Player’s Guide
Passage from A History of The Realm
The tides of time often erode memory leaving only a trace when its remnants wash ashore once again. Such is the way of life in the Far Reaches where The Great Pattern etched along the sacred branches of Yggdrasyl declare that what lives may yet die and what dies may yet live again. In an age called The Third Age by some, an age long past and an age yet to come, our story begins…
Campaign Info
The campaign will begin as you and your companions undertake the Warder’s Trial. This is a series of tests that apprentice Aesulurgists of the Warder’s Guild must take to become full-fledged members. The Trial will test your skills at combat, diplomacy and discretion and culminates in a ceremony and ritual where your Noble Spirit patron is identified. Once full-fledged members, you will begin to undertake missions on behalf of the Warder’s Guild.
Where You Are…
Your adventure begins in the Great Realms of Yggdrasyl, a timeless universe where the souls of all living things are reborn over and over again destined to live out the same roles again and again. All incarnations of the same soul have an affinity towards the things from their previous lives. However, most individuals are not aware of their past lives and the ones that are often only have a vague awareness. As such, those who are less religious are not inclined to believe in the Great Pattern and often regard those who claim to be a reincarnated soul with skepticism.
Specifically your adventure begins on particular plane in the Great Realms called the Inner Realm. In a corner of the Inner Realm lies the Far Reaches, a diverse land filled with people and places of all varieties and in no place is that more true than your home of the Noble Provinces.
The Noble Provinces were once a series of thriving nations, each individually devoted to one of the eight Noble Animal Spirits and home to a single race of people. Now, thousands of years after Elyas Antelier’s conquest to unite them all, they have shattered. Some provinces sought the aid of their neighbors and formed larger nations, others were scorned and cast aside and some stayed vigilant and remained whole.
When You Are…
The current year is 4735 A3RD. The scholars of the Noble Provinces refer to their current era as the 3rd Age (hence A3RD) using cataclysmic events to denote the ends of the 1st and 2nd Ages.
The 2nd Age ended when Elyas Antelier’s conquest to unite the provinces resulted in the destabilization and inevitable collapse of the entire Noble Provinces. This also coincided with the corruption of one of the eight Noble Animal Spirits, Mailach the Silver Elk.
The 1st Age ended in an event known only as The Exodus that is poorly recorded. Despite this, many magical artifacts have survived from this time as well as remains of a strange processed metal known as Ashyndrite, which modern scholars and Aesulurgists have discovered can be used as spell components.
What You Are…
In your adventure you will be playing as an Aesulurgist — an ancient word that roughly translates to “god-worker” and refers to a person with a powerful connection to one of the eight Noble Animal Spirits called their “patron”. All magic users in this world are Aesulurgists but not all Aesulurgists are magic users. Many Aesulurgists are simply warriors with profound physical or mental prowess.
This power is something one is born into and one cannot remove their connection to their Noble Spirit. As such, there are many Aesulurgists who worship a god other than their patron — sometimes even a god who is not one of the eight Noble Spirits.
Of particular note is that due to the corruption of the Silver Elk at the end of the 2nd Age, all Aesulurgists born will a connection to Mailach eventually go mad. It is common practice across the Noble Provinces to kill anyone — regardless of age — as soon as their patron is identified as Mailach.
Campaign Note
Every player will pick one of the eight Noble Animal Spirits as their patron regardless of whether they picked a martial or magical class. See the Religion section below to decide which spirit speaks to you the most. You may also elect to roll for your patron during the campaign.
All standard 5E classes are available for this campaign. They will just be referred to as Aesulurgists in-world. However, if your class gets their power from an entity or god from the 5E ruleset, you will have to choose a god from the Religion sections below instead or work with your DM to incorporate your god into the campaign.
The Goal
Excerpt
“When blood spills upon siblings’ blades And shadows crawl upon sun-drenched stone
When great wings and lances stretch ‘cross the sky And the gates of Ingyr and Askyr open once more
Omens — one and all — of the fall”
- Unknown Source from The Gravewhisper Compendium, The 3rd Age
Every Age in the Noble Provinces meets its end eventually and so too must the 3rd Age. For centuries, a vague cataclysmic event has been prophesied by many sources of vary verifiability.
