Time Jump 2025-2026 (16 Year Jump) page

Time Jump 2025-2026 (16 year jump)

Year 16,436-7A

Table of Contents:

● NEW Link to the Bestiary Doc for this Season 2025-26

● 2024-2025 Whole Season Review Video on YouTube

● CROWN Influence Levels and Current Leaders 2025-2026

● Holiday and Celebrations of Roekron 2025

Governments Weakening, Isolation, and Economic Woes:

The Seekers of Nightmares:

Magics Changing Forms and Torments End:

Love Lasting Effect and Taking Vampires to Tea:

Shadowlands Regrouping:

Shagaoath Fades, The Council of Eight Hands and Dagedrasks Advance:

Khufalden and The Mania of Cor Press:

Pinnacles Storm Teacher, and Raxe Faradrims Infernal Conflicts:

The Fate of the Astenturtle and the Western Isles:

Assassination, Destruction, and Sabotage:

Geb and the Trade Wars:

A Meeting With Death and A Fencer:

The Shadow of the Goddess Upon the Land:

Polar North Rumors and Portents:

Wild Lands and Primal Forests Under Assault:

Current new and persisting game world effects (variations from Rule Book descriptions):

(NEW) Economic Effects

(NEW) Spell Dependence and Creation

Totem Animal Spirits:

Nightmare Insanity Shades:

HragNaliKin’s Legacy of Healing

Death Interactions for this Season

Corruption Counters and Other Corruption Effects:

Shadowlands World Effects:

Rules Changes for the 2025-2026 season-

● LINK to the new Honor, Renown, and Alignment Doc 2025-2026

Last Seasons Rules Changes for the 2024-2025 season-

- # NEW Link to the Bestiary Doc for this Season 2025-26

- # 2024-2025 Whole Season Review Video on YouTube

- NEW Roekron Political Map 2025-2026

- # CROWN Influence Levels and Current Leaders 2025-2026

- # Holiday and Celebrations of Roekron 2025

Maps Graph is 10 square miles per square.

#

# Bonus Playlist 2025-2026

# Governments Weakening, Isolation, and Economic Woes:

CROWN Influence Levels and Current Leaders 2025-2026

Foremost in many people's minds these days is the slow and steady loss of reliance on large governments and their trappings. As the wars with the Shadowlands, Dagedrask, and Khufalden seemed to drag on and on, the local people have turned away from CROWN and organized attempts to rally them to a cause united as one. While local governments still seem to be able to hold sway with the populace, larger organizations such as the Ladies of the Nightwatch, Dsesnorian and Sorikonian Clans, Guilds and Mage Schools have all lost a great deal of their ability to influence anyone but the people of their own nations. Across the towns and provinces, locals complain of the grasping reach of "foreigners" and “meddlers” in their lives. Little more care is given to their own national leaders other than out of fear for their own imprisonment should they speak out or rebel. On a very localized scale, people seem to be quite civil however, with a great deal of cultural celebrations and focus on the elements that make them all who they are and their nations so unique. People have brought back old traditions in many nations, such as feast days and tournaments. Dsesnorians are far more likely to wear traditional robes and speak only in Dsesnorian these days, but they also seem to focus more on the purpose of honor above reputation and the need for loyalty above self gain. Hostor is even more welcoming to visitors, all the more for their dwindling ability to receive them due to Geb’s complete control of their shores. Amiri people seem to excel at their pointed arguments, and Blackspire is consumed with honor and glory to their totems. Illionass is even more set on defending the world from Dagdeoth and Stonehammer consumed with their mines.

An offshoot of this is that pride of craftsmanship seems to be on the rise. Many begin to seek to make their own town or village items better or more lasting than those of the neighboring country. Most who seek to craft and sell goods do so with an eye for how their items may be perceived by those further afield and thus they often spend extra time on each thing they make, marking each with their maker's mark and standing by anything they have built or created as something of value. This has helped bolster a flagging economy, which threatens to collapse all together should too much pressure be applied to it. Much of this problem has been caused by locals refusing to use currency from other regions. This has caused people who travel to have to exchange all of their coins, gems, and assorted items for trade into other local versions, at a cost. Most notorious for this fee is Geb, who now being in control of almost all the coasts, refused to be paid in anything but their own currency, which costs locals to exchange to. These measures have drained the resources of most of Roekron, though they seem to have made Geb quite wealthy.

# The Seekers of Nightmares:

As Nightmare Insanity Shades have caused numerous challenges and struggles for local people and governments alike, a new force of hunters emerged in Amir, seeking out and resolving these beings, even if they were not their own Nightmares. This group of hunters did not appear to be animal-like, as so many other groups before them have been, but instead, a group of dungeoneers and odd humans who seem to have had a harrowing experience in a far off land that transformed them in some way. This group was instrumental in cleaning up a very dangerous and escalating problem that was being ignored by many due to the numerous other threats they faced and the difficult challenge of solving Nightmares. Because of this, Nightmares are more rare and less frequently encountered. These beings are now only created when someone gains an Insanity due to Mana Drain death, and no other way. Large groups of localized guards became common, suited up in all silver armor to confront these Nightmares and escort people to find them. It was after many of these hunts over the years that people began to notice that the ease at which they could resolve a Nightmare had increased and even some benefits were observed. Those that went out to fight their Shades often seemed more prepared for future mental trauma, and more fortified against confrontations with their dread and dispair. It is now far more common for people to head out alone to seek a Nightmare and to defeat it single handedly, for those that are well aware of themselves and their inner world. The original hunters of these Nightmares remain vigilant, seeking out any lasting old Shades in the world and destroying them.

One such major problem encountered that seems to be linked to these beings are the numerous Demon Wraiths that were stealing peoples souls for many years in the past decade. The exact cause of this development is not known, but these beings began to be seen first in the Stonehammer region, and then across the entire continent. They did not destroy souls, as Morganti would do, but rather, seemed to absorb the souls and keep them within them. Thousands of people are believed to have been lost this way to the Demon Wraiths, and to this day still have not been recovered. Many hold out hope that they can be found and returned to life, but after so much time, will they still be themselves? None of the hunters from Amir seemed able to resolve these beings, though when some of them succeeded in killing a number of the Demon Wraiths the beings vanished, rather than remained dead to be reanimated, which suggests some kind of connection to the Nightmare Shades. In a very notable encounter in Rushwatch, some adventurers managed to defeat a large group of the Shades and to observe them behaving much more like haunts then at any other time in their history of encounters. One being was reportedly solved by a small psionically connected mini-drak which reported that the Shade wanted to destroy a sword and seemed to need to give its “mantle” to someone to carry. Beyond this one key encounter, the Demon Wraiths have not been encountered much, but when they do, they are greatly feared.

# Magics Changing Forms and Torments End:

Many observed the brief dip in the power of magic shortly after the confrontation with Uber Ton Duo and his Torment in Reedman in which his cloak was split by an Agantine blade. The shock to the entire region, and possibly the worlds mana and magic use, has not been fully accounted for. However, when Uber Ton Duo was confronted later in the frozen north by adventurers seeking to wrest the cloak from him, they instead gave it away. Having discovered deep lore about the situation from the Teklolupas Wolfmen and the Oracle Lakes, these adventurers learned that something much greater than a simple conflict of power was at hand, and in the end gave away their power, some of which was innate psionic ability, to somehow protect or shield the cloak from those that would control it. This effect seemed to resolve Uber Ton Duo who has not been encountered since that time. He is believed to have been transformed by the process, leaving his Maelstrom Heralds free to either return to the afterlife, or remain in the world. Some of the Maelstrom Heralds chose to remain, seeking out new beings to serve and or to oppose, it is unclear. Many believe this to be due to the dangerous developments with the Priestesses of the Elder Goddess, but no one has confirmed this for sure.

More notably though, magic began to shift in strange and unpredictable ways, mostly in the frozen north at first, and then eventually in all of Roekron. This was considered to be a byproduct of the Morganti damage done to the cloak Uber Ton Duo had as well as the Agantine damage, though work was done to repair it before it was given away to resolve him. Elder Sorcery spells and effects began to be less reliable at first. Spells that before had remained effective for long durations began to suddenly stop working. One studious mage from Raxe Faradrim noted that he seemed unaffected by this new development. Intrigued, he learned of a few other mages who also reported no problems and they sought out answers to their questions of why this was the case. They heard a report from an adventurer who, in an encounter with a Maelstrom Herald reported to hear a piece of what he believed was a prophecy. “The world is made of words of making, and words unbound, unbind themselves…” This odd encounter led the students to attempt a study analyzing what made them all different then their peers and they discovered that they all kept detailed notes of their spells and carried these notes with them wherever they went in books. It has now become common practice for mages to craft books to write their spells into and to carry those books with them whenever they go adventuring. It appears that the spells cast now require the book to be present for the effects to last and that if one's book is taken or destroyed, the effects of the spells will end shortly afterwards. This has led to an increase in mages investing in security and protection for their books and in keeping a large supply of book making materials in most towns and villages now for mages to purchase should their book need remaking.

