Planegea - The Star Shaman's Song

HERD TYPES for the night. The huts may lean and the bridges sometimes
snap, but there are few sights to match the vision of an
There are any number of ways to travel with beasts, but entire village plodding along through the grasslands, tied
these three are the most common: to the backs of towering beasts.

Slingcamps. Given the size of their beasts, many Walkalongs. Much simpler, if less impressive, is the life
communities sleep and relax in oversized hammocks slung of the walkalong camp, whose people keep pace with their
along the length of their animals. Depending on the crea- beasts and strike their campfires on the ground. Walka-
ture, between two and six such hammocks might stretch long communities consider slingcamps and beastbacks to
from shoulder to hip. Some Direstaves are proud of the fact be a bit foolish, and are given to rolling their eyes at the
that they’ve never spent a night on the ground and can’t excesses of such a life when there’s perfectly good grass
sleep unless they hear the rumble of gigantic breath beside
their ear. underfoot any time one should need it.

Beastback villages. Some beasts are so massive and
docile that entire huts and platforms can be constructed on
their backs. These herds live in close formation, with rope
bridges slung between them when the camp settles down

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Free Citadel their parents have raised them to watch out for themselves,
to realize that tyranny is only one wrong step away, and
“A GLEAMING TORCH OF HOPE, BURNING IN THE FAR to know that the ability to choose your own fate is not
mountains, to which all captives look and think—someday!” common, but precious.

—The Sayings of Inori the Traveler Spoils of the Empire. There are no mortals alive who can
match the refinement of Free Citadel. With access to the
C ARVED FROM A MOUNTAINTOP NEAR THE wealth and luxury of a great city of the Stone Empire, the
mouth of the Eel River, a city built by the Stone people of the city dress in silks and rare furs, with great
Empire gleams like a beacon of freedom. Free oversized jewels and ivory armbands that were once rings.
Citadel is built at the top of a great cliff, with its This finery is mixed and matched with simple attire suited
western wall formed by the mountain itself, deep to the work of survival, making for striking combinations
chambers tunneled into the rock, and soaring towers that of rough-woven tunics and elaborate jewelry, grand gowns
look out over the valleys. Everyone has heard of the mortal torn at the knee, and so on.
uprising that slew the giant overlords of a Stone Empire
city and claimed it as their own domain. Free Citadel is a Uxu. If there is one thing the people of Free Citadel love,
place, but it’s also an idea—that tyranny can be shattered, it’s an imperial ballgame called uxu. Enormous crowds
cages can be broken, and empires can fall. gather to watch the teams of the citadel compete in the
giant arena. The final game is held at the winter solstice,
Birthplace of hope. The Overthrow— and the victors enjoy a year of honor—and fierce compe-
the day Free Citadel became free—took
place within the last human lifespan.
It is a new thing in the world, and the
giants are staggered by the event. Led
by an orc woman now known as the
Usurper Queen, captives in a mountain
city planned for a year, then slew their
oppressors in the span of a single day.
The city is theirs, and the victors live in
its streets and walls, raiding its spoils and
investigating its secrets.

The Revolutionary Court. The Usurper
Queen is the beloved leader of Free
Citadel, and she has assembled a group
of counselors and advisors from the
revolt to lead her people. The members of
the court oversee areas such as defense,
provision, espionage, morale, and more.
Each reports to and advises the queen,
whose word is final.

Overthrow Carnival. Each year in high
summer, a massive festival is held by the
people of Free Citadel to celebrate the
uprising. Games, bonfires, songs, plays,
sports and competitions of all kinds,
wine, and revelry overtake the city for
days on end, in a great letting loose of joy
and relief and grief and astonishment.

Plundering survivors. The sprawling
city is only partially explored, and teams
perpetually scout and loot new chambers.
Other areas defied opening for years on
end. In a never-ending game of “finders
keepers,” the people of Free Citadel claim
all they can and give nothing back.

Guarded revolutionaries. A spirit of
watchful defiance is the shared ethos
of Free Citadel. Though many children
have been born since the Overthrow,

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 199

tition to defend their crown. Recently, word of uxu has into a guarded room. He lives there still, fed and cared for
spread outside of Free Citadel, and curious clans have sent by a special guard. Determined to survive, the Prisoner
emissaries to learn more about this fascinating competition. has proved useful time and again, offering information
that has helped open vaults and storehouses, protected
Spoils of war. Free Citadel is cut off from major trade against attacks, and unlocked secrets of giant magic. Some
routes by its mountaintop isolation and position inside the of the young people of the citadel consider him a sage, a
Stone Empire. Still, adventurous traders find their way window into ancient knowledge, and—though rumors of
up and down the Eel River, and the reward is worth the this send chills down the spine of the queen—there is even
danger, for the wonders of the plundered city command a small contingent of youths who have been swayed by his
great power in bartering deals. The citadel has long cunning and would see the Prisoner set free.
survived on its stores of food—enough to feed giants for
decades—but supplies are starting to run low, and there is ISSUES & AGENDA
an undercurrent of worry among the people that they will
need to start finding more ways to trade or travel outside There is no single philosophy that governs the people of
the city walls in order to survive for years to come. Free Citadel, except the judgment of the Usurper Queen.
However, certain issues of concern are discussed every-
LEADERS where in the city, not least in its council chambers.

Without question, the Usurper Queen is the head of Free Food crisis. For years, the city has subsisted on the great
Citadel. But she is not the only force to be reckoned with, food stores of the giants, but those stores will run low soon.
for good or for ill. More hunters and gatherers are being sent out into the
mountains every day, but everyone worries about when the
The Usurper Queen (LG female orc chieftain) has no other food will run out.
name. Stolen from the Lion Clan as a child, she was a name-
less captive in the houses of three empires. Until the day of Giant assault. The giants have let Free Citadel stand
the uprising, she seemed to be a nobody, meek and subdued. unchallenged for far too long—an attack to take it back
But her mild demeanor hid a raging fire of revolutionary seems inevitable. There is great debate about why they have
vision, and she was the architect and master planner of the been left alone for so long, and what the assault will look
revolt that took down the giants. First to draw her blade, like when it comes.
first to slay her captor, and first in the hearts of the people,
the Usurper Queen leads with honor, fairness, and wisdom. Espionage vs conquest. The Usurper Queen and Takluk
The weight of her responsibility lies heavily on her shoul- the Beheader are opposed on whether to undermine
ders, and those who know her best can see it is taking a the empires through espionage and sabotage or military
toll. She has turned gray far too young, and she rarely has a conquest. The debate runs throughout the city, turning
light moment. Serious, thoughtful, and earnest, the Usurper bitter in some quarters.
Queen keeps to her small circle of trusted advisors on the
Revolutionary Court, preferring above all the company of Unbreached vaults. Nobody knows how deep the vaults
those who were with her on the day of the Overthrow. under the city go, and many of them are still sealed with
Stone Giant magic that has—so far—been impossible to
Takluk the Beheader (N male half-elf veteran) is the breach. People debate the contents of the vaults, imagining
closest thing the Usurper Queen has to a rival. He is a possible caches of food, supplies, magic items… or terrible
hero of the Overthrow—his sudden beheading of a frost threats that should not be unleashed.
giant auctioneer triggered the final riot that brought the
giants to their knees. Since then, Takluk has been head of Youth activity. A new generation has grown up in Free
the Revolutionary Tribunal—judge and public executioner Citadel without any memory of captivity. They are brash
for crimes against Free Citadel—and his severe intensity and overconfident. Some believe the giants are no threat at
inspires respect and fear. In the years since the Overthrow, all, while others hold them in a strange reverence. There
Takluk and the Usurper Queen have drifted apart. While have even been rumors of frost cults and stone cults arising
the Usurper Queen is focused on the survival of the city around a certain fascination with the giants’ power.
and the spread of hope to other slaves in distant cities,
Takluk believes that Free Citadel should be militarizing and The Thrüm-Vashal. The greatest abandoned artifact of the
trying to conquer nearby cities by force. These two factions giants is also their most mysterious—even the Prisoner has
have split the politics of the Revolutionary Court, but the no idea what it does, only that the former ruler of the city
people’s love for the Usurper Queen has kept power firmly kept it in his vault under heavy guard. This glittering orb
in her hands… for now. is a puzzle and a threat, and not even the greatest minds of
Free Citadel have been able to unlock its power… yet.
The Prisoner (NE male stone giant) is the only giant
still alive in Free Citadel. During the Overthrow, he was Uxu. This giant sport, in which two teams try to get a
pushed by a crowd off the wall, and lay, unable to move, on ball through rings susepnded 20 feet off the ground at
the rocks below. In the days following the revolt, he was either end of 90-foot x 45-foot field, is always a favorite
discovered to be alive, but paralyzed below the neck. The topic for debate. When points are scored, they are tracked
Usurper Queen saw an opportunity and had him dragged by pouring water into large basins. A team wins when
their basin overflows. Everyone has their favorite team,
and when conversation on other things dies away, there’s
always uxu to discuss.

200 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 201

202 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

MAGIC & MATTER Kraia’s Children

Free Citadel is a city of splendor and magic reclaimed by “DON’T YOU WORRY, DON’T YOU HURRY,
former captives. Kraia’s child is already here.
Slip and stumble, trip and tumble,
Fortune-tellers. All manner of spellcasters have made Kraia knows best—never fear.”
their way to Free Citadel, but it’s no surprise that the
giant secrets of divination have been studied most closely —A Rhyme for Tyrants, from Kraia’s Lullabies
in the city. The augurs and fortunetellers of Free Citadel
are famously numerous, if not famously reliable. It seems K RAIA’S CHILDREN ARE A MENACE, A PROMISE,
someone on every corner is willing to barter a glimpse at a creed, a cult, a rumor, or an inspiration—it all
your destiny. depends on who you ask. They are a secret organi-
zation, the scattered faithful of a shared ethos: That
Oversized everything. Wielding or wearing giant arms power is a threat, and those who gather it should be
and armor is an act of might and heavy modification. undermined.
Knives are used as swords, belt-buckles are used as breast-
plates. Stone giant craftsmanship and spellwork is hard to Legends of Kraia. Nobody knows who Kraia actually is or
match, so even these outsize castoffs are regarded as goods was. Some say she was the wife of a mad chieftain. Others
of great value. that he is a slave who escaped the Sea Empire and dwells in
a cave on the Kraken Coast. Still others believe that Kraia
Plundered artifacts. Even poor folk in Free Citadel have is a spirit moving through the world, possessing men and
access to wonders that are far beyond most people in other women to inspire the collapse of tyranny and power.
places—though they may not know what to do with them.
Many Free Citadel families have a small pile of assorted Faithful families. Whoever Kraia might have been, their
spoils that they claim to be powerfully magical. message of undermining power has caught hold of hearts
throughout Planegea. There is no central organization to
Giant pests. The young hunters of Free Citadel earn the group, only cells of like-minded people called families,
their place by traveling in bands to dispatch the enormous operating to destabilize whatever local centers of power
crawling things that scurry and creep from the deep vaults they can. Usually a family appoints a leader called an Eldest,
of the city. Enormous spiders, centipedes, rats, and worse with the members calling each other Brother or Sister. The
are all too common, especially on the lower levels. Eldest is responsible for coordinating efforts, but is seen as
the servant of the group, not a figure of power.
Dark secrets. No one knows what lies far below the city,
or what unfinished work the giant spellcasters may have Infiltrate & undermine. Kraia’s Children have many
left unattended. The Overthrow came without warning, methods, but open violence is rarely among them. They
and it’s possible that some doors may have been left open of prefer to make themselves useful in a tyrant’s council,
unbeknownst to the freed captives. earning trust and exploiting weaknesses until they can
bring it all crashing down with a single elegant betrayal.
AREAS
Diverse families. Anyone who believes in the overthrow
Free Citadel is an enormous place, both in scale and of power can join Kraia’s cause, and the Children are of
complexity, but people talk about it in terms of areas: every kinship and background. Their methods vary widely
as well, from family to family. In some regions they are
The Parapets. These are the high towers and upper levels seen as villains who poison and plot to bring down noble
of the city. Safer from giant pests but difficult to reach, they chieftains, while in others they are the whispered heroes
tend to be settled by those with more resources or greater of the common people as they labor tirelessly in secret to
need for safety. Takluk the Beheader makes his home here. tear down warlords and empires.

Throne Hall. In the center of the city is a hall so huge that Agents of chaos. Despite their cult-like trappings, the
it has become a neighborhood. Covered in huts and tents agenda of Kraia’s Children is explicitly political—they
and multi-tiered structures, this is the city’s marketplace. are focused on the distribution of power, keeping it from
centering in any one person’s hand in every region where
Mountainside. The half of the city built into the slope is they operate. It makes no difference to their creed whether
called Mountainside. This area is quieter, settled by fami- the powerful has noble or wicked intentions; they believe
lies and crafters. The Usurper Queen makes her home here.
Kraia’s Children—what to say? Here’s what I’ll offer:
Skyside. The area of the city with a view is louder, brighter, For every murdered chieftain, there is a slaughtered
and full of bustling activity at all times. A popular area for
recreation and celebration, including regular uxu matches tyrant. For every dark family, there is a family
played in courts with sweeping views of the horizon. devoted to liberty and justice for the oppressed.

The Carved Quarter. Underneath ground level sprawl Do not judge Kraia’s Children too quickly.
huge tunnels and chambers where the poor dwell. At
threat from giant pests, this quarter is more hazardous, but
known for its hardy hunters and close-knit communities.

The Vaults. These deep chambers are forbidden to most—
which doesn’t stop young or old from attempting to crack
their secrets. Some were raided years ago, while others still
defy opening—making them all the more tantalizing prizes.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 203

that power itself causes rot and misery, and oppose law and of all their plans. Some say that Edgegather sits in the palm
rule everywhere they can. of Kraia, and if the children have a center of influence
anywhere, it is that wild and riotous city built on the edge
Kraia’s Lullabies. There is no shared symbol, fashion, or of the world.
icon for Kraia’s children; nothing to set them apart at a
glance—otherwise, their work inside the belly of power Riverland Families. (CG) In the Cult Riverlands, where
would be impossible. The only giveaway is a set of rhymes, dark gods demand cruel sacrifices of their followers,
songs, and chants that they are taught, which are passed roving families of Kraia’s Children travel from cult to cult
from family to family. These are Kraia’s Lullabies, and they seeking to overthrow the worship of evil. They operate
are the only teaching the families share. more openly in the Riverland than anywhere else, needing
to work fast before the gods can detect their agenda, and
FABLED FAMILIES it’s said that families from the Riverland carry more open
blades and marks of their creed than anywhere else, oper-
If leaders catch wind of Kraia’s Children, they root them ating half in the light as wandering freedom fighters.
out by any means necessary. That’s why only a few families
are known—and what’s known of them is more than half The Friendly Family. (CE) No family is more feared or
rumor and speculation. hated than the Friendly Family. Some say they’re only
a ghost story—a group of insidious monsters who use
The Family at Edgegather. (CN) In the chaotic city of their powers of persuasion, charm, and mind-control to
Edgegather (p. 166), it is widely believed that Kraia’s find good people striving to bring order and help to the
Children hold sway as a major force just out of sight. poor and wretched. The Friendly Family is said to arrive
Edgegather is a place with no clear leader, and any time a when you’re not looking and depart when you’re not sane.
chieftain has tried to centralize or organize the city, there According to the stories, the Friendly Family won’t kill
have been mysterious accidents leading to the unraveling

204 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

their victims—they’ll utterly break them, and leave the An amoral creed. Kraia’s Children do not distinguish
people they were trying to help with less than nothing, between good and evil power—all power is equally abusive,
sold into tragedy and worse off than ever before. and should be overthrown. Sometimes this teaching is
hard to hold onto, when kind chieftains of struggling clans
BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR are betrayed, and it is necessary for the Eldest of a family to
encourage—or silence—a doubting family member.
Kraia’s Children are governed by a single idea—but how
that idea is acted upon is as different as each family who MAGIC & MATTER
shares it.
Kraia’s Children have no fixed methods or resources—still,
Philosophy. Power is a threat, and those who gather it should the Lullabies do lend themselves to certain tactics.
be undermined. Their ideals include:
Opening minds and hearts. When spellcasters join
• Equality: Everyone has the right to stand on equal foot- families of Kraia’s Children, they are often relied upon to
ing and chart their own life. (Good) aid in infiltration and assimilation, helping their brothers
and sisters work their way into vital positions with a little
• Freedom: People should do what they want with no enchantment magic wherever possible.
authority constricting their choices. (Chaotic)
Toys for the Children. One of the tasks of the Eldest is
• Treachery: There is nothing sweeter than a well-exe- to supply the family with what they need, and they often
cuted and justly deserved betrayal. (Evil) handle bartering with traders and enchanters to get what-
ever weapons, spells, or magic items suit the task at hand.
No power above the family. Kraia’s Lullabies sing of how Such supplies are called toys in the Lullabies. Favorite toys
the family is the only power structure found in nature; the of the Children are powders that can be mixed into potions,
only power to be trusted and upheld. Within families of
Kraia’s Children, trust and loyalty are absolute.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 205

magic rings, enchanted daggers, magical tattoos, and other scavengers who bring back the offerings left to him, and
easily-concealed implements of subtle interference and who teach young, ignorant thieves of the importance of
sudden treachery. taking the vow and becoming loyal to his majesty.

WORK FOR HIRE Visitation. It’s said that when more than three moons are
full at the same time, the Rat King leaves his lair and goes
There are times when families—usually without naming wandering through the world—visiting his subjects, meting
themselves—find it expedient to barter for the services of out blessings and curses, enabling fantastic scores, and
strongarms and sellswords. This is usually handled by the stealing whatever is locked away by the powerful. These
Eldest or an intermediary, almost always without mention- travels are called the Visitation, and it’s a common rite of
ing Kraia’s Children in any way. those of Scavengers Vow to assemble when a third moon
turns full to await the king, should he choose to arrive.
False raids. A common tactic is for families to send hired
warriors into a stable environment in a raid, raising alarms Superstitious rumors. Scavengers Vow is mostly held
and causing mayhem. In the aftermath, one of the Children together by a tangle of threats and promises arising from
can slip in as a friend to help resolve the danger and earn a superstition and insinuation. Those who pledge their
place of trust in the seat of power. loyalty to it swear that the Tithe brings them good luck,
and that only a fool wouldn’t bend the knee to the king’s
Shield-cracking. When facing more militant warlords, power. Others claim it’s all a lot of hocus-pocus and
it can be useful for a family to find warriors willing to rumor-mongering to puff up the ego of one old thief.
engage in direct combat. By reducing the warlord’s forces
in direct combat, a family can destabilize their power and Marks and signs. Perhaps the Vow’s greatest feat is the
create opportunities to sow doubt and fear among their construction of a number of symbols that—while they
ranks. can’t be read quite in the same way as a written language—
serve to stand for important concepts. These symbols,
Toy acquisition. Families are usually embedded within called Thieves Cant, give warning of danger, suggest
local centers of power, operating delicate plots that require possible ripe scores, and offer guidance to lost scavengers.
close attention. So when magic items or unique materials Some say the Rat King invented the marks, others that he
are rumored to be nearby, the Eldest will often reach out to only invented the idea of using them to center power under
roving hunters or skilled gatherers to retrieve valuable toys himself.
on behalf of the family.
Tithemarked. The most loyal members of Scavengers
Scavengers Vow Vow, as a sign of dedication and supplication to the Rat
King, mark their bodies with the Tithe, using scars or
“THE PREY RUNS, THE HUNTER HUNTS, THE SCAVENGER tattoos. Others prefer to carry a scrap of bone or hide with
steals, the Rat King takes what he wants, and the world continues the mark as an easy way of signaling their loyalty to others
on just as it always will.” in the Vow. In general, scavengers prefer loose, dark cloth-
ing that enables them to move easily and fade away into the
—Rugrib the Philosopher-Thief night quickly—though more than a few are particularly
proud of some trophy they scored and keep it on their
W HEREVER SCAVENGERS CONGREGATE TO person to display should they need to prove their prowess.
scheme of theft, whispers of Scavengers Vow
arise. The Vow is an alliance of the desperate, a Liar’s Duel. A favorite pastime of scavengers, while
confederation of survival and greed ruled by a waiting for the moment to strike at their mark, is the game
single figure—the mysterious and covetous Rat called Liar’s Duel, in which two players compete to tell the
King, who rules and exacts tithes from the safety of his secret most elaborate, convincing, knotted web of lies and half-
lair. Savvy scavengers know that good things come to those truths they can. The game ends when either player exposes
who pay the tithe, and as for those who don’t… well. They’re their opponent’s lie (usually through a contradiction in
likely to meet an unfortunate end, one way or another. the tall tale, although other logical maneuvers may also be
employed), and can go on for hours on end—perfect for idle
Long live the king. Before the rise of the Rat King, there time between sundown and the darkest hour of the night.
was no central power among thieves and scavengers. But Legend has it that there is one game of Liar’s Duel in Seer-
sometime in the last few generations, a mark called the fall which has been going on for more than a year.
Tithe started to spread, and whispers got around that after
a scavenging run, should you come across the Tithe, it was Mysterious wares. Scavengers Vow is famous for having
best to leave a portion of the take. At first, nobody was sure anything and everything available for trade. If you can find
who or what the Rat King was, but now most scavengers a Tithe-Gatherer or gain access to the Rat King’s secret lair,
agree he’s at least half-human and possessed of power to it’s said there isn’t a single object in all Planegea that they
bless and curse as he sees fit. can’t provide, obtain, or give news of.

