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2 Tell me your fable A fable A fable A fable that will never end And now, I dream -----------Fable, Robert Miles
3 This book uses the Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Referee’s Tome and Player’s Tome. It also mines material from the various Carcass Crawler magazines. Finally it takes material from the 5th edition of the Game. So in essence it’s a OSE ruleset with a lot of house rules thrown in. What you as the GM decides to include and not to include is ultimately up to you and your group.
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8 In the beginning The Light and Darkness was separated by the great divide. A great cataclysm happened that destroyed the Great Divide and the Light and Darkness joined. It was here where they touched that the realm called the Penumbra or the Shadowlands, was created. It was from the Shadowlands that the embodiment of Shadows broke free and threatened to take over all of creation. Seeing the threat to all creation, many tried to contain the Shadows but could not. Eventually thee very powerful Archmages hatched a plan to contain and control the shadow. The archmages created a powerful magical sword called Everdark. This sword had to be merged with a being to control it, A Keeper of Shadows, also known as The Shadowlord. The Grand Hall of the Iron Tower of the Shadowlord, two days ago To the Keepers of Shadows, I come before you to deliver news. As you know, I am Nightjar, Mistress and Caretaker of the Iron Tower, here in The Shadowlands. Every centennial I make a report to you, updating the goings on in the outside world which is denied to all of you who have now passed on and live only in Shadow. While that report is a ways off, the acquiring of a new Keeper of Shadows demands an immediate update. A Tale of Two Brothers But first let us go over the last Keeper of Shadows tenure. As you all know, his name was Jeremy Nolan of the Realm called Earth from the city of Cincinnati. Nolan had a twin brother named Gene Nolan, who would later be found out to be a Dream Sovereign, one of Earth’s most powerful second only to Donovan, the current Morpheus of the Parliament of Dreams. Gene would also become a Creator. Growing up the two brothers were not like most twins, holding no special bond between the two. Instead
9 they were like The Light and The Darkness. Gene was well liked by everyone, Jeremy was not. Gene excelled in his schoolwork, Jeremy did not. Every act committed by Gene seemed blessed while Jeremy’s were all cursed. Gene held a game he played with a group of friends down in the basement of their family home, once a week. This game consisted of the brothers and a small group of friends pretending to be people of a far off mystical land who worked magic and fought dragons. The group consisted of The Twins, a girl that both twin held affections for named Gwenevere, and of course the now famous Archmage known as Zoso. There were others that took part in the weekly game, but that roster changed as time went on. The Night of Acceptance On the Earth date of October the 3rd, 1979, Jeremy waited downstairs in the dark for his brother to come home. The day before Jeremy found out that his brother was now courting the young Gwenevere and he waited to confront his brother. When Gene came in, he was startled but suspected that his brother knew of his and Gwenevere’s affair. The two argued while standing over the table they would lay out their war maps to their game. The argument became very heated and boiled to a point until they saw it. Levitating in complete stillness above the table was the Sword of Shadows, Gloom Heart. As we all know when Gloom Heart is left without an owner, it seeks out the most powerful being it can find. In this case that being was Gene, who was a naturally born Dream Sovereign. The two were astonished to see that an item that was a fiction of their game was indeed real. Gene shared the fact that the sword was calling out to him to take it. A fact that drove Jeremy to anger. Once again, he was failure. Out of rage Jeremy grabbed the sword. Gene, knowing what that meant tried to cry out to his brother to stop, but it was too late. Jeremy Nolan took on The Mantle of Shadows. His soul forever bonded to the Penumbra. A New Shadow Lord Recently a group of adventurers found the Vault of the Creator where Gloom Heart was being kept under lock and
10 key. Zoso imprisoned Jeremy inside the sword itself. Something that had not be done for centuries. Despite the safeguards placed on the Vault the group pressed on until they came upon the room housing the Sword of Shadows. It was our new Keeper of Shadows, Dalök, who saw the opportunity to end Jeremy’s reign and start his own. Dalök I now come to the reason we’re all here, introducing the new Keeper of Shadows, the new Shadow Lord, Dalök. Right off the first thing of note is the fact that Dalök is a child of Eshu the Trickster God, the first Keeper to be such. Already Dalök has found that the Shadowlands has unleashed levels of power to him unknown before. No longer is he bound by his raven form, being able to turn into all forms of beasts. Dalök has already let me know that there will be many changes to the Iron Tower while he is here. I’ll keep you all informed of those changes before they are implemented. But for now Let us draw quarter to our new Shadow Lord. Hail Dalök ! The New Keeper of Shadows! Hail Dalök! May your reign last forever! Hail Dalök! Let us hope you keep the Shadow from the Lands of the Living. Hail! Hail! Hail! A Brief (and mostly incomplete) timeline of Evermore as told by the Mistress of the Iron Tower, Nightjar. Greetings travelers! I hope your stay at the Iron Tower is an enlightening one. But we must keep if short for the true master of this place is not here right now and he does not take well to visitors. I know you come here seeking knowledge on the true history of Evermore. I have been here at the Iron Tower since the creation of the Shadowlands themselves. So I assure you a fantastic tale. The Night of Creation On the Earth date of October the 26th,1979 , Gene Nolan enacted the Great Rite of Genisis, forming the world of Evermore. The act of enacting the Great Rite meant that his very essence was spread throughout Evermore effectively ending his life for a long but temporary period of time.
