the new god of trade, Osvaldo. Savanah: The Savanah has always been an isolated region of fierce animals and fiercer clans harboring deep traditions. Now it houses the resting place of Saur, sleeping after the fourth war, many come here in search of rare game for trophy, sport, or magical components. Saur sits in the region like a mountain in the form of a colossal giant wolf, rare never before seen animals spilling forth from her still gaping wounds. Dragon Island: An isolationist island of dragonborn that worship a 2000 years gone monarch like a god. Before the Chrysalis the monarch was a brutal adventuring tyrant who claimed to be immortal and told his followers he would return. Now the largest outpost of the Spellraiders of Alvyn, who have all but completely dominated the native culture. Mechania: Always a bountiful land due to its abundant natural resources, the golden coast has always been a place of dominant trade. While it took a long time for mines to be reestablished after the chrysalis, the Golden Coast quickly became a beacon of trade during the Chrysalis. Arcillious and Mechanus fought over the city in the fourth war and Mechanus won, expanding his empire of perfect order to the north. The Gilded City still sits as the coast’s capital, a place of intrigue and perilous order. Wheatland: Previously a largely peaceful land of harvest and prosperity near both the planes of good and life, the wheatlands have been perverted since the chrysalis. The land still harbors towns that

124 farm for their food, but also harbors an abnormal amount of roaming barbarian bands, some monstrous and many not, that exist purely to subside themselves from looting these otherwise peaceful townships. Now the armies of the Golden Coast encroach on Wheatland’s borders, the uncivilized bands too at odds with one another to band together against the coming armies. The Perilous Climb: Never a nation, the perilous climb is too treacherous for many to live in. It served and serves still as an obstacle for those wishing to enter the plane of life while still living. Symma, the goddess mother of life, has moved into the peaks, still in her weakened state, and worshippers have formed a great shrine at her side, where miracles are said to happen every day. Malidinia: Previously a series of connected kingdoms of traditional kings and knights, backset by the immeasurable great white wall that blocks passage to the plane of Good from the living. In the chrysalis the good kingdoms are less kingdoms (with rare exception) and more city states formed around the rebuilt ruins of the old castles. Now, Malida has united the Good Kingdoms into his army that is expanding into the surrounding territories. The Peacelands: Similar to Wheatland, it is another peaceful, bountiful land. It used to be home to some of the greatest religious places of worship in the world and was ruled by theocracy. They share some similarities to the eastern culture of Kyr, but with a Vatican twist. While they maintain some of that culture post-chrysalis, they maintain no empires, falling to city states, much of the old shrines fallen to rubble. The lands are being encroached upon by Malida’s empire, restoring the shrines to their former glory. Kyr: Kyr liberated itself from Krom long before the chrysalis and sports a dramatically different culture. It most resembled imperial Japan pre-chrysalis. They eventually reformed and empire during the Chrysalis and fought against the Illuminators of the Heartland in the fourth war of the gods. Now the Vergan empire is at war with Krom, both weakening each other for the eventual invasion by Malida’s Knights. Krom: Krom once controlled all of Kyr and Vega but that was long before even the chrysalis. It expanded with barbarism but maintained control for a time with an imperial structure, most analogous to China. During the Chrysalis it is four separate empires that continually quarrel. After the fourth war of the gods Krom was destroyed and subdued by Malida’s Empire. Verga: Previously known as the slavelands, Verga is racially and culturally different from Krom, and was even before they conquered them and continued to be after their revolution. Verga is most analogous to ancient India. Now it has a growing empire that is rapidly expanding with brutal tactics. The New Illuminated Empire: The losers of the last war of the gods, worshippers of the now defaced Light. Once controlling the whole of the heartlands now maintain control of only a fraction, and remains the only theocracy – the only nation – still dedicated to the fallen deity. With threats to the south from the ever-expanding Drochmir and to the north from both Krom and Malidinia, as well as continued unrest of its remaining citizens, the New Illuminated Empire is destined for war and defeat. The Heartland: Previously an isolated land that most resembled Latin America in culture, previously it had its own false gods but became infatuated with the 36, with almost all being devout. That did not

125 stop it from having a massive criminal element however. There were many revolutions changing their power structure and they were previously controlled by one of the good kingdoms, Krom, and even briefly the Peacelands. During the Chrysalis things changed, as this was where Daniel, the archangel of the Light appeared. Now the entire land is unified under his Holy Eminence with the exception of a small resistance. It was a centerpiece of the fourth war of the gods, leaving it mostly in ruin. Cults of the Light are still most prominent here, and the Heartlands persist primarily of city states after the war. The Hills of Redemption: Previously where the heartland threw their exiles, the hills of redemption have always been barbarous roaming bands. The chrysalis did not change this, and the barbarians warred with the Illuminators of the Heartlands before and during the fourth war of the gods. Now the hills have been tamed by a barbarian of Mugrunden, claiming falsely to be a sixth divine empire advancing north into the heartlands. The Independent States: During one of the Heartland’s revolutions, the independent states separated from them, forming a contentious confederacy that was often politically unstable. As they left little structures that maintained as ruins during the chrysalis their land was ill suited to farming, the independent states were mostly roaming barbarian bands. During the fourth war of the gods the Independent states were another warring ground along with the Heartlands. Now it is controlled by the empire of Drochmir. The Dread Lands of Strent: A scar left on the land from the third war of the gods. It was not where they fought physically on the material plane, but rather a piece of the plane of Nature died forever, and Strent is the scar left on the material left from the tearing away of a biome from the essence. While the land is still destroyed after the fourth war of the gods, a number of necromancers have taken over the land and are trying to summon forth Orcus the demon prince of undeath to serve their evil purposes. Drochmir: A tropical, wartorn land resting between Lovia and Verdentua, the independent states and elsewhere. It borrows culture from the elves, Verdentua, the states, and themselves. Overall Drochmir is very similar to the Slavic culture of the Balkans, from Verdentua, and artistic culture from Lovia, as well as little bit of political divisiveness and barbarism from the states. This Slavic culture maintains in post-chrysalis, as does their long history of small empires warring between each other. During the fourth war of the gods the gods of nature rooted out the Light worshippers in the midlands, Lovia, and Verdentua, the elven empire of Lovia expanded into the Drochmir taming the remaining empires by diplomacy or force. Now Drochmir is expanding into the independent states and is attracting the attention of the gods. Lovia: The home of the elves, some consider it the birthplace of the race. It has ample amounts of fey influence and has a large, nature revering city at its core that operates entirely communistically. Postchrysalis the city and culture persists but is a pale reflection of what it once was, and the elves have become far more xenophobic and protective of their culture than they ever used to be. After the fourth war of the gods the reining Lovian king risked all of his armies moved into Drochmir conquering or acquiring the empires that existed there. The Lovian king seeks the attention of the gods to attain