With the rising tensions between nations in the Noble Provinces as well as the looming threat of the Ravenkin in the Southern Wastes, the Warder’s Guild worries that another collapse may be upon the Far Reaches.
A war for the fate of the Provinces is inevitable but perhaps it can be mitigated. As a player you will be taking on missions from the Warder’s Guild that will reveal five major issues facing the various nations. How you choose to handle these issues will influence the how this war unfolds in the final act of the campaign.
House Rules
Spell Components
Spell components are required for spells. Fortunately, in the Far Reaches there is a rare processed metal called Ashyndrite often found in 1st Age ruins. It has the strange ability to be used in replacement of spell components.
Players can buy pellets of Ashyndrite at many arcane shops across the Far Reaches. The quality of the Ashyndrite determines what level spells it can be used for. For example, a “3-Karat” nugget is capable of being used for spells up to third level.
The Warder’s Board
As a Warder you will have access to a network of eyes and ears across the great nations of the world. Almost every town you encounter will have a “Warder’s Board” — a magically encrypted notice board only able to be decoded by Warders — where you will be able to see:
- War Reports A list of the current statuses of each of the five issues you have been tasked with solving as well as any new leads or war-time updates the Warder’s Guild might have.
- Hunts In addition meddling in war-time politics, Warders also help the locals with monster problems. The Warder’s Board contains a list of any available hunts for monsters that the party can undertake which can reward them with gold, items and the possibility of rising in the ranks of the Guild.
Planes, Gods & Religion
The various cultures and religions across the Far Reaches share similar creation myths with each other. The myth generally goes as follows:
Creation Myth
There were once two siblings, Ashyndra and Myrk, who were tasked with growing a tree. They were honored to have such a noble task and named their tree Yggdrasyl, tending to it like a child. Ashyndra would encourage the branches to grow and spread and fill the leaves with her light while Myrk would carefully prune the roots of the tree cutting out disease and ensuring the soil was well fed.
Yggdrasyl blossomed under the siblings care and the Inner Realm was born within it’s mighty trunk. This brought joy to Ashyndra who spurred on the growth of the tree and soon new realms sprung into being within its branches. These would grow to become the Outer Realms we know today.
Myrk, covetous and petty by nature, saw the new life that Ashyndra brought and despised it. One night he snuck out to their garden where Yggdrasyl grew and began to tear at the roots.
Ashyndra found him in the morning asleep by the scene of his crime and wept in horror. With great anguish she cast her brother down into the soil below, imprisoning him within Ingyr — the earthen roots of Yggdrasyl.
When Ashyndra’s fury faded, she was left with an emptiness now that her brother was no longer to keep her company. She filled her time by tending to the tree. She devoted herself wholly to this task and eventually faded into Askyr — the light that graces the leaves of Yggdrasyl.
The World Tree
Yggdrasyl is the sacred tree that composes all of reality. Scholars generally agree that Yggdrasyl does not refer to a literal tree but rather the metaphysical connections between the Inner Realm and the Outer Realms. It also forms the connections to the two possible afterlives, Ingyr and Askyr.
The Great Pattern
Most creation myths establish that etched upon Yggdrasyl’s trunk and branches is a pattern of interweaving lines and runes. These etchings are supposedly the Great Pattern that governs all of fate and rebirth across the realms.
The Great Realms
Inner Realm
Also referred to as the Material Plane, the Inner Realm is home of the Far Reaches and the Nobles Provinces, the Inner Realm is claimed to be the first plane created by Ashyndra and Myrk. The Inner Realm is a large plane dominated by oceans and continental landmasses of various climates.
Outer Realms
Legend tells that travel to the Outer Realms use to be far easier but now the secret to traversing to the Outer Realms is lost. There are references to dozens of planes in the Outer Realms but the most well documented of which are the Elemental Planes.
Elemental Planes
Valurheim Realm of Fire
Aerimweld Realm of Air
Logetheim Realm of Water
Ioweld Realm of Earth
Askyr - Realm of Entropic Light
Known by many names across many cultures but generally considered to be an equivalent to Heaven. When souls die and are judged worthy of Ashyndra’s light, they ride along Great Pattern etched into the branches of Yggdrasyl to await their rebirth in Askyr.