11 Zoso takes on Stewardship of Evermore As one of his final acts before joining his essence with Evermore, Gene gave his friend Zoso stewardship over Evermore, making Zoso immortal as long as he stayed in the realm. Before Zoso began what would later become known as “The Great Transference” other forms of life started to appear on Evermore. These were mostly Dreamfolk that would become living flesh through the Great Rite. But there were others from stranger realms that made Evermore their home. One of them was the Titan Tiamat who would later be overthrown by the Gods of the humans, her corpse creating the vast ridge of mountains named after her. By the time humanity started to show up, the world of Evermore was well populated with several sentient beings. Zoso took it upon himself to populate Evermore with humanity. He did this through a powerful rite called The Rite of Transference. This rite allowed Zoso to travel throughout Earth’s timeline and take those that were destined to die through natural means to be replaced by clone replicas (so they would not be missed) and be taken to Evermore where the mark of their death would not be upon them. So those that died of disease would be healed and so on. But there was one byproduct to this rite-they forget who they were. In fact the Rite of Transference gave them new memories that was created by the realm itself. Evermore’s King Arthur for example was a late middle aged black Janitor from 1966 Mississippi, USA. About a thousand years ago from current time an invasion of Aberrations from the Way Outs came to Evermore in an area now called Atlantis. These “True Atlanteans” took the human population into enslavement and experimented on them and bred with them creating the first metamorphs. Their rule was absolute until a rebellion occurred overthrowing the Alein Invaders. What’s that? Why yes I do know who partook of the rebellion but cannot reveal that informationfor now. The City of Atlantis is filled with buildings and other marvels
12 done by the True Atlanteans to this day. On Earth their work is found in what they call “Ancient Egypt”. To this day many ancient True Atlantean strongholds are found having long since been buried over time. As was mentioned earlier, those humans that were brought over to Evermore believed themselves to be people of myth and renown but with a twist and turn from the myths of Earth. Albion is the collective name for the 12 Kingdoms, each one founded by a knight of the Round Table. Same myths and storylines but with twists and retelling from that of Earth. The world of Evermore has been around for thousands of years but little has changed since its creation. This is despite the fact that new technologies have come and gone and been introduced to the people of the world. Even when new technologies occur they rarely take in the minds of man for long. The reason for this is simple, the mind of the Creator set the reality of the realm and it cannot change. This has of course recently changed when the Creator’s essence was reformed by Zoso using Gloom Heart . The world of Evermore, being freed from the Creator’s bonds will now age and progress as time sees fit. These will indeed be the last days of Atlantis.
13 Below are several “house rules” I’ve included in my games and have added here. Advantage/ Disadvantage is used throughout this book. Whenever a situation might be very favorable, the roll might call for advantage. Roll two twenty sided dice and take the better of the two. If the situation looks very bad, roll two 20 sided dice and take the worst of the two. You can only have either states one at a time. They do not stack. If you have both, they cancel each other out. It is ultimately up to the GM when to decide to use advantage/disadvantage In my own games, no matter what the edition used, I have the players roll 4d6 and drop the lowest number, assigning the numbers to the ability they want. When a character reaches 0 hit points they must make the best two out of three Death saving throws. If the character saves, they are not dead, but must be healed back to 1 hit point before becoming conscious again.
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15 Prime requisite CHA Maximum Level 10 Hit Dice D6 Armor any, including shields Weapons Any Languages: Common Trade, Language of supernatural ancestor Table Blooded use the tables of the Elf Class. Blooded are those born of the union of humans and a supernatural being. Blooded look mostly human with only small vestiges of their supernatural ancestor. Even so, they clearly are not human. Depending on the circumstance of their birth, reaction to Blooded can be mixed. Some are ridiculed or scorn by the society they are born into, while others are revered or even worshiped, the society seeing the birth as divine. All blooded are alluring to some degree attracting attention to them like a moth to a flame. All charisma rolls concerning looks and physical presence have advantage
16 See Magic, p110 for full details on arcane magic. Magical research: Blooded of any level may spend time and money on magical research. This allows them to add new spells to their spell book and to research other magical effects. When blooded reach 9th level, they are also able to create magic items. Spell casting: Blooded carry spell books containing the formulae for arcane spells. The level progression table shows both the number of spells in the elf ’s spell book and the number they may memorize, determined by the character’s experience level. Thus, a 1st level blooded has one spell in their spell book, selected by the referee (who may allow the player to choose). The list of spells available to blooded is found on p119 (elves have the same spell selection as magicusers). Using magic items: As spell casters, blooded are able to use magic scrolls of spells on their spell list. They can also use items that may only be used by arcane spellcasters (e.g. magic wands). At first look many vestiges are shared by very different bloodlines. But in fact though they may seem to be the same. they have a certain uniqueness about them. Take for instance the Changeling descended from a satyr having hairy goat legs. Now look at the nephilim descended from a devil who also has goat legs. Same trait, but to a train eye they are easy to tell apart. NOTE: Vestiges do not grant any abilities (such as flight for wings). Changelings (Fae) Dragonborn (Dragons) Elementalkin (Elementals and Jinn) ) Gargantuan (Giants) Nephilim (Angels, Celestials, Demons and devils) For all effects related to race(for instance a dragonborn being affected by a +3 sword of Dragon Slaying or a door that will only open for fae opening for a Changeling) blooded are considered to be human AND their supernatural ancestor.