126 ultimate power and will continue to expand his empire until they arrive. In spite of the armies and wars of Drochmir, Lovia remains an out of touch wonderland of art and music. Verdentua: A vast jungle expanse with a myriad of cultures, but the Slavic, Russian culture of an ancient empire dominated many of the old empires. Verdentua was one of the nations that the gods of Nature weeded out the Illuminators from, in the aftermath a small empire of rebels have overtaken the northern portion of the nation, fighting with the invading empire of Drochmir. Verdentua is also home to a large dungeon protected by an ancient order in the city of Sigil. Haven: A more civilized and industrialized nation separate from the joint militant forces of Verdenua that sprung up after the fourth war of the gods. Haven is a safe haven from the wars and beasts that have plagued the lands threatened only by the ever-expanding Strytran empire to the east. Amnon’s Lands: A haven for death and undeath. The Marsh houses the vampiric empire of Maldovia and is home to many powerful pre-chrysalis liches who do war over the remaining lands. There are those mere mortals who still toil in the marsh, but they are the few and hearty. After the fourth war of the gods Amnon moved his armies from across the world and beyond into the marsh and the isle of death performing perverse rituals. Many of the liches were killed but some were persuaded to join the forces of time. Some say the point of the other empires are only to weed out and eliminate this one, which may be leading to the end of the world. Nor: The Noran people have been a secluded state for 4000 years since Nor the Great separated their island from the mainland of the good kingdoms to escape the war and ensure peace for his people. Many say they have preserved techniques and traditions long lost to the rest of the world. Their insular culture resembles that of the native Americans mixed with the Amazonians of ancient Greece, with focus on spirits and duty. Keyleth: The isle of Keyleth is named for a great archdruid whose death literally created the island. She was hoping to join the natural piece of the material plane to the civilized world, but the gods of nature conspired against her and their force was too great. With her death they realized their cruelty and raised and island, a waystation across nature’s divide. The Island houses mostly nature spirits and small tribes from the wild continent. The Isle of Death: A speck of dead land where priests of the gods of Death hold eternal covenant. Now the isle is occupied now by the armies of Amnon, where the greatest of Amnon’s rituals are being committed. Wild Lands: Separated from the mainland during the third age, the wild lands are still the material plane, but more reminiscent of the plane of Nature. Influenced by those gods, those that dwell here tends to still be hunter gathers, and what societies have formed have differing ideals of civilization, resembling South African cultures. The Divine Empires Following the fourth war of the gods several gods emerged from the Essences where they had made their homes and moved into the material plane. Five of these gods lead mortal empires, rapidly

127 expanding and on the warpath with one another. Below are the details of each empire as well as few notable empires not current backed by any divine entity Ardentua: At the end of the fourth war of the gods the unthinkable happened. The great white wall that has stood since the dawn of time separating the heavenly white of Good from the material plane cracked open, and from it poured forth the winged hosts of heaven’s field, in droves to abolish the false god of the light. The crack was never sealed, and sits now as The Breach, the base of Malida, the militant goddess of angels and devotion, and the newly unified Good Kingdoms of Ardentua. The good kingdoms have always felt the influence of Goods upon them, especially before the great Chrysalis, forming separate but seldom warring kingdoms of welfare and prosperity. During the Chrysalis, this took a turn, with kingdoms expanding into empires, warring with one another over food and territory, right up until the breach opened up, and the good returned to their hearts. If it didn’t, they met their end at the end of an angel’s flaming sword. This even took an entire year, known as the purge of evil, or the year of blood and feathers. After the purge the remnants of the good kingdoms united with Malida’s divine armies out of goodness or fear. The armies, mortal and angel alike, continue the purge south, aiming to root out any evil that could cause the end of the world and eventually work their way down to the domain of death, where they will slay Amnon breaking the prophesy of doom and saving the world from itself. As reward for serving in the harrowing battles of the front lines, at the end of a 10 year term soldiers are allowed to return to the breach, where a great castle-city has formed, and enter through it, into the eternal white of Good itself. Malida stands ever vigilant over the breach, ensuring only the veterans of her long war gain entry into the plane by this means. Spellscarred Raiders: Following the third war of the gods and the deaths of his many children, Alvyn took up the mantle of Alvyn the Wise and boiled the oceans for 100 years. It was only after the Kracken, his archangel, was sealed within the Deepsea Sword that the oceans returned to their previous state. Following the death of his only remaining son in the fourth war of the gods Alvyn took a different route of enacting his revenge on the cruel, uncaring world. He gathered first the remaining cultists of Alvyn the Wise scattered across the Spellscarred Sea and expanded with them using his mastery of the tides and waves, conquering the Spellscarred Sea and, eventually, claiming the Bay of Trepidation as well from the pirate lord and master of the Marid of the Bay who has owned it for generations. Now, with control of the seas he denies all shipping and over-sea travel with torrents, ill seas, and of course his spellscarred raiders, many of whom he has “ascended” to become violent kraken priests. Alvyn raids ports of empires, mortal and divine alike, hoping to disrupt as many plans as he can with his remaining time. The raiders and Alvyn have a base on a larger island on the spellscarred sea, formerly known as dragon island. Dragon Island has its own troubling history, ruled by a cruel dictator who left the plane, heralding that his return would bring about their ascension as an island into their rightful place over the entirety of the plane. For the entire Chrysalis the dragonfolk waited, isolated, for their king’s return that never came. Now the raiders rule over the island, a place for drinking and debauchery in between raids. The dragonborn culture still exists on the island in cult like circles, but the majority has been overtaken with the viking-esque culture of the spellscarred raiders.

