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Sample File: Author's Dedication
Sample File: Author's Dedication
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In Memory of
Steven D. Russell
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Rite Publishing Presents:
Arthur Wang, Benjamin Celebi, Benoît Dromby, Bion, Brait Hernández, Bruno Balixa,
Camus Altamirano, David Revoy, Dennis Darmody, Emma Lazauski, Eric Lofgren, Fadly
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J.J. Tarujärvi, Joe Darkbugg, Joseph Wright, Joshua Calloway, Justin Nichol,
Karla Frazetty, Kevin Yancey, Killy Vera, Kuroro7, Lee Anthony Moten, Lee Pfenninger,
Leksaart, Lexa Veritatis, Liew, Louis Icysage, Lu Chi-Chun, M.K. Amphitaman,
Malcom McClinton, Marek Rakučák, Mark Bulahao, Martin Caceres, Mathieu Martinet,
Michael Richards, Muratt Yalcin, Ratushnyak Vitaliy, Richard Zommer, Ryan Rhodes,
Sara Contreras, Soroush Fathi, Tarakanovich, Taregh D. Saber, Thanathorn Yantaporn,
Thomas Cole, Tobias R. Gazze, Trung Ta Ha, Vasily Vereshchagin, Vincent Ptitvinc, and Wataboku
Pioneer (Trade Dress): James “Devin Knight” Hazelett
Surveyor (Layout): Lj Stephens
Voyager (Publisher): Miranda Russell
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Table of Contents
Preface & Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Brokeworld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Empyrea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Nightmare Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Tetsujin Shogunate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Stratospheria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Verse Arcanum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Ossuary Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Megacities of Neo Neo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Aethersaur Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
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GlimmerGloam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Hollow Thune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
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Dragonhearth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
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Preface & Introduction
by Yaeger Zane by Matt Banach
Lucien said I should write a preface. Steve said I should write an introduction.
“I don’t keep a list of all my faces,” I said. “I’ll try and make it entertaining,” I said.
“Now, Yaeger, as the most famous ‘author’ in all For the past few years my publisher Steve has given
the multiverse, I’m sure you know what a preface is,” me carte blanche to invent and populate the infinite
he said. Even through the bad reception of the Icon, I multiverse – the freedom to write up anything I can
could hear the sarcasm drip. imagine. He’s shown a lot of faith in me.
I got your pre-face right here, Lucien. I got your introduction right here, Steve.
~~~ ~~~
Parallel worlds have always fascinated me. Ever Parallel worlds have always fascinated me. Ever
since I worked up the Power to leave the boring, since I was a kid I’ve escaped from day-to-day life
played-out monotony of my home reality and break through games of adventure on alternate planes of
free to roam the infinitely-branching expanses of the existence, or fiction exploring the realms of what
Grand Stair, I’ve been amazed at the limitless variety if, or shows where sliding between dimensions is
of beasts and beauties out there. I’ve adventured, as easy as walking around the corner. I enjoy the
romanced, and hunted on thousands of Gossamer thrill of seeing my favorite characters reimagined
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worlds, each time discovering something new and in different time periods and genres – allies turned
wondrous. However, the more things change the villainous, monsters redeemed as heroes, or beloved
more they stay the same, and the little repetitions can casts reset against new backdrops. I love the potential
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be just as marvelous as the unique. It’s weird seeing of these referential mash-ups to invoke the nostalgia
a familiar face on an unfamiliar world – a reflection of canon while simultaneously exploding the status
of a lover who’s never met you, or the echo of a friend quo. Parallel universes enable us to rewrite the past
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you lost somewhere else. But, overall, it’s good; a guy without destroying it – what happened differently in
like me needs a few second chances and a re-do every this world to make it this way? What happens now?
