Description
GUIDE TO THE
LABYRINTH
WOLFGANG BAUR
GUIDE TO THE LABYRINTH Credits Designer: Wolfgang Baur Editors: Michele Carter, Meagan Maricle, Kenny Webb Cover Artist: Krzysztof Porchowski Jr. Interior Artists: George Johnstone, Viktoria Kanellopoulou, William O'Brien, Ian Perks, Roberto Pitturru, Kiki Moch Rizki, Florian Stitz, Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson Cartographer: Damien Mammolini Graphic Designer: Marc Radle Layout: Kennedy Williams Backer World Designers: Willy Alers, Alice Avoy, Boleslav, Patrick Boyer, Jonah Buck, Bob C., Brad Castles, Ressu Crebalt, Curtis, T.D. Daigle, Fish Davidson, Rob Dearsley, Stephen Diamond, Jason Dincauze, Stephen Michael DiPesa, Benjamin L. Eastman and Matthew Dunn, Echidna Design and Follow the Fool, Emirranth, Myth Epicweaver, Robert Fairbanks, Mycelia Fearne, Cameron Feiler, Scout Fenton, Lola Fortney, Mark G., gaelQuest, David Garrison, Marbles M Goblin, Richard Green, Ian “Grendel Todd” Grey, Austin H., Hbossssobh and Baldesion, Gabriel L. Helman, Jessica Henry, Levi Indvik, IrRyo, Darryl T. “Splattered Ink” Jones, Sawyer Judkins, Marc “DM Mythall” K., Phillip Larwood, Jeff Lee, John Leonas, Christopher Lockey, Nick “Jack1Spade” Lucas, Grant Martin, Phil Mason, David Mathews, Ryan McLaughlin, Paul McNeil and Edward Rollins, Nick Milton, R Moorhead, Isaac Morley, Vish Naidoo, Sean Nester, Zachery Newbill, Evan Noone, Bill Olander, Biometal
Omega, Daniel Paoliello, Justin C E Penner, Jeff Quick, Thomas M. Reid, Richter, Sebastian Rombach, Eric Sage and Gates Perrault, J Santana, Dreamfyre Shadowcaster, DC Shepard, Montana Sparks, Chelsea “Dot” Steverson, Will Struck, Brian Suskind and Jon Enge, Talador, Jonah Tappan and Katie Truelove, The Manhattan Kobolds, Jorge A. Torres, Jenn Tsai, Valin, Phil Welch, Mike Welham, Elliot Wenzel, William West, Wyrmworks Publishing
Kobold Warrens Publisher: Wolfgang Baur Chief Operations Officer: T. Alexander Stangroom Director Of Digital Growth: Blaine McNutt Art Director: Marc Radle Art Department: Amber Seger, Kennedy Williams Editorial Director: Thomas M. Reid Editorial Department: Scott Gable, Meagan Maricle, Jeff Quick Marketing Director: Chelsea “Dot” Steverson Marketing Department: Zachery Newbill, Kendrick Smith Senior Game Designer: Celeste Conowitch Project Manager: Amber Seger Sales Manager: Kym Weiler Customer Service Associate: Chris Wright
Kobold Press and the Kobold Press logo are registered trademarks, and Tales of the Valiant and the Tales of the Valiant logoare trademarks of Open Design LLC. ©2024 Open Design LLC. All rights reserved. www.koboldpress.com PO Box 2811 | Kirkland WA 98083
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Agiel ©2024 Jonah Tappan and Katie Truelove Aharat ©2024 Stephen Michael DiPesa Akamain ©2024 Jeff Quick Aldgate ©2024 Brian Suskind and Jon Enge Andovir ©2024 Wyrmworks Publishing Ascension ©2024 Isaac Morley Atlabel ©2024 The Manhattan Kobolds Aurelis, the Golden World ©2024 T.D. Daigle Avus ©2024 Jorge A. Torres Beyond ©2024 Zachery Newbill Bloodthorn ©2024 Scout Fenton Clockwork Nexus ©2024 Willy Alers Daudalaus ©2024 Jeff Lee Denarius ©2024 Mark G. Dunbourd ©2024 Jonah Buck Eighty Warden Moons ©2024 Grant Martin Elder Earth ©2024 Stephen Diamond Emeraldia ©2024 Mike Welham Eseriel ©2024 Sawyer Judkins Felsenreich ©2024 Justin C E Penner Ferlinn’s Backyard ©2024 Lola Fortney Galleria of Grunrundi ©2024 Chelsea “Dot” Steverson Gígan ©2024 Montana Sparks Heartwood ©2024 Nick Milton Hourglass Verse ©2024 William West Howling Isles ©2024 Austin H. Isles of Relaborham ©2024 Emirranth Lands of Linguis ©2024 Marc “DM Mythall” K. Lands of Parsantium ©2024 Richard Green Loastra ©2024 Marbles M Goblin Lorus ©2024 David Garrison Mal Scholastica ©2024 Boleslav Metras ©2024 Jeff Quick Miasma ©2024 Curtis Midgard ©2024 Kobold Press Mortenfell ©2024 IrRyo Nazeroth: The Cradle Lands ©2024 DC Shepard Neuveldt ©2024 Benjamin L. Eastman and Matthew Dunn Obrus ©2024 Fish Davidson Oedmorr Fel, the Tomb Planet ©2024 Christopher Lockey Paper World ©2024 Echidna Design and Follow the Fool Qoronus ©2024 Elliot Wenzel Realms of Nar-Threah ©2024 Robert Fairbanks Realms of Palannia ©2024 gaelQuest
Salmire ©2024 Bob C. Sarlana ©2024 Alice Avoy Séaraigh ©2024 Ryan McLaughlin Seas of Kirnon ©2024 Will Struck Severnitium ©2024 J Santana Shekhenah ©2024 Ian “Grendel Todd” Grey Siluriel ©2024 Thomas M. Reid Silver Valley ©2024 Sean Nester Skovannyy’bereg, the Fettered Shore ©2024 Paul McNeil and Edward Rollins Sol Imis ©2024 Cameron Feiler Sophia ©2024 Ressu Crebalt Soramance ©2024 Valin Spire Haven ©2024 Talador Stiriacus ©2024 Phil Welch Strand ©2024 Jenn Tsai Talamh ©2024 Jessica Henry Taloth ©2024 Biometal Omega Tammeryn ©2024 Phillip Larwood Televyse ©2024 Nick “Jack1Spade” Lucas Terra Obscurus ©2024 Vish Naidoo Terrack, The Cracked Continent ©2024 Jason Dincauze Terran Empire ©2024 Rob Dearsley Terrapeiro ©2024 Phil Mason Thaecosia Archipelago ©2024 Gabriel L. Helman The Alwaysgreen Forest ©2024 Darryl T. “Splattered Ink” Jones The Devoured Lands ©2024 R Moorhead The Labyrinth ©2024 Wolfgang Baur The Spectral Continent ©2024 Hbossssobh and Baldesion Thunderscar Isle ©2024 Sebastian Rombach Traeveon ©2024 Mycelia Fearne Trogaart ©2024 Daniel Paoliello Vadis ©2024 Eric Sage and Gates Perrault Verdani ©2024 Levi Indvik Vorel-Miir ©2024 Myth Epicweaver Vydal City ©2024 Evan Noone Westward Frontier ©2024 David Mathews Wezterealms ©2024 Dreamfyre Shadowcaster Wyrdstrands ©2024 Bill Olander Yestermorrow ©2024 Richter Yggdrasil ©2024 Patrick Boyer Zhiketh ©2024 Brad Castles Zorakan ©2024 John Leonas
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview......................................................................... 5 Campaigns in the Labyrinth...........................................5 How to Use This Book................................................... 6 Chapter 1: The Labyrinth........................................... 8 Brief History of the Labyrinth........................................ 8 Seven Secrets of the Labyrinth..................................... 8 Recent Events.............................................................. 9 Structure of the Labyrinth........................................... 10 Appearance and Exploration....................................... 11 People of the Labyrinth.................................................12 Culture Across Worlds................................................12 Languages.................................................................. 13 Time in the Labyrinth.................................................. 14 The Hub Calendar..................................................... 14 Holidays and Festivals................................................. 15 Modes of Travel.......................................................... 15 Four Pathways............................................................ 15 Three Shortcuts..........................................................17 Slides, Glitches, and Intermissions..............................17 Chapter 2: Heroic Factions......................................18 Concord of Stars (Concordans).....................................18 Overview....................................................................19 Goals..........................................................................19 Concordans in a Campaign.........................................19 Three Key Characters..................................................19 Keepers of the Keys (Keepers).......................................21 Overview....................................................................21 Goals..........................................................................21 Keepers in a Campaign...............................................21 Three Key Keepers..................................................... 22 The Old Ring (Elders).................................................. 24 Overview................................................................... 24 Goals......................................................................... 24 Elders in a Campaign................................................. 24 Three Key Elders.........................................................25 Servants of the Dreaming God (Dreamers)................... 26 Overview................................................................... 26 Goals......................................................................... 27 Dreamers in a Campaign............................................ 28 Three Key Dreamers.................................................. 28 Wanderers and the Lost............................................. 28
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Minor Wayfaring Groups............................................. 29 Forge of Truth (Smiths).............................................. 29 Lords and Ladies of the Bright and Shining Lands (Fey Knights)...................................... 29 The Radiant Order (Radiants).................................... 29 Wings of Alquam (Wings)........................................... 29 Pantheon of the Labyrinth........................................... 30 Chapter 3: Sites and Worlds....................................34 Fifty Famous Sites in the Labyrinth.............................. 34 Planes and Connections..............................................38 Astral Sea....................................................................38 Elemental Spheres......................................................38 Ethereal Plane............................................................38 Core Worlds.................................................................38 Armillary....................................................................38 Celestia......................................................................39 Coldforge...................................................................39 Dreamer’s Islands.......................................................39 Greater Hell of Tyver-Sarok........................................39 Midgard.....................................................................39 Shadow Realm...........................................................40 Summerlands............................................................40 Sunhome................................................................... 41 The Old Ring Worlds.................................................. 41 Yggdrasil, the World Tree........................................... 41 Dead Worlds................................................................ 42 Arch Sky.................................................................... 42 Black Velvet................................................................ 42 Whispering Dunes..................................................... 42 Outer Worlds............................................................... 43 Worlds A to F............................................................. 43 Worlds G to N............................................................ 48 Worlds O to S..............................................................52 Worlds T to Z..............................................................57
Chapter 4: The Void and Its Servants....................64 Void Factions............................................................... 64 Great Chantry............................................................ 64 Last Cathedral............................................................65 Followers of the Pure Void...........................................65 Void and Labyrinth Monsters...................................... 66 Cult Names..................................................................71 Labyrinth Art Preview.............................................72
Void giants exit a rift into the Labyrinth
OVERVIEW The minotaurs were the first to find the Labyrinth, of course. Their speech became its language, their maps and names its waypoints and markers. They opened the way. In that long-ago age, a minotaur scout named Arvannos discovered the way to walk into the Labyrinth—or perhaps it would be closer to truth to say he was the first to wander back out. Since that time, it has been the pathway to heroic adventure, the connection between all the worlds, bright and dark alike. The Labyrinth is the realm of heroes, a cosmos sometimes referred to as the Ten Thousand Worlds—though of course, the Labyrinth is only the pathway to the worlds. The worlds it touches range from the fair to the hellish, and from grim struggles against a final slaughter to bright lands of valiant heroism and roguish trickery. The worlds of the Labyrinth are worlds of adventure, and the Labyrinth can reach into any campaign. The Labyrinth offers you the opportunity to explore the worlds presented here and to forge new worlds of your own. See Chapter 1 for a description of the Labyrinth
itself, Chapter 2 for the heroes and their factions, and Chapter 3 for the Known Worlds and a sampling of worlds and settings from the Black Flag Roleplaying community. The most important characters in a Labyrinth campaign are those played by the game master (GM) and the heroes played by the players, known as player characters (PCs). These heroes include all the lineages of the Player’s Guide, who fight to keep the Ten Thousand Worlds free of the encroaching influence of the ever-hungering Void. See Chapter 2 for the heroic factions player characters can join and for a pantheon of the gods of the Labyrinth. The forces of the Void oppose the characters in these stories, as described in Chapter 4.
CAMPAIGNS IN THE LABYRINTH The Labyrinth provides an easy way for your group to visit any setting, drop in on a new world each week, and hop from your home game and back again—without changing or interfering with what makes your home game unique!
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Because the worlds of the Labyrinth are connected, characters can visit Midgard, the Shadow Realm, Parsantium, or any published world you like for a game session or two—and return to their home world without requiring planar travel or high-level spellcasting. At the same time, the Labyrinth has its own people, places, factions, creatures, and magic—more than enough to power a high-magic, high-heroism story or an entire campaign. Because the Labyrinth is a patchwork place, it is often under threat, cracked, and sometimes neglected. Its heroes are those who restore order to wasted lands of corruption, who rebuild and save the crumbling wards, and who heal the cracks in the great maze, so that its many worlds remain whole and connected. This book provides an overview of the Labyrinth setting and serves as a starting or introductory point to it. For more in-depth information on the Labyrinth and its inhabitants and on running campaigns in the Labyrinth, see the upcoming Labyrinth Worldbook.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This book presents people, places, creatures, and adventure ideas for your game. You can use these as add-ins to your game, or you can begin a game within the Labyrinth, featuring its people as the primary characters in a tabletop campaign.
Twisted Root Harbor, a stronghold of the Concord of Stars
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Characters. Note that all rules referenced here are from the Tales of the Valiant roleplaying game, which is compatible with 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. You can choose to use characters from either rule set in your game. It’s up to you and your players. Creatures. Monsters and foes from the Monster Vault are listed throughout, as well as creatures from Tome of Beasts 1, 2, and 3, and the Creature Codex. Factions. The setting assumes many player characters are members of some or most of the factions described in Chapter 2. PCs aren’t required to be a member of a faction, but membership opens up additional adventuring options and potential perks. Worlds. The worlds in Chapter 3 are examples and are used as a foundation set of worlds for official Labyrinth adventures—but they’re by no means exhaustive or even required to run games in the Labyrinth. Stories. Because the Labyrinth is the space between worlds, where hidden cities and strongholds are home to strange creatures and bold heroes, your stories are unlimited, and you can hop genres from horror to cottagecore to sword and sorcery as you please—each change of worlds can be a change of genre and tone. Your adventures can hop through rifts and portals into 10,000 worlds—or just to your three or four favorites, with a short stopover for a published adventure you especially like. With the secrets of the Labyrinth, an entire multiverse of storytelling options is at your disposal.
Cosmology of the Labyrinth, showing major worlds, regions, and connecting pathways
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A portal mage knows how to reach many worlds—and how to seal them shut.
CHAPTER 1: THE LABYRINTH The primary location binding the setting together is the “space between the worlds” known as the Labyrinth. It encompasses entire cities and pocket dimensions, though most of the Labyrinth consists of tunnels, bridges, and stranger pathways between the worlds. Regardless of whether the true nature of the Labyrinth is a dream or a mushroom root or the World Tree or a cracked egg of a world, the Labyrinth is a livable place. It is suffused by ether, which connects it to the elements. It is lightly connected to the Astral but more tightly to every other world, from the Hells to the fey realms to the new worlds and empty world husks drained by the Void. Precisely because it connects them all, this great maze makes it possible for the inhabitants of the Labyrinth and the worlds it touches to oppose the Void and its demons and cultists.
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Brief History of the Labyrinth While the Labyrinth has grown in size and population over centuries and generations, in some ways it remains a small and secret place where heroes and mystics delve into the cosmos and learn its mysteries. Here are some of the highlights of its history and recent events.
SEVEN SECRETS OF THE LABYRINTH These seven secrets of the Labyrinth setting give it a distinct character. Natives of the Labyrinth often take them for granted, but most visitors to the maze find them surprising or non-obvious. Worlds Can be Created and Destroyed. The people of the Labyrinth know that entire worlds can be born and die in days or can last timeless ages beyond mortal understanding. But worlds are not eternal: they can be
grown, built, or dreamed into existence, or they can arise spontaneously out of the Astral Sea. The Maze is Not a World, Only a Road. The Labyrinth itself is not a world but a set of passages, tunnels, rivers, roads, and other connections, along with a few small demiplanes. It may have been dreamed into existence by the minotaurs or (more likely) it predates them. Regardless, they awakened it somehow in the construction of their Great Maze. This maze connects all mazes on all worlds, it was the first world-linking path, and it gave the Labyrinth its name. Five Connections. Five connectors are the foundation of the Labyrinth: the greatest of these is its network of passageways, caverns, and tunnels—more commonly called pathways—which can be walked or traveled between worlds. In addition, four natural connectors exist: the River Styx, the branches of the World Tree, the Astral Sea, and the most dangerous path, which connects things through a deadly empty space, always close to chaos, called the Void. There’s some dispute as to whether the void-powered tears in reality truly can be called a connection (or indeed whether they are truly natural). However, they function well enough as connectors for void cultists and others willing to use them. All Roads Go Through the Maze. While there are shortcuts into the Labyrinth and back out again (primarily portals and rifts), all travel between one world and another goes through the Labyrinth at some point. Mortal Worlds Stand Alone. The worlds connected by the Labyrinth are all unique and all mostly inhabited in some fashion; they are much larger, deeper, and more populated than the Labyrinth itself. Their inhabitants are mostly ignorant of the existence of the Labyrinth; only Fiends, Celestials, voidlings (see Monster Vault), and the walkers of the Labyrinth know how and where to leave a mortal world for the pathways. Walkers Create Paths, Paths Create Roads. While no one would say that the Labyrinth itself is sentient, it does seem to grow by absorbing power from all four sources of magic: Arcane, Divine, Primordial, and Wyrd. The character of the Labyrinth can change if more travelers and walkers wielding a particular sort of power spend time on its pathways or settled in its caverns and strongholds. Void’s Hunger Cannot be Satisfied. While the void always seeks to devour and destroy worlds, its hunger never ends. There is no world so rich and no bargain so fine that the Void will cease to corrupt and eat worlds.
RECENT EVENTS The Void changes everything it touches and factions rise and fall over centuries—but the overall balance of the worlds stays true. Here are a few conflicts or turning points from recent decades in the Labyrinth.
APPROACH OF THE VOID
For long years, the forces of the Void had relatively few successes in gaining a permanent foothold in the Labyrinth, and many of the Concordan legions retired and returned to the celestial realms. In the last 20 years or more, though, it is clear the malevolent dragon Nidhogg, the scheming Voidmother, and the Brothers of the Last Cathedral have formed an alliance and are working together more closely than in times past. This alliance is weak, but at a minimum, the three great void factions are currently not undermining each other—which spells trouble for the Labyrinth. NIDHOGG’S FURY
The great dragon Nidhogg who gnaws the foot of the World Tree and whose spawn thrive in the Void and dark places of the Labyrinth has grown enraged by a recent theft of some great treasure or jewel. Like other, far less venomous dragons, Nidhogg prizes his collection of wealth, much of it stored as the bones of his enemies. The gossip among the void dragonborn is that one of his prized skulls has been stolen, or one of his even-more-prized lich-servants has escaped its confinement in writing the Doomsday Book, the volume that some of the Black Scribes believe will bring about the end times. See the Great Chantry in Chapter 4 for more information on Nidhogg’s current troubles and restlessness. NEW PRINCE OF DEATH KNIGHTS
Recently, death knight leadership has changed, as it does every 500 years or so, when a death knight prince is defeated and a new one rises. Now, the death knights are ruled by their prince, Visimar, who is the greatest overlord in the dead worlds, together with his brother, the Lich King Domitos. The prince generally follows the commands of the Brothers of the Last Cathedral in the field, carrying out orders and amassing armies and power of his own. Visimar is ambitious and cruel and (unlike his predecessor) horrifically cunning. Where death knights previously wandered and slaughtered anyone they met, the new prince’s skeletons and wights take prisoners, his ghouls and shades ask questions, and they all seem to be searching for something. ARRIVAL OF THE GREAT DREAM
More than 500 years ago, when Cartokk the Dreaming God (see Chapter 2) awoke and called to his followers, he promised them a Great Dream. It would send the Void to sleep and bring the Dreamers themselves a home in the Labyrinth: a place called the Dreamer’s Island, the eternal city, the city that Was, the City that Shall Be. The various Servants of the Dreaming God have either dreamt
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it themselves or heard from others that have. However, it has been centuries, and no one has found out where this might be, or when the Dreaming God might reveal it. In the last generation, a faction within the Dreamers has proclaimed that the city will not build itself, and thus that the Dreamers should be building it as quickly as they can on an island in the Astral not far from their stronghold. Arguments and dissension over interpretation are nothing new to the Dreamers, but the idea of Building the God’s City has divided the servants quite sharply. Some feel the Builders have no faith that all will soon be revealed, while the Builders believe making the Dreaming God’s dream city a reality is the ultimate show of faith. THE LIGHT OF THE SMITHY
The lights are on in the Smithy, the headquarters and hub of the Keepers of the Keys faction of arcanists and mechanists, but only just. They flicker each day at the 6th torch in a very clear way, as if someone were putting a shade over the city’s sky—normally, candles or arcane lights are not required in the Smithy except during the 12 torches of night. The source of this flicker is (naturally) of some concern to those who live in the Smithy, for while they can conjure light if they must, the decay of the lights of the Smithy may indicate some greater failure, or possibly the arrival of a void tear in their portion of the Labyrinth, ultimately capable of destroying the Smithy entirely. Several expeditions have consulted with angelic wizards specializing in radiant magic, with kobold mechanists who can examine the arcane workings of the city’s wards, and with demons and devils who might understand the powers required to douse a light that has burned for a thousand years. No one is panicked (yet), but the people of the Smithy would like the flickering to stop and any malign casters, infernals, or others responsible to be found and punished for disturbing the regular functioning of the Smithy.
King of the Death Knights
Structure of the Labyrinth At first glance, the Labyrinth shares similarities with a planar or multiverse campaign. The worlds connected by the Labyrinth are all distinct and different, but they aren’t arranged in a pattern like the Great Wheel of D&D cosmology, or the World Tree Yggdrasil of the Norse mythos. Their pattern, if one can be imposed, resembles a set of marbles scattered in the Void, connected by gossamer strings and of roughly equal import. There are no “outer planes” or “inner planes.”
WORLD CLASSIFICATION
World Type Features Sunlit
A safe world, growing, pleasant, innocent, and undiscovered. A land of plenty and joy.
Shadowed
The roots of the Void have sunk into the world but are weak and thin. Strongholds of great evil exist on the margins or in hidden places.
Warded
Darkened Lost
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A place of safety, but guarded and vigilant, sometimes needing to fend off evil visitors.
Undead and Fiends are common, as are deadly mists and plagues. These places are rich in Void magic, low in hope. Burning, dusty, frozen, airless, crumbled, or otherwise ruined. Nothing that lives can thrive.
In addition to that structural difference, the places connected by the Labyrinth are worlds, not infinite planes. They are the homes of mortal creatures and celestial beings, transfused by more or less magic, and each different in a thousand ways from all others. The Labyrinth connects mortal worlds, not mystical realms of the afterlife. Some faiths believe that the Hells and the celestial realms are the afterlife for all creatures; others see them as places where fiends and celestials come from but consider them the antechambers of divinity at best. The gods, these faiths claim, have no material home—they are entirely spiritual or immaterial, or they dwell in worlds so distant from mortal comprehension as to be effectively unreachable until a soul crosses the boundary of death into the afterlife. Rather than divine halls and godly concerns, the essential question of any world of the Labyrinth is its degree of threat or freedom from the Void, and how it protects itself. Travelers of the Great Maze of the Labyrinth use the following schema to measure and describe worlds they have visited, sometimes called the taxonomy of worlds.
APPEARANCE AND EXPLORATION It is difficult to generalize the appearance of the Labyrinth, but in its most common form, it is a series of tunnels, caverns, underground rivers, enclosed hedge mazes, endless halls and stairs, or (in a few cases) starlit paths surrounded by glimmering darkness or a foggy riverbank that seems to loop back on itself at every stream and crossing. It is often dank, musty, or simply worn—each step feels like a step on stones and dirt that were somehow conjured out of the Astral Sea or ripped from elemental earth to make a constructed space. The great exception to the ramshackle, cavernous, and occasionally dingy nature of the Labyrinth is in its bottled cities, demiplanes, and ruins of the ancients. Exploring these areas offers the greatest opportunity for finding a settlement, provisions, and treasure of ancient times. Bottled Cities. While the worlds beyond the Labyrinth luxuriate in sunlight, rain, and fertile soil, the rather more cramped spaces of the bottled cities still seem like a slice of paradise to those who have been crawling through corridors and pathways carved by trail snails (see Labyrinth Worldbook) and infested with sapphire jelly (see Labyrinth Worldbook). Bottled cities are places like the Smithy or the Twistedroot harbor—a small magical space similar to an enormous, magical pocket dimension, with buildings, light that glows 12 torches on, 12 torches of twilight, and usually enough fertile soil or orchards to feed a thousand people or more. These sites are the creations of the Keepers of the Keys faction and the mechadrons, who understand how to build a small but fully functional space between worlds utilizing the power of the Arcane magic source.
Demiplanes. Similar to a bottled city but considerably larger, demiplanes are small worlds, and many of the Elders and Dreamers believe they will grow into full worlds, given time. For now, they are often entirely self-sufficient places: a small province of deerlike alseid (see Tome of Beasts 1) in a forest demiplane, or a sturdy group of midnight dwarves (see Labyrinth Worldbook) in a demiplane rich in jewels or mithral, perhaps a chunk of elemental Earth cast adrift and becoming a larger space year by year. Demiplanes seem to be either grown from a shoot of the World Tree, or bits of Primordial matter spun into something livable by the giants, Elders, elementals, or others. It is widely believed that many of today’s worlds were once demiplanes that were grown or nurtured into full worlds by such beings. Ruins of the Ancients. One of the great discoveries for any maze explorer is finding ancient ruins of the Qoradan (or very similar ruins of the Damoshar) built before the year 1 by the progenitors of the current Labyrinth. These ruins often take the form of “wheel cities” with a circular street plan and
Star Elf Wizard of the Concord
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either 4 or 8 pathways connecting to other worlds. Because of their age, most or all of their pathways lead to dead worlds—which means that discovering and plundering a Qoradan ruin usually requires visiting and surviving one of the dead worlds.
People of the Labyrinth The Labyrinth contains endless lineages and four primary heroic factions, as well as a whole lot of Wanderers and Lost—those who stumbled into the Labyrinth and know little about it.
CULTURE ACROSS WORLDS The Labyrinth’s people have two primary sorts of cultures: settled peoples that reside in scattered demiplanes and bottled cities, and nomadic peoples that move from world to world to gather food and expand their territories. In addition, many hybrid cultures maintain a bottled city or a demiplane, but supplies and vital resources for these settlements come from worlds outside the Labyrinth. ANCIENTS (EXTINCT)
Long ago, a colossal race of gargantuan and primordial creatures, sometimes called the Qorads, or the Demoshar, built titanic islands, bridges, and strongholds in the Labyrinth. They were its first architects, but most of their work, indeed their entire home world, was corrupted and lost. Only a few portals of Qorad architecture remain functional; most have been mined for precious materials or have simply lost their power source. Some believe that many such progenitor groups existed, each with architecture that is linear, huge, and distinctive, optimized to connect worlds quickly and effectively. BOATWRIGHTS (NOMADIC)
Masters of the Styx, the Boatwrights are a primarily human culture of traveling folk who earn their keep ferrying people up and down the Styx. Some are diabolists, others follow one of the factions, but their numbers are few. As natives to the Styx, they know its fish, its currents, and its quirks better than anyone. They do a steady trade with the Hells, shuttling the Hell Caravans up and down the Styx when needed. CONCORDAN AND CELESTIAL (HYBRID)
The Concord of Stars faction is to some degree headquartered in Sunhome, but its mission of repelling the Void and saving worlds from destruction means that large groups of Concordans, called legions, wander the Labyrinth on missions that may take years or decades.
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Some legions (like the infamous Azure Lions) wander for decades, supported by mechadrons, by angelic supply wagons, and by their faith in their work. DREAMERS (NOMADIC)
As the youngest faction, the Servants of the Dreaming God, commonly called Dreamers, have the fewest places to settle, and they are restless by nature. In pilgrimages to holy sites, in preaching their visions and their dreams, and in seeking truth and beauty, they are often very poor and rarely patient enough to build more than a shrine. Most dreamers are entirely nomadic, traveling in groups in dangerous places but happily wandering in pairs and family groups as well. FAR TRADERS (NOMADIC)
Rarely trusted but rarely turned away, the merchantpeddlers and tinkers called the Far Traders have gone much farther afield than most Labyrinthians. They bring secrets to the Keepers, dreams to the Dreamers, and the promise of new radiance and new worlds to everyone. The Far Traders are one of the few groups that trade freely with mortal peoples, devils of the Hells and cultists of the dead
Void Dragonborn
worlds. Some believe they are seeking the homeworld of the Ancients, a well of immortality, or the like. INFERNAL (HYBRID)
The devils of the Hells have worlds they call home, but those worlds can’t support all of them. They go out to conquer fresh worlds, steal from existing worlds, or simply take what they need in trade and barter. The Hell Caravans are large, well-organized expeditions that, like the Concordan legions, can spend months or even years on the pathways from world to world. KEEPERS (SETTLED)
By far the most settled faction of the Labyrinth, the Keepers of the Keys are crafters, makers, and scholars, and few of them ever want to leave the safety of the Smithy. Keeper culture revolves around making and maintaining portals and gates and around making maps and tools to strengthen the Labyrinth’s odds against Void attacks and general decay.
LANGUAGES Four standard languages are commonly spoken across the Labyrinth, and a fifth is reasonably well known. Dozens of esoteric languages are known as well. All the languages included in the Player’s Guide are spoken somewhere amidst the many worlds of the Labyrinth and can still be chosen by PCs during character creation as desired. However, the most useful language options for a Labyrinth-specific campaign are detailed here. STANDARD LANGUAGES
Sometimes called Labyrinthine, the Common tongue is the interworld dialect of the Ten Thousand Worlds. At one time, it was the language of the minotaurs, precisely because that
OLD RINGS (SETTLED)
Most members of the Old Ring faction have a forest village or a full city to call home, somewhere on the World Tree or the worlds of the Old Ring. Though they wander to hunt and trade, their homes are where their hearts lie: beautiful growing worlds and the world trees that connect them.
Library automatons are fluent in Machine Speech
VOID CULTISTS (HYBRID)
Unique collections of peoples and one of the most common dangers to anyone in the Labyrinth are the void cultists. These cultists and their various factions are described in more detail in Chapter 4.
STANDARD LABYRINTH LANGUAGES
Language
Also Called…
Celestial
Angel’s Tongue
Common
Labyrinthine
Elder Speech
Druidic
Infernal
—
Void Speech
—
Typical Speakers
Celestials, creatures of the celestial realms Creatures of the Labyrinth, minotaurs
Old Ring world dwellers, druids, elves, giants
Devils, chols, creatures of the Hells
Servitors of the Void, derro, satarre, void dragons
Script
Celestial Common
Elvish
Infernal
Void Speech
ESOTERIC LABYRINTH LANGUAGES
Language Elvish
Also Called… —
Machine Speech Cliktar Qoradan
Sylvan
Umbral
Typical Speakers
Script
Mechadrons
Unreadable by non-Constructs
Summerlands fey, creatures of the Old Ring worlds
Elvish
Elves, creatures of the Old Ring worlds
Elvish
Dreamer’s Argot
Servants of the Dreaming God
—
Shadow fey, darakhul, bearfolk, creatures of the Shadow Realm Elvish
—
Elvish
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lineage was the first to settle and live within the Labyrinth. It is a language full of excellent terms for directions, landmarks, turnings, and other terms related to travel and navigation—including a vocabulary specific to magical pathways, portals, and obstacles, and terminology specific to void rifts and corruption. Locals on most Labyrinthine worlds understand the common Labyrinthine language— with the exception of the few worlds entirely devoid of mortal peoples. Labyrinthine is the primary language of the Keeper and the Dreamer factions (see Chapter 2). The second major language of the Labyrinth is the Elder Speech, spoken throughout the Old Ring and related to Druidic, Giant, and Elvish. While most speakers of Druidic, Giant, or Elvish can make themselves partially understood to those who know the Elder Speech, it is a stumbling and halting affair. The language is thought to be related to the speech of the Ancients (or at least, the Elders like to think of themselves as the proper inheritors of the Ancients). The third major language is Void Speech, spoken by the cultists, void dragons, derro, death knights, demons, and others who frequently visit and conquer portions of the Labyrinth. It is the language of the Outer Darkness, used by malevolent forces to bring about mayhem, destruction, and death, and it is often used in dark rituals and bindings. The fourth major language is the Celestial speech, which is used widely among the Concord worlds and people (and exclusively in the celestial realms, where other languages clang and echo unpleasantly). It is an orderly language of incredible depth and clarity. It includes a bewildering number of terms for light, sanctity, prayer, and justice, and a surprisingly clear set of categories describing dark magic, corruption, and other forms of evil or wrongdoing. Proclamations in some regions of the Labyrinth are declaimed in Celestial first, then Labyrinthine, “because it just sounds more official that way.” Finally, the last somewhat widely known language is Infernal, the language of the Hells. As a language of hierarchy and command, it excels—groups of chol mercenaries and widross demons (see Labyrinth Worldbook) often adopt it as the preferred language for a mercenary company, and Labyrinthine bandits often find its terms and its speed useful for ambushes, maneuvers, and orders. As a language of trade and diplomacy, it is sorely lacking. Even risolan devils (see Labyrinth Worldbook) directly from the hell of Tyver-Sarok prefer to use Common or Elder Speech when among humans or others. ESOTERIC LANGUAGES
Though dozens of esoteric languages echo through the Labyrinth, three are particularly common. Machine Speech (Cliktar). Machine Speech, called Cliktar by most Labyrinth dwellers, is a language of clicks, beeps, and clacks spoken almost solely by gearforged
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(see Labyrinth Worldbook) and mechadrons. Because it requires mechanical clicks and high-speed interpretation of just 3 or 4 phonemes, it is largely impossible for fleshbodied creatures to understand, read, or speak with any fluency. Most interpretation of Cliktar is done via magical translation or by painstaking transcription of written forms of the language. Qoradan (Dreamer’s Argot). Largely a religious language spoken by the Servants of the Dreaming God, Qoradan concerns itself with the recitation of sacred prophecy and the transcription of fortune, dreams, and world-shaping. Much of its written lore concerns new worlds, old dreams, and hazy, mystic rules for leading a good life. Qoradan has some intriguing similarities to the language of the Ancients, primarily because it uses a similar script and similar syllables and phonemes. Umbral (Shadow Speech). Spoken by the shadow fey, some elves, the darakhul, and a few bearfolk, umbral is the language of the Shadow Realm. It is rarely heard elsewhere.
Time in the Labyrinth As a place without the natural seasons or rhythms known in mortal worlds, time in the Labyrinth is a difficult thing, measured in units such as the “torch” (meaning the time that a torch or light spell lasts, or 1 hour) and the “day” (meaning 24 torches). But the week and month are not consistently used terms, and the Common tongue tends to use days up to 91 as a “season.” Four seasons make a year.
THE HUB CALENDAR The hub calendar is the standard for all factions, and it starts with the year 1 of the First Labyrinth, roughly 5,100 years ago, when Arvannos the minotaur stumbled into the maze’s darker corners. Since then, there have been 4 ages: the Age of Minotaurs, sometimes called the Age of the Great Ring, from the year 1 to the year 1252, when came the Age of the Celestials. At that time, the Concord counts its years until 3731, when began the Age of Portals. The Keepers count their first years from 3732 to 4590, when Cartokk the Dreaming God woke. Thus, the most recent age is the Age of Dreams, starting at 4590 and running to the current year, 5124. Each year of the Hub calendar thus has 364 days, plus one non-calendrical holiday, namely New Year’s Day, when the clocks are stopped, and all work is put aside in favor of a day of remembrances and celebrations. However, there is a second calendar sometimes found in the Labyrinth, called the Old Reckoning, which was used by the Ancients in their buildings and on their stelae and runestones. It seems to run over at least 4,000 years before the First Labyrinth and uses a slightly confusing set
A Lost Minotaur
who always seem to spot it first. It is often celebrated with clever masks, music, and dancing, and a particular cake called the “Tree Knot” and (for ratatosk) nut cakes. Feast of Arvannos. A remembrance of the founding of the Labyrinth, usually celebrated with a somewhat solemn meal to remember all the Lost of the labyrinth and those fallen to the Void. In some places, a procession to a graveyard, memorial, or mausoleum is part of the event. First Pathway Feast. This holiday celebrates the young and the explorers of the Labyrinth, and it is a raucous affair with beer, wine, and often highly spiced snail sausage (named for its spiral shape, rather than its contents). New explorers are given a first torch and led in a ceremonial journey around their city, stronghold, or local shrine to a major god of knowledge. New Year’s Day. Celebrated with oaths to discover new places or defend the old, New Year’s Day is the closest thing the Labyrinth has to a universal holiday, as it celebrates one more year of keeping the Labyrinth pathways whole and clear, one more year of survival for the struggling or of triumph for those who have had good fortune. A bard or singer is usually invited to perform a song or orate the story of the community’s successes in martial deeds, great scholarship, mighty magic, or in keeping its young folk alive and its older folk healthy.
Modes of Travel
of nested 91-day seasons, each of which contains 7 long counts of 13 runs. The seasons are organized into 23-season great counts, each roughly 5-and-a-half years long by the Hub calendar. Only the Keepers seem to understand the Old Reckoning.
HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS The Labyrinth has rather few holidays and festivals shared among all its people, though birthdays, founding days, and even particular faction holidays all exist. The primary holidays known in many places are the World Tree Festival in the spring season, the Feast of Arvannos in the summer season, the First Pathway Feast in the fall season, and the New Year’s Day festival at the end of the winter season, to start the new year with joy and well-laid plans. World Tree Festival. Celebrated primarily in the Old Ring and by people and worlds connected to the Old Ring, the World Tree Festival celebrates the first leaf buds on Yggdrasil, as reported by the ratatosk (see Tome of Beasts 1)—
Getting around the Labyrinth is much easier than some suppose, though not without substantial dangers to the ignorant. Four primary modes of travel allow passage within the Labyrinth. In addition, three shortcuts can help a traveler swiftly move from world to world—but their use almost always comes with a price. In almost every case, a trip between worlds requires time in the Labyrinth.
FOUR PATHWAYS Sometimes referred to off-handedly as “river, road, and portal,” the Labyrinth setting offers four primary methods to move within the Labyrinth itself. PASSAGEWAYS, ROADS, AND TUNNELS
The most obvious and least taxing method is to travel the Labyrinth’s tunnels, roads, and passageways on foot or horseback. Moving from place to place in the Labyrinth often leads one from one world to another. One enters the maze in one world, and leaves the maze in another one: in between, one might pass through the Smithy, a forest world of the Old Ring, or merely a set of tunnels and hedges and echoing valleys devoid of birdsong. “Walking the maze” is how most expeditions find new worlds or bring plunder from some dead world back to a home base
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or uncover an infestation of the void cult. These paths and tunnels fade slowly from the Labyrinth into the destination, or vice versa. In some cases, the beginning is very clear indeed, such as when the Concordan war priests of Herak Mavros (see Chapter 2) summon the war road into being, and a Concordan legion marches out to destroy some demon’s lair or cult stronghold. In most cases, the tunnels are simply those of minotaur or Qoradan origin, long traveled and reasonably well known by Labyrinth cartographers. BRANCHES OF THE RING
The followers of the Old Ring know and use the pathways, but they also know the oak roads, the branches and pathways of the World Tree. Some ratatosk claim these predate the minotaur maze (for there had to be a world tree before one can build a maze). Certainly, all such world tree branches and roads are empowered by the Primordial source
A portal of the Great Chantry
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of power more than any Divine or Arcane element. The elders say that all worlds of the Ring and all worlds grown from seeds are connected as easily as branches are to trunks and as tightly as roots are wrapped together beneath the earth. Perhaps this is druidic mysticism and braggadocio, but it is certainly true that anywhere a forest grows, the Elders seem to have a portal to the Labyrinth handy. THE RIVER STYX
Taking a boat up or down the Styx, also known as traveling the river road, is a relatively straightforward endeavor, especially if one has friends among the Boatwrights or owns a small and agile craft. For those less confident about their skills on the water, peddlers along the banks sell magic scrolls and devices that make it quite easy to find a vessel, embark and disembark, and otherwise master the river road. The only limitation is that the Styx flows only where it flows, and most worlds are not connected to it at all.
ASTRAL SEA
VOID RIFTS
While certainly the most dangerous and least charted pathway, a voyage on the Astral Sea can move travelers in a large group in relative comfort along what are known as star roads. However, the presence of derro fleets, astral destroyers, doppelgangers, and voidlings (see Monster Vault for all) within the sea makes it decidedly less popular than the other pathways. The Concord of Stars faction has utilized their mastery of Divine magic to harness angelic chariots (called dymaxions or chariot angels) for easy flight across the Astral Sea, and some believe the war road of Herak-Mavros is simply an instance of a star road somehow projected across the otherwise non-astral firmament.
The most dangerous and unstable method of traversing worlds is the void rift. These come in two varieties: the double rift and the void folding. The first brings a creature directly from the Void or a dead world to the Labyrinth, and then a second rift leads that creature to a living world or other target for demons and cultists to overcome. These double rifts are usually created by a void rift spell with or without the assistance of a ripper (see Labyrinth Worldbook). Far stranger is the void folding, a form of bending of the structure of worlds that should be impossible. Somehow, void cults use the power of their destructive plane to create a dark portal between any two worlds, without transiting the Labyrinth at all and without more than raw void energy to sustain it. These foldings are wildly unstable and dangerous. They spew void and chaotic energies all around them until, within a matter of days or weeks at most, they collapse, destroying a goodly portion of the land around them and turning it either into void dust or purple mire (see Labyrinth Worldbook for both).
THREE SHORTCUTS While most journeys to another world do involve physical travel, there are magical shortcuts, most of which come at a higher price than boot leather. GATES AND PORTALS
Great magical or divine portals can create shortcuts in the Labyrinth, or they can go from the Labyrinth itself into a particular world without the need for a long journey. This creation of portals and gates is the specific expertise and power of the Keepers of the Keys and (to a lesser extent) the Concord of Stars. Those portals created by the Keepers of the Keys are arcane and mechanical, with precise clockwork, timed gear-driven invocations, and a deep understanding of the Arcane power source. The portals created by the Concord of Stars are far shinier, often as bright as the sun when operating, and hostile to malevolent creatures trying to pass through them. Not surprisingly, these divine portals tend to be of more limited duration than the arcane devices the Keepers build. DREAMS
The Servants of the Dreaming God find travel in the Labyrinth so easy, they sometimes do it in their sleep. Upon sleeping and dreaming of a new world or an old memory, they awake in that place. Sometimes their companions come with them, sometimes their companions are left behind. This seems to be a gift of the Dreaming God Cartokk, and usually, the transport through a dream serves the god’s purpose in some way. Such dreams are referred to as a “seeker’s transit” and are entirely a function of the Wyrd source of magic power.
SLIDES, GLITCHES, AND INTERMISSIONS The Labyrinth sometimes seems sentient or whimsical because portals—even well-known portals—don’t always lead where they are supposed to go. These are referred to variously as slides, glitches, or intermissions, and they may interrupt travel by any shortcut (portal, vision, or rift). When this happens, the portal or dream seems normal, the rift opens as expected—then it leads the wanderer or traveler to a different destination for at least 12 and up to 36 torches. Depending on whether this is a slide into a dead world, an undiscovered world, or a friendly world, the results can be enjoyable or terrifying. At the end of that time, any and all affected travelers are transported the rest of the way to their intended destination. Traversing one of the four pathways never leads to this kind of glitch or slide.
THE CELESTIAL REALMS Visitors not familiar with the Labyrinth sometimes assume that the celestial realms are a literal afterlife or heaven. While they are inhabited by angelic powers and celestial beings as well as by sydereans and friendly mechadrons, the celestial realms seem to be simply extremely well-regulated, well-ordered worlds untouched by the taint of the Void. Inhabitants of the celestial realms say the gods do not rule there directly: archangels do, as archdevils do in the hells.
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A stronghold of the Concord of Stars on Sunhome
CHAPTER 2: HEROIC FACTIONS A vast number of factions, groups, and individuals enter the Labyrinth and venture through it into the Ten Thousand Worlds, seeking adventure or plunder or power. Four groups—the Concordans, Keepers, Elders, and Dreamers—created a purpose for themselves within the Labyrinth as seekers, guardians, and protectors. Members of these factions recruit heroes from backwater worlds or show up unexpectedly to defend a world against encroaching shadow and maintain outposts on a handful of worlds, seeking to expand their foothold with the help of heroic explorers and adventurers.
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Concord of Stars (Concordans) We stood before the anomaly, watching its pulsing silver light shift into purple. The Void screamed and waves upon waves of selang foot soldiers struck against us. Our world quavered and everything blurred as our physical forms began to erode into the blackness—only faith and sunfire armor kept our bodies intact. —Report of Commander Tarben, 7th Cohort of Sunhome, on his return The servants of the Concord are the mortal servants of the celestial realms, the stars and spheres, and the gods of light. Or so they say, and most of the Concord are trustworthy. Their great homeworld is Sunhome, though their keeps and strongholds are scattered throughout the Labyrinth. They frequently build camps and fortifications near any world they see as in danger of corruption by the Void.
OVERVIEW
CONCORDANS IN A CAMPAIGN
Few individuals gaze upon the Void without a sense of dread, fear, and hopelessness. Mortals understand little of what lies beyond the reality they perceive. Those of the Concord of Stars see a larger view, from high in the heavens, from remote astral castles, and from worlds near the Celestial Realms where understanding comes more easily and angelic messengers, cloud elf battle mages, and the like are on hand to offer their wisdom. The Concord of Stars accepts the Void as an absolute, a truth, a part of a greater revelation that lies beyond the grasp of mortals— and as a dark truth that must be opposed, lest it overwhelm and devour all the living parts of the Ten Thousand Worlds. The Concord of Stars consists of good-aligned scholars, astronomers, occultists, and esoteric priests captivated by the tapestry of interweaving energies that form reality. The warp and weave of these energies creates a harmonious interplay they refer to as the concord of existence, or concord of the stars. Though they acknowledge the immense power of the Void as a foe, members of the Concord do not try to control or manipulate its energy. Instead, the Concord listens to the stars and good-aligned forces arrayed against Void.
Most Common Classes: Cleric of Solana or Sabateus, paladin, wizard Most Common Lineages: Elf (primarily of the Cloud heritage), dwarf (primarily of the Fireforge heritage), human, syderean (celestial)
GOALS The primary purpose of the Concord of Stars is to keep the concord of existence intact and to thwart the servants of the Void. The Concord of Stars works to protect reality against Void rifts, Void creatures, and Doom magic. It counters or destroys mortals who gather to siphon Void energy. The Concord uses radiant magic and its connections to the divine and Celestial Realms to gather holy weapons, celestial magic, and tools as simple as bright light to drive away darkness. Factions within the Concord debate the Void’s primary purpose. Many in the Concord believe the Void operates with an intelligence or spark of collective unconscious—or at least, that void lords and dark gods can direct the Void to suit their own ends. They believe studying darkness is as important as defeating it. Others in the Concord believe this is rank nonsense and believe the Void can only be contained and exterminated, never turned to any worthy purpose. Concordans seek a deeper understanding of reality and the way that worlds and nations rise and fall. They also defend against the void lords who reweave and manipulate the secrets of the Void to build counter-realities forged from doom, despair, and madness.
Good doesn’t always mean right. Despite their best intentions, the Concordans occasionally make decisions and actions that have profoundly negative results. While the faction never sees itself in a villainous role, the player characters may perceive their intentions as villainous. If you as the GM choose to position the Concord of Stars as an antagonist, assume its members act out of what the Concordans believe are righteous and goodly intentions. The Concord remains protective of its members and jealous of its power and position under Celestial protection, not to mention its literal alliance with archangels. The following text suggests ways to employ the Concord as an adversary. Closing a Rift Prematurely. In their haste to prevent corrupting energies from seeping into a particular world, the Concord may take swift but underinformed efforts to close a Void rift prematurely. They might trap innocent people within the rift, seal off Void rifts used by a nearby settlement, prevent a Void creature from escaping back to its own world, or cut off the power from items reliant upon Void energy as a power source—no matter what happens, Void energy should not power any magical item, according to the Concord. Triggering Void Backlash. In their military arm, the Concord tends toward overconfidence rather than deliberation, and their work can take on the fervor of a crusade. When dealing with creatures or anomalies that channel Void energy, Concordan agents might underestimate those entities’ ability to control, harness, or otherwise direct Void energy. The Concord might cause an implosion that sucks objects into the Void plane and corrupts a region around the origin point, an explosion that floods a place with volatile Void energy, or a chain reaction that opens a new Void rift and attracts Void creatures, such as voidlings, insatiable broods, or golmana demons (see Monster Vault for all).
THREE KEY CHARACTERS Concordans are warriors at heart, whether the literal and the righteous swords of the Celestial Realms or the priests and mages who burn out darkness and corruption at every opportunity. The PCs might meet or hear about the three following best-known heroes of the faction. They reside in worlds near the Celestial Realm, fight at the front against the Void, or convene in the Smithy to plan their next march.
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ALDERIC SKYTOUCHED, THE SILVER MARSHAL
PHANTARRA, ELVEN HIGH WAR MAGE
Of all the warriors of the Concord, none is as well known in song and story as Alderic Skytouched in his wolf-snout helmet and sunfire armor. As a Sabatean paladin and commander of the Concordan First Legion, he leads the way into battle against the worst breaches of the Void, against demonic incursions into fading worlds, and on missions to rescue hostages seized by cultists. His martial skill is honed to a fine edge, and he bears a deep love for the Concord and its people. But he holds a secret as well: Alderic is a werewolf, and though he carefully controls this curse, he insists on retreating to the worship of Sabateus a few nights each month (See Pantheon in Chapter 3). When gravely wounded, he adopts full wolf form and slaughters anyone within reach. Several of the high command know his secret, but most Concordans are unaware of his lupine nature.
Armored in sunfire and warded by pure star magic, Phantarra is an elvish battle mage (see Player’s Guide) who carries a bitter anger. Her husband was slain by undead on a distant world, his body devoured by ghouls and unrecoverable. Ever since, her focus shifted from protecting the worlds of the Labyrinth to taking the fight to the dead worlds of the Void and now to executing every last cultist who bargains with shadow and darkness and cleansing the multiverse with golden fire. Phantarra has a mission. She has plans. And she has no time for fools. UNTHER, HIGH ARCHIVIST AND SEPTON
Unther is a human cleric of Solana who loves knowledge and radiant magic and whose enchantments and wardings are among the most powerful the Concord can muster. Unther is both valued and feared among Concordans because his role as Archivist also means he is the faction’s spymaster, chief strategist, and sometimes its inquisitor. Through his spies, scryings, and generous purse, he is extremely well informed of any hint of corruption within the Concordan ranks.
CONCORD ADVENTURE HOOKS
d12
Description
2
Enemies of the Concord infuse a clockwork golem with void alchemical fuel and set the creature on a berserk killing spree.
1
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Concord agents track down a shapeshifting void creature disguised as a void merchant tasked with transporting valuable goods. Smuggled within the goods is void ritual material used to empower cultists and increase chaos.
Player characters unwittingly tamper with a void rift and must face the Concord’s high tribunal. They must repair the damage or face banishment from the ranks of the Concord. The PCs encounter a young human woman dying of Void Taint who begs them to take her to the High Archivist Unther. When he attempts to heal her, the Void surges into the victim and she attempts to murder the Archivist.
A backlash of void energies rips through a Concord enclave, killing several agents. Surviving Concord members summon the characters, pleading for them to aid in a ritual to close the Void rift.
The Concord learns enemies are plotting to assassinate the Arch-Septon during his speech at the Solar Festival. The PCs must foil the attempt. A member of the Concord is scheduled for public execution for stealing a void artifact taken from a powerful regent with questionable ethics. The PCs are asked to rescue the Concord agent and recover the artifact.
The PCs encounter a fear-stricken individual who cannot recall anything about himself. The individual is dressed in garments that suggest he is a member of the Concord of Stars. The Concord learns a celestial chariot has gone missing; the PCs are sent to recover it and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
Concord agents guard an isolated outpost in which they have imprisoned a powerful voidling in a magical orb. The orb cracked, and the voidling drove some of the guards mad. They turned on their allies and now attempt to wrest the orb from its prison and free the voidling.
Doppelgangers seize a small enclave by assuming the identity of members of the Concord of Stars. They plan to acquire the identities of powerful members in larger enclaves, and slowly corrupt these settlements with their own rule. The PCs stumble across a doppleganger just as she is replacing a Concordan mage. The PCs are asked to investigate the corpse of a would-be assassin. A strange marking on the man’s wrist suggests he has ties to the Concord of Stars. When confronted, the Concord deny any association with the assassin, though officials demand justice for the murder.
Marshall of the Silver Star
OVERVIEW The Keepers were the first to discover the secret of creating new gates both into and out of the Labyrinth, rather than growing them as the Elders do. They took on the mission of connecting every world of heroes and valor via the Labyrinth: to turn the tide against the Void by enabling the heroes of one world to save another, and to arm those heroes with weapons against the Void. The Keepers are great wizards, alchemists, crafters, and smiths, many of them dwarves. Concordans, Elders, and Dreamers depend on the Keepers for armaments. The Keepers might not be great warriors, but they are fearsomely well informed, armed with the plans, enchantments, and tools used against the Void—and information gathered from spies, scrying, and enchanted grimoires. The Keepers are interested in exploration for its own sake, and they are great allies and often personal friends of the mechadrons, the gearforged, and other clockwork creatures, lineages, and gods. They value work.
GOALS
Physically, Unther is unremarkable: a brown-haired man with a hawkish nose and a small beard who wears rich vestments of Solana bedecked with a few enormous rubies and sapphires. His staff of radiance (see Labyrinth Worldbook) is his staff of office in the church as well. It said to contain the raw power of his goddess and would summon her presence instantly if broken.
Keepers of the Keys (Keepers) “It’s got to be on this ring somewhere. . . . Just push a bit harder on the ethereal side. . . . Hmmm. Seems surprisingly bright for a cellar.” —Second Keysmith Mandos, trying to open the wine cellar and winding up in Sunhome The Keepers of the Keys are an arcane society of wizards, rogues, mechanists, and clockworkers who see themselves as the protectors and scholars of the Labyrinth. Unlike members of the Old Ring or the Concord, they live within the Labyrinth at a hub city called the Smithy. There they fashion keys and portals to expand the Labyrinth and connect worlds and planes with one another.
The Keepers of the Keys seek to acquire knowledge, especially knowledge about the Labyrinth and its worlds and peoples. Adventuring or exploratory groups of Keepers are well educated, literate, and led by someone capable of arcane magic. They thrive as explorers and researchers bent on making discoveries; whenever word spreads of a new world, new Labyrinth pathway, or new magic, a Keeper is likely to have discovered it. While the Keepers are quick to learn and discover, they are less attentive to everyday matters such as keeping Void corruption at bay, growing crops for their outposts in the Labyrinth, or recruiting sufficient grooms, brewers, and carpenters to keep their settlements in good repair. The Keepers care about sophisticated and obscure knowledge, which stands as currency and prestige among their ranks. Their great heroes include the inventor of a new mechanism and the wizard who creates a new spell; the cook who feeds them or the bard who tells their stories are appreciated, but not heroic in their eyes. Their elevated concerns ensure the Keepers are respected, but they attract fewer members than the Concordans, Elders, or Dreamers.
KEEPERS IN A CAMPAIGN Most Common Classes: Mechanists, fighters, rogues, wizards Most Common Lineages: Dwarf, gearforged, human, kobold
The quest for lore and knowledge leads the Keepers to new places. Keepers trying to make a name for themselves work to discover the location of new worlds, decipher
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new languages, or create new ways to master the arcane. Keepers are natural scouts and carefully record their discoveries. Unlike Concordans, they have no fervor for fighting the Void—it’s a nuisance and a difficult subject to study safely. Lighting the Beacons. The sheer predictability of Keeper questing and curiosity entices Void cultists to mislead and abuse their skills. Providing a Keeper with the ritual requirements for a Void beacon, for instance, means the Keeper spends a lot of time gathering materials and working out how to construct it, before discovering that its purpose is to summon voidlings and open a pathway for a void saint (see the Labyrinth Worldbook). Void cultists consider short‑sighted Keepers to be very useful idiots indeed. Unlocking the Ancient. Keepers discover sites or mechanisms left by the Ancients, a lineage of progenitors who wandered a proto-Labyrinth before the arrival of the minotaurs, sometimes associated with derro or with eonic drifters (see Tome of Beasts 1). Their natural gift for exploration combined with their curiosity about how the worlds work means they will reliably pull a lever, press a button, or chant a ritual phrase that ignites ancient guardians, empowers mechanical wardens, or releases an untold horror that had been safely locked away. The tendency to poke their heads into everything increases the likelihood that something nasty pokes back.
Queen of the Labyrinth
THREE KEY KEEPERS The Keepers of the Keys prize hidden lore, arcane secrets, and the ability to find, build, and master portals, gates, and world chariots. HOLDEVAR, QUEEN OF THE LABYRINTH
The title of Queen of the Labyrinth dates back centuries to the founding of the Smithy and the first formation of the Keepers from a ragtag militia group of mechanists, fighters, and wizards. Their leader became the first Queen of the Labyrinth, and the title has been passed down by approval of the members ever since. They wisely chose queens uninterested in raw power but wildly curious about taking the universe apart to learn its secrets. Holdevar keeps to this tradition. The Queen of the Labyrinth is also the formal leader of the Priesthood of Rava (see Chapter 2), though rarely a cleric. As the bearer of that title, Holdevar commands the respect of minotaurs and portal mages for her role in creating and blessing portal keys. She is the keeper and wielder of the artifact Spellbinder, a sword that cleaves
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magic and embodies the arcane spirit of its holder. (Spellbinder may be held by the Queen’s Champion, if the queen is too young, too elderly, or unwilling to use it.) Holdevar is beginning to feel her age, and she intends to elevate one of her three arcane-minded daughters or her mechanist son to be her successor. ARCHMAGE ALANA AND HER DRAGON MAGES
The human archmage Alana is fascinated by portals because she loves dragons and wants to visit dragon worlds and catalog all species of drakes, true dragons, and dragonkind. She commissions Kontak for draconic keys modelled on the Key of Veles from Midgard, as well as keys linked and attuned to the New Worlds of the Astral Sea—new worlds that might contain dragons!
KEEPERS ADVENTURE HOOKS
d12 Description 1
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Agents of the Keepers heard that an angelic chariot fell from the Celestial Realms, and they ask the PCs to recover it for them so its arcane secrets can be uncovered. Celestial forces race to the location as well. Agents of the Hells threatened the Queen of the Labyrinth and are attempting to intimidate the Keepers into making a portal key for them to a new world. The Queen asks PCs to investigate that world first.
Player characters find a void key directly to one of the dead worlds filled with undead. The characters must decide whether to keep the key, destroy it, investigate the world, or turn the key over to someone else.
The PCs meet a gearforged who asks for help with an infestation of void vermin in the Labyrinth—but the gearforged knows only Machine Speech and communication is difficult without magic. Once established, the party exterminates a portal ripper or tunnel goblins. The Keepers find clues to the location of a grimoire of void lore. They ask the party to recover it from the cult that holds it.
The Keepers plan to transmute an archmage from flesh to gearforged, but the archmage is missing one key ingredient: water from the Well of Mir in the Old Ring. They ask the party to negotiate with valkyries and ratatosk for access to the Well. A mechanist asks the characters to retrieve a rare alloy from the 11 Hells and bring it to the Smithy.
The PCs meet a gearforged whose memory gears are entirely blank. She asks for help recovering them so that she remembers her life, friends, and purpose. The Keepers find a portal that won’t close, no matter what methods they try. This unusual portal draws the attention of Kontak the Mechanist as well as the Dragon Mage Alana. Both groups ask the party to investigate while they study the portal itself. Keeper agents built an isolated outpost on the dead world of Coldforge to excavate artifacts and gather lore. The weekly messenger from the outpost is 3 days late, and the characters are sent to investigate this dire omen. The Queen of the Labyrinth crafted a key to seven worlds —and one of those worlds has gone missing, perhaps consumed by the Void, perhaps merely a glitch in that desert-world’s enchantments. The Keepers need volunteers to fix the glitch or destroy the cultists responsible.
The PCs are asked to oversee a merchant caravan to the mechadrons, drawn by a mix of living creatures and constructs. The caravan is threatened by void agents who know that sabotaging or destroying it will prevent the Keepers from making weapons for use against the Void.
KONTAK TEKAR, THE MECHANIST
A friend to mechanists and gearforged, the kobold Kontak Tekar has a deep understanding of the gears and mechanisms of the multiverse, the Labyrinth, and particularly memory gears. Kontak’s clever claws have built world portals and carved keys for worlds from the dead zone of the Void all the way to the Celestial Realms. He has a knack for knowing how to connect obscure worlds, and he’s extremely generous with his time, always happy to help. As a result, he’s overworked and overcommitted, his attention on helping the person who commissioned him most recently and forgetting or shelving projects from a prior week or a prior month. His workshop in the Smithy is a hive of kobold apprentices, gearforged mechanists, and dwarven smiths who create tools and arcane weapons. The hum of machine speech is as loud as shouts in Draconic or Dwarvish. Kontak personally meets with every member of the Keepers who visits his workshop.
A Keeper of the Keys
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The Old Ring (Elders) “Hold up! We’ll need to take the oak road from here—that rift is far too unstable.” Chitter chitter gnar. “Yes, yes, you can always take your chances with a rift. But the Old Ring would rather you live to a ripe age, planting world seeds, my friend.” —Moon Druid Heron Trollbane and his ratatosk guide, Soupbeard From mossy treants to wide-ranging minotaurs to clever smallfolk, the first groups to walk the Labyrinth were brave explorers from the forest worlds called the Old Ring. These worlds are referred to by the names of their most famous trees (see Chapter 3).
OVERVIEW Since the earliest days, the Old Ring faction has understood the connections between worlds: their potential for alliances and wise counsel, and their potential to create conflict and animosity between those who might instead fight against a common foe. The Elders are reliably slow to act and utterly ruthless when they strike. The Old Ring consists of druids, hunters, gardeners, and literal plant folk who believe worlds can be grown from the seeds of the World Tree Yggdrasil, and then connected through its branches—and that such worlds need tending to resist the blight and rot of the Void and its servants. Elders of the Old Ring seek to forge strong worlds with deep roots, connections between sages and grove keepers, and helpful relationships with those who understand little of the wider tapestry of worlds.
GOALS The primary purpose of the Old Ring is to plant new worlds and shepherd the old ones from their youngest days to final flowering. And yet, they say, “Even old oaks set new leaves.” The Old Ring knows that deep roots circle the green worlds and the worlds beyond, hidden and strong. They share their strength and wisdom with those less fortunate, and as long as the Ring grows, it will remain as strong as in ancient days. Over centuries and through generations, the Old Ring has kept the secrets of creation: where the seeds of each world were first planted. It guards the locations where the seeds of new worlds sprout. And it slowly, quietly expands the Labyrinth, adding to its roots, its world trees, and its countless branches.
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ELDERS IN A CAMPAIGN Most Common Classes: Bards, druids, rangers, sorcerers Most Common Lineages: Beastkin, human, minotaurs (see Labyrinth Worldbook), smallfolk
The members of the Old Ring are often homebodies, preferring the joys of their worlds over the dangers of the Labyrinth, the Hells, and other such places. But once they have decided to leave the Ring, they are skilled and powerful travelers, adept at traversing the world tree network safely, tracking cultists and void creatures, and sensing the corruption of void-infested people and places. They are superb scouts and void-slayers, and their beastkin and minotaur members often find void corruption personally offensive. Plucking Bad Apples. The Elders often consider themselves gardeners of the many worlds, alert to any new kind of corruption, especially any that affects world
Druid of the Old Ring
trees. They are the wardens of the Ring, and they include scouts, healers, and guardians who put down various forms of botanical corruption, such as blackthorn creepers and duskthorn vines (see Labyrinth Worldbook for both). The Elders may offer a bounty to anyone who can find the cult or agent responsible for these kinds of wicked schemes, as they threaten the integrity of the Oak Road. Messengers on the World Tree. Though the ratatosk are often thought of as the primary messengers between worlds, the Elders maintain their own tree striders and ranger networks both within the Ring and far beyond it. Any members of the Old Ring faction may be called to serve as messengers and to rally a defense until help arrives.
THREE KEY ELDERS The followers and inhabitants of the Old Ring remember and pass on the lore of the World Tree through a long tradition of druidic learning and study. Their greatest elders are linked to the World Tree, and their knowledge of the Primordial is second to none.
THE GRAND DRUID
The current Grand Druid is a middle-aged human man named Oberic Thorn, new to the post since the death of his teacher and predecessor Boulimenya, a bearfolk druid. Oberic maintains the hub of a network of druids, rangers, and bards through the worlds, and he is one of the few entrusted with the knowledge of all the newly growing world trees, the hidden chambers of Yggdrasil, and the secret arts to combat darkness and void. He organizes and sometimes sacrifices Old Ring followers to keep the whole set of Old Ring Worlds safe—and the weight of those decisions is plain in his frizzled gray beard and dark eyes. Oberic is a tower of strength in public, and a man of great faith in the rich and growing worlds of the Old Ring. But he’s seen terrible things, including Bouimenya’s death in a rift from the Dry Lands, and lacks the strength to chase after darkness in person. Instead, he meets with dozens of druid elders, ranger wardens, treants, and minotaurs each day and divines what must be done to keep the worlds free and whole. He is slow and cautious, deliberate and sure as the Old Ring adds one ring at a time to the World Tree. He spends most of his time in the worlds of Oakroot and Twin Hawthorns.
OLD RING ADVENTURE HOOKS
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Description
2
A golden stag has been sighted nearby, and every ranger, hunter, and archer in the Labyrinth is eager to chase it. A peaceful human druid wishes to save it through the use of illusions and deceptions, making it “vanish” when shot. Can the heroes help?
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3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A distant young world tree requires rites and watering. Elders would like the PCs to make the journey with a barrel of Styxwater and a barrel of Astral essence to encourage its growth.
The Great Druid Oberic asked his favorite apprentice to travel to Seven Pines and review the growth of trees in a district plagued by frost monsters. Perhaps he could make it worth your while to take the apprentice there in company? A newly recovered grove bears marks written in ancient Druidic—so ancient, even Mossbeard has no idea what it says. Magical divination shows the runes are linked to mountain giants (see Creature Codex). Would the PCs be willing to negotiate with one to explain them?
A vampire spawn nesting in a dark forest in the Old Ring seems far from home. The locals want the PCs to find out where it came from, and where the vampire elder lives. They suspect a void rift has opened to a city of shadows. Lady Hawthorne says a ratatosk messenger named Double Nutkin is days overdue on a shadow road from the Shadow Realm to Grenstad. She wants someone to find out what happened.
The Elders need someone to guard a jungle pyramid in the world of Willow Shore from enormous snakes without killing the Queen of Serpents, expected to visit from the lands of the fey. A druid who recently spent time as a dolphin claims a lost city with pyramids and spires exists offshore. For a small fee, he’ll take the PCs there.
Something is slaughtering the deer in the nearby forest. Locals suspect a werewolf, but the human tracks always lead to the same watery cavern down by the shore. An aboleth or sahuagin or something dire is in there, eating a lot of venison. An ancient forest tree has died, and the PCs are invited to its funeral and memorial ceremony. Things get out of hand when a Dreamer fanatic spouts doom prophecies at the event, provoking a mob into a killing frenzy. The Concordans offer to sell the Elders a true divine sun globe, the better to explore the Shadow Realm. The Elders ask the PCs to bring it back to Oakheart.
Oberic opens the Festival of Learning, a series of tests of knowledge, primordial magic, woods tracking, and shapechanging. The PCs are specifically invited to attend.
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LADY HAWTHORNE
Lady Hawthorne is a human woman who came to Rowanheart in the Ring to escape a family curse. She enjoyed the company of the gnomes, humans, and ratatosk of the land, not to mention the lavish gifts and praise of the Great Druid Boulimenya. Soon her bardic songs and perfect recall of faces, names, places, and dates earned her a place at the heart of diplomacy on behalf of the Elders—in
addition to coordinating communications, spying, and investigation of rumors, half-baked scrying, and auguries written in charred bark and bird flights. Her red hair and squirrel-like bright eyes make her stand out, and her laughter is both genuine and uplifting. Lady Hawthorne has the gift of convincing others to take huge risks—and she is perfectly willing to go into the field and do the same. MOSSBEARD THE TREANT
Mossbeard appears as a treant, an ancient oak with a mossy beard who enjoys sitting on sunny stones and slowly, slowly speaking to young and impressionable druids, rangers, and gardener-gnomes. Some believe this is merely Mossbeard’s public face. Dreamers claim Mossbeard exists on every living world (and his wooden husk exists on dead ones), as an avatar or saint or spirit of the Old Ring, tied through ancient rituals to the world trees and the forest paths between the worlds. In this way, Mossbeard bears similarity to the Midgard concept of divine masks, but he represents the plants and forests of each world. Oddly enough, Mossbeard is rarely encountered in the Labyrinth, only on Yggdrasil and in the worlds.
Servants of the Dreaming God (Dreamers) “Come to me all ye seekers of wisdom, dream with the god of dreams, and let go the cares of the world. For the rites of the dreaming god Cartokk are open to all, welcoming the god in slumber, joining together to bring joy and transcendence.” “Pass the wineskin, you optimist. Some of us are simply here to kill the pain.” —Balvanor and Ydric, the True Mud Bards of Wiggil One of the younger factions within the Labyrinth, the Dreamers follow the visions sent to them via their dreams from Cartokk, the Dreaming God. Their visions lead them all across the Labyrinth, seeking truth and beauty and preaching the revelations from their dreams.
OVERVIEW Mossbeard the Treant
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Many consider the Servants of the Dreaming God to be lazy, shiftless drunkards. Their joys and their songs are strange, their visions even stranger. And yet they always know where the Void is clawing its way into a warded world, or where husk demons (see Monster Vault) shelter beside a portal, or when the noble leader of a reliable group of Keepers suddenly turns to chaos and despair. They know things because the Dreaming God tells them.
Every servant of the Dreaming God has had at least one compelling dream or vision that binds the faction together, that helps them recognize others, and that makes it possible for them to coordinate across worlds and time in what appears to outsiders to be a system of chaos and contradictions. Dreamers babble about the Great Pattern, the spiral at the heart of the world, the nurturing of seeds and dreams into worlds and minds and glorious life and wisdom. Their gibberish seems maddeningly mystical and nonspecific, except for those times when it changes everything.
GOALS The Servants of the Dreaming God want a thousand different things. They want to drink and sing and revel in life’s pleasures. They want to make their homes in beautiful demiplanes, cities in bottles, high mountain peaks, and lazy riverboats. They wish to be free to pursue their dreams and the dreams of their god, to be hermits and socialites, to laugh in the face of the Void, and to bring happiness to the poor, wisdom to the wealthy, and ruin to the servants of doom and despair. The Dreamers believe that if enough people dream of a world without the Void, the Void can be defeated. If enough people laugh at death, death shall have no dominion over the True Dreamers. They dream and strive and work remarkably hard to promote joy and freedom and happiness everywhere they go.
DREAMER ADVENTURE HOOKS
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Description
2
A priest of the Dreaming God wants to hire bodyguards for a one-week pilgrimage to Delinos, a site of pilgrimage. Voidlings or cultists threaten the site and its visitors.
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8 9
10
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A Dreamer comes to the party with a vision of the characters traveling with her to Novos Draconis, a new world where gold paves the streets and dragons rule the skies. She pesters them until they send her away or help her reach it.
A Dreamer paladin robbed at the festival of Delinos needs a tracker or mystic who can help him find the perpetrator. Sweet justice awaits.
A group of pilgrims seeks access to a Dream-Saint’s tomb. Unfortunately, getting there requires a jaunt through a dangerous lesser Hell—might the party be available to slay some devils and help poor pilgrims? A Dreamer learned of a mystic cordial made with mountain herbs from a distant world. He hopes to pay a guide or entourage to take him there, to steal the herb from the giants, and to brew his concoction.
A young Dreamer child hears a particular song, which other Servants of the Dreaming God recognize though they have never heard it before. The child needs a bard to put on a performance—which attracts voidlings to attack the performer.
A Dreamer from a desert world seeks a mystical object called a folding, self-stabilizing umbrella, but the term is unknown to him, and the construction of such a wonder is beyond the everyday. The Keepers of the Keys probably know what it is and have diagrams. A Dreamer discovered a new variety of mushroom that empowers dreams of travel. Unfortunately, the world where they grow is inhabited by mycolids (see Tome of Beasts 1) who cherish these mushrooms.
A fey Lady of the Dance invited the Dreamers of the Labyrinth to an enormous midsummer festival in the Summerlands. Musicians will be showered in gold! Rumors claim visitors might be enslaved by fey charms. Everyone wants to get there, but Labyrinth tunnel-bandits have heard these rumors as well. . . . A Dreamer cleric dreamt of the Voidmother dreaming of him, and this dream contaminated his mind with dark visions, which led one of the cleric’s acolytes to die of dream poisoning (see Labyrinth Worldbook), slain by the foulness in the cleric’s dream. The Dreamer cleric demands a bard learn and play an obscure song of cleansing found in the archives of the Smithy, guarded by mechanical demons. An ethereal demon lies dreaming in the Willow Shore of the Old Ring and cannot be touched by blade or magic. The druids demand the Dreamers “remove their servant.” Only an old hermit knows how. A Dreamer’s slumber draws the PCs into his dreamlands, across worlds and to a great treasure. When they awaken, they know where to find it, and they know that three other Servants of the Dreaming God are already traveling through the Labyrinth to beat them to it.
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DREAMERS IN A CAMPAIGN
THREE KEY DREAMERS
Most Common Classes: Bard, barbarian, monk, rogue, warlock Most Common Lineages: Beastkin, human, syderean (fiendish)
The Dreamers draw their share of city folk, but its most famous sons and daughters come from the wild woods or the high mountains.
Dreamers are a force for chaos and a force for joy, for strict discipline and bodily freedom, and for extreme indulgence and excess. Their god embeds multiple meanings in his messages to the servants. Pilgrimage of the Week. Dreamers are often shown particular places in their dreams, and they seek to find those places. Thus, they are often encountered wandering the pathways and taking trips along the Styx in search of the “world that fits the dream.” Once they arrive, often a new dream instructs them in some task, prayer, or holy mission.
LESHAY, THE LADY OF THE DANCE
Covered in tattoos and dressed in flowing robes, Leshay is a human priest of trickery, a woman of whims and joys: hot tea, silky robes, tigerskin cloaks, and outrageous gossip. She takes lovers and makes friends at a remarkable rate at her mansion in Revelsport, in the Dreamer’s Islands (see Chapter 3). The heart of a network of hundreds or thousands of Dreamers, she somehow remembers every name and every face and loves them all. Some of her friends and associates believe she is a child of a god of wine or fated to ascend into sainthood of some kind, but Leshay finds this amusing. She just wants to help her friends and bring them beautiful dreams. TONDREL THE EVEN-HANDED
A follower of the Dreaming God
Combining martial fervor with prophetic announcements, Tondrel is a strange wolf-warrior of the wintery world of Seven Pines. DIOGELAR, THE SINGING WARLOCK
Diogelar is a particularly strange warlock who is an owl and beastkin, except for those days when he is a wolf or a raven. He lives in a branch of the World Tree Yggdrasil that connects to the world of Summer Birch in the Old Ring. Beastkin seek him out with questions about the Wyrd source. Though he tries to remain a recluse in the winters, in the springtime, Diogelar is always glad to answer queries. By summer, it is difficult to get a word in edgewise as he speaks, hoots, and pontificates late into the summer nights.
Wanderers and the Lost Not all adventurers in the Labyrinth belong to a faction. Many are lost, independent, or loyal to groups and organizations on their home worlds. These are referred to as Wanderers (or perhaps less charitably, as the Wayfarers Without Maps). Members of the factions try to recruit Wanderers to their cause, believing that their independent streak is valuable for those who venture into new and dangerous territories. Many who stumble into the Labyrinth die in it before mastering the talents required to survive it and get to safety at a portal or hub. Those who die in the Labyrinth may become a particular kind of undead, called the Lost. For an example of this, the classic lost minotaur (see Creature Codex) of Midgard’s great maze is one such creature.
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Minor Wayfaring Groups The four great factions are the largest, but smaller factions know the Labyrinth exists and maintain some strongholds in the Labyrinth. And indeed, smiths and assassins and wizards all benefit from visiting other words and opposing the Void. These groups are also sometimes encountered by adventurers.
FORGE OF TRUTH (SMITHS)
The Void-Saint Nargoth
Obsessed with crafting weapons to cut the Void or armor that withstands dark forces, this fireforge dwarven society provides arms and armor to others, including the dwarven Hammers of Golden Fire (used to smash void rifts) and the occasional suit of sunfire armor. The Smiths hire adventurers to bring them rare metals for alloys, or ingredients to enchant a suit of armor or helm.
LORDS AND LADIES OF THE BRIGHT AND SHINING LANDS (FEY KNIGHTS) Elves, smallfolk, and ancient woodland fey who live in the Summerlands divert themselves with music, courtship, dances, vicious gossip, and byzantine political scheming. A few, however, turn their eyes to the wider constellation of worlds and go exploring for new experiences. They call themselves the “Lords and Ladies,” though others prefer to call them the “Tricksters” or the “Fey Knights.” Their archers and knights are adept at striking down void creatures, as formidable as their wizards with their Elvenstar rites and rituals.
THE RADIANT ORDER (RADIANTS) Also called the Paladins of Montremor or the Swords of Herak-Mavros, the Radiant Order is a group of human paladins loosely affiliated with the Concordans and led by the Grand Marshall Faldoro Rezzenzi. They operate from Celestia in the service of angelic masters and show up unannounced, heavily armored, to destroy demons, cultists or portals corrupted by darkness—then return whence they came. The Radiant Order rarely explains itself or bothers to consider collateral damage. While their single-minded focus on order and justice can be off-putting, as allies, they are utterly reliable. Mechadrons find them extremely congenial, and the two groups share a loose alliance.
WINGS OF ALQUAM (WINGS) Assassins and spies of the night order of a demon lord of night, the Wings of Alquam see themselves as avengers and victims fighting for survival. Their patron Alquam is a silent, mysterious figure with a wide range of followers, including humans, gnolls, gearforged, fiendish sydereans, and gnome smallfolk (see Player’s Guide). Their missions are stealthy affairs, and the best of them leave void cultists dead and their followers confused. It’s unclear when or why the demon lord decided to fight against the Void, but the blue-cloaked followers are ruthless and reliable. The Concordans won’t deal with Alquam’s spooks, but other factions consider them a necessary evil from time to time.
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Pantheon of the Labyrinth The domain of knowledge appears in the portfolio of several Labyrinthine gods, since navigating and thriving within the Labyrinth requires specific information. But like anywhere in the multiverse, those who walk through the maze need comfort, healing, and protection as well as guidance. The following six deities appear most frequently in the worlds of the Labyrinth as major divinities, lesser saints, or minor gods.
CARTOKK, THE DREAMING GOD God of Dreams, Forest Lord, Summoner of Seeds, Lord of Eternal Life, King in the Buried Kingdom, Master of All Worlds, the Slumbering Titan Domains: Knowledge, Life, Nature Favored Weapon: Club
Cartokk is a god of mysteries and visions, a god of seekers and those who wish to understand the rhythms of the natural world as well as the mysteries of the stars and spheres. As a fertility god, he governs the all-important realm of plants, crops, and harvests, as well as the mysteries of winter hibernation, spring rebirth, and summer feasts. Nonbelievers think the Dreaming God’s followers waste their time chasing visions and getting drunk. The faithful place Cartokk at the center of the legends of the Labyrinth’s creation and believe his dreams created the Ten Thousand Worlds. Cartokk is depicted as a handsome, bearded man wearing a crown of holly or barley and dressed in a bearskin or lion’s pelt, or simply daubed in green and blue paint. Cartokk’s eyes are closed on his statues and open on his holy symbol. He is pictured with two or up to eight arms, and his representations sometimes include wreaths of mist or smoke that hide his legs. WORSHIPPERS
Cartokk’s followers include rustic people of the land such as shepherds, hedge witches, farmers, and druids as well as hermits, mystics, and strange savants. His devout followers believe they receive secret knowledge from divine visions; less pious devotees merely chase beautiful dreams with the herbal potions and mushroom rites of the god. The most devoted and adventurous followers of Cartokk call themselves his Servants, or the Servants of the
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Dreaming God. They travel the Labyrinth seeking to learn its mysteries and dream new worlds into being. Whether clerics or druids, all are devoted to the divine wisdom found in sleep and visions. SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
Common symbols of the Dreaming God include the third eye and an open eye, as well as wisps of purple smoke or sparkling incense. Peacock feathers, eye-shaped amulets, and a specific shade of turquoise are also popular among his followers. For sacred texts, the followers of Cartokk collectively possess thousands of books of personal prophecy and visions of varying degrees of worth and obscurity. The paramount text consulted by all priests and followers is called The Holy Eye, a mélange of mystic ideas about the Ten Thousand Worlds, recipes for potions to induce visions, and sensible rules for treating others with compassion. SHRINES AND PRIESTS
Cartokk’s greatest shrine is the Temple of the Golden Portal, built around a dead gateway said to lead directly to the god’s hidden sleeping chamber. Opinions differ widely on whether this chamber rests within the clouds of
Celestia, is sealed in an obscure lesser hell, or is nestled somewhere in the near-infinite branches of the World Tree. Rituals to restore and activate this portal take place daily, consistently without success. Villages welcome priests of the Dreaming God at planting and harvest time; other times, they may be confused for alchemists, dazed mystics, mendicants, beggars, or drunks.
HERAK-MAVROS God of War and Thunder, Lord of Battle and Rebirth, Patron of Warriors, Master of Strife, Swift Striding Commander, Husband to the White Goddess Domains: Life, Tempest, War Favored Weapons: Spear, shortsword, greatclub
The swift god of war and thunder is the Master of Strife, who savors destruction, strength, and war. His chorus is the sound of weapon on shield, and his ceremony is the tramp of boots as soldiers muster and march. His hymnal comprises war songs and battle chants. Herak-Mavros is the bright blade of youths undertaking their first cattle raid and the notched edge of gray-bearded veterans. The desperate or wounded turn to him in times of anger. His service is honorable, as long as followers don’t violate the edicts laid forth in his holy texts. The worship of Herak-Mavros includes an unusual aspect of healing and rebirth, since his mysteries involve resurrection and the cleansing of the soul along with death and glory. Herak-Mavros is most often depicted with a beard and long hair, wearing his coat of storms. This tailored garment resembles a suit of heavy metal plates, which gives off lightning that strikes his enemies and heralds his terrible stride across the field. WORSHIPPERS
Humans form the bulk of Herak-Mavros’s most devoted worshippers, though many orcish communities follow him as well. Several prominent dwarven clans worship him as a paragon of swift courage and unerring strength. Soldiers, guards, farmers, bandits, scouts, and shepherds beseech the God of War and Thunder for strength and guidance.
SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
All weapons of war are symbols of Herak-Mavros. His favorites include the spear and the shortsword, and in times of great anger, an enormous war club. The axe is also associated with the Bloody God of War. His worshippers incorporate a lightning bolt, a red bull, or a red circle in their heraldry. The holy writings of Herak-Mavros include Twenty-Five Martial Books and the mystical Soldier’s Journey. The Edicts of Just War is not a holy book, but it provides the legal and moral rules for how his followers must behave, whether on the battlefield, marching, laying siege, or taking prisoners. SHRINES AND PRIESTS
Herak-Mavros’s priests frequently serve as military officers and leaders, embodying both the best officers and the worst due to their fanaticism. His rites commonly commence in spring, as the military campaign season begins. His priests resemble mercenary captains, and some lead famous bands of sellswords.
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In his cavern-temples, Herak Mavros raises the greatest warriors to fight again with resurrection magic. Toward this end, he commands the spear-maidens, angelic female warriors who ferry souls to and from battle.
SHRINES AND PRIESTS
In some worlds, the cult of Nakresh is led by rogues, thieves, and cutthroats as much as by priests. Nakresh rarely appreciates open displays of piety, so his temples are typically built underground or in hidden back rooms.
NAKRESH The Many-Handed, Patron of Thieves and Tomb Robbers, Archmagus among Wizards, King of Revelry and Japes, Protector of the Poor and Destitute, Bane of the Rich Man Domains: Knowledge, Trickery Favored Weapons: Shortsword, wand
Nakresh the Many-Handed works through deception, magic, and corruption. His greed is immense, and his reach is oft underestimated. He enjoys stealing things considered perfectly secure, and he finds such challenges a good way to dispel his boredom and to test his worshippers. His trickery is more productive than his brother’s volcanic rage. Nakresh is depicted as a mandrill or a human-mandrill hybrid with small black horns, blazing eyes, and six or eight arms. Two of his hands hold a wizard’s wand and a footpad’s dagger or sword. His other hands grasp a bag of coins, a fist-sized jewel, a bouquet of flowers, or a string of pearls. One hand is always empty, symbolizing his lust for more wealth. Nakresh wears a wizard’s robe or a mage’s severed hand on a cord around his neck. WORSHIPPERS
The followers of Nakresh are thieves, wizards, and diabolists; they include tomb robbers and the desperately poor, who call him “Uncle Whispers” or “the Duke of Air and Steel” or “the Peach Collector” or a dozen other nicknames. His worship as a godling is common in dark and shadowed worlds. His followers’ desperation drives them to try anything to succeed, and most have an affinity for crime and a love of wealth. His priests share Nakresh’s rough humor and seek to emulate his skill as a trickster. SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
The sign of Nakresh is an open hand with a star in its palm. He has only one holy book, the True Gospel of Prosperity and Wealth, which is a collection of cheats, cantrips, cons, and swindles practiced by his followers against the gullible. His teachings are passed on in stories, drawings, and songs because many of his followers are illiterate.
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RAVA The Fate Spinner, Goddess of Clockwork and Travelers, Patron of Weavers, Mistress of Birds, Luckbringer, Merchant Goddess, Mother of Golems Domains: Crafting, Knowledge, Trickery Favored Weapon: Dagger, staff
Rava is a wise goddess, a patron of industry with a trickster’s streak and a great willingness to travel and toil in pursuit of her goals. She grants visions to oracles and smooths the way for travelers and wizards, helping mortals gain knowledge both arcane and mundane. She has three primary forms—that of a young maiden, a woman of middle years, or an aged crone, but she always has white hair, six arms, carries a staff, and wears a gear‑embroidered robe. WORSHIPPERS
The worshippers of Rava include smiths, clockworkers, weavers, travelers and nomads, and gamblers—those who live by good fortune and frequent the crossroads. Her followers also include messengers, oracles, and wizards. SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
Rava’s symbols include a gear and a staff. Her sacred volumes are not shared with her adherents but rather kept in the weaving shrines and temples for the priests to consult. Rava’s priesthood shares popular compilations of parables, wit, and guidance with her followers. SHRINES AND PRIESTS
Priests of Rava make their way in the world as oracles, gear workers, or bards and tale-spinners. Some are nomadic, and their shrines of Rava are little more than beautiful tents carried by faithful herders. She is known both for her clockwork shrines in cities and her red-rock shrines, where sacred stones form the foundation of a permanent temple. Tent-temples may be erected in market squares, where Rava’s followers turn wool into yarn and cloth. In the scribe temples, the priestesses copy out letters and messages for anyone (for a modest fee).
SABATEUS
SOLANA
The Seven-Sided God, Lord of Stars and Planets, Maker of Magic, Patron of the Shadow Paths, King of the Moon, Master of the Desert Night
Lady of Light, Goddess of the Sun, Marshall of Angels, Matron of Steel and Silver, Queen of Pure Radiance, Forge Mother
Domains: Knowledge, Light Favored Weapons: Dagger, staff
Sabateus is an enigmatic figure, described as the “seven‑sided god.” He is always shown in a black tabard or djellaba marked with white and yellow stars. He is portrayed masked or with a halo and attended by circling stars and moons. His worship takes place exclusively at night, and yet he is never ranked among the dark gods. He might be distant and rarely moved by entreaties, but Sabateus is a celestial figure. He is never openly malevolent. WORSHIPPERS
The worshippers of Sabateus seek wisdom and knowledge, and they are devoted to the stars, ancient mysteries, and knowledge from ages long gone. Some cast horoscopes, others master magic, and others are simple shepherds who hear the song of the spheres in the desert nights. The lamias worship Sabateus as the Moon’s Husband. SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
Hundreds of volumes of Sabatean lore exist, though many are little more than plodding poems dedicated to the stars and the sphinxes. Some include grisly tales of magical rituals and descriptions of how to master esoteric knowledge. The only Sabatean volume that commands universal appeal is the Gospel of Adimun, written by the first prophet of Sabateus. SHRINES AND PRIESTS
Idols of Sabateus exist on desert plateaus, on mountain peaks, and along cliffs and tablelands. Temples are rare and built in secret spots, more noticed by night than by day, much as a lighthouse seems to be a simple tower until after the sun sets. The priesthood of Sabateus is largely nomadic, and its members are known for their humility and their caution. The faithful often gather with fellow adherents under the night sky during celestial events to declaim from works of verse or recite hymns.
Domains: Crafting, Life, Light Favored Weapon: Mace, warhammer
Often appearing as an elf wreathed in golden light and crowned with rays or stars, Solana is the goddess of the heavens and the champion of those who fight the Void, providing healing, strength, and warding to her faithful. Civilizations of all kinds worship her as a goddess of creation, and servants of the Void abhor her name. WORSHIPPERS
Healers, smiths, and soldiers worship Solana, as do the paladins of the Radiant Order and the marshals of the Concord of Stars. Some followers of Sabateus consider Solana the daytime face of their own nocturnal god—the two faiths are often friendly. SYMBOLS AND BOOKS
In addition to her radiant sun symbols, Solana is depicted with a crown of seven rays or stars, and her brightly glowing orange anvil features in her legends and statuary. This orange anvil—called the sun forge—is believed to exist somewhere in the Labyrinth and is one of the great artifacts of the faith. For sacred texts, none are more important than the Rules of Radiance (for her priests and paladins) and the Word of Light (for all her followers). Both describe the laws and proscriptions for a righteous life of service against darkness, as well as charms and nostrums to heal the sick and care for the wounded. SHRINES AND PRIESTS
The Concord of Stars maintains the First Forge Temple in the Smithy, and Solana’s shrines are common in worlds where elves dwell, especially in the Summerlands and (to a lesser degree) along the branches of the World Tree. Her priests organize into three chapters: the Forge priests are smiths, the Sun’s Blessing priests are healers, and the Radiant Forge priests are zealous warriors against the Void.
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A dragon’s head adrift in the Astral Sea
CHAPTER 3: SITES AND WORLDS The known sites and worlds of the Labyrinth are many, though the known worlds are centered on a collection of core worlds and the nearest outer worlds, those that can be reached by a few days or weeks of travel through the pathways of the Labyrinth. Beyond these, the known worlds grow increasingly strange farther from the Labyrinth—the ones near Sunhome or the Smithy are familiar and often friendly, while the Hells are quite hostile, and realms close to the Void might be entirely barren or filled with eonic drifters or a world of goblins and vampires. The worlds closest to the Void are usually lifeless or filled only with undead, demons, and cultists. Travelers know to avoid the dead worlds unless they have specific reason to visit. All the worlds of the Labyrinth have access to the Ethereal Plane and the Elemental Planes. Some worlds also touch the Astral Sea.
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Fifty Famous Sites in the Labyrinth These places are known to the walkers in the Labyrinth as nodes, portals, and safe places between the worlds. Each may be found when wandering the Labyrinth, along tunnels and roads, or even as an “intermission” or “rerouting” during a portal jump or dream travel (See Modes of Travel in Chapter 1). In the case of rerouting or intermissions, the traveler(s) arrive at the desired destination with a delay of either 1d20 hours or 1d4 days. Antechamber of Parzelon (Least). This is a dusty library for fiends and library automatons (see Tome of Beasts 1). The Curator (see Tome of Beasts 2) oversees the collection for his master, the arch-devil Parzelon. Most of the volumes are magical and warded, and all are dangerous to one’s health and sanity.
Antechamber of Parzelon (Greater). This chamber is the waiting room for the arch-devil Parzelon, whose chamberlain and keeper of accounts is Hanribbos, a pit fiend. The fiend does not enjoy having visitors. Bridge of Ghosts. A bridge through a void rift, cold and clammy. Spirits and demons challenge those who try to cross it. Chambers of the Brood-Mother. A section of earthen tunnels connected to one of the tosculi hive-cities. They know where the exits are but adamantly keep intruders away from the queen, the drones, and the egg chambers. Clockwork Kingdom. A walking kingdom of the mechadrons, the Clockwork Kingdom is said to be part of their mysterious Plan. It resembles a large army that wanders through the Labyrinth from portal to portal; when it visits a world for sustenance, it strips lands bare of all wood, coal, and metal and leaves husks of villages behind. Colossal Step Well. This cavern has a set of stairs sized for giants; each step is 3 feet tall, and the step well as a whole drops 279 feet (93 steps) from top to bottom. The water at the bottom can connect to either the Astral Sea or the Styx, depending on what rituals are performed there. Concordan Cloud Gate. A portal used by the Concord of Stars in Sunhome to bring food and supplies to almost anywhere else in the Labyrinth. It connects the Summerlands fortress of the Concordans to that one chosen point until a week-long ritual directs it elsewhere. The ritual magic for this requires considerable expense, and the Concordans have not shared their formula. Invocations to Solana and offerings of astral dragon’s blood may be involved. Crypt of the Glittering Gods. This burial ground of the Ancients is warded by void angels and celestials who seek to keep the ancient dead from being plundered or disturbed. Keepers of the Keys often claim to know where the Crypt is, but maintaining a road or portal to it is surpassingly difficult. Dreaming God’s Tomb. The literal tomb of Cartokk the Dreaming God is an enormous hive-shaped burial mound guarded by golems, though the tomb is empty. The walls of the tomb are covered in script in the sacred speech of Cartokk. Echoing Halls of Nargoth. A set of stairs, stone halls, tombs, and temples linked in a looping pattern. Once entered, it is impossible to leave without opening a void rift, chariot, dream path, keeper’s key, or shadow road (see Modes of Travel in Chapter 1). Echo Tunnel. This tunnel is inhabited by doppelgangers who attempt to replace visitors. Empty Throne of Mechadron Prime. Thought to be a fragmentary demiplane of the mechadrons’ old home world, this chamber contains a metallic throne that shines with inner blue light. It stands fully 15 feet tall, with strange
cables, gears, and sockets all around. Mechadrons think it is haunted by the spirit of their ancestor. Fire Wheel. This is similar to the prior wheels, with six entryways but twelve possible exits, one to each of the hells plus one that goes to the roots of Yggdrasil, in the caverns of Nidhogg. Devils and demons use the fire wheel to travel between their realms. Florez Belltower. A construction of the Dreamers, the Florez belltower contains seven bronze bells attuned to the cosmos. Servants of the Dreaming God use their tones to enter mortal worlds from the tower. Frozen Waves of Tokando. This section of the Labyrinth resembles waves made of black and gray stone rather than water. They are connected to a void saint named Tokando, who is said to have frozen water into stone and thus destroyed a world. Giant-King’s Falling Mountain. A mountain in a world of elemental air, always falling and thus always windy. Giants carved out the mountain into a strange fortress, where the wind is a constant whistle and small creatures (and small objects) fly away, swirling into the cold rushing air. Glass Temple of Olyssa. This sequence of halls and tunnels is entirely made of glass and devoted to a chaos‑goddess named Olyssa. Passing through its glass halls is confusing—and occasionally, the halls fill with soporific gas. Great Maze of Ariadne. This set of enormous webbing covers a pit over what might be the Astral Sea 400 feet below. Unlike a bridge, climbing webs is quite difficult, and a spider climb spell or flying magic is the safest way to cross. At its center is a stone maze carved with runes and at its center is the Pillar of Ariadne, a site of pilgrimage and offering for her followers. Great Northern Road. This section of the Labyrinth resembles a deep, heavily shaded forest. Anyone wandering off the road eventually stumbles back onto the road, usually worse for wear because of the hostile owlbears, wood woses, children of the briar, and other creatures of the woods. Great Ruby Bridge. A bridge over a pit of magma, believed to be a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire. Hatching Chamber of Melchiar. A pair of mated void dragons uses this enormous chamber with an open, star‑filled ceiling to lay eggs and raise wyrmlings. A magical force field keeps air in the chamber. Howler’s Corner. This stone junction in the Labyrinth connects to catslide alleys throughout the worlds—cats of all kinds and catfolk come here to confer with their goddess Bastet. The junction has a certain urine stench, and its soft stone is marked with claw scratches. Infinite Crypt of Urgametra. This is the tomb of a Great Dreamer, a place where thoughts become reality and those who enter must agree on how to exit. Filled with banshees and visions of the Dreaming God.
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Lesser Elflands. Sometimes the Labyrinth turns into a pocket dimension, with roots overhead, brambles and berries in the tunnels. Quicksteps (see Creature Codex), elves, and fey animals find the place amusing. Generally created by an archfey for a fey party, wedding, or funeral. Lunar Beamway. A set of tunnels through glowing white stone near new worlds or worlds still being created. Lunar devils enjoy haunting these paths (see Tome of Beasts 1). Mechatown. A permanent settlement of mechadrons on the site of a thermal spring powered by elemental Fire. The mechadrons keep a single house of visitors where guests are allowed; the rest of Mechatown requires an increasingly rare series of visas and permits. Mexha Wheel. Another turntable intersection, but this one is unlabeled and four of its five passageways lead to dead worlds (described earlier in this chapter). Bones at its center suggest that a blood sacrifice might be required to escape the wheel. Minderhal Anvil. Another name for the Forge of Truth and the home of the Smiths. It fills a Labyrinth cavern with ruddy light and smoke and produces weapons and soldiers to fight the servants of the Void. Moonlit Kingdom of Tes-Qamar. Along with its capital city of Roshgazi, this thriving community was once in Midgard. Its minotaurs moved into the Labyrinth and have faced a slow decline since, though they visit the ruins of their old kingdom from time to time. Narric Trace. A long passageway in the Labyrinth that dead-ends and changes positions frequently. The theory that it was created by an epic purple worm has been conclusively disproven by the Keepers’ research, but the theory that it is a sentient passageway remains popular. Also called the “fool’s passage.” Ocean Oracle of Phylestra. This area of the Concordans resembles a lighthouse that illuminates its cavern. The reflections from the waters help the oracle Phylestra see the future, or at least to predict where creatures of the Void might strike. Pindelsburg. A kobold settlement in the Labyrinth, at a crossroads of two passages not far from the Smithy. Its street peddlers and merchants will sell you anything you want for the right price, but especially potions of (modest) healing and charms and amulets “guaranteed to prevent you from becoming lost.” Queensgate. This passageway is the greatest creation of the Keepers of the Keys: a world portal that can be tuned to any world (in theory) and that is large enough to bring wagons and ships through. Quicksilver Canal. A canal of pure elemental waters flows through the Labyrinth; elementals enjoy it and use it as a route to water worlds.
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Radiant Egg Chamber. This 100-foot-tall chamber resembles the inside of an enormous world-egg, and kobolds believe it the hatching-place of Veles, the great world-serpent. It glows with a soft orange light, and the two holes in it are no larger than a horse. Sea of Tranquility. A quiet section of the Astral Sea that sometimes appears in foggy regions of the Labyrinth. It is said to be haunted by nihileth aboleth (see Tome of Beasts 1) or to be a ghostly echo of their lost empire. Silber Stad. A fireforge dwarf settlement in the Labyrinth of several hundred silver miners and silversmiths. They sell to the Smithy and to the kobolds of Pindelsburg, and keep notes on every wanderer, merchant, or adventurer who passes through their gates. Silent Hall of Thandor. A section of clearly worked stone inscribed with runes that compel magical silence. No counter spell enables speech or noise within the halls. Sphere of Chaos. Difficult to describe to those who have not seen it, the Sphere of Chaos is an amalgam of passageways that rotate, connect, and disconnect randomly, like a series of covered bridges that briefly pass by a landing or an arched bridge abutment. Getting through the Sphere requires exceptional coordination— or flight. Sphere of Order. A predictable but slow set of armillary spheres that make it possible to cross a pulsing purple void rift safely. The covered passages are not as fast as those of the Sphere of Chaos, but falling from them would result in void corruption or death in the abyss below. Spore Caverns. The apocalyptic fungus responsible for sporeborn (see Monster Vault) propagates here in enormous quantities, and its spores infect anyone traversing these caverns without filtering magic or cures. Street of Frozen Tears. A section of blue glacial ice filled with the bodies of well-preserved human warriors. The Bubbler’s Well. A twenty-foot-diameter well of derro construction and lined with runes of inlaid silver seems a dangerous place to draw water, but it is perfectly potable. The bucket is wooden and resembles a huge frog or water demon. The Hub and Hounds. A famous tavern usually found in the Hub, but sometimes wandering far afield. It is said to be built on the barrow-mound of a fey lord of travel and whimsy, who shifts its location on full moons or in accordance with high tides on some distant fey realm. The Loop. For a time, people thought this was a full world rather than part of the Labyrinth. The Loop is a region of prairie grasslands that stretches evenly in all directions. It’s impossible to leave the grasslands except through the riverbank cavern back to the Labyrinth.
Hive-city of the Ahu-Nixta
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The Spindle. Six passageways on a rotating platform connect in the middle like a potter’s turntable. The platform often moves of its own accord. Labyrinth adventurers labeled the passageways and tunnels with six sigils, so that travelers know where they are going—but these change occasionally (the Smithy, the Crypt, the Tree, the Sphere, and the Town are the most common). Ticking Forest. A stand of feyward trees (see Tome of Beasts 1) and mechanical plants, created and maintained by mechadrons for purposes of their own. Its cavern includes an arcane sun to provide light, for no other apparent reason than to make the forest’s leaves and flowers shine more beautifully. Titan’s Throne. This intricately carved tomb has walls 40 feet high depicting battles and captives and blood magic. It includes a huge throne for a giant at least 30 feet tall. Its bones still rest on the throne in a heap, and gigantic ghosts defend the chamber. Tower of Solana. A construction of the Concordans, the Tower of Solana is a navigational beacon within the Labyrinth, shining with divine radiance. Its light can be seen through stone, though planar gates, and through enormous distances—but only by celestials and the few souls Solana blesses in this manner. Transit Roundway. One of the safest sections of passages that leads from the Smithy to the World Tree and the Celestial Gate.
Planes and Connections Three regions outside the worlds of the Labyrinth are referred to as “planes,” and they are both highly magical and extremely strange. The Astral Sea is a mystical ocean that seems to give rise to the worlds of the Labyrinth, and it largely exists outside the worlds and the Labyrinth. The Elemental Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water are not quite worlds but multiversal constants that empower magic, creation, and life in various ways. The Ethereal plane seems to be an echo or shadow of each world that permits the movement of things out of phase with the material world.
ASTRAL SEA The Astral Sea is visible from the shores of the Labyrinth, providing another way for travelers to move between worlds. It is a strange place subject to tides and currents unlike any true sea. It appears to glow, and travelers find its watery essence disturbing—it isn’t water, it isn’t Ether, and yet it can support swimmers and ships who concentrate on moving through the sea to some destination. The creatures within the Astral Sea, such as the astral destroyer, tend to be enormous and quite dangerous. Colonies of derro inhabit small islands within the Astral.
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ELEMENTAL SPHERES The elements are woven into the structure of the Ten Thousand Worlds, and a Primordial caster has no difficulty accessing elemental power from any given world. Some claim the element of Fire is stronger near the 11 Hells and Air is stronger near Celestia, but results of arcane studies by the Keepers of the Keys are inconclusive. Elemental magic can be practiced anywhere in the Labyrinth and its worlds. Some believe that each element exists somewhere as a perfect paragon world, such as a World of Fire (which is rumored to be inhabited by the efreet) or a world of Air (filled with djinn and angels). However, getting to such places is difficult—no branch of the Labyrinth seems to go directly to a place of pure elemental force. Perhaps the pure elemental paragons are a myth.
ETHEREAL PLANE The Ethereal Plane suffuses each of the Ten Thousand Worlds, slightly out of phase with the material world. Arcanists know the Ethereal can be visited, explored, and used in enchanting items or weaving spells, but it is a misty, foggy realm with few native inhabitants. Almost nothing grows or lives in the Ethereal, except by making jaunts into a mortal world for sustenance. That said, certain archmages hide tiny huts, magnificent mansions, and even colossal castles within the Ethereal Plane.
Core Worlds These worlds are easy to find from within the Labyrinth and feature elements suitable for heroic fantasy campaigns. They mesh well with a GM’s home campaign and other published settings, providing roughly a dozen worlds that can be visited without a major expedition though uncharted territory.
ARMILLARY Near to the heavens and yet outside their gates, this creation of clockwork creatures is the home plane of the mechadrons (see Monster Vault). It is not their first home. Their world was lost to the Void long ago, when Mechadron Prime led his clockwork people on the Great Exodus. They built the world of Armillary from a single living gear salvaged from their home world. It is inhabited by mechadrons, gearforged, and a small number of trusted dwarves and celestial sydereans. The world exists as four rings around a central arcane sun; there is no night, for mechadrons rarely require rest, merely repair and renewal at the Great Forge when a part wears out.
The mechadrons have a boundless appetite for metals, coal, and workable stone, constantly working to expand their small world into a larger one. They speak of “The Fifth Ring,” a project that may take centuries to bring into being.
CELESTIA Sometimes referred to as the heavens or the angelic realms, Celestia is not one specific world, but a vast collection of worlds embodying law, strength, and divine providence, protected by beneficent angels and demigods who rule with justice and mercy. The total number of celestial worlds (commonly called realms) is believed to number between seven and seventy-seven. The lesser of these realms are ephemeral demesnes that greater angels literally carry with them through the Labyrinth—which makes them particularly difficult to tally. To enter the realms of Celestia, one must traverse a crystal highway hidden within the Labyrinth and walk its sunlit paths before finally passing through the Celestial Arch—a massive structure that burns away void corruption. The golden portals to the angelic realms lie beyond the arch. Like the hell worlds, the realms of Celestia depend on their immortal rulers to keep them secure and organized. The most famous worlds include the Clockwork Heaven of Rava and its seneschal Hala’ath (see Tome of Beasts 3); the Shining Heaven of Solana; and the Lesser Heaven of the Archangel Iilar’jil (see Tome of Beasts 3), the angel called the Fire of Forgotten Hope, which moves as a beacon through the Labyrinth.
COLDFORGE
DREAMER’S ISLANDS These islands on the shore of the Astral Sea are always warm, shimmering, inviting, and full of tropical nights and disquieting dreams. The Servants of the Dreaming God find them congenial, but no one else does.
GREATER HELL OF TYVER-SAROK Of all the hell worlds, none is more prolific than the Greater Hell of Tyver-Sarok. Although typically hostile to mortals and entirely populated by infernal forces, the greater hell remains largely uncorrupted by the Void. The use of void magic is strictly controlled by infernal barons, countesses, and archdevils, who fiercely defend their world against void corruption perpetrated by anyone other than themselves. The Hands of Tyver-Sarok are the diplomats who speak to the members of the Old Ring, the Servants of the Dreaming God, and the Keepers of the Keys.
MIDGARD A world of dark roads and shadow magic, Midgard is home to masked gods, powerful ley lines, and ancient fallen empires. Its unique people include the clockwork gearforged, the rock-ribbed bearfolk, and a clever strain
A Dwarf Explorer on Coldforge
Though technically abandoned, Coldforge feels alive and is the site of frequent visits by dwarves, smiths, and members of the Concord of Stars. They all seek the superior enchanted weapons, armor, and secrets once known to the Dwellers, the dwarven rulers of Coldforge who vanished three hundred years ago. Their servants still rule the realm, a mountainous place of enchanted fires and deep tunnels connected by outrageous bridges, aqueducts, and sky ships. The only permanent inhabitants are the servitors (rolling spheres that perform maintenance with limbs and tools), stumbling warrior golems, and a handful of gibbering gearforged, driven mad by whatever drove the Dwellers away.
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of mining and urban kobolds, as well as a dragonborn empire ruled by ancient drakes. Its greatest cities are the magocracy of Bemmea, the elven remnants in Dornig, Per-Bastet, the City of Cats, and Harkesh, capital of the Dragon Empire. Midgard faces threats as varied as a ghoul empire in the darkened depths, hellish gnomes, cultists of deranged gods, Baba Yaga, and an array of elder aberrations from the Wasted West. When visiting Midgard, heroes can empower their magic with ley lines, travel swiftly on shadow roads, and confront hostile fey, gnome assassins, or members of the Emerald Order, a group of illuminati seeking world domination.
SHADOW REALM Once upon a time, the Shadow Realm was created by the will of the goddess of moon and magic. She tempted a group of ambitious elves to settle the shadow plane and grow its population and might. These were the shadow fey, and they are still the preeminent creatures of the realm
The city of Zobeck in Midgard
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of Ebon Tides. Their fey rulers are Sarastra, the Queen of Night and Magic, and her estranged husband, the Moonlit King, along with others such as Chief Gulfwyr of the Bearfolk and Queen Valda of the Golden Oak elves. Emperor Vilmos of Ghouls, the Shadow Goblin king Flibbam Barkwater, and the Queen of Teeth Phylomara also vie for the power of shadow. The magical realm is prone to bursts of shadow corruption, empowered illusions, and the wanderings of the River Styx, but fey and shadow mages find the realm congenial.
SUMMERLANDS The lands of the elves and the fey are sunlit and warm, a richly forested world littered with slim towers and underhill palaces, with courtfolk halflings and gnomes as well as the ever-shifting rule of the Archfey lords and ladies. A representative sample includes the Countess of Garlands, Mother Berchta, Mother Moth, Morrinn the Snow Queen, Nicnevin, the Queen of Witches,
Mesikammen the Bear King, the Lord of the Hunt, and Reynard the Fox. The Summerlands folk are suspicious of strangers and cautious around any whiff of dark magic or the Void. While the lands are pleasant and the forests are enchanting, this world’s relative peace and security derives from watchfulness and isolation. Uninvited visitors are politely told to leave, especially any creature of unnatural or nonfey lineage, such as gearforged, stonekin dwarves, humans, or sydereans.
SUNHOME Positioned near the Celestial Realms, Sunhome is sometimes called “the Floating World” since it consists entirely of small floating discs and spheres connected by skyships and magical creatures that fly from fiefdom to fiefdom within the radiant sky. Elves are its primary inhabitants, though a sect of stern sydereans maintains a string of glasslike castles called the Great Globes. Each of these holds a small sun shedding light piped to Sunhome from Celestia or higher realms.
THE OLD RING WORLDS The worlds of the Old Ring are the most ancient known to the folk of the Labyrinth. They’re known by the names of their primary flora and sometimes the place where they first linked to the Labyrinth. Not surprisingly, these worlds are generally wooded, and they were either discovered or created by the Grand Druid of the Old Ring. The type of tree in their name refers to the grove where the world tree of each world was first grown. Ancient Alder. Populated by humans and minotaurs, this world of druids maintains richly woven connections to the World Tree. Its climate supports woodlands from birches and alders to olive trees and cedars. The rocky and poor soil hinders farming, but small villages or settlements subsist at its river mouths. Autumn Ash. Ruled by forest drakes and smallfolk gnomes, this world’s inhabitants are believed to be among the most greedy and rapacious of the Old Ring, valued as assassins for their skills. Maple Leaf. Featuring a chill climate characterized by small lakes and expansive bogs, the world of Maple Leaf is primarily elvish, and humans are not welcome. Gnomes and beastkin work the orchards and trim the hedges of the strange, fey houses built along the lakes. For reasons known only to the elves and their allies, the houses of Maple Leaf are always built along lakes and river shores. Oakroot. With its stone towers and ancient, living forests as aware as the Margreve in Midgard, wood woses, treants, and children of the briar are more at home in Oakroot
than humans or elves (who live here in smaller numbers.) Mossbeard’s Throne is the largest tower here, built on a great mountain just above the tree line. This is considered the throne of the Great Druid Oberic, though he wanders through the worlds as often as he stays in one place. Redwood Haven. With deep fogs and sharp cliffs and canyons, Redwood Haven consists of two great islands and a wide ocean of whales, dolphins, and kraken. Its people make fishing for salmon and whaling the foundation of their small cities. Rowanheart. Primarily home to grove elves and halfling smallfolk, Rowanheart is a world of brambles, berries, and cities of woven wood. Lady Hawthorne often visits. Seven Pines. Sometimes called Winter Pines, this world is cold and glacial, with craggy peaks and more giants, ogres, and trolls than humans or elves. Yew, birch, and reindeer are all common, and bearfolk visit from time to time. Summer Birch. A long-settled place of plenty with vineyards and barley fields between well-loved forests of alder, birch, laurel, and pine. Mossbeard the Elder was said to have wooed a birch-maiden here in his youth, and some believe he still visits her grave each spring. Twisted Cedar. This land of cedars and pines on a cold and foggy ocean is populated primarily by humans, though they share the land and sea with ravenfolk, elves, owl beastkin, and selkies. Foggy moors and deep-cut river valleys make travel difficult. Twin Hawthorns. Named for the two trees near its famous druidic College of Thorns, humans and bearfolk settled this world. Elves appear only as visitors; they have no communities here. The Great Druid Oberic spends hours here teaching senior druids and inspiring the young. Willow Shore. A mangrove world of islands and lowlying coastal land, this world’s first world tree is at its coldest region. The rest tends toward desert or jungle, with long rivers and cenotes providing places for human and catfolk settlements and nomadic gnoll, jinnborn, and air elemental tribes.
YGGDRASIL, THE WORLD TREE Yggdrasil connects to the worlds of the Old Ring and Midgard through structures called world trees, which are magical extensions of Yggdrasil. Creatures that climb or enter a world tree might be transported onto Yggdrasil. More information on Yggdrasil can be found in the Midgard Worldbook. The World Tree Yggdrasil is a planar pathway between worlds, but it hosts permanent inhabitants, primarily humans and ratatosk. Its great city is Grenstad, city of the five branchings, a place of ratatosk. One of the five branches from the city goes to Midgard, another
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to the Court of the Golden Oak in the Shadow Realm, and so forth, making Grenstad a vital hub of trade and communication. The ratatosk make the most of this position between worlds. They assert that they are not beastkin but divine messengers of the gods of Valhalla, and that they have known about the Labyrinth far longer than those minotaurs who arrived so much later. When questioned why, the ratatosk reply that they kept the secret to themselves like a prized nut buried for the winter, so of course the minotaurs get the credit for the discovery.
ARCH SKY
Dead Worlds
BLACK VELVET
Sometimes referred to as the Abyss or the demon-haunted worlds, within the dead worlds of the Labyrinth mortal life barely exists, suns have gone black, and magic fails to function. Their inhabitants include demons, satarre (see Monster Vault), void cultists, undead, and bizarre horrors seemingly created by the void energies that run riot here. These few represent a small percentage of the known dead worlds and barely count against those long forgotten.
This world exemplifies the rare case of a celestial realm devoured by the Void. The Arch of the Sky is a beautifully preserved world of orderly cities covered in dust, rich temples gilded with soot, and its people, plants, and animals transformed into marble, white clay, or limestone. The few remaining black lizards hunt sandflies that eat pale blue flowers that persist along burbling rivers. Treasures taken from the Arch of the Sky crumble to dust within days.
The dead world of Black Velvet glimmers with black soil lit by fungal growth near its hot springs rather than a sun. In the eternal night, the stars shine brightly, and only the moon rises and sets.
WHISPERING DUNES This world contains a white sandy beach that stretches forever, and dunes without end. Very little grows here, and salt contaminates the soil and most water. A few species of sand grasses still survive, and a few bugs and lizards find springs and seeds enough to live on. Nothing else moves or breathes.
Ratatosk are the messengers of Yggdrasil
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Outer Worlds
AKAMAIN A fantasy world ruined by natural disaster and run by monsters.
This section includes sample worlds one might find when traveling the Labyrinth. Seventy of these worlds were designed by supporters of the Tales of the Valiant RPG. Most of these are traditional fantasy settings that have been run for years by their creators, who are acknowledged below. Note that Kobold Press doesn’t own or endorse these settings, but they are presented here to demonstrate the range of worlds players might find within the Labyrinth.
AGIEL A high-fantasy jungle island grown from the head of an ancient, dead dragon that floats in the sea of the Astral Plane. By Jonah Tappan and Katie Truelove The head of a massive, long-dead astral dragon, Agiel, floats in the Astral Sea. Residual magic from the dragon and from the sea’s connection to other worlds act as the life blood to the deep jungle that has encased the head. Powerful gods have taken to ruling the people who inhabit the harsh and wild landscape. The massive mountains of Casto host dwarves and avian humanoids who worship the eagle god of light and battle, Castio. The great jungle hides the treetop city of Nandue, home to beastfolk worshipping the trickster monkey god, Nue-moo. A central lake holds the Island of Pojo, where a city of frog people and driders worship the spider goddess of death, Namiera. The panther god of law and justice, Baheer, fights to keep order in this chaotic and savage world, aiding and protecting all who seek order on Agiel. Heroes can explore Agiel’s overgrown roads, lost temples, and bright canopy, each inhabited by people and beasts from all worlds that touch the Astral Sea.
AHARAT A war-torn world where cosmic horrors slowly seep out from their eons-long imprisonment. By Stephen Michael DiPesa Three hundred years ago, the goblins of the Imperial Legions toppled the continent-spanning empire of the Drahazai, devil-blooded giants. Now, the once-subjugated peoples of the empire bear witness to terrors new to them but ancient beyond reckoning, as alien threats from outside reality seek to break free from their eons-long imprisonment. The goblins of Vul Dargash turn to such allies as the elves of the Bloodlands, the dragon-kiths of Naxzath, and even the feuding human city-states of the Inheritor Kingdoms. Heroes in Aharat can clash with the minions of the Nameless Ones, tap into the cosmic magics of the Drahazai, or make contact with the long-silent gods as they wake from slumber.
By Jeff Quick A dragon’s age ago, a mountain fell on the center of Akamain, burying a pleasant, green kingdom under gray ash. Five monstrous city-states arose, while humanoids live as thralls and chattel: Grimgaunt, a region where giants live to war, and the smart control the city-state as racketeering oligarchs; Duskruth, a region where vampire houses plot beneath ash clouds kept aloft by geothermal updrafts; Brass City, a desert redoubt of shapechanging djinn, whose caravans travel the roads around the Fallen Mountain, trading goods and information; The Crawling Ziggurat, a region where necromancers oversee a ruthless meritocracy, ensuring only the best survive while all others are turned to undead; and the Hoard, a region where an extremely ancient silver dragon known only as “The Dragon” micromanages every life in its regimented human empire. Meanwhile, in the center of Akamain, free dwarven rangers patrol and mine the Fallen Mountain for ancient treasures and hope of a return to the green times.
ALDGATE A heroic fantasy world with rediscovered ancient technology. By Brian Suskind and Jon Enge Aldgate is a world of heroic fantasy where absent gods protect the Shroud, the barrier separating the world from the demonic void. Soliddio, the God of Silence, alone remains to ensure the prayer of mortal worship never ceases to flow. Twice in the past, mortals turned from the gods, once to the beguiling fey and once to technology. Each time, Soliddio triggered cataclysms, reducing civilizations to a primitive state and rebuilding them over eons. Now it is the third age, and Soliddio languishes in magical slumber. In his absence, mighty nations clash for dominance, and the pantheistic church fractures with schisms. Newly rediscovered steam and blackpowder technology contend with the return of the fey courts, while
A NOTE ON SCIENCE FICTION Some of the backer worlds reside in the science fantasy or science fiction genres. While most games are played in the fantasy genre, some groups enjoy mixing in the occasional robot or laser with the goblins and warlocks. Ultimately, it is worth asking your players whether they want to include high technology next to their high magic, or whether they prefer to keep the genres separate as part of different campaigns.
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demonic Jahan subverts the leaders of nations. Unnoticed amidst the turmoil, the Shroud weakens. Aldgate’s heroes wield blades and pistols against the growing tide of darkness threatening to engulf the lands.
ATLABEL
ANDOVIR
Atlabel is a continent punctuated with magical fonts, each characterized by an element and school of magic. The fonts shape the landscape and cultures around them, though the peoples of Atlabel tell legends of an ancient empire that harnessed the fonts’ power and fell to magical plagues. One hundred years ago, the Ameran Dominion arrived in their fleet of ships, declaring themselves to be the descendants of that empire. They now claim the continent as their ancestral home, firm in the belief that all but divine magic must be suppressed to prevent future apocalypse. The Dominion’s industrial and warlike people steadily spread across the continent, sealing the fonts and their magic. Heroes can explore the nations and the fonts that nurture and sustain them, uncovering the history behind the strange phenomena.
A high-fantasy accesspunk world that accounts for disabled and neurodivergent beings throughout its design and architecture. By Wyrmworks Publishing A realm where accessibility and universal design flourish, shaping a world of limitless possibilities. In the layered city of Duneport, devils and djinn vie with dragons for control. Beyond its walls, in the Hollow Sea, the iridescent-shelled abaloi dwell, their spiraling homes piercing the coral desert sand. The goblins of the United Hordes of Kluird are renowned trainers of service animals, including unicorns, velociraptors, and pseudodragons, while their wheelchair cavalry strikes awe and fear. Shathun dwarves, orcs, and clockwork tinkerlings explore the oceans in ships and underwater submersibles. Arcanowrights combine magic and invention to create prosthetics, clockwork servants, and culinary wonders, the paladins of the Order of the Silver Lance safeguard the marginalized, and an ancient cabal of wizards manipulates governments across the continent. Within this vibrant realm, the arcane currents of the Flow propel airships and arcane skimmers while casters manipulate it to altruistic and nefarious ends.
Descendants from an ancient empire have returned, spreading war in a world long-ago reshaped by the magic their people left behind. By The Manhattan Kobolds
ASCENSION A world of floating islands orbiting a massive maelstrom. By Isaac Morley The world of Ascension consists of twelve spirals of island kingdoms orbiting a massive perpetual storm called the Maelstrom. Out of the Maelstrom fly the massive and monstrous beings called Leviathan that are among the greatest threats to the surrounding kingdoms. These beings are hunted by the Hunters Guild, from its chapter houses throughout the world, protecting settlements and pursuing rare materials. Leviathans range from small monsters that attack in large groups to massive island eaters that require armadas to destroy. Leviathans are steeped in mystery with little known except for the fact that they come from the Maelstrom itself. Because of the nature of the islands, airships are crucial for trade and war, ranging from small skiffs designed for island hopping to massive war galleons and even small one- to two-man shrikes designed for daredevil maneuvering and racing through the expanse. Heroes can explore the different spiral kingdoms within the world, join the Hunters to slay Leviathans, or just hop on their own airship and try to make their way through the world, flying through a sea of clouds.
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Wind Acolyte (Tome of Beasts 3)
AURELIS, THE GOLDEN WORLD
BEYOND
A fantasy, alternate Earth where humans are refugees and their gods walk among the living.
A neo-noir planet-city filled with godlike rulers, decadence, and magical technology.
By T.D. Daigle
By Zachery Newbill
Two centuries ago, a mysterious new species appeared on the planet Aurelis in a storm of arcane power. Calling themselves “Humans,” these refugees claimed to have come from a world simply known as “Earth,” with all known avenues of return tragically lost to them. Now, they must contend with a world filled with powerful magicks and many sapient peoples, where gods of both their new home and their lost homeworld walk among the living. Here, among orc clans and dwarven kingdoms, undying elven realms and proud dragonborn republics, they hope to rebuild. Some have offered to take the humans under their protection, while others look upon the humans with suspicion, as the newcomers attempt in vain to find a way home. Humans, too, are divided about their new neighbors, either dedicated to living in harmony with these strange creatures or to making their new world safe for Humanity—whatever the cost may be.
Dive into the City of Beyond, where the arcane is an accessory to every object in town. Divided into Spires, the planet-city is filled with mysteries, dark forces, kidnappings, mutated monsters, infernal infestations, and more. Heroes can gear up with ManaTech weaponry and augmentations to increase their firepower or take to the streets to help those oppressed by the Icons that rule each Spire. Heroes can join the Manapunks as they rebel against Icon Invictus, corrupted ruler of the Western Spire, and his Iron Legion, or they can take their chances in the B.A.D. Games, a battle royale where mercenaries duke it out for the highest bidder. Will your heroes go Beyond or will they fall prey to the wonders of the city of Neon and Night?
BLOODTHORN A cubic, cyberpunk world fueled by an arcane substance secreted from a sentient star. By Scout Fenton
AVUS An apocalyptic, dark fantasy world where devils have twisted the landscape to match the hells, and scattered peoples eke out a desperate living. By Jorge A. Torres On the world of Avus, the great continent of Vea has become a twisted reflection of the Nine Hells. It was here that devilkind smashed the mortals and their celestial allies. Now the Infernal Archduke reigns over a world of dead gods and broken mortals. Humankind willingly serves their infernal masters or are enslaved as chattel. On islands scattered west of Vea, the elves lie shattered, their nobility utterly decimated. Under the northern Howling Mountains, the dwarven clans have chased their failed kings from the Kingsrock and established a republic bent on reclaiming their fallen realm. Far east of Vea, on the small, harsh continent of Drevea, myriad peoples fight over what little resources remain. Before they fell to the Archduke’s armies, the gods left one final gift to mortals: the Paragons, great heroes from all parts of Avus with a spark of divinity and capable of pushing back the Archduke’s forces. With the Paragons comes hope.
Eternal starless night cradles the cubic world of Bloodthorn, centerpoint of a universe without sunrise. Nine civilizations carve their skyscraper territories on the surface, but as adventurers dig underneath, the caverns are filled with mysterious light, tropical rainforests, and other natural wonders long since buried by the urban jungles above. The top, known as the Calm, needs no sunlight, and its cities never sleep. The underground, known as the Chaos, is unconquerable. Gargantuan geodes may appear suddenly, revealing displaced worlds or portals. How long one remains is never predictable. The core of Bloodthorn is a sentient star that produces its namesake bloodthorn, a neon blue glowing substance that runs like water, has a sticky, thorny texture, and is the source of the world’s magic. Unknown fates await those who bring bloodthorn beyond the world that bears its name.
CLOCKWORK NEXUS A steampunk world set within a world-spanning clock. By Willy Alers Clockwork Nexus is a mechanical world resembling the insides of an unfathomably large and complex clock. Roads, tunnels, rivers, and even mountains slowly change over time as the great gears turn. Allied nations grow distant and bitter enemies close. Empires rise and fall as the shifting world moves resources and dangers or changes climates over time. Adventurers often wait years for the gears to reveal long lost paths and dungeons only
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DENARIUS A hyper-capitalist fantasy realm where corporations vie for market dominance. By Mark G. In Denarius, death (or mortal bankruptcy) is temporary; everyone is eventually reincarnated into the Business Cycle. Long ago, the CEO/King died for tax purposes and never returned, creating a vacuum for rivals to expand— through subterfuge, violence, or magic. Participate in very hostile takeovers, engage in corporate espionage, or delve into supply closet dungeons to find mythic sales leads. Notable locations include the Box, a walled city where only the bold think outside; the Skeem Pyramids, home of the MLM cult; the Data Mines; the Boiled Ocean; and the Land of Dead Projects. Adventurers may make a pact with the Devil in the Details, encounter Lybor (the dragon who lends money at usurious rates), hear cryptic business aphorisms from the Monks of AGILE, worship Angel Investors at the Churches of Supply or Demand, or dine with Count Receivable, the vampire who won’t stop talking about Crypt Currency.
Mytholabe (Creature Codex)
DUNBOURD to be hidden again decades later. Clockwork creatures are common sights alongside living flora and fauna. The Clockwork Nexus is notable as a world where clockwork people can occur naturally, sometimes found wandering newly formed. Its most notable city is Horologium, home to the Great Academy. The academy devotes itself to the study of science and magic, mapping the movements of the unending clock. Humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes are all common within the city. Prominent religions of the world worship the great Clockmaker and his emissaries.
DAUDALAUS A world under a mysterious curse that prevents the dead from reaching the great beyond. By Jeff Lee In Daudalaus, people die, but their souls never cross over to the afterlife. Mortals must deal not only with undead, but also the insistent voices of their ancestral spirits still wishing to guide them from beyond the grave. Ghostly kings rule nations, unwilling to yield power to their living descendants. The Seekers for the Veil are a group that aims to discover the cause of this worldwide curse, returning things to normal and allowing the dead to reach the great beyond. The Seekers boast heroes both living and dead, who venture into ancient ruins and lost regions of power to find the answer to their plight.
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A swashbuckling world defined by a churning, world-spanning swamp that spews forth dead civilizations and ancient horrors. By Jonah Buck Life on Dunbourd is defined by the Great Tarn. The world-spanning swamp exists as frozen taiga marshes near the poles and steamy, horror-infested wetlands most elsewhere. The boundaries of the Great Tarn constantly shift in a process called the Strange Tides, making maps useless. Semi-nomadic villages of humans, chameleonfolk, and ravenous shrewmen follow the ever-changing shores of the swampland to harvest fungal crops. These communities often come into conflict over access to dry land. Pioneers exploring regions recently disgorged from the mire frequently discover the bones of gargantuan beasts or the zombie-filled ruins of sunken settlements. On Dunbourd’s far-flung highlands, permanent cities thrive: Zuderdam, with its haunted aqueducts; Van Trusk, whose damworks are said to hold back more than just murky water; and Knife-Tongue, with its monstrous royal zoo. But the Strange Tides can isolate cities for years or generations, and odd cults sometimes take root in these enclaves during those hard years. Travelers must beware towering saurian predators, speech-mimicking parrot griffons, oozing monstrosities among the tar-like muck, flotillas of bog pirates, wicker sirens, and frenzied ferrymen.
EIGHTY WARDEN MOONS A fantastical civilization spread across the moons of a gas giant, where political factions vie for power. By Grant Martin Gleaming cities and deep seas spread across the eighty habitable moons of a gas giant. Mortals travel from moon to moon in merfolk rocketships, on the backs of void dragons, as cargo in djinn caravans, through the empty afterlife, and in dozens of other ways. Ever since the old gods and their servants were overthrown and imprisoned centuries ago, godhood has become a prize for the strongest and cleverest mortals. Divine halos change hands regularly, as no mortal can stay the strongest or cleverest forever. Monster Parliament claims to protect and represent the peoples of the moons, but they are opposed, discreetly or openly, by treant rebels, slime revolutionaries, anti-magic zealots, krakenkin colonists, corporate nobility, and most of all by the True Folk, an alliance of elves, dwarves, and humans seeking to destroy the moons and release the imprisoned gods.
ELDER EARTH A post-apocalyptic high fantasy world where heroes must stave off corruption to rebuild the dying land. By Stephen Diamond Elder Earth is in ashes. The broken moon has unleashed magic upon the world. It corrupts people and beasts into the Foulborn, twisted abominations that seek chaos and destruction. Adventurers can visit the prison city of Karnoth or the decadent port of Thaeloon. They can explore the ruins of the arcane empire of Anueria, battle pirates and raiders along the Broken Colonies, or fight abominations within the Daragesh Wastes. Elemental magic infuses the lands, from the storm swept Mahron Reach to the fiery Ashcrown Mountains. Dwarf priests seek the remnants of their god-emperor’s soul, scattered upon his death. Elves consort with demons and spirits, seeking to reclaim their lost immortality. The old gods were cursed and have become mockeries of their divine purpose. Only the foolish or depraved seek their blessing. The Theocracy of Thalasia has risen in their place, promising refuge in exchange for blood sacrifice and faith.
EMERALDIA A world of dark fantasy where intelligent plants dominate the land. By Mike Welham A lush world of forests, grasslands, and jungles, Emeraldia is covered by vegetation across every inch. The verdant paradise subtly conceals a post-apocalyptic reality. The Green rebelled against the creatures that wantonly
destroyed it and wiped out whole civilizations, directly through tree armies and indirectly via deadly pollen targeting animal life. The plants allowed lesser fauna to survive to provide the plants with necessary, life-enriching nutrients. Some surviving humanoids took refuge in enclaves ruled by benevolent plants that believe they can all coexist. The majority fled underground, where they eke out meager existences and form tenuous alliances with preexisting underworld societies. However, the Green has begun to extend its reach to the fungi populating the subsurface realms, endangering the world’s remaining humanoids. Heroes in Emeraldia meet with hostile plant life and may become embroiled in plots to remove or reduce the Green’s stranglehold on the world.
ESERIEL A world featuring vast towers filled with seemingly endless dungeons, where life is driven by the hope to ascend a tower to the home of the gods. By Sawyer Judkins The world of Eseriel is scattered with Dungeon Cores: staggering towers of obsidian, running with veins of emerald and gold. These cores are of an unknown origin and are filled with seemingly endless levels of dungeons. Over time, these mysterious objects have become a hub of commerce and adventure because of the treasures found within them. Jineth, the largest city in the world, started as a base camp to explore the first Dungeon Core. Eseriel boasts a diverse array of people from all walks of life. Many come to the big cities to find their fame and fortune. Floating high above the world, a massive crystal hangs in the sky amidst the three moons. This blood rose crystal is home to the gods. Many adventurers hope to one day be the first to make it to the top of a Dungeon Core, and perhaps discover their origin.
FELSENREICH A gothic land of hope during a hopeless time, in which the lone nation to survive a magical apocalypse struggles against the forces of darkness. By Justin C E Penner The last nation is teetering on the precipice of annihilation, but it’s also the largest bastion of hope and defiance against the darkness that consumed the rest of the world. Within the mountainous borders of the Kingdom of Felsenreich, hundreds of cultures and heritages struggle to survive. The Shrouded Maw hangs in the sky, blotting out the sun daily, plunging the world into darkness and spewing forth more dark horrors. This dreaded event is known as middark and lasts one hour. Thirty minutes of partial darkness before and after are known as middusk and middawn.
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Furthermore, werewolf packs led by the Queenwolf prowl the forests of Silbernveld, death knights march across the fields of Konigtal, and dark corruption spreads across the farmlands of Nordenwiese. Within the capital city, Leuchtendstein, civil war brews between the resurrected royal prince Eckhard Erhaben and Cardinal Ulrich of the Order of Light church.
FERLINN’S BACKYARD A microcosm in an eccentric scientist’s backyard, where adventurers contend with bugs, mushrooms, critters, and being tiny. By Lola Fortney The eccentric old scientist, Ferlinn, lives in the Hitherguard Forest, but an entirely different world thrives behind his house. Ferlinn’s lush backyard is full of miniscule life, and its inhabitants don’t need much room. High in the tree canopy is the Hive, protecting its territory. The friendly and colorful mushroomfolk whisper of their mystical bee rider. Aggressive bugs roam the yard looking to feed the Queen and replenish their numbers. Shifty pack rats run the black market under the Deck, always looking to strike a “deal.” Wealth and adventure can be found in the Mold Tunnels, but be wary, the voles are always putting their snouts where they don’t belong. War brews between the bugs and the mushrooms, and the scientist’s experiments cause constant havoc. Being small will not be easy. A drizzle is a hurricane, a rock is a mountain, and the squirrels don’t seem to be very skittish anymore.
GÍGAN A world of nomadic cities and unfettered greed. By Montana Sparks Vast cities built upon the backs of great roaming Behemoths are the safest places in the nigh untamed wilderness of Gígan. Groups of nomadic kobolds act as traders and couriers between the cities, which are led by autocratic constructs. Small tribes of exiles have carved hard-fought pockets of sanctuary on the ground but remain vigilant. Some cities of note are the Great Marketplace, the scholarly city At-the-Seat-of-Knowledge, and the elusive City in the Sky. Tensions run high between city leaders as they do whatever it takes to secure power. A shadowy group of necromancers attempt to raise the First Behemoth, a guerilla army of exiles seeks retribution for their hardships, and rumors spread of a cult that can control Behemoths. Heroes in Gígan will tame and hunt beasts, fill their pockets from trade, and face avarice incarnate.
GALLERIA OF GRUNRUNDI A world of dark, commercialized fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic shopping mall. By Chelsea “Dot” Steverson The surface world remains uninhabitable after the Great Scorching, and the remains of society have found refuge in the ancient dwarven mines burrowed throughout the planet’s core. Under the united banner of the Galleria, the mines have evolved into a shopping megalopolis of scarcity, commercialism, and superstition. The Fashion, Antiques, Makers, Entertainment, Beasts, Food Court, Alchemy, Magic, Rare Valuables, and Black Market districts have emerged as the core power of the Galleria. Each has its own modus operandi, housing, security, and political interests driving its economy. But even with a century of development, the Galleria’s inhabitants have yet to dig deep enough to find the ancient dragon, Grunrundi, sleeping beneath their feet, slowly inflicting a fever of rapacity on all. Under superstition, the people offer tithes of molten gold to the Pit, a vast unexplored hole where Grunrundi sleeps undisturbed—as long as the gold keeps flowing.
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Greed Swarm of the Galleria of Grunrundi (Tome of Beasts 2)
HEARTWOOD A world set in a vast tree, exploring fantasy from an entomological perspective. By Nick Milton Heartwood is a vast and majestic oak tree located in the heart of an ancient forest. Its branches, bark, roots, and soil are home to a myriad of magical creatures: the Formicans, tiny but powerful ants whose Obsidian Legion march to protect their queen; the Coleopteran beetlefolk, known for their clans and guilds; and the Apoideans, a monarchy of bees who provide the surrounding kingdoms with magically infused Heartwood Honey. Adventurers might explore the depths of Rootdeep with the 17th Colony, work with honey alchemists to assist the Amber Monarchy, draw leafsteel blades and barkiron shields to defend the Crownlands from fierce lightning-breathing blue jays, delve through the decay of Rotreach to unlock the mysteries of the long-forgotten Fate Weaver Spiders, or soar the skies over the verdant green Grasslands on dragonflies.
HOURGLASS VERSE An expansive collection of science fantasy worlds amidst the stars, where an epic space opera unfolds. By William West Hourglass Verse is an ancient star cluster filled with fallen civilizations, lost artifacts, and forgotten lore guarded by ancient traps or simply buried on jungle planets. Constructed as a refuge for those fleeing an ancient war, it evolved into a refuge for any creature in need of sanctuary and grew exponentially. The star systems of Hourglass Verse orbit the central system, Flagpole, home of the Blood Guard, who protect the Verse’s independence and neutrality. Other worlds include Peregrine, a world of unliving bone lords; Kerak, a world overrun by magic‑eating, zombie-making fungi but being reclaimed by nonmagical humans; and Cambria, the base-in-exile for star-faring elves with a bad attitude. Forces beyond Hourglass Verse’s boundaries that strive to influence or conquer it include the Pride, a cat-shifter empire; the relentless Durloc horde, bent on conquest; the mischievous Reshi; and the world-building Ekka.
HOWLING ISLES A peaceful world above an endless sea of clouds, where a long‑forgotten disaster threatens to return. By Austin H. Ten thousand years after the great Calamity struck the world, the mortal survivors moved to islands of rock that drift on the winds above an endless sea of clouds known
as the Stormshroud. Villages and whole kingdoms are constrained to the fragments of a past the people have long forgotten. The world is now named after its largest and most populous of these islands, Howling Isles, an inverted mountain filled with the moaning roar of the winds of the Stormshroud. The islands give life, shielding the people from the long-forgotten monsters that dwell below the clouds. Mortal kind has come a long way since all was nearly destroyed in the Calamity. Memory of those days has passed beyond myth, and monsters are relegated to the stories told by parents to children. But the monsters have not forgotten the people of Howling Isles. Deep in the world below the Stormshroud, those of the void stir once more. Mortals have had ten millennia of peace in the wake of the great disaster. Soon they will have no more.
ISLES OF RELABORHAM A naturalistic world tree canopy above the clouds. By Emirranth High in the clouds, a single tree stands serene. Expansive branches reach beyond what can be seen. Great isles are held in its twisting embrace, hiding among the protective leaves it creates. Beings of mighty nature call out to the tree, to move its branches and bring together the lands that be, to grow the settlements of Beast and Humanity and make the paths which they roam. It is a mighty tree they call home. Some isles are lost to time, either overrun by dark creatures or choked by thick vine. Some hold treasures, great and vast. Some hide secrets, words echoed from the past. Plants are fast to aid those who take these paths. To track trees whose fruits glitter and shine, grant strange boons to those who dine, or gateways to realms that blow the mind, the rituals await for the wise to find.
LANDS OF LINGUIS An eons-old civilization built on the magically binding nature of words. By Marc “DM Mythall” K. Linguis is a realm of subtle contrasts where verbal verse controls magic and where spellcasters channel the Holy Triptych of Diction, Rhyme, and Metre to craft powerful magical spells and bring ethereal constructs into being with words. Eons of passive linguimancy heighten cultural and commercial capabilities of densely populated areas. The abundant nations of Idioma, Alliterative Alliance, and Metaphoric Magocracy each provide for citizens’ and visitors’ basic needs in seemingly perfect equity. Paragonic deities form the Conclave of Ephemeral Concepts, where ideologies tend to supersede theologies. Heroes looking past the idyllic utopian surface find the machinations of a darker force, Fracture, which undermines all communities
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from within. Tempting casters with dark promises, Fracture urges manipulation or subjugation of others for gain, seeding disharmony. Beyond the three cosmopolitan Capitals of Commerce nations, vast wastelands of Ignorance house many with only the most basic linguistic learning. Creatures, conflict, and Fracture obstacles seed many adventures in Linguis.
they battled invaders from the Caliphate of Aqhran. High in the Pillars of Heaven mountains, the rakshasa Rajah Vrishabha has been frozen in ice for 1,900 years, patiently waiting to be freed to unleash a terrible tiger-striped future on the world.
LOASTRA A world built upon a catastrophe beyond memory, where spirits and mortals exist in a delicate balance.
LANDS OF PARSANTIUM A heroic fantasy world filled with Byzantine intrigue. By Richard Green The Free City of Parsantium stands astride two continents at the crossroads of the world. Here, storied cultures collide in a melting pot of adventure and intrigue, home to evil cults, unscrupulous politicians, scheming serpentfolk, ancient dungeons, powerful criminal gangs, gladiators, and chariot racing. Conflict simmers between rival city‑states and kingdoms vying to control the Corsairs’ Sea and vital maritime trade. Adventurous souls can explore the crumbling ruins of fallen empires: Bathura, whose glorious cities were sacked by orc and hobgoblin armies; Karjan, home of the infamous geomancers who corrupted the land with twisted earth magic; and Khemit, destroyed in a magical cataclysm by Queen Merytnofru’s sorcerers as
Greater Rakshasa of Parsantium (Creature Codex)
By Marbles M Goblin Everything has a spirit. From the sky and the sea, to the leaves that fall in autumn. In Loastra, most mortals live in walled cities, safe from the spirits that dwell in the wilds outside their gates. Here, there is harmony. The domesticated spirits of forge and hearth work with mortal peoples to create splendors beyond counting. Yet even when spirits work willingly, some would strip the spirits of their will. These mortals would command the spirits as if they were the lost gods returned. The spirits are caged in devices meant to drain their energy for foul purposes. This cruelty is sometimes forgotten in glowing cities, where magic is easier to find than water. These cities forget the balance that exists in the smaller walled towns, but they never forget the danger outside their own walls. In between the cities and towns are the spirit-lands. Mountains float in the sky, waterfalls flow up cliffs, and the land itself moves when it wills. These lands are haunted by spirits turned feral and some that have possessed the forms of beast and mortal alike. A world of spirits and splendor awaits in Loastra. Adventurers must choose: exist in harmony with the spirits, or dominate spirit and mortal alike?
LORUS A dark fantasy world where pastoral beauty is undercut by the ever-lurking danger of alien horrors and forgotten elder gods. By David Garrison Lorus is a world of sanguinity and atrocity, of pastoral beauty undercut by the rot of alien horror from the far realms of madness. Here, the guttering coals of civilization strive to alight and drive the aphotic gloom from the land. Many unique peoples call Lorus home. The contemplative loxodonts wage shadow war against the undead spiderfolk, who haunt the whispering bamboo forests of Lambu Weald. River elves, driven from their ancestral homes, now follow the path of the merchant or become feared reavers of the waterways. Like oases, cities lure both the wholesome and the unholy to their beckoning lights: Aluma’s Weir, the great port and secret gateway to the stars; Rhuka-Tor, the capital of the grim hobgoblin empire; and the City-State of Valas, ruled by the mad empyrean. The minions of forgotten elder gods hungrily await.
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MAL SCHOLASTICA A bleak world of enforced education, where powerful knowledge can be learned or stolen. By Boleslav Mal Scholastica is a plane of dismal villages and walled cities. Attendance at the local school is compulsory; the Captor rounds up truants who ignore the tolling of their school bell. Schools offer a grim curriculum, such as student vivisection in Biology and chanting obscene summonings in Language Arts. Learning in Mal Scholastica is evaluated by the Preternatural Inspectorationist, an agency that inflicts terrible and morbid punishments for schools, teachers, and students marked as “needs improvement.” If students can graduate, they join the elite in the gleaming, walled cities, gaining forbidden knowledge. Otherwise, they are relegated to a life of toil in the bleak, poorly maintained villages.
METRAS A fantastical world living through its happily ever after—at least for 50-year spans. By Jeff Quick Thanks to a couple of centuries of unified dwarven rule, the world has gotten lax. History has been forgotten. No king has a standing army. Places off the main roads have gone to seed. However, every 50 years or so, a massive threat appears: waves of undead, extraplanar incursion, or magical eruption. All are catastrophes best handled by temporary bands of adventurers rather than standing armies. The 50-year mark approaches, and excitement fills the people of Metras as the latest event has started appearing: dungeons. These structures fall from the sky and alter the landscape where they land. Strange creatures and fabulous treasures await within each dungeon, and teams of adventurers line up outside to try their luck. Once a team defeats a dungeon, it proclaims their victory then disappears, leaving behind only the adventurers, their spoils, and the changed landscape.
MIASMA A historical, dark fantasy world of Vikings, Saxons, Danes, fey, witches, and horror. By Curtis Set in the distant past, the lands of Britannia have suffered an invasion of Vikings on an unprecedented scale. While Saxons and Danes vie for control of the shorelands, the vast interior Wildwood has mysteriously transformed. A dark mist, known to locals as the Miasma, covers the interior and slowly consumes the surrounding villages. Magical legends have become reality, and the secrets of ancient runes help unlock the lost secrets. Miracles and
dark patrons have also become more visible, and the world has unquestionably changed. From the Wildwood, druids emerge alongside witches, with elves and dwarves brazenly stepping into the countryside. Monstrous things stir, and villages empty in terror. The dark things yet to reveal themselves are the most worrying. Malevolent fey seem to be behind the Miasma, and lands shrouded in the mist hold answers and more dangers still. The heroes must find their calling in the eye of this storm. Elves and dwarves, goblins and dragons, Vikings and dark fey all threaten their very existence. History will never be the same.
MORTENFELL A burial world of intricate tunnels linking opulent underground vaults that conceal secrets and technological traps. By IrRyo In the heart of eternal darkness, Mortenfell, once brimming with life, now lies lifeless like those entombed. This burial planet, a final resting place for nobility, teems with treacherous snares and fortified defenses, erected to deter relentless grave robbers. Beyond the need for genetic coding to tread its paths, the tunnels house an intricate web of traps, blending both primitive and advanced technologies. Mortenfell boasts impenetrable vaults safeguarding an array of treasures entombed alongside their owners. One audacious group, driven by greed, dared to breach the vaults from without. Their ill-fated drilling struck a web of booby-trapped passages, engulfing their excavation in torrents of molten lava and suffocating gases. Caretakers are shapeless, soulless, stalwart sentinels immune to corruption, and they are the overseers of this desolate realm. Mortenfell’s enigma beckons, a testament to its tragic past. Venture forth, defy its perilous depths, and uncover the secrets that lie entwined within the eerie embrace of its impregnable vaults.
NAZEROTH: THE CRADLE LANDS A futuristic world-ship, forcibly terraforming a dying world of magic. By DC Shepard Nazeroth was a dying world of petty kingdoms, warring city-states, and holy strongholds littering broken lands when, two centuries ago, a futuristic world-ship ripped open the sky and plummeted to the earth. Delivered by the gods, as some claim, the ship’s miles-long trail of wreckage released flora and fauna engineered to rejuvenate Nazeroth where magic and prayer could not, creating the Cradle Lands over the passing years. Surrounded by blasted wastelands and jagged obsidian peaks, the Cradle Lands are an oasis of verdant life in a world unused to supporting it. Now dark sorcerers, megalomaniacal warlords, egalitarian Councils, and dogmatic God-Priests
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lead their people into the Cradle Lands, seeking alien knowledge, bountiful fortune, power, and the resources to enjoy them all. Heroes that venture here will contend with strange carnivorous plants, prowling alien predators that stalk the unwary, and malfunctioning drones struggling to rebuild the world.
NEUVELDT A world poisoned by eldritch magic and seeking vengeance on its invaders. By Benjamin L. Eastman and Matthew Dunn Long ago, small folk lived in harmony with the land of Neuveldt. Then the enigmatic pathways connecting worlds shifted, making Neuveldt more accessible to those leaving other worlds. Dragons searched for new nests and hoards, finding willing kobold minions on Neuveldt. Hobgoblins fled war-torn worlds and transformed Neuveldt’s docile goblins into loyal legionnaires, ensuring their strength of arms should their enemies ever catch up to them. Humans escaped centuries of fiendish domination, seeking a peaceful life on Neuveldt. Many more peoples soon settled in Neuveldt, filling its lands with towns and cities. Over a hundred years ago, the many peoples fought a protracted war, each claiming Neuveldt as theirs. The war ended only after the Lasting Peace and Ultimate Breath, twin arcane atrocities that left much of Neuveldt a wasteland, forcing the survivors to accept a reluctant peace. This alien magic still taxes the land, granting Neuveldt just enough sentience to understand its invaders are the cause of its scars. It now actively rejects its invaders, growing great beasts, forests, and other dangers to drive out the settlers.
OBRUS A comedic fantasy world where a demon lord of filth fights sentinels of cleanliness. By Fish Davidson Sentinels of cleanliness wage unending wars against the hordes of the demon lord Norozogaan, who seeks to remake the world into a giant ball of dung. Franchises of powerful but amoral academies manufacture useful magical items that trade partial curses for widespread affordability to fund their support of both sides of the wars. Meanwhile, the constant battles transform pockets of the world into blighted frontier lands where people seek freedom from meddling kings. In the Freehold of Brownstone, the largest such pocket, the citizens have created a vast network of sewers and emergency response teams to deal with the inevitable dung incursions. The sewers beneath the city contain a city of their own, the Trash Pit, where shapeshifters and tribes of conquest-minded mushroomfolk live in an uneasy truce with surface dwellers.
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OEDMORR FEL, THE TOMB PLANET A grimdark, survival-horror fantasy world, featuring desperate heroes against a world full of necromantic terror. By Christopher Lockey Oedmorr Fel is a stony planet of sprawling subterranean catacombs, bathed in the penumbral magic of outer realms and populated with a multitude of restless dead who call the loathsome place home. It is a hollow construct of ancient evil, fashioned by a sentient species of arachnid necromancers—known as the Whispering Masters—who hail from dimensions unseen. As the Tomb Planet drifts languidly amidst the shadows of other worlds, this cruel magocracy harvests countless species of lifeforms from disparate realms and planes for its gruesome menagerie of bones. Those fortunate enough to escape immuration may find their way to settlements like Asylum or Graveholm, where covert societies of displaced humanoids manage to survive the Tomb Planet’s never-ending night. A veritable “dungeon-sphere,” Oedmorr Fel is populated by vast legions of undead, their necromage masters, the scant refugees of myriad worlds, and arcane horrors beyond mortal comprehension.
Sarcophagus Slime of Oedmorr Fel (Tome of Beasts 1)
PAPER WORLD
REALMS OF NAR-THREAH
An Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired realm made of parchments, ink, and paintings, where forsaken creations become sentient.
A wild, violent land of dark magics, fallen empires, and malicious fey intrigues.
By Echidna Design and Follow the Fool
By Robert Fairbanks
Every idea is a world, and every discarded idea is a world that will never be. However, there is a place for all the burned letters and the ripped pages—Paper World, ruled by its Princess, where roads are parchment rolls, castles are built with lost books, and tree leaves are unheard poems about the beauty of nature. This is the place where forgotten or unfinished creative works magically end up, become sentient, try to find a new purpose, and complete their unfinished sides. Peace is preserved by the Princess of Paper World, a mysterious child who is untouchable by any harm. She parses the new arrivals, dividing them into “gentle thoughts,” who belong to the Realm of the Quiet Words, and “grouchy thoughts,” who are sent into the Lands of the Unreadable. Missed Happy Ending is the largest city in Paper World, where adventurers can find the sassy Unfinished Tavern, the half-burned Tapestry Knights, and the tragic Willow of Poems. In the Lands of the Unreadable, adventurers can encounter dangerous beings, such as the living bounty posters known as the Bounty Gang, the deadly Killer of Ink, and the chaotic Uncompleted Spell. The central city of the Lands of the Unreadable is Despicableton, a discarded utopia ruled by the ever-changing painting of the Faceless King.
QORONUS A ring world formed from the husk of a dragonserpent, where political factions vie for control. By Elliot Wenzel Qoronus is a ring world, the petrified husk of a titanic cosmos-roaming dragonserpent. The interior hosts a bizarre array of life within varying terrain and biomes, with notable features like a primeval forest that’s bigger on the inside, a bustling megacity, a pregnant sleeping volcano, and a dreamlike demiplane within the dead dragonserpent’s brain. The exterior is alternatingly a frozen or scorching hellscape depending on the orbit of Sol, Qoronus’s microsun. Seasons pass similarly inside, with summer peaking wherever Sol orbits closest. No deities hold sway over the Ring. Societies populating its lands are cosmopolitan but ideologically divided. The Hyperion Arcanum pursues advancement of arcane knowledge and technology, locked in a cold war stalemate with the Arboreal Commonwealth, ecomagical stewards of the Aelderwylde. The industrious Cavern Concord lies between them, underneath the Ultramountain, licensing mercenaries to handle threats its neighbors’ militaries cannot or will not address.
The ruins of an ancient, world-spanning people lie sprawled across a broken, tumbled world. Here, mighty nations of fire and frost giants vie against the kingdoms and allies of humans. The Nine Elder Wyrms, ancient and powerful dragons, command vast, sovereign regions and populaces, playing their own political games away from the machinations of most humanoids. In Nar-Threah, heroes can join the Thraexian Imperium’s falcon-helmeted legions to campaign against Queen Torghan Anvilbrow’s fire giants, or they can voyage past the ocean-washed walls of Thymria, whose lotus-dreaming sea kings’ fantastical and bizarre visions can alter and become reality. They can explore the serpent-infested lands of Kleshia or seek the fabled Glimmergloom, hidden home of the dark fey.
REALMS OF PALANNIA A Celtic-inspired fantasy realm. By gaelQuest Long ago, the wise King Breannas led his people to Tír na nÓg, the Land of Youth, triggering an epic war between mortals and the Daoine Maithe, known also as the Good Folk. The seas rose and the mountains crumbled until the land itself was split asunder. This gave rise to the realms now known as Palannia. In the centuries that followed, saints and scholars have sought out the lost secrets of the Good Folk. From the smoke-filled streets of Brencaster to the dark groves of Witchwood, from the giant-plagued highlands of Loch Anann to the mysterious dunes of Mionn na Mara, valiant heroes embark on quests to learn the language of the Daoine Maithe, reclaim their mystic heritage, and discover secret pathways beyond Palannia— or else spend eternity in the shadowy halls of Teach Duinn, the House of the Dead.
SALMIRE A modern world where magic is mundane and planar travel is the domain of corporations and government. By Bob C. Two hundred years ago, magic returned to the world. Industry adapted, science progressed, and eventually other worlds were explored. The people of the nation of Salmire used the magic and technologies they found in their travels to create an empire that spans worlds, all under the leadership of the great dragon president Dragoric. Now magic is mundane. Corporations hire mages to work the assembly lines, golems and other constructs are regularly
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added to construction crews, and people avoid dumpsters in case of mimic attacks. But worlds need to be explored, and in the race to the stars, everyone needs any edge they can get. On Salmire, the wealthy elite hire groups of mercenaries to explore new worlds, sabotage and infiltrate their competitors, and stake their claim on the multiverse, all while the government is staking its claim to every new world (and society) it comes across.
SARLANA A heroic fantasy world of outcasts from across the planes. By Alice Avoy The world of Sarlana lies on the fringes of the Material Plane and forgotten by the gods, which made it a perfect location for beings wanting to hide from the powers that be. For eons, Sarlana was home to misfits from every plane—devils on a path to redemption, defiant celestials, somber fey, and noble aberrations. These outcasts not only established their own city-states (like Doreelion, Teheria, or Hari) according to their ideals and preferences, but also suffused the land itself with their own unique energy, causing a baby boom of plane-affected children. Sarlana is a melting pot of cultures, worldviews, and high magic, where bold heroes carve their own destiny by taking part in skirmishes between the states or by exploring old ruins full of forgotten mysteries. Recently, the gods have again taken notice of Sarlana, causing panic among the ruling outcasts. The world needs heroes now more than ever.
SÉARAIGH A dark fantasy dimension that serves as the astral sewer system for other worlds. By Ryan McLaughlin Everyone has waste–even the Great Powers that control the Planes of Existence—and waste must have somewhere to go. Séaraigh is an interdimensional sewer system for the magical, etheric, and astral waste created on planes as disparate as the Material, Fey, and Elemental. Séaraigh offers an affordable and convenient service to worlds and planes that would rather flush their waste and forget it. The gloomy tunnels and endless aqueducts leading to Séaraigh are near-impossible to map because of their mind-bending geometry, and only the members of the mysterious Select Committee know where the tunnels and aqueducts ultimately empty their metaphysical waste. Despite this, many unsavory characters have found dark, disgusting paths to Séaraigh, allowing access to those in search of an escape route to a new world. Likewise, an entire ecosystem of unspeakable monstrosities has found a near-endless food supply in Séaraigh’s cesspools.
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SEAS OF KIRNON A high-fantasy nautical world where adventurers explore rapidly changing islands. By Will Struck The Seas of Kirnon are a nautical plane composed of seemingly infinite islands. Fascinatingly, this ocean follows a dramatic tidal cycle in which at any given point in time, half of all islands are underwater. Thus, maps are frequently outdated and the islands themselves change with the tide. Major factions include the Gnavy, founded by gnomes that bring order to the sea with their magical ships of wax; the Metal Legion, an alliance of goblinoids and dwarves focused on both conquering and creating islands; the Order of the Scale, a secret society of dragons that masquerade as pirates interested only in gold; the Drowned Court, a royal family that ruled most islands at one time or another; and the Abyss, the pantheon of Kirnon, who come in many forms and temperaments. Deities include Denny the King of Wanderers, the prophecy-writing Fors Eel, and the island-gormandizing Leviathan.
SEVERNITIUM A post-apocalyptic fantasy world literally split in two by a magical cataclysm. By J Santana Inhabitants of a modern world depleted of resources discovered an alternative deep below the surface: a seemingly unlimited source of arcane power, which fueled the renaissance of the population. Hundreds of peaceful and prosperous years later, it was discovered that this energy was, in fact, the magical prison holding a great evil. With the walls weakened, this entity escaped, decimating almost all life on the planet, including the pantheon of gods who had imprisoned it eons ago. Somehow, however, the world did not end. The two halves of this broken planet remain together in an endless, cosmic dance, separated by what is known as the Chasm, the broken-open remains of the entity’s prison. Few have ventured down; none have returned. Only evil, twisted creatures emerge from the chasm. No one knows why the world still holds together, and, perhaps, no one ever will. Hundreds of years have passed, and the landscape has changed. Remnants of past technologically advanced civilizations remain. The few survivors, a mixture of humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings, have begun to rebuild where they can. It is a dark, godless existence in which no one truly knows why they were spared from complete and utter destruction.
SHEKHENAH A broken world shaped by invasive nature and recently slain decadent gods. By Ian “Grendel Todd” Grey Beneath a fractured, crystalline sky supported by cyclopean pillars spreads Shekhenah, half consumed by the ever-growing forest Morfairsing as survivors fight over the scraps. Join the notorious mercenaries of Purgatory Company, travel with the goblins of the Laughing Caravan, or build a shrine to a reborn Devanian sky god. Meet undead wine-peddlers of disgraced Xethenduul, plane-touched ideologues of the Pillar or the Pit, or Y’tllian Pilgrims preaching salvation through the dissolution of souls. Explore the sundial city Clepsydra, the ruins of lost Venth, or the bones of Godshead Mountain. Parlay with bleak Asuran gods over faithless souls in the Underworld, give offerings of meat and honey to divine beasts in the Cinderlands, or persuade chitinarmored nomads to give up their secrets in the depths of the Hungry Wood. In Shekhenah, visitors find a dying world infected with rot thanks to the pride of angels and the decadent gods they slew.
of spells and as reagents in the admixtures of forge and cauldron, the black crystals are hoarded and traded, and many even kill for them.
SILVER VALLEY A claustrophobically small world with limited resources and political intrigue. By Sean Nester Centuries ago, a frontier village was at the forefront of a war against lycanthropes, when an unnamed mage sought to resolve the conflict with a spell that would cure the disease for hundreds of miles. However, something went wrong. Impossibly large mountains sprang up all around the village, trapping everyone inside their borders. Silver in the mountains evaporated and created a seasonal haze called the Silver Veil, which cures lycanthropy in all who breathe it. The lycanthropic threat is gone, but now there exists only 25 square miles of land for humans, dwarves, elves, and goblins to survive. The citizens of what is now called Silver Valley are faced with internal struggles, limited resources, and occasional monsters from the mountains. And no one who has braved the dangerous mountains and left Silver Valley has returned.
SILURIEL A world of primeval forces and ancient magic. By Thomas M. Reid
Black Ooze of Siluriel (Monster Vault)
Siluriel is a world literally alive, the embodiment of an ancient, slumbering sentience. Brimming with untamed wilds—old-growth forests, jagged mountains, sweeping plains, vast tundra, and fetid swamps—its civilizations remain stunted, small pockets of settlement barely holding against the inexorable forces of nature. It is a place where magic waxes and wanes on a generational timescale as the great sentience sleeps and stirs. During its restive periods, magic in the world grows more powerful, and Siluriel’s lifeblood bubbles to the surface. Sometimes taking the form of a mysterious black ooze and other times manifesting as twisted, terrifying aberrations (the form of its nightmares), the lifeblood eventually crystallizes, transforming into a valuable commodity, a prized ingredient in the crafting of magic. Used as components in the casting
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SKOVANNYY’BEREG, THE FETTERED SHORE
SOPHIA
A desolate world of ice, avarice, and sorrow.
A fantastical capitalist world in an Industrial Revolution setting, where the land itself revolts against industry.
By Paul McNeil and Edward Rollins The Fettered Shore is a land of desolation, isolation, zealotry, greed, avarice, and, beneath it all, a nearly extinguished ember of hope. Civilization clings to the icy shore of the Northern Sea, home to ancient city-states as hostile to one another as they are to the creatures of the tundra or the taiga. It is a world without kings or emperors, where princes lead at the whim—and under the edicts—of guild masters, who themselves vie for supremacy among their peers. Within the shadows of the guild houses, greedy men look to the lands of the peoples to the south—within the taiga and across the steppe beyond—and to the fortunes to be taken there. But even as the druzhina—with their muskets and steel armor—march southward, a cancer grows within the world, a forgotten thing that has long sought to corrupt humanity. Its minions already lurk in the shadows of power, whispering terrible desires to those who will hear.
SOL IMIS A Bronze Age fantasy world, in which almost all dragons have been slain and humanity has risen to an uneasy power. By Cameron Feiler The creation of bronze has allowed humans to finally slay their dragon oppressors, plunging the world into an age of anarchy. Now stone forts and temples hold the last bastion of civilization. Not all peoples of the world support the fall of the dragon rulers. The dwarves believe the new age of chaos was not worth the freedom, while the elves relished the constant shifting of power inherent in draconic leadership. Elven woad now overgrows dragon hoards, while dwarven citadels once appropriated as dragon nests are slowly cleared. Mighty human heroes freed the Agarain Fields from monsters years ago, but they now rule as petty warlords hiding in their fort cities jealously sniping at each other as monsters reclaim their ancient homes. This is an age where heroes are made. Any mortal dreaming of glory delves into the depths of the world to find forgotten treasure and, if lucky, the chance to be the one to slay the final dragon, Imperator Bathir.
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By Ressu Crebalt Sophia, a semi-sentient world, was once ruled by dragons. Then humans came from the sky and a millennia-long war ensued. Eventually, Sophia had had enough, and many disasters unfolded across the world. All humans died and dragons suffered so much they were forced to begin a long hibernation of another thousand years. To coexist in relative harmony and keep Sophia at peace, the world was divided in three realms: the Descartes Kingdom, ruled by goblins; the Great Forests of Bacon, protected by a circle of orc druids; and the Aristotle Theocracy, controlled by kobold wizard-priests. The gnomes, descendants of humans and goblins, were forced to live underground. This status quo shattered when the dragons awoke. They took the reins of the Aristotle Theocracy, with the objective of ruling the world once again. They used their power to marshal their armies anew. They used their hoarded gold to create the first banks. But an unexpected rival appeared. The gnomes returned to the surface and created the new Kant Empire, using and improving the technology of the extinct humans and sending the world into an Industrial Revolution. Now, the world has become engulfed in war and in nature-destroying industry, and Sophia isn’t happy. Hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and tsunamis attack indiscriminately. Is Sophia’s story destined to forever repeat or can heroes broker an everlasting peace?
SORAMANCE An ocean world of piracy, secret societies, political intrigue, and freedom on the open sea. By Valin Soramance is a world dominated by an all-consuming ocean. At the heart of the world is the grand city of Yohn, whose mystical might once dominated the seven seas. Now, the authority of their Crystal Throne has been undermined by many secret societies, all jostling for power. With Yohn no longer able to maintain control over the rest of the world, other regions like the pirates of the Lunallan Archipelago, the bold explorers of Midos, and the secretive rebels of the Tangle’s majestic coral forests have asserted independence. The world is threatened by the grasping techno-liches of the Thaumagraph Cabal, lurking horrors of the deep, and endless internal strife. Yet it’s a place of discovery and wonder, where the prospect of a better tomorrow always waits over the horizon. Adventurers in Soramance can expect to become mixed up with secret societies, visit strange new lands that seem to defy nature, and witness history being made.
SPIRE HAVEN A disc world once tyrannized by Titans, protected by the Gods, and now under threat by a mysterious power. By Talador Spire Haven is a disc world that has seven giant towers of mysterious purpose, with entire nations forming at their very feet. The mortal people were once oppressed by their deities called Titans, but a group of gods from another plane, led by Baldurion, the God of Light, intervened and banished the Titans to the underside of the world ten thousand years ago. Now the people of Spire Haven prosper under the benevolent rule of the Gods. However, the Titans scheme to take back what is theirs by right. Elves and humans are in constant conflict due to shadowy machinations. A mysterious power in a forest called Goshollow brings creatures of the night to life under the malevolent eye of a Baroness. An adventurer’s guild was created so heroes can solve these many mysteries under the looming gaze of the towers.
STIRIACUS A science fantasy world of technology and magic standing against a wild, unforgiving world governed by zones of day and night. By Phil Welch Stiriacus is unchanging, its sun fixed in the sky. Here, day and night are directions, not times. Life thrives in the dusk and struggles against the extremes of daylight and darkness. Adventurers evade the hardened Vrud raiders in the Sivru desert beneath the blazing sun Aym, riding sandsurfing skiffs to the mystery of its unreachable center. They sail toward dusk across savage depths of the Nythosian ocean to the ever-raining mangrove jungles of Hicaltus, with tree-borne villages of the Myssuk and their volatile gods. Further into dusk, the technomagical megacity Valentorr reigns with its feuding city districts and political power struggles. The ancient hidden civilizations of the Tusga lie beneath Valentorr’s heat pipes, and the city’s high walls cut into the frozen landscape of the Deep Night, holding back the encroaching horrors dwelling there.
STRAND A pseudo-modern electropunk fantasy world exploring power imbalances that come with burgeoning technology. By Jenn Tsai Generations ago, the warring nations of Strand nearly unraveled the Tapestry in a rabid arms race of cataclysmic magic. Their ambitions drew the gods’ wrath, who sent an angelic Herald to obliterate their rulership and rebuild them as a single civilization, obedient under her ever-watchful gaze. Today, Strand is a place of innovation and unified
prosperity, born from the Herald’s divine gift of magecraft electricity. Opulence adorns Sant Devane, the sprawling metropolis she calls her seat of power, where airships dot the skies and gleaming spires shine deep into the night. But the wealth of electrotech rarely makes it past the capital. Brassi, Aborala, and Sei-nan, once proud arcanocracies, now languish under the Herald’s iron rule. Age-old rivalries and electrodependence have proven enough to keep them in line, even as filth buries their overcrowded alleys and flickering neon begs desperately for power.
TALAMH A moon floating amidst the stars, where a rare celestial event gives rise to monsters and gods. By Jessica Henry Talamh is the moon of a gas giant in a binary star system. Grian, the gas giant, produces heat allowing for a temperate climate on most of the surface. The light‑giving star, Aine, and a brown dwarf star, Realta, form the binary center. Every thousand years, there is a conjunction where Realta eclipses Aine, causing darkness on Talamh in an event called Hawl’twyll, or “the Dark Star Rises” in Common. The surface of Talamh has one main continent, and the ocean on the other side is mostly unexplored. Talamh’s biggest threat is during the months surrounding Hawl’twyll, when proximity to Realta’s radiation causes portals to the realms of the fey and other planes to open, letting loose monsters across the world. This threat leads the gods to temporarily assume physical form in the world to aid and protect Talamh’s people.
TALOTH A world where magic and technology clash, and an extraplanar entity threatens to consume all. By Biometal Omega Taloth is a plane where technology and magic both flourish, with each kingdom or nation choosing how they adapt to these influences. Some look inward and become jealous, clinging to technology, while others still dwell in magical wonder, building great metropolises and trading with neighbors. Beneath it all are the scars of the past, those lost to the chaos of a long-forgotten era, unseen and festering. Something waits beyond the great veil. Its tendrils and abominations are sent forth as corrupt missionaries, trying to claw its way in and consuming all in its path for some unknown purpose. Taloth sits adjacent to a planar entity, a great machine of flesh and energy that seeks to connect to and consume other planes. It sends its minions to make a beachhead before beginning its feast. On Taloth, this beachhead is the ever-growing maze known as the Nullwood, where these minions process lost unfortunates for their master.
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TAMMERYN A world of dark and gritty magic. By Phillip Larwood Thousands of years ago, a terrible cataclysm split the world of Tammeryn almost in two, toppling cities, destroying mountains, and killing millions. Now an enormous rift separates the two halves of the planet. The gap is crossed here and there by towering metal bridges and swirling glyphgates staunchly guarded by fierce golems and bound souls. On the western side of the chasm, a great theocracy has arisen, built around the heart of a flayed god that requires a steady stream of humanoid sacrifices to keep beating. On the eastern side, bickering city-states vie for control over dwindling resources as a sorcerous malady known as the Consuming Curse reduces everything to powdery, bone-white ash. Above all this chaos stand the godmarked, a new people born with a spark of divine essence from a forgotten pantheon that may yet save Tammeryn from ruin—or herald its final destruction.
TELEVYSE A darkly comedic, 80s-inspired world of neon magic and capitalistic parody. By Nick “Jack1Spade” Lucas In the world of Televyse, brands have replaced gods, spells and artifacts are used to create mundane wonders, and mysteries lurk in the sewers, the drifting mall plazas, the hanging skyscrapers, and the industrial arti-forges. All manner of people exist somewhere in this planet-city, working, living, and questing. New additions such as intelligent oozes, living holograms, and dryads add new viewpoints to explore. Multitudes of adventures exist, from tense magi-mobile races through the city slums, corporate espionage among the eldritch depths of the city, or filming new high-stakes programming for spellevision broadcasting. The dragon-ruled city is full of light, magic, and wonder that hides a dark and hungry underbelly feeding on a distracted populace.
TERRA OBSCURUS A subterranean city that serves as the last baston of civilization or the base for even deeper exploration into a world of stone and shadow. By Vish Naidoo After a terrifying magical cataclysm, the surface of Terra Obscurus was covered with the Ebon Shroud—a plague that slowly turned infected individuals into corrupted shadow beings. Civilizations fled below, founding a new
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Flayed Wraith (Tome of Beasts 2)
subterranean city, Crystalhaven, governed by guild leaders known as the Crystal Conclave. Within Crystalhaven, heroes summoned by the Church of Radiant Light mount expeditions above, searching amongst ruins and darkness for knowledge and relics to purge the Ebon Shroud, while disciples of the Church of Shadowed Night actively seek to venerate it using insidious rituals. Abyssal Excavations Incorporated instead uses its explorers to delve deeper to find untapped resources, rare materials, and ancient treasures. These unknown depths are home to venomous fungi, ravenous monstrosities, raging elementals, and colossal wyrms. Deeper still lies the Obsidian Reach, which is home to the plotting necromancer, Drakthanar, and other bastions of sentient life, including the Mindspire Sanctum, a twisted city of aberrations.
TERRACK, THE CRACKED CONTINENT A survival horror world amidst the rocks of an endless canyon. By Jason Dincauze Above—massive, winged behemoths that snatch in a flash and devour in single bite. Below—a mist few ever return from, save those who speak of horrors beyond comprehension. All known life exists in between, in the multitudinous canyons that make up the Cracked
Continent. There are no nations, just desperate settlements clinging to the sides of canyons, though some tell of sprawling cities: the mythical Aerotroplis, a city suspended across a canyon; Mazur Estermar, the legendary Carved Dwarven City; and countless more. All manner of peoples survive here in the canyons, traveling either along the canyon side and through its beast-filled cave systems or by aerial means, which isn’t without its perils. Generations have survived like this. But now, seven godlike beings have plummeted from above, drawing all the people of the canyons into a mysterious new conflict that may lead to a paradigm shift for all residents.
TERRAN EMPIRE A post-apocalyptic world set in the far future, where the last vestiges of a galaxy-spanning empire cling to the shadows of their former glory. By Rob Dearsley Centuries ago, the Terran Imperium spread across thousands of planets, its technology and military prowess unmatched across the galaxy. But their sentient warships turned against them, burning the Imperium from the face of the galaxy. Exotic weapons, capable of rending the fabric of space, opened subspace rifts all across the Imperium. Survivors using these “portals” found the bombed-out cities of their homeworld long-since reclaimed by nature, and they settled into the cities, clinging to the shadows of their empire’s former grandeur. Overhead, the skies of the world are choked with debris from their desperate last stands. Sentient Imperial ships still stalk the wider galaxy, their crews long dead or mutated into abominations—the Turned—that mindlessly serve the ships. In the far corners of the galaxy, a new darkness rises. Older than time, this force is intent on dragging all the universe into the infinite darkness of the Before.
TERRAPEIRO A world of underground exploration in darkness and scarcity. By Phil Mason Terrapeiro is a realm of earth and rock where the sky and open air, if they exist, have yet to be found. The first visitors to Terrapeiro found a nearly featureless cave with walls of rock and a single vein of quartz, which attracted the attention of miners. Eventually, more and more miners and supporting staff joined the centuries-long excavation until generations were born not knowing a world before Terrapeiro or how to return to that other world. Terrapeiro’s main city is Troglopolis, which is a conical city that was carved in the first century of the excavation and that is run by a coalition of mining guilds. The areas closest to the narrow base of the city are the most cosmopolitan
and wealthy and are said to be where the First Cave once existed, though no one has ever found it. As the passageways spiral upward and outward from this base, dwellings quickly become plain, eventually turning to little more than roughly converted exploratory dig sites. Tunnels reaching out from Troglopolis lead to natural caves filled with running water, massive lakes, and fungal forests, which supply food and water to the city. Some of these were found by mining efforts, but others lie down passageways created by tunneling beasts native to Terrapeiro. There are rumors of massive burrowing leviathans out in the dark, and legend speaks of endless gold deposits, uncountable gems and, somewhere out there, the surface of Terrapeiro, with land to be claimed by the first mining guild to find it.
THAECOSIA ARCHIPELAGO A science fantasy world of Bronze Age explorers rediscovering ancient technology. By Gabriel L. Helman The ten thousand sun-drenched islands of the Thaecosia Archipelago sprawl across the known waters of the Turquoise Sea. The Bronze Age kingdoms and aspiring empires of the inner islands are home to human artisans, cat-like lynxus sailors, bureaucratic lizardfolk, and mercantile dragons, while ancient aberrations swim deep below. Traders, freebooters, and pirates sail between islands on sorcerous winds, traveling from towering cities, to the fey-haunted Redwood Isles, to the roosts of the crystal plateaus. On the uncharted outer islands, adventurers battle living metal statues with bronze swords, counter lasers with wizardry, and delve into wondrous structures, pairing sandals with scavenged futuristic technology. Further out, beneath the Obsidian Citadel, lies the nearly forgotten wreck of the starship that brought their ancestors to this world. Old folktales survive, whispering about the Thermal Shelters and the Sleep of a Thousand Nights, but few believe them.
THE ALWAYSGREEN FOREST A whimsical yet dark enchanted forest, with tiny people and talking animals. By Darryl T. “Splattered Ink” Jones The Alwaysgreen Forest is a lush and beautiful land, full of ancient, towering trees, magical, life-giving waters, and deep crystal-lined caves. It is teeming with life and magic. The awakened woodkin, the majestic deeret, goblins, ratkind, dobbers of all traditions, and many more call it their home. They are friends to the forest, belonging to it, and it to them as a leaf does to a tree. Dobbers are tiny people, often described as three apples tall. What they lack in size, they make up for with intelligence, wisdom, and
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creativity. They are hardworking and love their community, always willing to lend a hand, share a story, or enjoy a warm cup of tea by a roaring fire. No story of the forest would be complete without woodkin. Awakened raccoons, badgers, chipmunks, owls, and more also call the forest their home and have been embraced by dobbers as family.
THE DEVOURED LANDS A world largely conquered by an alien invasion, where the survivors use ancient magic to stage a resistance. By R Moorhead Darkness and hope preside over The Devoured Lands. Invaders from beyond the stars conquered The Devoured Lands and now change the world from the familiar to the strange and profane, growing alien plants and ferocious animals using the blood of captured native wildlife and humanoids. Below the surface, the humanoids that once roamed the surface, known as the Arks, hide in fear, their discovery only ever one mistake away. Revolutionaries, malcontents, and people dreaming of the skies above evade the eyes of the invaders. Couriers of the Arks face death every day, traveling between the Undercontinent, the Blood Roots, the Swamp of White Terrors, and the Ocean of Sand. The Arks known as the Red Skull Marauders call for open arms against the invaders, wielding alien weapons against the invaders and raising their flag on captured invader ships. The Arks known as the Cult of the Swallowed Heart delve deeper below, seeking the magics of the Forgotten, but will their delving lead to some new doom? And could the invaders be fleeing something worse?
THE SPECTRAL CONTINENT A gothic, dystopian world where the harvested energy of ghosts fuels technology. By Hbossssobh and Baldesion On The Spectral Continent, necromancy has become the driving force of technological and industrial development, harnessing the energies of ghosts, called ghostfire, to create trains, airships, and war machines. In cities, this has resulted in various amenities, but it has also resulted in the exploitation of the poor through indentured service that lasts well into the afterlife. A world without deities, The Spectral Continent has been left under thick cloud cover, with rain a near-constant element of life thanks to a magical war fought three hundred years ago over the implementation of ghostfire. The Spectral Continent now consists of five different nations, political unrest, disquieted spirits, and various monsters—including strange aberrations seeking a foothold in the plane. Daily life is a struggle as the haves and have-nots vie for a better life and afterlife for themselves and their descendants.
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THUNDERSCAR ISLE A post-apocalyptic world of cold-blooded fantasy. By Sebastian Rombach An old equatorial continent made new again, Thunderscar Isle is home to revived thunderlizards, dinosaurs brought back to life by the necromantic power of the High Dragons. In a land where draconic worship and necromancy are commonplace and mammalian life has been made extinct, four lineages of sentient life remain: the dragonkin, koboldkind, lizardfolk, and nagaborn. These four peoples struggle to survive as their home island fractures beneath the might of dinosaurs resurrected well after their time had ended. Enduring a surge of natural disasters, primal territorial conflicts, and the sudden silence of the nowmissing High Dragons, the people of Thunderscar Isle must unite to divine left-behind elven mysteries, delve into human ruins, and excavate dwarven secrets to ensure their survival. Only by solving the mysteries of the extinct can the remaining peoples of Thunderscar Isle save their home from a past cataclysm on the verge of repeating itself.
TRAEVEON A world of young civilizations impacted by an ancient conflict between spacefaring giants and dragons. By Mycelia Fearne The strong gravitational pull of the gargantuan planet Traeveon led to massive vegetation and the birth of titanic beasts. Giants were its rulers, and they built a civilization that endured for eons—until the gemstone dragons descended. The giants escaped the draconic invaders to a planet-sized asteroid, which was eventually drawn into the orbit of Traeveon, becoming its first moon, Maerlorn. A peaceful truce was struck between the dragons and giants, but the elemental magic of Traeveon pulled at the gemstone dragons and eventually birthed new chromatic and metallic dragons. Tensions between the dragons rose, and the giant-gods, sensing war, tore two continents off Traeveon, forming them into two new moons, Caerbest for the metallic dragons and Laeliffle for the chromatic dragons. Traeveon was permanently altered, bringing new life to the land in the form of humanoids. Now these peoples build young civilizations across the world.
TROGAART A world of contracts and debts, where bizarre quests for exotic items never seem to go as planned. By Daniel Paoliello On Trogaart, the great nation of Tiberis is ruled by the Merchant Houses and Crafting Guilds whose trading network and hoarding of wealth has led its citizens and entire nations into unfathomable debt. Even so, it is never
enough for the Houses, which push the Guilds to create ever more fantastic artifacts and tools, requiring ever more exotic and scarce components to create. The Adventurer’s Guild fills the role of procurement expert for the other guilds, and it is mostly made up of the most ambitious and most desperate people. These people take the contracts that no one else will. Many who volunteer for the Adventurer’s Guild become legendary heroes, but few ever retire. Most who join the Adventurer’s Guild do so to pay back a debt, be it their own, their family’s, or their nation’s, and stay in the guild indefinitely, as paying off that debt is nigh impossible when everything comes at a price or with another contract to fulfill. Heroes on Trogaart can find amazing artifacts found nowhere else—as well as sellers who are all too happy to lend credit or offer a contract to complete the transaction.
crystals are processed into Brenite cores, which power clockwork devices. Tragically, a huge Brenite processing plant recently exploded, destroying the city-state of Galvora and releasing a noxious gas that mutates flora and fauna across much of Verdani. Now, strange monsters roam the countryside, and a zombie plague haunts most cities. The largest of the city-states built Brenite-powered barriers to keep these monsters out, and people can safely ride airships to all the major city-states on the world. Most are drawn to Alveron, the megacity of guildhalls and trading hubs. Adventures can help cities fight off hordes of mutated beasts and zombies using new Brenite-powered weapons and technology, or they can attempt to explore the ruins of Galvora, searching for answers to the plague that haunts Verdani.
VOREL-MIIR
VADIS A fractured world with pockets of relative stability threatened by calamity and the magical fluctuations of the world itself. By Eric Sage and Gates Perrault The world of Vadis is mostly wild. Direction, distance, and even time itself shift and flow like mercury. Most beings huddle within the Calms—islands of stability built upon the ruins of an ancient empire. World travel remains the purview of the Seekers’ Guild, sole possessors of technology to navigate the ever-changing wild. Travelers may encounter many peoples: the rugged, stoic Stonespeakers; the Treesingers, matriarchal masters of arcane and botanical sciences; the Sleepless, zealots dedicated to defying death; the Unmen, who arise spontaneously from lifeless matter; and the Many, as varied in size and ability as they are numerous. Society reels from recent, unprecedented events. Belgeritte, the oldest and largest Calm, has collapsed into the wild. Tens of thousands are presumed lost. Other Calms face an influx of refugees. The powerful hold court in the ancient city-state of Centruus, economic center of Vadis, discussing a plan to deal with the catastrophe. Others whisper of another impending collapse. Heroes could be drafted to maintain order, join in the rescue efforts, investigate the cause of the collapse, or follow reports of spiderlike humanoids raiding the fringes of civilization.
VERDANI A steampunk world, where the technologies that have revolutionized life have also created existential threats. By Levi Indvik Industry and innovation rule the world of Verdani. Factories produce steam-powered engines, high-power flintlock rifles, flameless torches, and airships. Thanks to the Artificer’s Consortium, lavender-hued Brenorium
A high fantasy world full of ancient ruins, lost artifacts, and forgotten lore, where tyrannical dragons rule in the stead of gods. By Myth Epicweaver Vorel-Miir is a world controlled by the five ancient chromatic dragons, each ruling from one of the five continents. Centuries ago, the ancient dragons were stirred from their slumber by an entity known only as Night-Eyes. From the far reaches of the void, Night-Eyes warned its ancient kin of the growing threat of the humanoid races, having observed firsthand the infection and devastation humanoids brought to countless worlds that Night-Eyes had seen in their travels. The resulting Draconic Purge saw the destruction of all the humanoids that did not become subservient to the dragons. With no followers, divine magic and its gods disappeared over the years. The dragons monopolized all other magic, allowing only their most loyal followers access to some magical secrets. Adventurers can uncover ancient lore, artifacts, and secrets, but they must be careful of the magic they wield, for the minions of the dragons are always watching.
VYDAL CITY A cyberpunk fantasy world, where life revolves around using and controlling a refined magical substance. By Evan Noone The neon-soaked skyline of Vydal City illuminates the perpetual night sky and barren planet below. Being the only megacity, its technological marvels allow it to thrive with extensive mining operations accessing entire bioluminescent biomes in underground caverns. Here, magic crystalizes into physical material that can be refined into glowing multicolored liquids called Neononoxite, or Neon for short. Each color produces magical effects from a different school of magic, powering different types
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Union’s only western outpost, New Sanctum (watch out for bandits). Aside from monsters, dehydration, outlaws, and the heat, travelers in Westward Frontier might face one of the Grand Barons or their agents (which often takes more guts than brains), the Emissary of the Eternal Heavens and their zealous followers (they’re more dangerous than they seem), or Ol’ Zeke (the oldest and most ornery dragon there ever was). Non-canonical elements of the Labyrinth can easily include science fiction worlds
WEZTEREALMS A mind-bending eldritch horror world inside a political western package, featuring desperate heroes and reality-shattering monstrosities. By Dreamfyre Shadowcaster
of technology. Everyone in Vydal City is born human, but most modify themselves with Neon upgrades to emulate the abilities of more fantastical species. Governing Vydal City is the Fluorescent Brokerage, managing the distribution of Neon across the city. They also oversee the eight Spectrum Corporations that produce the eight different colors of Neon. Heroes in Vydal City contend with the corporate elite, Lazervein gangs, and mad geniuses, each vying to use Neon to reshape the city in their image.
WYRDSTRANDS A world of shunned misfits surviving under the high fantasy veneer of an Arthurian world that has no place for them.
WESTWARD FRONTIER
By Bill Olander
A spaghetti western fantasy world. By David Mathews Westward Frontier is a dry, mostly untamed world with a collection of small city-states, the Imperial Union, along the coast of the largest body of water. The western edge of the Union’s monitored and protected territory is known as Imperial End (or Imp’s End to the locals). From here, travelers can strike out westward, delving into monsterfilled ruins (most go broke trying to clear ‘em out), chasing bounties on the Dark Eight (better get them before the Inquisitor Marshals do), or procuring passage to the
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Beyond the forgotten corners of the cosmos lie Wezterealms, fragmented realities disguised as a single coherent world through inconceivable illusions. To the unsuspecting mind, Wezterealms is a land of opportunity. Here, bright minds can thrive in the political and scientific circles of ever-expanding cities of concrete and steel, and deft and strong hands can quickly gain fame or notoriety as gunslingers in the cities or the vast countryside plagued by crime and lawlessness. Those unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the truth of Wezterealms discover that the splendors and the promises of fortune and opportunity are but dissembling glamours masking horrid, ravaged realities. In these fragmented wastelands, traversable only with powerful and dangerous magic, a perpetual war rages. It is a conflict between ancient witch clans seeking to restore reality, terrifying aberrations nourished by the souls of the deceived, and the mysterious Aspecti, the rulers of Wezterealms and fabricators of the Great Mirage. Heroes may visit Wezterealms to benefit from their riches, scientific progress, and technological inventions, but fortune and power were never meant for anyone unwilling to accept the illusion.
The Divine Council created a perfect world: an endless realm of fey woods and feudal human kingdoms underneath heavens run with clockwork precision. The Shining Gods from the Avalonian Isles balanced by the Tenebrous Gods of Annwn are locked in an eternal war between Good and Evil. No one expected Nyxus, Dark Lord of Dragons, to fall for Amyra, Angelic Goddess of Love. Fallout from their union has ravaged the land, left rebel deities murdered or banished, and populated the land with a host of new humanoids, known as the Fateless,
that both sides of deities ignore after excluding them from the Loom of Fate. The Fateless range from lycanthropes to druidic shapeshifters, half-demons to elves, and many other humanoids. Supported for decades by the sympathetic High King Arthur, the Fateless now fear for their safety as Lord Mordred, who sees those exempt from fate as dangers to his divine right to rule, takes the throne.
YESTERMORROW A world of discovery, where time is a malleable force. By Richter Embark on an extraordinary odyssey through the evershifting realm of Yestermorrow, where time itself is a malleable force. Explore the magical mysteries of the Arcanum Enclave, where time echoes through the halls, revealing hidden knowledge to those who dare to unlock its secrets. In the Grove of Epochs, witness the convergence of timelines, where ancient forests coexist with the vibrant life of bygone eras. Feel the pulse of time in the Everforge, a place where past, present, and future entwine, and where the fires of creation burn eternal. Traverse the enigmatic Whispering Isles, where the whispers of forgotten warriors reverberate across the ages, guiding the brave toward their destiny. With each step, the very fabric of time shifts, offering endless possibilities and captivating quests. Adventurers can unlock the mysteries of this realm, where the ebb and flow of time becomes their greatest ally on the path to legend.
YGGDRASIL A science fantasy world of space travel and wars over territory and powerful resources. By Patrick Boyer Yggdrasil is home to advanced technology, overgrown magic that can corrupt at a touch, and powerful artifacts imbued with the essence of those who have wielded them. The mystic dragons of Vanaheim and the industrious dwarves of Nidavellir wage war to become the galactic superpower, the animal folk of Asgard merge science and sorcery to spread their faith across the stars, and the elves of Alfheim and Svartalvheim have never known peace with one another. Chief among the myriad dangers of Yggdrasil are cosmic horrors of fathomless power, autonomous constructs surviving long after their creator’s fall, and those corrupted from the use of dark magic. Heroes wield swords and sorcery in equal measure with firearms and technology, they traverse the cosmos, turn the tides of war, navigate a tense political climate, uncover the secrets of an ancient imperium, and overcome the dangers of the vast cosmic unknown.
ZHIKETH A decaying world built on the prisons of evil gods. By Brad Castles For untold millennia, Zhiketh was plagued by cruel and vicious gods who demanded harsh tithes and sacrifices. Life was brutal and short until a century ago, when mortals banded together and bound them into physical form, ending their threat forever—or so it was hoped. While the gods remain trapped, their powers have eked from their prisons and warped the cities and towns built in triumph above and around them. These wonderous cities include Kavorl, a realm of peaceful debate, which now drowns in whispers from jealous mouths; Bralon, whose wonderous architecture is alive (and slightly hungry); and the learned city of Turaf, stuck in ever-lengthening days. The people have also changed, focusing ever inwards and distrusting all, with their only allies being those with memories untainted—the vampires who led the coup against the gods in the first place.
ZORAKAN A dark fantasy world of harsh extremes, half always in light, half always in darkness. By John Leonas Zorakan rotates about its axis exactly once per solar orbit, leaving half the world eternally in light and half the world eternally in darkness. The Brightlands is a region of infested jungles, uninhabitable deserts, volcanos, and the Boiling Sea. The Djinn Empire constantly defends itself from raids by barbarian fire giants. Dragons and demons scheme for domination. Elementals and basilisks roam harsh wastelands. The Darklands is a region of undead hordes, eldritch horrors, and remorhaz herds. Dwarves shelter underground, mining gems and metals. Their forges are a source of warmth, forming civilization’s frontline against dark threats. The Lich Queen awaits the End Storm, which prophecy says will plunge the entire world into the darkness she enjoys. Betwixt is the hundredmile-wide ring of land and sea between the extremes where dawn and twilight live. It is home to societies of humans, elves, and many others. Betwixt’s gleaming city of Boraxis is defended by celestials and knights riding pegasi and griffons, and its arcane scholars monitor the unchanging position of the sun.
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The Cathedral of Silence
CHAPTER 4: THE VOID AND ITS SERVANTS The Void is a malignant force that devours worlds and that offers power to those who choose to use it. It’s part of the Wyrd power source, otherworldly and almost entirely destructive. Those few who know its secrets can turn it to good ends, but in the long run, everything the Void touches is corrupted, tainted, or destroyed. Those who draw on the Void gain access to spells and power, but they create cracks in any world where they use that power. Over time, their followers and their world suffer the incursions of demons and void creatures, and the world loses the radiance and life that is the hallmark of life-giving magic. Long-term exposure to the Void and its power eventually leaves worlds hollow, lifeless, and dead.
Void Factions There are thousands of cults dedicated to the Void, its power, and its denizens, but three stand out as large enough and powerful enough to disrupt the Labyrinth and bring doom to new worlds or old ones. These are the Great Chantry of the Voidmother, the Last Cathedral of the death knight king and his brother, and the Followers of the Pure Void. For more information on void cultists, void factions, and void magic, see Warlock 31: Void Magic.
GREAT CHANTRY The Great Chantry is a clerical order devoted to the Void and the members of its dark pantheon. Two partnered groups form the heart of the religious cult—the Sisterhood of Outer Darkness and the Scribes of the Black Star.
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Under the stewardship of Voidmother Boslara the Sweet, the sisterhood’s sprawling cloisters have become a bastion of the Great Chantry’s power. Few are allowed inside, but rumors abound of the secrets hidden within the cloister’s ritual chambers and expansive crypts. The most tantalizing of these rumors speak of a hidden gateway to the twisted realm of the archangel Kel Belleth—progenitor of void angels and known ally to the Voidmother. Much of the sisterhood’s power comes from mastery of the scrolls penned by the Scribes of the Black Star, the other half of the Great Chantry. These malignant scholars dutifully seek out and transcribe the baleful utterances of the Void’s most powerful servants. The most influential of these scribes is Elder Jesparga Lavide, who famously penned the dark visions of the ur-wyrm Nidhogg. Lately, however, more and more such servants are being devoured. Nidhogg seems restless and questing for something, though precisely what troubles the dreams of the ur-wyrm is yet unknown.
LAST CATHEDRAL
FOLLOWERS OF THE PURE VOID A rather esoteric group of mostly human, satarre, and dwarven mystics, these bookish cultists are among those who seek to use knowledge in the pursuit of Ragnarok— or other apocalyptic end times. This often culminates in summoning a cosmic horror or a major fiend, such as a spawn of Hriggala (see Tome of Beasts 2) or a voidling. These cultists haunt the libraries of major cities, infiltrating wizard’s collegiums and guilds, with an eye toward locked rooms of forbidden manuscripts, and they go adventuring to recover lost or buried works of significance to the Void, always seeking to unlock the great blasphemous secrets that will unmake the world. In particular, they seek the bones and relics of void saints and godlings. The Followers of the Pure Void deny having a leader, but two rivals stand out (though they are friends, of a kind). The elder is the red-robed Toothless Crumble, a venerable dwarven wizard with a thin white beard and an incredibly keen memory for void lore and symbols. Toothless lives on a drifting tower of pure force anchored in the Plane of Stars
This major void cult is led by two undead brothers—the Lich King Domitos and Visimar, King of the Death Knights—who terrorize the worlds of the Labyrinth with their undead soldiers and fanatical living cultists. Domitos and Visimar suffered childhoods of unspeakable cruelty. Growing up together, surrounded by death, torture, and hate, they became driven by revenge. Once those who had wronged them had met with slow and terrible justice, this drive for revenge transformed into a desire to snuff out all life. When the brothers became undead, their reign of terror began in earnest. Entire worlds, such as Coldforge, fell to their army, becoming lifeless husks. Allied with the Doomspeakers and other violent cults, they have spread their influence deep into the Labyrinth, and members of the death knight legions are found on a dozen worlds. The cult is named for its headquarters, a ruined cathedral on a demiplane in the Void where the undead kings sit on their Twin Thrones. The Last Cathedral is the only surviving temple of Solana’s first worshipers. She is a goddess of life and love whose various shrines and followers were completely obliterated—first from the brothers’ home world, then from a dozen worlds where she was worshiped. To this day, the brothers maintain a fanatical hatred of Solana and all her followers and priests, but the goddess herself remains a power within the Labyrinth. Voidmother of the Great Chantry
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(more often called the Astral Plane). Equally ancient and learned is Chuptar alz-Faragh, a satarre cleric and scholar whose understanding of Void Speech and the dark gods is wide-ranging. Though their faction seems loose and non-violent, the seeds they plant grow into monstrous crusades and hideous purges, for they know how to light the black flame of the void in the hearts of ambitious souls.
Void and Labyrinth Monsters Creatures of the Void have existed as long as the worlds have existed. For GMs running games in the Labyrinth setting, the challenge is to show the weird and wonderful variety of creatures in the many worlds of the Labyrinth— and fortunately, there are hundreds of options available. A list of the most common Labyrinth-friendly and
CR 0–1 MONSTERS
Monster
CR
Source
Monster
CR
Source
Cultist
1/8
MV
Mydnari
1/2
TOB2
Zoog
Lantern Hagfish
Solodron Mechadron Stirge
Derro
Exploding Toad Roachling Star Crow
Ahu-Nixta Drudge
Chaos-Spawn Goblin Crimson Jelly Darkmantle
Derro Guard
Dupladron Mechadron Husk
Light Drake
0
1/8
1/8
1/8
1/4
1/4
1/4
1/4 1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
CC
MV
MV
MV
MV CC
TOB1 MV
TOB2 CC
MV
MV
TOB2 MV
TOB2
TOB2
Light Eater Skin Bat Sooze
Void Cultist Xanka
1/2
1/2
1/2
1/2
Alabroza
1
Dark Servant
1
Anophiloi
Dust Goblin
Eonic Drifter Glass Gator
Minor Malleable
Nihilethic Zombie Satarre
Wyrdling
Gibbering Mouther (Monster Vault)
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1/2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
TOB3 TOB1 CC
CC
TOB1
TOB3 CC
CC
TOB1
TOB1
TOB1
TOB2 TOB1 MV
MV
Void-themed creatures from the Kobold Press catalog is included here. Some are creatures of the pathways, tunnels, and portals, others are clearly the creatures that scrounge dead worlds of the Void, and others still are strange, alien civilizations and worlds at the edge of the known. The entries are arranged by creature Challenge Rating and include the source where you can find their statistics (CC represents Creature Codex, MV represents Monster Vault, and TOB represents an entry in the Tome of Beasts series).
Monster
CR
Source
Akanka
2
TOB3
Balbazu Demon Baleful Miasma Black Sun Orc
Cave Dragon Wyrmling Cobbleswarm
Derro Explorer Dopplerat
Fanatic Cultist
Gibbering Mouther Grick
Mechanist Ophinix
Roachling Lord
Roachling Scout
Umbral Shambler
Void Dragon Wyrmling Wind Eater
Monster
CR
Source
Derro Fetal Savant
4
TOB1
Alabroza Bloodfiend Dorreq
Dust Grazer Elophar
Faceless Wanderer Husk Demon
Infernal Centaur
CR 2 MONSTERS
Ahu-Nixta Mechanon
CR 4 MONSTERS
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
TOB3 TOB3 TOB3 CC
TOB1 TOB1
TOB2 TOB1 MV MV
Lesser Voidling Oculo Swarm Ratatosk
Rattok Demon
Relentless Hound River Spirit Selang
Tosculi Warrior
Tripladron Mechadron Tusked Skyfish Vangsluash Vulgoloth
4
TOB3
4
TOB1
4
TOB3
4
CC
4
TOB2
4
MV
4
TOB2
4
MV
4
TOB1
4
TOB1
4
CC
4
TOB3
4
BOET
4
MV
4
TOB1
4
MV
4
TOB1
4
TOB2
4
TOB1
MV MV
TOB2 TOB1
Blaspheming Hand (Tome of Beasts 3)
CC
TOB3 MV CC
CR 3 MONSTERS
Monster
CR
Source
Monster
CR
Source
Mordovermis
3
MV
Ahu-Nixta
3
CC
Minotaur
Blaspheming Hand
3
TOB3
Pale Screamer
Black Sun Priestess Bloodsapper
Corpse Worm Dark Eye
Derro Void Eater
Dust Goblin Chieftain Far Wanderer Gaunt One
Giant Mole Lizard Goat Man
Insatiable Brood
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
CC
TOB2 TOB2 CC
MV CC CC
TOB2 TOB3 TOB1 MV
Plaresh Demon
Radiant Spark Swarm Satarre Destroyer Satarre Mystic Skull Drake
Snake with a Hundred Mage Hands Swarm of Vampire Blossoms Void Constructor Void Fungus Wind Witch
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
MV
TOB2 CC
TOB2 MV
TOB2 CC
TOB2 TOB3 TOB3 TOB3 TOB3
67
CR 5 MONSTERS
Monster
CR
Source
Arachnocrat
5
TOB2
Moderate Malleable
5
TOB2
Dark Voice
5
CC
Oth
5
CC
Cipactli Demon
5
Derro Shadow Antipaladin
5
Derro Speaker to the Darkness
5
Derro Witch Queen
5
Dread Walker Excavator
5
Dream Eater
5
Dream Wraith
5
Flayed Wraith
5
Gargoctopus
5
Ion Slime
5
Labyrinth Keeper Minotaur
5
Mandriano
5
CC
TOB1 CC CC
TOB2 TOB1 CC
TOB2 CC
TOB3 CC CC
Nihilethic Dominator
5
Otyugh
5
Phase Giant
5
Ratatosk Warlord
5
Roper
5
Sandman
5
Spawn of Parzelon
5
Tosculi Bow Hunter Voidpool
5
Wormhearted Suffragan Wrack Demon
5 5 5
TOB1 MV
TOB2 CC
MV
TOB1 CC
TOB1
TOB2 TOB1 MV
CR 6 MONSTERS
Monster
Akaasit
Child of Yggdrasil
Culicoid
Derro Shadowseeker
Doom Creeper
Doomspeaker
Dracotaur
Fate Eater
Fext
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Mamura
6
Necrotech Reaver
6
Ogrepede
6
Rimepacted Devil
6
Spawn of Rhopalocerex
6
Mortifera
Nichny
Planewarped Derro
River Giant
Tetradron Mechadron
Tumor Troll
Void-Blessed Ogre
Xecha
68
CR
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Source
TOB2
CC
TOB2
TOB2
TOB3
CC
CC
TOB1
TOB1
TOB1
TOB3
TOB3
TOB1
TOB2
TOB3
TOB3
BOET
TOB2
MV
TOB3
TOB3
TOB3
Derro Witch Queen (Creature Codex)
CR 7 MONSTERS
CR 8 MONSTERS
Monster
CR
Source
Monster
CR
Source
A-Mi-Kuk
7
TOB2
Ancient Mandriano
8
CC
Advanced Grick Crystalline Monolith Eonic Savant Chatterlome
Ghost Knight Gilded Devil
Golmana Demon
Herald of Darkness
Moon Priestess Minotaur Repository
Selang Void Piper Shadow Beast Void Speaker
Voidclaw Zombie Walled Horror
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
MV
Ahu-Nixta Cataphract
TOB2
Astral Devourer
TOB2
Avulzor
TOB2
Black Sun Ogre
TOB1
Blood Giant
TOB1
Chained Angel
MV
Feyward Tree
TOB1
Kachlian
CC
Locksmith
TOB2
Lost Minotaur
MV
Lunar Devil
TOB1
Necrotech Thunderer
CC
Onyx Magistrate
TOB3
Parzz’val
TOB2
Qwyllion
Voidwracked Mage
8 8
TOB2 TOB2
8
TOB2
8
TOB3
8
CC
8
TOB1
8
TOB1
8
TOB2
8
TOB2
8
CC
8
TOB1
8
TOB3
8
TOB2
8
TOB2
8
TOB1
8
CC
CR 9–11 MONSTERS
Monster
CR
Source
Arx
9
TOB1
Catonoctrix
10
TOB3
Chaos Creeper
9
TOB3
Ghost Knight Templar
10
TOB3
Bonecage Constrictor Dimensional Shambler Eater of Dust
Flame-Scourged Scion Heirophant Lich Mytholabe
Shadow River Lord Spider Drake Stargazer Xhkarsh
Young Cave Dragon Young Void Dragon Altar Flame Golem Automata Devil
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
TOB3
TOB2 TOB1 CC
CC
CC
CC
CC
TOB3 TOB1
TOB1 MV CC
TOB1
Conjoined Queen
Kobold Planes Hunter Major Malleable
Spawn of Hriggala Void Knight Flutterflesh
Flying Polyp
Glacial Crawler
Herald of the Void
Infernal Champion Leech Demon Void Giant Voidling
10
10
10
10
10 11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
TOB2
TOB3
TOB2
TOB2
TOB3 TOB1 CC
TOB3
TOB2 MV
TOB3 CC
MV
69
CR 12–16 MONSTERS
Monster
Devouring Angel
Droth
Galidroo
Gug
Hundun
Mi-Go
Necrotech Death Barque
Skein Witch
Spawn of Alquam
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
Stellar Rorqual
12
Yskarakta, Lord of the Satarre
12
Tosculi Hive Queen
Bone Colossus
12
13
Bonespitter
13
Helashruu
13
Cambium
14
Liminal Drake
14
Demon Lord Chittr’k’k
Nihileth Aboleth
Howler of the Hill
Orobas Devil
Pact Lich
Shadow Giant
Star Drake
Adult Void Dragon
Infernal Knight
Massive Malleable
70
CR
12
13
13
14
14
15
15
15
16
16
16
Source
TOB3
CC
TOB2
TOB1
TOB1
Adult Void Dragon (Monster Vault)
TOB1
TOB2
TOB1
TOB2
TOB2
TOB1
TOB2 TOB2
TOB2
CC
CR 19–25 MONSTERS
TOB2
Monster
CR
Source
TOB1
Bone Lord
19
TOB3
TOB2
Shoggoth
CC
Dread Examiner
TOB1
Demon Lord Qorgeth
CC
Ancient Cave Dragon
TOB1
Adult Cave Dragon
TOB3
Living Star
TOB1
Demon Lord Rhopalocerex
TOB2
Demon Lord Hriggala
MV
Ancient Void Dragon
TOB2
Arch-Devil Parzelon
19
19
19
20 21
23
23
24 25
25
TOB1 CC
TOB1
TOB2
TOB3
TOB2 TOB1 MV
TOB1 CC
Cult Names Splintered into a thousand temples, parishes, and variations, all void cults are essentially the same cult. Each promises easy power, and each offers a different death. Though their names and homelands change, the results are always the same: a mad cult leader grows powerful, and their followers and the world suffer.
To choose the name of a prominent void cult in any new world, use the Void Cult Naming table and roll a d20 three times, once each for prefix, core, and suffix elements. Add adjectives to fill any indicated blank from the Suffix column.
VOID CULT NAMING
d20 Prefix
1
Ancient
2
Black
3
Core
Suffix
d20
Prefix
Core
Suffix
Brothers/ Brotherhood
and Allies
11
Fanged
Loremasters
of ______ Blood
Chantry
and Sons
12
Golden
Oracles
of the _____ Deeps
Blessed
Chapter
and Spirits
13
Hidden
Masons
of the _____ Grove
4
Crawling
Children
Astral and Ordained
14
Honest
Philosophers
of the Eternal
5
Crimson
Coven
Beyond the Great River
15
Noble
Savants
of the Night
7
Dragon’s
Hermits
Beyond the Stars
17
True
Servants
of _______ Truth
6 8 9
10
Dawn
Ebony
Endless Faithful
Guardians Keepers
Kings/Queens Knights
Beyond the Light
by Royal Appointment Ethereal and Rare In the Vale
16 18 19
20
Reverend Watchful
Whispering Wise
Seers
of Nidhogg
Sisters/Sisterhood of the ______Void Sons
Watchers
Under Oak and Stone
Under Hill and Tombs
A satarre member of the Harbingers of the Void cult
71
LABYRINTH ART PREVIEW This appendix features sketches and early previews of some of the art that will appear in the upcoming Labyrinth Worldbook.
72
73
©2024 Open Design LLC. Kobold Press and the Kobold Press logo is a registered trademark and Tales of the Valiant is a trademark of Open Design LLC.
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