128 At the end of it all, Alvyn wishes to purge the world of advanced civilization, as he views it as the root of all evil, that will bring about the end of times. As the tides comes in and washes away the filth, so shall Alvyn’s raiders wash away civilization and bring about a new, simpler world. For this reason, Alyn’s raiders are more aptly several clans of raiders each endowed with a trident representing a facet of the sea. This ensure they will not become a civilization unto themselves. More about Alvyn’s raiders can be found in Chapter 4: Towns and Cities. Verta: Stryx had always been content to torture the souls of the damned and wage mock war with the devils of Nicor to keep their schemes from getting out of hand. During the fourth war of the gods, Stryx pledged some of her demons to the defeat of the false god that threatened them all. She fought with them and was corrupted by the Light, becoming the first god to do so. The other gods fought her and her hoards, ultimately mortally wounding her. In an unprecedented selfless act, Vistra, goddess of greed and ambition, melded her melted form into Stryx, forming a new, conjoined goddess. Stryx, now imbued with the ambitions of Vistra, quickly dominated the planes of Evil, leaving only Heinmosh, the city of Devils unconquered. The other gods of evil either backed her or did not oppose her reign. Unsatisfied, as is the nature of envy, Stryx expanded into the material plane and took quickly the Evil badlands of Verta, long past their golden days of vast and torturous empires. Now she and her demons and cultists expand northward into the Sands of Sedley and forever northward until her envy and ambition can be at last sated. The capital of this perverse empire is a vast city known as Terval. It is a political nightmare with virtually no rules and 100 districts ruled by the most powerful demon there. Here the demon lords play out their chaotic ambitions when not wreaking havoc on the fronts of the Warfield. Golden Coast: The Golden Coast has always been a trade capital of the plane due to its prime port location and abundant natural resources. While these conditions have also always sparked brutal political intrigue, it was never as bad as it got in the Chrysalis, with several wars fought over the capital Gilded City, culminating in a divine battle as Arcillious, god of manipulation used his champion, Iados the deposed king of the city to invade and Mechanus defended the order that existed. The battle was bloody, but ultimately order prevailed and Arcillious met his final end. Mechanus did not leave the Gilded City, however, instead forming the first of the divine empires, to enact perfect order over the material plane to prevent any future wars, be they divine or mortal. The Golden coast expanded first northward into the barbarian laden wheatlands where they encountered Pelianora who forbade the razing of fields. They are in the process of caliming the wheatlands, which will lead them to Malida’s empire, the first clash of the new divine empires is eminent. The Gilded City and, by extension, the Golden Coast is a place ruled by contracts and guilds. Breach of contract in the city is tantamount to murder, with just as severe of consequences. Not death, of course, clerics and paladins blessed by Mechanus’ might have no need for that. Instead enchantment spells like calm emotions or modify memory to rectify unlawful behavior. Within the walls of the city, law and morality are equal, and anything that is legal is considered to be moral, similarly, all that is illegal is considered immoral. This leads to some strange situations where stealing a loaf of bread to survive is punishable and looked harshly upon but overtaxing the poor to milk them for all they’re worth is viewed as admirable. The Gilded City continues to be a place of political intrigue interspliced

129 with legalisms, where the poor suffer and the powerful make risky places to attain yet more power. Outside of the city there is a more apparent peace, but there are town steads where more than half of the populous have had some kind of adjustments from the divine adjudicators. Strangely, in spite of Mechanus’ patronage of the empire, outside of the military (who themselves have large contingents who worship Visiduous or Malida), the primary god of the Golden Coast is the new god of trade, showing that even in a legalist “utopia”, money and trade are still valued here above all else. You can read more about the Golden Coast in Chapter 4: Towns and Cities. Denizens of Death: Following the 4th war of the Gods where Amnon, the banished god of time, returned in full to the plane and summoned forth his greatest followers from throughout time to fight alongside him against the false god of the Light, Amnon retreated with his remaining followers to the Marsh of Detriment and the Isle of Death. There they remain still, venturing out only in small groups to procure rare and valuable materials from elsewhere in the world. There they sit performing dark rituals for unknowable purposes. There are rumors of large, strange objects rising into the sky and beyond the plane from the dark dominion. They do not invade, and they have only a small standing army to protect themselves, yet their mere existence inspires the rest of the age. Many say Malida’s armies in Ardentua exist solely to march south and quash the Denizens of Death. In truth, the Denizens of Death and their dark lord Amnon work towards a larger purpose, slaying Entropy itself, the universal evil to which Amnon is attributed, the inevitable end of all things that sits alongside Azathoth the unknowable at the very center of the multiverse. Their rituals work toward this grandest of goals, as well as the creation of Spelljammer ships to acquire materials and relics not obtainable on the plane of Marvels. Notable Mortal Empires Great Lovia: The Midlands of Drochmir have always been a tumultuous place, housing wars and famines since long before even the Chrysalis. After the 4th war of the gods the midlands and the surrounding regions were plunged into chaos with all Light worshippers (a considerable portion of the population) being murdered by the gods of Nature over the course of just one week, known as the Gods’ Week or the Dark week, depending on who you ask. The elven king Loviatar IV seized the opportunity of this chaos and moved his armies, largely unaffected by the divine massacre, into the midlands and quickly secured one of the largest empires owned by mere mortals. The empire is almost humorously unstable, consisting of internally competing states that were once their own sovereign nations obeying a culturally and geographically helplessly distant king whom they only a few decades prior regarded as a contemptable enemy at best. In spite of the instability, the strength of Lovia’s armies and forward momentum of expansion keep the near-warring states that compose its precarious empire from turning on themselves for the time being. The goal the empire is pursuing is attaining the attention of a god to sponsor their army and lead them into true greatness. Common chants state that Lovia (or, more commonly, Drochmir) have been too often overlooked, and it is our turn. This quest inspires divine fervor among its armies, and is never specific to any one god as to not alienate any troops inspired by the message. This is in fact