Ingyr - Realm of Deep Shade
While most souls go to Askyr on death, those corrupted by Myrk’s influence are blocked from ascending to join Ashyndra. Instead they join Myrk in Ingyr where it is unknown what the Shadow Behind Shadows does with them.
The Pantheon
The Greater Gods
Inner Gods - The Noble Spirits
Outer Gods - The Elements
Religion
Regions
This section will detail the various regions and their nations in the Far Reaches.
World Map
The Noble Provinces
The Noble Provinces were once a series of eight nations each devoted to one of the Noble Animal Spirits. In the modern age, many of them have collapsed or been dissolved into larger nations. This section details the current state of the Noble Provinces.
Elk Province
Elk Province
Races Humans Patron Mailach the Silver Elk Government Monarchy
“No kings. No rulers.”
- Elyas Antelier the King of Nothing, The 2nd Age
Nestled in-between the Twinwolf Mountains (Mt. Galir and Mt. Galain) and the Elkbleeder Cordillera, the Elk Province is a natural bastion of defense. This contributes to their status as military fortress in the Noble Provinces.
The humans of the Elk Province busy themselves in their short lives by meddling in both local and world politics, much to the Warder’s Guilds chagrin. When not squabbling with other nations, the various Houses of the Elk Province are competing against each other for the nation’s throne in Ristaway Seat.
Unlike the other Noble Spirits which are generally associated with Ashyndra the Goddess of Light, Mailach the Silver Elk was corrupted by Myrk. Now any Aesulurgists who are chosen by Mailach eventually go mad. This makes worship in the Elk Province complicated — some choose to worship what Mailach stood for before its corruption, some condemn the worship of Mailach entirely and some even worship the monstrosity it has become.
Elyas Antelier the King of Nothing (the infamous rebel-turned-tyrant who attempted to unite all the Noble Provinces while simultaneously dismantling the various government systems in hope that an anarchical self-governing society would rise from the ashes) was from the Elk Province — and province has certainly not forgotten Elyas. Even now there are rumors of a group picking up where Elyas left off…
Dragon Province
Dragon Province
Races Dragonborn Patron Ruk’allar the Scarlet Dragon Government Military Oligarchy
“Our enemy spits in our face and wields our dead as a twisted blade. They think of us as metal to be bent and shaped in their horrid designs. Let us show them how our steel cuts! Let us show them how our fury burns. For Ruk’allar!”
- Last recorded words of former Expedition Team 6, The 3rd Age
Much of the Dragon Province is open plains with very few settlements — the bulk of the province’s population live alongside the Elkbleeder Cordillera to the south. This section of the cordillera serves as natural border against the Southern Wastes.
The people of the Dragon Province live very singular lives. Put simply: If you’re not defending the Noble Provinces against the Ravenkin in the Southern Wastes as part of the Dragonsguard, you are supporting the Dragonsguard in some other fashion (i.e. blacksmiths, merchants, military advisors, etc.).
The Ravenkin are creatures
Unexplored Regions
The Southern Wastes
The Frostback
Logethi’s Expanse
Il-Akirr
Factions
Guilds
Warder’s Guild
Lineages & Cultures
The Far Reaches is full of people from varying lineages and vibrant cultures. The following sections will detail:
- Lineages: The 5th Edition lineages (races) that are most prevalent in the world of the Far Reaches.
- Cultures: The various cultural groups and where they are most often found in the Far Reaches.
Lineages
This section will detail the 5th Edition lineages that are available to play in the campaign. This is just a recommended list that fits in with the established lore, so feel free to work with your DM to incorporate a lineage that isn’t included.
