Shardworld/Summary
Elevator Pitch
The Shardworld is an inherently broken place. Manyfold shards of existence hang suspended in the primordial weave of creation, intersecting and colliding in ways incomprehensible to the perspective of mere mortals. The central axis of Shardworld is the Prime Material shard, the cosmic weight holding all of reality in pl- yes, that's where we are. Try to keep up. Where was I? Ah, yes. The Prime Material shard, or The Continent by the lexicon of most peoples, is linked to every other shard, the land itself pulled and warped by the dimensional energies at work upon it. The only reason it hasn't been ripped apart yet is the sacrifice of the Wyrm. His corpse wraps around the Prime Material, blocking most of the pathways between worlds, stoppering the- It happened a long time ago. Yes, before even I was born, young one. Before the 1st Age. Ah, well that brings me to my next point. The Continent is in constant flux, and many ages have came and went before us, empires and- Well, what age we're in depends upon how you measure these things. By the metric of human empires, we're in the 7th Age. As I was saying...hmm..ah, empires and energies rise and fall according to the vagaries of Fate, pawns in the eternal struggle between order and chaos. The influence of the other shards waxes and wanes, bringing icons to power and casting them down- An icon is just the word us scholarly types use for a being strong enough to survive or leave a legacy across the ages. They're the closest it gets to a constant in our world of flux, outside the gods of course.
Why yes, icons can die. The High King was assassinated at the end of the last age, and the Low Kings are still jockeying for the power to lead humanity. Most icons don't last longer than an age, although the titles they wear tend to survive for longer. Beings of such power tend to take issue with the existence of equals. The conflicts of icons have been the driving force behind history through all the ages. Where am I going with this? Ah, well, that takes me to the original point of this speech. If you really wish to take up the mantle of adventurer, just know that The Continent is more dangerous and volatile than it has ever been. Two new icons have arisen to make their place in the 7th age. The truce between mortal kingdoms strains beneath our own conflicts and the machinations of outside forces. Our world is inherently broken, and it seems to crack more and more with each passing year. If you think you can journey out into the conflicts raging across the world and start fixing things...may Fate guide your hand, young one.
Campaign Themes and Styles
Obviously, any Shardworld campaign is going to derive a lot of influence from the system and setting it's (loosely) based on, 13th Age. By extent, it takes a lot of influence from the d20 legacy that influenced 13th Age. So yes, there are dragons - they're beings of pure energy from one or more shards barely caged by living flesh. And there are dungeons, ruins left behind by older empires, places far from civilization where another shard overlaps the Prime Material, and even living ones that tunnel their way from below the earth and from beyond the edges of the world.
Thematically, any Shardworld campaign is going to revolve around how the PCs relate to the icons, influence their struggles, and eventually become motive forces themselves. Exploration is encouraged, as the Continent is a vast expanse filled with mighty artifacts, places of power, crumbling ruins, and dark secrets. Beyond the scattered bastions of mortal civilization, most of the known world is a dangerous frontier practically crying out for aid. Even inside the mighty cities of the age, political, economic, and religious power struggles are a rich playing field for PCs to curry favor with the powers that be and shape the future of the Continent's nations and peoples. Beyond that, individual themes will vary from adventure to adventure and campaign to campaign.
Player Options
Racially, Shardworld diverges from the classic D&D arrangement. Player racial options include, in order of population size on the Continent:
Humans- You know the drill.
Shardborn- Human sub-races influenced by energies of another Shard. The seven shardborn sub-races are the four variants of elemental Aetherborn, Dawnborn and Duskborn (touched by light and dark, respectively), and demon-blooded twists. The shardborn are mostly integrated into human civilization, except twists, but mechanically, these are all their own race.
Goblins: A widespread race of cosmopolitan traders and inventors, primarily concentrated in the kingdom of Athon.
Dragonics- Humanoids made in the image of the Wyrm, created to be warriors that guard the wild places of the Continent.
And if that doesn't scratch your itch to play something weird, there are also...
Myclings- Bizarre humanoid fungi, originally a servitor race of the elves, left behind when their masters all vanished from the Continent at the end of the 4th Age.
When it comes to classes, every class from the 13th Age core book and 13 True Ways are available. The Warlock and Witch homebrew classes that can be found on Vault of the 13th Age are available. There's also a new class unique to the Shardworld, the Wellspring Knight, heavily armored warrior-engineers that channel the magitech energies of the Wellspring Engine.
What Kind of Fantasy is Shardworld?
Shardworld is without a doubt a high fantasy world. Magic suffuses the Continent and is accepted among the populace. Even the basest peasant bears witness to things far beyond the mundane, from the flying motes of land crashing through the sky above the Shattercrest Mountains to the self repairing cobblestone paths of the King's Valley. There are fantastic elements everywhere, all steeped in history: echoes of epic spellcraft from ages past, the great works of icons past and present, and eldritch beasts and beings draped in ancient lore. With that said, most of this magic isn't beneficial to the everyman, ranging from just being another part of the scenery to actively hazardous. It's only in the 7th age that magic's potential has begun to be harnessed to advance civilization.
Being based on 13th Age, Shardworld lends itself to tales of high action and perilous adventure. Over the course of campaigns, they grow from competent adventurers whose actions have effects on singular cities and small regions into mighty heroes who change the course of history.
Every fantasy setting comes bundled with a list of expectations and concerns anyone accustomed to the genre is familiar with. How does Shardworld treat the hallmarks of fantasy d20 RPGs?
Adventuring & The World: Shardworld takes inspiration from the setting theme of "points of light" popularized by 4th edition D&D. The world is recovering from the death of the High King and the shattering of the kingdom of Avindras into the four Low Kingdoms, followed by war between the newborn nations and a resurgence of the malevolent powers that had been pushed back in the last age. These powers were barely held at bay after the Low Kings agreed to a truce, but the damage was already done. Much of the world beyond the scattered bastions of civilization has been partially or entirely overrun by the shadows of these dark forces. Even within the cities, rebels, cults and worse continue to sow the seeds of discord. The truce that has held for three decades shows signs of faltering, and the forces of darkness in the unseen places and recesses of the Continent show signs of a renewed assault. All told, there is more need for adventurers today than there has been for a long time, brave men and women who can force back the shadows and reconnect the points of light.
Good vs. Evil: While there are certainly plenty of unambiguously wicked forces set on the end of civilization as we know it - the four villainous icons, in 13th Age terms - the remainder vary between heroic or ambiguous depending on perspective. The four Low Kings rule entire nations, and it is the nature of their responsibilities as kings that they are forced to make difficult choices and be seen as villains by some. The Synod, Locus, and Wildspeaker represent and protect divine, arcane, and druidic magic respectively, and while they generally pursue stability they too are seen as evil by hose they have hurt in their pursuance of the greater good. Finally, the Codex of Whispers varies between acting benevolently and despicably in accordance with unknown motivations. However, none of this means that adventurers need to be morally grey antiheroes, simply that the world is designed in an attempt to portray realistic implications of high fantasy tropes and human nature. There's plenty of room for heroes, but it's likely impossible that a hero would arise whose ideologies align with everyone.
As to the alignment of the icons, they're divided between order, neutrality, and chaos instead of the heroic/ambiguous/villainous division in the default 13th age setting. The four icons of order(The Divine Synod, The Locus, The Golden Emperor and The Lord Artificer) primarily seek to strengthen civilization, although their methods and views on what a strong civilization is differ. The chaotic* icons(The Great Khan, The Slumbering Ones, The Revenant, and the Hellmote) long to bring their own dooms upon the world. And the neutral icons(The Storm Rider, the Kraken Tamer, the Voice of the Wild and The Codex of Whispers) have their own motivations, separate from the struggle between order and chaos.
- Not chaotic in the classic sense of opposing law, but in the sense of bringing violence, havoc, and upheaval.
"Medieval Stasis": When it comes to politics, economies, and technology, Shardworld most closely aligns to a post-medieval, early modern/renaissance period. The High King did his best to progress civilization in his 200 year reign, and the world has moved past the decentralized feudal kingdoms of old. Politically, the nations of the Continent all exhibit some form of monarchy or central government with a singular leader. The Shining Empire is organized into principalities, allowed a degree of independence and a say in affairs that relate to them but required to pay fealty and tribute to the Golden Emperor in goods, coin, or soldiers. Athon is likewise organized into several provinces that each send a representative to the Lord Artificer's court, but he has the final say among his council. The Kraken Dominion is the second-most decentralized nation, organized into many demesnes and its peoples divided by rigid castes. While the Kraken Tamer ostensibly holds absolute power, those who hold the title generally see fit to keep to a hands-off approach, as long as each demesne pays taxes. The Orindi is vast, inhospitable, and its people value self-sufficiency and freedom - this is reflected in the large amount of independence the Storm Rider allows; order is instead maintained by a social hierarchy with room for mobility. Economically, mercantilism prevails, with trade in coin prevailing over the exchange of goods and advents in magically-aided communication technology promoting national unity. In poorer, isolated areas, barter still thrives, and power is held by land-owners beyond the eyes of the cities, or held by independent villages small enough to be mostly ignored. Every nation has some means to mystically bolster harvests, whether arcane, divine, or druidic, enough to increase the effective population by about a quarter-again of what it would be without. Spellsmiths, craftsmen with minor learned or innate magic, use their abilities to produce arcane trinkets and mundane goods of exceptional quality. Their work can be seen across the Continent: the main streets of cities are lit by lightglobes, not torches, and guardsmen and travelers are beginning to substitute lightrods for torches. Nearly every noble house and affluent merchant has an Athonese sending-circle, which can communicate with anyone who possesses one themselves; the sending-circles are also very popular among military officers. Spellsmiths of less than sterling morals make skeleton keys which shape themselves to fit any lock. And the spellsmiths of Athon have created a new class of weapon, fearsome devices that use enchantment, runes, alchemy, or some combination of all three to propel elemental energy long distances. Officially named thaumic energy projectors, most just call them gun and cannon*.
- You could call them mageguns or spellguns or whatever if you decide your version of Shardworld has gunpowder too. Mine doesn't.
Resurrection: If resurrection was common, the kingdoms of man wouldn't still be in disarray from the death of the High King that heralded the end of the 6th Age. There's no such thing as a common resurrection spell that every cleric with an acceptable amount of divine power gains access to. This isn't to say that many of those that command the forces of magic haven't tried to bring someone back. This generally almost always ends badly, but knowing this hasn't stopped people from trying. Results range from the corpse merely twitching a little and then returning to death, to spontaneous eruption of necromantic energies that animate corpses and stir vengeful spirits for miles around. Allegedly, an attempt to resurrect the Wyrm brought about the end of the 1st Age. A resurrection ritual succeeds perhaps once or twice a century, and the subject always is or turns out to be a figure of great import to history. The reason given for the inability to properly return a soul to its body varies depending on who you ask. A wizard of the Traveling Tower will likely recite some complex magical theory. A cleric of Yeteli will solemnly state that all souls are owed to their master, and she only releases one when coaxed by Fate. Superstition holds that souls returning bring with them malevolent hangers-on from the space between death and life. In addition, there is the occasional case of spontaneous resurrection, although this tends to be more over-reported the further one gets from centers of medical knowledge. Being someone who has been truly returned to life is a great Unique Thing for characters to have.
Divine vs. Arcane Magic: In the realms of arcana and theology, in the lofty spires of wizards and the cloistered depths of temples, there seems to be an eternal debate about the differences between the magic drawn from the energies flowing in to the Prime Material shard and the divine feats performed by the few in the clergy capable of such things. At first glance, it seems obvious that the two fields of magic draw on different sources. Among the wizards, many argue that wielders of the arcane are attuned to a purer source of energy than the likes of cleric and paladins, a position with a solid grounding in magical theory and haughty wizardly superiority, both very important to arcanists. However, an almost equally large proportion of wizards in academia theorize that at the basest level, all energy used to cast spells is fundamentally the same, just colored by its shard of origin and its wielder's proclivities and beliefs. On the other side of the debate, a significant amount of priestly orders state that wizards and sorcerers are incapable of achieving a connection to the divine shards where the gods now reside, an argument with a strong backing from the more zealous faiths. And yet, other sects posit that the gods control the font of all energy, and decree who gets to use it and in what way. This belief is championed by the magician-preachers that worship Galdicho, the god of magic. Detractors of this theory point to the fact that Galdicho's other domains include paradox and narcotics. The issue is muddied further by the existence of a rare few spellcasters referred to as theurges, capable of channeling both arcane and divine magics. Ultimately, it is unlikely an answer will be determined unless the gods decide to speak up sometime. Until then, the debate continues to be a source of rich intellectual stimulation, and the occasional righteous smiting or incensed fireball.
- The most common response on the subject from druids is a gruff, noncommittal shrug. The second most common response is a judiciously applied oaken staff to the shin, or the face when it comes to druids with a particular distaste for academia.
Plane-hopping: High-level PCs hopping between planes of existence is a hallmark of Gygaxian fantasy. However, Shardworld turns this practice on its head. It's well known among the scholars that study the shards and the interaction between them that the energies of other shards is antithetical to mortal life. Travel to other shards from the Prime Material, while possible in theory, results in the traveler being overloaded and ripped apart by the cosmic forces at work, a kind of "planar gravity" that violently pulls beings back to their shard of origin. However, since the Continent is at the metaphysical center of the Shardworld, it is entirely possible for energy from other shards to enter the Prime Material. Thus, in the places of the Continent where pathways to other shards bypass the almost all-encompassing protection of the Wyrm, the land warps and changes to reflect the energies of the shard funneling down to the Prime Material. These locations, called shardrealms, are scattered across the Continent, and range in size and severity of the change. Some shardrealms seem to be permanent in the absence of outside intervention, while some only last for moments, or change between mundane and mystical erratically. Some exceptionally powerful monsters and beings create magical ripples that cause minor shardrealm-like effects on the land around them*. Shardrealms are also the only places beings from other Shards can pass into the Continent from, outside of being summoned. Three examples of shardrealms are detailed below:
-The Muck: Located deep in the marshlands to the east of the Obsidian Sea, the Muck is a mile wide pit connected to the Rot, the shard demons call home. The bottom is a pool of inky black and perpetually churning oil. Rising from it is a tangled weave of decrepit trees and twisting vines wide enough for three men to walk abreast. Demons spawn from the pool and climb up the flora to plague the surrounding swamp.
-Hightemple: The coastal city of Hightemple was the seat of the gods of light when they still inhabited the Continent. Their departure left a portal to the shard they now inhabit, and while its strength has waned over time, Hightemple is still undoubtedly blessed. The city is suffused by a soothing light and the faint smell of incense, cathedrals seem to tower into the heavens, and it is said that miracles occur more in Temple than anywhere else.
-The Charred Hills: Suffused with the energies of the shard of fire, this stretch of hilly terrain bordering the southern mountains is covered in blackened, perpetually smoldering scrubland. Streams of lava flow through the terrain, originating from an active volcano in the center of the fragment. Fire elementals wander across the hills in their eternal dance, and soot vultures circle above. The Charred Hills would be uninhabited except for the very brave or very foolish if it wasn't for the fact that the volcano yields the largest rubies in the Continent.
But Where's My Loot?: The course of adventurers seems to unfailingly bring them into contact with powerful magic items, and no self respecting fantasy hero would be seen without a collection of enchanted armor, trinkets, and weaponry. Shardworld doesn't deviate from this, and magic items with histories stretching as far back as the 1st Age are scattered across the land. These items range from mighty to bizarre, and some are outright cursed. So don't worry, players, you'll get your swag.
Fin
So that's the basics, but there's still a lot more about Shardworld you'll want to know before you start the adventuring. I suggest you read the Icons page and at least skim the Traveler's Guide to start. Then, you can move on to the Races page and start to consider what you want to play.