17 Prime requisite WIS Hit Dice 1d6 Armor: Leather, including shields Weapons Deity’s Favored weapon and blunt weapons. Languages Common Trade, Choose one depending on alignment of deity Celestial, Abyssal, or Infernal Tables The cleric class on pg.36 The gods are basically all liars to some extent. Most lay claim to having had a hand in the creation of Evermore. Very few people know the truth that their world was created by an 18 year old bisexual nerd from Cincinnati, Ohio. Even so, the gods are very powerful beings that can grant spells to their followers. Ceremonies are blessings a cleric can place on individuals, couples and items. Only one of these ceremonies can be performed on an individual, couple or item per day. Unless stated otherwise, the benefit is advantage to rolls for 24 hours.
18 This includes Converting to the religion, Atonement for sins, marriage, burying the dead The cleric channels divine energy from their god. This can be done a number times a day equal to the cleric’s wisdom modifier. The ability gained is listed under each deity in the Gods of Evermore section. Every seven days the cleric can call upon their deity for help. This help must be in line with the deity’s viewpoints. Help can come in the form of a spell or a messenger of the god or some other form the GM deems fit. The chance of divine intervention is percentile dice equal to or lower than the clerics level. At 14th level the intervention succeeds automatically. See Magic, p110 for full details on divine magic. Holy /Unholy symbol: A cleric must carry a holy/Unholy symbol (see Equipment, p94). Deity disfavor: Clerics must be faithful to the tenets of their alignment, clergy, and religion. Clerics who fall from favor with their deity may incur penalties. Magical research: A cleric of any level may spend time and money on magical research. This allows them to create new spells or other magical effects associated with their deity. When a cleric reaches 9th level, they are also able to create magic items. Spell casting: A cleric must pray to receive spells. The power and number of spells available to a cleric are determined by the character’s experience level. The list of spells available to clerics is found on p116. Using magic items: As spell casters, clerics can use magic scrolls of spells on their spell list. They can also use items that may only be used by divine spell casters (e.g. some magic staves). A cleric may establish or build a stronghold. So long as the cleric is currently in favor with their god, a stronghold may be bought or built at half the normal price, due to divine intervention. Once a stronghold is established, the cleric will attract followers (5d6 × 10 fighters of level 1–2). These
19 troops are completely devoted to the cleric, never checking morale. The referee decides which proportions of followers are 1st and 2nd level and which are bowmen, infantry, etc. Prime requisite: CHA Hit Dice: D4 Armor: None Weapons: Dagger, Staff and any one weapon of player’s choice. Languages: Common Trade and one other of player’s choice. Tables: Dream Sovereigns use the tables of the Illusionist Class. The quest to understand and control one’s dreams is an endeavor many in Evermore take every night, but very few individuals who successfully do so take on the exalted title of Dream Sovereign. Lucid Dreaming Rolls (see Dreamlands heading in Other Realms section) are a Charisma roll for the Sovereign and they have advantage on that roll. Furthermore, Sovereigns can use Lucid Dreaming even when awake in the Waken World. They can use this ability to see and talk with Dreamfolk that may be nearby and to intuit
20 things of the Dreamlands including portals to it or Tokens and Relics from it. Sovereigns can travel through the Gate of Horn (See Dreamlands entry in Realms Beyond). Opening a gate is a Charisma roll which does not have advantage. The Sovereign can take others with them. For each person coming along, the chance decrees by one. Example: Donovan has a Charisma of 16. He wants to take along four other people. The roll goes from 16 and under to 12 and under. Phantasms are not spells per say but wisps of dream pulled from the dreamland that have magical effects on the reality of the Waken World. The Dream Sovereign uses the spells per day table of the Illusionist and that class’s spell list. He can choose any spell of that level to enact. Example: Erach, a 7th level Sovereign, can cast three 1st level Phantasms a day. Each time he can choose any phantasm from the 1st level list in any order. So he could cast Spook 1, 2 or three times that day or Spook, Detect Illusion and hypnotism or any other combo. All spells are open to him. While they cannot use magical items that Magic-users or Clerics can, Sovereigns can use and create Dream Tokens (a minor dream item) and Dream Relics(very powerful dream items) At 9th level they can start creating these items. At 10th level, The Sovereign can start to create a permanent dreamscape in the dreamlands. The size and power of the dreamscape improves until at 14th level it becomes a grand place indeed. Details for this should be a GM decision. The Importance of Masks Every Sovereign wears a “Dream Mask” which reflects the Sovereign in some way be it his personality or some event in his past. Dream Masks can look like just about anything but all are unique and as the Sovereign gains levels the mask is recognized by others in the know as a coat of arms would. When they wear or not wear the mask varies but all wear them when in Dream Parliamentary sessions.
21 Dream Journals Sovereigns Dr Prime requisite STR Hit Dice D8 Armor Any, including shields Weapons Any . Languages Common Trade and one other of player’s choice. Tables The Fighter class on pg50 A fighter isn’t just their choice of armor and weapons, but the reason for that choice. A knight isn’t just about choosing high quality plate over lesser but would never have the Rage option as that goes against chivalry. The exact opposite can be said of concepts like barbarian or mercenaries. Choose among these options, gaining one at 1st ,5th and 10th levels. Animal Handling. The fighter knows how to train and handle a particular type of animal to help in combat. This option can be chosen more than once, each time a new type of animal must be chosen. Typical animals include Raptors and War Dogs. Armor Expertise. Choose one type of armor. The fighter gains a +1 AC bonus when wearing
22 that armor. Also all factors affected by the amor (such as movement , getting into or out of it, are halved). Cleave. When in combat, if the fighter strikes a killing blow, they may immediately make another attack against a second foe. The second attack roll is penalized at –2. Horsemanship: While most fighters know their way around horses, the fighter with this option has the highest of ability riding mounts. When riding a horse, the animal has the same saving throws as its rider (if better) can move ten extra feet and last twice as long under stress. This option also pertains to the ability to tame and ride a special mount such as a pegasus, griffin or unicorn. Main gauche. When fighting with a dagger in the offhand (in place of a shield), the fighter may choose each combat round to gain a +1 bonus to AC or to attack rolls. Rage. The fighter uses savage brutality when in combat. When entering a rage he gains advantage on melee attacks but attacks made against him also have advantage. Fighters can go into a rage for a number of times a day equal to their CON modifier in rounds. Slayer. The fighter gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls when in combat with foes of a specific type. The type of enemy must be chosen when this talent is selected. Unarmored Defense. When not wearing armor, the fighter adds their dexterity modifier and Constitution modifier to their armor class. Weapon Specialization. Choose one type of weapon and gain a +1 to attacks and damage with that weapon.. Wilderness Survival. The fighter is well versed in surviving in the wilderness including how to hunt, look for water and shelter and even how to track. Wilderness survival is an Intelligence roll done at advantage. Any time a fighter wishes (and has sufficient money), they can build a castle or stronghold and control the surrounding lands. After Reaching 9th Level A fighter may be granted a title such as Baron or Baroness. Alternatively the fighter might become renowned for his deeds and gain a more appropriate station (like becoming captain of a pirate ship or a Warlord.
23 Prime requisite INT Hit Dice D4 Armor None Weapons Daggers, Staff Languages Common Trade, Draconic, any other two. Tables Magic-users use the tables of the class. Pg.62 Magic flows through the very air of Evermore. Magic-users are those that have learned to harness it. In Evermore they create a triune power structure with the Dream Sovereign and Clerics. See Magic, p110 for full details on arcane magic. Magical research: A magicuser of any level may spend time and money on magical research. This allows them to add new spells to their spell book and to research other magical effects. When a magic-user reaches 9th level, they are also able to create magic items. Spell casting: Magic-users carry spell books containing the formulae for arcane spells. The
24 spell casting chart shows both the number of spells in the magic-user’s spell book and the number they may cast per day, determined by the character’s experience level. Thus, a 1st level magic-user has one spell in their spell book, selected by the referee (who may allow the player to choose). The list of spells available to magic-users is found on p119. Using magic items: As spell casters, magic-users are able to use magic scrolls of spells on their spell list. They can also use items that may only be used by arcane spell casters (e.g. magic wands). Cantrips are minor magical tricks. You create one of the following magical effects within range: • You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor. • You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire. • You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. • You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour. • You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn. After Reaching 11th Level, a magic-user may build a stronghold, often a great tower. 1d6 apprentices of levels 1–3 will then arrive to study under the magic-user. At 14th level, the Magic-user has now attained the title of Archmage. They gain the spells Detect Magic, Read languages and Read Magic. If they already know those spells they gain a spell of any level in place of the known spell. Also, archmages can cast Detect Magic, Read Magic and Read Languages as often as they want without memorizing them. Furthermore, archmages can take a higher spell they have not used that day and replace it with a lower level spell to cast which also gives the target disadvantage on the save if the lower spell has it. Example: Zoso needs to cast Charm Person but no longer has it for the day. So instead he uses the second level spell he
25 memorized “Continual Light” so he can cast Charm Person. Since Charm Person has a saving throw, the target is at disadvantage to save against it. Prime requisite: CON Hit Dice: D8 Armor: Any(that can fit the manikin’s frame, and shields Weapons: Any Languages: Common Trade and one other reflecting a creator (if there was one) or special purpose of the manikin. Tables: Manikins use the tables of the Dwarf class pg.46 Manikins are sentient, humanoid, automatons. Some were created for a special purpose while others became sentient by strange magics or other unknown reasons. The kind scarecrow that spontaneously came alive to ward off the crows that were sitting and shitting on it every day, the Ventriloquist Dummy awakened by dark magics and the True Atlantean Warbot are all examples of manikins. Electric Sheep All manikins, be they mechanical or not, go inert for a period of four hours. This is similar to being asleep in that they don’t know what goes on around them but can be awaken by outside stimuli.
