Oathbound Wrack & Ruin.pdf

Wrack & Ruin

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Edges of Civilization ........... 4

Schemes of Power .............................................................. 5

A Look at Cantons ........................................................... 10

Warped Realities .............................................................. 12

Chapter 2: People and Powers ..................... 15

New PC Races ................................................................... 15

Prestige Classes ................................................................ 21

New Gifts ........................................................................... 28

New Prestige Races .......................................................... 29

Chapter 3: The Lost City ............................... 32

Ways in and Out .............................................................. 33

Conditions, Travel and Hazards ................................... 35

Rebuilding the Wrack ...................................................... 38

Time and the Wrack ......................................................... 40

Lost City Sites ................................................................... 42

Lost and Branded: Peoples of the Wrack ..................... 44

Law from Chaos: Powers of the Wrack ........................ 45

Exilium ............................................................................... 48

Rumors of the Wrack ....................................................... 51

Chapter 4: The Undercity ............................. 52

Organization ..................................................................... 52

Life Beneath ....................................................................... 54

Ruined Roadways ............................................................ 56

Time and the Maze .......................................................... 58

Bloodholds Beneath ......................................................... 64

Important Sites ................................................................. 71

Talons of the Undercity ................................................... 76

Rumors of the Ruins ........................................................ 81

Chapter 5: Black on Black ............................ 82

Preparation ........................................................................ 86

Scaling the Adventure ..................................................... 86

Engaging the Party .......................................................... 87

Episode 1: Black Tidings ................................................. 87

Episode 2: Intrigues and Curiosities ............................. 91

Episode 3: The Race is On .............................................. 97

Episode IV: Decent into Cycadia ................................. 101

Episode V: Out of Time ................................................. 106

Episode 6: The Collision of Gambits .......................... 108

Conclusion ....................................................................... 111

Continuing Adventures ................................................ 111

NPCs & Monsters ........................................................... 112

Appendix A: Spells & Items ...................... 117

Appendix B: Monsters ................................ 119

Appendix C: Designing the Maze ............ 123

Design

Darrin Drader, Greg Dent

Credits

Art Director

Jim Butler

Additional Design

Carla Schack and Steven Schend

Cover Artist

C. Michael Erickson

Development

Greg Dent

Interior Artists

Alexander Leonard, Ben Eargle, C. Michael

Erickson, and Christopher Pickrell.

Adventure Design

Kevin W. Melka, Todd R. Laing, Greg Dent

Cartographers

Christopher Pickrell and Todd Morasch

Editor

Duane Maxwell

Typesetter

Jim Butler

Brand Manager

Jim Butler

Proofreaders

Brannon Hollingsworth and Darrin Drader

Original Oathbound Concept

Greg Dent, Jim Butler, and Todd Morasch

Cover Design: Todd Morasch

Distributed worldwide to the book trade by Osseum Entertainment (www.osseum.com); distributed to the toy, comic, and hobby trade by Bastion Press (www.bastionpress.com)

and regional distributors.

Bastion Press and the Bastion Press logo are trademarks, and Oathbound is a registered tradermark owned by Bastion Press, Inc. All Bastion characters, character names, and

the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Bastion Press, Inc. Ód20 SystemÔ and the Ód20 SystemÔ logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are

used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 1.0. Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and

Publishing of Marceline, MO.

Open Content: Only materials indicated in Section 15 of the Open Gaming License on page 128 are considered Open Content. All other content is Product Identity and

copyrighted by Bastion Press, Inc.

Oathbound ®

Introduction

Chances are that if you are reading this, you are no stranger to

the world of the Forge or the City of Penance. Oathbound § :

Domains of the Forge deals with the larger picture of the world

and the great city. This book is set within the city, but more

completely details the lost city and the sunken areas that are

introduced in chapters 6 and 7 of the core book.

