As we prepare for the beginning of a new year, and the beginning of our first Burning Wheel campaign we have come together to create a world ripe for adventure.
Burning Wheel game designer Luke Crane provided a set of questions for anyone looking to set up a new campaign game world.
What’s the Big Picture? What’s going on in this setting that makes it ripe for adventure. What’s changing, evolving, declining?
– The old Kingdom of Eleráth is gone, and the capital city of Alesia destroyed. The Oracle Crystal, a powerful artifact from the dawn of time that held the sole power of determining the next heir of Eleráth, vanished.
King Anthond III of the Kingdom of Eleráth has been killed by an unnamed assailant, flinging the kingdom into civil war as each of the Noble Houses vie for ultimate power.
Aldus Victarian, Arch Bishop of Eleràth has now laid claim to the thrown, serving as Chancellor of Trabury, and supreme holy leader of the Church of Sacred Fire, the religion of old Eleràth, the Arch Bishop has called forth all believers in this, the churches darkest hour, to rally behind him, in order to procure peace and stabilization for the fracturing kingdom. Aldus uses the stern hand of the church and it’s lucrative tithing bowls to tax the local peasants nearly to starvation, only to train his knights for the holy war that is to come.
Charles Dugal, the uncle of the late King Anthond III, is all but at war with Aldus and his Church of Sacred Fire. Ex-communicated from the church a decade ago, Charles seeks to unify the Kingdom in the name and honor of the one true King of Eleràth. With an ancient line of nobility that stretches back into the elder days, Charles will use the formidable size of his armies, and the cavalry of legend, to compete against Aldus Victarion in the race to the thrown.
Durian Vandergriff, High Lord of Lionel Castle, and last of the Storm Lords of the South, has waited patient his entire life for this moment. His lands in the south have slowly withered and turned grey over the last few decades. He now leads his armies north toward the Imperials, Aldus Victarion, Charles Dugal, and all that would get in his way of sitting on the Thrown of Kings. An old and deranged man, Durian will lead his armies, and the most sizable navies of the Kingdom to war, in hope that an ancient curse could be lifted from his land, once he becomes King of Eleràth.
King William II, first cousin of the late King of Eleràth, is a sickly man, who now holds title to the thrown. He has a sizable land holding in the east of Eleràth, but is unable to make his way to the Thrown of Kings, that lays deep within territory now controlled by the Holy Church. At the same time, House Vandergriff has waged an all out attack on his lands, saying that he has only false claims to the thrown.
What’s the world’s culture? What are the cultural analogs? Analogs can be taken from historical earth, current events or fantasy works.
The culture is late-12th century Europe. The ancient halls of the dwarves fell eons ago, and lay only claimed by the pages of history. The Dwarves are now a scattered people, living along side man, but whispering of the day they will reclaim their homeland. The elves have all but journeyed to the West. When it was that Eleràth fell, they knew that their teachings were no longer being heard by man, and felt that their time on this world had past. Only a few remain, in scattered locations.
In the Wilderlands of the east, and the dark places of the world still lie the more sinister creatures of shadow.
What’s the conflict in which the characters are involved? What are the sides? What’s wrong?
The characters have been enlisted with House Tydros, a small family house in the east, to fight for independence against house Vandergriff who has proclaimed that after the fall of the king, all lands east of the Riûn River, under the the sovereign control of the Storm Lords. Fort Bessélat,, is currently under siege from Vandergriff when the game begins.
What physical place does this conflict take place in? What ecology, environment, place?
The Fallen Kingdom of Eleràth. The ecology, and environment of Eleràth mirrors that of Europe in the late-12th century.
What’s the name of the most important place in this setting? Not the capital or any dumb shit like that, but THE PLACE where all the action goes down?
The Copper Hills; an area to the east of Eleráth. An area known for its copper leafed trees, flowing golden fields of wheat, and abundant mineral veins, and seat of House Tydros.
What’s the name of a faraway place that folks talk about, dream about or mutter under their breath about?
The ruined city of Alesia. Once the herald of a grand, strong, united Empire. Now the smoldering ashes of crushed dreams, and uncertain futures.