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This compendium is a collection of travelogues This compendium is a collection of all the Gossamer
written by yours truly over the course of many Worlds products written by me over the past two-plus
years, in between a slew of daring exploits and years – the latest installments of my long-running
thrilling adventures. I didn’t have any big plan and extremely satisfying working relationship
when I first started publishing these, I just thought with Rite Publishing. When I began writing these
it might be useful to write some of this stuff down. I was looking for something new to get into; I had
I certainly didn’t expect the travelogues to be just finished writing Lost In Dream, my first full-
as popular as they’ve become. They say I’m the length novel and the longest creative project of my
most widely-published author in the multiverse! adult life, so the notion of doing a series of small
Ha! Even if that’s Dwimmershit, I love knowing projects for the intriguing Diceless system of Lords of
it royally rankles my snooty critics among the Gossamer & Shadow was very appealing. Originally
Gossamer Lords. “Unscholarly,” my ass. You can published electronically in .pdf form via various
still find some of my first edition singletons up RPG websites, they ended up selling well, giving me
for sale in the Agora – crumpled folios of stapled a lot of satisfaction and Rite Publishing a nice return
notebook paper, parchment pamphlets bound in on a product we could churn out monthly thanks to
werewolf leather, and even a few of the ones I had our continued use of “reverse design,” an efficient
to etch onto sunstone plates because everything else method we’d perfected through years of publishing
was bursting into flame at the time. Faces of the Tarnished Souk.
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This is my first official collection. I picked these This is the first official collection of the Gossamer
twenty worlds to bind together because Doors to them Worlds, compiling all nineteen worlds that Rite
can all be found along a certain stretch of the Grand Publishing put online plus a bonus world, Fury,
Stair. If you put them in order they start from the available for the first time here (bringing the count of
dead end of the big garbage-chute room, up through worlds up to a nice round twenty). While the basics
the dirty concrete stairwell, along the shattered have remained consistent, we’ve refined the format and
hallway, across the invisible void, up the crystal spiral expanded the content over time, thanks in large part to
staircase, backtracking to descend through the tower a lot of insightful reviews and constructive feedback.
of boiling brass, and finally ending in the barrow- (Thanks, Endzeigeist!) For this compilation, I’ve also
earth catacombs. They might be in a new, different gone back and added “How To Use” sections to the
arrangement by the time you read this, but that’s how earlier worlds in order to bring them in line with the
I came across them. trusty formula we’d adopted by the last few iterations.
This collection isn’t about me, nor is it a history This collection isn’t a definitive treatment of
of my travels. It’s about what’s out there, what I’ve strategically critical realities, nor is it a list of
seen and heard, and a little bit of advice about some settings you “must” digest in order to understand
of the threats out there, should you muster up the the mysteries and meta-plot of Lords of Gossamer &
courage to go visit these interesting little corners of Shadow. They’re just a tiny few of the worlds scattered
the multiverse. I’ve tried my best to be accurate, but throughout the infinite – places to be mapped and
hey, it’s me, so you should probably double-check some meandered, explored and enjoyed, twisted and
of this stuff before you go risking your lives or the filetweaked to suit the needs of your stories upon the
general fate of all reality. Plus, the Grand Stair isn’t Grand Stair. Besides, any given world probably has its
nearly as constant as some idealists claim – it’s a bit own gossamer clones and reality-shadows out there,
sneaky, always switching things around on us when identical in nearly every respect except, perhaps, for
nobody’s looking. one little detail that makes all the difference.
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I’d like to thank a few beings. Thanks to the Hanged I’d like to thank a few people. Thanks to Jason Durall,
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Man for leaving that Door open. Thanks to Captain Kit Kindred, Perry Grosshans, Rob Donoghue, Dain
Blammo for never running out of ammo. Thanks to Mary Lybarger, Andrew Peregrine, Matt Forbeck, Mark
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Fair of Copper Hair for teaching me how to rhyme less- Knights, and every other author, editor, and contributor
awfully. Thanks to Qatoz the Undying for trading me a that has added to the phenomenally diverse and
box full of superpositional cats in exchange for my first expansive setting that is Lords of Gossamer & Shadow.
manuscript. Thanks to Sigma Heisenberg for leading Thanks to all of the talented artists whose beautiful
me on a chase across the multiverse. And thanks to and imaginative work inspired these worlds. Thanks
Lucien for being eternally mirthless and condescending to the reviewers for every unflinching critique and
in an unintentionally encouraging way... and for being every morsel of praise which gave me the grist to keep
my grammar nun... and for agreeing to publish this grinding these out. And thanks to Steve Russell and
collection despite his vehement insistence that I am a Rite Publishing for making it all possible and bringing
menace to knowledge itself. us all the infinite wonder that is the multiverse.
Everything is possible. Go see it. Everything is not yet written. Go write it.
~ Yaeger Zane ~ Matt Banach
The Aerie, Witch’s Spine, Verse Arcanum Champaign, Illinois, USA
Year of the Minotaur +38,117 GS-u May 25th, 2016
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Lords of Gossamer & Shadow
Gossamer Worlds:
Brokeworld
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by Matt Banach
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Rite Publishing Presents:
Gossamer Worlds:
Brokeworld
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Gossamer Worlds: Brokeworld Copyright © 2014 Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Copyright ©
2012-2013 Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing and associated marks and logos are trademarks
of Diceless by Design Publishing, LLC, and are used under license.
See http://Rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1447 for more information on Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing.
Some rights reserved. The ccover image and interior art work by Trun Ta Ha is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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Doors that function as garbage chutes, depositing
fresh batches of the rotten at irregular intervals,
“I descended a series of rickety but it is obvious that some things on Brokeworld
catwalks into a cavernous tomb of are just too big to have come through that way.
corroded steel and filthy concrete, Somewhere there’s an entire coastal city that got
appointed like the basement of some wiped from the face of a Gossamer world during
dilapidated industrial complex. The boxy a mysterious typhoon, only to end up stranded in
orifices of several hundred garbage Brokeworld. The entirety of the city’s inhabitants
chutes pocked the darkened ceiling, and – those who had survived the typhoon, that is –
occasionally some scrap of junk from were eaten by gremlins within a fortnight.
the unknowable infinity above would
Gremlins are the worst. If any group claims
clatter down to add to the shifting
mounds of rubbish. If the Grand Stair dominion over Brokeworld, its them, though
had an ass-end, this was it. In the individually they’re nothing more than pests. As
center of the sloping floor, the rusted a phenomenon, however, they’re an apocalyptic
metal Door dropped open like a trap, contagion. The little misshapen bastards can
loosing another load of detritus into change their size, getting into anything and
the howling wasteland below.” everything. The clever ones can even infest
- Yaeger’s Travelogue electronics, becoming contagious computer
viruses of the most destructive variety. In
addition to sabotaging any technology they can
get their scrabbling claws on, gremlins defecate
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on everything, which is both utterly disgusting
and genuinely dangerous. Their acidic fecal
matter contains spores primed to bloom into
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Brokeworld is a dump. The polluted, wind- crops of gremlin offspring, and more than one
blasted landscape is made up entirely of junk Gossamer Lord has committed the vile faux
stretching out as far as the eye can see – scrap- pas of tracking an infestation of gremlins into
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littered plains, treacherously shifting hills, and someone else’s Domain because he neglected to
gaping pits formed by sinkholes and seismic wipe his boots.
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tremors. I reckon that Brokeworld probably once The Unmade haunt the fresher scrapheaps,
supported its own misfortunate civilization, but scrounging and hunting. These wretched souls
anything original to the world hasn’t been seen were once constructs or practitioners of the
in millennia, buried under a miles-thick crust of Eidolon who fell from grace, lost themselves,
compacted rubbish. Somewhere far below the or otherwise succumbed to Brokeworld’s
tunnel-riddled upper strata of refuse might be corrupting influence. Irreparably shattered but
the tops of crystal skyscrapers and mountains not quite dead, they’re cursed with the obsessive
made of solid electrum, but I don’t think there’s a hope that they can restore the perfect pattern they
sane soul alive willing to dig through all that crap once knew by harvesting it from still-working
to find them. material. They’re wrong. What results are twisted,
Either by the Grand Stair’s unfathomable design cannibalistic junk-golems who merely perpetuate
or some tragic cosmic happenstance, the place the cycle of decay. Lesser Unmade are pathetic
long ago became a dumping ground for other cyborgs and misfit toys begging for circuits and
Gossamer worlds, and in rare instances the Grand rusty gears, but the Greater Unmade can rival a
Stair itself. Hence, the variety of detritus coating Gossamer Lord – some might’ve been one.
the place is staggeringly diverse, and nearly any Doors into or out of Brokeworld are notoriously
imaginable scrap of technology that is defective, unreliable, often shrouded or one-way, and
corrupted, or damaged can be found amongst the it always seems easier to enter than to leave.
seemingly infinite piles. I once tripped into a pile Doors diverted from other locations sometimes
of a dozen broken syringes, a shattered pinball divert to Brokeworld, either by the Grand Stair’s
machine, and a fusion pistol with a breached inscrutable intent or a Master of the Grand Stair’s
reactor housing. Most of the stuff comes through sloppy or malicious tampering. New Doors to
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Brokeworld have a tendency to appear in areas from noticing Doors, along with the ability to
where something’s been broken, whether it be pass through such Doors. Gremlins crave the
a Gossamer Lord shattered in a duel or one of opportunity to wreak havoc in bright, shiny new
those rare instances when something destructive worlds, and some Masters of the Grand Stair
actually befalls the décor of the Grand Stair itself. make it a policy to sever any Door to Brokeworld
Once, after a tragically ill-advised battle in a on principle immediately, just to keep the gremlin
parlor-like hallway of the Grand Stair, I watched pestilence contained.
a Door appear and open on its own, taking a The current primary Door to Brokeworld
ruptured suit of armor, a few broken vases, and empties downward out of a metal trapdoor
one of my shoes with it. All too often, Doors out hanging from the underside of the rusty
of Brokeworld malfunction or sever themselves remains of an oil-drilling platform. The platform
unless one makes a specific, deliberate effort to perches unsteadily on its remaining pylons
secure them for a return trip. However, holding atop a large hill of junk overlooking the vast
a Door to Brokeworld open is also treacherous – expanse of Brokeworld’s heaps and a nearby
while they do not possess the powers of a Warden field of relatively fresh scrap pits prowled by
or Master of the Grand Stair, gremlins have an the Unmade. The Gossamer Lord’s name this
inherent ability to pierce the veil that normally region “The Pits” because of the common and
prevents inhabitants of Gossamer worlds dangerous sinkholes. One idiot once thought
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he’d avoid the terrain’s pitfalls by bringing small pirate fleet of ramshackle hovercraft and
along a jetpack – which worked great until the patrols the junk-shoals robbing visitors of their
gremlins got into it and he plunged screaming precious technology and spreading false hope
into a chasm, after exploding. of deliverance from their curse amongst the
Beneath the pit-fields, the gremlin warrens Unmade. I can only presume that his inevitable
stretch for countless miles, riddling the crust of the ruin will be spectacularly tragic.
entire world like the tunnels of an insane anthill. Brokeworld is dangerous because people
Practically designed to collapse, the warrens are underestimate the pervasive power of the
a ludicrously treacherous place to tread. The Umbra there. Like I said, superficially, it is a
gremlins know this, and make it a point to drag dump, and hence it is all too easy to dismiss
newly arrived treasures and potential valuables it as a hapless garbage planet and yet brave
down deep, all the better to lure brave explorers the wasteland anyway because you need to
into suicidal spelunking. There’s a nasty rumor pursue a holed-up Umbra Master or search for
going around that the current embodiment of an artifact lost on the Grand Stair. I did finally
gremlin horde-chief Splintertooth has some plum find my lost shoe, by the way. But, Brokeworld
Dwimmerlaik battle-engines down there with is insidious, relentless, and utterly exemplary of
hardly a scratch on them. the cosmic principle that everything will break
Brokeworld doesn’t have oceans or seas, but it down, and all designs, no matter how perfect,
does have a big wet spot. Choked with snarling will crumble into chaos. Most of the examples
shoals of rusted junk and dense patches of are physical – defective technology, ruined
flotsam, the shallow cesspool is completely buildings, corrupting grime – but some of the
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unnavigable but nevertheless teems with overwhelming entropic effect is intangible. Plans
activity. Tentacled mutant monstrosities lurk in have a tendency to go awry there, so on any trip
the foul fluid and amphibious gremlins prowl to Brokeworld you can bet that intelligence will
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the jagged beaches, making cruel sport of the be skewed, loyalties will fray, and exit strategies
hapless Lesser Unmade who go there sifting will fail. It’s an incredibly unlucky place, and
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for batteries and spare parts. In a rare showing has an uncanny knack for breaking down even
of willpower and organization, a particularly the most untouchable explorers.
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Domain
Technology Level: Primitive/Other (the broken junk of infinite worlds)
Magic Level: Magic is Known and Believed (though very few denizens practice with
any skill)
Security: Restricted Access [2 Points] (Doors malfunction and are notoriously
unreliable)
Type: Personal Domain [1 Point] (presently unclaimed by any Gossamer Lord)
Control: Control of Contents [1 Point] (only an Umbra Master can claim
Brokeworld)
Influence on the Powers: Eidolon – Weak
Umbra – Powerful
Wrighting – Blocked
Special: Unlucky. Every day a character spends in Brokeworld, they lose one
point of Good Stuff (if they have any), or gain one point of Bad Stuff (if
they have Zero Stuff or Bad Stuff). This effect is temporary for Gossamer
Lords, and characters revert to their “normal” quantity and quality of
Stuff immediately upon leaving Brokeworld.
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How to Use Brokeworld
• Brokeworld is a cracked lens through begins as a simple scavenger hunt turns
which you can view the entire multiverse. dangerous as Doors sever, equipment breaks,
Surrounded by the decaying discards of object-locating magics are on the fritz, and an
an infinitude of worlds, a walk through army of hungry gremlins begins to swarm
Brokeworld isn’t just a slog through any like piranha.
garbage dump, it’s a chance to sift through
the trash of all of existence. Take a moment • Brokeworld can easily be entered by
to highlight the special little objects that hint accident, so keep it in mind as a destination
at untold stories – a mangled toy meant for any time a Door is subject to malfunction,
an alien child, a shattered mirror haunted whether by natural happenstance or by
by the reflection of a mad emperor, or the malevolent design.
rusted head of a decapitated android who
• Gremlins are universally reviled as a noxious
mumbles on about great wars lost in a galaxy
plague up and down the Grand Stair,
far away.
triggering conversations of Brokeworld in
• Brokeworld is a terribly unlucky place, where far away places. Experienced Wardens of the
even all-powerful Gossamer Lords should be Grand Stair curse and check their boot heels
subject to stumbles and mishaps. Use a visit
file at the merest mention of gremlins, and any
to Brokeworld as an opportunity to remind character even suspected of tracking gremlin
characters of their vulnerability and fallibility spores into an ally’s domain can expect
as treasured equipment breaks, ingenious swift and emphatic condemnation. Even if a
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plans go awry, and even iron wills begin to character has never been to Brokeworld, they
show a little rust. Or, let the characters use could be falsely blamed for someone else’s
Brokeworld’s unforgiving entropy to their foul misstep, forcing them to find out ”who
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advantage to entrap and defeat an otherwise really tracked it in” to clear their name.
implacable foe.
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Lords of Gossamer & Shadow
Gossamer Worlds:
Empyrea
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by Matt Banach
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Rite Publishing Presents:
Gossamer Worlds:
Empyrea
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Gossamer Worlds: Empyrea Copyright © 2014 Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Copyright © 2012-2013
Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Diceless by Design
Publishing, LLC, and are used under license.
See http://Rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1447 for more information on Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing.
13
“I came up into a large stairwell tower
Superhumanity
formed of dirty concrete and corroded Empyreans are physiologically human, but the
metal, its ascending span of blocky many advantages of their advanced civilization
steps winding upwards around a central and flawless genetics give them attributes
shaft of open air, rising to a seemingly considered superhuman on most other Gossamer
infinite height. A perpetual rumbling worlds. The average adult Empyrean has Superior
noise came from everywhere, like the rank in all attributes, and the most powerful
whir of hidden machinery, joined by the Empyreans – such as the Allfather, his direct
faint buzzing of yellow light-bulbs set descendants, and the world’s elite Olympians –
into the walls in little wire cages. The may have attributes at Paragon rank.
dreary surroundings hardly reflected the
paradise I knew lay close by. At the first the basic sciences, and intellectual pursuits match
landing from the bottom of the stairwell physical sports in overall popularity. With all
was a clean, white-painted Door with a
finely crafted golden knob. Even closed,
these advantages and a widespread drive to excel,
it smelled faintly of orchids, which was a
Empyreans are truly magnificent specimens of the
noticeable improvement from the otherwise
potential of humanity.