The City of Penance is vast. Built atop a quarter mile high

pedestal, the massive circular city is sixty-seven miles in

diameter. Despite its size however, Penance is only thirty

percent populated. The rest of the surface has been abandoned,

and the entirety of the city is built over areas that have Ñsunk.Ò

Cantons, once populated, often remain so for thousands of

years. It is common for the population to eventually empty out

because the residents leave, a massive die-off occurs, or key

structures sink. When this happens, those parts of the city

become part of the ruin consisting of the lost city, Ñthe wrack,Ò

and the undercity, Ñthe maze.Ò

Residents leave one area of the city for another for many

reasons. When an oppressive Bloodlord rises up and grabs

power over an inhabited canton, it isnÔt unheard of for the

residents to leave their professions, their homes, and the life

they know to find a canton more to their liking. War is another

reason people will leave an area. Whether a group is involved

in the war, or their territory becomes a battleground between

larger forces, many people leave to find safer places to live.

Massive die-offs are also an unfortunate fact of life in any

civilization eventually. Sometimes disease causes it, sometimes

the water sources become foul or poisoned, and sometimes great

wars are responsible for killing off the inhabitants. When this

happens in Penance, the way of life in an area is effectively over,

and it becomes far more practical for people to relocate rather

than try to rebuild.

Sinking is another consideration that causes people to

abandon areas of Penance. Sinking occurs when some of the

underground structures supporting a building or dwelling

collapse, causing a single or sometimes multiple inhabited

buildings to fall beneath the surface of the city. The affected

structures are sometimes unable to withstand the change in

foundation, and they crumble, but just as often the buildings

slip down more or less intact, adding to the ruined maze of the

undercity.

Above-ground areas that are abandoned become part of

what is known as Ñthe wrack.Ò These are lawless zones on the

surface of the city that have less than the one thousand occupants

necessary for a Bloodlord to take control. The structures here

are usually in a state of disrepair, and are inhabited by all

manner of beings from loners to those whom are truly dangers

to civilization.

Many come to the wrack in order to break out of the

constraints of civilized Penance, while others come to build,

repair, and encourage others to move in so that they can become

Bloodlords themselves. People usually resist moving into these

areas, but they may be lured by the promise of just laws, more

wealth and prosperity, or simply the attitude of the person

claiming to be in charge (whatever that may be). In some cases

those that have been drawn by the flock from the same world

will establish their own canton in order to be with more of their

kind, and will restore a fallen canton rather than try to fit in

with an already established society.

Some Bloodlords that are already established within the City

of Penance come to the wrack in order to spread their influence.

Sometimes they offer settlers compensation to make their homes

in these often times dangerous areas. Sometimes they march

soldiers in to take abandoned cantons one building at a time. In

some cases the bounders that squat in these areas are evicted if

they donÔt meet with the standards the conquering Bloodlord

has established, while in other cases they actively seek to recruit

the current residents as new citizens.

Structures become part of the maze by sinking, or by being

built over. After a structure has sunk, it is normal for the people

of the city to simply patch up the hole in the ground and build

something atop it. The structure that has sunk is forgotten over

time, and many are loath to enter the sunken structure due to

the risk of collapse while they are inside.

Structures that are old, unsightly, or simply donÔt fit with

the plan of the new Bloodlord are often built over, using that

structure as part of the foundation for new buildings. While

some decry this as a dangerous practice, many buildings are

designed with reinforced walls capable of supporting far more

weight than that of the building. This is done as a safety matter

as well as a method of allowing people to expand their houses.

In the City of Penance the houses and other structures are built

very close together, which makes expanding structures outward

next to impossible, and the only direction left to expand is

upwards.

Upwards expansion and sinking over the millennia have

given birth to the maze. Beneath the streets of Penance are layer

after layer of buildings that are no longer inhabited. Because of

the random way that they sink and settle, a rasher exploring

the undercity often finds rooms that are connected, though they

originally belonged to separate structures. A person may begin

their journey in the living room of a small house, only to open

the door into an enormous banquet hall. From there she might

fit through the un-repaired cracks in a wall to find herself in a

room filled with gears and other enormous moving parts.