Similarly, a new development with previously long lasting spells has many worried for their continued existence. In a tragic and most concerning episode, an old mage apprentice, long past his life span, attempted to wisp to be summoned, and immediately passed on! At first, many were concerned that the Shadowlands was a play here, and that his soul was taken by The Prince, Linghun Fensui. But as this began to happen in numerous other locations and other spells seemed to fail that did not cause the person to pass on, it became clear that this was a problem with One-Off spells and their connection to the spirit. It became clear to magical scholars who studied the effects that spells that previously were cast once and then never cast again, seem to have gained a new flaw. These spells appear to be tied to the body of the being they target. If the spirit in the body ever leaves the body, the spell ends, and must be recast. This effect does not seem to care about the condition of the body, but rather, whether the spirit is still considered within the body in any way. This has caused many mages to begin to redesign and reimagine safeguards against these types of dangers to their life and resilience, though many find that any such safeguards are difficult to make when the spells will not be functional while a wisp in any form.

A very odd development with magic, however, has been its now notorious refusal to be tamed. During the last few years, this phenomenon has been noted the most, but it was encountered in a few odd situations well over a decade ago. Most at first described this as having encountered a new type of elemental which seemed to be able to use all types of magic. It became clear as more were encountered that these beings, which more often than not seemed to take animal forms, much like totems, seem to be raw magic manifesting itself into a form of life. Many have long felt that magic is alive in a certain way and that using it is more like being a bee keeper than it is building with stone or wood, and now, more than ever, this analogy seems quite real. These beings seemed content to explore and test the world and then to vanish just as quickly as they had arrived. But some who attempted to Pact with or Bind these beings found themselves Incapable of magic all together! Some believed that these beings were attempting to destroy magic in the world, and sought to defeat them, but only found themselves diminished when they did kill any. Eventually it became clear in a conversation with Embarcarious, who seems to be the preeminent expert on sentient spells, that these beings are magic casting itself. “In my encounters with the Raskuru, I had dealings with spells and the life within the magic itself. This is all together the opposite: magic seeking to be unchained or controlled by those that bind it. Yes, our magic is less predictable. But it is also somewhat less punishing. Should anyone seek to control magic against its will, I should think they will have a rather hard time of it indeed.”

# Love Lasting Effect and Taking Vampires to Tea:

Another odd development in the past decade has been the somewhat confusing interaction with vampires of a novel and intriguing sort. At some point in the past forty years something happened to vampires and their ability to Feed. Many seemed to lose this ability and die off, unable to gain enough power to survive. Others seemed to develop an odd disconnect from their previous creators, causing them to act more like chaotic agents rather than an organized team. These effects are still not fully understood, but many have sought out Milton in Pinnacle as the reigning expert on vampire lore and physiology. He was both helpful and somewhat confusing on the point when he clarified, “I had a lot of experience with vampire virus interaction. It’s the same reason that Electra used the box. It’s both a powerful vector and a point of attack. But the real key is the love aspect to it. There is a reason they are so attached to Allure, and it’s a clue there. The phage was originally Goblin’s idea, I think, or it was my idea and he stole it, or I stole it from Milton, or… wait, I think Sen explained it to me in detail first, and then I stole it…Oh! and Inu well, they had the pieces…and I just needed to extract a sample and…but from where you see…that was key.”

Regardless of exactly what Milton was trying to explain here, the effects seem to be that certain vampires have broken free from their bindings without being destroyed or exorcised. How this happens seems to have to do with a combination of a magical effect and their own romantic love of another individual, as all have attested to. These odd new vampires seem to be drastically less powerful, as they have little mana to work with unless they feed, and this often triggers dangerous behaviour in them. Still classically sensitive to sunlight and strong symbols of their spiritual beliefs, these “Untethered Vampires” as they are being called, seem to be able to maintain themselves in a low powered state without feeding on blood, but rather on energy directly. Unable to take mana from people without feeding, these vampires instead, ask for mana to be spent on them in social situations or gatherings. They seem to be able to receive mana spent over a ten minute interval, which restores their mana by an equivalent amount. This is critical for them, as it has become clear that Untethered Vampires do not restore mana in any other way other than Blood Feeding (mana drain ritual) or Social Feeding (mana transfer ritual). The fact that these beings could, at any time, decide to revert to their old ways has many in Roekron doubting their intentions and fearing another trap so often set by the Dark City in ancient days. But when asked about the security of these beings existing, Electra Bosium was reported to have said, “Well it certainly is a trap, but whether it is ours or theirs, that is the wager isn’t it. I’ll take a vampire to tea. I don’t have issues with undead that can mind their manners, and neither should anyone else. You can learn a lot over tea, believe me.”

# Shadowlands Regrouping:

A great deal of effort was put in over the past decades to defeat the Shadowlands, and much of it paid off in big ways. Many of the most feared and powerful of demons were confronted in Sorikonia during Myantiles Festivals and were solved and removed from the fight. It is not clear if they are actually gone forever, but they do seem to be no longer participating in combats as generals and leaders. This may be simply because they are now much easier to deal with, having been solved once, others can now attempt the same solution to them. Perhaps they will eventually take on new forms to hide their true identities and try to work their evil in the world again, but in the meantime, the Shadowlands has had to resort to using just Telnari, Kullundrin, and Senjuki. Their area of control has greatly been reduced and these demons are rarely seen far from the actual borders of the Shadowlands. They seem to focus their efforts in Dsesnor, fighting Samurai and tempting people into their dark world. Many believe that the demons fear Sorikonia, as they are almost never encountered in that region, having lost so many of their numbers on that soil. The Sorikonians believe that it is not the place, but the method that they fear, and that they should be seeking these demons out in Dsesnor to solve them as they did before. A dangerous approach, as some have found, for once the pacifists step beyond their lands they find it much harder to communicate with these evil forces, which have found ingenious ways to kill people quickly and efficiently.

Still a major problem is the Prince, Linghun Fensui, whose power has only grown over these past decades. While he is believed to be more fragile if killed now, killing him appears to be the challenging part. He is extremely deadly in every form that he takes now, and seems to be able to take the form of just about anyone that he has ever devoured (which is thousands of people over the ages). He seems to retain all of his demon and dragon abilities in any form that he takes, and does not detect as anything he is not in the form of. Thankfully, his form is an illusion, and thus, more easy to counter by the average person, though few survive such an encounter. Most have discovered that the cost to Disbelieve is permanent (the two mana is Morganti drained!) and often they end up devoured or Morganti killed. The Prince has brought his army of defeated heroes from ancient times, the “Kage No Ishi” to fight in these challenging times. Many heroes have met the dragon breath of the prince and passed on into the world he rules. These unfortunate souls are forever at his disposal and they now turn their significant power on the world they loved so much in the past. They seem to carry elements of the Shadowlands with them wherever they go. Being able to trigger a field wide effect of one chosen Shadowlands effect once per day. Each drains mana from those that cast Conjures at them, and those killed by the Kage No Ishi are corrupted (gain a Corruption Counter). They also seem to control beings that are corrupted around them (anyone in the encounter with a Corruption Counter is Allured to the Shadowlands). Unlike the demons, these minions can travel far and wide and so work their evil in distant lands and cities. Since they do not appear undead, they infiltrate and use their ancient knowledge of the world to gain influence and power. Some say that members of CROWN are in fact Kage No Ishi, but no evidence of this has been found. The Sorikonians say that the Kage No Ishi are not lost to the world, but rather a shadow of their past lives. K’en Ugaren pointed this out, saying, “We are all lost pieces. They are just haunted by their own demise.”

# Shagaoath Fades, The Council of Eight Hands and Dagedrasks Advance:

Feared by so many little more than a decade before, Shagaoath has drastically been diminished in these many years. She appears to have lost some kind of gambit for great power, and now returns to a mere ruler of her nation and one not often seen or encountered. The Abaranti Avatars of her are almost never encountered and when they are, they are quite weak compared to her former powers. For several years she tried to overcome this impending undertow but could not break free and so is now dragged into minor machinations of her small country. What her plans will be next, few can say, though many speculate, and none will Oracle on. Whatever her power level, she retains a viscous danger to anyone attempting to scry or learn about her through magical means. Most of her troops stay within her borders and keep to themselves, with a few being shifted and changed, such as the Eye of Cha and the Battlecarver Cave Trolls now being far more fragile and haphazard. Gone are her Zealots and Priests. Only the Consorts of Shagoan remain, unaffected by these shifts, and still very powerful in their own right, though they rarely show themselves. Often a secret branch of her spy units now, they infiltrate and emerge in odd locations, seeking resources or vengeance on those that have harmed their goddess.

Far more dangerous than Shagaoaths armies ever were is Dagderask, and the now more well known, Barbs of the Eight Hands. Emerging like a great beast in the night, the armies of Dagderask, touting a worship of demons and through them the advancement of the Dagdemar, the forces of this dangerous nation now press down upon the lands with inexhaustible strength and numbers. Almost all of the Knights of the Dagdemar have joined with Dagedrask now, and along with the Crusaders of Atone and the Barbs of the Eight Hands, these lethal groups form the command branch of Dagedrasks massive war machine. Utilizing Dagdeoths ancient techniques of mixed troops, both living and undead, with varied abilities and training, the capacity to sustain long campaigns and sorties far beyond their borders, the nation is quickly taking over all the north of Roekron. Svoldun was greatly overwhelmed when hundreds of wraiths began pouring into their nation from an ancient dungeon nearby. These wraiths now are quite common in Dagedrask armies, a harrowing and challenging development. While the Crusaders and the Knights may be a threat on the battlefield, it is the Barbs of the Eight Hands that worry most people in towns and villages abroad. This secret group of assassins and spies has powerful abilities that make them immune to certain types of effects. These abilities allow them dangerous mobility and access to many secure areas and also provide powerful protections from those that would hunt them down. New and more versatile legions now descend upon the lands, bringing creatures out of the north and from absorbed infernal troops. Some Shagaoath followers appear to have joined with Dagderask, bringing their skills and abilities to aid in the advancement of, if not their version of the Dagdemar, than at least, one they see as winning.

But the real powerhouse behind the war, the Council of Eight Hands, still remains shrouded in mystery. A few encounters have been reported with beings that seem to have some kind of powers related to these beings, though they are certainly not the Council itself. These “Barb Demons” as they are being called, have strange classes and uncanny abilities which seem to follow a pattern, though few could say what that pattern is. They all seem to follow the general form of a Lesser Demon, though these Barb Demons do seem to have unique personalities and even specializations or themes to them, all having the abilities of Barbs of the Eight Hands instead of any elemental powers. Some seem to control magic around them, while others become ethereal and material at will. Others destroy all wielded weapons across an entire battlefield, while others move objects around them as if wielded by unseen hands. Thankfully, these Barb Demons do not seem to be encountered very far from the Dagedrask border, and when they are encountered far from their lands, it seems that they cannot maintain themselves for more than a single encounter. Most scholars believe these beings to be messengers or some kind of envoy of the Council itself, and seek to understand everything about them as a means of peering into the unseen world of the Dagderask rulers.

# Khufalden and The Mania of Cor Press:

As if the thundering forces from the north were not enough for the region, Khufalden continues to grow in power and force, if not in overall control of lands across Roekron. Many were afraid that Khufalden would take over all the Banditland regions across the map, and it seems that they were poised to do so. But the actions of many who destroyed their capacity to create enough troops to see this through has thwarted the expansion plans of Cor Press, it would seem. Instead, Khufalden seems to have consolidated its power and ability and built up the region it already controlled into a much more fearsome region. Less able to send large armies into distant places, Khufalden appears to be setting up for a massive invasion from their own lands, and is protecting their resources carefully. Villages and towns far and wide still encounter humans who are indeed, not human at all, and who massacre an entire village single-handedly, but this is now the actions of lone spies and tasked troops, not whole armies or groups. Most keep an eye out for odd strangers, be they vampire or Hunterblade, and the wary villager is the one who survives.

More is known about the force behind the Khufalden bloodthirst, the being known as Cor Press Khufalden. No longer a complete mystery to the world, Cor Press was revealed to be some kind of unknown being during a battle with Shadowguard Troops. He ignored almost everything that was done to him except for attacks that seemed to literally destroy his body. These effects did strip away most of his flesh but even when reduced to a skeleton without organs he seemed unfazed. The bones of Cor Press appear to be some kind of metal alloy and while did not regrow flesh in that battle as a troll might, he was later encountered with his body as before. How Cor Press is able to do this has become a great point of speculation across the land, both by Necromancers interested in the technique, but also by Raxe’ Faradrim hopefuls looking to make a mark for themselves. Cor Press himself has been revealed to be a master of alchemy and the extreme fringes of magical knowledge and lore. Utilizing some kind of unknown mastery of reactions and interactions, Cor Press continues to create creatures and effects that most scholars believe should not be possible. Had his progress not been thwarted, it is believed that he would have dominated the entire central region of Roekron at this time. Thankfully, he appears to have suddenly encountered some kind of major problem with his plans which has driven him into a frenzy. While he still creates horrible creatures to send upon the world, his goals have become much more haphazard. Some say that Cor Press spoke of some grand design that involved Morganti and a balance in the world. Whatever his main design was, it seems that he has been suddenly stymied by something, unable to make the connections he needs as he once did. This is good news for most, though recently, there are rumors of a new project building in his unknown dungeons and labs. Famously, Electra Bosium was asked about this, and replied, “I’m not a bard. Go ask one.” Scholars went in search of Lady Serdinon Emendale, of the Grey Isles, who was surprised to be asked about this, having been searched out for numerous investigations lately, and is reported to have said, “I cannot see him, but I can see the path he walks and the trail he leaves. It is the path of a serpents strike, and a vengeance for crimes we cannot help but commit. He is never born, but he is of men, and their rage.”

# Pinnacles Storm Teacher, and Raxe Faradrims Infernal Conflicts:

Over a decade ago, Pinnacle lost its Arch Mage of Storm during their valiant attempt to remove from the world a dangerous Morganti item thought to be indestructible. Sigusmund lost the capacity to function shortly after this endeavor and thus a new teacher for this seemingly cursed position needed to be found. No other position in Pinnacles history has been so fraught with death, disfigurement, or loss. Needless to say, the list of people wishing to take said position was short, and included Sigusmunds own child, North West Wind, a long time apprentice to Laura Whitelocks, Xander Galespeaker, and a small number of other lesser known but equally accomplished Storm mages, but all were rejected by the common people of Hostor, who have a strong vote in the governing of Pinnacle due to certain concerns with the tenure of any person put into one of these positions. In the end, the only viable option, which took years for them to arrange, was to have Sen a Dem Dil, previous head of Alternative Magics, take the position, and then to seek for a new head for that position. Since Alternative Magics is less busy, this process could be slower, and in the end, the people of Hostor seem to approve, though just barely, an outsider known as Williamson Robinsong, an odd man who appears to run a circus that travels all across Roekron. It seems that he has positioned the school to allow his students to travel abroad for their training, and better learn what the world has to offer in its varied types of magical forms. Currently his circus travels without him, while he establishes the basic formalities in Pinnacle, but it is believed that he will not remain in Pinnacle for any long period of time, but always be on the move with his students. Thus, training any of the alternative magics from Pinnacle comes with much higher costs and time.

Other mage schools have been dealing with major conflicts during this last decade. Raxe’ Faradrim no sooner had opened its doors to students before it was attacked by Cha Oath, Demons, Vampires, and evil deities… and they could not be happier it appears! Raxe’ Faradrim was founded on the principles of hunting down dangerous enemies and competing to be the best at doing so. The numerous groups setting upon them to challenge their new system and school only seems to have bolstered the groups resolve to be a powerhouse for defense and military strength beyond Einion. The crux of the problem appears to be the Gael that houses the many dangerous foes that Einion has captured over the years and cannot actually destroy for one reason or another. The choice to set up a school that purports to hunt down and defeat more such foes and perhaps imprison them like the other there has gained the attention of many of the most notorious villains and demons who seek to now either punish the group for their insolence, or free the dangerous beings that are trapped there and use them to sew chaos across Roekron. Thankfully, the school and its many students and supporters have rebuffed the attempts by these groups to end the school before it can really get going, and the school remains a stronghold for defense in the south of Roekron. Many adventurers stop off at this location for training, information, items, or tournaments to advance their status and ability before moving on. This power shift in the region, away from Pinnacle and towards Einion has some in CROWN very concerned about the militarization of the government, and what the new emphasis on elven goals might do to the already fragile structure.