dingy industrial surroundings. I opened Empyreans’ good genes are no accident. The
the Door to glorious sunshine and the Allfather has employed policies of positive
sound of laughter, and reminded myself to eugenics for over two millennia, subtly (or not-
be wary.” so-subtly) encouraging the best and brightest to
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- Yaeger’s Travelogue spread their desirable genetic traits throughout
the global gene pool. A thousand years ago,
Empyrea suffered a devastating plague which
killed millions and threatened to sterilize the
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Empyrea is an Earth-like paradise at the disaster, but ever since the plague Empyreans have
enlightened pinnacle of a global Greco-Roman prayed to the Allfather to bless their couplings
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empire under the beneficent direction of their and grant them healthy children. This practice
god-emperor, Allfather Augustus Bellaphon. is no mere superstition – by his spell, Bellaphon
Blending ancient stylings with advanced actually managed to influence Empyreans’ ability
technology, they’ve really got it all – clean fusion, to conceive and bear offspring; while his control
a healthy population, and a unified planetary is not absolute and “un-blessed” babies are born
government that hasn’t (yet) turned upon itself. in secret from time to time, the Allfather widely
The world is not perfectly idyllic – they still have and purposefully uses this power to direct the
earthquakes, disease, and social unrest – but for progress of Empyrean humanity.
every problem, the Allfather has a solution, be it By all accounts Bellaphon has never
a great spell to heal the earth, an antiviral nanite discriminated in his selections along ethnic or
elixer, or simple words of paternal wisdom that racial lines (Empyrea remains a diverse society
fall with the weight of divine mandate. and skin tones span the rainbow without
Regardless of which sex you find fairer, never prejudice), but dissenting factions seethe at the
will you find a realm of more jaw-droppingly Allfather’s control over their very bloodlines and
beautiful people. Empyreans are hale and athletic, note the quiet withering over the years of those
flourishing in a society that considers peak physical families who displease him. A few doomsayers
fitness as essential as basic hygiene. While these speculate darkly about the Allfather’s hand in
lofty standards of physical beauty make some the original plague that paved the way for this
Empyreans quick to disdain or pity those plainer unprecedented control, though no one has ever
or weaker than themselves, they aren’t shallow come close to publicly accusing the sovereign of
as rule. Mental acumen is also an Empyrean genocide, much less proving it. For the rest of
virtue; even the average citizen is well-versed in modern Empyrean society, the flourishing of the
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strong is simply the way it has always been, and Empyrean life cannot be overstated. Victorious
the blessings of the Allfather have proven fruitful. Olympians enjoy not only fame and fortune
The Allfather spent his formative years in but also elevated political status and increased
Empyrea’s ancient Greece, rising to power during reproductive rights. Gymnasiums called casas (in
an imperial period with Bellaphon as caesar-for- the style of martial arts dojos) founded by former
life (and a long, long life it has been so far). Styles Olympians form the equivalent of noble houses
have evolved since then, but strong Greco-Roman in Empyrea’s post-feudal society, and with the
influences persist world-wide: white marble dissolution of national boundaries under global
columns adorn prominent buildings, strappy imperial rule, the identities of Olympians stem
sandals are always fashionable, and people from their casa affiliations, not their countries of
wear traditional tunics and togas for ceremonies origin. Rivalries between gymnasiums are fierce,
and special occasions. Their preferred luxuries almost gang-like, and tend to involve interests far
tend towards the traditional as well: Empyrean above and beyond the games themselves.
wines are phenomenal, the food is to die for, While competition is everywhere on Empyrea,
and attitudes towards sex are deliciously liberal. uncontrolled violence remains rare and taboo
As a guy who’s literally partied all across the – the general populace has no need to struggle
multiverse, I can tell you without a doubt that an for essentials, petty crime rates are low, and
Empyrean bacchanal is an indulgence worthy of the Allfather’s global imperial government is
any Gossamer Lord. remarkably adept at quelling rebellious elements
Classical stylings blend surprisingly well with through threats or diplomacy. As such, they
the world’s futuristic technology, as Empyreans haven’t had an open war in centuries, and
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enjoy their gizmos but prefer them
integrated seamlessly into the traditional
landscape. Holographic touch-displays
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regional justicars keep a tight lid on instances oracles do not adore the Allfather, and they’re
of local violence. Empyreans are not without perfectly willing to speak of prophecies that
aggression, however, and can be exceedingly foretell his downfall... if you promise not to tattle.