Opening the door from there might lead to an enormous drop-

off with a multi-story building no more than fifty feet across

from her.

The maze is a complex place that is used for numerous

purposes. Rogues and others that wish to move from one area

of Penance to another unnoticed may travel through the

undercity in order to reduce their chance of being spotted. The

homeless and the dejected sometimes make their way

underground, and many beasts that have been driven out of

the city have come here to live.

As one descends deeper, the ruins become much more

dangerous. The structures here have compressed a great deal,

which makes it difficult to fit through many of the narrow

passageways, and the chance of structural collapse here is

greatly increased. It is known that great riches and treasures

await the brave souls that risk life and limb to explore these

long forgotten buildings.

Welcome to Uncivilized Penance: Wrack and Ruin. This

book contains everything you need to bring the wrack and the

maze to life in order to set adventures in this region. Within

you will find information on the people and beings that have

an interest in these areas, the horrific new monsters and denizens

that make their homes here, information on getting in and

getting out, organizations, new equipment, new spells, and

more.

Chapter 1: The

Edges of Civilization

Although the wrack and the maze are generally not blood-

holds themselves, there are power structures in place and

groups that are interested in the goings-on in these areas.

Some races gravitate towards unpopulated areas and

many of the established Bloodlords of Penance watch

these areas carefully. These powers are explained in

greater detail, and a mapping system is introduced that

more clearly defines the unsettled areas of Penance.

In addition to this, there are numerous unusual magi-

cal effects that are leftover from previous ages. Some of

these effects can be little more than annoyances to explor-

ers while others are quite lethal. The effects detailed in-

clude time displacement, strange gravitational effects in

certain areas, and other magical fields.

rest of the book. Radial coordinates are not at all difficult

to understand, but may need some getting used to.

Radial Coordinates in the City

Basic radial coordinates measure all points in relation to

a single location, which in this case is the QueenÔs citadel

in the center of the city. The coordinates consist of an angle

(measuring the locationÔs variance clockwise from due

north), and a number (the locationÔs distance in miles from

the citadel). A location 40 miles due east of the citadel, for

example, would be measured as 90 ,40 mi.

To these basic coordinates now add one more num-

ber, the locationÔs depth below the surface, in feet. This

coordinate is measured downward, starting from 0 at the

current street level. So now, for example, a point twenty

feet into the undercity that is located 30 miles south of

the citadel is recorded as 180 , 30 mi, 20Ô.

A pointÔs depth rating is a very useful piece of infor-

mation. Since the city has been built upward over time, a

locationÔs depth gives a good gauge of its age. On aver-

age, the city rises about 5 feet every 1,000 years, although

as one gets lower and lower into the layers, they begin to

compress, and estimation is impossible. Basically figure

that the age of any point below 500 feet can only be deter-

mined by direct observation. Depth ratings may never ex-

ceed 1,000 feet anywhere in the city; the oldest layers of

the city have all been compressed into a 320-foot-high

plateau of solid earth.

It is important to note that this depth coordinate has

little relation to a locationÔs global elevation, as the cityÔs

surface varies greatly in elevation from point to point.

The 0 level in the Alliance, for example, is 1320 feet higher

than the 0 level a half-mile away in Utopia. Do not worry

about this; a locationÔs depth is infinitely more important

gamewise than its precise elevation.

This radial system is used throughout Penance by

most rafters and mapmakers in order to pinpoint loca-

tions in the city. Those who can afford luxuries often

employ a device known as a radial compass (see appen-

dix) that reads oneÔs exact location at all times. The sys-

tem has also been used throughout this book when ap-

propriate. When a specific location is discussed, its coor-

dinates are also given. Using a basic protractor and a ruler,

you can easily locate the place on the map of the city. The

scale on the map provided is one inch per 10 miles. The

ruler may be used by itself to find the distance between

any two points.