130 Loviatar’s goal, but for a more sinister purpose. Loviatar grows old and finds his children more a threat to his current power than as a suitable heir. He seeks the aid of the gods as a chance for he himself to achieve immortality as many ruler of the divine empires have and, beyond that, potentially reach an apotheosis and become a god himself. Lovia itself is distant and disconnected with the realities of the wars waged in its name, its denizens enjoying a centuries long peace and investing in high art and poetry, the architecture in the forests unrivaled by any the lands, for it need not be rebuilt every few years. The main states of the “Great Lovian Empire” are as follows: Kartesh, an empire of brutalism that values strength above all else, valuing whatever it takes to survive in the harsh wilderness of the badlands. Heraldinia, a state of Light Cultists seeking for the return of their false god, who side with Lovia only in the hopes of reclaiming their once sacred Illuminated Lands. The San, a group of politically powerful traveling merchants that has a long history of trading to both sides of the many wars fought in the midlands and an equally long history of being hated by all sides of said wars. There are other, smaller groups that constitute Great Lovia as well, but they hold less far less power than the afore mentioned three. New Marvelum: Despite playing a major role in the fourth war of the gods with the initiating battle against the devil lord Taraka no gods have backed an empire in the once-great nation of Marvelum. Instead, the lands hold quarter to the last great empire of men, New Marvelum. Lead out of the largest city in the region, Redrun, which existed during the chrysalis as a populous city state and stood as base of the coalition against the devil armies and the angels in the fourth divine war. The nation adopts Redruns political system, a patriarchal monarchy, with a king chosen by bloodline ruling the highest courts, with other courts in control of other aspects of governance comprised of the wealthy and socially adept, the nobility. It is presently ruled by King Umbridge, an agreeable human ruler who seeks peace and security. Much of New Marvelum is smaller towns and cities being newly interconnected by a system of roads and paths. That said, with its wealth of old world magical relics from the City of Marvels and beyond, New Marvelum has a magically powered military to rival that of the divine empires. These items also draw in many adventurers and mercenaries, foreign and domestic. They are necessary, however, as New Marvelum is frequently raided by the Spellscarred Raiders and is on the brink of war with the expanding Vertan empire to the east. New Marvelum stands as a last bastion of free mortality unbound by divine whims in the modern world, but how long can such a society survive in a world of the gods. You can read more about New Marvelum in Chapter 4: Towns and Cities. Krom: Long ago a land of rich culture and great bountiful harvest, but that was before even the Chrysalis. For the majority of the 2000 years since Krom struggled to even establish functioning city states, let alone a unified empire like the great ones of old. However, after the fourth war of the gods many clans fell in line with a visionary espousing the virtues of the old Kromian culture. This man is Wu Nguyen, and his powerful cult of personality has unified the armies of Krom into an old Krom style empire, complete with revitalizing the old art and architectural styles. Now Krom is nearly fully unified, and is poised to do what Kromians have aspired to do for generations, reclaim the lands of Kyr which will soon be facing a war on two fronts.

131 In truth, Wu Nguyen is one of the Pale Men of the Moon. These immortals are powerful wizards of the fifth age before even the age of nations who attained the secret of immortality and hoarded it for themselves. They have returned to the material plane once more to enact their final will on the plane and steer it toward their dark purposes.

132 Flags and Sigils Most empires do not have an official flag or coat of arms, as they have no need to communicate with other nations, and use cultural symbols if in need of nationalistic symbology. However, nations with strong naval forces at sea often have flags, and nations that go to war often have a coat of arms their armies wear on their coats to mitigate friendly fire in the chaos of battle. Some, such as Redrun and Malidinia, who go to both land and sea wars, have both. Corinthia A flag symbolizing the split of gold and land, the two bounties of the nation of Corinthia, emblazoned with a red flame burning away the gold, a symbol of revolution and communism that has dominated the nation. The Corinthian coat of arms has not been updated since its revolution and bears a gold bracelet with the alchemical symbol for gold over a field of red, bordered once more by gold. Port Dumolli Port Dumolli has no official flags or symbols, but the largest faction, the gilded lotus, does have a flag for his ships at sea.

133 Alvyn’s Raiders While many of Alvyn’s raiders fly no flags, many use either the red or white sword flags. The red swords over a field of azure is a traditional flag for warships, while the newer white swords flag uses more modern symbology symbolizing the “purity” and righteousness of their war. Redrun The flag of Redrun is swords crossed, symbolizing their ever expanding and warring empire, with a blue cross for their naval trade on a field of white for the purity of the morals of the crown and the empire. The orange is a typical color associated with Redranian royalty.

134 The Shadowed Lands of Selvida What remains united of the shadowed lands under King Carrick of the former Nation of Crimea fly this flag at sea, with the sun of the nation lighting the darkness of the shadowed lands over a sea of blood. Stryxtran Empire Rather than a coat of arms, the mortal followers of the Strystran empire have developed a simple but evocative battle standard consisting of a sky of darkness over a field of blood.

135 Mechania The old flag of the Golden Coast, a field of red interspersed with a cross of gold, was updated for Mechanus’ rule with a version of his cog symbol in the center of the offset cross. Verdentua In its attempt to be recognized as a vital player in global politics Verdentua has its own flag, with more of a focus on striking and iconic design than any real symbology, but popular propaganda states it as the nation’s survival of the “long night” where the Gods of the 36 purged the followers of the Light.

136 Malidinia While yet to be combatants at sea or large participants in naval trade, the nation of Malidinia have a flag for naval affairs based in opposition to their opponents of Mechania. They have their offset gold cross on a field of white, symbolizing the purity of their wealth not built of the blood of the poor and exploited. Similarly, the industrial cog is replaced with a more natural and pure white laurel symbol. The flag is mostly symbolic and is seldom actually used.

137 Chapter 3: DM Toolbox Presented here is a collection of variant rules and magic items that make running a game in Marvelum an easier and more unique experience. Any number of these rules may be utilized or disregarded to your liking. While these rules are tailored to Marvelum, they could be applied to other settings as well. Drugs Drugs fall into one of seven categories outlined below. Specific drugs may have additional effects, varied durations, and may be + or – 1 the average potency of its category, but otherwise follows the rules outlined below. Stimulants: For the duration you have advantage on initiative rolls and an additional bonus action on your turn. Average Potency 6. Average Market Price: 25gp Depressants: For the duration your inhibitions and anxieties are lowered. You have advantage on charisma checks and disadvantage on all vehicle checks. For the duration you cannot take reactions. Average potency 2 (Note, most alcohols are potency 1) Average Market Price: 1gp Hallucinogens: For the duration, you experience a vision of something related to the type of hallucinogen you have taken. While in this vision you cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality, including the illusion of the drug. Average Potency 2. Average Market Price: 10gp Dissociative: For the duration, you have advantage on wisdom ability checks and are immune to fear effects. Additionally, for the duration, you are prone to taking more risky actions than you normally would. Average Potency 3. Average Market Price: 5gp Opioids: For the duration, any time you would take damage, ignore 1d4 of that damage. At the end of the duration of the drug, take all of the damage you have ignored. Average Potency 4. Average Market Price: 10gp Inhalants: For the duration you experience intense feelings of euphoria and have advantage on saving throws against charm effects. Average Potency 3. Average Market Price: 1gp Cannabis: For the duration you have a pervasive calmed feeling and have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. For the duration, you cannot take reactions. Average Potency 1. Average Market Price: 3gp Example Specific Drug Redleaf. Hallucinogen. Potency 3. 20gp.

138 Resembling in its final form a crushed red powder, this drug is originally a red leaf that grows in the feywild. It is dried in the sun of the material plane and then crushed to the fine powder to be inhaled. For the next hour the character sees them self the in the feywild, though the location they see may not correspond to where they are in the material plane. They move physically in the material plane through they cannot perceive it. Fey creatures can perceive the user but cannot physically interact with them. At the end of the duration they feel extremely tired and everything seems more dull than it had before. Addiction The power of drugs comes at a cost, that cost being addiction. If you fail to take drugs often enough, you suffer the effects of withdrawals until you take more drugs, recover, or in extreme cases, die. How addictive a drug is (as well as how dangerous it is) is determined by its potency. The user makes a constitution save at the end of each day they have not taken the drug past the satiation period. If they succeed, they lose a level of exhaustion or, if they have no levels of exhaustion, move closer to recovery. If they fail, they suffer a level of exhaustion. This level of exhaustion can only be removed by making the constitution save the next day. While they suffer this exhaustion they exhibit the effects of withdrawal such as being overly jittery or itching all over. The potency sets the maximum levels of exhaustion a user can have due to that drug. For example, if a user taking inhalants, a potency 3 drug, fails their fourth consecutive saving throw, they simply remain at exhaustion level 3. If they then made their save, they would return to exhaustion level 2, requiring 4 more successful saves to recover from the addiction. A successful medicine check equal to the constitution save DC can grant the user advantage on their saving throw to stave off withdrawals. Taking a drug in the throes of withdrawals reduces the exhaustion level by 1 each time a dose of the drug is taken in addition to resetting the satiation period. Potency Constitution DC Satiation Recovery 1 8 10 days 1 save 2 10 8 days 1 save 3 12 6 days 2 saves 4 14 4 days 2 saves 5 16 2 day 3 saves 6 18 1 day 3 saves Plague A virtually incurable by normal means plague is rapidly spreading across the land. It is transmitted through contact with fluids of the infected. The plague can be staved off, and resistance to the affliction can be occurred, but never immunity. Certain strands of the plague are evolving to be magically resistant as well, but these are rare. If a character has had the plague before, they have advantage on saves to resist the plague in the future.

139 Starts at 1, each night a con save DC 15 is made, lessens by a level on a success, increases a level on a failure. 0: Light coughing 1: Noticeable Coughing and general nausea. 2: Violent coughing and vomiting fits as well as diarrhea. Disadvantage on ability checks 3: The coughing and vomiting fits worsen, and the skin begins to yellow, the victim is poisoned 4: Parts of the skin and other vital organs begin to rot away. The victim's movement speed is halved and their physical ability scores decrease by 2. 5: Death. Called Shots Called shots do not work properly in D&D with the idea of hit points and the abstract nature of combat. As such, these rules should not be provided to the players, but should a player attempt to do so, some variation of the following rules may be used. In general, a called shot will increase the AC of a creature and apply some condition in addition to damage. Use the following examples with modifications for specific situations as needed. For instance, attacking a cyclops or a beholder's eye would be a +2 to AC instead of +5, and the beholder's eyestalk or central eye ability would be disabled on a hit, but it would not be blinded. Examples include the following: Leg/Knee: AC +2, speed halved Eyes: AC +5, blinded Belt: AC +3, they lose their pants Hands: AC +4, con save of 10 or half damage (whichever is higher) or drop what is being held.

140 Alchemy in Marvelum In keeping with the semi-low magic nature of the Post-Chrysalis world of Marvels, there are no, or at least very few “magic item shops”. However, to compensate alchemy is, on the whole, not considered magic. As such, while the herbalists who brew them may be kept watch over by the town guard of magic adverse municipalities, potion sellers can generally be found within the points of light towns and cities of the world. The key is that the items are consumable. This keeps the idea finding a permanent, real magic item rare and exciting, but also offsets the balance issues of not having as many magic items in the campaign, as well as providing a gold sink for higher level parties in the absence of magic items. While there are certainly more potions than presented in the DMG within the world of marvels, but to differentiate and provide a bit of magical flavor, unique items to the world of Marvels are enhanced

141 “magical” foods. These foods are not actually magical, no more so than various potions. Various ingredients are combined, essentially the same as alchemy. The alchemical system is essentially the same as the one presenting in the core rules, with a few refinements. With the appropriate tool kit (alchemists supplies for spell-like consumables, Herbalists kit for healing potions, poisoner’s kit for poisons) a proficient character may create a potion at half its typical cost. Foraging for certain ingredients can also further reduce cost. Items of Very rare rarity or higher usually requires a specific ingredient to craft. The chart below indicates prices and requisites for the various rarities Rarity Average Cost Special Ingredient? Common 50gp No Uncommon 300gp No Rare 1000gp Yes Very Rare 5000gp Yes Legendary 10,000gp Multiple Magical Contracts Magical Contracts: various entities such as fey, devils, angels, and even powerful wizards sometimes require a contract to be more binding than simply by law. These contracts are enforced either by a powerful third party such as a god or an inevitable, or by the writer of the contract. Magical contracts can also allow for magical clauses, such as the ownership of a word for fey or preventing someone from ever using their left hand. These contracts are enforced by the power that binds them and can either not be broken or risks the wrath of the contract's enforcer. The drafting of a magical contract is a similar process to creating a spell scroll, and any who can create spell scrolls can create a magical contract, with the additional components of the blood and signatures of those entering into the agreement and the endorsement of a greater power to enforce the contract. The spell level of the contract varies by how complex the contract is and how difficult it is to complete. To breach a magical contract, one must succeed on a DC 10 + spell level wisdom save and risk the wrath of the contract's enforcer, who knows immediately when a contract has been breached. The superior party can simply be the party that created the contract, but that holds less leverage than a powerful third party. Foraging An activity characters can partake in while traveling is looking for useful herbs. This is separate from a check to find food but is a survival check. The check is made throughout the duration of travel for a day and is assumed to take 4 to 8 hours. It is also assumed that this searching requires the searching party member to leave the party, so should a random encounter occur characters foraging would be separated from the party. This action cannot be performed if the party is traveling at a quickened pace. An herbalism tool's check is required to identify a plant's specific qualities and exact price, but any character proficient in herbalism tools is assumed to be able to tell a valuable plant from a nonvaluable plant. To forage for herbs the forager makes a survival check rolled at advantage in the spring and disadvantage in the winter. If they roll a 15 or higher roll on the respective herb chart, with a +1 to your roll for each number above 15 the forager rolled on their survival check. So, if a forager rolled a 20 for a survival check, you would add 5 to the result of your table roll.