dangerous if you’re stupid or unlucky enough To speak of Empyrea is to speak of the man
to push them too far. Personal challenges are a who rules it, and I’ve danced around it long
socially acceptable means of conflict resolution, as enough: in my opinion, August Bellephon is a
I found out. Sometimes these contests are strictly great man. Wise, charismatic, and brilliant, he
regulated duels of weaponry or fisticuffs, but just has led his people because he truly is the best
as often disputes are resolved through sports, person for the job – and because he doesn’t trust
debate, or games of intellect. I once lost a sweet anyone else to do it right. I don’t know what
hover-chariot to one to an upstart Olympian in a that sys about my own political philosophy or
bizarre biathlon of street-running and darts – I let morality, but when you get right down to it – as
the little bastard win to keep the peace, but only far as supreme dictators go, you could do a lot,
just barely. Duels to the death are illegal, but the lot worse. His rise to power during Empyrea’s
most brazen of Empyrea’s citizens aren’t above ancient history was far less bloody than it could
asking the justicars’ forgiveness for the occasional have been, and despite wielding god-like power
“tragic accident.” over an entire world for what by now has been
While mystical energies are abundant on millennia, Augustus Bellaphon still retains (most
Empyrea, and the concept of magic is readily of) his humanity. However, that humanity makes
accepted by the common person, the actual ability things harder for him, not easier: he worries for
to practice sorcery is largely limited to “heroes”, his people, grapples with the hard choices a ruler
file
which – ever since the great plague – means the must make, and still feels the bitter sting of others’
Allfather and the first two or three generations hatred and betrayal. Heavy is the head that wears
of his descendants. Since the Allfather has been the crown, but Augustus Bellaphon strikes me as
ple
sowing his seed for over two millennia the actual the kind of man who will never, ever quit.The
number of sorcerous practitioners is several last attempted coup against the Allfather was
thousand, spread throughout the world in varying a messy, treacherous affair led by Gaius and
m
degrees of power but usually occupying the Helena, an incestuous pair of Bellaphon’s eldest
upper echelons of Empyrean society and imperial children bent on usurping their father.
Sa
government. Dissenters believe the Allfather Turns out the whole sordid plot was spurred on
purposefully suppresses the advent of magical by a visiting Gossamer Lord, who shall remain
traits in the common person through his eugenic nameless and who I swear on the Stair was not
controls, in the interest of maintaining his own me, with designs on claiming Empyrea as a
supremacy. This might be mere conjecture, but it’s Domain. The usurpers woefully underestimated
worth noting that “un-blessed” children – born in Bellaphon, who put down the uprising, killed
secret, without the Allfather’s sanction – have a Gaius, exiled Helena, and thrashed the meddling
greater chance of developing magical talent. The Gossamer Lord so severely that he (or she) had
same dissenters believe that an “un-blessed” child to beat a hasty retreat through the nearest Door,
will one day rise to upset the status quo. right in front of the wroth Allfather.
The oracles at Delphi remain a notable exception That perilous moment forever shattered the
to the rule that all Empyrean sorcery belongs to Veil for Bellaphon, introducing him to the concept
the Allfather and his get. This mysterious female of the Grand Stair in the most offensive way
trio has existed in parallel to the Allfather since possible. Terrified by the scope of this newfound
ancient times, and their interactions with the vulnerability and fearing another incursion, the
great Bellaphon suggest that he heeds their Allfather has spent every waking moment since
wisdom and respects their significant power. The the coup learning everything he can about the
oracles remain apolitical and have always been Grand Stair and the vast threat it poses. The
aloof and cryptic. But those able to gain access Door Bellaphon saw open is now permanently
to the oracles temple (past the legions of guards, severed, but he keeps the site under heavy guard,
flocks of noxious cyber-harpies, and a veritable meticulously analyzing the physical and magical
minefield of magical wards) will note that the properties of the now-defunct door (with a small
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