Order from Chaos

Before leaping right into the mad jumble of the ruins of

Penance, it is first important to get a basic grasp on the

cityÔs scope. Penance is no ordinary city, and cannot be

captured by an ordinary map. Its scale is staggeringly

enormous, and its unique depth adds a third dimension

to its maps. The city is roughly circular, having an aver-

age diameter of 68 miles, and the bulk of it stands a quar-

ter of a mile high. The city takes up nearly 3,500 square

miles of land, with 200 of these being occupied by the

Wellspring, the deep, effervescent lake in the cityÔs cen-

ter.

Each square mile in Penance roughly corresponds to

a single Ñcanton.Ò Cantons are arbitrary divisions of land

marked out by the Queen, and which form the building

blocks of the Bloodholds, the individual sovereign nations

that co-exist within the city. There are over seventy Blood-

lords in the City of Penance itself, each one essentially its

own kingdom with its own laws, customs, and culture.

The Bloodholds of the city vary greatly in size, ranging

from as few as 1 to as many as 105 cantons.

Between the Bloodholds of the city stand miles and

miles of ruined cantons Ï former holdings that have now

fallen into disrepair. It is estimated that at this point in

time, only 30 percent of the cityÔs surface is currently fit

for habitation, meaning that there are about 987 ÑactiveÒ

cantons, and 2,302 ruined ones. Most of the ruins of Pen-

ance have been forgotten, and no longer bear street names,

neighborhood distinctions, or even navigable streets. Even

in the inhabited parts of the city, the areas just below the

surface are also nameless and uncataloged. It is therefore

not possible to pinpoint places in Penance with standard

mapping techniques; a much more mathematical method

must be employed.

In the book ÑPlains of Penance,Ò we introduced a

system of radial coordinates for measuring the wilds of

Penance. This same system has been carried over and used

for the City of Penance, with one minor changeÐa third

coordinate, measuring a pointÔs depth below the surface

of the city, has been added. Take a few moments to famil-

iarize yourself with this system before jumping into the

Races in Ruins

Many races come to the wrack and the maze. Sometimes

this is because they donÔt fit in well with civilization, some-

times this is because of a racial tendency that causes them

to prefer to be alone, while some races have extremely

evil tendencies, and they prefer to stake their claim over

less populated areas where they can abuse, bully, and kill

less powerful beings without the ramifications they would

face within the civilized areas. The racial presence of the

ruin is as follows: Lunars 25%, Humans 20%, Valco 10%,

Scar 10%, Faust 5%, Silvers 5%, Nkoll 5%, Chromithians

4%, Frey 3%, Wyrgith 3%, Pickers 2%, Asherake 2%, Gnarl

1% and 5% other.

Asherakes are by nature a violent and brutal race, and

many of those brought to the Forge find themselves un-

able to adapt to the civilized bent of the city. These indi-

viduals often end up making their homes deep in the lost

city, far from the dangerous border areas, and use their

wings to maneuver about the pedestal in search of prey.

Bandersnatches live near the surface of civilized Pen-

ance and burrow upwards to abduct people. They live in

more or less intact buildings beneath the surface. Because

it is so difficult to detect their lairs, and the fact that they

live so near the civilized portions of the city,

bandersnatches are considered to be one of the more ur-

gent dangers of living in Penance.

Faust are far more common in the wrack and the maze

than they are in civilized Penance. Since they are gener-

ally of an evil bent, faust have a much easier time surviv-

ing in areas where they can be true to their nature and

not be forced into keeping their evil natures in check. They

are some of the greatest forces of evil in uncivilized Pen-

ance, and they can be found in the roles of crime lords,

information brokers, assassins, and thugs.

Frey are not as common here are they are in the civi-

lized areas of Penance, though they occur in larger num-

bers than many of the other races of the Forge. Their in-

quisitive nature draws them to explore the places that

most others fear. Many frey enjoy plundering the sunken

structures within the maze in search of long lost treasures.

Others are commonly used by some of the bosses of these

areas as spies or messengers. In one case, a group of frey

has claimed the remains of several sunken buildings that

merged together in a very confusing manner and conse-

crated it as a new temple to their goddess, Mother

Lucindara. Many frey that have found their way to this

location report that it is the greatest temple they have seen,

though some find themselves lost within it for weeks.