142 If a forager wishes to search for a specific herb on the chart the survival DC is the herb's roll on the chart +5 and this process takes 2 hours longer than normal foraging. So, if a forager in a forest were seeking bitterbrush specifically they would have to roll a 16 or higher on their survival check (11+5) D20 Forest Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Sphagnum Moss (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Blue Curls (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Sweet Cicely (regional medical herbs) 11 1d4 pounds of Bitterbrush, a low laying brush that provides a spice called drace. While horribly bitter if consumed raw it is a delightful seasoning when cooked 5gp 8 12 You catch 1d6 butterflies, used in brewing and spellcasting 2gp 5 13 Foxglove (fairy bells), poison (ingested), DC 14 2d6 poison damage and poisoned condition for 1 hour. 10gp 11 14 A ring of red and white mushrooms, a faerie ring where the veil between the material and the feywild is thinned. 14 15 Lonesome Bliss, a pale pink flower used in drugs that induce euphoria. Only grows in isolated places and only in pairs. 10gp 14 16 1d12 Waxworms, small flowers that grow in rotting logs and trees. When ground into a paste it seals holes in carpentry. 5sp 12 17 A yew tree with holly and 1d6 sprigs of mistletoe 1gp 10 18 A Likaha bush, a bush with large oily leaves that when burned have sleep inducing smoke as the spell. 10gp 12 19 1d4 doses of Redleaf, a ground hallucinogen from the feywild, here in its raw form 15gp 14 20 A large bioluminescent mushroom with glowing spores. When thrown it acts as the spell Faerie Fire. This usage destroys the mushroom 25gp 12 21 Ogre Root, when broken open it emits a stench that can be smelled for 30 feet that repels all animals. 10gp 15 22 1d6 Ghostflowers. A light blue, almost ethereal flower that grows only in graveyards, deep forests, and caves, as well as in the ethereal plane. Its pale petals can be crushed to create oil of etherealness 5gp 15 23 A cluster of silver lotuses, which with a poisoner’s kit check of 16 can create truth serum (DMG pg. 258) 60gp 15 24 1d10 Darkberries from a bush. Originally created by the drow alchemically now growing naturally in the wild. When broken open the berry releases a circle of magical darkness with a 5 foot radius that lasts for 1d6 rounds. 10gp 17 25 Margara Flowers, bright red flowers with a pungent odor with pink heart designs at their stem. It is used for creating philters of love. 25gp 15 26 Compass weed, a weed that, as long as it is alive and supplied with water, always points north. 5gp 10 27 Deathroot, found beneath the earth in deep forests and swamps this root is used to create Malice with a DC 17 poisoner’s tools check (DMG pg. 258) 125gp 13 28 Pyrophyte, a vibrant red flower used with a 14 DC alchemy check to make 25gp 15

143 D20 Forest Cost ID DC alchemists fire 29 A cluster of Othur mushrooms, that when dried and burnt create burnt othur fumes (DMG pg. 258) 250gp 15 30 Rose of Forgetfulness, a rose that when sniffed requires a DC 13 Constitution save or the user forgets the past 1d20 hours of their memory. If the save is failed by 5 or more, the user loses all of their memory completely. The effects of Greater Restoration or Modify Memory or similar effects can restore these lost memories. 1000gp 16 D20 Grasslands Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Yarrow (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Eyebright (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Agrimony (regional medical herbs) 11 A stalk of Giant's Fruit, which grows taller than trees and produces fruit the size of full-grown men. While the fruit is worth 5gp each, they are very heavy and bitter if eaten raw. 5gp 12 12 Halfling leaf, dried and smoked for a euphoric effect. 10gp 10 13 1d4 pounds of Bitterbrush, a low laying brush that provides a spice called drace. While horribly bitter if consumed raw it is a delightful seasoning when cooked 5gp 8 14 Ki-Riin Horns, golden flowers said to possess mystical qualities. While they are actually quite useless, their beauty and rarity still has them fetch a high price. 15gp 12 15 Purple rose. A sign in many cultures of undying love. Many romantics will quest specifically for this rose, but the wealthier among them can buy it for 10gp 12 16 Blood flowers. Red and white flowers that grow where blood has spilled, reminders of long forgotten battles. They are well known as an aphrodisiac if dried and snorted. 10gp 15 17 1d6 Rainbow grasshoppers. Rare and used for certain ritual spellcastings. 3gp 18 Ulfrig's Flower/Fractal Flower, a purple, almost angular flower that's the key ingredient in Ulfrig's Tonic, a potion that prevents planar sickness. 25gp 16 19 Yena's Grace, a long green herb that can be used to make a tea that grants advantage on saves against poison and disease. 20gp 15 20 Haella, a purple flowering weed that acts as a repellant to predatory insects 10gp 12 21 1d6 Altar Berries. Berries known to contain very trace amounts of orichalcum. They restore 1 sorcery point when eaten 10gp 15 22 Margara Flowers, bright red flowers with a pungent odor with pink heart designs at their stem. It is used for creating philters of love. 25gp 15 23 Compass weed, a weed that, as long as it is alive and supplied with water, always points north. 5gp 10 24 1d6 Liar's Leaf, a weed that grows among other, similar looking but functionally distinct weeds. When chewed, Liar's leaf gives advantage on 15gp 16

144 D20 Grasslands Cost ID DC deception checks. It is a main ingredient in potions of glibbness. 25 Giant’s Melon, a melon that can grow to humorously large sizes. Extract from this melon are used in potions of giant’s strength 50gp 13 26 Oriax's Lure/Death Knell, this innocuous, even pretty looking flower can be distilled with a poisoner’s tools check of 17 to a poison equivalent to wyvern venom. 600gp 17 27 A large brown thistle tree who’s sap is a strange pale color and used to make pale tincture with a DC 15 poisoner’s tools check. 125gp 14 28 Pyrophyte, a vibrant red flower used with a 14 DC alchemy check to make alchemists fire 25gp 15 29 Black Lotus, can be used to extract black lotus extract with a 17DC poisoner’s tools check. 1000gp 17 30 The Forager finds a small garden with 4 other rolls on this chart

145 D20 Swamp Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Groundnut (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Red Baneberry (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Angelica (regional medicinal herbs) 11 A pound of blackcorn kernels. A coal black kernel grows at the top of these small violet stalks that, though bitter if eaten, can be fermented into blackcorn whiskey. 10gp 12 12 Firefly flowers, flowers that grow in swamps and glow like fireflies in the night. When blown, they produce an effect like the dancing lights spell 5gp 5 13 Choking cinder fungus, a bane of firewood collectors everywhere this black fungus that grows on rotten wood is highly flammable and emits poisonous fumes when burned, inhaled DC 13 constitution 2d6 poison damage. 5gp 13 14 Marsh maw, essentially an organic hunting trap. Easy to keep alive in water and naturally camouflaged with a DC 17 perception check to see it in natural conditions. 25gp 15 15 A Belching Burt, a large flower that produces hallucinogenic swamp gas 10gp 12 16 Snapjaw plant, a 10 foot by 10 foot plant that can be harvested and replanted as a trap, DC 14 dexterity save vs. 2d6 damage and they are grappled. They take 2d6 damage until they can escape a DC 12 grapple. 15gp 15 17 Papyrus weeds, valuable for paper making. 30gp 10 18 Festering Feet, a plant that looks like chicken feet and stinks like durian. Used in remedies for various common ailments. 20gp 12 19 Bioluminescent mushrooms used in the creation of everburning torches. 25gp 10 20 A corpseflower 21 Posion Dart Frog, can be made into a DC 17 constitution save injested posion that deals 10d6 posion damage with a DC 15 posioner's tools check. 200gp 15 22 Dragonsbane, a long flowering reed used to make dragonsbane venom 100gp 13 23 Angel's breath, a white flower that is used in death rites to pass over 25gp 12 24 Fire flower, a red, yellow, and white flower that can be eaten to allow the comsumer to spit fire as the firebolt spell as an action for 1 minute. 10gp 10 25 Alhigheri's keepsake, an innocuous looking black flower that accelerates deterioration. If applied to a corpse, it doubles how long they've been dead for resurrection purposes 50gp 15 26 1d4 doses of Redleaf, a plant from the feywild that acts as a hallucinogen if dried and ground, here in its raw form 15gp 14 27 Forecast flower, a red flower that reacts to the weather of the next day in different ways, allowing for one to tell the weather tomorrow. It remains alive for 1d6 days once picked under normal conditions. 20gp 12 28 Deathroot, found beneath the earth in deep forests and swamps this root is used to create Malice with a DC 17 poisoner’s tools check (DMG pg. 258) 125gp 13 29 A cluster of Othur mushrooms, that when dried and burnt create burnt othur fumes (DMG pg. 258) 250gp 15 30 You stumble upon an abandoned witch’s hut which has 1d4 rolls of this chart in herbs and 3 random potions

146 D20 Desert Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Yew (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Prickly Pear (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Aloe Vera (regional medical herbs) 11 A Barrel Cactus with enough water for 1d6 people 1gp 10 12 Edible Cactus fruit with small animals, enough food for 1d6 people 2gp - 13 A watering hole with animals and water - - 14 Agave, a desert plant whose nectar is distilled and fermented to make alcohol 20gp 12 15 Chocking Violets, a blue flower that if dried and powdered provokes a DC 15 Constitution save against a dragon or it cannot use or recharge its breath weapon attack for a minute. 25gp 15 16 A Pimenta tree, it’s berries are used to make allspice, a popular and exotic spice in recent cooking trends 50gp 15 17 The forager finds a nest of wild giant scorpions, have them roll a stealth check to see if they were noticed. - - 18 Stinkweed, a delicacy among troglodytes who will trade heavily for the substance, the stink is repellant to most beasts and humanoids. 15gp 10 19 Peyote, a psychoactive substance often used for spiritual or recreational purposes as a drug 50gp 15 20 Sparking Death, a rare blue iridescent flower that in strong breezes or when blown produces a 15 cone of lightning DC 15 dexterity save vs. 3d6 lightning damage. Once picked, this only can be used once. In nature, the flower has often turned nearby sands to glass. 50gp 12 21 A cactus with a deep purple fruit used to create rich and rare dyes. 150gp 15 22 Drow’s Poppy, neither related to Drow, nor a Poppy, this deep red flower if chewed and then rubbed into ones eyes allows the user to have the effects of Darkvision for one hour 25gp 15 23 Yena’s Root, growing mostly beneath the sands in deserts, Yena’s root can be found by small, white protrusions from the ground. If consumed it acts as a Potion of Healing. 50gp 17 24 Betterberries, Growing on shrubs that thrive in harsh environments, the berries of this plant when consumed confer the effects of Enhance Ability on its consumer for one hour. Different colors of berry confer different effects upon the consumer, and while crossbred version of this bush with multiple colors exist in cities to more easily creation potions of enhance ability, in nature only one color grows on a particular bush. Red for Bull’s Strength, Green for Bear’s Endurance, Yellow for Cat’s Grace, Mauve for Eagle’s Splendor, Blue for Fox’s Cunning, and purple for Owl’s Wisdom. A bush has 1d6 berries on it when found, and the price listed is per berry. 30gp 16 25 Purple Heart, a nearly black, purple flower that only grows in specific desert conditions and only solitarily. The nectar that gathers within the flower allows the user to cast Divination when consumed. 100gp 13

147 D20 Desert Cost ID DC 26 Torpor Cactus, a cactus with a particular venom that when properly distilled with a DC15 poisoners tools check into the poison torpor. 300gp 17 27 Gray Lavender. This oxymoronically named plant resembles a gray hued lavender plant and grows in arid regions preferably with higher altitudes. It is said to be an echo of a plant that grows in another time, consuming its bitter flesh grants one the ability to reroll an attack roll, ability check, of saving throw once until the consumer long rests, as a Potion of Possibility, which the plant is used in the creation of. 150gp 14 28 Lucre, named for dirty money, Lucre is a disgusting looking flower that grows in standing water in dry climates, a rarity, making it valuable. It has few uses but is valuable to collectors and is often sold as a cure-all. 100gp 15 29 Tears of Heaven, a blue-gold flower thought to be extinct. One of the key ingredients to create several artifacts. 1000gp 17 30 An oasis, with a watering hole and 1d3 of the plants on this list.

148 D20 Mountain Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Dandelion (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Yarrow (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Betony (regional medicinal herbs) 11 Climber’s Root, a green herb that when crushed up form a mild adhesive and grand advantage on athletic checks made to climb. 10gp 12 12 Mountain Berries, ruby red berries often fermented to produce a liqueur that tastes like maraschino 10gp 13 13 Grasping Hands, white mushrooms that resemble hands grasping out of the cliffside. They are actually toxic and can be used to create basic poison 25gp 13 14 Mountain Breeze, a puffy blue flower that is picked for its beauty and sometime used to distil a unique flower-flavored water 10gp 12 15 Yena's Grace, a long green herb that can be used to make a tea that grants advantage on saves against poison and disease. 10gp 12 16 Purple rose. A sign in many cultures of undying love. Many romantics will quest specifically for this rose, but the wealthier among them can buy it for 15gp 15 17 Margara Flowers, bright red flowers with a pungent odor with pink heart designs at their stem. It is used for creating philters of love. 25gp 10 18 The shell of polygon crab, with strange geographic angles the shells are often used in divination rituals. 20gp 12 19 A cluster of Saffron flowers, one of the rarest and most expensive spices in the world 15gp 10 20 Betterberries, Growing on shrubs that thrive in harsh environments, the berries of this plant when consumed confer the effects of Enhance Ability on its consumer for one hour. Different colors of berry confer different effects upon the consumer, and while crossbred version of this bush with multiple colors exist in cities to more easily creation potions of enhance ability, in nature only one color grows on a particular bush. Red for Bull’s Strength, Green for Bear’s Endurance, Yellow for Cat’s Grace, Mauve for Eagle’s Splendor, Blue for Fox’s Cunning, and purple for Owl’s Wisdom. A bush has 1d6 berries on it when found, and the price listed is per berry. 30gp 16 21 Gray Lavender. This oxymoronically named plant resembles a gray hued lavender plant and grows in arid regions preferably with higher altitudes. It is said to be an echo of a plant that grows in another time, consuming its bitter flesh grants one the ability to reroll an attack roll, ability check, of saving throw once until the consumer long rests, as a Potion of Possibility, which the plant is used in the creation of. 150gp 14 22 1d6 Altar Berries. Berries known to contain very trace amounts of orichalcum. They restore 1 sorcery point when eaten 10gp 15 23 Drow’s Poppy, neither related to Drow, nor a Poppy, this deep red flower if chewed and then rubbed into ones eyes allows the user to have the effects of Darkvision for one hour 25gp 12 24 Ulfrig's Flower/Fractal Flower, a purple, almost angular flower that's the key ingredient in Ulfrig's Tonic, a potion that prevents planar sickness. 50gp 15

149 D20 Mountain Cost ID DC 25 Massacre Roots, difficult to spot roots that are known to choke out most other plans and used in aggressive agricultural warfare. 50gp 20 26 Torrend’s Flower. A rare flower that grows in high altitudes in the shade. It is useful as a cure for certain rare flus. 75gp 16 27 The Grapevine, named after the popular expression, this vine can carry sound for miles though its tubes. 20gp 12 28 Peacemaker, a white flower that when smells causes effects as the calm emotions spell 125gp 13 29 Grotwing, a mushroom infested bat corpse that produces the effects of Greater restoration when eaten. It is also used in many greater healing potions. 400gp 15 30 A hermit’s hut, either abandoned or with a friendly hermit. There is a garden with 1d6 mountain plants growing here. D20 Coast Cost ID DC 1-4 1d10gp Goldenrod (regional medicinal herbs) 5-7 1d20gp Persimmon (regional medicinal herbs) 8-10 1d100gp Bayberry (regional medicinal herbs) 11 1d4 pounds of Bitterbrush, a low laying brush that provides a spice called drace. While horribly bitter if consumed raw it is a delightful seasoning when cooked 5gp 5 12 Seaweed salve, used in healer’s kits it can be used to stabilize an unstable creature, after which the salve is consumed. 5gp 5 13 Razorgrass, if not seen it deals 4d4 slashing damage to those that enter the area or start their turn there. With a DC 15 herbalism kit check the grass can be harvested and with a DC 15 thieves’ tools check to act as it does in nature. 15gp 15 14 A Coconut tree with 1d6 coconuts 5gp 10 15 Kallafruit, a red and waxy tropical fruit that when eaten functions as a health potion 50gp 12 16 A mollusk with a pearl worth 100gp inside 100gp 10 17 Paralyzing cone snail, a DC 15 poisoner’s kit check and make an injury poison that causes a DC 10 constitution saving throw or the target is paralyzed for a minute, they can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns. 30gp 10 18 Alangium salvifolum, a unique bark that can be used with an herbalist kit to create antivenom 25gp 16 19 Yena's Grace, a long green herb that can be used to make a tea that grants advantage on saves against poison and disease. 15gp 10 20 Fisheater plant, a plant the grows in nutriet poor rocky soil near the coast that survives from eating and dissolving fish. This plant can be harvested with a DC 14 poisoner’s tools check to extract acid 50gp 13 21 1d6 Altar Berries. Berries known to contain very trace amounts of orichalcum. 10gp 15

150 D20 Coast Cost ID DC They restore 1 sorcery point when eaten 22 A fish has washed up onto shore but is still usable, roll on the fishing table - - 23 Porters Plant, a neon purple plant that would seem out of place in any natural environment. It can be consumed to cast misty step, or a caster can use a 4th level spell slot and consume the plant to cast Dimension Door or a 7th level spell slot to cast Teleportation, even if the caster could not normally cast those spells 100gp 14 24 A squid with a full ink sac washes up on shore 10gp 10 25 Vistra’s Vanity. This black plant shines faintly purple in the light. It produces an oil that enhances the appearance of metals and leathers. If applied to an object, it can grant the effects of Distort Value with an investigation DC of 14 for 24 hours. 50gp 15 26 A perfectly coiled seashell, used by many mariners in marriage rituals it fetches an absurdly high price. It has no real practical uses. 300gp 14 27 A chunk of dead coral used in various necromancy rituals and can be used as a spell casting focus. 125gp 12 28 Arcane Ginger Root, when eaten raw or infused in tea it allows wizards to use their Arcane Recovery feature without a short rest. 250gp 13 29 Rosary Pea, a poisonous plant that if consumed provokes a DC 17 constitution save. If failed, the target takes 10d6 poison damages and is poisoned for a minute. While poisoned this way, the target cannot take bonus actions. If they succeeded, they take half damage and are not poisoned. 500gp 15 30 A shipwreck with 500gp and 1d3 rolls on this chart