26 While NPC manikins cannot dream, PC ones do, as part of their higher evolution. Hidden Compartment Somewhere on the manikin there is a place where they can hide about a half one square foot of material . This could be a hinged door in a robot’s stomach or even in the head of say a scarecrow (there’s no brain in there after all. Living Automaton While manikins are artificial beings, they are also sentient and autonomous. • They cannot eat, drink or breath which gives them advantages but also disadvantages like not being able to use magical potions. • Manikins are subject to magic like all sentient beings are, including spells like Sleep and Rites like Raise Dead. • Manikins have advantage on saving throws vs. Death/Poison. Structural Integrity All manikins have a Strong and a weak spot in their construction. For example a scarecrow might take half damage from blunt damage like say a mace, but double damage from fire. Talk with the Game Master to determine the character’s structural strong and weak spots. Special Purpose All manikins have a special purpose even if they were not created for it. Whenever a roll comes up for this purpose, the manikin has advantage. This does not affect combat rolls but might affect knowledge of combat maneuvers or how to make weapons. They Keep Killing Suzie Manikins are not organic beings and as such don’t have vital areas like organics do. When a manikin is brought to zero hit points, if they get a natural 20 on any of their death saves, they go back to one hit point. If I Only Had a Heart Some manikins have a heart of gold (literally) but try as they might, they find social interactions with organics troublesome at best. All rolls involving social interactions are at disadvantage. We can rebuild him Manikins cannot heal like organics, instead they must be repaired (though magical healing does work). Every manikin knows how to fix themselves (if they’re conscious). The time to repair is the same rules in the book for organics.
27 Prime requisite DEX Hit Dice D4 Armor Leather, no shields Weapons Any one handed weapon Languages Common Trade, Thieves Cant, one other. Thieves use the tables of that class. Pg.74 Thieves are adventurers who live by their skills of deception and stealth. Their range of unique skills makes them very handy companions in adventures. However, thieves are not always to be trusted. When attacking an unaware opponent from behind, a thief receives a +4 bonus to hit and doubles any damage dealt.
28 Level D6 1st 2in6 4th 3in6 7th 4in6 10th 5in6 Climb sheer surfaces Disguise Find or remove Traps Forgery Hear noise Hide in shadows Mimicry Open locks Pick pockets. Read languages Sneak. After Reaching 9th Level A thief can establish a thief den, attracting 2d6 apprentices of 1st level. These thieves will serve the character with some reliability; however, should any be arrested or killed, the PC will not be able to attract apprentices to replace them. A successful thief might use these followers to start a Thieves’ Guild. When attacking with a small, light, one handed weapon (such as a dagger, rapier or short sword) the thief can use their dexterity in place of strength for attacks and damage.
29 Prime requisite: DEX Hit Dice: D6 Armor Leather, no shields Weapons: Any Languages: Common Trade, Beast Speech Tables Tricksters use the Halfling tables pg. 56 Tricksters are intelligent animals that can take on human form. They are the children of the Trickster god Eshu but are not divine themselves (though some of them through trickery gain followers) and can die(eventually) like any other living being. Tricksters reproduce by unions with humans or animals of their type. They cannot reproduce with each other. Tricksters do not live among human settlements(at least not out in the open) for their welldeserved reputation of causing trouble. Many times have poor innocent animals been killed for thinking it was a trickster. In the 12 Kingdoms the Church of Sol see them as unclean and place great stigmas on families that give birth to them. Depending on their alignment, Tricksters pranks can be
30 lighthearted romps or downright malicious endeavors. This is the natural form of the Trickster. In the noble form the trickster appears as a typical animal of its type. Animals associated with Tricksters include: Cat, Carp, Coyote, Dog, Fox, Hare, Raccoon, Raven Swan, Wolf. Changing form • Changing into the noble form is free and instant. When unconscious or dead the trickster reverts to the noble form. • When in this form all items the trickster carried in its hooman skin meld with the form and cannot be used. • Hit points are the same in either form and carry over when changing. • This form has all the physical stats of its animal form but keeps it’s Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. Senses • In the noble form the trickster can see just as well in low light as they can in normal light and in fact have advantage on rolls to notice things in low light. Low light means that some light is present. They cannot see in total darkness. Speech • The trickster can speak and understand all languages it knows. Changing form Changing into human form requires a Charisma roll and takes a full turn to do so. • Failure to change has no effect unless the roll is a natural 20. Failed Trick Form • On a natural 20 the Trickster takes on a strange half animal / half human form that is awkward for the trickster to use. • Movement is halved and the trickster cannot use its hands to wield items in them. • Furthermore, all who witness this except for other tricksters and divine beings) form must make a save vs. spell or be in fear of the trickster while in this form. Taking this form in the presence of other tricksters is a social faux pas of the lowest order. The offending trickster will do anything to gain face again. Speech Tricksters can understand and speak all languages known including Beast Speech. Eshu’s children are at best little rascals who are always into everything. They have Thievery as a thief of equal level.
31 Many languages are spoken in Evermore. Here are but a few. Ancient Atlantean. A more structured and non-madness inducing language derived from Deep Speech. Draconic. Language spoken by dragons of all types and those that explore magic. Common Trade. This is the language spoken by most not only in Avalon but all of Evermore. It is one of the oldest languages still being spoken and hails from Earth being derived from American English, the tongue of The Creator. Those who make way to Earth are often surprised that the people of Earth shares a language with them. Being a living language, Common Trade, while being English, has evolved somewhat and communication with Earthlings can be difficult at times. All player characters know Common Trade. Human Dialects. The world of Evermore is littered with human dialects that are mostly divided by the Great Spine of Tiamat where speakers of them are concerned. Many of them originally hail from Earth. Silent Tongue. A language made up of hand gestures. Derived from American Sign language. Abyssal . The language of Demons and other things from the Abyss. Beast Speech. Animal communications that only animals and Tricksters know. Divided by species. Celestials. The tongue of angels, archons and other things from the 7 Heavens. Deep Speech. The language of aberrations including the True Atlanteans. Known to lead the mind to madness. Deep Speech. A language hailing from the Way Outs. Has a chance to induce madness to non-aberrations. Infernal. The language of Devils and other things from the Nine Hells. Primordial. The language of Elementals of all types. Very difficult for the tongues of most meat sacks. Sylvian. The language of the Fae. Undercommon. A common trade tongue used by those
32 that live far underground. Not related to Common Trade.