Gnarl are one of the greater monstrous hazards of the

maze. The most notorious example of these impressive

creatures is the Grinder, but more ordinary examples of

these creatures can be found throughout the maze. Many

are completely uncivilized and prey on any creatures pass-

ing through their territories while others have organized

into a group called The Ground (detailed on page 76),

which worships the Grinder.

Humans, being one of the most versatile races of the

Forge, are found in large numbers both in the maze as

well as within the wrack. If they donÔt have any business

that draws them to these areas, they have a tendency to

create it. Whether they seek to establish control over an

uncivilized area, escape civilization to found a strange

new cult, or go exploring in search of lost treasures, hu-

mans are there in large numbers.

Lunars prefer their own kind, hence their difficulty

inhabiting civilized areas with many other races. They are

chaotic and they like to be able to hunt prey in their wild

forms. Though they are present within the wrack, they

are more often encountered in the maze where they nor-

mally establish small family groups. They are also known

to create large hunting lodges for other lunars to orga-

nize and go after some of the more powerful denizens

that live in the maze.

Nkoll, long thought destroyed in civilized Penance,

still exist below ground. After their defeat at the temple

that they erected to serve their snake god Akaya, the sur-

viving members retreated below ground where they es-

tablished an even greater temple that is the center of their

civilization today. Unlike their ancestors, the nkoll are not

presently engaged in a holy war with the intention to con-

quer all of Penance. Instead their goal is to maintain the

large numbers of bloodholds they have conquered below

ground, continue to build their numbers, and slowly con-

quer more territory until they can make another great

stand against Penance. Nkoll are fully detailed in Chap-

ter 2.

Pickers are found in the uncivilized regions for one

of two main reasons. The first is that, though they are

known to pack large numbers of their own into the build-

ings, sometimes those families and groups like to move

away from society and spread out over a much larger area.

Because of their size, pickers are more easily able to crawl

through the often tight passages of the maze, which makes

them one of the most successful races that belong to the

rafters guild.

Scar are found in isolated pockets in the lost city. These

shockingly hideous folk tend to hide themselves away

from other races, and their settlements are difficult to spot,

even one is wandering through them. Scar are not op-

posed to civilization, they simply realize that they cannot

fit within it easily. Scar usually dwell near settled areas

of the city and venture into them on occasion to purchase

supplies and food. Scar are fully detailed in Chapter 2.

Silvers make themselves just as comfortable in un-

civilized areas as they do in civilized areas. Their greater

goals, to get others to serve them, remain largely un-

changed. In many areas of the wrack, silvers lead the

charge to reclaim lost areas so that they can rise to the

position of Bloodlord. In the maze, silvers organize people

into parties that delve into the forgotten depths to un-

cover lost treasures.

Valco are nomadic, primitive, and not trusted by so-

ciety as a whole. Because of this, they find the perfect home

in the wrack where they can avoid most other races. Just

as the faust have been their long-time friends, they have

close ties here as well, often acting as strong-arms for faust

crime lords or regional rulers. Despite the depths to which

many valco have sunk, there are groups of them that have

a strong sense of honor, and fight to keep the evil forces

at bay. These groups are known to escort people through

hostile territory and help those that find themselves the

victims of savage attacks.

Wyrgith are cousins of the drow, having evolved in

the undercity of Penance for many ages. Like the drow,

wyrgith are cruel, domineering, and despise light. Few

citizens of Penance even know of the wyrgithÔs existence,

as they make their homes deep in the darkness of the un-

dercity. Wyrgith are fully detailed in Chapter 2.

Schemes of Power

Though lost, both the wrack and the maze are sources of

endless possibilities for the Bloodlords and other people

of power. Some view the wrack as the perfect area to ex-

pand their holdings into while others are well acquainted

with the treasures contained within the ruined areas, and

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: