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Post by gamedave on Jan 20, 2016 13:42:04 GMT -5
GM Note: I will be using some bits and pieces of the world information presented in Shadow of the Demon Lord, but the campaign will be taking place in my own home-brew world. Please DO NOT assume any world/campaign/background material in the book will be true for this campaign.
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Post by gamedave on Jan 20, 2016 14:47:00 GMT -5
THE EMPIRE
The Empire claims dominion over all of the Lands of Humankind. And, once upon a time, it could even enforce those claims. Now, in the later days of this dying Age, the writ of the Empire only extends as far as the swordpoints of the remaining Imperial Legions.
The Empire is still the center of human civilization. Its officials and soldiers can be found throughout the civilized lands. Its cities are still the greatest in the Known World. Its Legions are still mightier than any other military force.
While the great noble houses plot and scheme in the Imperial City, the provinces are left to their own devices. Many provinces are independent kingdoms in all but name. Some of the outer provinces exist only as names on maps - their settlements and fortresses lost to encroaching wilderness and chaos.
The Emperor himself has not been seen outside of the Imperial City in decades, and rumor has it he has not been seen inside it, either. The Imperial Censors continue to administer the imperial bureaucracy in some provinces, but in others they act as independent rulers, or have disappeared completely. The Imperial Legions exist mainly on paper, their rolls padded by sinecures and "ghost" legionnaires. Those that are still able to take the field as effective fighting units are forces to be reckoned with, but they more often serve the interests of the their commanders or local nobles than the Empire.
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Post by gamedave on Jan 20, 2016 14:56:04 GMT -5
DWARVES
Dwarves are full citizens of the Empire, where they are considered one of the races of Humankind - although dwarves rarely return the favor. Dwarves can be found as merchants, smiths, and engineers in all of the great cities of the Empire, and serving in the Imperial Legions, but they are most numerous in their own Dwarfholds, nestled in the mountains throughout the Empire. Unfortunately, this self-imposed isolation means that when a Dwarfhold faces concerted attack from creatures of the Underworld, they are too far from any effective aid. In the glory days of the Empire, an Imperial Legion might arrive in time to reinforce a besieged Dwarfhold. In this dim time, even if a Dwarfhold request aid, there is unlikely to be any nearby Legion willing or able to render aid. And when a Dwarfhold falls under the sway of Shadow, no outsider is likely to even know it until it is far too late. And so, the dwarves are a slowly dying race, too proud to abandon their Dwarfholds, determined to fight to their last dying breath...
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Post by gamedave on Jan 20, 2016 15:16:18 GMT -5
CHANGELINGS
By Imperial Edict, changelings are put to the sword wherever and whenever they are found. In areas beyond the authority of the Imperial Censors, any who fails the Test of Iron is likely to face mob justice as unnatural beast and threat to the community.
However, changelings are nothing if not adept at concealing themselves. And even when they are uncovered, their unique talents often mean that humans are willing to look the other way in return for a few favors. And a very few, very lucky changelings even find open-minded folk, true friends willing to see past their sinister origins. Finding such gullible fools is every changeling's greatest dream...
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Post by gamedave on Jan 20, 2016 15:34:53 GMT -5
CLOCKWORKS
Even in the golden days of the Empire's youth, the secrets of making clockworks were largely unknown. A few remained from greater, earlier Ages, and throughout the Empire's history, some mad genius or another would rediscover the secret, create a few, or a few hundred, and then die or disappear, taking their secrets with them. Today, clockworks are few and far between. Technically, clockworks are valuable property, not free beings, or even slaves, but "rogue" clockworks are probably as common in the Empire as their bound brethren. They are more often seen as wondrous devices than as dangerous threats by the common folk, but a clockwork who makes an ostentatious display of power or wealth may find attitudes quickly changing...
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