Who are the antagonists? Who is opposing the goals of the characters?
– House Victarion, the noble lords of that house, and the elders of the church of the Sacred Fire.
– House Vandergriff and the armies or that deranged lunatic.
Imagine all of the characters are standing a room/ruin/field with the antagonists or their minions. What do the antagonists want from that meeting? What do the character want from that meeting? That’s where your game begins.
The characters want to prove that House Vandergriff has no claim to the land or the crown, and for them to immediately withdrawal from their siege of Fort Bessélat. The king is dead and William II is the new king! Lord Marshal Ironfoot of House Vandergriff demands that the characters give over their heir Lord Tydros, or lose Fort Bessélat and, meet certain doom at the hand of their army.
Alternately, imagine the characters standing at the scene of some great disaster or calamity clearly caused by one of the antagonists. What’s the disaster? How did it happen? What are the characters going to do about it right now?
All trade caravans from the Copper Hills that are to be delivered to Fort Bessélat, and its surrounding town have been intercepted by Vandergriff raiding parties. The town of Fort Bessélat sits burning, its people are imprissoned, or worse at the hands of the tyrannical Durian Vandergriff. Its people are murdered and dismembered, hung up along the walls, and left for the ravens.
1. What type of magic exists in this world? Pick one or two of the magic systems: Faith (and Blasphemous Hatred), Sorcery (and Abstraction), Natural Magic, Spirit Binding, Summoning, Enchanting.
Faith, Sorcery, and the rare, rare occurrence of Enchanting.
If Sorcery is used, what’s it’s idiom? Does it require speech? Gestures?
Speech
If Sorcery is used, what spells are available? Which spells are inappropriate to the game world?
All spells in the Burning Wheel Gold book.
If is Faith used, what is the Faith idiom? What are the religions? Is Faith universal or does it only affect believers?
There are three (and a half) religions.
The Church of the Sacred Fire, preaching a monotheistic vision of cleansing by fire. It has one authoritative Arch Bishop that interprets visions from ‘the god’ and translates them for the masses. The Bretons have their own form of this religion, not disciplined by the Arch Bishop and is much more ‘anglican’ in manner.
The Nords of the north still worship the old gods. They have several spirits in nature in which they confer with, and large bodies of water serve very important roles in their day to day rituals.
The Easterlings follow a god-king bound to unite the world under his divine rule. Their practices are the most foreign to the people of Eleràth.
Faith affects all. Its the power of the faithful that provide the energy for the prayers.
2. What character stocks are in play in this world? Which are restricted and why?
Man, Elf, Dwarf. Elves are rare.
3. Will you allow only character burns or will you allow monster-burned characters as well?
For the most part, no.
4. What cultural traits apply to the characters of this game world? Pick three character traits for each culture.
Imperials – House Victarion,the original inhabitants of central Eleràth- Learned, Greedy, Big Boned.
Lords of Storm – House Vandergriff and the men of the south- Call of the Sea, Impulsive, Driven.
Nords – the inhabitants of Freelands of the frozen north- Large, Bearded, Confident.
Bretons — Love of the Horse, Passionate, Bound by Honor.
Easterlings -Those who call the deserts to the east home- Superstitious, Ambidextrous, Predatory
Tydrosians -Those who can trace their lineage back to the original inhabitants of the Copper Hills- Tall, Proud, Raven Haired.
5. What’s your Resources cycle? 1 month, seasonal, 6 months, annual? What’s the game world’s currency? Who collects the taxes? What do people do for work? What’s the major economy? What’s the black market economy?
The resource cycle will be seasonal. Each local lord is responsible for collecting taxes at the end of each season. The people unaffected by the war still have a largely agriculturally based economy, and a large mercantile society reflected by this, where as in other places, supporting the war has turned into the main economy. The currency still excepted are the old coins of Eleràth, know as a Crown.
6. Material world: What weapons and armor are available? Are some weapons and armor restricted to certain cultures or character stocks? What property is available? Are resources and gear otherwise restricted?
Character equipment will be limited as to their stock and available resource points at character creation. Once the game begins the narrative will determine what is to be available, but at the start no particular item is all together restricted.
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The World of Eleràth 