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| Culture | Lineage | Homes | Other Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beastfolk | Aarakocra | Boreal Republic | Eaglefolk |
| ^^ | Harengon | Fenrik Tundra | Rabbbitfolk |
| ^^ | Kenku | Fenrik Tundra | Ravenfolk |
| ^^ | Locathah | Boreal Republic | Fishfolk |
| ^^ | Owlin | Boreal Republic | Owlfolk |
| ^^ | Satyr | Fenrik Tundra | Goatfolk |
| ^^ | Tabaxi | Fenrik Tundra | Catfolk |
| ^^ | Tortle | Boreal Republic | Turtlefolk |
| Dragonborn | Dragonborn | The Dragon Province | |
| Earthfolk | Dwarf | Pariahal Kinland | Stonefolk |
| ^^ | Dwarf - Duergar | Pariahal Kinland | Stonefolk |
| ^^ | Gnome | Pariahal Kinland | Grassfolk |
| ^^ | Gnome - Deep Gnome | Pariahal Kinland | Grassfolk |
| ^^ | Halfling | Pariahal Kinland | Grassfolk |
| ^^ | Tiefling | Pariahal Kinland | Ashfolk |
| Elves | Elf | Aital Republic | |
| ^^ | Elf - Eladrin | Aital Republic | |
| ^^ | Elf - Sea Elf | Aital Republic | |
| ^^ | Half-Elf | Aital Republic | |
| Genasi | Air Genasi | Genasi Communes | |
| ^^ | Fire Genasi | Genasi Communes | |
| ^^ | Earth Genasi | Genasi Communes | |
| ^^ | Water Genasi | Genasi Communes | |
| Humans | Human | The Elk Province | |
| Orcs | Half-Orc | The Horse Province |
Cultures
This section details the various cultures in the Far Reaches and where individuals of certain lineages are often found.
Beastfolk
The Beastfolk are a group of humanoids with animal-like features mostly found in the Boreal Republic and the Fenrik Tundra. Originally, all Beastfolk were part of the Wolf Province but after the end of the 2nd Age, several Beastfolk agreed to join with the Elves of the Serpent Province and form the Kirin Republic to ensure the stability of their respective nations.
However, not all Beastfolk agreed with the choice to join with the Serpent Province and choose to leave the province and live in the Fenrik Tundra to the north.
The Beastfolk are said to be the most in touch with the Noble Spirits but none more so than the Fenrik the Ivory Wolf. They are known for recording lore and worship practices for the Noble Spirits dating back to the early 2nd Age.
Dragonborn
The Dragonborn are worshippers of Ruk’allar the Scarlet Dragon and a militant people — which is likely a product of living in the Dragon Province. They are a people that are wholly devoted to defending the Noble Provinces from the Ravenkin — monstrous creatures living in the Southern Wastes that constantly besiege the border of the nation.
Earthfolk
The Earthfolk is a name given to the various races who often make their homes within the various mesas that dot the Pariahal Kinland. This region is where the Gnomes, Halflings, Tieflings and Dwarves fled to after being accused of being Conspirators to the Ravenkin during the end of the 2nd Age.
The Earthfolk collectively worship three of the Noble Spirits: Radona the Blonde Hare, Y’dohr the Golden Ox and Ellidar the Sable Lynx. They call this group of deities the Those of Earthern Roots.
Elves
The Elves make their home in the archipelago of the Aital Republic (originally the Serpent Province) forming the other half of the Kirin Republic alongside the Beastfolk in the Boreal Republic.
All sorts of Elves live in these archipelagos although both the Eladrin and the Avariel are very rare and those who do live there are often cagey about their origins.
The Elves worship Asyius the Azure Serpent but often disagree about the “correct” way to practice their religion.
Genasi
The Genasi are elemental beings and often associated with the Elemental Planes. They live in small communes out in nature or near locations of great spiritual power and often pursue nomadic lifestyles.
The Genasi often feel the call of something they call “The True Song” and travel the land seeking its source in hopes to travel back home to the Elemental Planes.
The Genasi do not worship any of the Noble Spirits and instead worship The Elements.
Humans
They’re ambitious, short-lived and goddamn everywhere — and no greater concentration of humans exists than in the Elk Province. Often called a “god-less nation” due to the fact that their Noble Spirit, Mailach the Silver Elk has been corrupted by Myrk. Despite this, several individuals still worship what Mailach stood for before it was corrupted.
Orcs
The orcs are an aggressive and reclusive known for their in-fighting and disorganization in the Horse Province. Despite this there are several more level-headed half-orcs trying to reign in the chaos in this region.
The orcs worship Nimos the Amber Horse — however it’s unclear whether or not the orcs fabricated their god as no Aesulurgist has been claimed by Nimos in centuries.