33 Clerics can decide upon using either the Cleric’s spell list or the Druid Spell list found in the Advanced Player’s Tome. This choice depends on the god the cleric follows. Some gods predate the gods of mankind or are focused on nature. For these gods the cleric chooses the druid spell list. Those gods whose dominions are more human centric (love, luck fortune for example) use the cleric spell tables.
34 New spells and Admendments lesser and greater Restoration More healing spells? 1st 1d6+1 2 2d4+2 3 2d6+3 4 3d4+4 Class: 1st level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The Sovereign can pull an object out of either the Dreamlands as a whole or from individuals dreams. • At this level the object can be nothing bigger than would fit in one hand. • If pulled from the dreamlands themselves the object can be of just about anything though magical or living items are only a show and have no function. For instance pulling Gloom Heart would only produce a very convincing sword with no powers. While pulling a bear would only produce a small statue of a bear or perhaps a bear costume at best. • Objects pulled from the dreamlands fade away after the duration of the spell, but putting the item in a Dream Chest can make it permanently real. • And lastly, needing to pull a particular item from a particular dream requires doing so from that person’s dreamscape. For example, replacing the young prince’s lost teddy bear from the dreamlands as a whole will not do it. The Teddy Bear would look typical and have no unique features to looking fantastical, strange or horrifying, while doing so from the young prince’s own dreamscape will produce one that looks, smells and have unique features like the missing ear the royal dog chewed off. Class:2nd level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The same as Cobble Dream Token I except that can be 5 cubic feet. Class: 3rd level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The same as Cobble Dream Token I except that can be 10 cubic feet.
35 Class: 4th level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The same as Cobble Dream Token I except that can be 30 cubic feet. Dream Tokens at this level or higher cannot be made permanent by a dream chest. Class: 5th level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The same as Cobble Dream Token I except that can be 100 cubic feet and can include items that go along with it. For example a canoe with paddles. Furthermore an item with simple movable parts can be pulled, like say a door clockwork device. Dream Tokens at this level or higher cannot be made permanent by a dream chest. Class: 6th level Dream Sovereign Duration: 1 hour per level Range: Object The same as Cobble Dream Token I except that can be 30 cubic feet. Dream Tokens at this level or higher cannot be made permanent by a dream chest. 2nd level Cleric Range: Touch Duration: 10 days You touch a corpse or other remains. For the duration, the target is protected from decay and can't become undead. The spell also effectively extends the time limit on raising the target from the dead, since days spent under the influence of this spell don't count against the time limit of spells such as raise dead. Class: Magic-user Duration: 1 minute Range: 30’ A person of your choice, with an Intelligence score of 4 or more, t perceives everything funny and falls into fits of laughter if they fail a save vs. spells. If the target takes damage the spell ends. Class: 1st level Dream Sovereign/Magic-user Duration: 1 day per level Range: Touch You write on parchment, paper, or some other suitable writing material and imbue it with a
36 potent illusion that lasts for the duration. To you and any creatures you designate when you cast the spell, the writing appears normal, written in your hand, and conveys whatever meaning you intended when you wrote the text. To all others, the writing appears as if it were written in an unknown or magical script that is unintelligible. Alternatively, you can cause the writing to appear to be an entirely different message, written in a different hand and language, though the language must be one you know. Should the spell be dispelled, the original script and the illusion both disappear. Class: 4th level Cleric Duration: Instant Range: Individual Class: 4th level Druid Range: Touch Duration: 1hour You touch a willing creature. For the duration, the target's movement is unaffected by difficult terrain, and spells and other magical effects can neither reduce the target's speed nor cause the target to be paralyzed or restrained. The target can also spend 5 feet of movement to automatically escape from nonmagical restraints, such as manacles or a creature that has it grappled. Finally, being underwater imposes no penalties on the target's movement or attacks. This spell is now the rite “Rite of Raising the Dead”.
37 Class: 5th level Cleric Duration: Permanent Range: Appears in the caster’s presence Reincarnation replaces the one in the player’s tome. This spell is for those that have the Druid spell list. It gets removed from the magic-user’s spell list. A dead character is returned to life in a new physical form that manifests in the presence of the caster. This spell is used very often for it does not require a life for a life. The person, no matter their race, comes back human roughly the same age. If the subject was human before, they come back with the same class if they had one. Subject was non-human in last life 1 comes back as a cleric 2 comes back as a fighter 3 comes back as a magic-user 4 comes back as a thief. Sex 1-2 Come back as the same sex 3-4 Coms back as the opposite sex. Age 1-2 subject comes back up to years younger. 3-5 subject comes back same age. 6 subject comes back 20 years older. Great rites are magical formula that creates magical effects that transend the more traditional spells. A spellcaster(be it Cleric, Dream Sovereign or Magic-user) of any level can cast Great Rites, though only one of 14th level can do so without fear of a mishap. The most powerful of Rites, The Rite of Genisis creates an actual world. This world is imprinted from its creator and reflects them. The Rite requires a being of divine nature to enact it. To do so otherwise will tear the enactor apart on the atomic level. Another requirement for enacting this rite is the use of the Talisman of Infinite Dreams as a component.
38 This rite transfers the state of vampirism onto a subject but allows them to be free willed undead that cannot be controlled by spells or abilities like turn undead. Furthermore it allows the subject to keep their class features. This rite gives vampirism to all living beings, so it could affect even Tricksters or Manikins. Arcane Magic Item (Any Class) There are several types of these posters. They can be activated in several ways. Person Portal Thing Arcane Magic Item (Any Class) This small wooden box with daisy stickers on it, contains drug paraphernalia to snort drugs. By using mundane drugs with the magical paraphernalia, the user and all who partake can Astral Travel. The box allows for 8 uses of one person or one use for 8 people. Divine Magic Item (Any Class) This muslin shroud measures 12’x13’. When covering a corpse, the Shroud will preserve the body from decay. It also stops all other processes placed on the body including becoming undead.
39 Dream Relic (Dream Sovereign) Perhaps second only to the Talisman of Infinite Dreams, this dream relic was crafted subconsciously by the most powerful of Dream Sovereigns, Donovan when he was a small child. The Submergence machine is smaller on the outside and vast on the inside. While it looks like a vehicle that can travel only in the water, it can fly through the air and in fact can transverse all realms. The machine is near invincable in durablity as are all relics. In recent past only the claws of the Hell imprisoned godling Tiamat were able to breach it’s hall. Dream Token (any class) A dream chest can be small enough to fit in your hand, to as large as a Seamans Foot chest. When a Dream Token is put into a dream chest and the one that put the item in it has slept a full 8 hours, the item becomes permanently real. Only one item per person can be made in this manner per week. Dream Relic (any class) The most powerful of Dream Relics, The Talisman of Infinite Dreams can create a whole world from the desire of one being. It is said that when this artifact is used it is consumed in the ritual but another one takes its place for someone else to use it. Each time the artifact takes on a different form. Another reported aspect of the relic is that only a being of demigod status or higher can use it. Gene Nolan, the last individual known to use it, being a mere mortal, had his atoms scattered when enacting its power. Arcane Relic Long ago, when the Shadowlands first came into being, the darkness threaten to take over all of creation. The gods, fearing this would happen, forged a sword of darkness and tethered it to the plane of shadow. But there was a catch. Someone would have to be bound to the sword. The powers of this artifact is unfathomable and can only be guessed at. It’s the ultimate of magical weapons with a price. For to own it, one must become the Shadow Lord, which must result in the former Lord’s death. Arcane Magic-Item This wond randomly casts a spell or some other effect that can be for
40 The edge of dreams, October, 26th 1979, three minutes after midnight. They stood upon a floating rock that had broken up. Gene Nolan was still dressed in the clothes he wore when he first step foot into the Dreamlands. His friend Zoso, was wearing the robes of an archmage, a station he atained in the last year. Zoso looked at his friend, perhaps for the first time, without the rose tinted glasses he had always looked through. Before him he saw the man in all his glory AND flaws.
41 Location of Evermore Evermore rests in a pocket dimension that is nestled against the Dreamlands. It is just as real as our world but has leakage from the Dreamlands that pour over from time to time. These leaks have a chance to become real in Evermore. Seasons Evermore has seasons that corresponds to Earth’s. They are ruled over by the Sidhe, those noble fae folk. There are those, some being Sovereigns (though most are not) who deal in things gathered from the Dream Lands. Those of the lowest rung peddle strange items that while fantastical, are mundane in the end. The higher rung deal with individuals who wish to pull objects or even people, from their dreams by having them and made real-for a price. The practice of Dream Peddling is forbidden by the Church of Sol in the 12 Kingdoms, but it continues on in secret.
42 It was in the Kingdom of Avalon, not Camalot, that High King Arthur Pendragon died. This vast desert was once a garden paradise. It was during the Great Catyclism that it became a barren
43 Ape Island The apes of Ape Island are intelligent and speak while the humans fo the island are dumb and mute. The civilzation reflects ancient Rome. Magic had no affect on the island due to a strange green mist that hung over the island. Recently that mist left the island and open it up to the outside world. The apes have started to explore outside, being shocked to learn of humans and other races, not only exsisting but being just as smart as they are.
44 Redcap Saytr Sidhe
45 Symore Balen sat watching the great dust cloud overtake the farms off in the distance. The circus he recently joined had set up outside of the small town from where the carnage was taking place. As a clown, Balen tried to make light of very dark situations, but this was too severe. People were losing their homes and livelihoods. He sat on a back lot to be alone. He was dressed in his street clothes but had not yet taken off his makeup. The clown face painted smile contrasted with his real-life frown. A single tear slowly rolled down his cheek. He held the Smith& Weston revolver in his hand, spinning the fully loaded barrel, snapping it in place then doing it all over again. He put the gun to his head then took it down again as fast. He kept doing it over and over, each time deciding not to pull the trigger. He cried out a sob of despair as he looked back over to the dust cloud. At that moment he
46 noticed what appeared to be a smaller dust cloud break away from the larger one. As it did so, it formed into what looked more like a twister and started to move over to the circus with great speed. Balen had seen both Dust Clouds and Twisters and this was behaving like neither. The twister seem to have a mind of its own as it moved toward the circus. In fact, it looked to be coming right to Balen. Balen tried to move, tried to warn the others but could not. Something was preventing him from doing so. He dropped the gun and stood up and moved toward the twister which was now upon him. It stopped some 40 feet from him. And while it was raging, the air around it was still. Inside the twister was the shadowed, featureless figure of a man lying on the ground. The twister dissipated; the air around now filled with a raging wind. Balen walked over to the figure who looked up at him. Balen couldn’t make any features out. The figure was as if it was all shadow. “I am Nergal” it said in a booming voice. Balen started shaking in every fiber of his being. The figure strained to reach his hand up toward Balen and said, “Take my hand!” “Take his hand? “Balen started to run away, but again couldn’t. Some force was preventing him. Instead of running he walked over to take the shadow’s hand, which felt cold to the touch. “I am the storm that rages in the skies and the hearts of men. For centuries I had waged war and pestilence. But now I rest. I must rid myself of this burden, which you will take.” “No...” Balen tried to resist but could not. Nergal held his wrist firm while a stream of what look to be black tar moved out from Nergal’s fingertips and moved up Balen’s arm to his mouth. The Divinity Strain washed over him, killing him and making him reborn. Nergal let go of Balen and slumped to the ground dissipating in a burst of wind and then he was gone. Balen’s eyes filled black with the Divinity Virus. His clown face seemed to become part of his actual face as Balen’s grin grew from ear to ear and his mouth opened impossibly wide to show a mouth full of long, sharp teeth. He looked over to the tents and horrible thoughts started to overtake him.
47 A look of horror came over his face as he realized what he was going to do. Balen panicked trying to think of how to contain the urges he had inside when an inner calming thought told him what to do. Balen waved his hand before him and a portal to another realm opened. Though he did not know how he knew, he knew that Earth was too dangerous. Something called the Veil of Reason would stop him. He needed to go through this portal he somehow had created. He ran towards the portal but stumbled to the ground. Something was keeping him from getting up. It did not matter. Balen dragged himself to the portal to safety. Yes. He would go through the portal to his freedom. The freedom he needed to do what must be done. And so, he dragged himself through the portal, to the land known as Evermore. There are many ways one can attain “godhood” in Evermore. The more common methods include: The “Food of the Gods” is a strange concoction that can only be crafted by another god. Allowing someone to eat of it is very regulated among the gods, at least it’s supposed to be. In actuality many times the gods have used ambrosia to further their own desires and causes. Gods born of gods are well known. These divine beings more often than not, have a haughty attitude towards the “others” who in their opinion, do not deserve divinity. Suffice it to say, not a popular option among the other gods. Consuming a god can take many forms from taking the life energy in some fashion to literally eating the full corpse of a god. One human even ate an egg spawned by a god consuming the divine child within
48 Twenty years ago the Lasarus Initiative discovered what they termed “The Divinity Virus ”. Just what the Divinity Virus is and where it came from is unknown, but what is known that those that “catch” it are transformed into powerful beings. Gods? Perhaps, but it not only transform the subject physically, but also mentally. Many of the gods of Evermore have ascended by being exposed to this strain. There are three rankings of gods by those that study such things: God, Demigod and Godling . Beings with this ranking can affect whole realms and have very large followings. They also tend to have domain over either very important things (such as the Sun) or concepts (such as Love). While still very powerful, these gods tend to hold sway over a single domain, their powers being limited to that domain. Ishtar is the exclusion to this, having domain over three aspects. These beings have only come into godhood very recently. At most they are very powerful beings that are now divine in nature. They tend to have little to no followers at this point. Eventually they will (in theory at least) become either demigods or full gods in their own right. While very rare, the death of a god does happen and when it does it is a reality alliterating event that is felt throughout the realms. The death of a god is a cosmic event that triggers many different things including the birth of new sidhe, formation of geological aspects to new races. The process leading up to the death of a god can be quick or take centuries. Nergal is an example of when a god commits suicide by passing on its divinity to another. This act kills the divine being. Perhaps it’s the only true way a god can die, by their wishing it so.
49 Divine Rank God Dominions Chivalry, Law, The Sun Alignment Lawful Favored Weapon Long Sword (paladins of the faith) or Mace(the Clergy) Symbol Sun In His Splendor Sol is a human god for humans. Non-humans are seen at best as misguided beings or at worst demonic beings. Everything that is not human is seen as an agent of Chaos. Law will Triumphant over Chaos Iconoclast Wars Turn Undead All undead within sight must save vs. spell or be turned. The save is at disadvantage if the undead is three or lower hit die and at advantage if four or more hit die. The Church of Sol Invictus shares rule with the various High Kings of Albion. The church endorses the rule of Kings, making relationships between church and state sway back and forth depending on who’s in charge on either side of the coin. Clerics are expected to be chaste and do not marry. Females are expected to either marry or become nuns
50 The 8 Million Gods is a term used by the Church of Sol to demote the other beliefs of Evermore, meaning they are a dime a dozen. In truth these other gods have a complex history and relationship with one another including the Church of Sol. Many belong to whole other pantheons of gods not listed here. The sampling presented here are either the ones with the most contact with the Church of Sol or who hold an important part in the World of Evermore.