Savage Worlds - Brian McClellan's Powder Mage RPG

Brian McClellan’s
P WDER MAGE
ROLEPLAYING GAME
wBrian M c Clellan'sw
POWDER MAGE
ROLEPLAYING GAME
Written by Brian McClellan
Additional Rules by Alan Bahr
Art Director: Brian McClellan
Managing Editor: Brian McClellan
Line Edits by Daniel Craig Friend
Copy Edits by Kristy Stewart
Cover Art by Rene Aigner
Cover Design by Robert Denton III
Layout and Graphic Design by Robert Denton III
Interior Art by Rene Aigner, Piotr Chrzanowski, Robert Denton III,
Grace Fong, Isaac Stewart
Published by Brian McClellan, 2018
This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from
Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds
and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle
Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no
representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for
purpose of this product.
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Table of Contents
Introductions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Deliv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Brian’s Introduction . . . . . . . . . . 4 The People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Alan’s Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . 5 Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Game Master Introduction �� 7 Important Institutions �� 48
An Introduction to Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
the Powder Mage Universe �� 11 VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Character Creation . . . . . . . . . . 13 Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Kez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Nations of the Nine . . . . . . . . . . 26
The People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Adro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Important Institutions �� 55
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 57
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Novi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Bakashka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 61
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Rosvel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Brudania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 66
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Starland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 71
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Table of Contents
Unice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Pregenerated Characters �� 105
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Adventures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Recent History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Blood in the Alley. . . . . . . . . . 111
Important Institutions �� 73 Caravan Guards . . . . . . . . . . . 115
VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Swashing the Buckle. . . . . . . . 117
Current Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Betrayal?! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Lands Beyond The Nine �� 77 Further Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Brudanian-Fatra. . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Contact Brian McClellan �� 123
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Character Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Presence in the Nine . . . . . . . . . 79 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Dynize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Presence in the Nine . . . . . . . . . 81
Fatrasta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Gurla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Strenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
A Brief History of the Nine �� 95
Sorcery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Privileged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Knacked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Powder Mages . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Other Sorcery. . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
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BRIAN’S INTRODUCTION
I will be the first person to acknowledge that I am functionally illiterate when
it comes to RPGs. They contain a vast universe of adventure and storytelling
that, for most of my life, I’ve been unable to access due to hobby conflicts,
periods of disinterest, or simply not having the right group of local friends
to run a serious campaign. That being said, I am not wholly inexperienced.
Some of my fondest memories of high school are getting together with my
friends for a weekend at someone’s house to play through a campaign that
one of us created during study hall. We had a giant stack of old Dungeons
& Dragons manuals and a bucket of dice that rotated among houses. I
remember that the rules were wildly in-depth and confusing—taking hours
just to create new characters—and that often we’d throw out most of those
rules in exchange for ease of play and a heightened fun factor. My friend
Kevin once ran a campaign where each of us picked an intelligent beast out
of the Monster Manual to roleplay. Another campaign, run by my buddy
Drew, was a world entirely from scratch: a modern-day, crime-infested
city where we each played gangsters, hit men, and dirty cops climbing the
ladders of underworld organizations.
It was a relatively short period of my life, but it had a huge effect on who
I was as a person. It fueled a creativity that took my love of storytelling
from a hobby to a drive to succeed in a creative field. Thirteen years later,
and I’m a full-time fantasy author with five books and a whole pile of
short fiction under my belt.
A lot of people enjoy roleplaying because it gives them a new world to
play in, including a set of very specific rules for that world. To me, the
rules meant far less than simply having fun with my friends. It gave me
a social outlet—a place I could forget schoolyard dramas, homework
anxieties, and family kerfuffles.
My goal for the Powder Mage RPG is to provide the very same for everyone
who picks it up. I hope that it gives them a new world to escape to; that they
come away from it daydreaming about their characters and adventures; that
it brings them a measure of joy in a world that can be, at times, very stressful.
Please have fun.
—Brian McClellan
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ALAN’S INTRODUCTION
Simply put, I love roleplaying games. I also love reading fantasy fiction.
I cut my teeth on David Gemmell, J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan,
Mercedes Lackey, and so many more. However, I never found a fantasy
series that captured my love of Napoleonic/Revolutionary-era musket
lines until I read Promise of Blood.
Little did I know that Brian and I shared mutual friends who would
introduce us one GenCon. After that, it was simply a matter of time
as I wore him down for a Powder Mage roleplaying game. Of course,
working to adapt the Powder Mage universe to the Savage Worlds
ruleset has been a great joy for me.
Combining my love of literature, my love of Savage Worlds, and my
love of the gaming community into one game is a joy for me. This game
is a work of passion and an earnest attempt to provide something the
fans of the book would like!
Thanks to all our supporters and backers who helped us out! I can’t wait
to hear about your adventures in the Nine!
—Alan Bahr
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wGAME MASTER INTRODUCTIONw
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GAME MASTER
INTRODUCTION TO
THE POWDER MAGE
ROLEPLAYING GAME
Being the game master (GM) of a group for the Powder Mage Roleplaying
Game is a very rewarding experience, but it’s also very difficult.
The Savage Worlds core rulebook has lots of good advice for game
mastering, the different types of stories you might tell, and the other
technical and social parts of being a GM, so we’re going to focus on
game mastering in the Powder Mage universe.
1) Understanding the Powder Mage Universe
The first task you have to undertake is becoming familiar with the
Powder Mage universe. You might have picked up this RPG because
you’re already a fan of Brian’s fiction, but maybe you just thought it
looked cool (the cover is pretty cool, if we do say so ourselves).
If you’re already familiar with the universe, great!
If not, this book serves as a great introduction to the various factions,
politics, nationalities, and religions of the lands of the Nine. Reviewing
the sections on the different nationalities and their outlooks will be
your first step. The Powder Mage world is driven by national conflicts in
which cultural identity is very important to the citizens. Long histories,
replete with wars and aggressions, inform the outlook of the inhabitants
of the world.
That’s not to say the place is always at war! Peace is as vital to the
world as conflict, and it influences those who live in the Nine as much as
conflict does. How a population embraces peace will tell you a lot about
the average citizen there.
Leverage this when you create your story. Roleplaying games thrive on
action scenes and conflict, so let the history of the setting inform that
conflict—by both playing to and against expectations. Let peacetime
politics help you tell a story with social tension.
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Before the game, talk to your players.
Social Contract? If they haven’t read the books and don’t
A gaming group is a social
know the universe, encourage them
contract. When you all sit
down at the table, the players to read the books (it’s worth it!) or
agree to be entertained and fill them in. Broad strokes are usually
to contribute to the game (via enough to inspire a character.
entertainment, attentiveness,
and positive behavior). The GM Explain your idea for the campaign
agrees to provide a fun and safe or session and remind everyone of the
structure for the entertainment social contract you all enter into when
(ample provisions of snacks, you sit down together.
comfy seats, and a big table
may be helpful here). A game If all the players understand your basic
is a collaborative and engaged idea for a campaign, you’ll enable them
effort. You’re all in it together,to create characters that will fit into the
so remember that.
story naturally and provide interesting
possibilities for the future. Their goal
should be to insert the most interesting
individual possible into an exciting story.
The better you know the universe and can explain how your story ties in,
the more players will buy into the campaign you’re proposing. That means
you’ll have more fun and you’ll be able to tell a better story together.
2) Understanding the Rules (of the Game and the World)
As the GM, part of your job is to adjudicate the rules and help players
understand their characters. It’s possible you’ll have to teach some
players the basics of roleplaying, such as terminology that old-timers
take as common. Be patient. Remember that roleplaying is a complex
and complicated process, and everyone learns it at their own speed.
While the game rules are your responsibility, educating your players on
the rules of the Powder Mage universe is equally important. The multiple
types of magic will naturally engender questions about what characters
can do. It’s your responsibility to make sure the Powder Mage RPG plays
consistently. The rules we’ve written will help, but it’s inevitable that your
players will eventually throw you a curveball, and you’ll have to decide
on the fly how something works (perhaps some unique interaction of
powder and magic or a variation on Privileged gloves).
During those times, remember to look at how the universe is constructed
and make your decisions based on the information you have. Powder
Mages should not be able to channel energy from gunpowder into
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punches and kicks (without a very good

reason), and Knacked shouldn’t have The X-Card is created by
more than one power or ability. John Stavropoulos. More
information can be found
In the end, the goal of any roleplaying
here:
session is to have fun. It’s important to
http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg
remember that the rules of the game are
tools we give you to help you do that—
but if the rules are getting in the way
of your fun, it’s okay to make necessary
changes!
3) The X-Card
We strongly recommend you use the X-Card (especially for groups who
doesn’t know one other well, such as at a con game or in a similar situation).
Human beings are a varied and complicated lot, and there’s no way for
us to cover all the permutations of advice we wish we could give you. The
X-Card does a wonderful job of handling that for us while filling in any
gaps we might miss.
The X-Card is an optional tool created by John Stavropoulos that allows
anyone in your game (including you) to edit out any content anyone is
uncomfortable with as you play. Since most RPGs are improvisational
and we won’t know what will happen until it happens, it’s possible the
game will go in a direction that people don’t want. The X-Card is a
simple tool to fix problems as they arise.
To use the X-Card, at the start of your game, draw an X on an index
card, place it at the center of the table, and say:
“I’d like your help to make this game fun for everyone. If anything
makes anyone uncomfortable in any way, just lift this card up or simply
tap it. You don’t have to explain why. It doesn’t matter why. When we
lift or tap this card, we simply edit out anything X-Carded. And if there
is ever an issue, anyone can call for a break, and we can talk privately. I
know it sounds funny, but it will help us play an amazing game together.
And usually, I’m the one who uses the X-Card to protect myself from all
of you! Please help make this game fun for everyone. Thank you!”
The X-Card speech above can sometimes be more useful than the
X-Card itself. It makes it clear that all the players, including the GM,
are in this together, will help one another, and that the people playing
are more important than the game.
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Use the X-Card early, even on yourself, to lead by example and model
the behavior.
The X-Card does not have to be a tool of last resort. The less special it
feels, the more players will use it, and the more likely someone will use
it when it really is badly needed.
The X-Card is not a replacement for conversation. If you prefer to talk
about an issue that comes up instead of using the X-Card, please do. Just
because the X-Card is available does not mean it has to be used. But
when it is used, respect the person who uses it and don’t ask why or start
a conversation about the issue.
The X-Card is a safety net, but not everyone will feel comfortable using
it in all situations. If a player had a problem with the game and wants to
talk to you about it afterward, please listen. It is not okay to use “but you
didn’t use the X-Card” as a defense. Don’t use the X-Card offensively.
Listen and talk it out.
If you aren’t sure what was X-Carded, call for a break and talk with the
person in private.
Don’t use the X-Card as an excuse to push boundaries. It’s not a safe word.
Some GMs (usually those who haven’t used the X-Card) fear that the
X-Card will limit their creativity. Many GMs who use the X-Card find
the opposite is true. Since the GM doesn’t have to be a magical mind
reader, it frees up their energy to focus on other elements of GMing.
The X-Card is not an excuse to try to get back to the game as soon as
possible. People matter more than the game. If you need to take a break,
take a break.
While we have referred to triggers in the past, we have moved away
from using that term. There is a lot of misunderstanding over what a
trigger is and isn’t. Additionally, X-Cards can be useful in situations
unrelated to triggers and PTSD.
4) HAVE FUN & Communicate
Remember, this is a game! The whole goal is to share a good time with
your friends and have fun. When in doubt, make your decisions with
that in mind, and you’ll be okay.
If issues arise at your table, always communicate. Talk about any
problems that may occur. Be proactive, and treat everyone as a human
being (which they are!), and you’ll do great.
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wAN INTRO TO THE POWDER MAGE UNIVERSEw
AN INTRODUCTION
TO THE POWDER MAGE
UNIVERSE
Welcome to the Nine Nations, a continent of the most advanced peoples
in the world. It is the height of the age of gunpowder. Cannons and
flintlock muskets reign supreme on the battlefield. Revolutions, both
industrial and political, ignite all across the known world while the most
powerful nations attempt to keep hold of their borders, their colonial
holdings, and even their own people.
Sorcery, while still a potent weapon for the Nine Nations, has declined.
Privileged sorcerers have suffered immense casualties during the great
wars of the last few centuries and scramble to admit anyone with
sorcerous talent into their previously exclusive cabals. Their dominance
on the battlefield has been replaced by the sharpshooting powder mages,
and their political strength wanes in the face of enlightened ideas
spreading across the globe.
It is the time of the common man. Knacked peasants use their minor
sorceries to leverage great family fortunes or attach themselves to a royal
entourage. Government militaries follow the Adran example of rank by
merit or else find themselves destroyed by smaller armies with better-
trained soldiers and more capable officers. Even Privileged sorcerers
strike out on their own to look for the fame and fortune previously
offered only by the cabals.
The world has become a melting pot more than at any other time in
history. The “lesser peoples” of other continents flock to the Nine, where
they lend their talents to local struggles or simply acquire an education
and take it back to their own people. Rumors of strange blood sorceries
come out of the far west while new religions take hold in the southeast.
Everything is in turmoil, and it is the perfect time for men and women
with even the slightest talent to forge their own destinies. Join a cabal or
take over a trading company. Become a mercenary or make a bid for an
unstable crown. The world is in your hands.
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An Overview of the Setting, Peoples, and Magic
The Powder Mage RPG takes place in the Nine Nations, a Europe-like
collection of political entities with the approximate technological level
of Napoleonic France. Like that era in our own history, a recent series of
major wars has destabilized the region and caused a ripple of revolutions
across the entire world.
The peoples of the Nine include the industrious Adrans, the distant
Bakashkans, the power-hungry Brudanians, the honorable Deliv, the
prolific Kez, the spiritual Novi, the gruff Rosveleans, the knowledge-
seeking Starlish, and the wandering Uni.
The Nine is also home, in fewer numbers, to people from all over the
world. Large numbers of Gurlish have come from Gurla, bringing with
them mala dens and prostitution. Smaller numbers of their southern
cousins, the Stren of Strenland, have immigrated too, mostly with the
desire to spread their odd religions. The occasional curious Palo savages
arrive from Fatrasta as merchantmen sailors or mercenary hires. It is even
becoming more common to see Fatrastan “freed men” from Brudanian-
Fatra as servants among the great merchant families of Brudania. The
Dynize, however, are entirely closed off to the world.
Despite advancing technology, sorcery is still a major part of everyday
life in the Nine. Privileged sorcerers use their elemental magic to scour
battlefields and back up their massive political power. Powder mages
have climbed in the public esteem since the rise of Field Marshal
Tamas, becoming widely known as soldiers, mercenaries, and strategists.
Knacked common folk form the basis of most societies, using their
unique sorceries for personal profit and public good. Even magebreakers
have become more common in the recent wars as a way to counter
Privileged magic.
It is currently 1487 AK (After Kresimir) according to the Kressian
calendar, which is based upon what scholars believe is the date that
Kresimir and his siblings first returned to this world in order to establish
the Nine. The Kez Civil War has been underway since the end of the
Adran-Kez War in 1483.
The economy of the Nine is based mostly on the Adran krana, which
has been the most stable currency in the world for almost half a century.
Local currencies do exist, and there is still a vibrant barter economy in
the less populated regions of the Nine. The krana, however, is accepted
everywhere—even in the heart of royalist Kez.
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wCHARACTER CREATIONw
CHARACTER CREATION
The following steps will guide you through the process of creating
characters in the Powder Mage universe using the Savage Worlds ruleset.
1) Race and Culture
All characters in the Powder Mage Roleplaying Game are human and
follow the standard human rules in the Savage Worlds core rulebook.
However, as an extra step, each player must select a cultural background
from the list below. This list will provide two bonus skills to each character
to represent the differences among the nations.
You can find more information on the Nations on page 27.
Adran: Start with a d4 in Shooting and a d4 in any one Smarts
skill of the player’s choice.
Bakashkan: Start with a d4 in Notice and d4 in
Streetwise.
Brudanian: Start with a d4 in
Knowledge: Commerce and a d4 in
Persuasion.
Deliv: Start with a d4 in Knowledge:
Commerce and d4 in Stealth.
Gurlish: Start with a d4 in Survival and a d4
in any Knowledge skill of the player’s choice.
Kez: If a Kez takes the Arcane Background:
Privileged, they start with five extra power points
and one extra power. If they don’t, they start with a
d4 in Knowledge: Religions and d4 in Intimidation.
Novi: Start with a d4 in Knowledge:
Religions, Knowledge: Persuasion, and one
other Knowledge skill. All Novi start with the
Pacifism (Minor) Hindrance.
Palo: Start with a d4 in Knowledge: Blood Magic,
a d4 in Fighting, and a d4 in Survival. Other
Knowledge skills cost double at Character
Creation. Adran Soldier
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Rosveleans: If a Rosvelean takes the Arcane Background: Privileged,
they start with five extra power points and one extra power. If they do
not, they gain a d4 in Investigate and a d4 in one Knowledge skill of the
player’s choice.
Starlish: Start with +2” to Pace and a d4 in any Knowledge skill of the
player’s choice.
Unice: Start with a d4 in Knowledge: Religions.
2) Attributes
In order to determine your character’s five Attributes, simply use the
standard Savage Worlds rules. Each Attribute starts with a d4, and you
have 5 points with which to raise the type of die up to d12.
3) Skills
In order to determine the starting skills your character
possesses, distribute 15 points among them following
the standard Savage Worlds rules.
New Skill
Third Eye (Smarts)
This skill can be used to determine
whether other characters have the traits
Arcane Background (Privilege),
Power Edge (Magebreaker), or
Arcane Background (Knacked). A
success on this Skill Roll will identify
the sorcerer and what type of magic
they use. Knacked, Powder Mages, and
Privileged can open their Third Eyes to
see into the Else, allowing them to detect
other magic users and see the evidence
of Privileged sorcery that has recently
been used nearby. Note: powder mages can
only be sensed by other powder mages. This
special sight puts an aura around magic
users but does not prevent the user from
Adran Soldier
seeing other visuals. If, for whatever
reason, the user would not normally see
a mundane person, they do not.
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Prohibited Skills On Naming Conventions:

Naming conventions in the Powder
Mage universe don’t follow a ton of
rules, but I’ll try to lay out the ones
Driving and Piloting are not available I do have as well as I can for those
for use in this setting. In order to drive a who prefer to follow them.
wagon or carriage, use the Riding skill. In most countries, the lower classes
only have one name (like Tamas,
4) Edges and Hindrances Taniel, or Adamat). If you need to
specify the person, they might be
Your character can take up to one Major referred to as “son of” or “daughter
and two Minor Hindrances and use the of” their mother or father. More
commonly, adults are known by a
points according to the Savage Worlds rules title they have earned during their
in order to improve Attributes or Skills, to lifetime (Inspector Adamat, Field
get new Edges, or to start the game with Marshal Tamas). Among the rising
middle class, it has become more
more money. If you want, you can choose and more common to adopt a
more Hindrances for roleplaying purposes, second name (Ricard Tumblar) or
but you do not get more points. even purchase a land-held title.
Two names are far more common
5) Gear (but not ubiquitous) among the
Your character has 500 krana to buy nobility. These usually include a
first name given by a character’s
starting gear. parents and a second name
attached to the family land they
6) Derived Statistics
are meant to inherit (e.g., Erika je
Calculate your character’s derived statistics Leorne). A major exception is a
using the following: country’s king, who always has one
name (e.g., King Ipille of Kez, King
Charisma is 0 unless modified by Liva II of Brudania). Members of the
Edges or Hindrances; royal families always have a given
name followed by “of their father.”
Pace is 6” unless modified by Edges or For example, in Kez, the children
Hindrances; of the king are named “je Ipille”
(feminine) or “ja Ipille” (masculine).
Parry is 2 plus half the Fighting die I took the majority of my naming
value; inspirations from Central and
Eastern Europe. Adro, in particular,
Toughness is 2 plus half the Vigor gets a lot of its people and place
die value. names from Hungarian conventions
(Adopest, Tamas, etc.). Rather than
7) Finishing Touches sticking to a strict set of rules, I
Finish your character by giving them wanted to give each country a loose
“feeling” of something real-world
a name, devising their background, and that the reader could relate to. As
developing some of their characteristics players in this world, feel free to take
(greatest fears, hopes, dreams, goals, and liberties with your naming (but try
not to break immersion too much).
more.) Ask yourself how your character
achieves their goals and what steps they
take to do so.
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Background Edges
Arcane Background (Powder Mage)

Arcane Skill: Ingest (Vigor)
Starting Power Points: Special, see below.
Starting Powers: Special, see below.
Spell List: See below
Mechanics: Powder Mages are powered by ingesting gunpowder.
All powder mages gain the Addiction (Gunpowder) hindrance at a
minor level.
Powder Mages start with 0 power points (also called Powder Points).
Each dose of Gunpowder they ingest (an action) grants them 3
Powder Points. After each action in which the Powder Mage ingests
Powder, they must make a successful Vigor test or be Shaken.
After a Powder Mage has any Powder Points, they count their
Strength and Agility dice as one higher, they gain +2” to Pace, and
+2 to Notice tests.
If a Powder Mage ever has 6 or more Powder Points, after they return to
0 they are automatically Fatigued, and must make a Spirit test. If they fail,
they permanently gain the Major Hindrance: Addiction (Gunpowder).
Powder Points fall off at the rate of 1 point per ten minutes.
Powder Points can be spent for the following effects:
•• 1 Powder Point to double the range of a Firearm. Multiple Powder
Points increase this, but the cost increases double each time. (For
example, 1 Powder Point to double range, 2 more to quadruple
range, 4 more to octuple range).
•• 2 Powder Points to add +1d6 to the damage of a Firearm.
•• 2 Powder Points to reduce damage from a Firearm by -1d6.
•• 2 Powder Points to add +2 to a Shooting Roll.
•• 4 Powder Points to make a container with Gunpowder in it explode

as per the Burst Power.
Spending a Powder Point is a Free Action, except for causing stores
of Gunpowder to explode (which is a Normal Action.)
Trappings: Gunpowder and Flame
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Arcane Background (Privileged)

Arcane Skill: Privilege (Smarts)
Starting Power Points: 15
Starting Powers: Blast and 1 other power.
Spell List: All except Healing and Greater Healing.
Mechanics: You start the game at Seasoned rank. Make your character
as a Novice, then give them 20 experience to advance, following the
Advancement rules in Savage Worlds Deluxe. In exchange for the higher
starting Rank, Privileged must spend their first 20 experience to “buy
off ” this Edge, effectively losing their first 20 experience to pay
down the debt they’ve incurred at character creation.
All Privileged gain a pair of gloves that allow
them to reach into the Else to
summon magic.These gloves are
automatically granted upon
taking this Edge. Without
these gloves, if a Privileged
spends Power Points, they
take an automatic wound
and are Shaken. Spare or
replacement gloves may be
purchased for 500 krana from
specialty vendors.
Trappings: Every Privileged has an
affinity for one of the elements and uses
it more than the others in their sorcery,
though a mastery of all are required to cast
spells on a regular basis. Trappings should
reflect this.
Privileged-in-Exile
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On Skin Color and Arcane Background (Knacked)
Racial Tensions:
Race is something that I didn’t Arcane Skill: None
focus on too much in the Powder
Mage Trilogy. You’ll note, for Starting Power Points: None
instance, that skin color ranges
Starting Powers: None
from black (Deliv) to olive (southern
Uni) to white (Adro), and it is Spell List: None
commented on very little within
the world. Racial tension exists, but Mechanics: All Knacked possess a single,
it has far more to do with cultural unique mystical power. Players may pick one
perceptions than skin color. For
instance, a Deliv who is a second- benefit from the following list of examples or,
generation Adran citizen would be with the GM’s guidance, create one of their
trusted as a neighbor, while a first- own. A character may never have more than
generation Kez immigrant would
be regarded suspiciously. one Knacked ability. Knacked are much like
Kressians, the people who hail exceptionally talented humans, but they are
from one of the Nine Nations, tend a class of their own because of their ability
to be casually racist toward those to see the Else and access their Third Eye.
they consider “lesser peoples.”
Among these are Fatrastan, Palo, Knacked abilities are always on and require
Dynize, Gurlish, Stren, and pretty no roll or power points to activate.
much anyone who wasn’t born in
or doesn’t have ancestry in the Charmer: +2 Charisma.
Nine. Again, these opinions rarely
have anything to do with skin
Darkvision: Character can see in the
color but are more often justified dark as though it were daytime.
by technological gaps, religious
differences, or simply because Dowser: The character always knows
Kressians will use any excuse to take where the nearest source of water is.
the lands of people they conquer.
While this attitude is common, it is
Eidetic Memory: The character has
by no means the rule. Bakashkans the ability to recall memories in
think far more of the Stren clear, sharp detail.
than they do any of their fellow
Kressians. The Deliv, being relative Foresight: Able to see ranged attacks
newcomers to the Nine, tend to before they happen. +1 to the Target
be far more open-minded toward
the rest of the world. Adrans are
Number when you are shot at.
considered fairly open-minded as Giant: The character is not truly a giant,
well, though the word “savage” is
still considered an apt description but is larger than a normal man. +1
of people from tribal societies. Size (+1 Size grants +1 to Toughness)
Gifted: +1 dice type to a single trait.
Ironhide: Skin is subtly metallic. +2
Armor.
Lightning Reflexes: Able to see melee
attacks before they happen. +1 Parry.
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Lucky: If you spend a bennie for

The Powder Mage Roleplaying
a reroll and fail, you may reroll the
Game uses the Multiple
failed test. If it fails the second time, Languages Setting rules in the
you must accept the failure. Savage Worlds corebook.
Oxen-tough: The character may Each Nation has their
ignore 1 point of wound penalties own language. Characters
(effectively lowering all penalties normally speak their native
from wounds by 1). tongue, as well as Adran,
which is the most common
Polygraph: Always know when language of business.
someone is lying to you.
Preternaturally Tough: +1 Toughness.
Relentless: Ignore all effects of Fatigue.
Resilient Blood: Character is immune to disease and poison.
Rock Skin: The character is immune to the effects of inclement weather.
+4 to Resist Environmental Effects (cold, heat, pressure, etc.).
Runner: The character is exceptionally fast. Base
Pace is 10”.
Sharp Senses: +4 on Notice rolls.
Sleepless: Never need to sleep. (You can still be
put to sleep by arcane effects or drugs.)
Steady-handed: Once per round, if the
character does nothing but concentrate,
he or she can remove a wound from or
cure Shaken status for a target they are
touching.
Unshakeable: +2 when testing to
remove the Shaken condition.
Creating new Knacked abilities is easy.
Simply find an ability that fits what
you want and attach it to an Arcane
Background. There is no limit to the
styles and types of Knacked there
are, and the above examples are
only that: examples. Knacked Police Investigator
Trappings: None.
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POWER EDGE: Magebreaker
Requirements: Arcane Background (Any)
Mechanics: A Magebreaker is a magician who has forsaken their magic
in order to prevent other Privileged from using their sorcery. They lose
all Power Points, and any arcane skill they have is converted into a new
skill named Breaking. The Breaking skill is not linked to any Attribute.
They may never use powers or spend Power Points and can never take
another Power Edge.
At each level, the Magebreaker can prevent the expenditure of Power
Points within a certain range. A target that wishes to spend
Power Points must make a successful opposed check
using their Arcane skill versus the Magebreaker’s
Arcane skill before Power Points can be spent.
A Magebreaker automatically gains the following
advantages as they increase in rank, and these effects
are always on:
At Novice, the Magebreaker must be
touching the target to prevent them from
spending Power Points.
At Seasoned, no one may spend power
points within 6” of a Magebreaker without a
successful test.
At Veteran, the range increases to
12”.
At Heroic, the range remains at

12” and the Magebreaker gains +2 on the
test.
At Legendary, the range remains
at 12” and the Magebreaker gains +4 on the
test.
Trappings: None.
Rosvelean Magebreaker
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Setting Rules
On Gender Roles:
Gender does not have quite the
same lopsided history in the Powder
CHANGES TO SHAKEN RULES Mage universe as it does in our own.
Referring to women as “the weaker
Shaken in the Savage Worlds core sex” just doesn’t have much bite to
rulebook is changed to the following: it when a female Privileged can turn
you into a pretzel with the flick of
To remove the Shaken condition, a her fingers or a female Knacked can
target must succeed on a Spirit roll. If leverage her sorcerous ability into a
they are successful, they may act normally. family fortune. From the beginning,
it was my intention to make sorcery
If they fail, they may act as though they a great leveler.
had already taken an action this turn Women own land, inherit kingdoms,
(essentially, failing to un-Shake counts create businesses, and generally
do whatever they want. The sexism
as an action). This change represents the
that does exist tends to be personal
training and nature of the soldiers and disposition rather than cultural, and
resilient folks who make up this game. therefor cuts both directions.
Equipment Changes:
With any black powder weapon, if the
Wild die and the Shooting die both come
up showing 1s, the weapon jams until an
action is spent to clear it.
Air weapons do not require black powder.
Black Powder Weapons:

Type Range Damage RoF Cost Weight Shots Min Str
Flintlock Pistol 5/10/20 2d6+1 1 150 3 - -
Flintlock Rifle 15/30/60 2d8 1 300 8 - d6
Emberly 10/20/30 2d6+2 1 600 4 - -
Flintlock Pistol
Flintlock 20/40/80 2d8 1 400 9 - d6
Longrifle
Flintlock 3/6/12 4d8, 1 1200 8 - d6
Grenade Small Burst
Template,
Launcher AP2
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Non-Powder Ranged Weapons:
Type Range Damage RoF Cost Weight Shots Min Str
Crossbow 15/30/60 2d6 1 500 10 - d6
AP 2, One
Action to
Reload
Hunting 15/30/60 2d6+1 1 300 5 - d8
Longbow
Air Pistol 5/10/20 2d6-1 1 450 5 6 d6
Air Rifle 15/30/60 2d8-1 1 900 10 6 d6
Melee Weapons:
Type Damage Cost Weight Notes
Dagger Str+d4 25 1 -
Hunting Longknife Str+d4+1 100 2 AP1
Short Sword Str+d6 200 4 -
Rapier Str+d4 150 3 Parry+1
Long Sword Str+d8 300 8 -
Dueling Blade Str+d6+2 1000 6 AP2
Great Sword Str+d10 400 12 Parry -1, Two Hands
Main Gauche Str+d4 100 3 Parry +1 when the user is
wielding two melee weapons
Axe Str+d6 200 2 -
Battle Axe Str+d8 300 10 -
Great Axe Str+d10 500 15 AP1, Parry -1, Two Hands
Sledgehammer Str+d6+1 350 8 AP1
Pike Str+d8 400 25 Reach 2, Two Hands
Spear Str+d6 100 5 Parry +1, Reach 1, Two Hands
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w 23 w
World Map
w 24 w
wWorld Mapw
w 25 w
w 26 w
wNations of the Ninew
NATIONS OF THE NINE

The Nine Nations. Like the gods that formed them, they are a squabbling
collection of entities bound together by a shared history and religion. They are
at once loyal and competitive, and though they bicker, at the end of the day
they see themselves as a shining beacon of modernity—Nine Nations against
a world that has yet to see the light.
—King Sulem IX of Deliv commenting on the rising tensions within the
Nine at the beginning of his reign.
The following consists of excerpts from A Common Man’s Guide to the
World by Ambassador Adamat of Adro.
Adro
If the Nine could be said to have a heart, it is Adro. Her mountain passes
are the arteries, and her culture, politics, and industry are the lifeblood. Many
have sought to possess her, and all have failed. They will continue to do so as
long as I am alive.
—from the private memoirs
of Field Marshal Tamas
Adro is an industrial nation
located in the heart of the
Nine Nations. It is the oldest
nation of the Nine, claiming
a heritage that predates the
return of Kresimir by almost
seven hundred years and
borders that have remained
more or less consistent during
that entire time. During the
Time of Kresimir, it was
claimed by the god Adom,
who has remained its patron
saint ever since.
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The People
Adrans are predominantly light skinned, though intermarriage
with Deliv and Rosveleans is common. They tend to be industrious,
inventive, and stubborn, while the proud militaristic histories of the
Adran Army and the Mountainwatch have created a martial people
who don’t flinch in the face of war.
Recent History
Adran Coup
Though the Adran Coup took place less than five years ago, it is already
considered by scholars to be one of the defining moments of the modern
era. The facts, as have been released by the Adran government, are that
Field Marshal Tamas and a council of important Adran figures overthrew
King Manhouch XII. The king and most of the nation’s nobility were
sent to the guillotine.
This was not a revolution of passion, as many have claimed in the years
since. Measures were immediately put into place to pass on the mantle
of government to an elected set of ministers. Field Marshal Tamas
maintained order after the initial riots and denied any interest in taking
power himself. By the end of the year and despite a short, bloody war
with Kez, Ricard Tumblar
was elected as First Minister
of Adro.
Adran-Kez War
The Adran Coup would
not have been as significant
an event had it not set into
motion a series of events
that destabilized large parts
of the civilized world. The
Adran Coup is blamed for
riots throughout the Nine as
well as colonial uprisings and
is directly responsible for the
Adran-Kez War. The plan of
King Ipille of Kez to name
Portrait of Field Marshal Tamas
from the Adran National Gallery
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Adro as a vassal nation was ruined by the coup, and he decided to take the
smaller country by force.
On paper, such an invasion seems ludicrously one-sided. The Kez army
outnumbered the Adran army by as much as ten to one, and though
both countries were still recovering from the recent famines, the Kez
had little problem mobilizing an immense force. The Kez were also
united beneath Ipille’s flag and backed by the mighty Kez royal cabal,
while Adro was still reeling from the recent coup and had only a handful
of powder mages.
In reality, Adro was well-equipped to deal with the superior Kez
numbers. Their Mountainwatch held all the strategic passes through the
Adran Mountains, and their army was both better trained and better
equipped. On the open field of battle, powder mages nullified the royal
cabal, and Field Marshal Tamas and his generals were the strategic
superiors of the Kez officer corps in every way. Despite several betrayals
within and losing the high ground in the mountain passes, the Adran
army and its allies crushed the Kez and forced a surrender that ended
the war.
Reconstruction
It is difficult to examine the postwar era of Adro without the lens of
time, as it has been only about four years since the war ended. Adro has
been officially at peace since, quickly rebuilding the areas of Adopest
and Budwiel that were destroyed in the war and redoubling the defenses
of the Mountainwatch, lest the Kez Civil War threaten to swing north.
The economy remains strong, and the First Minister and his cabinet have
done everything they can to reassure their wary monarchal neighbors
that they have no intention of exporting republican revolution. Though
the Adran army was much reduced by the war with Kez and many of
their best and brightest died in the conflict, they are led by a young tier
of generals who were personally trained by Field Marshal Tamas. Three
brigades of Adran troops are currently serving in the south, fighting for
the upstart Kez prince, Beon ja Ipille.
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Important Institutions
Military
Though smaller than those of their more populous neighbors, the
Adran military is widely accepted as the best-trained and best-equipped
force in the world. This is largely attributed to Field Marshal Tamas’s
modernization of the military, including his ban on purchasing rank.
The Adran army proved its mettle in both the Gurlish Wars and the
Adran-Kez War. Even after losses suffered during both those conflicts,
it contains some of the brightest military minds of the Nine. Retired
Adran generals have been prized as foreign consultants for decades.
The Adran military is known to supplement—
and be supplemented by—several domestic
organizations that aren’t, strictly speaking, part
of the Adran army. Chief among these are the
Mountainwatch and the Wings of Adom.
Mountainwatch
The Mountainwatch is a paramilitary
organization that manages the mountain
passes throughout Adro. It is responsible
for mining, road maintenance, timber
production, and anything else required
of them by the state. Most importantly,
they are the first line of defense against
enemy invasion. The Mountainwatch
fortress of Shouldercrown was
almost exclusively responsible for
pushing back the initial Kez
invasion at the beginning of the
Adran-Kez War.
The Mountainwatch is unique
in that it is made up of convicts,
disgraced soldiers, debtors, and
volunteers who spend their sentences of
exile working in the high places. Giving the
Adran Officer
worst of humanity a chance at redemption
(instead of a cold cell or a trip to the
guillotine) is an Adran tradition going
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back almost a thousand years. The Mountainwatch is rarely a lifelong

sentence, and former members are known to find employment throughout
the Nine as industry consultants and military officers.
The Wings of Adom
The Wings of Adom is a mercenary company founded by Henri
Winceslav during the reign of the Iron King. Initially comprised of
soldiers who’d finished their terms of service during the Gurlish Wars
and wanted to make a better living with their skills, the charter included
terms that the Wings would never fight against the Adran army and
that they’d be prepared to defend Adro in the case of an enemy invasion.
The Wings saw combat in Gurla, Fatrasta, and Strenland and were so
successful that Winceslav bought an Adran dukedom.
Currently run by the old duke’s widow, Lady Winceslav, the Wings
were much reduced during the Adran-Kez War and have spent the last
few years trying to return to their former numbers.
Sorcery
The Adran royal cabal was once known as the most powerful cabal in the
Nine Nations. They had a tumultuous history, reaching the height of their
power under the Iron King before being brought to heel through a number
of reforms that included the rise of Field Marshal Tamas, a famous powder
mage and strategic genius who usurped their favor with the king.
Even with Tamas’s reforms and the subsequent losses during the
Gurlish Wars, the cabal was still an incredibly powerful institution. They
began to claw back their influence after the Iron King’s death, ignoring
direct orders from the weaker Manhouch XII. Some scholars think that
the disastrous Accords was Manhouch’s attempt to regain control of his
cabal by making them subservient to Ipille.
The cabal was utterly destroyed the same night that Field Marshal
Tamas overthrew Manhouch. Little is known of that night, but Tamas
managed to assassinate over a hundred Privileged in the course of a
few hours, catching them in their sleep. This event is often glossed over
during discussions of the coup, but is important in illustrating that
Tamas was as dangerous in person as he was politically and strategically.
Tamas’s powder cabal came about in a time when powder mages were
still almost universally reviled. Though Adro was historically more lenient
toward powder mages than any of the other nations of the Nine, the country
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still considered them third-class citizens. It was only Tamas’s rise within the
army and the Iron King’s need to rein in his Privileged that changed this.
Tamas proved the usefulness of powder mages during the Gurlish Wars, and
the Iron King allowed him to begin training other mages—including many
refugees from neighboring Kez, where powder magic was a death sentence.
The powder cabal grew in size, and it was this group that accompanied
Tamas to dispatch the royal cabal on the fateful night of the coup.
The powder cabal was nearly destroyed during the Adran-Kez War.
The few survivors reorganized under Tamas’s adopted daughter, General
Vlora. Together with the only surviving member of the Adran royal
cabal, Privileged Borbador, Vlora formed the Adran Republic Cabal.
The two have spent the years since recruiting and training Privileged
and powder mages to restore the strength of Adran sorcery.
Industrialism
Industrialization has dominated the Adran life for over fifty years.
Though it would be fair to say the modern Industrial Era actually began
in Deliv, Adran engineers refined the techniques and machinery, and
Adran thinkers propelled adoption forward despite resistance similar to
that seen in other countries of the Nine.
It began with early reforms by Manhouch XI, the Iron King, which
resulted in rapid mechanization throughout the cities of Adro.
Workshops turned into factories, and small businesses gave way to large
ones. Simultaneous advancements in agriculture helped fuel a population
boom, eventually supplying manpower to the growing factories of the
Adran industrial districts.
Despite being landlocked, Adro quickly became the manufacturing
center of the civilized world. Machinery, guns, textiles, and raw materials
were sent over the mountains into neighboring countries—especially to
the port city of Whalen, which has been leased wholesale from the Deliv
government since early in the Iron King’s reign. From Whalen, Adran
goods are shipped all around the world.
Adran industrial dominance is now being challenged by several nations
throughout the Nine, but the construction of the King Manhouch Canal
has effectively linked Adopest and the Pelos Ocean. The canal was initially
commissioned by the Iron King—a massive undertaking to provide water
passage over the Charwood Pile Mountain Range. It was finished at the end
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of the Adran-Kez War. As long as relations remain good between Adro and
Deliv and the lease on Whalen is not revoked, Adro is a seafaring nation.
Industrialization, and the vast mills and factories that accompanied
it, also brought about the workers’ unions. Heavily opposed by the
aristocracy of almost every country, unions have pushed modern societal
advancements like better pay, better hours, the weekend, and a general
increase in the quality of living for the lower classes. The biggest and
most successful union is the Holy Warriors of Labor, started under
Manhouch XII by the eventual First Minister of Adro, Ricard Tumblar.
Geography
Adro shares borders with Novi, Deliv, and Kez. It is the only member of
the Nine Nations that is completely landlocked and is by far the smallest
by area. Adro has a temperate climate.
The capital of Adro is Adopest, located near the geographic center
of the country at the convergence of the Ad River and the Adsea, the
third-largest lake in the Nine. It is considered an ultramodern city, with
an immense factory district and docks that govern trade, fishing, and
transportation around the Adsea. Adopest has over 1.5 million people.
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Adopest
The second-largest city in Adro is Budwiel, occupying the entirety

of the largest pass from Adro into Kez. Because of the canyon walls
around it, Budwiel spends much of the day in shade, making it an ideal
residence during the summer and bitterly cold during the winter. Though
the population was much reduced during its brief time in the hands of
the Kez, it has rebounded into a thriving military city of almost seven
hundred thousand people.
VIPs
Ricard Tumblar, 52, is the current First Minister of Adro and the first
person to hold such an office. He has served in that capacity since the
end of the Adran-Kez War and is widely considered a hardworking,
capable leader. He is known for his weakness for women and his hands-
on approach to government. But the Tumblar ministry is not without its
critics. Many say he shows the unions too much preference and that he
is too close to both the military and the Adran Republic Cabal. He has
answered these criticisms by distancing himself from old friends in the
military and selling his personal stakes the in Adran newspapers in an
attempt to increase the openness of his government.
General Vlora Flint, 24, is the current leader of the Adran peacekeeping
mission in Kez, a powder mage, and the cohead of the Adran Republic
Cabal.Though she is very young and stands in the shadow of her predecessor,
Field Marshal Tamas, she has proved herself a brilliant field commander.
Coolheaded under fire, she is easily provoked by politicians and prefers to
be at the head of an army rather than in an office in the capital.
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Magus Borbador, 26, is the only Privileged to survive from the old
monarchy, which is said to be due to his close relationship with Tamas
and Tamas’s son, Taniel. Borbador now coheads the Adran Republic
Cabal. He is charming, levelheaded, and thoughtful, though he does his
best to avoid any real work when possible. He is married to Privileged
Nila, a mysterious young sorcerer who came out of the Adran-Kez War,
though it is rumored they both take multiple lovers.
Delia Snowbound, 38, is a politician from the north of Adro. Most
of her extended family was killed during the coup, and all but a small
portion of her family lands were confiscated. Delia survived by being out
of the country during the events of the coup and then forsaking all claim
to her old family titles. Since her return, she has become a permanent
fixture in Adran politics, clawing back the power that once belonged to
her family.
Charlemund, 56, is the head of the Adran See of the Kresim Church.
Originally one of the group that helped Field Marshal Tamas overthrow
the king, Charlemund was accused of treachery at the beginning of the
Adran-Kez War and imprisoned. He was released not long after, and the
circumstances of his imprisonment were never disclosed to the public.
Since his release, however, his character has changed dramatically. Once
an acclaimed duelist and athlete, he is now morbidly obese and has a
penchant for fine foods and cooking. Once the prime example of the
excess of the Kresim Church, he has opened his manors to the poor and
become known as the most generous philanthropist in the Nine.
Current Schemes
Though Magus Borbador is said to have gathered the mighty wealth
of the extinct Adran royal cabal for his own use, the cabal left behind
millions in secret reserves of cash, jewels, art, and spices. One such cache
is rumored to have surfaced in Budwiel, where hundreds of treasure
seekers have gathered to search the caverns beneath the city’s mountains.
With ministerial elections coming up next year, wannabe politicians
have crawled out of the woodwork in droves. While some aim to fill the
cabinet, others shoot for the very top—hoping to take Ricard Tumblar’s
job after the next election. Foremost among these is Delia Snowbound,
who is said to harbor a deep hatred for Ricard and his role in the coup
that killed her family. Ricard, however, is prepared for a political duel
with his rival—no matter how underhanded it becomes.
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Bakashka
Sometimes I think that the average Bakashkan wishes he’d been born on
a different continent, like the middle child who is never understood by his
siblings and longs to belong to another family.
—Lord Claremonte, during a board meeting of the BGTC
Bakashka is a country located in the southeastern corner of the Nine and
ruled by King Wallach VI from the Sand Palace in Telav. It was founded
in 74 TK by the god Banasher, who is said to have chosen the most distant
spot in the Nine in order to get away from his siblings.
The People
Bakashkans are a light-skinned people, but intermarriage and children
born to Gurlish slaves have made tawny-colored skin much more common.
The average Bakashkan has very little education; their society emphasizes
physical labor and service toward the noble class.
The nobility of Bakashka loathe the very possibility of modernization
or social reform. Their middle class is tiny, with the vast majority of their
population belonging to an untouchable caste of uneducated laborers who
are owned, ostensibly, by the royal household. They are the only country in
the Nine that still practices open slavery on their home soil. Most of these
slaves are Gurlish.
Recent History
The Gurlish Wars
Bakashka was the first
member of the Nine to make
a serious effort at colonial
expansion in modern Gurla.
Their invasion of the southern
half of the continent in 1405
AK kicked off what would
later be known as the Gurlish
Wars—a series of conflicts
that some scholars would
argue are still going on today.
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This invasion created a colonial rush, and within a few years every nation
of the Nine had mobilized in some way in an attempt to snatch up even the
most useless slices of desert. While the Nine managed to avoid conflicts at
home, proxy wars were fought across Gurla, with alliances shifting from
year to year. Professional Kressian armies, flush with cheap manpower
conscripted from the locals, have clashed with one other and the major
powers of the continent ever since.
Bakashka’s early land grab rewarded them with huge swaths of Gurla and,
later, Strenland. It was estimated at one point that Bakashka owned almost
eighteen percent of the world’s arable land. This caused major contention
between Bakashka and the rest of the Nine. Brudania turned on them,
and then Kez did. Starland and Unice followed, and soon Bakashka was
fighting proxy wars with all eight of her sister countries.
Over the decades, Bakashka fought a colonial war of attrition. Their
acceptance of local religion seems to have balanced out the brutality of
their original conquest, and they were able to guard their holdings against
invasion and insurrection with more competence than the rest of the
Nine. Even after fighting a war against what amounted to the rest of the
civilized world, they manage to keep impressive stretches of colonial land
to this day.
The Ruling Class
Wallach is a weak and ineffectual king who prefers to spend his time
among his extensive collection of foreign concubines than have anything
to do with the actual rule of the country. When he does make appearances
in his own court, he is bullied and cajoled by nearly two dozen powerful
noble families that effectively rule Bakashka in his stead. It is said that
creating a royal decree in Bakashka is as easy as setting a paper in front of
the king and asking him to sign it. Rumor is that he cannot read.
Despite so many families constantly vying for power in the absence of a
strong king, the Bakashkan nobility has managed to hold their government
together with far more competence than their northern neighbor, Unice,
and against far more difficult trials. Power is balanced carefully, with a
cultural emphasis on keeping the status quo. Internal strife is avoided at all
costs. This creates a sort of game among the nobility, and the only pieces
allowed are the vast colonial holdings in Gurla and Strenland.
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This internal power balance is maintained in part by an order of government
eunuchs called Faceless, which handles much of the bureaucracy. The
Faceless exist outside the traditional power structure and are so integral to
the running of the empire that their words are held in as high esteem as
any nobleman’s. They are tacitly supported by the might of the strongest
noble family, the western-dwelling Dori.
Religion
The Bakashkan people are unique among the Nine in that the Kressian-
based religions are a minority. Much of the population is openly atheist,
with even more of them adhering to heretical worship of two religions
imported from Gurla and Strenland long before Bakashka had invaded
either of those countries. Several attempts by the Kresim Church have
been made to drive out these foreign religions, including a full-scale
inquisition, but they have only succeeded in pushing Bakashka further
from Kez and the rest of the Nine.
The larger of the two foreign religions is called Solenpan, which originated
from southern Gurla. Solenpan is a multifaced god of sun, fire, and the
desert. Adherents to Solenpan bathe themselves by scrubbing their bodies
with fine sand. When possible, they avoid water as sustenance, preferring
to drink fermented plant-based beverages in the belief that they drink the
essence of the sun.
The second foreign religion, Gerosh, comes from the east coast of
Strenland. It is the worship of the bones of a dead god whose name has
been lost to the centuries. The Gerosh god is simply called the Dead
One, and worship revolves around ceremonial interaction with spirits and
fetishization of life force. Scholars suspect that this religion is influenced
by the blood sorcery of the Dynize, though there is no hard proof, as
neither Gerosh nor blood sorcery has been studied in any depth.
Military
The Bakashkan military is a large but outdated force. It consists of a core
of six brigades of professional soldiers known as the King’s Division. These
are made up exclusively of foreigners imported from Bakashkan colonial
holdings. They are supported by a much larger body of conscripts from the
general populace that can be called upon at any time. Bakashkan generals
claim that they can field an army of half a million in less than two months.
Military theorists do not contest this number but are quick to point out
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the lack of proper weaponry and training available to the conscripted army.
Half a million farmers equipped with matchlock muskets, for instance,
would be cut to pieces by a professional modern army a tenth that number.
The Bakashkan navy is made up almost entirely of colonial sailors
commanded by Bakashkan officers. With a few exceptions, their capital
ships and frigates are antiquated vessels mostly used for domestic pomp
and intimidating their less-advanced colonial shorelines.
Sorcery
Bakashka’s once-powerful royal cabal was all but wiped out during the
Gurlish Wars, leaving Bakashka with just a handful of Privileged sorcerers.
The ruling classes have embraced this change, and Privileged have lost
most of the prestige and power they once held in the political realm and
are now relegated to little more than tools of the state. Respect for sorcery
has waned among the general populace while distrust has increased. This
has led to a mass exodus of Knacked. Powder mages are not thought of as
any better or worse than any other sorcerer, and rumor has it that several
Bakashkan noble families employ powder mages as bodyguards.
Geography
Bakashka is a hilly, tropical country. The long coastline is mostly clear-cut,
home to Bakashka’s largest cities and an extensive network of terraced
farms. The inner part of the country consists mostly of dense jungle dotted
with large slave plantations that harvest cocoa, rubber, and other native
species for export to the colonies and the rest of the Nine. Bakashka shares
a border with Unice and Starland.
The capital of Bakashka is Telav, located on Banner Point, the northernmost
piece of land in the country. Telav is a rocky, inhospitable place with a
population of around six hundred thousand people. It was chosen as the
Bakashkan capital for its fine harbor rather than access to arable land or easy
comforts. It is hot, bug ridden, and exposed to the elements.
Vedior is the second-most-important city and the most populated, with
well over a million people. It is located on the east coast, and legend claims
that the gods Banasher and Solenpan met there in person in 317 AK and
agreed to share the people of Bakashka and grant them dominion over
Gurla and Stren. It is a holy city, the capital of the Solenpan and Gerosh
religions on this continent. It is here that the priests of Solenpan purchase
the release of thousands of slaves during the winter solstice every year.
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VIPs
Bieru Dori, 59, is the matriarch of the esteemed Dori family of Telav and
one of the true powers behind the throne of Bakashka—a position secured
by selling seven of her own granddaughters into the harem of Wallach VI.
A brutal politician, she allied herself with the Faceless eunuchs in a bid
to destroy the strength of the royal cabal. Her family owns well over a
million slaves, and she publicly criticizes the Solenpan priests for their
yearly freeing festival.
Grundin, 33, is a Faceless eunuch and personal servant to Wallach VI.
Outside of Wallach’s overly influential concubines, Grundin is said to be
the only person to truly hold the king’s ear. Grundin often acts as a go-
between for Wallach and the nobility. Quiet but ambitious, Grundin is
easily bribed by anyone with the power or money to approach him.
The Dead Priestess (age unknown) is the mouthpiece of the Gerosh
religion in Bakashka. Residing in the Gerosh Chapel Complex in Vedior,
she wears a mask made from the skull of her predecessor and issues decrees
from a throne of bones. Rumors have it that she is a Privileged, but she has
never been seen to wear gloves.
Current Schemes
The Kresim Church has been losing power in this region for hundreds of
years, and the local arch-diocel wants more than anything to prove the
mortality of the Dead Priestess. After several failed assassination attempts,
his hatred of her has become almost a joke within the city. But that doesn’t
stop him from trying to kill her again and again.
Grundin and his Faceless companions have become more powerful with
each passing year that the influence of the royal cabal wanes. Despite
their reduced status, the Bakashkan Privileged still hold several key
palaces within Telav, which occupy the best land and are filled with riches.
Grundin would like these palaces destroyed.
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Brudania
Greed? Greed has nothing to do with it. Brudanians are born with an innate
sense that the world belongs to them. For every bit of competition crushed,
for every customer swindled, a Brudanian genuinely believes they are taking
another step toward the restoration of all that is good and natural.
—Ambassador Cestosko, from the Novi delegation to the Brudanian court
Brudania is a mercantile nation located on the northeastern corner of the
continent of the Nine Nations. It shares a border with Deliv, Novi, and
Rosvel. They have a rich tradition in seafaring and have, for well over one
hundred years, been the undisputed masters of the oceans of the world.
While the northern ports are ice locked for most of winter, their southern
ports funnel a fantastic portion of the world’s wealth through them every
year. Their patron is the two-faced god Brude, associated with the luck and
fickleness of a coin toss.
The People
Brudanians tend to have light olive skin, though their pallor (or lack
thereof ) can often indicate their chosen profession, with laborers and
sailors having bronzed skin and bureaucrats tending toward pale. The
literacy rate is surprisingly low, and a sort of written shorthand is used by
most traders.
Because of the extensive influence of the Brudanian-Gurla Trading
Company, or BGTC, Brudania is a nation of traders. Haggling is taught
in every school at a young age, and arithmetic is valued above art, science,
engineering, or philosophy. Experts in the latter fields are imported
extensively from other countries—the fact that the best shipbuilders in
the country are Rosvelean and Deliv expatriates is considered a shameful
secret by the Brudanian elites.
Brudania is a surprisingly progressive nation. Their aristocracy is made
up of far more merchants than nobility, and hereditary titles are all but
extinct. A peasant may purchase the highest office in the land—if they can
acquire the necessary fortune—and then die penniless once that wealth is
exhausted. Neither race nor religion mean much to the average Brudanian,
though like all Kressians they tend to look down on foreigners, and some
favor is shown to the Kresim Church.
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Despite their class
mobility, the vast majority
of Brudania’s citizenship
is made of basic laborers,
sailors, and minor
bureaucrats, with most
of the wealth held by a
relatively small handful
of the citizenry. Slavery
is outlawed within the
borders of Brudania but
is used extensively in
their colonial holdings.
Indentured servitude,
however, is not outlawed
and in fact provides most
of the sailors that man the
immense Brudanian fleets.
Recent History
The former chairman of the BGTC, Lord Claremonte, involved the
company and a large part of the royal cabal in the Adran-Kez War. While
they entered the country under the pretense of a relief army on behalf of the
Adrans, they quickly attacked the Adran capital for reasons still unknown.
Lord Claremonte, several brigades of soldiers, and dozens of members of
the Brudanian royal cabal were killed in a battle in Adopest. Even more
were lost in an unexplained sorcerous conflagration that followed.
It was a disaster that would have destroyed a lesser entity, and it hit
the BGTC with a blow that may take it decades to recover from. The
BGTC lost much of its leverage over the Brudanian king as well as
lucrative contracts with the governments of Deliv, Novi, and Adro, and
its reputation has suffered worldwide. Postwar recompense paid to the
governments of Adro and Deliv is said to be in the range of hundreds
of millions of krana. What’s more, both Rosvel and Deliv have stepped
up their naval and mercantile power in the years since the Adran-Kez
War in a bid to dethrone BGTC dominance. While the company still
hoards immense wealth gained from their colonies, only time will tell if
the BGTC will ever return to the dominance they once held.
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The Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company
It is impossible to speak of Brudania without discussing, at length, the
Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company (BGTC). Originally founded in 1349
AK as a small shipbuilding company in a nameless village off the Straight
of Pyre, the BGTC grew to be the largest merchant company in the world.
By conservative estimates, 67 percent of all shipping worldwide is conducted
through the company, though that number has certainly fallen in recent years.
The BGTC is headquartered in the city of Pyre, located on the coastline
where they were originally founded. Pyre is the largest and most influential
city in Brudania, with an estimated population of 1.3 million—most
of whom are, in some way or another, employed by the company. With
harbors protected by the land on either side of the strait, Pyre has calm,
sunny, ideal weather for shipping, and its inhabitants take great advantage
of this fact. The Brudanian elite consider Bruden a bit of a backwater,
and anyone with power resides in Pyre, within a short distance of the
headquarters of the BGTC.
Internal Politics
Though the king and his Royal Bank ostensibly rule Brudania, it is
common knowledge that Liva II rules very little beyond a few petty
personal holdings, and the Royal Bank has been a glorified money-
laundering front for the BGTC for three or four decades. Even the royal
cabal serves two masters—it’s unknown whether the cabal reports directly
Headquarters of the Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company
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to the board of the BGTC, but they have been used in many company
endeavors. Several members of the royal cabal also sit on the board of the
BGTC, suggesting a comingling of the great wealth of the company and
the traditionally extensive holdings of the royal cabal.
Foreign Relations
In relation to their neighbors in the Nine, Brudania has always been a bit
of a loner nation. Alliances are made and broken when necessary, always
predicated on the potential profit margins of the BGTC. Historical
grievances, as well as friendships, are easily set aside if an extra krana is to be
made, which makes Brudanian politics unpredictable. The only constants
when dealing with Brudania diplomatically are these: their hatred of
Rosvelean privateers; their irritation that the Adran Mountainwatch
controls the heart of the Nine; and the nation’s total dependence on both
Adran industry and Kez agriculture.
Brudania, thanks to the BGTC, became one of the most extensive
colonial powers in the world during the latter half of the last century.
Their holdings in Gurla, Strenland, and Brudanian-Fatra are the most
extensive of any of the Nine, barely exceeding those of Bakashka. Much
of their significant military power goes toward preserving these holdings.
Military
The military power of Brudania is incredibly difficult to ascertain
because of how intertwined the government and the BGTC are in both
domestic and international affairs. Even the royal cabal fights battles on
behalf of the BGTC.
Taking the government and the BGTC as a single entity, they have the
largest and best-equipped navy in the world. Their army has always been
a secondary concern and is made up of foreign mercenaries and handful
of brigades of domestic troops, about two-thirds of which are employed
directly by the BGTC.
Sorcery
Though the Brudanian royal cabal disastrously lost almost half their
members during the Adran-Kez War, they are still a formidable
organization. Their partial ownership of the BGTC, as well as the weakness
of their king, has allowed them to weather that disaster politically, and
they are openly combing Brudanian colonies for Privileged to bring back
to Brudania to recoup their numbers.
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An unsubstantiated rumor has it that the Brudanians are developing a

powder cabal similar to the one created by Field Marshal Tamas in Adro.
Government representatives deny this rumor vehemently.
Geography
Brudania is located in the northeast corner of the continent of the Nine,
bordering Rosvel, Deliv, and Novi. Their climate is mostly temperate,
though the northern coasts become ice locked during the winter.
The capital of Brudania is the city of Bruden, located on the eastern coast
of the nation off the Gulf of Ferdal. It is the seat of King Liva II and his
famous Royal Bank of Brudania. Bruden is home to roughly half a million
souls and is renowned for the old-growth forests that still stand within
sight of the king’s palace.
Bornia is the second-largest city. Located on the west coast of the country, it
uses its access to the western hemisphere to run most of the BGTC’s winter
trade. It is colloquially known as the “Western Bruden.” The population
is roughly the same size as its sister city’s, but Bornia is far more heavily
defended because of its proximity to Rosvel and her pirate fleets.
VIPs
Lord Syk, 49, has been the chairman of the BGTC since Lord Claremonte’s
disappearance at the end of the Adran-Kez War. Many see him as a weak
leader, ridiculing the BGTC’s loss of market share beneath his guidance,
while others claim that only his guiding hand has kept the BGTC from
bankruptcy in the wake of Claremonte’s disastrous foray into Adro. Syk is
a bald, sickly man with thick spectacles and an aversion to sunlight. He is
considered a business guru and a political dunce.
King Liva II, 74, is still, despite his age, a vigorous and just ruler. Bullied
for most of his life by his royal cabal and the chairmen of the BGTC, he
seems to have found a second wind at witnessing the near ruin of both
entities. Since the end of the Adran-Kez War, he has taken a renewed
interest in the day-to-day running of his country and passed multiple laws
to renew the strength of the once-vital Royal Bank.
Micenth Follin, 32, is the sole heir to the great Follin merchant family,
one of the original founders of the BGTC. She was born and raised in
Brudanian-Fatra and has recently arrived in Brudania in order to advocate
for slave rights in the land of her birth. Only after she grew close to King
Liva at a charity ball was it revealed that she was a powder mage—a fact
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that intrigued and scandalized most of Brudania. Rumors have been
spread that she is half Fatran which, if true, is a scandal in-the-making
with unforeseeable repercussions.
Current Schemes
King Liva II has made no secret of the fact that he is attempting to wrestle
control of his country’s economy and military away from the BGTC.
Certain board members of the BGTC also happen to be in the royal cabal,
and the king is willing to pay a high price for accidents to happen to any
or all of them.
Micenth Follin has used her identity as a powder mage—and the public
scandal that it caused—to cover up the fact that her family fortune was
all but destroyed by Lord Claremonte. While she publicly advocates for
slave rights and is happy to do so, her primary reason for returning to
Brudania is to rob the great BGTC storehouse in Bornia. She even has
ships standing by to load the cargo.
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Deliv
The Deliv are the most straightforward people I’ve ever met. In their entire
history, they’ve never started a war without giving their enemy at least a
month’s notice. Incredibly naïve, of course, but I’ve spent half my life playing
at the intrigues of a royal cabal, and even I avoid using their openness against
them. Sneaking around behind a Deliv is taking your life in your hands.
—Magus Borbador, head of the Adran Republic Cabal
Deliv is a proud, militaristic nation. They are descended from a flotilla of
exiles from Vorinnia (today known as Old Deliv) that sailed up the west coast
of the continent and landed near present-day Del. They have an early history
of territorial expansion known as the Vorinnian Wars, in which they defied
Kresimir himself. Myth has it that they would have been destroyed if Kresimir’s
brother, Deliv, had not admired their bravery and offered them his protection.
The People
The Deliv are a very dark-skinned people who originally came from a large
island off the southwestern coast of Strenland. They tend to be organized and
militaristic, with a straightforward manner and a tendency to see the world
in black and white. Loyalty and fair play are held in high regard at all levels of
society, from the king and his nobles all the way down to the lowest citizen.
Despite their history, modern
Deliv has had amicable
relations with their neighbors
for the last few hundred years.
They are especially close to
Adro and Novi and have
bonded with Rosvel over their
mutual hatred of the BGTC.
Their relationship with Kez
is more strained. During the
Gurlish Wars, the Deliv often
fought the Kez for territory.
More recently, the events of
the Adran-Kez War drove a
new wedge between Kez and
Deliv that will take some time
to mend.
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Recent History
The original borders of Deliv were quite small. The country sided with
three of the Predeii during the Bleakening, warring with neighbors for
several centuries. Rosvel, Brudania, Novi, Adro, and Kez all felt the wrath
of the Deliv armies. Those armies took territory from Brudania and Novi
to create their modern-day borders, and only a coalition of the rest of
those countries managed to stop them there.
The Adran-Kez War

Despite being staunch allies with Adro, the Deliv hesitated to involve
themselves in the Adran-Kez War. Like many of his fellow monarchs,
King Sulem IX of Deliv saw Field Marshal Tamas’s coup as an affront
against god and the monarchies of the Nine. He mobilized his armies but
decided to sit on the sidelines and see how things played out.
Sulem’s hand was forced when a member of the Kez royal cabal took
an army north to the Deliv city of Alvation. He captured the city and
attempted to destroy it in a bid to frame the Adran army and force Deliv
into the war on the Kez side. This attempt was foiled by an army led by
Field Marshal Tamas. The city suffered large civilian casualties but was
ultimately saved. Sulem immediately entered Adro with his armies and
royal cabal in order to throw the Kez troops back.
The short involvement of the Deliv army is often understated in discussions
of the Adran-Kez War. Sulem invaded northern Kez from Alvation, forcing
the Kez to split their forces. Within Adro, the Deliv managed to intercept a
large Kez army, countering the Kez Privileged, and helped Tamas push the
Kez back to the border. Further north, they helped mop up the Brudanian
army after their betrayal in Adopest. Without the intervention of the Deliv
army, it is not likely that Adro would have won the war.
Military
Deliv has always been considered one of the great military powers of the
Nine. While their current forces are somewhat outdated, they have a long
tradition of mandatory military service. Every man and woman over the
age of sixteen has at least some training, and in a time of emergency, Deliv
could, in theory, mobilize most of its adult population.
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The Deliv navy is also outdated, but like their army it is backed up by
a proud seafaring tradition that dates back to the Bleakening and their
emigration from Old Deliv. Using reparation funds from both Kez and
Brudania obtained in the peace talks after the Adran-Kez War, King
Sulem IX has made an ambitious bid to modernize both army and navy.
His government has brazenly hired Rosvelean shipbuilders away from the
BGTC and brought in consultants from all over the Nine.
Sorcery
The Deliv royal cabal was never a large cabal, and it suffered
smarting losses in the Gurlish Wars and the Adran-
Kez War. After the Adran-Kez War,
Sulem requested the guidance of Adran
consultants in integrating his cabal,
installing three powder mages as part
of royal sorcery reform. Every powder
mage, Privileged, and even Knacked
are now considered wards of the state
and are granted responsibilities and
privileges according to their station.
Geography
Deliv shares borders with
Brudania, Novi, Adro, and Kez
and is separated from the coast of
Rosvel by just a few hundred miles
of ocean. It has a mountainous
eastern and southern border, with
the rest of the country being
largely fertile, arable land. It has
a temperate climate.
The capital of Deliv is Del,
located on the northern coast of Deliv in
the Gulf of Velia, not far from the Brudanian
border. It is a city of just over a million people
Deliv Grenadier
and is the seat of King Sulem IX. Del is known
for its magnificent fishing grounds just off the
coast as well as its unusually good weather.
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Whalen is, technically, an Adran city on Deliv soil. It sits upon the river
outlet that connects Adro with the ocean via the King Manhouch Canal.
While boasting a population of only about three hundred thousand,
Whalen is a bustling trade center that will soon rival Bruden in terms of
cargo shipped each year.
VIPs
King Sulem IX, 68, is the current king of Deliv. After spending much of
his early reign overseas involved with the Gurlish Wars, he has become
a reformist in his old age and is convinced that embracing the modern
era is the best way to respect Deliv’s rich militaristic and naval history.
His reforms have met with popular support among the lower and middle
classes but are not welcomed by the nobility.
Osem III, 51, is the head of a major Deliv family and Duke of the great
Osem holdings in eastern Deliv. A vocal opponent of Sulem’s recent
reforms, Osem is a natural schemer whose family fortune kept him from
seeing personal service during the Gurlish Wars. While far from a fighter,
he is a keen horseman and owns some of the finest stables in the northern
half of the Nine.
Current Schemes
King Sulem’s reforms have bothered more than a few of Deliv’s elite.
Whispers tell that his great opponent, Duke Osem, seeks to assassinate
not just Sulem but his sons and daughters as well, hoping that in the chaos
that follows he can swoop in and claim the crown.
Deliv has avoided involving itself in the Kez Civil War despite aggressive
lobbying by both sides. The rebel king, Beon ja Ipille, is rumored to be
in Del in secret in the hopes of securing an audience with King Sulem.
Beon’s capture would derail the rebel cause and fetch a hefty reward from
the Kez king.
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Kez
Forgive me, my love, but is it possible to describe a whole people as punchable?
Perhaps that’s being unfair. The people themselves are largely innocent, as much
a victim of the Kez aristocracy as anyone else. Kez is a giant, unknowing and
uncaring of who it crushes beneath its unwieldy feet. In my mind, that makes
it all the more important to cut them down to size. Please don’t repeat these
words to your father. I consider him one of the good ones.
—Field Marshal Tamas, in a letter to his wife during the Gurlish Wars
Kez is an immense agricultural country often referred to as the breadbasket
of the Nine. Its unrivaled tracts of arable land have resulted in a population
boom, making it by far the most populous country on the continent. Kez is
the ancestral residence of Kresimir, its patron saint, and its capital, Prishta, is
the seat of the Kresim Church.
The People
The Kez are predominantly white skinned, though the southerners tend
to have bronzed tones from the tropical weather. While there are notable
Kez progressives, they are a nation that believes in knowing your place. This
applies to the relationships from one class level to another as well as within
those classes, with an unskilled laborer showing deference to a skilled laborer,
who would show deference to
an accountant, and so on up
the chain.
Recent History
The Fatrastan War for
Independence
Over the last thirty years,
the Kressian-owned parts
of Fatrasta were cajoled,
purchased, or conquered by
the Kez until they had one
large, mostly united colony
entirely under the rule of
King Ipille. Hard-headed
policy in governing this
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immense colonial state led to what is now known as the Fatrastan War
for Independence.
Historians do not agree on what, exactly, triggered the Fatrastan War.
Some scholars point toward a massacre conducted by Kez soldiers during
a peaceful tax protest. Others claim that the final straw was the ceding of
Adran holdings over to Kez rule, and still more expand upon that idea to
suggest that a melting pot of Kressian cultures was the perfect trigger once
a bull-headed king half the world away decided to impose martial law.
Regardless of the cause, the Fatrastan War was a bloody, two-year
conflict. Kressian settlers united under the rule of a brilliant young
governor-turned-freedom fighter named Lindet. With the help of
foreign financial aid, mercenary companies, and even Palo natives,
Fatrasta was able to throw back the colonial armies of Kez. Some military
philosophers suggest that it was this loss that crippled the confidence of
the Kez leadership and caused King Ipille to embroil himself in the
Adran-Kez conflict in an attempt to regain face.
The Adran-Kez War

Kez has had a historically antagonistic relationship with its neighbors,
preferring to bully others through threat of military might rather than
engage in political barter. Their primary rival has, for several hundred
years, been the nation of Adro. Although Adro borders only a small part
of northern Kez, the Kez kings have always considered it the proverbial
thorn in the side. The Adran Mountainwatch controls most of the overland
trade routes between the Nine and holds military chokepoints that make it
next to impossible for Kez to cajole either Deliv or Novi. Border disputes
under the reign of King Manhouch IX along the Adran Mountains left
Adro in control of vast tracts of hardwood forests and lucrative coal and
silver mines that the Kez monarchy has coveted ever since.
Adro expanded the Mountainwatch under the rule of Manhouch XI
until they controlled almost all the mountains between Kez and Adro.
The Iron King of Adro pursued an aggressive policy both at home and
in Adran colonies, which left King Ipille on his toes until Manhouch’s
death. Unfortunately for Adro, Manhouch XII was a weak and ineffectual
ruler who delegated almost all aspects of both administration and war
to his advisors. He lost most of the Adran colonial holdings and nearly
bankrupted the country, and he was prepared to sign a set of accords that
would turn Adro into a vassal of Kez.
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A Mountainwatch Fort Guarding a Pass Between Adro and Kez

Before the accords could be signed, Field Marshal Tamas overthrew
Manhouch XII in a stunning coup and sent the whole nobility of Adro
to the guillotine. He refused to sign the accords, and Kez declared war
on the new government of Adro. King Ipille invaded Adro with one of
the biggest armies in history.
The war lasted less than a year, but it was the bloodiest conflict within
the borders of the Nine since the Bleakening. Hundreds of thousands of
soldiers died—mostly on the Kez side. Deliv eventually entered the war
on behalf of the Adrans, while the Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company
disrupted peace talks to distract all three armies and attempted to take
Adopest for themselves.
The Kez army was finally defeated at Budwiel. King Ipille was murdered
in the chaos of the attack, and his eldest son, Florian, sued for peace to
end the war.
The Kez Civil War

After peace talks with Adro, the Kez army pulled back into their
territory and immediately split when accusations arose that Florian had
murdered his father. Officers and their men streamed to the banner of
Florian’s accuser—his younger brother, the much-liked Beon.
Florian left his armies to wrestle with his upstart younger brother and
immediately headed to Prishta, where he was crowned by an arch-diocel
of the Kresim Church as Florian I. Beon, however, won several battles
in the north, and Florian enacted a conscription of the Kez populace
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to raise troops. This was the fourth conscription in just two years, and
it immediately led to riots throughout more than a dozen Kez cities,
including the capital. Florian’s response was swift and brutal. Thousands
of public executions were carried out to put down the insurrection. This
slaughter served only to inflame the populace, and as the year went by,
Beon’s popular support rose ever higher.
Such was Florian’s brutality that several important members of the
Kez government publicly begged Adro to help secure Beon’s hold on
the north. General Vlora and four brigades of hardened Adran soldiers
were sent over the mountains as a peacekeeping force the next year. The
north was secured for Beon, and the arch-diocel of the Adran See of the
Kresim Church crowned him King Beon III.
In the two years since, the
fighting has carried on with
no sign of letting up. Several
cities in the Kez Midlands
have traded hands between
the two factions. Beon was
captured, nearly executed,
and escaped. At this very
moment, a coalition of
Kez Counter-Royalists and
Adran soldiers is marching
on Prishta with the
reduced, but still vast,
armies of the Kez
Royalists standing in
their way.
Kez itself is a mere
shadow of what
it once was. They
have sold (or lost
to revolution) most
of their colonies. The
BGTC reports that Kez
Kez Dragoon agricultural exports are
down 81 percent from the
beginning of the decade.
Over the past fifteen years,
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war, famine, and emigration have resulted in a net loss of over two
million of the Kez population. Their royal cabal was all but destroyed
in the Adran-Kez War. The nobility is split and scattered, and despite
great victories on both sides of the civil war, there is no sign that the
bloodshed will stop soon.
The Kresim Church
The Kez See is the largest and most powerful of the districts of the vast
Kresim Church. It is headquartered in Prishta, within sight of the palace
of the Kez king. The Council of Kresimir is held every four years in
Prishta, during which new dioceses are mapped, arch-diocels are voted
into position, and church doctrine is debated and refined.
The arch-diocel of the Kez See, Syni Aramia, is often said to be a leader
among equals. Her vote is the tiebreaker during the Council of Kresimir, and
her personal wealth is said to exceed the entire yearly production of Rosvel.
Proximity between the arch-diocel of the Kez See and the king of Kez
lends a certain prestige and power to the country. The king has the ear
of the arch-diocel at all times and has been known to influence church
policy over the objections of other rulers. This political current flows both
directions, however, and it is not unheard of for the Kez king to treat
church politics with a light touch—even when it’s clear he should step in.
Sorcery
The Kez royal cabal was all but destroyed by their conflicts in Gurla,
Fatrasta, and Adro. The handful of Privileged who survived have sided
mostly with Florian in the civil war but spend almost all their time
hiding from Adran powder mages. Much of the wealth of the cabal was
confiscated by Florian to support the war effort.
To regain their numbers, the royal cabal has lowered its standards for
Privileged initiates. Now, individuals with much less sorcerous power are
being actively recruited. Florian made the unprecedented move to name
the royal mage hunters (known more widely as Longdogs) as part of the
royal cabal. These mage hunters lack sorcery (with the exception of a few
Knacked and imprisoned powder mages), but they have a long history
of searching out and eliminating powder mages. Florian wishes to use
these skills against the powder mages in the Adran peacekeeping force.
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The lack of powerful Privileged in the Kez cabal seems to have stopped—
or at least significantly slowed—the creation of Wardens. However, these
sorcery-twisted human beings are still a hallmark of the Kez royal cabal.
They spread terror wherever Kez wishes to project its influence.
Geography
Kez shares borders with Unice, Novi, Adro, and Deliv. It has the largest
geographical area of any country in the Nine, as well as the largest
population. The climate ranges from temperate in the north to tropical
in the south. Most of Kez lands are well suited to growing grain or
grazing cattle.
The capital of Kez is Prishta, located on the western coast. It is the seat
of power of Florian I and the Kresim Church and is known throughout
the Nine for its majestic marble cathedrals, immense coliseums, and the
four-hundred-mile-long aqueduct that feeds the city. It has a population
of nearly two million people, and visitors who can pull their eyes off the
grandeur of the ancient buildings will note that it is a disgusting city
filled with garbage and beggars.
Storious was once the second-largest city in Kez, located at the foot of
the Spine Mountains in western Kez. Now reduced to a few hundred
thousand people, it was the victim of a massive plague early in Ipille’s
reign. A young King Ipille ordered the gates closed and the people cut
off from the world. Sacks of grain were delivered with old-fashioned
catapults, and anyone who tried to escape was shot. The city was thus
quarantined for eight years before court physicians declared it plague-
free, and the survivors harbor a hatred of Ipille’s family to this day.
VIPs
Florian I, 46, the eldest son of the late King Ipille. Generally known
as an ambitious fop in the court of his father, rumors swirled for years
that he would be passed over in favor of his younger brother, Beon.
When Ipille was assassinated during the Battle of Budwiel, Florian
immediately claimed the crown. Florian is impulsive, reckless, and prone
to alternating fury and malaise. He hates his younger brother with a
burning passion.
Beon III, 32, the favored son of the late King Ipille. Beon is a talented
cavalry commander whose time in the army earned him the loyalty of
the younger generation of Kez officers. Beon was captured by Field
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Marshal Tamas during the Adran-Kez War. During his short time with
the Adrans, he became friends with several of their officers and, rumor
has it, even attempted to court General Vlora. Despite his relatively
liberal leanings, he was quite fond of Ipille and never once doubted
the rumors that Florian held the sword that killed their father. He has
sworn revenge.
Theopholis ja Krin, 38, is the head of the royal mage hunters of Kez,
colloquially known as the Longdogs. Tasked with hunting down and
eliminating all powder mages within the nation’s borders, Theopholis
treats his occupation as a higher calling. He is answerable only to the king
and is said to play off of Florian’s furies to sate his own cruel appetites.
Syni Aramia, 25, is the recently elected head of the Kez See of the
Kresim Church. By all accounts a shy, timid girl, Syni is reportedly a
compromise candidate who should have never made it to the last round
of voting, let alone to the most powerful office in the Kresim Church.
Bullied by Florian and his nobility, Syni meets regularly for council with
the head of the Adran See, Charlemund, who has taken her under his
wing and is pushing for an end to hostilities in Kez.
Current Schemes
Theopholis ja Krin is running short on manpower as the Kez Civil War
drags on and is willing to deputize anyone who will proudly wear the
badge of the Longdogs. His greatest interest lies in the powder mages
of the Adran cabal who march with the rebel king. The ear of General
Vlora or one of her underlings would fetch a mighty price.
The rebel king’s spies infiltrate even the center of Prishta. Seeking
to further destabilize his brother’s precarious hold, Beon’s agents are
plotting every sort of theft and assassination they can think of against
Florian’s supporters among the Kez nobility.
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Novi
I love the Novi. They are a thoughtful, gentle people with more faith than
most of the curs in this very city. I only wish they would come to their senses.
We have tried for centuries to guide them through guile, love, and even force.
It is time we allow them to drift away to their damnation.
—Arch-diocel Syni Aramia of the Kez See, writing from her palace in Prishta
Novi is a religious country founded by the goddess of the same name.
Known for her spirituality, it was Novi who urged her brother Kresimir
to answer the Predeii’s summons to return to this world and end the
chaos that gripped the continent. It is said she chose her territory to be
close to her brother and instilled a piece of her own spirituality in the
Novi people when she departed.
The People
The Novi tend to be tall and slender, with skin just a little lighter than the
Delivs’. Even the poorest citizens tend to dabble in the arts, from painting
to sculpture to writing, and implements for such hobbies are a major source
of internal trade. Novi art is exported heavily to the Nine and the rest of the
world. Largely thanks to Queen Sasha’s efforts, it is genuinely difficult to find
true poverty in Novi. The country has a small aristocracy and a small middle
class, and social mobility is
almost nonexistent.
Most Novi are educated
by the state-and-church-
sponsored schools, and a
shockingly large number of
those go on to attend monastic
universities. This education is
free, though educated citizens
are expected to pay higher
taxes.
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Recent History
There is very little to be said about the recent history of Novi. Once a
great empire that conquered all of Gurla long before any of its cousins
had colonial ambitions, Novi’s global power waned with the fall of their
last Gurlish outpost in 1256 AK. Novi’s king at the time declared a
period of national contemplation that still continues to this day. Their
participation in the land grab of the Gurlish Wars was half-hearted, and
they refused to involve themselves with the Adran-Kez War despite a
very warm relationship with Adro.
The Monarchy
Queen Sasha I is a pious, stubborn woman. With the mysterious death
of her husband just months after their wedding thirty-seven years ago,
she became the first queen to sit on the Marble Throne in two hundred
and fifty years. She has clung to that throne despite public calls for
her to pass the crown to one of her many male cousins. She has never
remarried, and rumor has it that she is barren. There is no heir apparent
to the Novi throne, but several of Sasha’s female relatives have been
groomed for leadership in the event of her death.
Queen Sasha has worked closely with the Kresim Reform Church for
much of her reign, conducting a crusade against poverty in the form
of a monumental redistribution of land ownership and physical wealth.
Sasha led her crusade by example, donating the extensive holdings of the
crown to the good of the people and keeping only a modest stipend for
the use of the royal house. Even the Fist of Novi, her famous palace filled
with the wealth of the defunct Novi Empire, is open to commoners, who
may wander its halls and view its vast art collection at will.
The Kresim Reform Church

The official state religion of Novi, the Kresim Reform Church, is the
largest offshoot of the Kresim Church and by far the most successful.
Formed by a doctrinal schism during the height of Novi imperial power,
the Reform Church has spent much of its history at war with the Kresim
Church, fighting through colonial and mercenary proxies across half the
world. It’s only in the last fifty years that the Kresim Church has finally
allowed its upstart younger sibling to exist in peace.
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The Reform Church has taken advantage of that peace to begin an
immense monastic and proselyting effort. They have missionaries in
almost every major country around the globe, and their monasteries are
renowned places of introspection that dot the mountaintops of Novi,
Adro, Deliv, Rosvel, Unice, and Bakashka. This effort is supported by
Queen Sasha and tacitly approved by the sympathetic governments of
Adro, Rosvel, and Deliv.
The Reform Church is most noted for its loud criticism toward displays
of wealth by the Kresim Church. They strongly object to materialism but
embrace carnal pleasures like food, sex, and drink as natural impulses of
the human spirit. The Reform Church is also a great supporter of the
arts and sciences.
Military
Novi has a small but competent military supplemented by conscripts
from monastic orders all over the country. Great effort has been made to
keep both army and navy up-to-date with the most modern of weapons.
These forces are largely defensive in nature, used as a deterrent against
their more aggressive Brudanian neighbors and to protect Novi waters
from pirates and privateers.
Sorcery
The Novi royal cabal consists of around sixty Privileged. They are not
used, as is often the case in other countries, as a means of force projection
for their ruler. Rather, the royal cabal works closely with Queen Sasha
and the Reform Church to use both wealth and sorcery for the public
good. They carve roads through mountains, till farmland, dredge ports,
and rebuild and reinforce the marble buildings of the capital. These
mundane uses of their sorcery are universally despised by the cabals of
the Nine but have ingratiated them with the people of Novi.
Geography
Novi is located on the eastern shores of the Nine. It shares borders with
Kez, Brudania, Deliv, and Adro. It is a medium-sized country with a
mountainous center and a relatively small population.
The capital of Novi is Novengrad, located on the shores of the mighty
Risle River. It is home to about half a million people and is the seat of
the Queen Sasha I. Novengrad is often called the City of Marble, and
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it contains some of the most breathtaking architecture in all the Nine.

Most of the buildings were constructed during the height of Novi power
almost half a millennium ago and are a testament to a nation that once
ruled the majority of Gurla. The immense palace known as the Fist of
Novi houses the royal family and contains art dating back to the Time
of Kresimir.
VIPs
Queen Sasha I, 56, is a forceful woman renowned for her generosity and
close relationship with the Reform Church. Constantly underestimated,
she has never balked at taking a firm hand with her enemies within or
without the country. Though many of her cousins have schemed for her
throne, none have managed to take it from her. Considering how much
she is loved by the people, doing so might cause a mass revolution.
Alexei the Voice, 43, is the head of the Reform Church’s global
missionary efforts. Highly educated and intelligent, he is a quiet voice
for reason within both government and church hierarchies. He is
known for his bookish appearance, which belies his rather unorthodox
participation in international boxing competitions.
Current Schemes
A Brudanian merchant claiming the name of Lorial recently arrived in
Novengrad and is planning to steal three particularly valuable paintings
from the collection at the Fist of Novi. It will be a dangerous job with
an incredibly high payout.
Several years ago, a young Kez noble disappeared from Florian’s court in
Prishta. He has recently surfaced in Novengrad, working as a missionary
beneath Alexei the Voice and claiming that he has renounced his worldly
wealth and wants nothing to do with his family in Kez. His family, on
the other hand, would like him returned quickly and unharmed—by
force, if need be.
A Novi duchess named Cournia has designs to put her pliable son on
the throne of Novi. The first step in this plot is a daring attempt on
the life of Sasha I while the queen visits an isolated monastery in the
mountains. The queen, being no fool, has hired extra bodyguards from
trusted families.
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Rosvel
Give a Rosvelean a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he’ll
steal your boat and use it to plunder Brudanian merchantmen all over Pelos.
Oh, stop your protestations! It was only a joke.
—King Liva II of Brudania, in a public, drunken row with the Rosvelean
ambassador.
Rosvel is a mountainous country on the northwestern tip of the Nine
founded by the hermit god, Rosvel. Its people are descended from a mix of
the original, mountain-dwelling natives and the occupants of early Deliv
military colonies that eventually split off from their southern neighbors.
The People
Rosveleans tend to be larger, dusky-skinned people. They have a
reputation for being quick to anger and even quicker to forgive—if
an offender is truly penitent. The Rosveleans are a passionate, deeply
spiritual people, though religious scholars claim that their spiritualism
does not make them particularly religious.
Rosvelean fashion is closely knit with the nation’s fur trade, resulting in
a people who take great pride in their clothes. Furs are cared for lovingly,
passed down from generation to generation, and even named. It is not
uncommon for a Rosvelean
to have a scrap of beaver or
bearskin in their pocket—
all that remains of a fur
worn in their family for
two hundred years. Despite
recent competition from
trappers working the
pristine northern forests of
Fatrasta, Rosvelean fur is
still considered the finest
in the world and is prized
in fashion throughout the
aristocracies of the Nine.
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Recent History
The recent history of Rosvel is dominated by a series of squabbles with
Brudania that have barely avoided escalating into full-blown war. Rosvel
is considered the backwater of the Nine, with few colonial holdings
and little of value to offer their neighbors. This has, essentially, taken
them off the map in terms of modern politics, with one exception: the
sinking of the BGTC Eighth Merchantman Fleet in 1476 AK by the
notorious Rosvelean privateer Gorgantis. The wealth stolen from the
fleet is rumored to be worth three times the annual production of Rosvel.
While much of it was gifted to the royal family of Rosvel, huge amounts
of treasure remain unaccounted for, and this attracts treasure hunters
from all over the Nine to Rosvelean shores.
Politics
Rosvel has been ruled by a joint king and queen for most of remembered
history. The nobility is made up of an extended ruling family spread
out across hundreds of small fiefdoms. It is one of the only places in
the Nine where true feudalism still exists, though that has been slowly
changing as the current ruling family pushes to modernize. There is a
tiny middle class, mostly of self-made privateers rich from plundering
Brudanian merchantmen.
Rosvel has a long and contentious relationship with Brudania. A
few hundred years ago they were close allies, but the Brudanians took
advantage of a poorly worded landshare treaty to strip much of mainland
Rosvel of its forests in order to build their fleets. Full-scale war was only
avoided through the intervention of Novi and Deliv politicians, and to
this day the Brudanian government pays Rosvel a small stipend.
With neither the manpower nor resources to compete directly with
Brudania on the ocean, Rosvel resorts to bold theft. Small, fast Rosvelean
frigates ply the waters of the Sovress and northern Pelos and loot, capture,
or sink any ship flying the flag of the BGTC. The BGTC pretends this is
a minor annoyance that isn’t worth their time—a statement contradicted
by the largely unsuccessful pirate-hunting fleets that escort many of
their merchantmen. For their part, the Rosvelean government denies
any knowledge of this piracy, though it’s an open secret that privateers
are welcomed with open arms in the Rosvelean court.
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Rosvel has a good relationship with Deliv, and the two countries leave
each other’s ships largely unmolested thanks to a mutual dislike of the
BGTC. Many members of the Rosvelean nobility spend their winters
in southern Deliv as perennial guests of the Deliv court, and Deliv and
Rosvelean shipwrights work together closely to modernize both navies.
Relations with Adro are also positive. Adran consultants are in high
demand in the Rosvelean court, as they help the royal family move
toward modernizing their mining and wool industries as well as their
military. Novi also has a large presence in Rosvel, thanks to their monastic
work. Largely because of distance, Rosvel has an almost nonexistent
relationship with the southern nations of the Nine, though they do trade
heavily with Kez.
Military
It’s said that the only reason Rosvel hasn’t been conquered outright by
one of their neighbors is that they have absolutely nothing anyone else
could want. Recent discoveries of gold, silver, and coal in the mountains
may change this in the very near future—and probably account for the
royal family’s desperate bid to modernize.
The Rosvelean military—what little there is—is an archaic institution
made up of fief militias reporting to whatever member of the nobility
happens to own the land. They are badly trained, poorly equipped, and
generally unorganized. Historically, the very best soldiers leave for warmer
climates to join mercenary companies or the foreign legions of Deliv, Novi,
or Kez. Much of Rosvel’s national defense strategy depends on a frigid,
inhospitable climate and mountainous terrain. Their biggest cities are all
defended by outdated—but still dangerous—artillery platforms.
Their navy is far more competent but still disorganized and
underequipped. Much of their strength depends on the privateers who
have been given free rein to attack BGTC ships in exchange for a tax
and a promise to sail to Rosvel’s aid if their motherland needs them. A
strong naval tradition means that most Rosveleans have spent at least
some time at sea and know their way around a ship just as well as they
do the mountains. If the Rosvelean navy does manage to modernize, the
country has the manpower to become a force to be reckoned with by the
end of the next decade.
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Sorcery
While competent, the Rosvel royal cabal has fewer than twenty members.
It is considered rather cash poor by the standards of their cousin cabals,
but their strength has not been diminished by the endless colonial wars
of nations like Brudania or Kez. They boast that a single member of their
cabal is worth three of any other—a claim that, even if true, still does not
give them overwhelming sorcerous strength.
The royal family has been open about the prospect of creating a powder
cabal in imitation of Adro, going so far as to court General Vlora of
the Adran army with offers of untold wealth to train a generation of
Rosvelean powder mages. Vlora turned down this offer, but rumor has it
that at least one Adran powder mage has been loaned to the Rosvelean
government in secret.
Geography
Rosvel shares a border with Brudania. It includes a single region that is
attached to the mainland of the Nine and one large, mountainous island in
the north stretching into the arctic. The Rosvelean economy is powered by
goats, pigs, whaling, mining, piracy, and the fur trade. While the southern
reaches of Rosvel are temperate, the country has even less arable land than
Adro, and hence has the smallest population of the Nine.
The capital of Rosvel is Soderhelm, which is located on the southernmost
tip of the large island that shares its name. It boasts a population of less
than a quarter of a million and is one of just a few large ports in the
country that is not ice locked during the winter. Soderhelm is the seat
of King Saffle and Queen Avenist, who rule Rosvel jointly from the Ice
Palace on the shores of the northern Pelos Ocean.
VIPs
Gorgantis, age unknown, is a renowned privateer in the employ of the
royal family of Rosvel. Ostensibly, he plies the seas with a royal decree to
destroy pirates in Rosvelean territorial waters, but in reality he is as much
a pirate as those he claims to hunt. He targets BGTC merchantmen and
attacks entire fleets without hesitation, overwhelming the best BGTC
mercenaries with his superior seamanship.
Privileged Josashin, 27, is a member of the Rosvelean royal cabal. As a
boy, his parents were murdered by the BGTC when their fishing boat
was attached by a Brudanian captain who claimed they were pirates.
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This has given Josashin a dogmatic hatred of Brudanians, and it’s said
he uses all his wiles to poison the royal family against any Brudanian
overtures of peace.
Delia Hampt, 42, is the Brudanian ambassador to Rosvel. She is said
to be the hardest-working and least-appreciated ambassador in the
Nine. For almost twenty years, it has been her job to keep the two
countries from going to war. Married to a Rosvelean shipwright, she has
sympathies toward Rosvel, but she still faithfully reports everything she
can glean from the Rosvelean court to her masters back in Brudania.
Current Schemes
Gorgantis has recently popped up in a sleepy fishing village on the north
coast. As is his custom, he sweeps into the village for a week of shore
leave and spreads his wealth thick among the local population to win
their affection. But in this case, he is unaware of the BGTC agent who
owns the village’s largest tavern. This agent is willing to pay a high price
for anyone willing to slaughter Gorgantis’s crew and take the pirate,
alive, to Brudania for trial.
The Brudanian ambassador, Delia Hampt, has had several assassination
attempts against her in the recent months. Bodyguards have become
increasingly difficult for her to find, so she’s gone straight to a local
mercenary guild to hire someone to find the source of the assassins and
do away with her unseen enemy.
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Starland
Most people think of school as a boring necessity on their way to some higher
calling. For the Starlish, education is that higher calling. Offer a Starlish the
choice between a duchy and the knowledge contained in a single library, and
he will always choose the latter.
—Vita ja Ron, Kez biographer of Queen Audren II
Starland is a country on the southern end of the Nine originally founded
by the god Ishtari by accident. Legend has it that Ishtari had no interest
in founding a country like his siblings. Instead, he created a school on
the site of what is now modern-day Wellens. People flocked from all over
the Nine to hear the god lecture on mathematics, astronomy, literature,
and any number of other topics. When Ishtari left with his siblings, the
people of Wellens became an independent city-state. By the end of the
Bleakening, that state had grown into an entire country.
The People
The Starlish, like Adrans, tend toward white skin with a lot of mixing from
other nationalities. They are highly educated and are regarded as generally
well-spoken people with an emphasis on social niceties. They prefer to fit in
wherever they might be, so their cultural norms are based more on fashion,
trend, and imported traditions
rather than a definite heritage
of their own.
Recent History
Starland has recently come
into contention with Brudania
over the treatment of the
native peoples of Brudanian-
Fatra. While Brudanian-Fatra
is owned almost entirely by the
BGTC, Starland has a sizable
sliver of the southeast coast,
where they have abolished
slavery and have even set up
schools for the Fatrans. The
BGTC continues to treat
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the Fatrans appallingly, and rumor has it that abolitionist causes within
the Starlish government funnel a significant amount of money into anti-
Brudanian groups on the continent.
Starland’s fair treatment of their holdings in Gurla has also brought
them into conflict with Bakashka, the government of which has openly
called for Starland to treat their “lesser” citizens with a heavier hand.
Politics
It is often said that Starland has a politically dual nature. On the one
hand, the monarchy has long been content that Starland keeps to itself,
with very little direct meddling in the affairs of the Nine. They project
just enough power to secure their colonial holdings and trade routes.
On the other hand, Starlish consultants and advisers are valued all over
the world for their education and general trustworthiness, and it is rare
to find a nation without half a dozen Starlish in key positions. While
the Starlish government has never leveraged this fact, it makes a lot of
political philosophers very nervous.
Internationally, Starland trades extensively with the northern members
of the Nine as well as with their holdings across the world. They have
especially amicable relationships with Adro, Brudania, and Rosvel.
They refused to get involved in the Adran-Kez War on any level, even
going so far as to pull several prominent Starlish expatriates out of both
governments. Starland does not get on well with Bakashka and is openly
dismissive of Unice as an uncivilized backwater.
Education
Starland values education above all else. It has the highest literacy rate in the
Nine and expects even the poorest children to finish basic schooling by the
age of twelve. The cost of schooling is supplemented by the state until the
age of sixteen, at which point private families and institutions cover the cost
of higher education in exchange for the loyalty of their wards.
When it comes to education, class means very little. Money certainly
opens doors for the scions of wealthy families—but with limits. Collegiate
teachers have no compunction against flunking an idiot nobleman, while
the intelligent daughter of a ditch digger will have private organizations
fighting over the privilege of paying to further her education.
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The Fontain Academy

The Fontain Academy is not well-known outside of Starland, and even
within the country it is rarely mentioned outside the upper class. A
finishing school of sorts, it is located just outside of Wellens, though
it has campuses all over the country. Unlike most schools, it is not
sought for the education it provides to one’s children, but rather for the
graduates that it produces.
Students begin as children or early teens and are quickly weeded
out based on looks, intelligence, charisma, athleticism, and dozens of
other strict requirements. The training is rigorous, the dropout rate is
abysmal, and students are expected to finish twenty years of courses by
the time they graduate. They are trained in combat, seduction, memory
retention, etiquette, mathematics, science, business, and philosophy and
are exposed to every major school of thought in the known world.
The Fontain Academy works on the basis of an indentured servitude
that is illegal in most of the Nine. Upon entering, a student’s life, body,
and mind all belong to the Academy. This continues until graduation,
whereupon the Academy will arrange for the sale of the student to a
wealthy patron, who will pay upward of thirty million krana and can
expect to be obeyed without question for as many as three decades.
The Fontain graduate belongs to their new master for the term of the
contract, at the end of which they are released under a vow of confidence
and given half the sum collected by the Academy upon their sale. Aside
from the secrets they must take to the grave, the freed graduate’s life
is now his or her own. Fontain graduates, both active and retirees, can
be found in some of the highest echelons of government, religion, and
business throughout the world.
It should be noted that even Fontain dropouts—of which there are
many—are highly valued employees after just a few years of schooling.
Modernization
Starland was the second country in the Nine, after Adro, to earnestly
industrialize. Starland lacks the natural resources of Adro but has
much better access to shipping and trade. Their emphasis on education
has also been a major boon, providing them with brilliant engineers
and inventors who consult and study all over the Nine. Starland is
constantly retooling and upgrading every mill and factory in the nation
as technology improves.
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Colonization
Starland is one of the few remaining major colonial powers. They own
land in Brudanian-Fatra, Strenland, and Gurla. Under the rule of Queen
Audren VI, their colonial approach has become more enlightened, and
they are slowly moving toward a vassalage system that grants limited
autonomy to their colonies while still providing trade and taxes to
Starland in exchange for military protection. This move is heavily
criticized by Bakashka—more than likely out of fear that their own
colonial holdings will expect the same sort of treatment.
Military
The Starlish military is a governmental balancing act. As mentioned
before, they only project enough land and sea power to protect their
shores, colonies, and trade routes. This is significant because most military
theorists suspect that Starland could afford an army on par with Kez and
a navy to rival the BGTC—if they had any interest in escalating tensions
with any of their neighbors. Though the Starlish government denies
having attempted to spark such tensions, border raids by suspiciously
well-organized militias have been looting Unice towns for two years now.
Sorcery
Starland has a medium-sized royal cabal. Even among other cabals,
the Starlish Privileged are considered arrogant and enamored of their
own power. They prefer a life of study and training rather than active
participation in the politics or the wars of their country. Rumor has it that
the Starlish royal cabal and Queen Audren have a cold relationship and
that the queen has commissioned a special bodyguard of powder mages. It
is unknown whether this bodyguard is a response to a threat from her own
cabal or if it is just a practical modernization in emulation of the Adrans.
Geography
Starland sits on the southwestern edge of the Nine. It shares borders
with Bakashka and Unice. It has a tropical climate in the north, with
temperate islands off the southern coast. It is said to have the best weather
in the Nine. Starlish territory includes the large island of Stewart just off
the coast of the mainland.
The capital of Starland is Wellens, which is located on the western
coast of the Nine at the mouth of the Ish River. It is a bustling trading
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city of one and a quarter million people, renowned for its immense
schools, which include Starland College, Harrington University, and the
mysterious Fontain Academy. Starland is ruled by Queen Audren VI
from the Glittering Isle off the coast of Wellens.
Stewart, the largest city on the island of the same name, is the second-
biggest city in Starland and includes several university campuses as
well as an immense trading port and a bustling tourist economy that
includes nobility from almost every country attempting to escape the
harsh winters or blistering summers of their own lands.
VIPs
Danie Wellen, 57, is the longstanding Minister of Education. Perhaps
the second most powerful person in Starland, Danie is descended from
the family for which the capital city is named. She is studious, careful,
and competent. She’s also publicly an ex-lover of Queen Audren, a fact
that creates quite a lot of tension in the Starlish government.
Michallo Forbis, 41, is the newly elected dean of Fontain Academy. Most
people think he is a mildly successful merchant in Wellens, and his real
name and occupation are known to only a few. Michallo is wildly ambitious
and is rumored to have murdered the former dean to take his spot. His
enemies among the university heads of Starland are numerous, and those
who know him well consider him too volatile to hold his position for long.
Kormere, 38, is the Starlish ambassador to Bakashka. Kormere is an utterly
incompetent woman whose sole purpose (unbeknownst to her) is to convince
the Bakashkan government that Starland thinks itself too good for Bakashkan
land. Her bumbling conceals Starlish provocations on the Bakashkan border.
Current Schemes
The dean of Harrington University suspects that Michallo Forbis
murdered his way to the top seat at Fontain Academy. Believing that
such a powerful position should not be in the hands of someone of
dubious character, she has hired a group of heroes to investigate the
former dean’s death and come up with conclusive proof of the murder.
Danie Wellen has information of a wagon train of the queen’s gold
heading through the streets of Wellens in one week’s time. The gold is
slated for freedom fighters in Brudanian-Fatra, and Danie would like it
used . . . elsewhere. She will pay richly for the gold to be delivered to her
country estate outside the city.
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Unice
The Uni are a peculiar people. I wouldn’t call them unpleasant, nor do I think of
them as particularly likeable. Maybe it’s that they never seem content where they are—
always wanting to head toward the next stop on an endless journey not even they have
mapped out. Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually met a happy Uni.
—From the journal of an unknown Starlish merchant
Unice is a large country in the center of the Nine founded by the god
Unice. Not particularly bright, but possessing a character prone to action,
Unice claimed an immense portion of the center of the continent early in
Kresimir’s reign and set about “domesticating” the native population.
The People
The Uni range from dark olive-skinned in the south to white-skinned
in the north, with a lot of variety between. Even the poorest members of
society tend to travel, leaving them a very large vagrant population that
survives by offering unskilled labor. Their literacy rate is not very high, and
education is considered an unnecessary luxury by most of the population.
Recent History
Internationally, Unice has too much going on inside her borders to actually
get anything done.The last twenty years have seen the deaths of no fewer than
eleven baron-kings by natural causes, accident, or assassination. Constant
shifts in power between the mighty noble families leave even foreign
ambassadors unsure of who is actually in charge at any given moment.
Famine
The famines that have plagued most of the Nine in the last decade managed
to hit Unice harder than anywhere else. The government has kept official
numbers hidden, but it’s said that millions have died of starvation. Baron-
King Osmen’s mother was torn apart during a bread riot in Ebstan, and
Baron-King Siirt lost two sons when their coastal barge was sunk by hungry
rebels. Only aid from Novi, Kez, and Adro kept the deaths from escalating
further. Relationships with those three countries cooled significantly when
the Unice government refused to acknowledge the aid, pretending, in the
words of Kaysi, that “everything in our gorgeous nation is fine.”
The famine was accompanied by widespread economic collapse. Unice
defaulted on several debts, and their local currency plummeted, forcing
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them to adopt the Adran krana in order to save the central banks. The
Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company stepped in and bought up huge
swaths of land throughout the country, including millions of acres of coast
and desert. There was even talk of Unice becoming a vassal state to Kez
until the Adran-Kez War began.
The Baron-Kings
Unice is ruled by a trio of baron-kings, a hereditary title passed down to
the firstborn of three ancient families. This arrangement is said to date
back to the Time of Kresimir, when a group of triplets could not decide
which of them should claim the throne. In theory, it creates a system in
which no one man or woman has enough power to ruin the country on
their own. In practice, the baron-kings are a group of squabbling inbreds
who barely have a brain between them. The country is mostly run by a
parliament of landed lords supported by a royal cabal more interested in
fighting among themselves than leading the nation.
The current baron-kings of Unice include the elderly, half-mad Kaysi.
She was once considered a capable statesman, but her mental health
has declined rapidly in recent years with no sign of deterioration of the
body, so most scholars suspect she’ll continue to rule for another decade
unless she’s assassinated.
Her cousin, Siirt of Bannen,
is a bloated, middle-aged
frog of a man whose recent
conversion to the Reform
Church has caused much
strife in the government.
He’s since delved into
gastronomical impulses that
would make even the finest
chef blush. The final baron-
king is the seventeen-year-
old Osmen. By all accounts
an effeminate, moderately
intelligent young man, he is
Unice’s best hope for any real
progress in the near future.
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Politics
Unice is a longtime ally of both Kez and Novi. They are a moderately
religious people who have spent several centuries trying to end the schism
between the Kresim Church and the Reform Church with little success.
They have strong cultural dislike of the Starlish, considering them to be
a stuck-up, overcivilized people, and their relationship with bordering
Bakashka runs the gamut from lukewarm to heated, depending on the
current trio of baron-kings. Despite these longtime enmities and alliances,
the government of Unice gets so little done that they rarely involve
themselves in the affairs of others. They have almost no colonial presence.
Most scholars consider Unice’s impact on the world stage to be negligible
despite their large population. They are known only for their horses,
which are bred in the deserts of central Unice and sold throughout the
Nine. The horses are small, but very beautiful and quick, and they are
prized by racers, nobility, and dragoons. It’s said that the average Uni
horse sees more of the world than the average Uni nobleman.
Military
The Unice military, such as it is, consists of an entirely conscripted corps of
infantry separated into northern and southern divisions. Ranks are static, with
very little advancement, resulting in tired, aged senior officers surrounded by
lackadaisical junior officers waiting around for their elders to expire.
The pride of the Unice military is a small but highly effective trio of light
cavalry brigades, each of which reports directly to one of the baron-kings.
They are called the High-Baron Horses and are known worldwide for their
skill in the saddle. Unfortunately, the military experience of both light cavalry
and conscripted infantry is limited to small-scale interventions in Strenland
and border skirmishes with Bakashka. It is generally expected that they would
collapse under the pressure of a real war, and military philosophers throughout
the Nine hold their breath for the day when Starland decides to test that theory.
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Sorcery
The Unice royal cabal is over
a hundred members strong,
making them the largest
cabal left in the Nine. The
training and power of their
sorcery has often been
brought into question, as
they are largely untested
against real-world enemies.
The cabal passes its time
engaging in the petty politics
of the Unice government,
fighting among themselves
for prestige, and engaging
in consequenceless duels.
Although untested, the
sheer size of the cabal would allow for significant power projection if
one of the baron-kings managed to consolidate power and organize his
Privileged.
Geography
Unice shares borders with Kez, Bakashka, and Starland. Its borders also
include both coasts of the Nine, and it has the second-largest population
on the continent. Unice is a tropical country, containing some rainforest
in the north and vast deserts in the midlands. It has almost no mountains
and only a few hilly regions of any note. Most of the population lives in
the north or the very far south, leaving the deserts to be ruled by tribal
shepherds who operate outside the confines of modern law.
The capital of Unice changes seasonally. In the winter, it is located in the
city of Den on the east coast, right next to the border with Bakashka. In
the summer, it is located far to the north, in Ebstan, on the very tip of the
Cape of Uni. Because of this odd phenomenon, the Unice government is
said to be always on the move, conducting more business in the cabins of
their luxurious coastal barges than in their actual halls of administration.
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VIPs
Hentriet Jors, 67, is the aged admiral of the government armada, which
consists of the coastal barges and their escort, that moves the political
class between Den and Ebstan throughout the year. She is rumored to
be involved in no fewer than five of the baron-kings’ “accidental” deaths.
Despite circumstantial evidence supporting these rumors, she has not
been removed from her post.
Osmen, 17, is the youngest of the baron-kings, and is considered the
best chance for Unice to advance to the modern age with any amount of
dignity. Handsome, kind, and at least a little bit clever, he is well-liked by
the officers of his High-Baron Horse brigade and so watched closely to
guard against assassination.
Emila Blackrat, 32, is a colonel in the High-Baron Horse of Baron-King
Kaysi. Despite being the niece of Kaysi, she has earned her position by
displaying competence in command rather than simple nepotism. She
has an influence in both capitals that far outshines her station, probably
because of her natural wit, charm, and martial proclivities.
Current Schemes
A man claiming to represent the Starlish government has offered a large
bounty for the death of Siirt of Bannen. Arrangements have been made
for a number of assassins to be snuck onboard Siirt’s private barge when it
sets sail for Den next week.
Parties from the court of Baron-King Osmen wish to see Admiral Jors
retire by the end of the year. So far, Jors has refused requests that she
pass on her mantle, but she may be persuaded if her favorite grandson
is kidnapped.
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wLands Beyond the Ninew
LANDS BEYOND THE NINE

The world outside the Nine is populated by uncivilized little beasties. Either we
must ignore them or subjugate them entirely. Nothing in between is acceptable.
—King Manhouch XII’s statement on Adran colonialism, just days before
being overthrown by Field Marshal Tamas
Brudanian-Fatra
Brudanian-Fatra is a resource. The land, the minerals, the forests, even
the people—they belong to us. We will squeeze it until everything on that
continent is dead, barren rock. Then—and only then—will we cut it loose.
—Lord Grenalford, when asked if the BGTC would support Brudanian-
Fatran independence
Brudanian-Fatra is a landmass on the western side of the Pelos Ocean.
It is within a relatively easy ship ride of both Fatrasta and Dynize and is
thought to have once been part of the Dynize Empire, which spanned
the continents of the western hemisphere. Brudanian-Fatra, otherwise
known as Fatra for short, is mostly owned by the Brudanian-Gurla
Trading Company.
The largest city is New
Pyre, located on the
western corner of what
cartographers call the
Arrowhead of Fatra. It
is a major port, rivaled
in this part of the world
only by Landfall in terms
of sheer volume. New
Pyre is ostensibly a semi-
independent city-state
vassal of the Brudanian
crown, but it is owned and
operated almost entirely by
the BGTC.
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The People
Before colonization by the Nine, Fatra was originally home to hundreds
of independent tribes and warlord-ruled territories. The largest of these
tribes was called the Fatra, but they have long since been wiped out by
colonial-minded Kressians. Their legacy remains in lending their name
to the continents of Brudanian-Fatra and Fatrasta and to the enslaved
natives all across the former.
The Fatra, like their distant cousins in Dynize and Fatrasta, are
predominantly red haired, with white skin covered by dense, ashen
freckles. They are small in stature and sickly, though anthropologists
believe that this is entirely due to nearly a century of poor treatment at
the hands of the BGTC.
History
Very little is known about the pre-Kressian era of Brudanian-Fatra
history. Archeological evidence suggests that it was once ruled by the
vast Dynize Empire. Written history has been all but destroyed by the
BGTC and oral history suppressed, leaving modern scholars with next
to nothing with which to study the continent and its people.
Brudanian-Fatra was discovered by Rosvelean explorers roughly seven
hundred years ago, though it wasn’t settled by Kressians for another
couple of centuries, after which it was victim to a brutal and thorough
colonial expansion by countries of the Nine. Tracts of land have been
exchanged through war and trade deals ever since, though the majority
of the Brudanian-Fatra is now controlled by the BGTC, with a few
minor Starlish holdings.
The Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company

Fatra is the largest single land holding of the BGTC and has been for
almost six decades. The trading company rules Fatra with little to no
government oversight and has enslaved the populace with a brutality
that increasingly concerns the nations of the Nine. They are completely
unopposed, with one exception: there are substantiated rumors that
a single large tribe still rules the center of the continent. They live in
the jungle-covered mountains of the interior, pillaging plantations and
providing a safe haven for runaway slaves. Through guerrilla warfare, they
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have destroyed every army sent to conquer them. The BGTC suppresses
information regarding their presence, though rumors abound in Kressian
newspapers. It’s said their knowledge of BGTC tactics suggest outside
help—most likely from the Starlish. The Starlish government has made
no official comment on the matter.
Sorcery
As with the rest of the history of Brudanian-Fatra, little is known
about sorcery on the continent. Early colonial records indicate solitary
examples of tribal Privileged, though nothing as organized as the royal
cabals ever existed there. There are also early mentions of blood sorcery.
Today, all magic aside from Knacked has been exterminated by Kressian
powers.
Religion
Nothing is known of the original Fatra religion. It has been ground to
dust in the Kressian occupation and is likely lost to history forever. The
occupiers are ostensibly members of the Kresim Church, but the Reform
Church has made substantial efforts to convert the slave population in
the last few decades.
Presence in the Nine

It is relatively rare to see a Fatra in the Nine. Slavery is illegal in most of
the Nine, so any Fatra brought over is, in theory, legally freed. This has
created several scandals and court cases all over the Nine with mixed
results, so the BGTC has gone to great pains to keep most Fatra from
leaving the continent.
In a strange twist of fashion, it has become trendy among upper-class
Brudanians to have a household “freemen” Fatra acting as footmen or
bodyguards at their residence in Brudania. A freeman is legally a free
person but often has a family members back home who are held in thrall
to ensure continued loyalty.
Most Fatra, even these freemen, are often regarded as stupid savages,
though anthropologists are quick to point out that if provided with a
healthy upbringing and education, the Fatra are the physical and mental
equal of any Kressian.
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Dynize
I don’t trust the Dynize. I don’t trust their silence. No entity that calls itself
an empire will be content with its own shores. Someday their isolationism
will end, and Fatrasta will be the first to suffer.
—Lady Chancellor Lindet of Fatrasta, in a private letter to Ricard Tumblar,
First Minister of Adro
The Dynize continent, located between Fatrasta and Gurla and north
of the Keradic Ocean, is the home of the Dynize Empire, a mysterious
nation that once ruled over the entirety of the western hemisphere.
The Dynize Empire has been isolationist since its contact with the
Nine. Interaction between the civilizations has been minimal, with only
a handful of open port cities accepting foreign traders and dignitaries,
who were always relegated to local Kressian districts and prevented from
traveling inland. These ports have since been closed to outsiders.
The People
The Dynize people are red haired with pale skin and ashen freckles.
They are militaristic, thriving on order and organization. They have a
rigid caste system, which is best described by a credo that translates,
“Every Dynize citizen is equal. Some are more equal than others.”
History
Almost nothing is known of Dynize history. Unlike Fatra history—records
of which were actively stamped out by Kressian occupiers—Dynize history
has been intentionally withheld due to the nation’s isolationism.
It is known that the Dynize Empire has been around in some form or another
for longer than any nation in the world. It existed before the Bleakening,
though it had its own world-shaking event during that time that forced it to
withdraw from the continents now known as Fatrasta and Brudanian-Fatra.
Kressian contact with the Dynize Empire first occurred roughly seven
hundred years ago. When Kressians landed on Dynize shores, they expected
a splintered, tribal society like those found on Fatrasta and Brudanian-Fatra.
Instead, they discovered a country almost as big as Gurla unified under a
single banner. There were a handful of bloody, disastrous wars, after which
an uneasy peace was established and the aforementioned isolationist foreign
policy and Kressian districts were established in Dynize port cities.
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Little changed until a century ago, when an internal cataclysm—the

details of which are still unknown—caused the Dynize to expel all
outsiders and withdraw in on themselves. No contact has been made
since, and the borders are still closed.
Sorcery
The Dynize developed their own cabal system of Privileged sorcerers
that allowed them to counter early Kressian forces. The power of the
Dynize cabal is not currently known, nor do scholars know if they ever
developed their own policy toward powder mages.
The Dynize blood sorcerers, known as bone-eyes, have been a source
of mystery and speculation for centuries. It’s known that the bone-eyes
enjoy a high rank within the Dynize government, either equal or above
Privileged, but no one is certain what they actually do. None were ever
captured in battle or studied, and scholars have been forced to assume
that the blood sorcerers are a phenomenon of the western hemisphere.
There is an unsubstantiated theory among sorcerous scholars that
powder mages are a phenomenon of the eastern hemisphere as the
bone-eyes are of the west. This theory makes many claims about how
this proves the independent evolution of magic, but it remains publicly
ignored by the cabals of the Nine.
Religion
Like the rest of the country, Dynize religion is shrouded in mystery. Some
claim that a living god still exists in Dynize, worshiped by the people
and only addressed personally by the emperor. Others claim that the
Dynize never had a real god to begin with and that the emperor is their
god, reincarnated with each new generation. There is even speculation
that the bone-eyes are priests to a living—though comatose—god that
is kept alive through blood sacrifices.
It is all hearsay.

There is currently no known Dynize presence in the Nine. It’s rumored
that a woman named Ka-poel, companion of the Adran hero Taniel
Two-shot, was actually a powerful Dynize bone-eye. However, Ka-
poel perished with Taniel at the end of the Adran-Kez War, making
confirmation of such rumors impossible.
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Fatrasta
Fatrasta is like no place I’ve ever been. The coastal cities teem with all the
technology and luxuries of modern life, yet just a few hundred miles inland,
and you will come across Palo who have never seen a gun or a ship or a
lantern. There are rumors about an entire country deep in the interior. I am
determined to find them and bring them into the light.
—Alen ja Bahr, explorer and missionary, in a letter written just before the
disappearance of his expedition over the Ironhook Mountains
Fatrasta is an immense continent in the western hemisphere that was
once part of the Dynize Empire. It is home to thousands of tribal societies
scattered across the biggest unexplored wilderness remaining in the world.
It is also home to a nation of the same name—an independent country
formed by Kressian immigrants on the southeast edge of the continent.
The capital of the Fatrastan nation is Landfall, which rivals New Pyre
in size and export volume. Fatrasta is ruled by Lady Chancellor Lindet
and is populated by races from every continent in the world (with the
possible exception of Dynize).
The People
The Fatrastan people can be divided into three groups. The first group
consists of immigrants from across the world. Most of these are Kressians
from the Nine Nations, but they also include Fatra slaves, Gurlish, and
Stren. Most immigrants came to Fatrasta seeking work, land, or riches.
Some, however, were brought in as labor for the countless plantations
and mines found across the continent.
The second group are native-born Fatrastans of foreign descent. These
are people whose ancestors came to Fatrasta for the above reasons.
Fatrastans differentiate themselves from Kressians, proudly claiming
their new heritage as members of the world’s youngest nation-state. They
are welcoming to immigrants as long as those immigrants are willing to
put aside their cultural histories to become part of this new world.
The third group are the Palo. These are the native people of Fatrasta.
Like their cousins on Dynize and Brudanian-Fatra, they are fair skinned
with ashen freckles and red hair. As with the Fatra, “Palo” is just a word
used to describe a people who have hundreds of different tribes and
cultures with their own histories, religions, and ways of life. Unlike the
Fatra, the Palo have not been entirely subjugated.
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While the Palo are regarded as second-class citizens within Fatrasta,
and often as savages by those in the Nine, they are spread out across
an enormous continent. Perhaps the most infamous are the Palo of the
Tristan Basin, an enormous swamp in southwestern Fatrasta. These Palo
gave the Kez, and now the Fatrastan government, endless trouble. They
raid towns and forts and even attack passing armies, then fade back
into a swamp that has proved almost impenetrable. This phenomenon
is actually a problem across the continent, as Palo tribes have proved
troublesome in any rough terrain, including jungles, mountains, and
forests. Lady Chancellor Lindet has begun a campaign by the Fatrastan
armies to “tame the frontier,” which has so far proved slow going.
“City Palo” is the term used to describe Palo who have given up their
tribal heritage. They often work as laborers throughout the Fatrastan
nation. While slavery is not legal in the same way it is in Brudanian-
Fatra, the city Palo are often treated poorly compared to their Kressian
counterparts.
Rumors abound among explorers of a country existing in Northern
Fatrasta that calls itself the Palo Nation. Very little is known about them,
but explorers tell tales of a cohesive state that has rejected tribalism
and forcibly united their neighbors. These rumors speak of large-scale
modernization that includes a study of Kressian philosophy and a
widespread pursuit of education. If this nation really exists, it does so
in the interior of the continent and has made no effort to make contact
with Kressian powers or even the government of Fatrasta.
History
Fatrasta was once part of the vast Dynize Empire. Only oral history and
a few written records exist from that time period, but it seems that a
Fatrastan Empire remained for several hundred years after the withdrawal
of the Dynize. This empire eventually gave way to civil wars and a series of
terrible plagues that destroyed much of the population. Communication
lines disappeared and technology was lost, and the people broke into
hundreds of tribes, each of which created their own unique—but often
similar—culture over the course of the next thousand years.
Fatrasta was discovered about seven hundred years ago by Rosvelean
explorers. It was originally thought to be part of Brudanian-Fatra and only
later discovered to be a wholly separate—and much larger—landmass.
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While Fatrasta has been

the target of Kressian
colonial aggression since
its discovery, it was not
subjugated with nearly as
much ferocity as Gurla or
Brudanian-Fatra. Some
scholars claim that this is
because of the continent’s
dense swamps and jungles,
while others point to
the forbidding Ironhook
Mountains that protect the
route into the interior.
Regardless of the reason,
most of the continent
remains untamed and even
unexplored to this day, Fatrastan War Hero Ben Styke
while the southeastern edge of the continent has been heavily settled
and provides the nation of Fatrasta with immense exports from farms,
plantations, and mines.
The nation itself is a recent creation. The continent was divided into a
number of colonial holdings that were, over time, consolidated under Kez
rule. The Kez governed Fatrasta with a heavy hand, stirring a rebellion
led by a young provincial governor named Lindet. The rebellion gained
ground until it grew into a full-blown war that taxed Kez resources
to a stalemate and eventual loss. Just five years ago, King Ipille of Kez
regretfully surrendered all Kez territory on the continent, giving birth to
the nation of Fatrasta under the leadership of Lady Chancellor Lindet.
Sorcery
The nation of Fatrasta has a modern approach to sorcery very much like
that of the Nine. Lady Chancellor Lindet has a private cabal that serves
at her whim. Most of its members were coerced over from the Kez cabal
during the Fatrastan War of Independence, though some appear to have
come from the immigrant population. Rumor has it that Lindet would
like to create her own powder cabal but has had a hard time finding
powder mages in Fatrasta.
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Very little is known about Palo sorcery. Knacked appear to exist in
roughly equal numbers among the Palo as they do in the Nine, while
Palo Privileged seem to be very rare, with only a handful left in the
deepest Palo enclaves.
The Palo relationship with blood magic seems to be different than the
Dynize bone-eyes’. While bone-eyes appear to exist in most tribes, it
is an honorary title of a matron or patron of the tribe rather than a
title linked to sorcery. This has caused much confusion among scholars
attempting to study blood magic, and it’s unknown whether bone-eyes
with real sorcerous ability exist in Fatrasta.
Religion
A religious study of Fatrasta could fill a library’s worth of books. Between
the ancestral faiths of the immigrants and the differing traditions of the
Palo tribes, religion on the continent is so varied that no one religion has
particular preeminence. A respected religious scholar recently claimed
that Fatrasta was a land of all gods and no gods.
In general terms, most Kressian immigrants have some sort of
attachment to the Kresim Church, as immigrants from Stren and Gurla
do to their respective religions. Palo tribes vary from monotheism to
shamanism and seemingly everything in between, with rumors that
there are groups in the far north who have eschewed religion altogether.

Fatrasta has open trade with every nation in the Nine, even going so
far as to provide goods to both sides of the Kez Civil War. They have
a contentious relationship with the BGTC, as Lindet does not give
them special treatment over other big trading companies in regards to
government contracts.
Since the nation’s war for independence and subsequent opening of trade,
Palo have become more common throughout the Nine. They are often
household servants, bodyguards, or sailors with the big merchantmen
that hail from Fatrasta’s ports. It seems to have become a fashion for Palo
communities to pool their resources to send one bright young son or
daughter to the Nine for a Kressian education. There are even a handful of
permanent immigrants who have come by their own means.
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Gurla
I have now spent a significant portion of my life in Gurla. During that time,
I have come to both love and hate this rugged, unfriendly land. I wish the
opportunity to explore it on my own, rather than march across it at the head of
an army. Perhaps when Taniel is older and I have retired from the military,
we can tour the continent at our leisure.
—Field Marshal Tamas, in a letter to his wife during the Gurlish Wars
Gurla is a continent on the eastern side of the Gurlish Ocean. It is east
of the Nine, north of Strenland, and west of Dynize. It has many large
cities that all claim to be the capital of the continent. There is Sept, seat
of the Septofel Empire, in the north; Nevgrad, the ancient capital of the
now defunct Novi Empire, in the west; and Bakshen, the power base of
Bakashkan colonial power, in the south.
Gurla has a predominantly dry climate, with hundreds of separate
deserts, mostly concentrated in the south. Populations tend to be
centered on the large rivers that bisect the continent, though there is a
strong nomadic tradition.
The People
The people of Gurla are collectively known as Gurlish, but they are hardly
a cohesive ethnic group. The
term includes the Septofel
in the cold northwest
mountains, as well as the
various equatorial nomads.
Most of the latter groups
are wary of outsiders and
content with bickering
among themselves. But
taken together, they control
the inhospitable Stren Sea,
the desert that surrounds
it, and the land bridge
between Gurla and Stren.
Gurlish are thought of as
brown-skinned (though
lighter in color than Deliv),
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tall, and thin. This description is best associated with the northern
Gurlish—the Septofel—and many Kressians would be surprised to find
Gurlish as white as Adrans living as nomads in the south and as dark as
Deliv scratching out a living in the central mountains. In short, referring
to the people of Gurla with one collective term is a vast oversimplification
of a continent full of ethnically diverse peoples.
History
Gurla does not exist as a single nation. Rather, it contains a number of
small states that have changed drastically over the last two thousand years
due to internal strife and colonial aggression on the part of the Nine.
The best-known and longest-standing Gurlish power is the Septofel in
northwestern Gurla. Records there go back to the beginning of the written
word. At one point, the Septofel Empire ruled almost the entire continent.
They were conquered about six hundred years ago during a long war with
Novi in which Novi effectively supplanted them as the rulers of Gurla.
Over the centuries, Novi power eroded in the region until it was just
a shadow of its former self, and the Septofel Empire reemerged and
reconquered the northern half of the continent. Novi then pulled out of
the region entirely, leaving a power vacuum that began what came to be
known as the Gurlish Wars.
Bakashka was the first to invade, seeing Gurla as a ripe fruit whose
resources could kick-start modernization. What they found instead was
a series of wars and the beginning of a colonial period that eventually
involved the entirety of the Nine.
Bakashka swiftly conquered almost all of Gurla and parts of Strenland.
The rest of the Nine Nations, envious of Gurlish riches, then seized land
both from the natives and Bakashka. Soon, proxy wars were being fought
all across the continent. Alliances shifted from year to year, entire wars were
fought with little real gain, and slices of Gurla bigger than most Kressian
countries have changed hands more times than one can easily count.
The Septofel Empire, fighting back against Bakashka, was almost
entirely contained by an unlikely alliance between Adro and Kez. The
rise of Field Marshal Tamas coincided with the peak of Adran colonial
power until an unexpected illness put the Iron King of Adro on his
deathbed and his armies were recalled. The Kez, then confronted with
rising unrest in Fatrasta, were caught off guard, and they, too, abandoned
much of their territory.
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Today, the remaining colonial powers of the Nine continue to maintain
a strong presence on Gurla, albeit with mixed success. The Septofel
Empire has regained no small amount of strength, and rumors say that a
little-known queen has been uniting the nomads of the south. Bakashka
still holds immense swaths of land, with other members of the Nine
each attempting to keep some holdings there.
Sorcery
Historically, Gurlish sorcery is considered substandard when compared
to the cabals of the Nine. Though the Gurlish have a higher proportion
of Privileged in their populations than the Nine do, their Privileged tend
to have far less raw power than the Privileged of the Kressian nations.
This has resulted in many odd power imbalances during the wars of
the colonial period, most of which depended entirely on how well the
Gurlish Privileged were able to organize and work together. Much of the
recent success of the Septofel Empire can be traced to the organization
of its Privileged into a genuine cabal.
Knacked are also found at a higher rate among the people of Gurla.
On a cultural level, they are not given the same kind of deference that
a Knacked might find in the Nine, but they still often rise to positions
of preeminence in diverse fields of work and study across the continent.
Powder mages have been found in Gurla, but they are very rare. Some
scholars suggest that this is another instance of sorcerous evolution at
work, while others believe that Kez pogroms exterminated many of the
powder mage bloodlines in the early colonial period.
Religion
Gurlish religion varies from region to region in small, isolated groups of
vaguely related pantheons, with one large exception: Solenpan. Solenpan
is a multifaced god of sun, fire, and the desert. His worship is thought to
originate from the southern nomads, who bathe themselves by scrubbing
their bodies with fine sand. They avoid water as sustenance, preferring
to drink fermented, plant-based beverages, which they believe hold the
essence of the sun.
Solenpan does not have active missionaries; the religion spreads
entirely by word of mouth. It has even crossed the ocean and taken root
in Bakashka—one of the only foreign religions to ever have a serious
following in the Nine.
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One strange event should be noted when mentioning the Gurlish

religion: supposedly, a young Gurlish god was murdered by an alliance of
Kressian cabals sometime during the Gurlish Wars. Nothing is known
about this god—whether he was Solenpan or the deity of some other
religion—and the Kressian cabals all scoff at these reports, claiming it to
be hearsay. The only records of it come from the journals of the soldiers
who were at the battle, and these are dismissed as a mass hallucination.

A large population of Gurlish live within the Nine. The earliest group
was brought over as slaves by the Novi during the height of their empire,
while the most recent are immigrants who have fled Gurla for the relative
stability of the Nine.These immigrants are almost always treated as second-
rate citizens, though some of them are educated in Gurlish universities
and able to find work in the upper echelons of Kressian society.
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Strenland
Are you joking? I love the Stren. They’re kind to missionaries, they pay their
taxes on time, and they don’t travel enough to cause international incidents. A
city in the Stren Republic is the best colonial vassal a ruler could ask for, and
I wouldn’t upset that balance for any political gain.
—a prominent Bakashkan nobleman on whether the Stren Republic should
be dissolved
Strenland is a continent attached to the southern edge of Gurla by a
narrow land bridge. It contains a loose coalition of ancient city-states
that call themselves the Stren Republic.
The city of Qarshez, located on the west coast of the continent, has
been the capital of the Stren Republic for almost eighteen hundred
years. It is a dual city straddling the points of the Bay of Ko’lean. It
is ruled by the Stren Senate, which is a governing body made up of
elected representatives from every city in the Republic. The largest city
is Atastan, which is located on the southwest tip of the continent.
The People
The Stren are a proud, thoughtful people whose cultural emphasis on
philosophy has led to a relatively peaceful history—the Stren Republic can
count in centuries the time since their last major internal war. The Stren
tend to be quiet, hardworking, and prone to melancholy. Their schools have
recently begun to acquire no small fame among the Nine, and their scholars
are often invited as teachers and guest lecturers in Kressian universities.
Most Kressians find the Stren physically indistinguishable from the
Gurlish, and often mistake the Stren for their northern cousins. The
two continents do share a common ethnic heritage thought to originate
from the shores of the Stren Sea that divides them.
As a whole, the Stren are a more cohesive people than the Gurlish; there
is free travel across the entire continent, and the common language has far
fewer regional dialects than Gurlish.
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The History
The records of the Stren Republic go back to roughly 200 TK and begin
with a small alliance of city-states on the western coast of the country.
This alliance soon spread to include neighboring city-states, continuing
outward until most of the continent considered themselves a unified force
of independent cities that lived, fought, and worshiped under one banner.
The thousand years since the formation of the Stren Republic is considered by
many scholars to be a golden age of philosophy and a period of remarkable peace,
broken by only the occasional intercity war of disagreement. Less impressed
scholars might tell you that this was the most boring millennia that any country
has ever had and are quick to point out that there were few government changes,
little technological advancement, and absolutely no social mobility. The Stren
Republic, they conclude, became fat and static under their own lack of ambition.
Neutral scholars will admit that it is somewhat surprising how little of
this structure has changed during the Kressian colonial expansion. This
expansion first reached Strenland through the Brudanian fleets about the
same time as Bakashka was conquering Gurla.
In a radical experiment,Brudania began to replace Stren senators with puppets
of their own while leaving almost everything else about the government and
culture largely intact. It worked remarkably well, and Bakashka and eventually
the rest of the Nine followed suit, carving up the Stren Republic on their own
maps while the Republic itself barely seemed to notice.
The colonial expansion of the Nine did bring war back to Stren soil via the proxy
wars fought by the Nine. Hundreds of thousands of Stren were conscripted from
the mainland to fight in Gurla, while an influx of Kressian immigrants created
tensions between cities that had not existed before.These trends continue to this
day, and many scholars predict that the cultural stoicism that holds the Stren
Republic together will one day collapse in a very sudden and violent way—
though whether this will happen in one year or fifty, no one is willing to say.
Sorcery
Among the Stren, sorcery is considered a national oddity. Privileged,
Knacked, and even powder mages are relegated to the edges of society
rather than the center, and often form the core of the traveling circuses
that are so wildly popular across the Republic. Kressian cabals have
actively recruited Stren Privileged for hundreds of years, but the cultural
idea of sorcery for entertainment, rather than war or power plays, is so
deeply ingrained in the Stren that this recruitment is rarely successful.
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Religion
The largest religion in Strenland is Gerosh, the worship of the bones of
a long-dead god. The god is referred to as the Dead One, and his bones
reside within a massive stone temple in the capital city, where worshipers
are expected to travel on a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
Followers of the Dead One believe that they can interact with their
ancestral spirits, who guide them through their lives in subtle ways and
protect them from harm, depending on their ability to please those ancient
spirits. Involved in this is the fetishization of life force; Goresh believers
are convinced of the sorcerous power of all living creatures and plants and
that it can be harnessed to increase the strength of an individual or even
affect the fate of a whole city. Recently, scholars have made claims that this
belief comes from Dynize blood sorcery, though there is very little known
contact between Stren and Dynize.
The second-largest religion in Stren is Solenpan—believed to have
originated from Gurla—followed closely by the Kresim Church imported
by Kressian conquerors.

Many Stren cities remain, on paper, colonial vassals of the Nine, though
it’s hard to tell if the average citizen of a Stren city even knows this is
the case. The oddity of Stren culture, combined with the strange manner
in which they were conquered, leaves both Kressians and Stren with a
relatively amicable relationship. Stren do not tend to travel overseas very
much, and when they do, they are often mistaken for Gurlish and treated
worse than they might otherwise be. The Stren travelers themselves seem
to take this in stride, extracting themselves from bad situations with an
almost baffling politeness.
Stren expatriates are almost exclusively scholars who have been brought
over to lecture at Kressian universities, or they are members of that scholar’s
household. These scholars tend to be known as such and are often valued
members of a community.
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wA Brief History of the Ninew
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF THE NINE
Before the Time of Kresimir (BK)
Kresimir’s original reign in the Nine (dates unknown).
The Gathering of Gods; Kresimir assembles his siblings from across

the world (dates unknown).
1580 BK: Kresimir and his siblings depart to explore the cosmos.
691 BK: The founding of Adopest and formation of the Adran nation.
41 BK: The Council of Adopest meets to address a series of destructive

wars sweeping the Nine. An agreement is made among the Predeii
and the greatest rulers of the Nine to attempt to summon Kresimir.
38 BK: The first attempt to summon Kresimir. Millions die by sorcery.
22 BK: The second attempt to summon Kresimir. Half of the ancient

sorcerers known as Predeii are wiped out in the sorcerous backlash.
1 BK: The final attempt to summon Kresimir. Success.
The Time of Kresimir (TK)—approximately 374 years

0 TK: The return of Kresimir.
0–90 TK: Kresimir’s siblings return to this world at their brother’s behest.
1 TK: The founding of Kresim Kurga, the great mountain kingdom

of Kresimr.
4 TK: Founding of Unice.
12 TK: Founding of Novi.
14 TK: Founding of Kez.
13 TK: Founding of Brudania.
74 TK: Founding of Bakashka.
93 TK: Founding of Wellens, the future capital of Starland.
112 TK: The arrival of the Vorinnian Flotilla, ancestors of the

modern-day Deliv.
112–127 TK: The Vorinnian Wars between the Vorinnians and the
rest of the Nine.
127 TK: The adoption of the Vorinnians by the god Deliv. Founding
of the Deliv nation.
156 TK: Founding of Rosvel.
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After Kresimir (AK)
Note: dates are very difficult to pin down during the Bleakening. The current
system (AK) was agreed upon by Kressian scholars in 1032 AK.
0 AK: Disappearance of Kresimir and his siblings.
11 AK: War breaks out between Starland and Unice. This is the
official beginning of the Bleakening.
11–301 AK: The Bleakening: a war between the new monarchies of
the Nine and the Predeii.
98 AK: The Council of Prishta results in the founding of the Kresim
Church.
104 AK: The city-state of Wellens becomes the nation of Starland.
301 AK: The last of the Predeii, Julene, is defeated in Rosvel.

Her allies are scattered, and she is thought killed in the sorcerous
firestorm that accompanied the battle.
643 AK: Discovery of Brudanian-Fatra and Fatrasta by Rosvelean sailors.
731 AK: Discovery of Dynize by Brudanian sailors.
812 AK: The beginning of the Novi conquest of Gurla.
874 AK: The formation of the Novi Empire.
952 AK: Founding of the Kresim Reform Church.
987 AK: First major settlement in Fatrasta, consisting of Adrans

and Kez.
1001 AK: First major settlement in Brudanian-Fatra, consisting of
Starlish.
1256 AK: Official fall of the Novi Empire.
1270 AK: Brudania strips Rosvelean forests under the infamous

Red Dolphin Treaty.
1349 AK: The founding of the BGTC.
1380 AK: Dynize closes all ports and borders to international trade.
1405 AK: Bakashkan invasion of Gurla begins the Gurlish Wars.
1405–1478 AK: The Gurlish Wars.
1421–1429 AK: The Kresim Inquisition of Bakashka.
1430 AK: The power loom is invented in Del, kicking off the
Industrial Era.
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wA Brief History of the Ninew
1454 AK: The Plague of Storious.

1471–1482 AK: Inclement weather creates widespread famine
across the globe.
1476 AK: Sinking of the Eighth Merchantman Fleet by the pirate
Gorgantis.
1480–1483 AK: The Fatrastan War of Independence.
1483 AK: The Adran-Kez War; BGTC involvement leads to the

Adran Disaster.
1484–Ongoing: The Kez Civil War.
PRESENT DAY: 1487 AK
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SORCERY
Excerpts from Your Friend’s Guide to Sorcery by an unknown author.
Published in 1485 and publicly decried as nonsense by almost every major
cabal. Lauded by sorcerous historians for its accuracy.
The Else
The Else is a mirror world from which sorcery originates. The ability to
look into the Else using the Third Eye is shared by all magical talents, but
only the Privileged can actually touch the Else—and only while wearing
gloves specifically runed to keep them from burning their hands.
Looking into the Else is often described as looking at our own world
through special tinted glasses. It is flat and colorless except where sorcery is
actively occurring or has recently occurred. Active sorceries look like trails of
vibrant pastels, while recent magics resemble deep stains upon the landscape.
Each sorcerous talent has a different relationship with the Else,
and every individual user of magic interacts with the Else in
their own unique way. Most powder mages report some level
of nausea or weakness when looking into the Else, and
most Knacked have such a difficult time achieving clear
vision there that they give up the practice entirely, as it is
usually unnecessary for practicing their particular talent.
Privileged spend so much time looking into the Else
that they often overcome the
side effects entirely.
It is absolutely vital
for their practice of
sorcery. Remarkably,
functioning natural
eyes are necessary
to see the Else. It
is said that a blind
Privileged is about
as useful as a deaf
watchman—still functional,
but in a very reduced capacity.
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wSorceryw
Privileged
Privileged sorcerers form the backbone of almost every world power. Their
mysterious cabals are one of the three traditional pillars of a strong monarchy
(the others being the king and the nobility). This political power comes from
the sheer strength of their sorcery rather than the wealth of land holdings.They
often accompany armies on campaigns and advise their king in all matters.
History
Modern cabals are descendants of the first sorcerous organizations
formed during the Bleakening and used by governments to fight against
the Predeii, who had attempted to seize power once Kresimir left this
world. Membership in these early cabals was not optional; if a person with
sorcerous ability was found within a nation’s borders, they either joined
the fight against the Predeii or were executed outright.
Once the Predeii were killed or driven into hiding, the cabals enforced
these traditions for well over a thousand years. Only recently has their
power begun to wane enough for Privileged to strike out on their own
without fear of retaliation from the cabal of their birth country.
Powers
Privileged are able to manipulate matter by utilizing the power of the Else.
While wearing runed gloves, they pull sorcery into this world using their
fingers and then direct that sorcery via hand gestures. Each of a Privileged’s
fingers corresponds to one of the elements: fire, earth, water, air, and aether.
The finger used corresponds to that Privileged’s strength in that element,
with the thumb being the strongest and the pinky the weakest.
Particular strength in fire,earth,water,and air is more or less equally represented
across any given sampling of Privileged. Aether is by far the least common and
is used to bind the other four elements together. Aether is associated with the
abilities of healing and creating extremely complex spells. Complexity, talent,
and practice combine to determine the power of a Privileged.
Complexity has to do with the needed elements. A fireball, for instance,
requires fire, air, and a tiny bit of aether to bind it. A spike of granite requires
earth, air, and aether. A spike of ice is more complex, requiring all five elements
because fire will be used inversely to remove the heat from the water. Most
Privileged consider ice to be flashy, as it’s very difficult to master. Generally, the
more talent a Privileged has in aether, the easier time they have combining the
elements. Most Privileged summon aether with their pinky—their weakest
finger—and anything above that is considered a natural advantage.
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Talent, on the other hand, is the raw power that a Privileged brings to the
table. It is often measured in scale. Across Privileged, this runs the entire
gamut: for instance, a Privileged with a propensity for fire might be able
to light a candle, a fireplace, a fireball, or a company of soldiers. The ability
to create fire and then to sustain it indicates a higher level of talent and
is often sought out by the magus seekers. Obviously, each discipline has
its own challenges. Fire is easier to create than ice but harder to sustain.
Earth takes less practice to manipulate, but being much heavier than fire,
takes more raw power. Aether is by far the most difficult to master.
Practice is simply the amount of time a Privileged has spent mastering
interactions with the Else. All the talent in the world is useless without
practice; you can’t light a candle without learning how to reach into the
Else, nor throw a fireball without learning how to bind the elements. The
more a Privileged practices, the more complex the sorceries he or she can
weave. This means that older Privileged—even weak ones—should not
be underestimated. Privileged often focus their practice on their strongest
element so that, in time, they can manipulate it without any effort at all.
Perception, Lies, and Secrets

Privileged cabals have had centuries to build up their own legends, and
most people consider them so powerful that they wouldn’t even dream of
facing down a Privileged. In reality, Privileged are fragile human beings
like anyone else. Catch them on a day when their fingers are numb, and
you could stab one through the eye before they could get off a spell.
Runed gloves are the key to Privileged sorcery. Without the gloves,
Privileged cannot touch the Else without destroying their hands.
Kez Privileged are responsible for the creation of Wardens—sorcery-
twisted humans created specifically to counter powder mages. The method
of their creation is unknown even to the other cabals, but Wardens tend to
be enormous in size and wildly strong. Their flesh and bones are mangled
and strengthened to make them next to impossible to kill. They feel little
pain and are able to keep fighting even after suffering wounds that would
incapacitate any regular person.
There are rumors of Black Wardens—Wardens made out of powder
mages—created during the Adran-Kez War by Kresimir himself. These
rumors are unsubstantiated. If any Black Wardens do exist (and if they
existed at all), they have gone into hiding or are being reserved by the Kez
cabal for their moment of utmost need.
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wSorceryw
Knacked
Knacked are the most common type of sorcery user throughout the world
and also the most difficult to understand. A Knack is nothing more than
a single talent. Some of these are very minor, like being able to count any
number of objects at a glance, while a few have been as wildly powerful as
being able to control the weather with a mere thought.
Sorcerous scholars are at a loss to say what, exactly, causes a Knack to
manifest. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason for a child to be born
with a Knack or for what their particular power might be. Some scholars
claim that Knacked are the result of the same natural sorcerous mutations
that created powder mages, but they have no explanation as to why powder
sorcery diverged so sharply from the normal pattern of manifestations.
History
Knacked have been around for as long as the written
word. Record of their talents being used in furtherance
of the state comes as early as 3489 BK, in a manuscript
from the Septofel Empire which says that a “man
of sorcerous talents” brought great
riches to the kingdom. By
staring at a field, he could
cause wheat to grow from
seed to maturity in a
matter of minutes.
While most powerful
Knacked have, throughout
history, been used as
extensions of the state
(much like Privileged),
there are several famous
instances of people
with Knacks utilizing
their power to create a
family fortune. In 537 AK,
the daughter of a farmer became an
infamous forger and, later, a renowned
mapmaker. She was able to copy any
drawing by hand with complete accuracy
and in under an hour.
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Powers
Many people will flippantly say that no two Knacks are alike. This is,
however, patently false. Anyone who studies sorcerous history will see that
certain identical Knacks appear dozens, sometimes hundreds of times
throughout time. The most common and valued of these (and often the
most unappreciated historically) include Knacks of great physical strength
or alacrity; Knacks involving memory, copying, or other skills useful in
bookkeeping; and Knacks that involve the ability to predict the near future.

Very little is secret when it comes to Knacks. Because they are so common
and often useful, Knacked have never been suppressed like powder mages
or universally conscripted like Privileged. A Knack manifesting itself in
a family member or neighbor is often regarded as a stroke of good luck.
Powder Mages
Powder mages, often known colloquially as “Marked,” are the wielders of
a modern sorcery whose power comes from common black gunpowder.
History
The first recorded instance of a powder mage was a Starlish peasant by the
name of Floris in 921 AK. History doesn’t say what happened to her, only that
she showed an “affinity for manipulating gunpowder” and that most people
at the time thought she was a simple Knacked. The concept of powder mages
wasn’t actually put forward as a common, separate sorcery until 1043 AK.
The history of powder mages is a history of suppression. Once powder
mages were recognized as practicing an altogether different type of
sorcery, they were initially sought out to become part of the royal cabals.
That came to a quick stop when a powder mage killed the head of the Kez
royal cabal with a matchlock firearm in 1062 AK. The danger that powder
mages presented to traditional Privileged was immediately realized, and
the Kez royal cabal led the charge in painting them as dangerous, even
subhuman users of sorcery.
This perception of powder mages as something heretical was supported
by the Kresim Church until the late 1300s, when the classification was
quietly dropped. In 1391, the current Adran queen was the first monarch
to decriminalize the existence of powder mages, recognizing that they had
no control over being born with their powers and that they might one day
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wSorceryw
prove valuable tools of the state. Even still, they were considered second-
class citizens and sorcery users until the 1450s.
The emergence of powder mages onto the worldwide stage coincides
directly with the rise of Field Marshal Tamas, a powerful mage and tactical
genius who rose to be one of the most powerful men in Adro under the
rein of the eminently practical Iron King. Tamas was the first to utilize
powder mages to their fullest extent, in the Gurlish Wars. He became a
hero of the people and even created his own powder cabal to secretly push
back against the overreaching power of the Adran royal cabal.
Today, powder mages have been formally recognized in every nation
of the Nine except for Kez, where they are still considered subhuman
criminals. Many of the royal cabals of the Nine have begun to integrate
powder mages over the objection of their more conservative Privileged.
Powers
Powder mages gain their powers by imbibing common gunpowder. This is
often done by snorting or eating the powder, though some have been known
to cut themselves so they can press the powder directly into the bloodstream.
Imbibed, the powder makes them faster and stronger than regular people.
Their senses are enhanced by an incredible degree, to the point where they can
see details, hear whispers, and even catch scents from great distances.
Powder mages are also able to manipulate gunpowder. They can detonate
it from a distance—usually no more than a few dozen yards, but sometimes
as far as a mile away—and they can burn additional powder on their person
to float a bullet over an entire battlefield. The most talented in this ability
was Taniel Two-shot, who could fire two bullets at once and keep them
in the air long enough to strike separate targets as far as four miles away.

Until recently, powder mages were deeply demonized by the royal cabals
of the Nine. Their sorcery was said to make them especially violent. They
were compared to rabid dogs—in need of restraint or euthanizing in order
to keep the moral fabric of society in one piece.
Field Marshal Tamas almost single-handedly dispelled this notion among
the common people of the Nine. Though still distrusted in more rural
areas (and within Kez), powder mages are widely accepted as powerful,
respectable sorcerers in their own right.
w 103 w
One interesting tidbit to come out of the records of the Kez royal cabal
is that powder sorcery can be suppressed by the introduction of gold into the
bloodstream of a powder mage. This is often done as nothing more than a
convenient way to sorcerously castrate a powder mage until they can be executed.
Other Sorcery
Magebreakers
Magebreakers are Privileged who have willed away their ability to touch
the Else. This is a major loss to most Privileged, especially experienced
ones, and is usually only undertaken by Privileged who are too weak to
join a royal cabal or who have committed a crime egregious enough that
their cabal forces them to undergo the transformation.
Magebreakers are able to null magic around them. For most, this ability
extends just a few feet, forcing them to get close to a Privileged in order to
block their sorcery. A powerful Privileged-turned-magebreaker, however,
might be able to blanket a large part of a battlefield in their aura. It should be
noted that their ability affects only Privileged, not powder mages or Knacked.
Bone-eyes
The blood sorcery of Dynize and Fatrasta is a much-speculated topic
in sorcerous circles of the Nine. Truth be told, almost nothing is known
about bone-eyes, and that isn’t likely to change until the Dynize Empire
once again opens its borders. When that will happen is anyone’s guess.
w 104 w
wPREGENERATED CHARACTERSw
PREGENERATED
CHARACTERS
Name: (Powder Mage)
Rank: Novice
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Healing d6, Repair d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d4
Charisma: 0
Pace: 6”
Parry: 5
Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Loyal (to his military compatriots), Greedy (Minor),
Overconfident, Habit (Minor, Gunpowder)
Edges: Arcane Background (Powder Mage)
Gear: Flintlock rifle. Flintlock pistol. 30 bullets and powder horn (30
doses of powder). Uniform. Knife. 10 pre-prepared powder charges.
Background:
w 105 w
Name: (Knacked Bodyguard)
Rank: Novice
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidate d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Shooting
d6, Stealth d6
Charisma: -2
Pace: 6”
Parry: 6
Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Cautious, Mean, Bad Luck
Edges: Arcane Background (Knacked—Relentless: You ignore the
effects of Fatigue on you), Liquid Courage, Martial Artist
Gear: Flintlock pistol. 10 bullets and powder horn (30 doses of powder).
Knife. Club.
Background:
w 106 w
Name: (Mundane Politician)

Rank: Novice
Skills: Gambling d6, Investigation d6, Knowledge: Politics d6, Notice
d4, Persuasion d8, Streetwise d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: +2
Pace: 6”
Parry: 2
Toughness: 4
Hindrances: Pacifist (Minor), Yellow, Stubborn
Edges: Noble, Natural Leader, Command
Gear: Fancy clothing. Walking Cane. Paper.
Background:
w 107 w
Name: (Military Doctor)
Rank: Novice
Skills: Healing d8, Investigation d8, Persuasion d8, Riding d4, Survival
d8
Charisma: +2
Pace: 6”
Parry: 2
Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Pacifist (Minor), Code of Honor (help sick and hurt),
Enemy (Political Enemy wants to dismantle the free clinic)
Edges: Luck, Rich, Healer
Gear: Medical Bag with tools. Book of anatomy. Nice clothing. Horse.
Background:
w 108 w
Name: (Privileged)
Rank: Seasoned
Skills: Notice d8, Investigation d8, Persuasion d8, Riding d4, Knowledge
d8, Third Eye d8
Charisma: +0
Pace: 6”
Parry: 2
Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Cautious, Arrogant, All Thumbs
Edges: Arcane Background (Privileged), New Power (Armor), Power
Points
Power Points: 20
Powers: Blast, Burst, Armor
Gear: Two pairs of Privileged gloves. Nice clothing. Extra 500 krana.
Background:
w 109 w
w 110 w
wADVENTURESw
ADVENTURES
The following pages consist of a number of pregenerated adventures.
These are a good way for a new GM to get comfortable with the world
and play system or for any GM to whip up a quick setting for an
impromptu game night. Feel free to use bits and pieces of any of these
adventures to create your own.
You may have also noticed that each nation of the Nine has several
VIPs and important schemes at the bottom of its section. If you’d like
to create your own adventure but want to use something that is already
going on within the world (and may have far-reaching consequences!),
feel free to use those people and their schemes as part of your adventure.
PREGENERATED ADVENTURE:
BLOOD IN THE ALLEY
Prominent nobleman Errol Gorloin has been murdered in an alley! Is
it a horrible accident, or is there a more sinister secret at play here?
Gorloin was on his way home from Constance’s Carnival of Cacophony,
a traveling musical event that purports to meld music from all over
the Nine. Gorloin’s sister, the Lady Kathleen, has hired our heroes to
discover exactly what happened to her brother.
WHAT THEY KNOW

Lady Kathleen is a weeping, sobbing mess at the loss of her brother, but
she is able to divulge the following information to the investigators:
Gorloin was found knifed to death in an alley.
His coin purse was missing, but it was found a few streets away,
money still in it.
Only Gorloin’s family knew that Gorloin was a Knacked—but
Kathleen won’t divulge his ability.
At the outset, the investigators have two options: retracing the steps of
Lord Gorloin or questioning members of the Carnival.
w 111 w
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL
Retracing the Steps
Kathleen’s information takes the investigators to the alley where
Gorloin’s body was found. It’s a dark, grim slot of a passage not easily
viewable from the street—the perfect stage for a murder.
It’s obvious where Gorloin’s body was found, as there is still a pool of
dried blood crusting the gutter.
Call for a Notice check. On a success, the investigator notices streaks
of blood that would indicate Gorloin’s body was dragged here. On a
raise, they’ll notice that the blood streaks subtly indicate the body was
dragged from the alley on the other side of the main road!
If the players investigate that alley, it quickly becomes apparent that
there was a murder here, as the blood trail leads to a crate.
A bloody knife is hidden in the crate (it’s easy to follow the blood trail
here) and a successful Knowledge: Common check will tell the players
the knife is very finely made (nobleman quality).
Call for a Notice Check. On a success, the investigators discover that
they are being watched. On a raise, they realize the watcher is in a room
above the alley. This watcher is Kapli, who is noted in the KAPLI section.
INTERVIEWING THE CARNIVAL

The carnival is run by a charming and personable woman named Constance.
Constance will brightly agree to answer any questions the Investigators
might have. As the questioning is occurring, call for a Notice check. On
a success, the Investigator notices they’re being watched. On a raise, they
noticed the watching is coming from the Adran contingent of the carnival.
When the investigators go to find out who was watching them, they
are greeted by the sight of the fleeing peeper leaping into a stagecoach.
At this point, several things can happen, depending on what choices
the players make. They may decide to pursue the stagecoach using
nearby carnival horses, in which case a Riding check would be called for.
Alternatively, a powder mage character might decide to try shooting off
one of the stagecoach’s wheels, and in order to do so would have to pass a
Shooting check as well as use the appropriate equipment and sorcerous
power. In all cases, the GM should be sure to encourage players’ creativity.
This can require some quick thinking, but it’s well worth it in terms of fun.
w 112 w
wADVENTURESw
If the players manage to catch the stagecoach, they find a trembling

servant inside. When questioned, this servant reveals that his name is
Jean-David and that he was on his way to warn his master about the
investigators.
If the investigators have already inspected the alley, they may decide
to show Jean-David the knife they found. If they do, Jean-David will
exclaim that it belonged to his former master, Errol Gorloin. At that
point, he’ll lead them to his new master, a Carnival performer named
Kapli who has retained his services.
If they have not found the knife, Jean-David will plead with the
investigators to let him go. If they do, he’ll flee to warn his master. They
will then have to follow by passing a Smarts check.
In all of these instances, a wise GM will have a backup plan to allow the
story to progress even if the characters fail a skill check or two. Knowing
the strengths of the party members is key in designing backup plans that
provide exactly the right level of challenge for players.
w 113 w
KAPLI
Kapli is in his apartment, and when the investigators confront him, he’ll
evade or dodge all their questions. If they present the knife found in the
second alley, Kapli will get defensive, and if anyone tries to lay a hand on
him, he will turn violent.
If Kapli is subdued (physically or diplomatically), upon questioning, he’ll
eventually reveal that he is Gorloin, and his Knacked ability allowed him
to assume the identity of Kapli while forcing Kapli to look like Gorloin.
Kapli/Gorloin will claim that Kathleen has been poisoning him in an
attempt to control the family fortune and weapons trade, and rather
than die, he decided to fake his death and escape.
Now all that remains is for the investigators and Gorloin to confront
Kathleen...
The GM should allow this final scene to unfold in a dramatic manner.
Kapli Pregenerated Character Sheet for GM:

Name: Kapli
Rank: Seasoned
Skills: Gambling d6, Investigation d6, Knowledge: Politics d6, Notice
d4, Persuasion d8, Streetwise d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: +2
Pace: 6”
Parry: 2
Toughness: 4
Hindrances: Pacifist (Minor), Yellow, Stubborn
Edges: Noble, Natural Leader, Command, Knacked (can copy appearance
of anyone)
Gear: Fancy clothing. Walking Cane. Paper.
w 114 w
wADVENTURESw
CARAVAN GUARDS
The intrepid heroes of our band have been hired to guard a caravan
of weapons that are being moved to the front. Previous caravans have
been attacked and gone missing, so our heroes need to be prepared. The
GM should select a conflict to be the setting here, such as the Kez Civil
War—but preferably one with some personal ties to the players.
Weapons merchant Jaradan Westinmarch has been supplying weapons
to the front, and his last five caravans have been ambushed and robbed!
The heroes have been hired to find out what’s going on and ensure the
safe delivery of the latest shipment.
AMBUSH!
It’s a one-week ride through a mountain pass to the front, and the first two
days go uneventfully. On the early morning of the third day, the caravan is
high up in the mountains, in a small valley framed by scrubby evergreens.
Call for a Notice Roll. Everyone can see that the road up ahead is
blocked by a fallen tree, but success tells the alert hero that the tree is
rigged. A raise will allow that hero to detect the ambush before it’s sprung.
Immediately after the Notice roll, gunfire erupts! The heroes are caught
in crossfire from the mountains.
The attackers are extras with a Shooting of d6, and their rifles deal
d10 damage. There are three attackers on each side of the pass. The last
attacker will surrender if all their allies go down.
Any player who passes a Notice check during the combat will see that
the caravan is being ambushed by younger children (late childhood/
early teenage years).
In questioning the children, the heroes will learn that the children have
escaped from a nearby work camp, where they’re being forced to tunnel
a secret pass into the mountain so a surprise attack can be made on the
army the players are sympathetic to.
The children have been robbing the caravans so they can gather enough
supplies to free their friends who are still stuck at the work camp.
If the heroes want to go help the children (they should!), call for a
Persuasion check. On a success, the children agree. On a raise, the children
will also provide the players with more ammunition from their stock.
w 115 w
TREACHEROUS TRAVERSE
To get the party to a good point to survey the camp and lead the ambush,
call for a Climbing check. On a success, the players can find a good
vantage point to ambush the work camp. On a raise, the players can get
even higher and provide good covering fire for those who will need to
assault the camp (functionally giving them a +2 to shooting rolls).
The children in the camp are chained to prevent their escape, and there
are a number of guards at the camp (the number of players + 4). At least
one hero will need to enter the camp to free the children.
Give the players a few moments to devise a plan.
THE RESCUE
The guards are extras with Shooting d8 and Fighting d6, and their
carbines deal d8+1 damage. There is a single Wild Card guard (the chief
jailer) with the same stats.
When the players attack, the guards will immediately take cover to
protect themselves and return fire. Two guards will make a break to get
to a horse to escape and get help. If they’re successful, d3 guards will
show up in d12 turns, with d3 more coming every 3 turns after that.
Freeing the children requires passing a Strength check (with a -2
penalty) to break the chains or a Lockpicking check. There are three
groups of children that are chained, so three successful checks will have
to be made to free all the children.
The guards will not pursue the heroes or any freed children if the players
decide to retreat. Instead, they will go back to their camp to warn their
commander that their plan has been discovered.
After the children are rescued, they will return all the weapons they
stole, allowing the players to get the caravan (and some extra guns) to
the front!
The children can be safely handed off to the military, who will ensure
they reach home, and the friendly army will send guards to patrol the
area the enemy was trying to tunnel through.
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wADVENTURESw
SWASHING THE BUCKLE
Our heroes have been contracted to provide security for a party!
However, someone is intent on ruining the debut of the newest fashion
icon of the city.
A recently arrived noble, Lady Justina le Carre, is throwing an elaborate
masquerade ball to introduce herself and her entourage to the social
scene in the city (the GM should pick a city that makes sense given the
player characters’ nationalities). However, there have been some threats,
and Justina wants to ensure her guests (and herself !) are protected.
WHAT THEY KNOW

Here’s what the players know going in:
Justina has invited some of the most important nobles in the city
to this party.
A week before, Justina received a threat against her life, stating
she’d be killed at the party.
While there are normal guards, the players are being hired to
infiltrate the party under the guise of guests.
THE PARTY
As the heroes arrive, they’re provided appropriate clothing in their size
(information Justina gathered in advance), and they’re asked to choose
from the following masks:
Peacock
Tiger
Wolf
Stag
Fish
Rooster
The party will last for four hours.
w 117 w
THE FIRST HOUR
At the start of the first hour, guests filter in, and the heroes will mingle,
looking for suspicious folks. Call for a Notice check. On a success, the
heroes notice a suspicious individual in a dragon mask loitering by the
serving staff and food a bit too much. On a raise, they also discover a
suspicious individual wearing a lion mask loitering near Justina.
If the players move to approach the dragon, she will blend into the
crowd. A player can tail the dragon, watching as she interacts with folks,
but every time they approach, the dragon will continue to evade them.
If the players move to approach the lion, she will attempt to move into
a hallway or room, but they can intercept and block her. If they do so,
she will select the most attractive hero (highest Charisma) and dance
with them. If there is a dance, make an Agility Check. Success indicates
the lion is impressed and continues to dance with the character. A raise
indicates the lion will converse freely, indicating she is an agent for
another noble who heard about the threats and wanted to ensure Justina
is protected. Her name is Miliea. If a player attempts to find out, Miliea
is a Privileged.
The first hour passes uneventfully otherwise.
THE SECOND HOUR

At the start of the second hour, a scream rings out, along with a loud
crash. A servant has dropped a tray of food and is hurriedly moving
to pick it up as another cry rings out. A woman in a dragon mask has
drawn a blade and is attempting to gut Justina!
The heroes will have to react dramatically, but before they can close
with the dragon, a blast of elemental energy lifts the dragon off her feet,
hurling her through a window behind Justina and out into the garden!
As the guests start to panic, a dozen armed men burst into the ball.
Thugs: Extras, Fighting d8, Strength d6, Shortswords.
There are d3 thugs per hero, and they’re attempting to get to Justina.
The players will have to run interference, protecting Justina as they usher
her to a safe space. ( Justina can suggest several in the house: the cellar,
her chambers, the library, etc.)
As the guests flee, a masked vigilante enters the ball after his henchmen.
Renard, the Bandit King, has arrived.
w 118 w
wADVENTURESw
Renard can’t catch the players in time, but once they’re barricaded in
a safe room, he’ll have his men set up outside and continually taunt the
heroes.
UNDER SIEGE
The bandits have trapped our heroes and Justina in a room in the
mansion and are waiting to gut them!
At this point, the rest of the narrative is up to the GM, but here are
some suggestions:
Renard wants something from Justina (a jeweled necklace, a book
of some valuable secrets, or something similar). He will leave if he
gets it.
Justina is a plant. The lion-masked lady, Miliea, is actually the noble
of the house, and “Justina” is just a body double. A secret passage
out of the mansion might prove the players’ escape!
Or another solution! The GM can run rampant with ideas, but
swashbuckling heroism is the best way out of this problem. If your
players leave feeling like the solution evoked The Three Musketeers,
you’re spot-on!
w 119 w
BETRAYAL?!
Unlike the rest of the small adventures in the Powder Mage Roleplaying
Game, Betrayal will strain the cohesion of a group, as a claim of betrayal
indicts an ally. Note: This scenario is best inserted into the middle of an
already-existing and planned-out campaign.
STARTING WITH A BANG

Our heroes have been hired for a job, and they’re on their way to complete
it, returning to their employer with verification of their success.
As they arrive at their employer’s abode, a massive explosion rocks
them, hurling all the heroes to the ground as flaming debris scatters
around them.
Quite clearly, their employer is dead, as are their hopes of getting paid.
Call for a Notice Check with a -2 penalty. Upon success, they see
someone dart off into an alleyway. With a raise, they can make out two
glinting pistols on his hips—very well-crafted pistols forged by the
master craftsman Emberly.
THE CHASE
Of course our heroes will want to chase this assailant. This is a difficult
chase across rooftops, and it will take some effort to catch him.
The Bomber: Agility d8, Pace 8”, Climbing d8, Jumping d8.
This should be a dynamic chase, as the Bomber scales buildings, leaping
from rooftop to rooftop. His movements and erratic speed will impose
a -4 on all ranged attacks against him, as he’s very difficult to pin down.
Every round, describe where the Bomber runs, giving each player a
Climbing or Jumping Check, as appropriate, to keep up. Success allows
them to keep up; a raise allows them to gain. A failure erases a gain.
Once a hero has gained three times, they may attempt a Fighting roll to
tackle the Bomber and bring him down. If they fail, their gains are reset
to zero, and they must try again.
If they successfully tackle the Bomber, he’ll attempt to fight them off.
w 120 w
wADVENTURESw
The Bomber: Soak 8 (hidden leather armor), Parry 7, Fighting d8,

Shooting d10, Wild Card.
The Bomber can shoot twice per turn, ignoring multiaction penalties
for his shots. Additionally, he’ll attempt to escape at any opportunity.
However, if he is incapacitated, he’ll agree to sell out the blackguard who
hired him—at which point he’ll point to one of the heroes, calling that
hero by name.
“Yes, ______ hired me to kill your employer! You were all supposed to get caught
in the blast, and we’d already ransacked the place, so the money was ours.”
Obviously, the accused hero will deny this. At this point, the Bomber will
produce a letter in the hero’s hand, verifying what the bomber has said.
There are two ways this could go:
First, the hero’s allies believe the hero, deal with the Bomber, and
put this behind them. If they do that, make sure to call out the
possibility of betrayal with actions and subtle hints for a while
afterward before letting it subside.
Secondly, they ask the hero to verify the truth (this could be magic,
such as finding a Knacked who always tells the truth).
THE TWIST
The heroes’ employer who was “blown up”
is alive and well, having hired the Bomber It should go without being
and framed the hero who was accused in said, but be sure to not let
an attempt to get out of payment! this devolve into intraparty
conflict. The game is about
This employer will continue to harass
tension and suspicion in this
and attack the heroes from the shadows, adventure, not attacking
attempting to eliminate them and your friends or causing real-
secure his ill-gotten wealth. Eventually life issues.
the employer will slip up and make
themselves known to the heroes, who
can then deal with the problem.
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Further Reading in the
Powder Mage Universe
The Powder Mage Trilogy
Promise of Blood
Orbit, April 2013
The Crimson Campaign
Orbit, May 2014
The Autumn Republic
Orbit, February 2015
Gods of Blood and Powder

Sins of Empire
Orbit, March 2017
Wrath of Empire
Orbit, May 2018
Blood of Empire
Orbit, 2019
Novellas and Stories

Forsworn
January 2014
Servant of the Crown
June 2014
Murder at the Kinnen Hotel
November 2014
In the Field Marshal’s Shadow
November 2015
Ghosts of the Tristan Basin
February 2016
The Mad Lancers
September 2017
w 122 w
CONTACT
BRIAN Mc CLELLAN
Email: brian@brianmcclellan.com
Website: www.BrianMcClellan.com
Twitter: @briantmcclellan
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/briantmcclellan
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/6524620.Brian_McClellan
To receive announcements, coupons, news, and more regarding the
Powder Mage Universe and the work of Brian McClellan, sign up for
his newsletter!
w 123 w
w 124 w
Index Delia Snowbound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Dynize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
A Dynize Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Adopest. . . . . . 15, 29, 32, 33, 42, 48, 53, 95
Adran Coup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 E
Adran-Kez War. . 12, 28, 30, 32, 35, 42, 44, Emila Blackrat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
45, 48, 49, 52, 55, 57, 59, 68, 73, 81, 97,
F
100
Fatrasta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Adran Republic Cabal. . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 34
Fatrastan War . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 52, 85, 97
Alexei the Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Field Marshal Tamas. . 12, 15, 28, 30, 34, 45,
B 48, 51, 53, 56, 77, 88, 103
Background Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Florian I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Knacked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Fontain Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 71
Privileged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
G
Baron-King Kaysi. . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 73, 76
Gender Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Baron-King Osmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 76
General Vlora . . . . . . . . . . 32, 34, 54, 57, 65
Baron-King Siirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 73, 76
Gods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Battle of Budwiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Adom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 30, 31
Beon III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Banasher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 39
Beon ja Ipille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 50
Brude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Bieru Dori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Ishtari. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Black Powder Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Kresimir . 12, 27, 47, 51, 55, 58, 61, 72, 95,
Bone-eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 86, 104
96, 99, 100
Bornia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Novi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Brudanian-Fatra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Rosvel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company 36,
Gorgantis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 65, 97
41, 42, 45, 47, 49, 53, 54, 63, 65, 67, 70,
Grundin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
73, 77, 78, 86, 96, 97
Gurla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Bruden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Gurlish Wars. . 30, 32, 36, 39, 47, 49, 50, 59,
C 88, 91, 96, 103
Character Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
H
Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Henri Winceslav. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Derived Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Hentriet Jors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
High-Baron Horses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74, 76
Gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Hindrances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Holy Warriors of Labor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Race and Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 I
Prohibited Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Industrialization . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 36, 64, 69
Third Eye. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Charisma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 K
Charlemund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 57 Ka-poel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Charwood Pile Mountain Range ��32 Kez Civil War. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 29, 53, 86
King Ipille of Kez . . . . . . . . . . 15, 28, 52, 85
D King Liva II. . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 43, 45, 46, 62
Danie Wellen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 King Manhouch XII. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28, 77
Del. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 King Saffle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Delia Hampt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 King Sulem IX . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 48, 49, 50
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wIndexw
King Wallach VI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Ricard Tumblar. . . . . . . . . 15, 28, 33, 34, 80
Knacked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Royal Cabal. . . 29, 31, 32, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43,
Knacked Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 55, 56, 60, 65, 70,
Kormere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 73, 75, 99, 102, 103, 104
krana (money). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
S
L Setting Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lady Chancellor Lindet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Slavery. . . . . . . 36, 39, 40, 42, 78, 79, 82, 91
Lord Claremonte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Social Contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Lord Syk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Soderhelm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Sorcery. 11, 31, 39, 44, 49, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75,
M 79, 81, 85, 90, 93, 98, 104
Magebreaker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 104
Strenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Magus Borbador. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 47
Stren Republic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Micenth Follin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Syni Aramia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Michallo Forbis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Mountainwatch. . . . . . . . . . . . 28, 30, 44, 52 T
Taniel Two-shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 103
N Telav . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 39
Naming Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Baron-Kings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Novengrad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Bleakening. . . 48, 49, 53, 67, 80, 96, 99
P The Dead Priestess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Pace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The Else. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Palo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The Faceless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 40
Parry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The Nine Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 27
Powder Cabal . . . . . . 31, 32, 45, 65, 85, 103 Adro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Powder Mages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Bakashka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Power Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Brudania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Predeii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 58, 95, 96, 99 Deliv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Prishta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Novi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Privileged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Rosvel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Privileged Borbador. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Starland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Privileged cabals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Unice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Privileged Josashin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Theopholis ja Krin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Pyre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The Wings of Adom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Toughness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Q
Qarshez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 V
Queen Audren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Vedior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Queen Avenist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Vorinnian Wars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47, 95
Queen Sasha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58, 59, 60, 61
W
R Wardens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 100
Racial Tensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 22
Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wellens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Gerosh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 40, 94 World Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Kresim Church . . 35, 38, 40, 41, 51, 53, 55,
X
57, 59, 74, 79, 86, 94, 96, 102
X-Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Kresim Reform Church. . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 96
Solenpan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 40, 90, 94
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Explore the World of the Award-Winning
Powder Mage Universe
Set four years after the end of the Adran-Kez War as recounted
in The Autumn Republic, the Powder Mage RPG outlines a world
in the upheaval of political, social, and technological revolution.
It makes use of the Savage Worlds game system to allow for
a versatile and easy-to-learn rule set, fast character creation,
and the ability to set out on an adventure within minutes. It
also includes previously unpublished information about the
countries, people, and history of the Powder Mage Universe.
Players can throw themselves into conflicts throughout the Nine
Nations, from the power struggles within the budding republic
of Adro to the unstable intrigue of the migrating courts of the
baron-kings of Unice. To do so, they can take on any number
of roles: a humble Knacked trying to create a family fortune, a
Privileged sorcerer out to change the world, or even a powder
mage bent on revenge for past slights.

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What are the nine nations described in the document?

What are the nine nations described in the document?

What is the time period being described?

What is the time period being described?

Brian McClellan’s

punches and kicks (without a very good

Prohibited Skills On Naming Conventions:

Arcane Background (Powder Mage)

•• 2 Powder Points to reduce damage from a Firearm by -1d6.

•• 2 Powder Points to add +2 to a Shooting Roll.

•• 4 Powder Points to make a container with Gunpowder in it explode

Arcane Background (Privileged)

 Lucky: If you spend a bennie for

Black Powder Weapons:

NATIONS OF THE NINE

back almost a thousand years. The Mountainwatch is rarely a lifelong

The second-largest city in Adro is Budwiel, occupying the entirety

Headquarters of the Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company

An unsubstantiated rumor has it that the Brudanians are developing a

The Adran-Kez War

The Adran-Kez War

A Mountainwatch Fort Guarding a Pass Between Adro and Kez

The Kez Civil War

The Kresim Reform Church

it contains some of the most breathtaking architecture in all the Nine.

The Fontain Academy

LANDS BEYOND THE NINE

The Brudanian-Gurla Trading Company

Presence in the Nine

Little changed until a century ago, when an internal cataclysm—the

Presence in the Nine

While Fatrasta has been

Presence in the Nine

One strange event should be noted when mentioning the Gurlish

Presence in the Nine

Presence in the Nine

 The Gathering of Gods; Kresimir assembles his siblings from across

 41 BK: The Council of Adopest meets to address a series of destructive

 22 BK: The second attempt to summon Kresimir. Half of the ancient

The Time of Kresimir (TK)—approximately 374 years

 1 TK: The founding of Kresim Kurga, the great mountain kingdom

 12 TK: Founding of Novi.

 14 TK: Founding of Kez.

 13 TK: Founding of Brudania.

 74 TK: Founding of Bakashka.

 93 TK: Founding of Wellens, the future capital of Starland.

 112 TK: The arrival of the Vorinnian Flotilla, ancestors of the

 301 AK: The last of the Predeii, Julene, is defeated in Rosvel.

 731 AK: Discovery of Dynize by Brudanian sailors.

 812 AK: The beginning of the Novi conquest of Gurla.

 874 AK: The formation of the Novi Empire.

 952 AK: Founding of the Kresim Reform Church.

 987 AK: First major settlement in Fatrasta, consisting of Adrans

 1270 AK: Brudania strips Rosvelean forests under the infamous

 1405 AK: Bakashkan invasion of Gurla begins the Gurlish Wars.

 1405–1478 AK: The Gurlish Wars.

 1421–1429 AK: The Kresim Inquisition of Bakashka.

 1454 AK: The Plague of Storious.

 1483 AK: The Adran-Kez War; BGTC involvement leads to the

PRESENT DAY: 1487 AK

Lucky: If you spend a bennie for

The Gathering of Gods; Kresimir assembles his siblings from across

41 BK: The Council of Adopest meets to address a series of destructive

22 BK: The second attempt to summon Kresimir. Half of the ancient

1 TK: The founding of Kresim Kurga, the great mountain kingdom

12 TK: Founding of Novi.

14 TK: Founding of Kez.

13 TK: Founding of Brudania.

74 TK: Founding of Bakashka.

93 TK: Founding of Wellens, the future capital of Starland.

112 TK: The arrival of the Vorinnian Flotilla, ancestors of the

301 AK: The last of the Predeii, Julene, is defeated in Rosvel.

731 AK: Discovery of Dynize by Brudanian sailors.

812 AK: The beginning of the Novi conquest of Gurla.

874 AK: The formation of the Novi Empire.

952 AK: Founding of the Kresim Reform Church.

987 AK: First major settlement in Fatrasta, consisting of Adrans

1270 AK: Brudania strips Rosvelean forests under the infamous

1405 AK: Bakashkan invasion of Gurla begins the Gurlish Wars.

1405–1478 AK: The Gurlish Wars.

1421–1429 AK: The Kresim Inquisition of Bakashka.

1454 AK: The Plague of Storious.

1483 AK: The Adran-Kez War; BGTC involvement leads to the