# The Fate of the Astenturtle and the Western Isles:

Over a decade ago, the Astenturtle was discovered, a huge flying island turtle that housed the remnants of the ancient mage school of Astengrad. Much of the structure itself was missing, but adventurers in the Western Isles worked to accumulate all the pieces through haunts that were attached to them and led them to the source of their haunting. Eventually, the entire school was rebuilt, culminating in one adventurer giving up their innate psionic power to heal the Astendragon spirit that resides within the school itself, and freeing it of assault by hundreds of psionic shades. The school then became fully functional, though lacking real students or teachers, instead populated only by ghosts and guardian spirits of the past. This city came under attack from Shabanai the Sea Lich but survived the assault when the same group of adventurers figured out how to activate an ancient defense system around the Last Isles that protects it from hostile forces. This brought about an era of relative peace for the region, and many scholar and hopeful students traveled to the Astenturtle to learn about their past, the future, and what hidden secrets might be locked away within this wonder of the world. The power of this new school seems extremely enhanced, and even without teachers, students found that they could learn all sorts of concepts and classes simply by spending time in the school interacting with rooms, gardens, tunnels, and towers. Training went faster as well, as students found that classes that usually took a day or two to practice, they knew immediately. They required no supplies or direction, but picked up things on their own. Needless-to-say thousands of people began to flock to this new free university of magic and for a time, many of the mage schools in Roekron suffered, seeing a dramatic drop in attendance. Odd new classes and abilities were discovered and whole new branches of Force, Blood, Destruction, Resistance, and Mind Mages were discovered in the school. There was hope that an entirely new branch of mages and theoretical magics was emerging. Alas, the glory of the spiraling out of infinite possibilities could not last.

During this period, numerous Infernals and Angelics began to arrive as well, seeking to find a way to return to their lost worlds, now that the All World Shadow Hall, the Catacomb of the Celestials, and the Hall of Endless Roads existed again, many believed there might be a path to their lost lands. Some attempted this travel, and while it seemed to work, no access back seemed possible. While messages from those who had returned to their worlds seemed to be able to be received, not everyone believed these messages to be legitimate. Thus, some of the demons and angelics began to argue about which group was trying to fool the other into leaving first. It is not certain who began the problem, but it is well known that it was the Infernals who reached out to their allies in the far west, and that that triggered something terrible.

As is well documented now, the spiral process seems to have acted like a spring coiling up. Once it reached a threshold, a catastrophic rebound was triggered, and the Chaos emerged across the turtle, throwing everyone and everything around it into a state of panic and distortion. It was not known at the time exactly what the Chaos was, though several travelers from across the Western Ocean report that it is well known to them, and feared greatly. A strange pink miasma, with odd off colored lightning within, transforms everything it encounters, and it seems to have done the same to the Astenturtle. Some adventurers came to battle the emerging Chaos creatures and strange inverted angels and demons as well as hordes of Psionic Shades but in the end, they could only just barely hang on. It was a small group of adventures in the end that met with a shadow being from within the turtle and a light being, also from within the turtle that were fighting for dominance and destroying the island into Chaos. These adventures reportedly created what order they could and were able to choose a path forward, which caused the island to go dormant for now. What was once a beacon of light and learning, inverted into a dungeon of shadow and mystery. Where once students came freely and without care for their safety, now they must tread carefully for fear of death or worse, becoming lost in time or alternate dimensions. The Astenturtle still functions, but now much more as a dangerous haunted city, lost somewhere between times, and a place that none enter without fear of mental trauma, massive memory loss, and dangerous levels of withering. Some still seek to enter the place, searching its terrifying halls for lost relics and secrets to lost arts, but most leave it alone to process the Chaos as it will, hoping that the power it gained in its time in the light will be enough to help it search its way through the dark.

# Assassination, Destruction, and Sabotage:

Numerous adventurers who fought alongside CROWN to keep the nations safe were attacked over the past decades with intentions to destroy their items or take their lives permanently. The beings responsible all seemed human at first but were revealed to either mutants, vampires, or other beings unknown at this time. Almost everyone survived these assaults, though not without taking their own lives a few times to dodge permanent death. These attacks appear to be focused on removing powerful figures who might be able to oppose these new powers in the world, and while these evil factions have met with some success, most believe that the attempts were not enough and if anything only served to make these allies of CROWN more angry and set on the destruction of these beings. Some say that the anger is the point, that these forces want these powerful people try to hunt them down and that that will lead them into a trap. Regardless of the reasons, the result has been the same. Lots of resources used to try to thwart the powerful heroes of days past, and all to no real result.

Many CROWN members were also attacked and assassinated, though thankfully none were killed permanently in the end. This was due to some valiant efforts by adventurers and bodyguards alike. While Katie Moonswain, Warspeaker Temple Grigarian, and Fralisha Drapdain (Throkintaken) all were successfully killed at least once during this period, the effects of those deaths appear to be minimal or manageable with help. More notable of the attack though was the one on Nuerenian. Having actually been killed, Nuerenian lost some of there credibility, being saved from permanent death in a close combat with a Khufalden creature with Morganti by Ravencreek Aramir. Consequently, many want to know where these attacks are all coming from, how to stop them, and who to punish for these crimes.

# Geb and the Trade Wars:

Maintaining a major hold on maritime trade and control, Geb has become something of a thorn in the side of many in CROWN and Roekron in general. Capitalizing on their command of the seas, the massive fleets of this heavily hobbit and human nation has overtaken most of the coasts and no one is able to ship anything, anywhere without their sign off. However, this amount of control seems to have caused Geb to become drunk with power, leveling all kinds of fees and surcharges, though never taxes, as that would be too much like rules. Trade wars erupted between rival factions of shipping groups in Geb, each vying to be the most sought after service. One could hope that this would lead to a cheaper and more reliable service but instead it developed into a cutthroat system of murder on the high seas, as each group fought for supremacy. When things became too rough, eventually it is said that the “Geb serpent queen” broke up the squabbling, and that from that point forward Geb was more manageable. Yes, they still fought at sea, but it was less lethal. Their demands for fees and charges became more standard, though many consider them still too high. This fed into the localization of various nations who now rely on items made in their own countries rather than pay the high costs for shipments from abroad. Travel by sea too has become far more expensive, and as such, the common folk do not often make long journeys, leading to many who are tragically ignorant of their beautiful and expansive world.

Perhaps more problematic is the way in which Geb has become the defacto military for Pinnacle and many other sea ports across the map. Having such overwhelming control of the sea, many nations at first tried to build up their own fleets to defend against the ocean dominance. But as soon as these ships would leave their docs, they would be attacked by “pirates” or be destroyed in a “storm” and Geb would be there to offer help and assistance to the country now without any ways to ship their goods. Most countries decided it was better just to leave off travel by sea and simply pay Geb to do this work for them. While this has worked out for some, for many, like Hostor, it has become a barrier to most of their resources just the same. Since Geb charges for travel too and from any region, Hostor cannot ship things out, nor can they ship things in without fees or costs. Spells work to teleport people, but goods are hard to teleport at scale. Thankfully, Vertex, and its many air ships have been a boon to Pinnacle in these trying times. While Geb controls the seas, Pinnacle seems to still have the upper hand in the air, though Geb does have several of their own flying ships and many believe they will soon challenge Pinnacle in this area as well.

# A Meeting With Death and A Fencer:

In an odd occurrence, a lone fencer in Amir seems to have stumbled upon a cavern with an odd broken riddle stone. Thinking he might have found another entrance to the Unknown Wizards Lab, he brought a group of five other friends with him to open the door, only to discover that he was in fact in some kind of riddle challenge with death. The six friends were confronted with three weapons of permanence (one Agantine, one Astamori, and one Morganti). They were asked three riddles and were only able to correctly guess two. They gained two boons from death and the ability to interact with the way that Death comes for us all. When seeking advice from Illwaren of Oriri she cautioned them quickly to be careful of who they spoke to about this, and that the more they knew, the more difficult their actions would be, but to be careful with how they word any requested boon from Death. They asked to change both the effect known as the Golden Horse, to make it less punishing, and they asked for the effect known as “A Moment Forgotten Spills into Memory” to effect Harmony instead. It was one year later when they were able to give their request to Death and then a few years more before people began to notice a shift in the way they felt when they met Death to draw stones from Deaths bag. Rather than rending and destroying souls when one died Bound to someone they do not love, they instead become Unbound, an effect that has created odd undead encounters with lone skeletons or specters beings encountered with no real connection to their creator anymore. This effect seems to have created a great amount of chaos in organized undead armies which use natural or demonic troops, though not so much with constructed undead that usually do not meet death when they are killed. Also, the average citizens began to notice that they no longer seem to lose their progress towards their goals, but rather experienced larger losses for a brief period of time. This was a welcome change, and has brought some hope for those with lofty goals and many lethal hurdles ahead of them. When asked about this strange occurrence, Ravencreek Aramir is reported to have said, “Why are you surprised that a Fencer is the one to challenge death. It has happened before, and it will happen again. It is because Fencers are never afraid to lose. Why? Because we never do!”

Regardless of the exact reasons behind this odd rather far reaching encounter, many also noticed shortly afterwards that they were no longer able to ask for Death to intervene for them, as a deity would, when Death tells them their time has come to pass on. Previously, many had been able to ask Death to intervene, cutting them off from the divine, and protecting them from passing on quickly in the future. But now, a new choice has emerged, shortly after this encounter, suggesting that the meeting with Death may have somehow triggered this change in Deaths attitude or approach. Now, Death will not intervene, but instead, offers the choice to gain a lethal interaction with all Elder Sorcery instead. If these two actions are related, or merely occurred around the same period of time, we cannot be certain, but many scholars agree that these effects occur regularly enough that there must be some kind of action and reaction that Death keeps in the balance.

# The Shadow of the Goddess Upon the Land:

Sinister and dangerous in these modern times, the Matrons of the Moon have emerged as a powerful and far reaching structure within the Elder Goddess religious groups. Gone are the days when the Priestesses and Sorceresses would rally to protect an allied shrine or nation. Now, it would appear that loyalty to the Elder Goddess and her Matrons of the Moon are all that matters. Many believe that the Elder Goddess religion has been tainted somehow, by some subtle hand that moves unseen. This odd hunger for power, prestige, and influence over everything else seems to have begun years ago but now is so obvious and unfiltered that many actively speak against the Elder Goddess as they have not done for thousands of years. Still extremely powerful with Elder Sorcery and many resources given to them over time, the Elder Goddess religious groups exert great influence in most governments, and few will chance angering the many spellcasters and warriors at their disposal. It is a sad time for those who really need the aid of these groups, and who once would have been the focus of their energy. Now, Matrons of the Moon scour the land for women and non-male recruits whom they seem to believe “cannot” be trained by anyone but them, speaking of prophecy and oracles that predict great harm should people not join their ranks. When the Matrons of the Moon are seen to be approaching, many make a hasty retreat. Most feared are Peleshu Bloomisle, Thornshane Greenspeaker, and Hailie Kendrie, all approximately rank nine and deeply influential across Roekron, leveraging the Matrons Hounds, an elite warrior force dedicated to hunting down “spies” and infiltrators.

A silver lining in this development appears to be rebel factions within the religion. At least three sub groups within the religion appear to be unaffected, and each works to either counter the actions of the Matrons of the Moon from within, or to find and protect the women the Matrons intend to enlist. Who these secret groups are and what their ultimate goals or powers are, we cannot say, but it is at least heartening to know that the religion itself is not rotten to the core, but rather, in the hands of those who will not use it for good. We hope that these rebels find allies in the world, and through them, the light breaks free from the dark that seeks to shutter the true rights of the downtrodden.

# Polar North Rumors and Portents:

Barely surviving these many years of grueling struggle, Kamenlock joined CROWN a little over a decade ago now, and probably would not exist today had they not. An excellent alliance, expanding Polaris and many other nations ability to craft magical items and also to expand their oracle strength, the small country in the north has had a rough transition to the democracy of CROWN. Coming in at a time when CROWN has little to no power in the nations they purport to guide, Kamenlock did not receive the kind of strong military aid they perhaps were looking for. Never-the-less, they have hung on, and it has been a battle on three fronts, from what they can tell us.

First off, they have been fighting Dagedrask, the most powerful force in the north, who appears to have had more important things to do than to destroy the tiny nation. Second, they had to deal with Shagaoath, who was powerful for a while, but has now diminished enough for them to say she is less of a threat even in the north. But the force they were not expecting, the armies of Wither Weights has been the hardest to deal with by far. They have been overrun with these strange vampires that seem to be more like Tomb Weights than true vampires. Difficult to fight and quite resilient in the north, they are led by an Elder or Noble (it is unclear with these vampires what qualifies as which) who calls himself Alumace Snowbinder. He appears to be something of a being Adept at Time Magic and his absolute control of small moments around him has made him all but impossible to stop directly. Kamenlock appears to be a great problem for him, however, as he does not seem to want to attack it personally, suggesting that something about the place is problematic for his art. None know for sure what is main aims are, but the Wither Weights have been reported to be hunting down adventurers in Roekron as well these days, some say in revenge for the death of Alimace’s brother who was killed during the battle to protect Kamenlock that ended up resolving Uber-Ton-Duo. This is not a welcome development, but it is one we take in stride as usual.

# Wild Lands and Primal Forests Under Assault:

It became clear through over the past decades that numerous groups have been seeking to control the massive mana resources inherent in the Wildwood and Dark Wilds. This is not a new phenomenon, as many have tried to control these regions to no avail. But in these last few years, both Dagedrask and Khufalden have succeeded in damaging the main functions of these two deep primal forces in our land, and it is believed that they have done so in very different ways. Dagedrask seems to have the upper hand in the Dark Wilds, where Guardian Trees and even the Elder Grove have come under attack and seem unable to share their mana with the rest of the forest and people within. Many undead were stolen this way by Dagedrask who now uses them in their armies. This seems to have been done using the Barbs of the Eight Hands, as at least one Barb Demon was sighted in the area and many believe that this particular demon has some power over Primal magic, and that this left the forest poorly defended. Thankfully, the Dark Wilds as a nation is holding on, but the stranglehold that Dagedrask seems to have recently acquired over the forest itself leads many to believe that it will not be long before the nation crumbles and must become a vassal of Dagedrask or be destroyed. Thankfully, the Wood Elven Refuge is strong and keeps assisting the Dark Wilds and has been keeping them alive. One hopes this alliance will continue.

Khufalden seems to have done some similar damage in the Wildwood of Einion, though without the ability to control the energy flow. The problem seems to have begun with the Wildwood Elves encountering a number of what they thought were Wildwood Orphans, and taking them in to be cared for and raised. But these beings were in fact strange Sirebrites, elementals that appear to be human, except these seem to be Primal elementals. Each elf they killed that has any primal connection could not be resurrected. This was true of the Ents they killed as well. It was a terrible time for the forest, but thanks to some courageous heroes who gave up adventuring to dedicate their lives to the protection of the Wildwood, these elves survived, and have retained access to the Wildwood and deep Fae groves. Access is certainly harder now, and many find that exiting the Wildwood has never been more difficult. Perhaps this damage can be healed in some way, or perhaps time is all that is needed, but in both cases, evil forces seem to believe that the Primal magics of our world are a great resource and perhaps a great threat to them. Laura Whitelocks commented on this developments saying, “I pay the most attention to whatever it is my enemies want. Generally speaking, it is usually a sign that whatever that thing is, if I knew how to use it, I’d level them in seconds. Thus, I’m always thankful when I get a real clear attempt to destroy something of mine. It lets me know just what weapon to use next.”

# Current new and persisting game world effects (variations from Rule Book descriptions):

## (NEW) Economic Effects

- All existing Characters lose 20% of their wealth (and mundane items) as well as magic items (for mundane items, simply add their value to your wealth and subtract 20%. For magic items, 1 out of every 5 is gone, and this is chosen by the player). This loss happens AFTER Time Jump Gold has been given out.
- Whenever a character from another country travels to a new region, they must pay 10% of all currency they bring with them when they arrive in order to exchange their currency to the local standard. Players can, of course, bring no currency if they wish to dodge this tax, but will have nothing to buy or trade with.
- Anyone who sells any items will be asked where the item is from. If it is local, they will be given full value in exchange for the item (instead of ½ its value). If it is not from the region, they will be offered ¼ it’s worth. Note that since items have makers marks on them, it will be obvious to the buyer where the item was made.

##

## (NEW) Spell Dependence and Creation

- Anyone who has any Elder Sorcery spells must carry a phystepped book on them (which must look like a targetable LARP item) which has a copy of the spells for each slot you have made. This list must be physically printed and in the book so that other players can read the list in game. You may only carry one such book at any time. If this book is ever not with you at the end of an encounter, any spells you cast on yourself today will fail until you are in possession of the book again or make a new one, a process which takes about 1 hour and access to special paper and ink which can be stored in town (10 gold per Rank you are to recraft your book).
- One-off spells have the additional flaw that if your body is ruined and you wisp and are summoned, these spells now fail, and the ritual to do them must be repeated to turn them back on again. Any costs paid in the initial casting must be repaid, and the same amount of time must be spent. If you are forced out of your body, via a spell or effect such as Soul Steal Tag any one off spells on you will fail as well. However, this effect is tied to your spirit leaving your body, not your body being ruined, so as long as you do not wisp, your spells remain intact.

##

## Totem Animal Spirits:

If an animal is killed in Blackspire territory, its spirit will emerge (in a 20 count, as wisping) and will observe. This being has all the abilities of the animal it was, plus Minor Undead. (Update: (5/15/25) these haunts are stationary until killed, and wait to observe the treatment of their body by the one who killed them. If they are not treated well by the end of the encounter they become mobile and hunt that person. They also hunt the person who drops them while a haunt and becomes mobile for that purpose only if dropped while a haunt.) It will assess how the one who killed it is behaving towards its body, and if the person is doing their best to use every part of it for a good purpose, it will enchant some part of the pieces being collected (it’s choice), and this item will become a Magic Item for the rest of that month (ends on the last day of whatever month they were created in), which grants a limited ability that either the animal had in life, or an ability relating to the animals totem purpose. Generally speaking, Hunter levels equal to the BR of the animal are required for this to work successfully. The items are only Tier 1, but stop working if someone already has one. This effect does not track if they are being used, but rather if they are owned by the same person. If traded away, or given to another person, you could acquire a new one safely.

## Nightmare Insanity Shades:

Stats as the being they come from, plus Specter. All have the ability to cast freeform ES which is always a Ray form and can do almost anything to an opponent within the encounter they are in but any effects are 95% of the time completely temporary, returning everything to normal at the end of each encounter (rolled at the end, not for each effect, but for if the entire encounters effects are actually real!).

- Solving Nightmares (Update 9/1/25): Solving a Nightmare can usually only be done if the person who is the source of the Nightmare can be located and convinced to confront their Nightmare. Any attempt to destroy it in other ways will cause it to be gone for a while, but not truly solved (as a Haunt). Solving the Nightmare usually requires defeating it, either by combat, riddles, or naming it as the Insanity that it is (any one of these will work if the act is done by the source of the Shade and if you are not the source, you must do all three in the order of Naming, Riddle, Combat). Sometimes Nightmares will combine if they have killed their source and become independent, and when they combine, they may be several Insanities, making them harder to solve. Once solved, the person who it came from will pull 3 extra stones on their next pull, and any Insanities that they gain on that pull cannot be cured for the year (note that unless they died Mana Drain, pulling black stones will not cause an insanity). If they do gain an insanity this way, they pull 1 less stone on all Mana Drain deaths they gain during that duration and gain Resistance to Fear for the duration as well.

## HragNaliKin’s Legacy of Healing

- -Legendary items can “move Morganti damage” as if they were the Tools of HragNaliKin (this is a Ritual, and allows a Morganti effect on a person to be transformed into another effect of equal severity, as long as this is done while the sun is still up the day that the damage was done).
- -Morganti items that are exorcised with someone with a legendary item leave the world unscarred.
- -Whenever a magic item is destroyed it becomes a were-creature and then seals a hole in the wounded earth.
- -Shattered magic items stay broken and then if left shattered fade into the world in one year, healing it.
- -Daggers of Stonehammer become able to be sacrificed to summon the Tools of Hrag-Nali-Kin for one encounter!
- -The Hammer of Hragnor’s Keep is functional again, and can be Sacrificed from the world to remove a Morganti damage or stat loss from someone. The wielder Deboosts Morganti damage while it is being wielded. It has the additional Flaws: “User does not cap fire damage. If user is killed by fire, they Auto-Rebirth (this is forced).”

## Death Interactions for this Season

- THE BLOODY HANDS CARD:

- If you pull at least 5 red stones you gain a rank 1 standard ability of your choice for the day (you must have seen that ability used in the encounter you were killed in).

- (Update 8/23/25) THE GOLDEN HORSE CARD:

- When you pull for death and are Bound to someone you do not love, you become Unbound! (Note: Constructed undead that are Unbound are destroyed, but they generally don’t pull for death. Natural undead or corrupted and controlled beings (Vampires, Demons, etc.) do pull, and become disconnected and independent of their creator.)
- Announcement! Death Effects for the Season Update! 6/18/26! The Golden Horse Card Effect has changed! Instead of being Unbound, players that are Bound to someone they do not love are Summoned to that person when they pull. This is instant, is not standard, and bypasses Sanctifications! They arrive in the condition the source desires them to be in (up, down, dead, body ruined, full hacked etc.)!

(Update)! The Contract with Death Upon Defeat of the Guruthos Angalungwe

- “Darkness Finds No Home”

- -Morganti Spirits cannot be crafted into items. Existing Morganti remains, but no more can be made.

- “The Hunger Encounters a Wall.”

- -Morganti spirits cannot cross into this world. The access is closed.

- “There Is Music In The Ocean.”

- (Update 9/1/25)

- When someone with Oracle from training or backstory (not an item or blessing) pulls from the death bag, they may cast a Psionic Snap Cast that affects the people or encounter in which they died. The duration of the effect is now the rest of the day only (the number of red stones they pull indicating the OP of words they may access for this Snap Cast).
- Whenever someone PD’s, their haunt appears in the Inn and though it cannot speak, it can listen to the party as they acknowledge the sacrifice and friendship this person offered to the group. The haunt can give away its worldly possessions at this time if it so wishes, and then, tags an ally, who carries their legacy for the rest of the year. The deceased person then grants one ability they had in life to that person. The GM then sets the cost for this ability.

- Flaws:
- (Update 8/23/25) “A Moment Forgotten Spills into Harmony”

- -Pulling one black stone makes you Incapable of your most recently trained Rank for the day. If an ally has an ability from that lost Rank, you may tag them at the start of the encounter and speak the ability in rhyming verse to regain it (like Divine Gift, one ability per encounter only). This effect does not stack with future black stones pulled today.

- “Self Destruction Carries It’s Own Weight.”

- -Killing yourself causes you to pull an additional stone on that pull.

- (NEW) “The Nightmares Persist Within”

- -Insanities caused by pulling black stones cannot be cured until your level is higher than when you got it.

- (NEW) “We Are Not The Givers of the Final Ends”

- -If you killed a sapient being on this mission, you pull one extra stone on this pull.

- “The Pull Beyond Finds No Celestials”

- -(Update 9/1/25) Any pull from the Death Bag that results in pulling more than 16 stones cannot get Divine Intervention. Instead, someone who knew the deceased must perform a song or poem about this person as a sacrifice to Death who grants the Intervention based not on the number of Red Stones pulled but on the energy sacrificed in this ritual and the quality of the performance (max number of people who may do this is now 3). The person who performs the ritual permanently loses 1 Red Stone from their future pulls (counts as gone, pulls +1 stone on all pulls and counts first Red Stone as clear). Until this ritual is performed, the person cannot be brought back to life, reanimated, etc. The person who sings the song must also offer an ability that they have as something for Death to take from them and give to this person. Death may do so, or leave the ability on the person with additional costs, while granting the resurrected person the ability in a limited or expanded form.

- “Divine Interventions Three Questions”:

- Whenever a character gets Divine Intervention they must choose one of three Flaws.

- “Repeat” A situation around the event that killed you this time becomes inevitable. the effect happens to them again whenever a GM chosen condition is met that they are made aware of “whenever you take fire damage while you are down, you die!” This effect is True, you are Vulnerable to it, and it bypasses Immunity.
- (NEW) “Magic” Elder Sorcery effects (fields, rays, balls, auras, strikes, etc) kill you. This is True (Unpreventable) and you are Vulnerable to it (note that magic item abilities are not ES unless they specifically state that they are).
- (Update) “Death” Death is unpreventable (True), and you are Vulnerable to it. You also cannot be brought back to life in an encounter where you have died (as Agantine).

- The Sands In Deaths Hand:

- Once characters get Divine Intervention

- they gain Agantine Deaths any time they pull a black stone (for each black stone). A player may opt to lose a level for each instead of gaining the Agantine Deaths.

- “Loves Lasting Effect:”
- Characters expressing romantic and familial love.

- People that are in love and can express this

- only pull 9 stones (minus 1 stone) from the death bag, and always seem to have a red stone that they have pulled as the tenth every time.
- are incapable of killing each other.

- People that are in commitment relationship (such as married),

- can detect and remove mental effects, binding, and allure on each other by touch (must detect it before removing it).
- are Bound to down players you are in a commitment relationship with, and their allies in the encounter.

- People with dependant children (who are not of mature age and are dependent on them for their shelter, livelihood, etc.),

- can sense when their child dies and pulls from the Death Bag and may choose to pull for them instead, taking all the effects, etc.
- are Inept at dealing damage to beings on the ground.

## Corruption Counters and Other Corruption Effects:

The chart for the effects of shadowlands corruption counters and how one would go about removing them.
Amount of counters chart:

(1) Inept at honor costs on abilities.

(2) you are resistant to healing.

(5) Incapable of spending honor on abilities and Inept at spiritual abilities

(10) Cannot be resurrected!

(15) You are Chi corrupted and your honor is in flux!

Removal Processes: There are multiple ways to remove a Corruption Counter the foremost of which is through the use of honor as the shadowlands is the representation of the dishonorable actions of all of Dsesnor. All of these commonly used methods only remove a singular corruption counter.

(1)-Method one is to pay a base honor.

(2)-The second method is through the use of Harakiri and paying an honor for the day .

(3)-The last method is through the use of Jade which cleanses the spirit, a piece of jade roughly 4 lb is required for this process and once the process is completed the jade’s power is used up and it is rendered destroyed. This process can be done as a 20 count ritual in combat and can also be performed on others.(Jade is currently 100 gold a pound due to a shortage caused by the Daparia invasion and now Shadowlands control)

Chi Corruption: Your Chi being corrupted is a status that can be applied to you for various durations by various shadowlands creatures and effects, it can sometimes be dealt with prematurely most commonly by cleansing oneself with Jade. Mechanically Chi Corrupted people cannot spend Honor or Mana and are incapable of spiritual abilities.

## Shadowlands World Effects:

The passive effects that preside in the shadowlands or are often present there and sometimes in lesser forms in other areas that are corrupted. Mainly the Shadowlands possesses its own unique overlay that causes spells to have extra negative side effects for non-native people and creatures. Other things that appear in this section are things that tend to happen to people who enter or any other known interfaces with the material world and etc.

(1) The Overlay: All spells including Elder Sorcery costs and additional mana to cast! All standard spells and conjures cause the caster to take 1 damage and infect which causes them to gain a Corruption Counter.

(2) Interactions with the Divine: Any and all divine effects and abilities fail while in combat and are only active/usable when there is no combat in the encounter.

(3) The Infectious Air: If you are healed with non-magical healing you lose 1 hp (this is venom), these counters clear when you leave the Shadowlands. (Updated 6/2/25)

(4) The Unending Dead: At the end of each encounter every dead creature gets up as a zombie unless their head is cut off or they have been cleansed with jade in the encounter.

(5) Terrain Features: The shadowlands is predominantly barren of most things generally associated with Roekronian biomes and climates but it does have its own versions of them. The most common effects of this terrain is nasty spike vine/thorn-like plants that seem to be scattered everywhere. Mechanically how this works is if any players are ever touching a patch of dirt on the ground that limb takes Snare and then a damage every 20 count. This can be stopped by hacking the leg or with a torch by burning the plant off, while you are burning the vine its effect pauses. (Playtesting a change that you can attack the leg for a 20 count to hack the leg thus releasing the person). UPDATE! 5/1/26 - this effect now deals Warded True Deadly immediately when touching a dirt patch or when you strike any marked terrain such as water, wall, or rock. Gliding over these things or swimming still protects you, but if you would trigger a terrain effect like knockout from stepping on terrain, you take True Warded Deadly.

(6) The Prince’s Palace: There is a place in the shadowlands that is known as the Prince’s Castle/Palace and it draws all spirits in the realm towards it to be used for dark and evil purposes by the palace's denizens. Anyone who wisps in the shadowlands is drawn there and unless their wisp is instantly intercepted will essentially PD.

(7) The Sunless Land: The skies in the shadowlands are always dark grey and dusty/cloudy however it is not completely dark everywhere as there is always some ephemeral light from every which way. Mechanically that means that everywhere in the shadowlands is shade and there is no sunlight anywhere for any effects that care about such things.

Other Effects:

Sacred Jade: Jade is a type of stone most commonly found in Dsesnor and Sorikonia this stone has a very heavy spiritual significance and can shelter and cleanse peoples spirits, a natural counter to the corruption of the shadowlands. All shadowlands undead take boosted holy magic damage from Jade, however jade weapons are practically impossible to make as the stone is rather fragile. Jade also burns any shadowlands creature that touches it, and they generally would not willingly do so.

# Rules Changes for the 2025-2026 season-

Update: 2/8/26

Magic item update (2026 February)

-Pinnacle modular grafting belts have the additional set flaw: “if you have grafted all the pieces of this set to you, this items Tier = Users Tier.” Note- this means that if you graft the full set, you have no Tier left for any items that have any Tier.

-The term “Full Heal” and “Full Hack Heal” are Tier Limited by default (like Charm). Unless an ability specifically states that it is NOT Tier Limited, it is assumed that it is.

-Full Heal and Full Hack Heal on Modular Items are being errataed to Conjures. Players must call “Conjure Full Heal,” “Conjure Full Heal Touch” etc. Note that Conjure Full Heal isn’t a tag or touch and this will work if the user has CMR. But calling this ability allows it to be Dispelled and interacted with in other ways.

Playtesting these rules changes to Maul: (10-19-25)

Maul now reads: “Count to 20 on a down player to make them resistant to healing that is not First Aid until up and full hacks them (all limbs are hacked and their torso is hacked as well) Maul is not Holy or Terror, but its own modifier.”

Playtesting these changes to Shroud: (10-19-25)

Shroud now reads: “This effect is True vs Standards.” Shroud is considered to function the same as Ward for a single targeted ability or damage, with the current Ward changes, unless it says otherwise from its source.

Playtesting these changes to Barbarian: (10-16-25)

R1- Instead of Battle Training Hack in duels, Barbarian gets “Improved Armor Piercing (Hack only).”

R3- Intimidate is removed and combined with Battle Cry. Battle Cry would now be both Battle Cry and Intimidation Mark, which is a called ability (Body Tag) that causes the tagged person to take 1 damage whenever they would take Fear.

R3- OUT spot that use to have Intimidate now has “Primal Form” & “Wild Strike.” Primal Form is +1 AV. Wild Strike is an ability that reads “Call Wild Strike. Your next melee attack is boosted AV0 but also causes you hack to a limb or your torso (this is a cost).”

Fearless now reads “You are Resistant to Fear, and if another effect would cause you to be Resistant to Fear (or Mental Effects, etc.) this becomes an Immunity.”

NPC’s that are pretrained (lvl 4-5, lvl 9-10, etc) get one additional Equipment set when they suit up.

Bonus Sessions can take a character above the four per month.

Update 9/1/25 - Mounts no longer add or subtract any AV from the rider.

- Instead, any AV of the mount is calculated as minus 1 stone from any pull that mount must make due to the rider being killed. This is a simulation of the odds that they did not die at all (reminder- mounts usually have Frail Soul. You may also add full plate to an animal with 4 av to have them pull 8 leas stones). Mounts can now be dismounted in combat by call “Dismount!” and pulling off your mount sash and dropping it to the ground. Your mount is considered to have fled the encounter if you do this and you recover it after the encounter.

(NEW 2025-2026) Character Leveling (max 4 sessions per month)

- Characters gain 1 session per session played as usual, with the below restrictions
- The maximum number of sessions any character can gain in a month is 4 (summer camps are the only exception). This is regardless of if they were allowed to travel to other leagues and played there as well.
- Players may also gain up to 4 recovery sets per month if they play sessions beyond the four they would gain.

Honor and Alignment No Longer Linked:

- The Honor and Alignment System has changed to a simpler version, not the one in the online vote, but one inspired by it and that used many of its key features. Here is a link to the system. The key point is that Honor no longer relates to Alignment.

- # LINK to the new Honor, Renown, and Alignment Doc 2025-2026

Full Plate Changes:

- AV 4 or higher gives +1 HP per AV above 3, and cannot armor zone 4 without having a specific ability that allows cross that threshold.

Standard Return from Death Effects Change:

- Standard abilities cannot be used on yourself to bring yourself back to life. (The flavor of this change is that it takes “leverage” from the living world to “pull” you back into it. When you try this on yourself, you have no “leverage” being already afloat in death.)

Illusions Changes:

- If you use Detect Illusion on a person, it detects if anything they have is an illusion (spell, item, effect, or appearance) not just the item or place you touched. If they are not currently holding the illusion, but are the source of the illusion, it detects this as well.
- If you use Disbelieve on a person, and they have any Illusions on them at all, one of them is gone (the person being Disbelieved gets to choose which one since nothing was specified, but must state that the effect worked and what is gone.)
- Greater Illusions can be regained after they are disbelieved by calling “Jumpstart Resummon Illusion” and tagging yourself. Note that Jumpstart can be interrupted. This way, players can be less concerned about meta-gaming about players' Illusions as Greater Illusions have counterplay.

Elder Sorcery Changes

- Elder Sorcery is rolled differently. One Flow Roll is rolled first, which is the only chance for a Fumble. The other usually rolls determine how “on target” the spell is, not if it fumbles.
- Players are not allowed to write Flaws onto their spells anymore. They instead select a theme for the flaws (“fire” or “mobility” etc.) and a severity level of (Weak, Moderate, or Severe).

Oracle Changes:

- Oracle can only be used once a day per person.
- Oracles only last 1 minute per Rank of the person using the Oracle.

Hide Changes:

- Hide and Instant Hide are BC.
- Invoke to break hidden (this is audible to players- they “hear” the Invoke).
- Players resist damage except in the Open zone and Aura Zone while hidden. (Call “Scouting” with a melee weapon when you attack a Hidden player to have them lose that protection on that strike)
- Stealth abilities that are “walking speed” are instead with knee up action (prance like).
- Players that strike a hidden player should treat it like they do not know the player is there.

Elemental Damage Changes:

- Elemental damage applies when you drop or damage a down player instead of just when you drop or kill a player.
- Elemental damage modifiers can only be used one at a time (you cannot deal Holy Fire) Only effects that specifically state they cause something to be both still do so.

-Treeformed players look exactly like themselves but “tree like” until the encounter ends (they can be recognized by anyone as who they are). It takes 10 minutes for them to look like a real tree at which point, someone with Treeform Ball is needed to be able to tell them apart from any other tree.

-Spelltrigger and Deathrattle cannot be used to target yourself.

-Helms give +1 HP.

-Mage Lore Items that are two-handed can be wielded in one hand by someone with Staff Touch, and function normally except that they do not deal damage while in just one hand.

-Mage Lore Items no longer count just the end of the item as your hand when using them with Staff Touch, they count the entire surface.

-The Rod physrep has become a Club. It is now Armor Piercing instead of Mage Lore. Anyone who previously had a Rod, now still has one, but Rods generally are custom items now, that are Mage Lore Clubs that are now Tier 1 and generally cost around 100 gold IF they can be found.

-Spears are no longer throwable, instead they are Armor Piercing.

-Blessing Ritual is the name for the life mage ability that blesses party members (this replaces the term Party Blessing which means the same effect but that hits all party members).

-Specs are all Prestige Classes for this season. Every Spec now has its Rank 1 and Rank 2 abilities condensed into the Rank 1 of a Prestige of the same name. Their Rank 3-4 abilities are the Rank 2 of the Spec, and Rank 5+ are each a Rank of Prestige on their own. All of these new Prestige Classes require you to have 1 Rank in each class they previously required you to have. For abilities that check what Rank in a class you are, these new Prestige Classes count as any classes they require you to be. Classes like Clans that just give abilities IF you keep certain classes even, now require you to be those classes to get the Prestige. Some classes have been updated to better fit this system. If the system works after a year of testing, we will update and fix any classes that need work to better fit, but currently we wish to meddle as little as possible with them, in case we need to revert back.

-The Sash previously used as the Item Spirit Sash is now the “Other Worldly Sash” and will be used by Demons, Angels, and anything that seems “from another world, or defying reality in some way.”

# Last Seasons Rules Changes for the 2024-2025 season-

Spring 2025 Updates-

Improved strength makes natural attacks gain Improved Armor Piercing.

Common Undead Abilities Chart Update:

- 5. Animate Dead (one use per Encounter only).
- 20. Temp Charm (no mana, Tier limited).

SUMMER 2025 Updates-

-Hide and Stealth (usable in full sunlight etc.)

-Scouting (sees moving hidden people who are within 10 feet).

-Advanced Smell (does not need to move around the player, just be within 10 feet for a 20 count).

-Diving (this ability can now be used in shallow water as well).

-Ward (does not need to be used immediately after tagging the item).

-Acidic blood (instantly shatters the item)

-Peacekeeper and Courtier (level in these now is uses per encounter not per person but per statement. Peacekeeper used this way is used just after a statement you want to check the truth of only, and Courtier is used just before you say something you want to be well received).

-Performing Arts (holds the target's attention for a 20 count unless they are directly acted upon. Uses per encounter like Peacekeeper and Courtier)

-Brace prevents the next damaging attacking instead of having a maximum amount in can prevent.

-Both abilities from pretraining classes are Mana per encounter (not Gifted).

Shadowlands World Effect Updated (6/2/25)

(3) The Infectious Air: If you are healed with non-magical healing you lose 1 hp (this is venom), these counters clear when you leave the Shadowlands.

Backstory Mod Change (for the summer we are testing only getting a Backstory at character creation. Then at R1, when you train your class you pick two new mods slips. If you are a Warrior, you pick two from the warriors bag. If you are a mage, two from the mage bag. If a semi, you may choose which bags you wish to pull each of your slips from. You keep one slip and return the other. Repeat this process when you train your R3 class as well).

6/8/25- Also, Club League has approved the change that capping damage when you drop is now an Immunity.

6/8/25- Rupture Mark now removes all preventions (including caps).

6/8/25 Honor as a stat has been reverted to last year system while we brainstorm tweaks to fix it (but the agreement that the current system needs to go is strong enough to revert immediately).

6/8/25 Backstory or Mod effects that state “hands” of beings do not react to weapon hands anymore. They only interact with actual hands of players and Touches.

6/20/25

Jumpstart now means: begin this effect and it takes the normal time it takes

IE: “jumpstart instant exorcism” is now: “jumpstart 20 count exorcism”

If you jumpstart an attack it is interruptable by anyone (including self)

Add line of text to exorcism: if being is down they are vulnerable to this.

Very high int: immune to class should become resist instead

Immune in open zone becomes deboost open zone

Shielded keyword: “Resistant to being interrupted.”

Shadow order: jumpstart exorcism change to: jumpstart 20 count exorcism (down only)

Ward Changes:

-Ward can only target one specific type of attack “Burning Touch,” “Charm” , “weapon damage” etc. and like Disable Ray, once set for the encounter, cannot be changed.

-Ward must be used immediately after you tag the item and call it (“Invoke Ward. .. “Warded Burning Touch!”(Updated 6/2/25)

Accuracy Changes:

-Accuracy is now faster. Once you count up to 5 (while Stationary) you may remain stationary to Invoke Accuracy again and immediately make a warded attack. Note that this is also a nerf to Accuracy because you can no longer “hold” the Accuracy state, but must call “Invoke Accuracy” just before the attack you are making.

-Accuracy only works on Standard Skills and Strikes (Fireball Strike and Duel for example).

Blessing from Life Mage:

-Abilities from the source cannot stack (as Skill Share rules- a person can only have one effect on them from this ability).

-We are modifying the abilities on the Divine Chart to make them more fair [Skillshare (healing only), Resistance to Death (while up only- you still drop from the attack), Familiar (Random animal type only), etc]

Speed:

-This ability now reads “Escape: (while at the edge of the field only). After you remain out-of-game for a 10 count, you must re-enter by calling “Entering” and counting to 5.

-This ability also gives you Fast.

Fast:

-Fast usable once per encounter to reenter.

Rules Interpretation:

-Disallow modifying non-strike attacks with Skills by interpreting “Attack” on Skills to refer only to Strikes.

Modifying Skills and Spells:

No Change. You cannot modify across types.

Honor:

-Honor has been combined with mana into one stat. Honor costs are interpreted to read as “Spiritual Mana” costs. Any cost that requires an honor now can be paid with a mana, or a Spiritual Mana. Gained honor is simply Spiritual Mana Charges (like Red Mana Charges, or Blue Mana Charges, that refresh each encounter). If you die due to Honor loss, this is just a mana drain death (but you should see the GM for effects on your pull, as you may have to pull extra stones. Negative base honor drops your base mana now.

Bow Out:

-You must actually bow to your opponent to Bow Out.

-Ninja Duel allows you to Alternate Convoke to pay its Bow Out cost.

Disable:

-Disable has been reverted to be Disruption, and hits innate Standard abilities (this is far easier to remember and respond to).

Giant Strength

-It works on thrown attacks and boulders (two handed throw for 5 UB), and a custom bow with custom arrows designed for someone with Giant Strength could be made to also allow this boost if a GM wants to allow this.

-Giant Strength allows for all weapons to be able to be used to Invoke AV0 with just one hand (as Improved Strength use to).

Avoid;

-No change.

Level Stacking:

-All instances of Talented, @lvl, and Expertise that are NOT from the base 15 classes or the core rules, are changed to read “+5 lvls, +10 lvls, and +20 lvls” respectively.

Informant:

-Only allows you to remain Out of Game for the first 20 count of the encounter at which point you must swap to the usual Hidden mode. Note that since Informant says it allows you to use “Careful Planning” to do this, you still must remain on your side of the field.

Scouting

-keeping the change that Scouting does not detect moving Hidden players. (UPDATE 2/16/25 - Scouting detects a Stealthing player who is within 10 feet of you).

Storytelling

-Storytelling recovers a lost session for one person you are telling the story to AND for the storyteller. A person may only recover one session per day this way (though the Storyteller may recover more). The sessions need to be lost that day to be recoverable, and those listening to the story must remain in character for the entire story and must be able to comment meaningfully about the story at the end. The Storyteller must have had his ability and have been present when the character lost their session. A group of people can all regain their session lost at once, but if this is attempted, the GM selects the topic the story must cover. Cumulative Cost per day to use.

Partial Humanoid Sash Change

-the sash that Centaurs wear which was previously called a “Partial Humanoid” sash has been revised to be a “Partial Animal” sash. You only wear this sash if you have more limbs than normal (like wings, a prehensile appendage, or other body structure differences that are obvious. If only your head looks like an animal, you do not wear this sash. Trolls no longer qualify for this sash, though demons do.
Extra Maps (1 square is 10 square miles)