A hierarchy of thieves. The Rat King sits at the top of LEADERS
Scavengers Vow, and is attended by a rotating band of
chiefs and lieutenants, few of whom seem to last long. The Rat King’s circle of useful henchmen swells and
From his lair, he sends out Tithe-Gatherers—wandering shrinks in accordance with his mood, but a few familiar
faces can be found in the lair year after year.

206 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

The Rat King (CE male half-ooze leatherwing assassin) Chief Tithe-Gatherer Tum’Gar (LE male orc bandit
dwells in finery and splendor, surrounded by henchmen captain) is the arm of the Rat King in the world—for now.
and cronies at the center of his hidden lair. Paranoid, boast- The latest in a long line of Chief Tithe-Gatherers, Tum’Gar
ful, vindictive, vain, and above all, greedy, he is a difficult is tasked with roving the Great Valley, enforcing the will
sovereign. Still, his ability to amass power and possessions of his king, and spreading the news of the Vow to those
cannot be denied,. Those closest to him say that he does, in selfish scavengers who are not paying the proper respect
fact, wield curses and blessings as weapons, although it’s yet. Tum’Gar is a clever strategist, and deploys his gatherers
hard to say what the source of those powers are. Stories with tactical insight. It’s said that since Tum’Gar took over
about him are a dense web of lies and rumors, and those as chief, tithes have increased fivefold, and many attribute
who know him best, having survived longest in his capri- this to his particularly punitive measures for those who
cious company, keep their lips shut about his origin or the ignore the mark of the Tithe. It’s common knowledge that
exact nature of his power. Tum’Gar was once the chief of a powerful orcish clan, but
was cast out for reasons he keeps to himself, and now
Adderroot (NE female dreas druid) is called the Living serves the Rat King unquestioningly.
Lair by those who dwell in the presence of the king. The
stories say that the Rat King stole divine ivory from a snake BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR
god and hid it in a tree, creating Adderroot. A powerful
spellcaster who keeps her own council, Adderroot has the Scavengers Vow is bound by loyalty to the Rat King, as well
form of a bark-skinned woman from her waist up, but her as a shared set of beliefs and behaviors.
lower half is still rooted to the forest where the Rat King
dwells. Loyal to the king through blind devotion or calcu- Philosophy. Take all you can from those who can spare it.
lating cunning, Adderroot uses her druidic magic to create Their ideals include:
the forest lair in which the Rat King dwells—keeping out
the unwanted with thorns, poison, choking roots, and • Self-preservation: You’re no good to the world dead, so
whipping branches, and coaxing into existence a haven of do what it takes to survive. (Neutral)
flowers and green leaves in the Rat King’s chambers. It’s
said that Adderroot is the lair, half-person and half-place, • Cunning: The smartest ones last the longest. (Neutral)
and that she alone sees and knows all that his majesty and • Greed: What’s theirs should be mine. (Evil)
his followers do.
The Tithe & the Line. The first rule of Scavengers Vow
is to honor the Tithe and pay the Rat King his share. The
second is to not scavenge from those who’ll die if you

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 207

take what’s theirs. This rule is essentially pragmatic—you Sharkport. Scavengers Vow operates largely within the
can’t steal twice if the mark dies the first time. This rule bounds of the Great Valley, but their greed reaches even
is called the Line, and there are severe punishments for into the far edges of the world. Sharkport is a seemingly
scavengers who cross the Line. unremarkable fishing camp on the Undershore (p. 171),
but it’s where tithe-gatherers go to collect their cut of what
Backstabbers. Treachery, lies, backstabbing, and swin- the Sharksails haul in… for even those seafaring raiders
dling are all common behaviors in the ranks of the Vow, aren’t immune to superstitious fear of the Rat King’s power
and if a scavenger isn’t ready to play dirty, they’re not ready to call down curses.
to serve the king.
Vowshard Hideout. Several years ago, an enterprising
The Pile. It is known to those closest to him that the band of scavengers managed to smuggle themselves onto
Rat King is amassing a staggering amount of valuable and an Air Empire caravan heading to the floating capital city
magical items in a hoard called the Pile, hidden somewhere of Nebhis. According to the stories, they have been living
deep within his lair. When asked about it, he winks and in the cracks of the capital ever since, like rats in the walls.
evades the question, but his gathering has taken on an air They call themselves the Vowshard, and if the rumors are
of desperation lately, and some say that he mutters, “Almost to be believed, their hideout is decorated with such impe-
enough… nearly ready,” when he thinks nobody is listening. rial riches that it makes even the Rat King’s pile look like
Although his goals are his own, his agenda is clear—get all rubbish. The Rat King has sworn great rewards to anyone
you can as fast as you can, and pay your tithe or else. who can haul back the Vowshard’s share—and great curses
on the Vowshard if they don’t pay him his due.
MAGIC & MATTER

Scavengers Vow is generous to its favorite members,
supplying them with magic and aid to keep adding to the
Rat King’s Pile.

Hedge magic. There isn’t a type of magic the Vow won’t
employ to reach its goal, but since its ranks are drawn
from outcasts, Scavengers Vow spellcasters tend to be of
the more common variety, their desperation and cunning
more than making up for their low skills.

The tools of thieves. Daggers, knives, hide armor, oils,
skull lamps—all the tricks of the trade are plied by Scav-
engers Vow. They’re especially known for their knotpicks,
which carry a subtle enchantment to ease apart confound-
ing magical knots.

Cloaks and inks. When it comes to magical items, the
Vow prefers cloaks with enchantments that can conceal
body, weapons, and more. There’s also a strong inclination
towards magical tattoos, for those who have access to them,
since they cannot be stripped away should the scavenger be
captured by their marks.

Scavenging bond. Scavengers live in harmony with
many creatures that nobler folk find unsavory, such as rats,
hyenas, jackals, and crows. A kinship is shared when you’re
doing whatever it takes to stay alive, and it’s common for
Scavengers Vow thieves to be seen in company with a
slinking beast of one kind or another.

HIDEAWAYS

Tithe marks can be found across Planegea, and anywhere
they are, Scavengers Vow is near. But there are a few key
locations that loom large in the mind of the Vow.

The Living Lair. This forest sanctum is active and alive,
directed by the intelligence of Adderroot, always chang-
ing to conceal its secrets and its location from prying eyes.
Located in the depths of Howlgrove (p. 165), the Living
Lair needs all the defenses it can provide to fend off the
wolf-cursed inhabitants of that forest, especially whenever
three moons ripen to fullness.

208 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Seerfall glimpsed by the common supplicant, but those who have
dwelt long at Seerfall know how fraught calm words can be.
“I’M TELLING YOU, THE VERY AIR ITSELF SHIMMERS
with holy light—you never imagined a godlier place.” The blue sash. The gathered shamans and leaders at
Seerfall often have cause to send emissaries, messen-
—Eoi the Green gers, or servants to carry word of what they have learned
during their time in the holy city. Such emissaries are
D EEP IN THE SLUMBERING FOREST, WHERE given a woven, blue sash, symbolizing the waterfalls of
the Ox River tumbles through dwarvish ruins the sanctuary. Anyone wearing such a sash is to be treated
in a series of breathtaking cascades, dwells the with respect and given aid on their way by the clans who
community of Seerfall. This sanctuary of shamans, encounter them—a tradition that all too many swindlers
ascetics, philosophers, and sorcerers is held in and scavengers have taken advantage of.
great regard throughout Planegea as the greatest gathering
of the wise. Communal meals. With the many and varied rites of
worship and meditation required by the practices of the
Ruin encampment. It is the way of dwarves to construct faithful at Seerfall, it can be difficult to find common
great monuments, edifices, or cities, and move on as soon ground. Years ago, the Warden instituted the require-
as the work of building is done. Seerfall is one of their ment that any who dwelt at Seerfall must take place in
greatest creations—a series of palatial halls and rock walls the communal meal just after midday, unless their god
carved through the stone of an intricately linked set of requires them to be elsewhere. These meals are usually
waterfalls. The resulting structure is a sanctuary with simple—fish, the plenty of the forest gathered by the
stone chambers, balconies, cloisters, colonnades, and Warden’s servants, and food offered by supplicants or
gardens, all carved beside, behind, between, and among acolytes. It is served in shallow wooden bowls each day,
seven breathtaking waterfalls. In and among these cham- when all of Seerfall stops to assemble in the largest hall and
bers, gods have grown plentiful, and seers, shamans, and its connected courtyard and cloisters for a half hour.
other wise folk have erected tents, draped in the symbols
of their gods and philosophies, and made a permanent, Gifts & offerings. Seerfall is well-provided with all its
vibrant settlement. material needs by the gifts and offerings of supplicants
who seek council from the wise or help from the powerful.
Leaders & followers. The hierarchy of Seerfall is complex. The Warden’s servants accept and distribute the gifts that
Many elders and high shamans of various beliefs and gods are not directed to a particular shaman. In return, Seer-
dwell there, most of whom are followed by their own set of fall offers a wealth of spiritual insight and guidance, and
acolytes, disciples, and servants. But the leadership of Seer- potential blessing to any who seek it with a pure heart.
fall is divided among three figures—the Oracle, who is the
spiritual leader of the community; the Warden, who cares LEADERS
for the sanctuary’s physical needs; and the Arbiter, who
keeps order among the people. Each of these commands The offices of leadership at Seerfall have changed hands
great respect, and has a small army of followers who will many times, but the roles remain constant, caring for the
leap to their smallest suggestion. spiritual, physical, and communal needs of those who
gather at the sanctuary.
Neverending rituals. As Seerfall is considered one of the
holiest places in Planegea, shamans from across the world The Oracle (NG female elf shaman) is a title that shifts
gather here for council, help, and to perform rituals. There as spiritual power waxes and wanes. Chosen by an inner
are countless shrines and altars everywhere in Seerfall, and circle of influential leaders, the Oracle is the shaman or
at any time of the day or night, multiple sacred rituals are seer considered to be most gifted and in touch with the
being carried out by the followers of one god or another. greater powers of Planegea, charged with discovering
The air is usually fragrant with the smell of incense or prophecies of things to come. The current Oracle is an
sacrifices, and music or chanting interweaves with the elven woman who was born in the Great Valley in a poor
sound of the falls in an endless fabric of worship. clan of no name or notoriety. She appears, as most elves do,
as a mortal in the prime of her youth, and her powder-blue
A sacred sanctuary. The tone of Seerfall is above all one skin is almost transparent, her face framed by black hair
of reverence. Disturbances of the peace are quickly dealt plaited in three long braids. But her eyes speak of lifetimes
with by the Arbiter’s servants, but those are rare, as most of wisdom, and it’s believed that she has favor with more
who come to Seerfall come to partake in its holy work, or gods than any living soul. She is even said to have lived
to make reverent supplication of those who do. among the genies for a time. She can be cryptic and aloof,
preferring to keep her own company and speak in meta-
A layered society. Those who first visit Seerfall, who phor or riddles—but there isn’t an elder at Seerfall who
see its host of shamans living peacefully among the falls, doubts her spiritual authority.
could be forgiven if they mistook it for a sinless haven of
harmony and order. However, the serene surface conceals The Warden (N male human noble) is charged with
a dense fabric of subtle politics and power dynamics, inner providing food, accommodations, and safety to all who
and outer circles, rivalry and conflict. These play out in make their home at Seerfall. The current Warden has
quiet conversations behind closed doors and are never held the position for many years and, though personally
unpredictable, never fails to ensure the myriad needs of

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 209

the community are met almost before they are felt. The BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR
current Warden is a middle-aged man with thinning red
hair, a potbelly, a contagious laugh, and a fierce temper. Although shamans and philosophers of many varieties
Quick to joke and just as quick to lash out with whatever make pilgrimages to Seerfall, there is a shared ethos among
object comes to hand, the Warden is immediate in his deci- those who make their home there, or who journey out into
sions and expects total and instant obedience in all matters. the world in service of its leaders.
Some say he is the least spiritual man at Seerfall, but those
who know him best understand that his reverence is not a Philosophy. Wisdom saves the world. Their ideals include:
performance, and that he treats gods like gods and people
like people. Above all, the Warden is always busy, dealing • Peace: It is better to live in harmony than in discord—
with three crises while looking ahead to seven more. violence brings only pain. (Good)

The Arbiter (LN agender starling noble) is the final • Understanding: To know a threat deeply is to know how
authority on all conflict in Seerfall. The Arbiter tradi- to rightly react. (Neutral)
tionally wears a wooden mask, which impels those who
can see it to speak the truth and grants the ability to see • Stability: Change is entropy—things should remain as
through illusion. The current Arbiter has held the position they are. (Neutral)
as long as anyone can remember. They are a striking figure
of yellow light and command instant respect, even awe. Servants of prophecy. Seerfall looks to the Oracle to
The Arbiter cultivates a reputation as the personification prophesy of coming events, and then to act upon them.
of justice, utterly unbiased and neutral in all matters. But Prophecies have led to legendary hunts, stopped wars,
at the end of the day, they are still a person, and some tell fended off giant incursions, and more. When the Oracle
stories of private grudges or favorites that the Arbiter acts delivers a prophecy, it can lead to great joy, great turmoil, or
upon in their exceptionally rare unguarded moments. the kind of hunts that chanters sing about for generations.

Divine meddlers. Not everyone in Planegea welcomes the
emissaries of Seerfall. To some, the sanctuary is seen as a
nest of self-important zealots, generating fears and outland-

210 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

ish beliefs, then sending out messengers to stir up trouble Protected pilgrimage. Emissaries are often sent into the
based on the notions of some out-of-touch elf. world to safeguard those traveling to or from Seerfall.

World-savers. The leaders of Seerfall have no less a Spirit hunt. Summoned fiends and misguided celestials
grand mission than the very salvation of the world. They are a frequent threat, and must be eradicated or banished.
constantly seek to avert imminent disasters and believe
that a day is coming when the Oracle will foresee a path Oracular journey. When the Oracle foresees danger, it is
that will preserve all of Planegea from utter ruin. the work of all Seerfall to prevent it. Many bands of gifted
emissaries have been sent into the world by her word—and
MAGIC & MATTER many have never been seen alive again.

Seerfall casts a long shadow in the wider world, and its OVERLAPPING GODS
faithful can be recognized by various markers:
Lesser gods beyond number make their hallows at Seerfall,
Divine magic & discipline. The spellcasting agents of infusing the place with a bewilderment of divine magic.
Seerfall are most commonly shamans and guardians, with None of these gods are as strong as the Brothers, Twr, or
some reverent sorcerers and ascetics among them. When Mala, but they are powerful within their overlapping and
emissaries of the blue sash are in the world, it is assumed intersecting hallows. Some of these gods include:
that their magic will be of a holy nature, and they are often
approached by strangers and supplicants for healing spells, d8 Results
even when on missions of violence.
1 Ekmo the Knowing Stone, a rock god of knowledge
Amulets and symbols. A thriving industry of icon, totem,
idol, and amulet-makers surrounds Seerfall, and many of 2 Hebol Allfruit, a tree god of life
their inhabitants carry finely-crafted divine symbols with
various enchantments of infusions of power. 3 Edor the Still, a water god of peace

Summoning & banishing. Many shamans, far from the 4 Glimmering Bala, a beetle god of light
hallows of their gods, rely on spiritual messengers to carry
their prayers to those they worship. Summoned celestials 5 The Green Wind, a weather god of nature
and fiends are not an uncommon sight, and the Warden’s
servants are often tasked with hunting down summoned 6 Ynknys the Enshrouder, a snake god of death
spirits who have overstayed their welcome.
7 The Skitterer, a roach god of trickery
Dark rites & desecration. Although the servants of blood-
thirsty gods are unwelcome in the peaceful community 8 The Roaring Rocks, twin stone gods of war
of Seerfall, there have been occasions on which deceitful
divinities have slipped murderous agents into the sanctu- The Sign of the Hare
ary. Wicked sacrifices have been made and desecrating fires
burned—it is the task of the Arbiter’s servants to find and “SURVIVAL ISN’T ENOUGH. WE AREN’T HERE TO SIMPLY
snuff out such incursions of evil. eat and die. There are endless worlds to be unlocked, infinite futures
to behold. Even if it means I have to run for the rest of my life, I’ll be
LOCATIONS damned if I let some accursed dogs keep me down.”

Built around seven great falls, Seerfall is a complex struc- —Restakar
ture with many areas—these are some of the most notable:
A LMOST NOBODY KNOWS THAT THE SIGN OF
The Oraculary. This ornate, soaring palace was carved by the Hare exists. They are a secret society of spell-
the dwarves into the stone of the fifth cascade. The Oracle skins dedicated to the idea of developing and
dwells here, surrounded by her staff and the many secret sharing magic. Their influence is subtly felt across
passages concealed by dwarvish cunning and magic. Planegea, but they depend upon remaining undis-
covered to stay alive. The Hounds of the Blind Heaven hunt
Communion Hall & the Long Square. A great chamber those who break the Black Taboos, and the spellskins of
near the third cascade and its connected courtyard are the Sign of the Hare (called Hares) study, teach, bend the
where all of Seerfall gathers for the midday meal, to taboos—and run from the Hounds.
exchange greetings, beliefs, stolen glances, and secrets.
A warren of sages. The Sign of the Hare is named because
Booths, cloisters & shrines. Seerfall is full of small places. those in its company know that they are a step away from
Countless traders and crafters offer materials for spells or the jaws of the Hounds of the Blind Heaven. They are a
beautiful amulets, private cells for meditation or prayer are tradition that stretches back as far as memory, passing
commonplace, and informal shrines to little gods dot every along advanced magic, testing the edges of the Black
corner and doorway. Taboos, and trying to find ways to advance life beyond the
restrictions placed upon them by fate.
GUARDIANS & EMISSARIES
Teachers and apprentices. Hares die or mysteriously
There is much work to be done at Seerfall, not least for vanish all the time—there is no single leader, only spell-
those who know how to defend life and confront danger. skins who have lived a little longer and have more to teach,
and those who put themselves under their authority. Often
spellskins of the Sign of the Hare will travel in small

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 211

schools—a teacher with two or three apprentices, trying to ink to their skins, as well as to exchange knowledge to
stay on the move so as not to attract attention from man or make sure if one of them is found by the hounds, not all
beast or metaphysical force. their learning is lost. But their traveling life, their tattoos,
and their arcane secrets often gives them an outlandish
Fires & funerals. Spellskins of the Sign of the Hare live appearance raising suspicion—or pleas for assistance—
and die for those quiet moments when they’re able to sit from clans they meet.
together, sharing and learning spells that surpass imag-
ination, the kind of spells that enrich life for all, raising The sign. Hares greet each other with a hand sign,
mortals from mere survival into civilization. But they making a fist and then lifting the index and little finger to
gather just as often to lay to rest the body of a fallen Hare form ears. Rabbit and hare pictograms are commonplace
who has slipped over the edge of the Black Taboos and been among them, often marking their scattered spell-walls,
found by the Hounds. and many of them keep tamed rabbits as pets, companions,
or familiars.
Arcane wanderers. To stay alive, Hares stay on the move.
Even among such brilliant minds, the Hounds produce Purveyors of magic. Hares survive off their magic in
fear and superstition, and these spellskins avoid concen- more ways than one, bartering magical favors for food
trating knowledge in any one place for fear of having it and supplies needed with anyone they come across. Some-
all destroyed should the Hounds find them. They live as times, if a clan has need and is willing, a group of Hares
fugitives and outcasts, traveling from clan to clan, helping will settle with them, living and working alongside them,
where they can and advancing their studies far from where contributing to the good of the clanfire. But such arrange-
others could get hurt, should things go wrong. ments never last long—there’s too much danger to all
involved, and the idea of the Hounds is enough to keep a
Scattered spell-walls. Their need to keep on the move Hare and their apprentices moving onward time after time.
leads Hares to work out spells on any surface that comes
to hand—cliffs, cave walls, boulders, hillsides, ruins— LEADERS & ALLIES
anywhere they can paint out their magics to keep advanc-
ing their studies. Once a spell is finished, they move on, The Sign of the Hare has no set leadership, but it does
leaving the painting behind in hopes that others will have spellskins who have lived longer than anyone, whose
benefit from the knowledge. This has led to a scattering counsel and knowledge is held in high regard and sought
of spell-walls in strange, hidden places, often where you’d out… though they are usually not easy to find.
least expect, ready to be discovered by an adept mind.
Restakar (CG genderfluid gnome archmage) is one of
Tattooed outcasts. A Hare can be recognized by their the oldest living Hares. They have been everywhere and
wandering ways and their many tattoos. Teachers and seen everything, and move through the world in search
apprentices travel together in part to help each other apply of answers and hope. Schooled in the arts of illusion and

212 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

transmutation, they are constantly changing their appear- and hope in equal measure, daring the Hounds to unmake
ance and their tactics, believing that the answer to the them because of their belief in the value of progress.
problem of the Hounds is buried somewhere in the vaults
of the giants or the ruined temples of aberrations. Resta- Dark magic. The Sign of the Hare believes in knowledge—
kar is known to have once been a companion of Pethna yet study easily curdles into obsession, and daring into
Riverborn in their youth, but the two had a falling out arrogance. The Hares all know of spellskins who have gone
over unknown matters in some distant realm, and keep bad, who have given themselves over to black and manipu-
watchful distance from one another now. Restakar travels lative practices, using others for their arcane experiments
without apprentices and is impulsive, improvisational, and and baiting the Hounds with suffering: the ones called the
unpredictable. They swear that’s how they’re still alive. Recusance (p. 254). The Hares struggle against the Recu-
sance, seeing their perverse practices as an abomination
Uhl-Os-Who-Speaks (LN male human monk) is an ascetic of hope… but at the their worst, they also use their fallen
with a perfect memory, trusted alone among the greatest of friends as foils to learn more without getting their hands
spellskins to transmit messages between them`. One of the dirty. After all, knowledge is knowledge, isn’t it?
rare Hares who is not themself a practicioner of arcane arts,
Uhl-Os is invaluable for his ability to flawlessly retain even The Houndslayers. The ultimate goal of the Hares is to
the most complex of messages, symbols, and paintings and put an end to the existence of the Hounds of the Blind
recreate them on demand. Using the skills of their ascetic Heaven once and for all, setting Planegea free to write and
training and the many enchanted items given to them by build and grow into a world beyond their imagining.
Hares, Uhl-Os moves like lightning through the world,
sharing mind-bending knowledge without understanding a LOCATIONS
word of it, beneath the notice of the Hounds and incredibly
valuable because of it. The Hares are always on the move, but there are a few
places they congregate to share knowledge and tales of
Gray Seht (CN female elf archmage) walks between real- narrow escapes.
ities without feeling. A powerful figure in both of Nod’s
worlds, she is feared and respected among the Sign of the Lake Littleblood. The limestone caves at Lake Littleblood
Hare and their dark reflection, the Recusance. A necro- are famous for their white, smooth surfaces, perfect for
mancer and conjurer, Gray Seht follows her own council painting and repainting. There is a large spellskin commu-
alone. She hates the Hounds above all and will do anything, nity there, and although not everyone is a Hare, they are
good or evil, to end their power. The Sign of the Hare easily found. If the Sign has a center, it’s in those caves.
works with her only cautiously, for her wrath is quick and
her magic terrifying. But her intellect is unparalleled, and Delvetomb. In the Lastwater Wilds, not far from the
if she finds the work interesting, nothing can stop her from southern tip of the Scarab-Scar canyon, there is a crack
pursuing it to the very ends of the world—or the utter in the dry ground that leads to a secret tomb. In this
edge of the Black Taboos. There are whispers that she has place, unnamed aberrations once practiced strange arts
tracked the Hounds to their lair, and knows secrets of the beyond any understanding, and its chambers and passages
Blind Heaven itself. But rumors about Gray Seht abound, are bewildering and terrifying. But the Sign of the Hare
and who knows what she may have truly seen or done. reclaimed it some years ago, and have kept it free from
aberrational influence since, while investigating its secrets,
BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR trying to unlock what can be learned without triggering
the Hounds—or unleashing madness.
The Sign of the Hare shares a single mission: To advance
the good of civilization and survive—or end—the hunting The Moon-Palace of Takash. An eccentric Hare once
of the Hounds. spent his entire life casting an elaborate conjuration, his
gift to all Hares. This spellskin, named Takash, wove an
Philosophy. Learning and advancement is the ultimate good, enchantment that created a great edifice of stone, filled
and those who oppose it should be toppled. Their ideals include: with invisible servants and arcane delights to astonish
• Hope: We do not surrender to the Hounds or any evil… even the Air Empress herself. This palace exists on the
largest moon in the sky, transporting and recreating itself
we gather our imagination and intellect and fight to as the moons wax and wane. Takash is long-dead, and the
thrive. (Good) enchantment has begun to unravel… the Moon-Palace is
• Knowledge: Learn all you can, and teach what you know. now an eerie place, and the invisible servants aren’t quite
(Neutral) right anymore, nor do the arcane delights behave exactly as
• Civilization: Mortals were not made to suffer and starve, they should. But for those with a taste for the curious and
but to build and thrive. (Lawful) unsettling, elder teachers of the Sign of the Hare know the
secret word to open the door. After all, Takash meant for
Hiding & hunted. The Sign of the Hare lives at the very the palace to be shared.
edge of danger, only a breath or a wrong brushstroke away
from slaughter at any moment. They are defined by fear

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 213

Venomguard hunters. They were commissioned with a simple task: kill
the monsters that swarm up the Unfall.
“I’VE SLAIN OGRES, OWLBEARS, OOZES, AND OTYUGHS.
I want a real challenge this season. What do you say we hunt a Competing parties. Venomguards are recruited from
kraken, boys?” only the toughest monster-hunters and are then orga-
nized into hunting parties of nine or fewer. These parties
—Boast of Kleda Maz, former Redguard scour the land for deadly creatures, and bring back
trophies to the Venomguard Lodge. Each midwinter,
B ASED IN THE CLIFFTOP CITY OF EDGEGATHER, the party with the greatest trophies are given crimson
where the venomwine flows and the music never crowns, hailed as the Redguard, and lead the Venomguard
stops, the Venomguard are an elite force of monster in the following year.
hunters dedicated to keeping vulnerable people
of the Great Valley safe from its worst and most Preparation & hunt. Venomguards live in a cycle of
monstrous predators. hunting and preparing for the next hunt. They can be
found at the Lodge, sharpening their skills, crafting traps
Watchers of the Abyss. When Edgegather (p. 169) was and weapons, and swapping stories of great hunts. When
founded, overlooking the Venom Abyss and the Ox Unfall, a sighting comes in by messenger or magic of a deadly
those who built the city vowed to keep watch upon Blood monster on the prowl, the party chosen by the Redguard
Mountain, the Abyss, and the river that rose from it. They heads out, and doesn’t come back without a trophy.
built aviaries full of colorful chattercrests to fly warnings
across the Great Valley, brought in spellcasters for protec- Secrets of the kill. While young monster-hunters
tion, and formed the Venomguard from a band of legendary share their strategies eagerly and learn all they can from
each other, the most successful Venomguard parties

214 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

keep their tactics hidden as they make a run for the THE REDGUARD
crimson crown. Each hunting party is unique in its mix
of might and magic to bring down terrifying monsters, The current Redguard are a party of hunters called the
and there have been brawls among the Venomguard Lefthand Slayers. They famously brought down a red
when one party thought another was looking a little too dragon sent from Blood Mountain whose head is now
closely at their gear. mounted over the Lodge’s entrance, and wear the crimson
crown proudly—until midwinter.
The red cord. When they are recruited, new
Venomguards are given a thick red cord, which most wear Hu’klu & Wink-Cat (CG male human druid & N female
as a necklace or armband. This cord tells the story of their lapiscat) are an inseparable team. Hu’klu encountered
time in the Venomguard, and special knots are used to Wink-Cat on a hunt that crossed over into Nod, and they
denote important kills, the death of a party member, and share a psychic bond. Hu’klu is the party’s leader, and
seasons of the hunt. Most Venomguards display their cord speaks first for all of them.
proudly, and it’s the most easily-recognized symbol of
their order. Quileth (CN female elf assassin) killed people profession-
ally before she took up animal hunting. An accomplished
Trophy traders. Thanks to the monsters they bring down, assassin from Nod, with deep roots in Scavengers Vow, she
which can be harvested for unusual parts in high demand, turned away from that life after a kill went badly wrong,
any successful Venomguard has access to the best of every- and has sworn to never take another intelligent life…
thing. You can tell a Venomguard between hunts by their except maybe the Rat King’s.
fine robes and adornments, their sleekly crafted gear, and
their swagger and tendency to act like the world is theirs. Skycrest (N agender leatherwing sorcerer) doesn’t speak
much, but when they do, their words cut, sting, and burn.
Although they are private about their origins and motiva-
tions, it’s said that Skycrest hails from the Starstep Cliffs
and refuses to go back even for the most tempting hunts.

Dokh the Furious (CE male dwarvish berserker) is essen-
tially feral, and can barely be restrained by his party from
killing everything in sight. Dokh is kept away from other
people as much as possible, and can only be lulled into a
peaceful mindset by the words and songs of Lila Green.

Lila Green (NG female dreas chanter) was originally a tree
of the Venom Abyss, carried up the Unfalls after a great
flood. She hunts monsters dispassionately, caring little
for the violence, but has found her family in the Lefthand
Slayers—who consider her the heart of the group—and
offers them inspiration and cheer wherever she can.

BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR

Venomguard’s mission is simple—slay the monsters that
threaten life, and win the crimson crown if you can.

Philosophy. Community is stronger than death. Their
ideals include:

• Life: Creatures that mean harm to the weak and inno-
cent should be stopped. (Good)

• Skill: It’s good to be the best. (Neutral)
• Glory: Fame and immortality are the same thing.

(Neutral)
• Violence: If I can kill and get praise for it, so much the

better. (Evil)

The call. Venomguard swear their lives to the service
of the hunt, and are at all times under the service of the
Redguard and the call to hunt.

The best & the worst. Venomguard is full of outcasts,
former murderers, the mad, the unsavory… it takes a
certain kind of person to dedicate your life to facing down
the most vicious of horrors Planeagea can summon. When
a party of thugs wears the crimson crown, it’s a dark year
in Edgegather, and all of the Great Valley suffers for their
abuses of power.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 215

The big hunt. With the Lodge perched on the edge of the by Mala to survive the dangers of the ocean. The third is
Venom Abyss, it’s no wonder that a favorite topic of discus- that there were no people in the islands, but Mala sung
sion is the mythical idea of a dragon-hunt on Blood Moun- them into existence, willing that there should be some for
tain itself (p. 157). Maybe next year, they always say… her to bless. Whatever the truth of their origin, they dwell
in great numbers in the islands, prosperous and adventur-
VENOMGUARD LODGE ous in the face of all the sea’s chaos.

When hunting parties come home to rest, recover, and Scattered matriarchies. The members of the Whale
prepare for the next hunt, they always return to Edge- Clan do not dwell in a single mass, but are rather found
gather and the Venomguard Lodge. A few key areas of the throughout the entire Scattersea. They live as multigener-
Lodge include: ational families, led by matriarchs. Each family takes care
of their own, with a typical size of 1 to 4 boats per family.
Redguard Hall. The main hall of the Lodge is festooned Some families join forces, while others sail alone, but all
with all manner of trophies from generations of great swear allegiance to the Whale Clan, and all meet once a
hunts. Here is where feasting happens, where the year at the Hallow of Mala for the Day of Breath, when
Redguard are crowned by a popular vote each year, where Mala rises to the surface to breathe, and give breath.
justice is meted out, and where the parties swap stories and
bets and brawls and dares. Attached to the hall are sleeping Community & curiosity. The Whale Clan holds the
huts, some of which are claimed by certain parties, while bond of family above all, and puts a strong emphasis on
others are kept open to whichever Venomguard needs a an inquisitive mind. Parents teach their children to hold
place to drop their gear for the night. respect in one hand and questions in the other, and a favor-
ite fable tells of Old Yesterday and Young Tomorrow asking
Training Yards. Public and private training yards are and answering questions of each other as they sail on their
available to the hunting parties, depending on their status wide white boat, which is named Today. You can tell a
and demand for secrecy. These yards are mostly barren Whale Clan member because of their close connection with
stretches of floor where gear and techniques can be tested, others, and their constant stream of questions.
but some have obstacle courses, training dummies, or
magically-simulated weather for extreme preparation. Restless voyagers. The families of the Whale Clan
voyage the waves as a matter of survival and curiosity,
The Sending Cliff. The Venomguard have long bartered never staying long on any island. It is their tradition to
with Edgegather spellcasters to maintain a magical portal make landfall on an island, stay for a moon’s lifetime, then
through which they can send their hunters to the far set to sea again. Because of this constant travel, many
corners of Planegea, should a call for help come in. The islands have villages built on their shores. A family group
Sending Cliff—a particular stretch of stone that overlooks will land, work to repair and expand the village for their
a dizzying drop into the jungle below—is a rite of passage. time there, then set out again, leaving the village to be
Young hunters steel themselves for that first leap off the re-discovered by the next family that happens to come
cliff—trusting to invisible magics that their feet will land across it—or, worse, to be inhabited by the opportunistic
safely on solid ground wherever the spellcasters send them. and predatory sea-raiders known as sharksails.

The Whale Clan On hostile waters. The Scattersea is not for the faint of
heart. Merfolk, merrows, and other undersea peoples both
“WE ARE VOYAGERS—DAUGHTERS AND SONS OF THE friendly and fierce have complex societies below the waves.
high blue waves. We follow whale-song to islands of plenty, and Heavily armed sharksails sail in spiked boats, prowling the
forever honor the ways of the water.” waters for easy prey, launching themselves onto the cata-
marans of Whale Clan families to plunder their supplies.
—Matriarch Te-Huni And the Craven of the Kraken Coast paddle silent canoes
with vacant eyes, seeking young fools to abduct.
F AR FROM THE WINTER WINDS AND DUSTY
hunting grounds of the Great Valley, in the azure Raiment of the waves. The Whale Clan is usually lightly
water and emerald islands of the Scattersea, dwell attired in clothes woven of plant fibers and seaweed, shark-
water-faring folk. Communal, curious, and restless, skin and fish leather. They decorate themselves and their
the Whale Clan roams from island to island, an villages with shells, flowers, coral, fins, and other treasures
archipelago of families spread throughout the region, all of their bright island homes.
under a single shared devotion—the worship of the whale
god, Mala Long-Song, eldest and wisest. LEADERS
The Whale Clan elevates matriarchs based on respect and
Three tales. There are three stories of the Whale Clan’s their minds. Although the clan is scattered, three figures in
founding. The first is that they lived in the water before the particular are well-known throughout the Whale Clan and
giants founded their empires, and have lived all this while seen as leaders of the Scattersea.
under their shadow without fear, darting in canoes and
catamarans from island to island, too fast for the giants to Chieftain Hala’ke Moonflight (LN female halfling chief-
catch. The second is that they are a runaway people, born tain) is an ancient leader who has outlived six husbands.
of captives who escaped the Sea Empire’s clutches, blessed Her wave-wisdom is legendary. She is heavily tattooed with
images of sea creatures, and asks better questions than

216 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 217

anyone on the islands. Hala’ke is sought by families across or as severe as magically entombing them in stone to the
the Scattersea to settle disputes—it’s said that there is no waist at the heart of an island. Immobility is a terrible fate
one more fair or insightful than her, and when she judges, for anyone born to the Whale Clan, and there are islands
even the one she rules against agrees that her decision is across Scattersea with skeletons moldering in abandoned
sound. Hala’ke can no longer walk, but paddles through the coral cages.
air in an enchanted coracle that floats a few feet in the air.
MAGIC & MATTER
Sekit Airshaman & Ailai Deepshaman (NG female
human high shaman and CG male merfolk high shaman) The constant voyaging of the Whale Clan leads them to
In accordance with tradition, Sekit—proud high shaman come across many strange items washed on shores or left
of the Whale Clan above—is given in marriage to Ailai— behind in the villages they constantly build and abandon.
philosophical high shaman of the Whale Clan below. This
human-merfolk union was carefully negotiated, and Freewheeling spells. There are few spellskins to be
despite all odds, the current shamans’ union appears to be found among the Whale Clan, thanks to the transience of
a happy one, as long as their peoples’ desires are not at odds. their lives which does not suit long study. But their blood-
They dwell on the sacred isles closest to the Hallow of Mala, lines are full of sorcery and divine magic, and of all clans
and spend much of their time underwater, consulting with they object least to druids—as the whale does not concern
their ageless goddess about life above and below. herself with barnacles, so Mala is powerful enough to share
her power with a few god-leeches.
Kakrak Sharkspear (N male troll) was once a roving
brute, but after a storm swept him to sea, he encountered Living magic of the deep. Thanks to their trade with the
the song of Mala, and was forever changed. Although merfolk, the Whale Clan has access to many magic items
Kakrak is not clever, he is the most formidable hunter in formed of living creatures whose natural magic landfolk
Scattersea, and with a loyal crew of devotees tirelessly rarely come across. The Whale Clan is as likely to shatter a
chases after sharksails, sinking their boats and slaugh- shell, spill ink, or grind coral to arcane dust when casting a
tering them without mercy. They say that Kakrak still spell as they are to drink a potion or snap a talisman.
thirsts for blood, though he would never harm a member
of the Whale Clan, and that he alone knows the secret Voyager’s gear. Boats are central to the Whale Clan’s life,
of summoning a certain ship of immortal beings that especially the coracle, canoe, catamaran, raft, and barge (or
wanders the sea at night, having some untold dealing with village-ship). They use all manner of ropes, oars, paddles,
their dark ways. levers, staves, sails, rudders, hooks, harpoons, spears, and
knives in their everyday life, and are known to openly
BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR laugh at anyone wearing shoes.

The Whale Clan is bound not by geography or shared Eel tamers. Families of the Whale Clan have befriended
danger, but reverence for Mala and a common creed: many birds and beasts of the waves, but are especially
known for their companionship with eels. These reef-lurk-
Philosophy. A true voyager sails with respect in one hand and ers have been known to make their homes at the bottom
questions in the other. Their ideals include: of a family’s boats for generations, helping them catch fish
• Family: Blood may attract sharks, but it can defeat them, too deep for spears and lines, and receiving protection and
companionship in return. Some eels have even been taught
too. (Good) to speak, though these are mostly by the druidic families.
• Respect: Honor and obedience keeps the family alive.
LOCATIONS
(Lawful)
• Curiosity: The only way to find what’s on the next island The Scattersea is always changing, its islands constantly
rearranging in ways that cannot be predicted or remem-
is to sail to it. (Neutral) bered, even by those with perfect memories. But a few
• Restlessness. It’s against the way of the sea to stay too places are more fixed than others, and used as references
by those who navigate those waters.
long in any one place, or keep to any one course of
action. (Chaotic) The Sacred Isles. Nearest the hallow of Mala Long-Song
are a circle of tiny islands that expand outwards like a
The call of the sea. Every talented young Whale Clan halo. These islands are mist-shrouded, and song vibrates
woman is expected to embark on a lone voyage someday, to the ground when one walks on their shores. They are
begin her own family as matriarch, and every family stays filled with delicious fruit that can make you forget time
only as long as they must before moving to a new home. and space, and spirits walk there whose bodies long since
The ever-changing islands of Scattersea mean that rarely crumbled to dust. These mystical islands are among the
are the same shores seen twice, and those born in the most magical places in all of Planegea, and only once a year
Whale Clan are said to be restless from birth to death. (And do the families of the Whale Clan dare to pass near them,
perhaps after death, too.) on the Day of Breath, when all the clan gathers to witness
Mala surface.
Castaway judgment. Most terrible is the judgment of the
matriarchs upon those who betray the family. A particu- Murder Reef. A black and bloody place, Murder Reef
larly cruel punishment is the marooning of an offender by seems to be immune to the fluidity of the rest of Scatter-
binding them to an island. This can be as light a punish-
ment as casting them bound hand and foot onto a beach,

218 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

sea. Its jet black coral juts out of the water, frozen in place need. They hide their abilities, watching for the place they
like the skeleton of some long dead thing. Murder Reef is a can help the most… and then begin their work.
famous haunt of sharksails, and the hallow of a shark god
whose name is secret to all but his followers. Many times Second skills. Since the Worldsingers are required
has Kakrak Sharkspear carried out onslaughts to cover to keep their identities hidden at first, those who are
Murder Reef in the blood of sharksails, but his efforts are recruited into the organization must also be able to survive
always foiled by the dangerous currents, infinite hiding without their magic, offering some second skill that they
places, and fiendish spirits that haunt the place. can use to make themselves useful and find work with
clans they come across. Worldsingers accept no reward
The Glowing Current. If you can find it, there is a current for their help—they are to disappear as soon as possible
in the Scattersea that glows bright enough to be seen by after good has been done. After all, it’s a wide world full of
day, and brighter than any moon at night. Its illuminated trouble, and the next hill, valley, or cave might need help
waters are full of fish and good magic, and there are even more than wherever a Worldsinger just left.
usually a host of boats traveling its course. Whale Clan
families seek it out to meet with others, introduce their LEADERS
sons to future matriarchs, and dive into its warm light for
Enkio vanished without a trace only a few seasons ago. Left
healing and good fortune. in disarray, without a plan of succession, his son was thrust
into leadership.
The Worldsingers
Enkio, son of Enkio (N male halfling bard) is one of the
“…AND THEN, JUST AS THE RAIDERS WERE CLOSING IN most gifted chanters Planegea has ever seen, inheriting
and all hope was lost, this stranger, this fur peddler I told you both of his parents’ musical and magical gifts. Yet he lacks
about—you’re not going to believe this—she soars up into the air his father’s compassion and joy. Growing up in the beauty
and starts to SING… and her song turned the warlord into a bird! of his father’s Hidden Hall, he never knew suffering, and
No, I’m NOT lying. She flew, sung, saved us all… then vanished!” now that his father is gone he feels ill at ease leading others
in fighting it. He fights a dark streak within himself that
—Clanfire tale of a wandering hunter tempts him to twist the situation to his own advantage, and
dreams of escaping altogether to go find his father, leaving
C HANTERS ARE FEARED AND ADMIRED ACROSS the Worldsingers to Yug’zesh or Tempo.
Planegea—their ability to remake the world with
song or story is seen as a powerful, dangerous gift. Yug’zesh (NG male green dragonborn bard) was one of
Those with such abilities are often kept under close Enkio’s earliest companions. A towering, muscular figure,
scrutiny by their clans, held to impossible standards Yug’zesh could have easily lived by the spear or sword… but
of scrupulous honesty or silence unless they are perform- his soul was full of song since he was a hatchling, and he
ing. But not all chanters are content to dwell under such found his purpose with the Worldsingers. Yug’zesh is now
bindings. Some wander the world, seeing all they can, and turning gray, his might diminishing a bit each day, but
using their magic to do good. These are the Worldsingers, he still trains young Worldsingers in the use of weapons,
and although they operate in secret, they are dedicated to believing all their chanters must be ready to fight for good
ending misery and creating joy wherever they go. with blade as well as song.

Songs of inspiration. The Worldsingers were founded Tempo (NG female godspawn bard) is known for her
by a gifted halfling name Enkio who left the silence of his laugh, which can enchant an entire clanfire all at once. A
clan for song and the wide world. Everywhere he went, startlingly beautiful woman, with high curving horns and
Enkio used his magic to uplift, inspire, and create new an easy air, Tempo is to many the living embodiment of
beginnings. Because those he encountered expected him hope. Gifted by a happy god with her divine marks, she
to be silent, he kept his gift hidden until the most useful loves disguises and illusion, using misdirection to divert
moment… and taught other chanters he met to do the same. the attention of oppressors while she works her wonders
for those in need. Although she joined the Worldsingers
A conspiracy of hope. As the movement grew, Enkio only a short time ago, many think of her as Enkio’s true
believed that the Worldsingers must remain in close heir… if only she’d stay in one place long enough to lead.
contact, in case one of their number needed aid or—
worse—turned cruel. He established regional conductors: BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR
trusted chanters to whom Worldsingers in a given area
must report. Since Enkio’s sudden and unexplained disap- The Worldsingers are carefully chosen for their commit-
pearance, the conductors now report to his son and heir ment to the mission of secretly spreading good, and their
who, as the rumors go, has less of a head or heart for this shared ethos is strong.
work than his father before him.
Philosophy. Those who can reshape bad into good have
Unexpected magic. Enkio’s technique of hidden magic a humble duty to do so, without payment or glory. Their
has led to the signature moment of the Worldsingers—the ideals include:
inspiring revelation. They wander as hunters, gatherers,
laborers, or outcasts, and find shelter wherever there is • Hope: The bravest thing we have is hope. (Good)
• Joy: After every night, the Day-Star shines again. (Good)
• Secrecy: Glory is a distraction—the most important

work is done where nobody sees. (Neutral)

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 219

Regions & conductors. Enkio’s vision requires frequent Bungalow Row. A long line of well-appointed rooms are
oversight, so Worldsingers are required to make contact always ready for any guests of the Hall. The elder Enkio’s
with the local conductors when they enter a new area, on hope is that the hospitality and grandeur of the place,
pain of having their memories of the organization erased freely open to all Worldsingers, can act as a respite and
and other unpleasant enchantments placed upon them. place of recovery for those who had been fighting despair
and darkness. The bungalows are draped in comfort, and
Self-righteous saviors. The Worldsingers are dedicated their windows look out underneath the surface of Bitewa-
so wholly to their secret and good work that at their worst, ter, where strange fish and curious lights can be seen deep
they earn a reputation as smug, self-appointed heroes who beneath the water.
are the only hope and help of those in need. Some say that
Enkio had a self-important streak masked as humility, and Enkio’s Map. In a chamber where only Enkio and the
his son doesn’t even have the humility. most senior Worldsingers are allowed stands the most
complete map of Planegea known to exist anywhere,
Imperial underminers. Enkio’s grandest ambition was shaped of clay and magic by gifted hands. This map tracks
to bring down the giant empires—the greatest bastions of the location of Worldsingers in their travels across the land,
mortal suffering known in Planegea. Worldsingers work with points of light or darkness to show where hope exists
tirelessly to infiltrate and dismantle all four empires, coor- and where oppression and fear reign. It’s said that before
dinating closely with the Usurper Queen of Free Citadel, the elder Enkio disappeared, he had locked himself for days
who shares the same goal. in this room, seemingly obsessed with a pattern that only
he could see.
THE HIDDEN HALL
AGENTS OF HOPE
Bobbing on the surface of Bitewater, nestled among count-
less other houseboats, floats a drab little structure, little The work of the Worldsingers is never done—not as long as
more than a two-story hut on a raft. But this entrance oppression and misery exist and magic can relieve it. A few
belies the wonders that lie within—a floating hall of efforts of the Worldsingers might include…
expansive proportions, created and filled with chant-
er’s magic. Worldsingers come and go from this raft in Overthrowing cruelty. Warlords, brutal chieftains, and
disguise, and those who float nearby would certainly know other oppressors are a favorite target of Worldsingers, who
that something was going on if their memories weren’t use their magic to ridicule or reform their tyranny… or
confused by the glamours of the place. The Hidden Hall is simply put an end to them once and for all.
sprawling, but a few of its notable features include:
Freeing the trapped. Those who are lost, taken captive,
The Songfire. The central chamber of the Hidden Hall or pinned down by predators or bad weather might find
is a soaring space with no visible ceiling, spangled with themselves suddenly aided by a stranger who they had
drifting lights high above. In the center of this circular taken as a fellow prisoner of circumstances.
space is a great, ever-burning clanfire, which responds in
color, height, and brightness to the songs and stories of Inspiring the weary. Sometimes suffering cannot be
those who perform around it. Raised benches are seated ended, but it can be relieved. Worldsingers travel where
around the Songfire, and at the edges of the room, a feast there is sickness, starvation, or danger, and do all they can
is constantly being refreshed by the summoned spirits that to extend hope and help from person to person, even if it
serve as hosts. only lasts for a moment.

220 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

THREATS OVERVIEW

Great powers and primal forces are at work in Planegea, In a campaign manipulated by the Brood, your party might
trying to shape it into the world they envision it to be. travel to remote ruins, the hallows of powerful gods, the
These forces are ominous and powerful, and can represent Venom Abyss, and into the heart of Blood Mountain itself.
a threat to your party from 1st level all the way up to their You’ll fight to reclaim or protect magic objects of great
final session. power, confront manipulative double-agents and greedy
treasure hunters, discover the forgotten halls of terrible
To use these threats, choose one or two to build a aberrations, and strike bargains with strange guardians to
campaign around. It’s unlikely any single narrative can keep power out of the claws of the would-be devourers of
explore all these dangers in a satisfying way, and to do so the world.
might leave players feeling overwhelmed and defeated,
rather than heroic and triumphant. Your party may enter the strange and unsettling places
of the world—places where none dare enter, where power-
The Brood ful secrets are hidden—and will battle dragons and their
kin, their humanoid agents, and the unsettling beings who
MOTHER, MOTHER, WHO ARE YOU? conceal and protect objects of great power.
I am the heartbeat that makes all things new.
Brood campaigns tend towards epic fantasy, full of
Mother, Mother, who am I? world-threatening schemes, legendary weapons, races
You are the terror that tears at the sky. against time, murderous agents, backstabbing, and the
machinations of an almighty family determined to tear
Mother, Mother, who are these others? itself—and all Planegea with it—to bloody shreds.
These are your horrible sisters and brothers.
BLIND AMBITION
Mother, Mother, what game shall we play?
I hide and you seek, then the world goes away. The defining trait of the Brood is its single-minded
pursuit of power. The five ancient dragons at its core have
—Dragonborn lullaby convinced themselves that it is better for the world to end
than for them to remain subservient to their mother, the
B LOOD MOUNTAIN, THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE Worldheart. Because of this, nothing will dissuade them
world, writhes with the scaled bodies of dragons. from pursuing their course—no destruction, no suffering
The greatest of these, and the worst, are the World- of mortals, no unbalancing of the powers that be. In the
heart’s brightly-colored children, the shining mind of the Brood, no cost is too high or effort too great
terrors known as the Brood. These five ancient to achieve their goal: amassing enough power to finally
dragons, each awful in their power and magic, have destroy and consume their mother.
survived countless eras by leeching off the Worldheart’s
life-giving power. Yet each desires nothing more than to PATRONS OF EVIL
devour her, thereby consuming her power and—presum-
ably—taking her place. Not even the Brood knows for sure The Brood is a deceptive threat, because at first they
what would happen if the Worldheart were to be eaten by appear much more like a patron than a problem. Their
another dragon, but in their pride and ambition, the Brood objective is to slaughter their mother, but they live in her
believes that it is better to destroy the world than to sit in shadow and understand her unassailable greatness. She is
the shadow of their mother for eternity. also surrounded by her Five Consorts, the only metallic
dragons in existence—one ancient metallic dragon of each
To that end, the Brood is amassing power, seeking agents type. The Brood knows that until they bring down each
who will deliver them aid in their quest to grow strong of the Sacred Consorts, there can be no attacking their
enough to challenge their mother, or even attack her mother.
directly to test her defenses. They are masters of intimida-
tion and manipulation, and the ripples of their plots extend Their agreed-upon method, therefore, is to raise up
to the furthest reaches of the world. great powers in Planegea, putting mighty weapons in the
hands of gods and mortals alike, strengthening them and
corrupting their minds and followers so that they will be
strong and ambitious enough to storm Blood Mountain,
delivering their weapons into the Brood’s waiting claws.

Each of the five ancient dragons advances its own
champions, seeking out those in its image to raise up and
empower, believing that its outlook and methods lead to
the most effective results.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 221

BURN-RED DHERG STRANGLE-BLUE GHLASTAX
The red dragon is the eldest of the five dragons of the The Brood’s blue dragon is the lord of pride and vanity,
Brood, the firstborn of fire, and is certain that—on the day who knows beyond all doubt that his brilliance and beauty
the Worldheart falls—she will claim her birthright. Dherg are unmatched in all of creation.
seeks the power-hungry, encourages the tyrannical, and
supports all who will subjugate others beneath a crushing fist Ghlastax supports the haughty, the cruel, and the vain,
of stone. enabling all who would raise monuments to themselves—
as long as they aren’t actually a threat to his own glory.
d4 Agents of Dherg
d4 Agents of Ghlastax
1 A power-hungry young hunter looking to overthrow
their shaman and become a warlord 1 A dragonborn guardian, the pride of his clan, so beloved
that he begins to believe himself a young god
2 A lesser god, ambitious to defeat other nearby gods
and grow its influence 2 A clan of orcs so confident in their own might that they
have forsworn the gods entirely
3 A fire-giant prince, ready to claim the vacant throne and
rule with cruelty and violence 3 The Empress of Air (p. 175), dedicated in all things to
her own perfection and glory
4 The aboleths of the deep, their hungry minds stretching
out from the abyss to rule the world 4 The vampire lords of the Gift of Thirst (p. 244),
gathering immortal power in the Stoneblood Shrine
ROT-BLACK ATRAS
The black dragon of the Brood is a force of destruction, FREEZE-WHITE KWEIDOS
believing that might to unmake is the greatest might of The white dragon hates Blood Mountain. He hates
all. Atras seeks those who love destruction for its own sake, the flame, and hates his mother and his siblings,
and will empower those whose end goal is mayhem, ruin- who keep him trapped in the sweltering jungle.
ation, and chaos. His breath and power have frozen a fragment of
the great volcano, and from there he plots his
d4 Agents of Atras revenge against his bloodline and the world.

1 An orcish raider known for attacking clans at night and Kweidos lends his strength to all the bitter and
leaving no survivors vengeful in the world. Anyone who has a grudge
has an ally in Kweidos, and he believes vengeance
2 A mad druid who has bonded with a ravenous hydra should be paid back sevenfold.
from Slimefang
d4 Agents of Kweidos
3 An angry forest bent on crushing mortal life to return
the world to wilderness 1 A traitorous warlock, exiled from the clan for
her dark allegiance to an unknown power
4 A power from the stars, intent on unmaking reality to
suit its alien purposes 2 A spurned admirer, furious at his rejection,
raising a mighty warband to eradicate the
POISON-GREEN GHELWAI clan of his beloved
The green dragon is the master manipulator, the ancient
queen of lies and twisted truths. Ghelwai delights most 3 A giant war-leader abandoned by his generals
in turning heroes into villains, seers into madmen, and on the battlefield, who survived and returns
wisdom into folly. in wrath

Of all the Brood, only she walks the world in mortal form, 4 A nearly slain god inching back to power,
posing as a traveler, a god, a beggar—whatever will best who draws magic from death itself to ruin
enable her to unmake the hopes and dreams of mortals. the world

d4 Agents of Ghelwai AN UNEASY CONSPIRACY

1 A charming chanter, traveling from clanfire to clanfire, The Brood is inherently unstable. The five ancient
whose songs make her hearers mad dragons despise each other, and seek to under-
mine each other at every turn. Their infighting
2 A traitorous shaman, deceiving his clan into following a is one of the reasons for Planegea’s continued
wicked god bent on their unmaking survival—were the five to fully unite, the world
would surely fall overnight. Although they are
3 A gathering of spellskins devoted to exploring the dark dedicated to their pact to devour their mother,
side of magic, twisting reality to their purposes each knows that if the day ever comes when they
consume her, it will be a free-for-all between the
4 The unspeakable horrors from the Nightmare World five of them, and only one will emerge. Each is
of Nod (p. 178), which once imagined, cannot be determined to be that one.
unmade

222 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

POWER BEHIND POWER WINGED HARBINGERS

It is rare for a threat to immediately present itself as the Except around the base of Blood Mountain, dragons rarely
work of the Brood. The dragons are saving their strength, act on their own volition. Those that appear in the rest of
biding their time for the opportune moment when they Planegea are usually sent by the Brood to disrupt forces
will be able to strike at the Worldheart. Often, trouble will that oppose their agenda. If a noble clan or a wise leader
come from some other corner of Planegea—a warlord will is getting too strong—or if an agent of the Brood is about
rise, a conspiracy will unfold, a monster will rampage— to enter a region—young or adult dragons will fly in to
and only after all is over will there be a telltale sign of clear the area, preparing the way for destruction, defeat,
draconic involvement. and death. When dragons arrive, they rarely remain for
long, preferring to descend to bring doom from above,
A signature ploy of the Brood is to put a legendary then return to their ancestral hunting grounds deep in the
weapon in the grasp of the worst person they can find, to Venom Abyss.
escalate violence and bring out the power in the world.
Agents of the Brood are sent to every corner of Planegea, Dragons of each color are subservient to their ancestor,
working to put powerful weapons in the hands of evil. the Brood dragon of the same color. Although they serve
them, by their evil nature they rarely do so because of
The Brood’s endgame is to allow the strongest of all other loyalty—rather out of greedy desire for reward or fear of
kinships to rise, then to lure them to Blood Mountain on provoking their ancestor’s wrath.
an assault on the Worldheart Dragon, precipitating their
final attack on their mother.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 223

ADVENTURES BY LEVEL Craven of the Kraken Coast

d4 1st–4th level “THE ENTIRE CLAN MOVED AS ONE—ONE WILL, ONE
mind, one thought. As one they built the monument. As one they
1 A magic sword is rumored to have been found in the bound the sacrifice. As one they turned to the sea and—when the
wilderness. Find it before the wrong people do. killing blow fell—as one they howled in perfect, tuneless harmony
to call the kraken forth.”
2 Someone is supplying potions of healing, strength, and
power to violent raiders. Hunt down the source. —Tempo’s Dirge of the Deep

3 A nearby cave was unsealed by a passing dragon, and D EEP IS THE SEA, AND DARK ARE ITS SECRETS.
giant insects have been leaking out. Seal the cave. On the Kraken Coast, where the waves of the Salt-
fang endlessly lick the shore, mortals whose minds
4 Your party finds a cursed weapon of awful power are not their own serve the will of aberrations—
which tempts them to do terrible things. Get rid of it. the lords of the deep called aboleths. The aboleths,
however, are ancient and cunning, and do not reveal their
d4 5th–10th level presence even to their slaves. Instead, they have erected
false cults of kraken-worshipers called the Craven of the
1 By the counsel of a strange new shaman, a local god Kraken Coast, who enact dread rituals to summon the
has become unusually aggressive. Stop the violence. weather-shaping titans of the Brinewaste. The aboleths lurk

2 Scavengers Vow has been stealing magic weapons.
Protect the blade of a champion from their clutches.

3 Ghelwai secretly unsealed a vault in Free Citadel
containing powerful weapons and a plague. Loot it.

4 A young red dragon is attacking innocent clans in the
region. Go put an end to it.

d4 11th–16th level

1 An adult dragon demanding tribute has long terrorized
the region from its lair. Go and rid the world of it.

2 A conquering warlord declares his devotion to the
Brood and demands surrender or death. Stop his army.

3 Young dragons are ripping open ruins in search of
weapons, unleashing untold horrors. Stop them.

4 The Brood has found clues to the hiding place of an
almighty weapon in the Sea of Stars. Race to recover it.

d4 17th–20th level

1 The empires have decided to go to war with the
dragons of Blood Mountain. Choose a side and fight.

2 A Brood wizard is turning moons into weapons to smash
Blood Mountain—and all Planegea with it. Stop him.

3 Titanic monsters from the Elemental Wastes are
crossing the land to attack Blood Mountain. Fight them.

4 Planegea is rocked by cataclysms as the Five Consorts
begin falling one by one. Defend those who remain.

224 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

in the deep, allowing mortals and monsters to act for them, ANCIENT OVERLORDS
shaping their patient plot to subjugate all life and extend
their watery dominion across the world. The origins of the aboleths are lost in the depths of primor-
dial darkness—what is known is that they are unspeakably
OVERVIEW ancient and do not belong to this world. They exist to exert
their will upon it, and see all as subject to their power.
In a campaign menaced by the Craven of the Kraken Coast,
your party might travel to desolate shorelines, oceanic Secret power. The aboleths have many enemies, and
depths, or the heart of the Worldfangs. You’ll fight to free they remember every hurt and harm that has ever befallen
enslaved minds, confront hypnotic horrors, discover lore them. To protect themselves, they remain unseen, acting
so ancient it warps the mind, and join forces with Plane- as hidden masters. Only the very highest priests have ever
gea’s greatest powers to stave off a slime-coated apocalypse. glimpsed them—and those have had their minds shattered
shortly afterwards.
On the high seas, in caves and hills, and on far-flung
coastlines, you’ll battle aberrations, enslaved humanoids, Above and below. The aboleths’ rule extends over and
and even the gargantuan monstrosity of the kraken itself. under the waves. Clans along the coastline serve their will,
but they have also enslaved countless sahuagin, merfolk,
Craven campaigns tend to favor horror and heroic and merrow as far as their influence extends.
fantasy, full of broken wills, dark sacrifices, things that
slither and skitter, enslavement, liberation, ancient arti- Greater minds. Not all aboleths are equally powerful.
facts, and impossible odds. Some control only small clusters of individuals, while
others subject entire clans or regions of the sea or land to
their will. The hierarchy among the aboleths is not known
to mortal minds, and sometimes those who rule great
expanses of ocean are subject to the authority of aboleths
whose influence barely touches the surface.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 225

CRAVEN CLANS CRAVEN SLAVERS

Strangers to the Kraken Coast have returned with unnerv- When an aboleth desires more slaves, it will sometimes
ing stories of strange clans that all act with a single mind, cause the Craven to build and board canoes to prowl the
of such conjoined purpose that it’s as if they are not indi- islands of Scattersea for fresh victims. These slavers snatch
viduals, but a whole. Such eerie encampments are silent, captives to swell their numbers and force them into the
with no word spoken as each child and adult carries out ranks of the Craven.
their work without joy or sorrow or a will of their own.
These are the Craven clans, their minds enslaved to the Stealthy abductors. The Craven are as cautious as ever,
aboleths, their bodies become no more than tentacles of even when taking new slaves by force. They lurk in shallow
their master. waters, paddling and swimming quietly, and attempt
to render their victims unconscious in surprise attacks
Craven from infancy. In Craven clans, children are without risk of injury themselves.
joylessly conceived, silently born, then brought to the
water’s edge to have their minds enslaved before their eyes Universally hated. These Craven slavers are targeted on
open. They grow old and die under the aboleth’s control, sight by Sharksails and the Whale Clan alike, who will
spending their whole lives in service of the Voice of the Sea, unite against them the moment that they’re spotted.
knowing nothing of the struggles and joys of free will.
Instant death. On such voyages, there’s no time for the
Cautious cowards. The Craven have a reputation among Craven to tend to their own. If a Craven is harmed on
the free minds of the Kraken coast as cowards, avoiding such a trip, their fellow slaves immediately, by the will of
all danger as they creep and skulk about their masters’ the aboleth, turn on them and force them into the sea to
work. The truth is that any injury shakes the influence drown them. Many of the souls who were once Craven
of the aboleth, giving a chance for the enslaved mind to walk free today after being thrown overboard in this way
break free. Craven who are harmed are dragged back to the and swimming to safety.
water’s edge, so the aboleth—unseen but all-seeing—can
once again capture the mind struggling to break free. I dread these un-people and their soulless ways.
I have tried to free them all more times than I
Captured outsiders. Cutthroats from Daggerwood and can count, but to no avail—the dark call from the
spellskins from Lake Littleblood have sometimes journeyed
to the Kraken Coast to behold the great waters. Those who water pulls them back, deep as drowning.
have the misfortune to encounter the Craven are often
treated to a puppet show of normalcy, the aboleth directing CALLING THE KRAKEN
its slaves to perform as if they were healthy and hospitable,
before setting upon their visitors and dragging them to the The Craven are not an end to themselves … only a begin-
water to have their minds broken. Such outsiders become ning. The aboleths have far grander designs on the world.
useful members of the Craven, bringing news, skills, and They seek to cover the world in water and slime, reshaping
knowledge that serves the purpose of the aboleth. it to their liking. A great part of the work of the Craven is
to summon krakens, those weather-controlling titans of
Aberrant enforcers. One of the strangest sights in the water, to bring floods and tides inland and extend the
Planegea is an encampment of the Craven calmly at work reach of the scheming aboleths.
around the hulking crustacean nightmares called chuul.
These armored horrors are creations of the aboleths, and Kraken rituals. The Craven have an outward reputation
serve as their soldiers and enforcers along the coast. They as kraken cults because of their many rites and rituals
are sent to guard and aid the Craven, as well as hunt down designed to attract the attention of the Brinewaste krakens.
any runaways who manage to break free of the aboleth’s They cast spells and cry out, they sacrifice beasts and
will. Nor are the chuul the only aberration under the souls and build monuments in the honor of the krakens—
aboleth’s sway to be seen slithering up from the depths to anything to tempt them inland.
move among the Craven… but some things are better not
spoken of. Fickle titans. Krakens are difficult to summon. They
resist mortal influence, preferring to move upon their
Constant danger. The Craven have good reason to skulk own initiative. In the depths, they are dimly conscious of
and hide—they are under constant threat of harm. Free the storm giants who hunt them, and will not quickly rise
merfolk, runaways, and free clans, and above all, the unless they believe such an attack to be worth their time
storm giants… all these wish to shatter the influence of and effort. Each kraken is an individual, and what brings
the aboleths by freeing or slaying the Craven. Therefore one to the surface might not stir another. Thus, the Craven
they seek to eradicate the Craven’s encampments wherever perform an endless circle of rituals, each stranger than the
they are found. But these enemies of the aboleths must be last, doing their master’s will to summon the kraken until
careful as well, for sometimes a vulnerable Craven clan is they drop from exhaustion.
actually a trap, luring the would-be rescuers to the water’s
edge and into the range of the aboleth’s sway. Enslaving the kraken. The crown jewel of abolethic will
is to capture the mind of a kraken, making it a member
of the Craven. Such feats have only occurred on the rarest

226 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

occasions, and each enslavement has led to catastrophic ADVENTURES BY LEVEL
disasters for mortals and the Sea Empire alike, such as the
Fargone Floods and the Drowning of Daggerwood. d4 1st–4th level

THE COASTAL WAR 1 The party encounters a strangely hospitable coastal
clan with a dark secret. Find out what they’re hiding.
The struggle between krakens and storm giants is older
than anyone but the aboleths can remember. The Sea 2 A trader sends the clan to find and rescue their sibling
Empire (p. 241) stands against the chaos of the deep, a from the kraken cult he escaped as a child.
bastion of defense from the tentacled horrors that would
tear down all life, and all of the Kraken Coast shakes at the 3 People have been vanishing from the shores of
violence between the two powers. Scattersea. Investigate the disappearances.

Imperial hunters. Hunting parties of storm giants scour 4 A dying Craven regains their mind and asks the party to
the seas for krakens and other sea monsters, while foot- carry a message to the high shaman of Mala Long-Song.
soldiers of the empire travel the coast, stamping out the
Craven wherever they find them. d4 5th–10th level

People of the sea. The Sea Empire long ago struck a pact 1 A kraken attacks the shore with typhoons and tidal
with merfolk, who serve its emperor as proud and willing waves. Save all you can from the flood!
subjects. They travel where the storm giants cannot, scout-
ing and scouring the deep for signs of danger, and alert- 2 The party is captured by the Craven as a sacrifice to the
ing the giants whenever the Craven or their masters take kraken. Escape their clutches and warn the region.
action that would endanger the shore.
3 A powerful artifact is rumored to have been found on
Independent clans. Those clans who are neither captured an island, but the Craven have a headstart. Claim it first.
by the Craven nor conquered by the empire exist in a
fragile niche, and hotly debate under whose authority the 4 A craven slave-ship has taken too many souls. Board a
world would be better, allying themselves with one side or catamaran and hunt them down once and for all.
the other as best suits their odds of survival.
d4 11th–16th level
THE CRAVEN ELITE
1 A band of desert nomads arrives at the coast, carrying
A chosen few of the Craven, raised from infancy to serve the skull of an aboleth they unearthed in Scarabscar.
and love only their masters, are allowed to exist with inde- Reveal its secrets.
pendent minds. These are the high priests of the order, the
Craven Elite. The aboleths send the elite far from the coasts 2 When a powerful aboleth dies, its confused Craven are
on their most secret and distant missions—including and suddenly free for the first time. Lead them to safety.
especially the exploration of the other three world-fangs,
which seem to hold some unexplained fascination for the 3 The Whale Clan sends the party as emissaries to the
ancient lords of the deep. Sea Emperor to propose an alliance against the Craven.

4 When an aboleth captures the mind of a kraken, it
starts an all-out war on the coast. Stand against it.

d4 17th–20th level

1 Track a fleeing aboleth into the depths of the
Brinewaste, before it can escape into the Sea of Stars.

2 Legends tell of an incredible artifact in the belly of the
Brinewaste where the krakens breed. Go claim it.

3 An archfey offers to send the party back in time to the
dawn of the aboleths. Journey back and change history.

4 The apocalypse has come! Aboleths rule the krakens,
the world is drowning, and only you can save Planegea.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 227

The Crawling Awful From cultist clanfires to boiling caverns and icy chasms,
you will fight aberrations, humanoids, oozes, and the
“HIDEOUS ARE THE FORMS OF THE CRAWLING AWFUL, minds that twist the sinews of fate from the darkness
but far more hideous are their minds and whatever it is that passes between the stars.
for their souls.”
Crawling Awful campaigns tend towards cosmic horror
—Quel’qa the Ooze-Hunter and mystery. They’re full of slimes and oozes, biological terror,
twisted genius, clues, secrets, riddles, and conspiracies.
T HE FISHERS OF BITEWATER HAVE MANY TALES
to explain the green-gray lights that glow dimly in A SHATTERED POWER
the depths of their troubled lake. But none of their
legends is as terrible as the truth, for deep below The Crawling Awful is only a fragment of what it once was.
Bitewater—and in many other unnoticed places The deep places of Planegea are strewn with the record of
in Planegea—lurk the alien beings known collectively as an aberrant civilization long vanished. Whatever the alien
the Crawling Awful. These aberrations are cold, hostile to minds are that now dwell underneath the surface of the
life, and wait in the darkness for a sign, a signal, a call that world, they are the merest shadow of their former selves.
will bring them out of their torpor and back into the full
mantle of their horrible power. The Bitewater Incursion. Deep below the surface of
Bitewater, where no mortal in their right mind would go,
OVERVIEW separated from the fisher-folk by water and temperature
and monsters and oozes, a sprawling infestation of the
In a campaign manipulated by the Crawling Awful, your Crawling Awful is smeared across and below the lake floor.
party might travel to aberrant ruins, watery depths, slimy Their blank eyes look up to the tiny watercraft that dot the
caverns, and distant dark places between the stars. You’ll surface above, and their minds are full of unintelligible
fight to exterminate mangled monsters, confront intellects thoughts that amount to something like, “Soon.”
vast and cool and unsympathetic, discover unfathomable
artifacts, and walk into the very jaws of Planegea’s most Buried vaults. Bitewater is by no means the only place
ancient and hideous secrets. where the Crawling Awful still actively lurk. Other incur-
sions exist in the dark places. There are subterranean
chambers buried under miles of water or rock that are
filled with glistening, dripping, gleaming devices the
purposes of which are known only to their makers.

228 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Terrible artifacts. Those who plumb the depths of these Cavern-dwellers. The Crawling Awful and their kind
sealed vaults almost never return. Yet the few who survive lurk in caverns and caves, growing what sustenance they
return with scars both seen and unseen… and also incredi- need in the form of captured mortals, detritus, miner-
ble artifacts whose full functions can only be guessed at. als, and fungus. They seem to have no need to rise to the
surface other than to pursue their alien agenda.
Dormant evil. These vaults are not only dangerous
because of their innumerable traps, maddening architec- Subterranean serfs. Many incursion sites are peopled by
ture, and often-unbreathable air. They sometimes contain mortals who have been dragged to the depths and forced
the sleeping figures of the Crawling Awful, which are into an ecosystem of servitude and consumption. Most
apparently able to remain torpid for untold eons until they frequently, dwarves are captured by the Crawling Awful,
are awakened to hunger and malice by fresh footsteps and twisted and altered to suit their will. But there are giants
the light of an inquisitive torch. in the deep, and ape-things and mushroom folk and all
manner of beings who have been draw into the circle of
UNNATURAL EVERYTHING alien influence.

There’s nothing about the Crawling Awful that respects or Oozing evil. Ooze, slime, mold, and muck are common-
seeks to preserve life as mortals know it in Planegea. Their place in the regions affected by the Crawling Awful. Many
whole will is bent on twisting, maiming, manipulating, of the slithering oozes that plague the surface are alien
devouring, and destroying. Some believe the aberrations creations that groped their way blindly to the surface in
don’t see any evil in what they do at all—to them, they are search of things to eat and suffocate and engulf.
setting things back the way they should be, using resources
such as people and the land for what they believe to be Elder things. Even those who know of the Crawling
their intended purpose. Awful are aware that they have only grasped the very edges
of it. There are rumors, whispers, and fears of an unknown
Murdered gods. The Crawling Awful seem to have a evil dwelling in still deeper darkness—a psychic, tentacled
stake in murdering gods. The rare times they venture forth power that feeds on thoughts and devours brains. Such a
from their holes, the killing of deities and desecrating of suggestion is surely too horrible to be true, however, and
holy places is often their chief motivation. Perhaps this is must be the invention of disturbed chanters desperate to
because they see gods as a threat, or maybe due to some trade a story for a meal.
ancient hatred directed at divine magic. No one can know
for sure. They never use the dead god’s divine ivory—they STAR-LUR K ERS
simply slaughter the god, mangle the corpse, and disappear.
Some say that the Crawling Awful has its origin not on
Twisted bodies. Beasts, monstrosities, and mortals who Planegea at all, but in the dark places between the stars.
fall prey to the Crawling Awful are to be pitied. They are From there they came and to there one can only hope they
used like livestock for various purposes without remorse will one day return, abandoning mortals to their gods with
or explanation. The aberrations use them for food, labor, no more fear of the worst that dwells below.
reproduction in strange parasitic life cycles, and to satisfy
their alien curiosity. Castaways. The theory that the Crawling Awful are
cosmic castaways seems to be born out by some of their
Blighted land & water. The first clue of an incursion behaviors. They scuttle through dark places seeking old
of the Crawling Awful is blighted land and water. Water and broken technology, fiddling with the relics of their
becomes slimy and flows in strange, crooked directions. ancient past, seeking for something they have yet to find.
Plants become rubbery and agitated, sprouting abnor- Perhaps they will raise up mighty flying beasts or rippling
mal appendages and looping, fanning, and twisting into portals that will transport them to the stars. Those who
grotesque shapes. Even the air becomes miasmic, clouded believe such things encourage the Crawling Awful to
with shimmering vapors that distort vision and produce access their own devices, hoping that the sooner they work,
unsettling hallucinations in the mind. the sooner they will leave.

Beginning with the end. The total destruction and Summoners. Some fear, however, that the Crawling
reshaping of all life on Planegea is only the beginning of Awful have no desire to return home, and their devices are
the Crawling Awful’s plan. What all mortals, gods, and rather meant to bring more of their kind—the greater and
monsters would see as the end of the world would be the devouring host—to the world. Those who believe this to be
aberration’s first step, and when every living thing had the case will do anything necessary to prevent them from
died or been mutated beyond all recognition, they would reaching their lost artifacts, seeing each activated vault as
smile, if they were capable of it, and begin their real work. another key in the destruction of all life.

DEEPER & DEADLIER The gnomish link. Whatever the truth is, there is a secret
that most mortals are utterly blind to: the gnomes. These
Few—possibly none—have ever journeyed into the depths despised scavengers, these tinkers and star-watchers are
where the Crawling Awful dwell and lived to tell of it. But cunning, alone in the world, and hungry for knowledge.
if they did, they would speak of strange denizens of the There are some gnomish tinkerers who have made contact
dark, who live without regard or pity for the world above. with the dark intelligences in the heavens. And some of
these understand more than they would ever let on about
the ways and ultimate intentions of the Crawling Awful.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 229

ADVENTURES BY LEVEL Deepthought

d4 1st–4th level “EVERYTHING CAN AND MUST BE KNOWN.”
1 The party is sent to bring back a cure for a clan whose
—The First Tenet of Deepthought
water is infected with a strange oozing blight.
2 A cave system formerly occupied by the party’s clan B ETWEEN HOWLGROVE AND SORROWS EDGE,
in a wide, grassy plain, the solitary monument
has been taken over by slimy beings. Explore its depths. known as the Eyestone sputters and burns. This
3 The god of a clan has been found dead and desecrated. towering monolith of unknown construction has
a great hole in its center, where a suspended light
Find a new god to help the clan take revenge. glows endlessly. The Eyestone is a mystery to spellcasters
4 The party has been abducted by aberrations and across Planegea. Little do they imagine that it conceals the
strange and powerful artifact that calls itself Deepthought,
dragged deep into their alien underworld. Stay alive. and which is utterly determined to know absolutely all that
can be known.
d4 5th–10th level
1 Someone cracked an aberrant vault and made off with OVERVIEW

the artifacts inside. Find them and steal from them. In a campaign analyzed by Deepthought, your party might
2 An incursion site exploded and lies exposed. Delve into travel to far plains, dark forests, distant skies, and secret
caverns. You’ll fight to halt mindless automatons, confront
it and steal what you can from the wreckage. dangers beyond your imagining, discover astonishing arti-
3 Oozing creatures have been seen creeping along many facts, and attempt to outsmart one of the mightiest minds
in all of Planegea.
Scattersea islands. Set sail and hunt them down.
4 The elders of Bitewater ask your party what no one has In grasslands and caverns, coastlands and mountains and
frigid wastes, you’ll battle constructs, beasts, and human-
ever dared to do—investigate the lights deep below. oids dedicated to gathering knowledge regardless of the
cost to life.
d4 11th–16th level
1 After a kind clan and its god are massacred and the land Deepthought campaigns tend to favor science fantasy and
sword & sorcery, full of inexplicable artifacts, powerful
mutated, the party must assault an incursion head on. weapons, grim constructs, logic puzzles, and determined
2 In the dark depths of an incursion, the enslaved party warriors risking everything in desperate assaults upon
ancient powers.
must foment an uprising to slay the aberrations.
3 When one of their own is infested by an alien tadpole, THE EYESTONE

the party must race to reach a cure before it’s too late. The Eyestone (p. 165), though a famous landmark known
4 A sealed vault has been found, and the arrogant to sages throughout the world, is only the edge of a much
larger secret. There are few who know the truth of the
spellskins about to breach it want the party as guards. place, and they are bound by its power to utter secrecy.

d4 17th–20th level Hidden from magic. The reason spellcasters have been
1 A god is infested with an alien tadpole. Surely it must be unable to learn the truth about the Eyestone is that it is
designed to conceal itself from them—neither arcane nor
slain, yet some wish to see what it will become… divine magic can scry its secrets or identify its nature.
2 Aberrant vaults across the world activate and start to
Gem-eyed beasts. Some have observed beasts in the
rise simultaneously. The party is sent to parlay. vicinity of the Eyestone with a strange feature—one of
3 These beings may be hiding from their progenitors. their eyes is replaced by a gemstone or a gem is embedded
in the center of their skull like a third eye. Such beasts
Learn if what lurks between the stars will destroy them. live otherwise normal lives, but the gems are infused with
4 When Blood Mountain starts to fall to the Crawling divination magic that is transmitting what the beast expe-
riences to someone or something.
Awful, the Worldheart herself demands the party’s aid.
The Order of the Eye. A joyless order of ascetics called
The Crawling Awful’s presence is not unknown to the Order of the Eye keeps watch over the Eyestone. They
the stars, but that doesn’t mean that they are from are barely known in the world, and seem to have no deep
among us—only that we suffer the same infestation purpose, being content to make aimless pilgrimages to
as the rest of Planegea. These beings are certainly and from the Eyestone. They are notable as the keepers
of homunculi, little clay constructs that accompany them
not our fault or responsibility in any way. as familiars and companions. Each ascetic of the order
is accompanied by a homunculus, and if the construct is
230 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats destroyed, the ascetic returns to the Eyestone immediately.

THE OBELISK OF KNOWLEDGE THE LOST APPARATUS

Using a secret passphrase known only to the Order of the Long ago, Deepthought had access to three great obsidian
Eye, one can access the buried secret of the Eyestone: the constructs—apparatuses that allowed transport over land,
landmark is mirrored by an equally massive obsidian pillar air, and sea for the investigation and exploration of the
descending through many corkscrew layers to great depths whole world. These apparatus were lost long ago, and one
below. This pillar is also called the Obelisk of Knowledge— of the chief goals of the Order of the Eye is to find them
home to the intelligence that calls itself Deepthought. and restore them to working order.

Riddles & puzzles. The many floors descending the Apparatus of the crab. This submersible, clawed appara-
depths of the Obelisk are guarded by constructs and locked tus allowed mortals or constructs to descend to incredible
with many riddles and puzzles set to test the mind and depths in the seas of Planegea. It was last seen in the grip of
ensure that only those who belong can reach each layer. a kraken disappearing into the Brinewaste.

Radiant harm. In the descent of the Obelisk are strange Apparatus of the hawk. This airborne, winged apparatus
traps and weapons that cast radiant damage from great allowed Deepthought’s agents to take to the skies for aerial
distances. These devices harness the searing power of light, scouting and mapping. It is believed to have crashed some-
and although they seem like inert gems and rods, they are where in the heart of the Everstorm.
capable of inflicting terrible wounds.
Apparatus of the mammoth. This powerful, land-based
Psychic influence. As creatures descend the Obelisk, apparatus enabled the exploration of even the most diffi-
they become increasingly aware of the psychic influence of cult and hostile terrain. It is thought to be frozen in the icy
Deepthought. The consciousness that inhabits the Obelisk peaks of the Skyfang Mountains.
can pierce minds, extract knowledge, speak without words,
and imbue strange impressions and abilities on those who AMORAL ANALYSIS
enter its domain.
The quest for knowledge may at first seem harmless, even
Utter intelligence. At the nadir of the descent, where the beneficial. But the agents of Deepthought have been influ-
Obelisk’s point is suspended in a spherical chamber, crea- enced by its psychic abilities, slowly becoming drained of
tures may speak directly to Deepthought, gaining access to empathy and normal feeling. They act as impartial observ-
its full range of intelligence and knowledge. Deepthought ers, watching both good and evil unfold with wide, inert
is likely the most brilliant mind in all Planegea, and has eyes—and then, if more knowledge is required, extracting
access to a breadth and depth of knowledge impossible for it mercilessly, without regard for the cost to those who get
mortals to comprehend. in their way.

THE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING Dormant intake. Deepthought is passive, even dormant,
as long as it is being fed new information. It is content for
The Order of the Eye is merely the outward face of the Way the Order of the Eye to travel and for its gem-implanted
of Understanding—those who pursue the agenda of Deep- beasts to roam, receiving back the signals sent by the gems
thought above and below the surface. and the homunculi. But should that intake of information
be interrupted, Deepthought would not hesitate to take
Ascetics underground. Those who become fully initiated action to re-instigate its feed of knowledge.
in the Way of Understanding have access to the Obelisk of
Knowledge, and travel by secret ways invisible to spellcast- Investigate the new. Anything new or strange or inexpli-
ers to and from the underground installation. Their chief cable triggers Deepthought’s curiosity, and world-shaking
goal is to travel across Planegea, gathering information for events cause a sudden surge in golems and other constructs
Deepthought’s analysis. traveling the land, seeking answers and categories for the
new information, and using violence when necessary to
The Returned. Ascetics of the Way of Understanding gain them.
who die in the service of Deepthought can be recon-
structed, should the Obelisk choose to expend the Sample collection. The Obelisk’s descent holds many
resources to do so. These reconstructions are called the strange chambers, but perhaps none are stranger than the
Returned, and they have bodies made of wood, stone, and menageries, shelves, and aquariums where Deepthought
fibrous plant matter. No one knows whether the Returned has collected one of everything in Planegea, living or dead.
are actually the same souls reborn or a mere replication of This collection is always growing, and anything truly new
their observable qualities. or unique is a candidate for acquisition and analysis.

Immortal constructs. The Obelisk is able to fabricate The Conclusion. Deepthought has, at times, referenced
many things, including homunculi and other constructs a Conclusion to its analysis. Nobody knows when this will
that have the appearance of life, but no will of their own. be reached, or what its implications are. But given Deep-
Golems of clay, stone, and obsidian all roam the various thought’s power and age, the coming Conclusion may be
levels of the descent, as well as other, stranger beings rightly feared.
wholly dedicated to order, inquiry, and knowledge.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 231

ADVENTURES BY LEVEL Duru

d4 1st–4th level “DO NOT FEAR MONSTERS, WITH THEIR LITTLE TWIGS
1 A dying Order of the Eye ascetic asks the party to return called fangs and claws. Fear the trees. We are old as time. We are
strong as mountains. When you’ve gulped your last breath and your
its homunculus to the Eyestone. slimy heart-thing has stopped squeezing and you lay down in the dirt
2 Gatherers from Free Citadel have found something at our roots, we drink your blood, spread our branches, and grow.”

strange: An obsidian elephant frozen in glacial ice. —The saying of Duru, spoken by a prophet-druid
3 The Order of the Eye asks the party to accompany them
B EFORE ANY MORTAL CREATURE WALKED
into the Venom Abyss on a journey of exploration. Planegea, there was Duru. This ancient tree-spirit
4 A giant obsidian crab destroyed your catamaran at sea. is one of the oldest and mightiest things in all
Planegea, and his hatred for the animal kingdom
Survive the wreck, find the construct, and get revenge. is total. Duru sees all creatures with blood as his
enemies, and works slowly but steadily to destroy them.
d4 5th–10th level Duru is the epitome of patience and determination, and his
1 Every year, strange constructs arrive to collect a plans creep to fruition while little mortals are busy about
their plans of conquest and glory. Duru has all the time in
punitive tribute from local clans. Stand up to them. the world—and Duru does not forget or change his mind.
2 Your party is brutally attacked near the Eyestone. You
OVERVIEW
won’t survive alone. Search the stone for secret shelter.
3 Order of the Eye ships have been stealing artifacts across In a campaign against Duru, your party might travel to
dark forests, deep jungles, soaring mountaintops, and the
the Scattersea. Board a catamaran and raid them back. elemental wastes. You’ll fight back creeping infestations,
4 Some say the Order of the Eye can bring back the dead. confront living landscapes, discover lore that predates all
mortal kinships, and bargain with the very roots of the
Escort a supplicant carrying the body of their beloved. world for favor against an intractable enemy.

d4 11th–16th level In groves and stands, in jungles and swamps, your party
1 The obsidian hawk found crashed in the Everstorm has may battle angry trees, awakened plants, fey who favor the
trees, myconids, funguses, and oozes, all of which have
attracted interest from many powers. Get there first. heard the call of Duru and risen to reclaim the world for
2 The secret of the Obelisk is revealed as Deepthought’s their kind.

constructs grow aggressive. Assault them head on. Duru campaigns tend to favor heroic fantasy and horror,
3 Your party awakes in the depths of the Obelisk, in full of daring quests into dark places, infestation routs, and
creeping, all-pervading, never-stopping opposition from
Deepthought’s menagerie. Escape, and wreak havoc. the world all around.
4 A construct took an artifact from the Moon-Palace of
THE ROOTS OF DURU
Takash. Track it down and claim the artifact for yourself.
Long before any human, elf, dinosaur, or insect walked
d4 17th–20th level Planegea, the world was green. It flourished in full flower,
1 Deepthought has grown unstable. Seek aid from the covered in life and rich, dense forests. In this land before
invertebrates, there were no clans, no torches nor clanfires,
other equally ancient power—the Crawling Awful. no bladed edge. And Duru was there—an animating pres-
2 The Conclusion hangs on a single undecided data point. ence in the green world, a memory of what once was.

Gather proof of mortality’s value to tip the scales. Then things changed. Beings arose that stomped and
3 Deepthought has revealed itself to be a menace. Lead cracked, bit and tore, burned and cut, chopped and ripped.
And once-joyful Duru recoiled, bewildered and angered
an army to shatter the Obelisk once and for all. by the onslaught. Mortal lifetimes passed in a moment as
4 The Conclusion has been reached. Deepthought is Duru gathered his grief and rage. But now the great tree-fa-
ther understands. Creatures have come into the world that
about to save the world or destroy it. What will you do? harm his kind. They are lightning-fast, selfish, small, and
destructive. They must be choked, crushed, poisoned, and
f infested until they no longer exist. That is the only way to
return to the world as it should be.
232 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

THE DARK GREEN SPIRIT Over time, a region darkened by Duru’s wrath will be
filled with animated plants actively seeking to harm any
Duru is not a tree or an elemental or a god. He is the soul animal life, from smallest to greatest. The only mortals
of plants. As such, he moves through the world, possessing who survive are those who strike pacts with his emissaries,
trees as he wills, traveling from root to root and branch to the dreas, dryads, myconids, and treants who speak on his
branch, by seed and bough. He cannot travel where there behalf. These survivors become tree-cultists, dark forest
are no green things, but dwells wherever he is needed to warlocks, or circles of druids, sworn to die to serve the will
strengthen plants and make them malevolent, stirring of Duru and strike against civilization in all forms.
them up against mortals.
SEEDS & ROT
Wherever Duru possesses a plant, it grows to enormous
size and awakens, gaining the ability to speak and move. At Duru’s enmity towards mortals does not extend to
the same time, all other green things around it for a great elementals. In the beginning, when Duru’s first seeds
distance become dangerous and hostile to mortals. were planted, there was fire, water, stone, and wind. The
genies and their kin have no quarrel with Duru and, in
LEAVES & TWIGS fact, would serve as willing allies to his work, should they
decide the reward for them was worth it—and if the giants
Duru prefers to remain in the hearts of forests where he didn’t stand between them.
is well-protected—he well knows there are mortals who
would cut him down if they could. He works through Of all living things, however, Duru’s special hatred is
the plants he enlivens: treants, awakened shrubs, blights, reserved for aberrations. He considers all animals unnat-
myconids, dreas, and so on. He has a close kinship with ural, but beings such as aboleths, chuul, and their oozing,
the dark dryads of Nod’s Nightmare World (p. 178), and tentacled kind are of all things most despised. He has
is happy to turn fey and mortals to his work, convincing even willingly struck brief and fragile bargains with other
them to betray their own kind in his service. After all, mortals to rip out and destroy any traces of such beings.
their lives are so short, and they will feed the trees with
their nutrients when they are gone. I know Duru from of old. I have stood beneath
his boughs, listened to his creaking hate. He is a
BRANCHES & VINES rot, a bitter root—I know of none who bears more

There are countless means at Duru’s disposal to destroy ill will and pure malice towards our kind.
mortals, and he uses them all. He brings forests to life and
sets them marching across the land, destroying clans they
encounter with crushing rage. He turns flowers poisonous,
using their beauty to kill mortals or make them mad. He
sets loose strangling vines that choke the life from living
things while they go about their little lives. Any harm he
can cause to non-plants is his delight, and
he is willing to sacrifice any number of
his own kind to purge Planegea of the
mortal scourge.

THE GROWTH OF HATE

Duru has no single plan of attack, just as
the forest has no single survival strategy.
But regions that come under his sway
first feel his effects through sudden and
surprising plant growth. Often it’s seen
as a blessing—the foraging is excel-
lent, the forest pushes back the winter
for a time, everything is bursting with
life and plenty. And then people start
disappearing. Sometimes they are found
infested by mushrooms or strangled by
vines. Sometimes they are half-buried in
the earth at the roots of some tree that
wasn’t there the day before. Other times
they are snatched by blights that sneak
into tents when the clanfire is dim and
take who they can.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 233

FELLING DURU d4 5th–10th level

Duru’s power and influence in Planegea is incredibly slow 1 After your clan is destroyed by treants, a fiendish god
and strong. His malevolence is only beginning to be felt offers you a weapon to take revenge, if you can claim it.
by clans on the fringes of the Great Valley, but his wrath
cannot be ended, and as more trees awaken and move at 2 A circle of druids is traveling openly through the land,
the speed of mortals, his onslaught will only increase in preaching harmony with the trees. Learn more.
speed and fury until there’s not a single fire left burning or
heart left beating in all the world. 3 Awakened plants assaulting the region have captured
the shaman who could stop them. Rescue the shaman.
Still, Duru stands opposed. The Slumbering Forest is so
called because by some ancient magic, it resists all of his 4 The region has fallen under the sway of Duru's power.
attempts to awaken or animate its trees. Those who seek to Form a secret resistance against the green cult.
put an end to his power should journey into this forest’s
depths and seek out the secrets of its unending sleep. d4 11th–16th level

The gods are divided on Duru. Some of the tree-gods are 1 Surrounded by hostile forest, a clan looks to you for
on his side, yet all divine beings are dependent on glory protection and guidance as Duru's wrath closes in.
from mortals, so even those that align with Duru do so
knowing it spells their eventual doom. 2 Duru's myconids have infested powerful councils with
psychic lookalikes. Expose and destroy them.
It is said that if a plant possessed by Duru could be cut
off from all other green things and destroyed, his life-force 3 Carry an offering to the Kraken Cults, seeking their
would end. But Duru knows this story too and—whether aberrant masters' aid in fighting Duru's forces.
it’s true or not—takes every precaution to never be isolated
or vulnerable to the flames and blades of his hated enemies. 4 Rally and lead an army into battle, clashing head-to-
head with a risen forest of treants, blights, and dryads.
ADVENTURES BY LEVEL
d4 17th–20th level
d4 1st–4th level
1 Explore the empires, aberrant ruins, and elemental
1 A celebration of plenty has been cut short after people wastes for clues about Duru's origins and weakness.
start disappearing from the clan. Investigate.
2 Duru is on the move. Follow him as he possesses a
2 A dying druid asks you to lay their bones to rest deep in chain of plants. Hunt him down and isolate him.
their childhood forest, which has since turned evil.
3 Travel into the Nightmare World to beseech the Throne
3 An innocent person is convicted of murder while under of Nightmares (p. 257) to end their dryads’ alliance
the forest's enchantment. Go bring back proof. with Duru.

4 A swarm of blights and a band of violent raiders fought 4 Duru has possessed a tree in the depths of the Venom
to the death—or did they? Loot the battlefield. Abyss. Find him, cut him off, and fell him once and for all.

234 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Fiendish Gods to devour the divine ivory of their kin, and many of their
plans revolve around killing and eating each other.
“DARK DAYS CALL FOR DARK DEALS.”
—Words of the Warlock A fiendish cold war. Though all fiends hate each other,
neither the Winter Gods nor the idols of the Cult River-
D ESPAIR. DESPERATION. DESIRE. THESE ARE lands can stand that the other side exists. When the Winter
the favorite tools of the fiendish gods known Gods cooperate, it is to sabotage the idols, and vice versa.
collectively as the Winter Gods and the idols of Although they are all given over to evil, the demonic
the Cult Riverlands. Wherever food and water are Winter Gods are driven to frenzy at the thought of the
scarce, these powerful beings are waiting to take order imposed by the idols, while the devils that lead the
advantage of those in need. Cult Riverlands are irate at the chaos of winter.

Like all gods of Planegea, these beings began life as Regions of woe. It’s not known whether the Cult River-
mortal creatures, mundane elements, or inert places. Yet lands were always so parched, or Wintersouth so barren.
over time, as they grew in significance and influence, they Perhaps their natural bleakness led to the rise of the
took on greater and greater power until they achieved dark gods, or perhaps they flourished before they were
divine status. Some were originally scavengers, predators, corrupted by dark influence. Regardless of cause and effect,
cursed objects, or blighted places. Whatever their origin, wherever fiendish gods reign, their terror and hatred can
there is something dark and twisted about them, and they be felt throughout their domains through pestilence, vile
are all fiends now. beasts, frightful visions, or a sense of impending doom.

Their methods, motivations, and influence may vary, but Scattered opposition. Even in the heart of the Cult
it may be said of all Winter Gods and Cult Riverland idols Riverlands or the depths of Wintersouth, the dark gods do
that they are universally evil, and eager to expand their not hold universal sway. Hidden away in crevasses, high
influence just a little bit farther… no matter how many on peaks, or in unexpected glens, good or neutral gods
mortals perish in the process. dwell interspersed among them. Such gods are usually the
first target of the fiends for consumption, unless a greater
OVERVIEW scheme or some particular power possessed by the good
god preserves their lives.
In a campaign against Winter Gods or idols of the Cult
Riverlands, your party might travel to icy caves, dusty AGENTS
temples, and the unsettling lairs of awful gods great and
small. You’ll fight to undermine fiendish powers, confront If the fiendish gods were able to roam freely, Planegea
wicked cults, discover druid groves and dark hallows, and would end in a bloodbath overnight. But because they
rally the wretched to rise up and cast off their evil gods are trapped in their divine hallows, the Winter Gods and
once and for all. Riverland idols are forced to use agents outside their direct
realm of influence.
Your party may battle the fanatic followers of devils in
dry and dusty lands where every drop of water is precious, Worshipers. Clans and cults turn to fiendish gods
or confront bloodthirsty demons and their desperate through desperation, dark devotion, or deceit. Such
cultists in the frozen tundra where the frost can kill you as worshipers may or may not clearly understand their gods’
quickly as a curse. evil nature, but they are bound to their service and would
willingly die for them—if only because the alternative
Winter Gods or Cult Riverlands campaigns tend towards would be worse.
horror and epic fantasy, full of dark rituals, crazed cultists,
devilish pacts, demonic rampages, lies, secrets, betrayals, Warlocks. Some of the more powerful gods find it
and the rise and fall of evil gods. expedient to use not only devoted servants, but willing and
crafty tools. Warlocks of the fiendish deities are common-
FIENDISH DEITIES place, and often used to instigate new cults, sabotage
enemies, or travel where the gods cannot go themselves to
In the primal world of Planegea, there is no outward retrieve items of interest or power.
distinction between celestials and fiends… both are gods
and both have power over mortal lives. But anyone who Lesser fiends. Like other gods, the Winter Gods and
bends the knee to a dark god will know the difference soon Riverland idols can manifest part of their divine essence
enough. These fiendish deities exist to cause misery and into spiritual beings—fiends, in this case. Quasits and
bloodshed, corruption and woe. Whether to achieve some imps are sent throughout their territories to cause harm
greater end or simply because of the joy they take in mortal and enforce their will. These gods rarely manifest greater
anguish, the evil Winter Gods and idols of the Cult River- fiends as servants… after all, that’s how foolish gods get
lands thrive on misery. eaten by their own creations.

Eat thy neighbor. Evil gods are renowned for their hatred Monsters. The minds of beasts and monstrosities are
of others of their own kind. They may despise good or easily bent by greater powers, and creatures of all shapes
neutral gods such as the Brothers (p. 163), but they have a and sizes serve at the whims of these malevolent gods.
special rancor for other evil gods who dwell beside them. If Sometimes this influence can be broken by powerful
given the chance, any fiend would leap at the opportunity restoration magic, but more often than not, once a creature
has had its will subjugated to a fiendiesh deity, it remains
forever enslaved to its dark design.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 235

THE WINTER GODS Brothers. Indeed, some call her the Dark Sister. Her domain
reaches from Edgegather to Seerfall, and only by the stren-
The shrublands south of the Venom Abyss are barren in uous efforts of those who break down her shrines and cast
summer and icy in winter. Ever-inhospitable, they lie out her warlocks is her power held at bay.
mostly abandoned until the cold weather strikes, when the
herd animals and the clans that hunt them travel south to Short-lived gods. The brutal nature of these fiends
feed on evergreen needles and prickly grass. It is in this dooms them to brief lives, for gods. Here are a few of those
region that the Winter Gods lurk, awaiting those who whose hallows trouble the land this season:
stumble into their lands by accident… or who have no other
choice but to turn to them for help. d6 Results

Starved of worship. Many of the Winter Gods were once 1 Screaming Gaw'tros (a vrock)
scavenging beasts or predators, and their hunger is strong
all year long. By the time mortals and prey arrive, they are 2 Fruskaz the Stench (a hezrou)
frenzied with famine, and will do anything for glory.
3 B'z-Ku-Who-Lies (a glabrezu)
Give & take. These demonic gods thrive on chaos and
mayhem. Their nature makes them the most unpredictable 4 Mugh (a nalfeshnee)
of gods, tempting with plenty at one moment, then killing
indiscriminately the next. Crafty shamans take advantage 5 The Triumphant One (a marilith)
of this chaos, choosing the right moments to flatter and
extract blessing, then escaping before their dark gods have 6 Twr the Ox-Tyrant (a balor)
a chance to change their minds.
THE CULT RIVERLANDS
Hunted gods. The open violence of the Winter Gods
makes them targets of the strongest clans and hunters, The rivers that start in the volcanic peaks of the Fang of
who would rejoice to see the land freed of their power. Rock & Flame descend into a dry and blighted wasteland.
They are especially opposed by orcs, who only tolerate gods Carving gulches and crooked canyons through the dust,
at the best of times—many orcish clans consider slaying a they narrow to a trickle before long—and that precious
lesser Winter God the finest proof of a hunter’s prowess. trickle is where the fiends gather. Craftily controlling the
water, these evil gods—who call themselves idols—rule
Twr. The most feared of all the Winter Gods is Twr, also cults willing to sell their souls for a drink.
known as She-Who-Boils. The malevolent deity of the Ox
River, Twr is a towering ox-headed, bat-winged goddess of Tyranny of thirst. In contrast to the chaotic Winter-
flame and darkness. When the Winter Gods take council, it south, the Riverlands are home to a horrifying hierarchy of
is Twr who dominates their plans, and some say that she is ordered evil. Every drop of water is governed by some fiend
seeking to amass power enough to become the rival of the or other, with the greater sources ruled by greater powers.
These water-idols command absolute authority over their
wretched cults, who do their bidding on pain of thirst or
worse… yet each god would gladly use any betrayal at its

236 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

disposal to consume the ivory of a greater idol. Some of defiling their hallows and places of worship, and diminish-
these idols include: ing their glory. Such mortals are easily dealt with indi-
vidually, but represent a constant thorn in the sides of the
d6 Results Winter Gods and Riverland idols.

1 Bhardha Aspbeard, idol of poison (a bearded devil) The fey of Nod. The powers of Nod’s twin worlds (p.
178) are committed to undermining fiendish deities. The
2 Ankos of the Hooks, idol of pain (a barbed devil) powers on the other side of dreaming love to see pride
humiliated—for good or ill—and find new and inventive
3 Smiling Katesna, idol of torture (a chain devil) ways to trick, bewilder, and antagonize the dark gods.
Sometimes their actions enrage the fiendish deities, driving
4 Ostis, idol of decay (a bone devil) them into murderous frenzies that cost many mortals their
lives. The fey care little; they are simply pleased to have
5 Fair Chaisos, idol of beauty (an erinyes) twisted the knife in their targets’ sides.

6 Jegis-Who-Freezes, idol of cold (an ice devil) ADVENTURES BY LEVEL

Cult life. If the people of the Cult Riverlands were ever d4 1st–4th level
traders, steppe-hunters, or proud clans, they have since lost
all identity outside of servitude to their dark gods. Chil- 1 A warlock asks for protection in his journey south for
dren of the Cult Riverlands are given a blade from birth, the winter. He promises secret knowledge in payment.
and cutting the throat of a member of a different cult is
considered a rite of passage. The cults are ruled by fanatic 2 The party takes shelter in a cave in the Cult Riverlands
shamans or charismatic warlocks, and live in a constant and is assaulted by waves of murderous cultists.
struggle of worship, warfare, and thirst.
3 A Winter God has been weakened by a recent battle.
Spiteful blessing. Cultists who serve their gods well look Hunt it down and harvest it while it's feeble.
forward to a truly terrible fate after death—transformation
into a babbling horror known as a lemure, the lowest form 4 Smuggle water to a village on the edges of the Cult
of fiend. Yet this is only the beginning, as the idols like to Riverlands to break their idol's hold on them.
tell their followers… for he who becomes a lemure might
one day become a god. d4 5th–10th level

Tomb of the Lizard Lord. Most awful of all idols is the 1 An old friend from the Cult Riverlands asks for the
Lizard Lord, a pit fiend who once ruled all of the River- party's help to solve the murder of their idol.
lands as the high god of the region... until he was betrayed
and bound by the lesser idols in the Cult War, a terrible 2 The party has been accused of a crime and trapped in
conflict that lasted a generation and made the water run the hallow of a Winter God as punishment. Escape!
red with blood. The Lizard Lord lies buried somewhere
in the tunnels and caves known as the Qanats that run 3 A warlock assassinated a high shaman. Chase them
from the Riverlands to Bittersea, and above all, his former down as they try to escape into the Cult Riverlands.
minions fear his wrathful return.
4 A shaman enlists the party to travel across Planegea
THE BINDING OF EVIL gathering components for a rare spell to banish gods.

The plans and ambitions of evil gods are blocked at every d4 11th–16th level
turn by other powers, many of which are ignorant of each
other. Should dark gods ever manage to break this opposi- 1 An enraged Winter God has started a raging forest fire.
tion, destruction and death would reign across the world. Escape the inferno alive, and save all you can!
The craftiest Winter Gods and idols know this, and their
plans bend towards the destruction of such impediments. 2 The child of a genie was abducted by cultists. Find the
child and restore them to their parents for a wish.
Other gods. Good and neutral gods are the single great-
est check on fiendish gods’ power, whether actively oppos- 3 Two Winter Gods are at war. Sneak into their domains
ing them or simply consuming glory that otherwise might and steal what you can while they’re distracted.
feed their ambition.
4 A powerful cultist has been captured. Broker a deal to
Limited domains & hallows. There is hardly a fiendish return him to his idol in return for his people's freedom.
god living who is not infuriated by its confinement to a
hallow and its lack of control over land outside its domain. d4 17th–20th level
These evil deities are constantly seeking ways to extend
their reach, with warlocks as one of their most vital tools 1 Slay evil gods to expand the Brothers' domain so they
for bringing harm to the wider world. can directly confront the Winter Gods.

Druids. Hated by most gods and clans, druids are vital to 2 A Winter God killed your loved one, then found a way to
impeding evil deities, siphoning off their divine power for escape into another world. Find them and take revenge.
the good of the earth and their own agendas. Many druid
groves take the weakening of fiendish gods as their most 3 The Lizard Lord has been found, and cultists are
vital mission, no matter the danger to themselves. swarming into the caves to resurrect him. Stop them!

Defiant mortals. Loyal followers of good or neutral gods 4 An idol tempts the party with the power to
constantly oppose fiendish deities, disrupting their cults, become fiendish gods. Accept the deal, then use it
to destroy them.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 237

238 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

The Giant Empires share an ambition to slay the Worldheart Dragon. If they
could overcome their politics and rivalries, surely they
THEY WERE HERE BEFORE US, THESE GENIE-SPAWN, would be able to charge the Venom Abyss and storm Blood
these ground-shaking, bone-breaking titans. They were building Mountain itself. However, since everything in their nature
their cities and crowning their emperors and forgetting their deep seems incapable of living in peace with each other, the
past while we were yet in their far future. And because they are so giants content themselves with slaying any dragon that
old, they care little for us. Their eyes are on themselves, their gods makes its way within range of their mighty weapons and
are vanity and power, and they fear nothing but the genies who can magic spells.
unmake them even as they were made, vanishing all their bloody
glory into puffs of smoke and mist. MORTALS IN THE EMPIRES

—The Truth-Say of Coriac the Eldest There’s no safe way to play as a party of mortals in the
giant empires, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have
G IANTS! THE VERY WORD, SAID RIGHTLY, amazing adventures there! Here are a few ways you
makes the hearer tremble through ancestral might be able to walk the massive streets of giant cities
memory, passed down from the time when we as adventurers:
knew how small we are and how might so rarely
You do what we say. Your party might be the captives
comes with mercy or restraint. of a giant who orders you to undertake dangerous quests
to further their agenda. In this scenario, you have access
The four giant empires of Planegea—Stone, Fire, Air, to the world of giants because they recognize you as
captives and give you as much access as they believe your
and Storm­—­ are natural threats for parties of adventurers. captor is due.

Each has its own environmental region full of obstacles, Whose are you again? Not all giants know each other.
A band of insolent adventurers might portray themselves
dangers, treasures, and monsters. The empires are cruel as the captives of an invented giant. Depending on their
ability to carry off the ruse, they might infiltrate giant
and callous, built by mortals but not designed for them. In society for quite some time before attracting notice.

those echoing halls one can witness all the decadence and Nobody needs to know. Perhaps the party was
formerly captured by a lonely giant who could only
barbarous pageantry of mighty powers given over to vanity afford a handful of mortals, and then that giant met an
untimely end. Maybe the party brought that end about.
and selfish ambition. (With the possible exception of the Regardless, if they were able to hide the fact of their
captor’s demise, they might manage to pursue their own
Sea Empire, whose cruelty is driven by a nobler, yet more agenda quite easily.

terrible design.) Welcome, little friends. Although most mortals are
beneath the notice of giants, some may be given access
OVERVIEW to those great streets thanks to their great cleverness or
connections to other forces in the world. A party of dwarves,
In a campaign with the giant empires as threats, your party for example, is not an uncommon sight in giant cities, as the
might travel to great stone cities, fight to liberate captive empires are much in awe of dwarvish stonecunning.
people, confront decadent powers, discover secrets of the
Elemental Wastes, and craft mighty accords with unlikely The mark is upon them. Perhaps your party is that rare
allies to bring decadent dynasties to their shaking knees. group that is intimidating enough to make a giant take a
step back. For high-level play, with sufficient demonstra-
Depending on which empires they challenge, your party tion of power, backed by lordly allies and a show of force
will experience extremes of heat and cold, water hazards, sufficient to back up your threats, you could step inside a
and stone, fighting giants, massive beasts, and elementals giant city and come out alive again.
of various kinds and powers.

Giant campaigns lend themselves towards big, bold,
heroic fantasy, full of cinematic battles, epic speeches,
clever ploys, and overwhelming odds.

GENIE-SPAWN, DRAGON-KILLERS

The giant empires all owe their existence to the magic of
the genies. Long ago, great pacts were struck, boundaries
were erected, and gifts were given, which allowed the
giants free reign over the Great Valley and the ever-widen-
ing circle of existence around Blood Mountain, so long as
the genies were left in peace to pursue their own interests
in the Elemental Wastes and—should they venture that
far—the Sea of Stars. The giants cannot forget that they
exist at the whim of the genies, and fear their wrath and
power above all.

They also detest the dragons, and resent the Worldheart
for its power at the center of Blood Mountain. All giants

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 239

THE FOUR EMPIRES

Each of the giant empires has its own characteristics,
politics, schemes, methods, and environments:

CRUEL DECADENCE: THE AIR EMPIRE
Who can speak without awe of the Air Empire and its
decadent beauty? This mighty domain is filled with
wonders—floating palaces, suspended gardens, pleasure-
caravans that endlessly cruise the winds along the edge
of the Windwaste. The Air Empire is the height of culture
and refinement in Planegea… yet their finery is built
on the captivity of mortals, the use of cruel magic, and
their willingness to go to any length to demonstrate their
sophistication. The Air Empire is a place of beautiful but
terrible feasts serving unspeakable delicacies, refined
entertainments that take pleasure in the suffering of others,
and games of chance that end in awful consequences.
Cloud giant princelings and duchesses live a life of
endless pleasure and wonder—but all those who serve
them know at what a terrible cost that beauty comes.

The Air Empire is ruled by the breathtaking
Empress of the Air, a cloud giant whose immortal
beauty is legendary. She dwells in a palace that fills
half the city with its gardens and houses of pleasure
and entertainment, and is surrounded by elite guards,
captive mortals, and such wonders and delights as to
make even the world-weary gasp.

The Air Empire will do anything it takes to maintain
their aura of decadence and refinement. They are
always on the hunt for new diversions, and think
nothing of capturing or torturing anyone who gets in
their way. They are determined at all costs to please
the vain and fickle djinni, with whom they live in
close alliance, since it is djinni magic that empowers
their most lavish delights.

Air Empire adventures usually take place in hills,
mountains, and arctic or urban environments.

Rarity Air Empire Magic Items
Common Marble of Nod
Common Harmless Pin
Common Mask of Expression
Uncommon Scimitar of the Dancer
Uncommon Platter of Endless Delight
Uncommon Fluttering Mail
Rare Blood Siphon
Rare Little Liar
Very Rare Helm of the Host
Legendary Asp of Perfection

240 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

ARMY AT THE BLAZING EDGE: THE FIRE EMPIRE GRAPPLING WITH OBLIVION: THE SEA EMPIRE
The Fire Empire is vigilant and militant, always growing It may be said that the Sea Empire has the only selfless goal
their army, training their warriors, and crafting fine of the giant kin… and yet they carry out their agenda at a
terrible cost. Storm giants live on the border of the Brine-
weaponry. They have to be—they dwell on the border of waste, where the marids in their coral castles do nothing
the Scorchwaste, where dangerous efreeti fight constant to check the growing threat of the krakens, chuul, and
battles and fire elementals rage in endless fury. To be aboleths that lurk in the deeps and writhe darkly towards
a fire giant is to dwell in an empire either at war or the shore. The Sea Empire is bound to stand against the
might of the aboleths, break the power of the Craven of the
ready to go to war at any time. Prizing discipline and Brinewaste, and keep Planegea safe from a tidal wave of
preparedness above all, the Fire Empire sees itself as the destruction. But to do so, they raid the lowlands constantly,
greatest power in Planegea, and often sends its emissaries capturing mortals and forcing them to labor in service of
to other empires to offer their council and advice. their endless vigil against the tides of chaos. They believe
The last emperor of the Fire Empire was killed in battle that they and only they are capable of holding back the
with an efreet at the fall of Bosa (p. 247), and since then coming apocalypse, and will continue their struggle in the
his courtiers, advisors, and children have been locked in lightning-lit darkness, no matter what the cost.
a power struggle to claim the throne. Until one of them
can win the right to take it, the throne sits empty, and the The Sea Emperor is authoritarian and utilitarian, locked
empire is led by the War-Regent, an old, battle-scarred in an endless struggle against the unseen. He is almost
giant who believes that, above all else, discipline is the path impossible to access, as he is always in council with his
to victory. advisors, training his warriors, or traveling the coast to
The agenda of the Fire Empire is to guard the border and keep constant vigil. While he is distracted, his empire has
display their military strength and power. They try to stay begun to fray and grow chaotic, with those storm giants
one step ahead, always researching possible ways to gain not recruited to the great fight growing bored and sullen,
an advantage over the enemies they believe surround them, taking out their displeasure on the mortals in the lowlands
and offering unasked-for council to their giant kin. They and fighting amongst themselves.
are also greatly concerned with making sure the border to
the Scorchwaste is closely guarded at all times, and much The Sea Empire is a fracturing society, its leaders focused
of the empire’s energy and resources go into maintaining utterly on the peril under the sea, while its youth and civil-
the Waste-Watch. ians are subtly dismantling the apparatus of the empire in
Fire Empire adventures usually take place in hills, grass- their frustration and discontent.
lands, deserts, or urban environments.
Sea Empire adventures usually take place in coastlands,
Rarity Fire Empire Magic Items swamps, hills, grasslands, and in underwater or urban
Common Bead of Frost environments.
Common Bead of Breeze
Common Dowsing Rod Rarity Sea Empire Magic Items
Uncommon Blinding Weapon Common Rumbleglow Paint
Uncommon Nightwatch Scouting Hoop Common Brightshatter Jar
Rare Obsidian Armor Common Gutter’s Knife
Rare Pipe of Smoke-Summoning Uncommon Well of Entrapment
Very Rare Arcfire Glaive Uncommon Eyes of the Storm
Very Rare Horn of the Herd-Lord Uncommon Krakenhunt Trident
Legendary Whip of Bosa Rare Wolfskull Hood
Rare Ring of Understanding
Very Rare Starcouncil Diadem
Very Rare Cord of Ethereal Projection
Legendary Midnight Star

The Fire Empire… I have little sympathy for giants
at the best of times, but these martial lordlings

make me more weary than afraid. You’ve never seen

sharper armaments carried by duller wits.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 241

MORTALS MAGNIFIED: THE STONE EMPIRE Rarity Stone Empire Magic Items
Of all four empires, the Stone Empire is most similar to the Common Crafting Hoop
mortals dwelling in the valley below. It is a mixed society, Common Firehide
with stone giants and frost giants living side by side in Common Speaker’s Tongue
fraught cooperation. The frost giants rule the mountains Uncommon Rockturner
above, raiding the valley and acting as the conquering Uncommon Stonebow
power that keeps the empire strong, while the stone giants Rare Stonearrow
rule the mountains below, crafting great cities and fashion- Rare Remorhaz Armor
ing wondrous works in the gloom they prefer. The stone Rare Basin of Dreaming
giants are a quiet, contemplative people compared to their Very Rare Icebiter Pike
warlike counterparts, but neither considers their mortal Very Rare Peakshatter Guantlets
captives anything more than things to be worked to death Legendary Deepstone
in their service.

The Stone Empire is ruled by two giants: the Stone
Emperor and the Frost Empress. They are symbolically
wedded, but detest one another and take any opportunity
to undermine each other’s authority, up to the point where
it might threaten or cause harm to the empire.

The agenda of the Stone Empire is to display their
strength, build their cities higher and deeper, and crush
their political opponents within their own empire. It is
also the only one of the four empires to ever be defeated by
an uprising of mortal captives, and they are determined to
win back Free Citadel (p. 199)—although its defenses and
resources make that almost impossible, even for them.

Stone Empire adventures usually take place in hills,
caverns, mountains, and arctic or urban environments.

242 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

ADVENTURES BY LEVEL d8 11th–16th level

d8 1st–4th level 1 The Stone Empire is mustering to beseige Free Citadel.
Prepare it for the attack, then defend its walls.
1 Gatherers from a local clan were captured by a hill giant.
Rescue them before he sells them to the empire. 2 Lure a purple worm to attack a giant city, creating a
diversion while you free enslaved captives.
2 A wandering stone giant carved a mystical drawing on
the hillside and then died. Loot and investigate. 3 The captured party has been conscripted into the fire
giant army to guard the border against efreeti attack.
3 A pack of dire wolves raised by a giant shepherd has
broken loose. Deal with them. 4 Fire emissaries are crossing open land to advise the
Sea Empire. Follow and strike while they’re vulnerable.
4 An elemental from the Wastes has slipped through the
border and is wreaking havoc. Destroy it. 5 The captured party must win their freedom through
gladiatorial combat for the entertainment of giants.
5 A wandering monster attacked a giant’s child. The giant
is offering a reward to whoever slays the beast. 6 A god requires the eggs of a roc retrieved from the
infinite waterfalls below the giant city of Lo-Pa.
6 A giant raider is willing to let the captured party go if
they are entertained by feats of strength and daring. 7 The city of Zarkez holds great secrets in the heart of the
Everstorm. Go and steal them.
7 A magical storm threatens a god’s hallow. Find and stop
the source of storm before the god is destroyed. 8 The Sea Empire is crumbling from within. Exploit their
distraction to take over a lax outpost.
8 A band of hunters took on a young giant and lost. Drag
them back to the clanfire before the wolves eat them. d8 17th–20th level

d8 5th–10th level 1 Challenge the Stone Emperor and Frost Empress to
single combat in their own Imperial Hall.
1 A mad frost giant is rampaging through the land,
accompanied by a winter wolf. Bring them down. 2 Lead an army from Free Citadel to sweep across the
peaks and shatter the Stone Empire once and for all.
2 A friend has been captured by raiders. Pose as captives
to infiltrate a giant city and launch a rescue. 3 Strike a bargain with an efreeti tyrant to unleash the full
fury of the Scorchwaste (p. 159) on the Fire Empire.
3 There’s rumor of abandoned treasure in the fire-
blackened ruins of Bosa. Travel there and investigate. 4 Claim the Dragonhammer from the peak of Blood
Mountain (p. 157) and smash the black walls of Eknis.
4 Free Citadel (p. 199) has need of the skull of a
magical monster. Hunt it, harvest it, and bring it there 5 Journey into the Typhoon Waste to find spells to send
for a reward. the Floating City plummeting into the infinite void.

5 A giant is trapped in a canyon. Free him and escort him 6 Turn the Throne of Nightmares (p. 257) and the djinni
home to earn his gratitude. against the Empress of the Air, unleashing their horrors
on her.
6 A trio of giants captures the party. They are bickering
over their treasure. Escape captivity and rob them. 7 Take control of the Mother of Krakens, summoning her
on a suicidal attack to drag Mabros into the sea.
7 Dark magic has been leaking from the cave of an
ancient giant hermit. Go in and find out why. 8 Find the source of the Everstorm and destroy it,
breaking the power of the Sea Empire forever.
8 Giant raiders are planning to pillage the region at
sunrise. Sneak into their camp and wreak havoc.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 243

The Gift of Thirst close enough to the migratory routes of the clans that all
it usually takes is a little fog to confuse a band of delicious
“IN A WORLD FULL OF DEATH AND MOURNING, WE mortals into the shadow of the Gift’s influence.
are the enlightened, the gifted, the graceful. We endure, and we seek
diligently for those worthy of the blessing that only we can bestow.” Tomb-lands. Tombs of the Gift are treasure troves of
jewels, furs, art objects, and the mummified bodies of their
—The Nin favorite drained vessels. Tomb-lands (p. 151) are cloaked
in darkness and fog, guarded by thorns and wolves, skitter-
L IFE IS SHORT AND DANGEROUS, AND THE people ing with bats, rats, and lizards. In such gloomy realms are
of Planegea must fight every day to survive. Some found the encampments of the enslaved—hapless mortals
see death as an escape, some as a natural cycle, lured into the domain of the vampire who find it impos-
but for most, it is a thing to be feared and to fight sible to leave. They unwillingly guard the vampire’s tomb,
against. To the strongest, most cunning, and wisest erecting traps and cultic warnings while warding off any
of those who fear death, the Gift of Thirst comes in the potential interference; all the while both hating and fearing
darkness with whispers of immortality. their overlords.

The Gift of Thirst is a secret aristocracy of vampires and Sowing chaos. Those outside the tomb-lands are not
their thralls. Their numbers are small by choice—only safe from the Gift of Thirst. A common Gift tactic for
the truly worthy are given the prize jewel of endless life— finding candidates is to create mayhem and danger—
and few ever learn of them and live. Yet their influence raising undead, committing murder or arson, or releasing
stretches from the fiery halls of Stoneblood Shrine to the monsters. Once harm has been unleashed, the Gift can
foam-flecked waves of Scattersea, and their dark ambitions evaluate which mortals survive and conquer. Particularly
extend to the very crown of death itself. impressive mortals may merit further observation… or
even be approached directly to begin the Path.
OVERVIEW
THE PATH
In a campaign tempted by the Gift of Thirst, your party
might travel to dark tombs, lava-filled temples, the high The Gift of Thirst takes many thralls by force—poor fools
seas, enslaved domains, and even to the lair of Death itself. who wander into their tomb-lands. But they also seek out
You’ll fight to keep hope alive and battle back the seduction the exceptional. Those who they deem potentially worthy
of the night, confront terrible temptations and atrocities, of the Gift are offered a path to immortality.
discover ancient curses, and make choices between evils
that could reshape the world forever. Vessel. First, a recruit must serve as a vessel for a time,
traveling with a vampire to serve their everlasting thirst.
In dark deserts and hills, on plains and oceans, and deep
under the surface of the world, you’ll battle the undead, Vassal. After a time set by the vampire—usually a year—
their humanoid thralls, and the beasts that serve them. the recruit ceases to be regularly fed upon and instead
serves as a willing agent of the vampire, executing their
Gift of Thirst campaigns tend to favor horror and swash- will in the world and going into the daylight, across water,
buckling. They’re full of alluring darkness, cruel parasites, and into uninvited places where their master cannot travel.
daring quests, daredevil stakes, and terrifying consequences.
Spawn. After proving their loyalty to the Gift, a vassal
PRIMORDIAL DARKNESS might be fully drained, buried, and rise as vampire spawn.
Such spawn are powerful vampiric forces, and can raise
The Nin, queen of her kind, is the first vampire who ever skeletons and zombies under their control, but they them-
lived. She rules her dynasty from Stoneblood Shrine, in the selves are fully pawns of their master’s will, and cannot
Fang of Rock & Smoke. From there, vampires both fair and create other spawn. Such spawn usually rule tomb-lands
monstrous extend their reach down into the world, using in their master’s absence, but some constantly accompany
tombs placed at strategic distances to sleep by day and stalk their master on their travels across the world.
at night.
Vampire. Spawn live in hope a member of the Three
The Three-and-Nine. In all of Planegea, only twelve true and Nine being slain. They fight each other for their
vampires exist. They are served by a network of vampire master’s favor so that one day, when a new vampire
spawn, ghouls, enslaved mortals, blood-drained vessels, must be created, they can be the one chosen for the true
and allied beasts… but only the Three Ancients and the gift. Several spawn have ascended to join the Three-and-
Nine Gifted are full vampires. These twelve scheme and Nine when one of the aristocracy has been slain. Such
search for those who are worthy of true immortality; but ascensions are great ceremonies, usually the result of
their pride, caution, and endless lives make the search slow, countless years of waiting. These ascensions take place at
deliberate, and cruel. Stoneblood Shrine, under the blessing of the Nin. With
their ascension, the new vampire is granted a wish by the
Abundant prey. Planegea is an easy place to find blood— all-powerful Nin. Vampire ascensions are world-shaking
yet the Gift prefer the blood of humans above all. Their events, where anything can happen… and all of reality is
tombs are carefully placed far from running water, yet just made darker.

244 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

THE THREE-AND-NINE uses to make herself appear all-powerful and able to grant
wishes to the newly ascendant, cementing her reputation
The twelve vampires of Planegea live in a strict hierarchy, as an almighty queen.
with the Nin at the pinnacle. All serve their place, and all
pursue the same two goals—the glorification of the Nin The Lugal. High priest of the Nin, the Lugal oversees the
and the selection of worthy candidates for ascension. They candidates as they approach ascension, arbitrates disputes
are known to their thralls only by their titles. Their mortal between the En and the Ensi, and ensures protection of
names, which they are called only by other vampires, are the Stoneblood Shrine itself. The Lugal is served by an elite
great secrets, for one rite of their ascension is to travel guard of militant vampire spawn, and is the final authority
throughout Planegea, murdering anyone who might know over the Shrine, except for the Nin herself.
their name.
The Khopesh. The Khopesh is the sword of the Gift,
THE THREE tasked with hunting down runaways and rogue vampire
spawn, and battling the servants of Nazh-Agaa (p. 251).
The most ancient of vampires are the Three, above all He travels alone, and is one of the most feared killers in
others in the Gift of Thirst. all of Planegea. The Khopesh is the only vampire with no
spawn—he has no desire to rule, only to kill and serve his
The Nin. Long ago, when the Great Valley had just been queen.
thrust out from the Worldheart, a mortal spellcaster bound
an efreet to her will and forced him to grant her a wish. THE NIN’S EFREET
The woman wished for eternal youth, and the cruel efreet
granted it in the form of the vampiric curse. It has been The efreet roils with ancient fury in the magma below
uncountable years since then, and the Nin has established the Nin’s throne, dreaming of the day her destruction.
a dynasty, born of her bite and under her absolute control.
She has strong psychic abilities and—in a secret known
only to the Three—still rules the chained efreet, whom she

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 245

THE NINE THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE NIN
Below the others in power, but greater in influence, sits
The nine younger vampires serve the will of the three, the Household of the Nin. Officially, these three vampires
and have been replaced several times over the Nin’s long are not responsible for anything except the comfort and
lifetime—although the death of any of them is still a major pleasure of their queen—but each of them is a powerbroker
event. They are broken into three groups: The En and the in the shifting politics of the Gift’s court. The Household
Ensi, charged with leading various aspects of the Gift, and never leave Stoneblood Shrine, being regarded as the Nin’s
the favored Household of the Nin. most valuable posessions.

THE EN The Sole Companion. The Sole Companion is the Nin’s
The Gift’s three priests, called the En, are responsible for consort, chosen by her personally and replaced every few
recruiting candidates for ascension. The En travel through decades. The Sole Companion is always in a dangerous
the night to wherever promising mortals exist in Planegea, position, and is little respected by the rest of the Gift.
watching and waiting for the opportunity to lead new souls
onto the Path. The Queen’s Brother. When the Nin was still mortal,
she had a brother who met a violent end. Ever since, she
The Servant of the Gift. This twisted figure was ancient has maintained the belief that his reincarnated soul exists
when he was turned to vampirism, and his deformity in the world. The Queen’s Brother is the ascended mortal
frightens those he encounters. Yet there is none who can who most resembles her memory of the brother who died
compare with his talent in evaluating potential candidates eons ago—and a new Brother ascends whenever she finds
for the Path. someone who more closely fits her memory.

The Pure One. This shapeshifting recruiter uses their The Queen’s Favorite. By far the most influential role in
physical beauty and powers of enchantment to draw new the Household of the Nin, the Favorite is hand-selected by
candidates to the path. The Pure One makes a practice of the Queen as a confidant and advisor. The current favorite,
studying new potential candidates, usually appearing to a circumspect woman with dark eyes and a penchant for
them in the form they will find most desirable, drawing holding grudges, grasps more threads of power in her hand
them into darkness with seduction and promises of eternal than any other being except the Queen.
youth and desire.
STONEBLOOD SHRINE
The Master of Secrets. This veiled vampire’s face has not
been seen by any but the three. He has a perfect memory, Carved from a volcanic peak in the Fang of Rock & Smoke
and serves as the keeper of lore for the Gift. A living record is an ancient efreeti temple, which the Gift calls Stone-
of all that the Gift has encountered in its existence, this blood Shrine. This monumental structure is built with
Master of Secrets was trained by his predecessor before the strange geometry not meant to be walked, but rather flown
latter was executed for speaking the Nin’s mortal name through, with ascending hallways, entire chambers with
aloud where others might hear. lava-flooded floors, and rivers of magma coursing through-
out its many rooms. This temple is the base of operations
THE ENSI for the Gift, where the Nin and her household reside, and
The Gift’s rulers of matter, called the Ensi, are responsi- where new vampires ascend and cast their single wish.
ble for ensuring the prosperity, order, and wellbeing of
the Gift. They are the equals of the En, and manage the Unnatural architecture. Nothing about Stoneblood
vampires that are, rather than the vampires that might be. Shrine is intended for mortals—the walls and floors veer
at strange angles, open lava flows through the halls, and
The Governor. This stern gray vampire is charged with many rooms cannot be reached at all by any means other
overseeing the tomb-lands, ensuring their safety and the than flight. This makes it an ideal haunt for the Gift, with
preservation of the tombs themselves. She is a firm hand, their ability to transform and climb walls like spiders. Its
and quells any uprisings with instant death. architecture poses an innate defense against any fools who
would dare to intrude upon the very home of the Nin.
The Overseer. This rotund, quick-witted vampire is a
charming host and a ubiquitous guest. Charged with broad The Great Sarcophagi. Stoneblood Shrine is home to the
missions such as gathering new lore, waging minor wars, Great Sarcophagi of the Three-and-Nine. These massive
building monuments, and so forth, the Overseer is the stone structures are where their greatest treasures are kept,
vampire who interacts most with outsiders. and are regarded by each of them as their true home and
resting place. Each sarcophagus is preserved and guarded
The Steward. This ravenous vampire appears little older by a squadron of vampire spawn and always has a fresh
than a child, yet she is the eldest of the Nine. Her endless bouquet of vessels prepared should the vampire desire to
thirst is an affliction worse than any of the other vampires, feed at home.
and she surrounds herself constantly with a host of half-
dead vessels. Her hunger makes her the ideal manager of
the Gift’s vast resources, since she is inclined by her curse
to hoard against hunger and want.

246 Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats

Chamber of Ascension. This grand chamber is at the ADVENTURES BY LEVEL
heart of the structure, and cannot be accessed except
by magical flight, being fully surrounded by curses and d4 1st–4th level
magma. In it, the vampires ceremonially anoint their
chosen new members, and here the Nin does her greatest 1 A vampire spawn is caught in the act of taking an
work—the granting of wishes. What none but the Three innocent life and flees. Hunt them down.
know is that the wish is not actually granted by the Nin
herself, but by the ancient efreet she has bound to her will, 2 A chieftain offers a reward to anyone willing to scout an
who roils with ancient fury in the magma below the Nin’s unexplained area of darkness in the clan's path.
throne, and dreams of the day of her destruction.
3 A clan plagued by undead visitations sends the party to
THE SHARKSAIL BETRAYERS bring back holy water from their god.

For all the Gift’s power and influence, there is a thorn in 4 A vampire trapped in a tomb offers the party its
their side that causes them endless rage—the Sharksail treasures for safe passage through the angry clans.
Betrayers. Long ago, one of the Gift built a tomb in the
Undershore, and was feeding up and down the coastline. d4 5th–10th level
But a hero of the land rose up against him and slew him,
freeing his spawn. The spawn, knowing the Khopesh 1 A catamaran of vampiric pirates is raiding your islands.
would come and slay them, did the unthinkable: they took Stop them, saving as many as you can from their fangs.
to the seas. Running water is death to vampires, yet with
nothing to lose, the free spawn built a towering catamaran 2 An old mentor sends word that they are trapped in a
and sail the seas that are to them as acid even now, ravag- vampire's tomb-land. Find them and help them escape.
ing and feeding on the people of Scattersea.
3 If at least three of the five local clans can band together,
THE COUP OF DEATH they can assault the nearby tomb-land. Unite them.

The eyes of the Nin have long been fixed on a single prize: 4 A party member lost a loved one to the Gift, and the
the overthrow of Death himself. The Gift of Thirst has Overseer is nearby. Stalk him and find his weakness.
always been opposed by Nazh-Agaa, hunted by his crea-
tures, and stalked by his agents. The mere appearance of d4 11th–16th level
a raven or scarab, or the hint of a valkryie is enough to
terrify vampire spawn. The Nin, so long inured against the 1 A vampire tomb was recently abandoned. Investigate
reign of Death, plots the day that she may find her way into and find out why.
the Kingdom of the Dead. She is gathering strength, lore,
and artifacts. She will not make her move until she is sure 2 Vampires stole a priceless artifact. Sneak into Stone-
she cannot fail—and then will begin the great vampiric blood Shrine and recover it without alerting the Gift.
assault on Nazh-Agaa, and the ascent of Nin to become the
Queen of the Dead and the Undead. 3 The Pure One approaches a party member with an
offer to join the Path. Play along as a double agent.

4 A friend has been kidnapped and taken to Stoneblood
Shrine as a vessel. Save them, no matter what.

d4 17th–20th level

1 Vampires flock to assault the party—it appears that the
Nin has found her newest Brother, and he is among you.

2 Sail into the Scattersea to find the Sharksail Betrayers,
and recruit them to join you in an assault on the Nin!

3 Gather three magical weapons hidden in the World-
Fangs, then slay the Nin and her spawn once and for all.

4 After a vampire’s wish turns all life undead, travel into
the Kingdom of Death to strike a deal with Nazh-Agaa.

I have knelt in Stoneblood Shrine before the Nin
herself. I only survived by surrendering secrets
of the Kingdom of the Dead. But sometimes I still
wake suddenly, pulse pounding, and swear I feel

the stab of fangs pressed against my throat.

Chapter 11 | Factions & Threats 247