The Empire of Moerae - A setting about intrigue, lies and the undead.

[Perch]

The Empire of Moerae - A setting about intrigue, lies and the undead.

This is a new setting I have been working on. I want to know what you guys think about it. It’s in the same universe as my other two setting so if you want to check it out: Link Link



The old emperor is dead; the new emperor has risen to the throne, long live the new emperor.

These are the worlds uttered by the population but not what is in their minds. The new emperor has proved to be a warmonger, despot and tyrannical fool; now that he is setting at the ebony throne in the pale castle many new factions seeking power and favor have created the board for a new and bloody game of power and influence.



As if that wasn’t enough many other, supernatural, treats bring suffering to the world, the undead legion invasion, the black tower, the Ghest curse and many other problems, but they have been ignored since everyone is concerned with the new power struggle at the capital.

The Lore and backstory:
Races:
The Cyclopean empire: No one is really sure of how they looked like, but millennia ago this empire used to rule the entire western continent their technology is extremely complex and advanced and many speculate that their experiments in genetic and biologic engineering were the origin of the human race, originally created as an slave race of unnaturally evolved primates and all the other races of the known world.



One day the members of the Cyclopean empire simply disappeared, leaving the world in a state of anarchy and their genetic experiments free to fight for supremacy.

The Unseen serpents: There extremely powerful creatures take the form of giant and sometimes colossal serpents, their intelligence is extremely high and they were responsible for the creation of many of the spells used by the magic users nowadays, after their masters disappeared they broke free form their prisons and started exploring other dimensions and planes of existence, as well as creating life in the forms of the Ouroboros, snakes, cobras and lesser serpents. (Think Harry potter's Basilisk, only intelignet and able to cast spells.)

Ouroboros: The Ouroboros are an advanced race of humanoid serpents created by the Unseen serpents as the keepers and heirs of the material world, these put them in the odds with the humans, they fought for millennia and were almost decimated by the brutal savages, now the surviving members of this race live in seclusion studying and perfecting the occult art of magic and worshiping their creators.



The Quan: This horrifying race of unknown origin hails from the swamps of the northern islands, despite their appearance of a pale, obese slug and frog like humanoid with strong arms and legs. They are quite peaceful and civilized, they normally use their long prehensile tongue to catch their preys, but they are also great cooks and act as chefs for many noble houses. (Think albino Jabba the hutt, with bodybuilder arms and legs)

The undead: For some unknown reason the undeath happens naturally in the Moerae region with an impressive frequency. The temples developed many rituals and counter measures to prevent the dead from rising but no one is really sure of how to prevent it.

The Dragons: Tales about the origin of these extremely powerful creatures are many, some say they were created as weapons by the Cyclopean empire others say they were made by the Unseen serpents to destroy the other surviving experiments, no one is sure but one thing is certain there is nothing more devastating them a dragon in rampage.

The Shadows: These weird partially real exist in near liquid form, they are vulnerable to sonics and fire, reproduce asexually, and seemingly grow stronger with each generation. Shadows also have amazing camouflage abilities. They are empathic, usually drawn towards negative emotions, and feed heavily on the brain-produced energy.

They are shape shifters who can take any form they want, but remain pitch-black liquid like. (Think Noob saibot mixed with Venom form spiderman)

The Ghast: These transparent parasitic oozes are an amorphous experiment created by the Cyclopean empire, they have no definitive form and for these reason they have the habit of crawling among battlefields and graveyards in search of human skeletons to use it as structure giving them a humanoid shape, this and the fact they enjoy consuming human flesh put them in the odds with the human race.

Otherwise, they are barbaric warrior race who enjoy killing and devouring humans, but also work as mercenaries, many nobles hire Ghasts as bodyguards to intimidate their enemines.

They mimic human aparence with their ooze like material, recreating hair and sometimes even reproductive organs.

Despeite their looks they are NOT undead.



Humans: The dominant race of the continent, these creatures were originally created by the Cyclopean empire and divided in two groups.

The high humans: They were extremely intelligent and used as laboratory assistants and backup wizards. They were distinguishable by their blue blood.

The low humans: Despite also being highly intelligent these red blooded humans were used as a workforce for more brutal labors such as mining, hunting, building, pleasuring, guarding and as soldiers.

Noticing the crescent power of humans and their impressive ability to adapt the Cyclopean empire created safety measures. The low humans were telepathically connected to the high humans; if the high humans died the low humans would go with them. They also made the High human’s extremely venerable and allergic to the atmospheric components of the outside world if they ever left the labs they would instantly die.

What their creator didn’t anticipated was the creation of hybrids, for some unexpected reason many high and low humans few in love with each other creating a mixed offspring that end up breaking the telepathically connection, their creators didn’t anticipated the highly advanced section of the race would end developing feelings towards the lesser one.

After the Cyclopean empire disappeared the humans left the labs and mines, the high humans were decimated and the low humans and half humans created tribes that later would become nations, kingdoms and empires.

Human Empires:

Spoiler

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The Empire of Evermere: As the tribes started to developed, dragons, shadows and many other abominations created by their former masters started to get more and more aggressive. This forced the humans to hide away underground and in caves.

Some refused to leave or hide and decided to face the monsters in battle but they were a lot less powerful and so they were destroyed. All the first human civilizations that didn’t hide ended, all but one. The glorious Empire of Evermere.

This rich empire had its capital sitting on top of a literal gold mine, knowing how important minerals were for their former master they assumed the powerful dragons and mystical serpents would enjoy using it as well, and so this human nation conquered all not thougth muscle or blade but thought commerce and alliance.

The alliance of Dragons, serpents and the Empire of Evermere was enough to end all the other monstrosities that were spawned by their creators and after a war that lasted 600 years the abominations were no more.

As the Unseen serpents left to other planes and the dragons decided to explore other regions of the planet, the empire conquered the entire continent; the humans who went hiding started to return and were quickly slaved by the now absolute empire.

Nowadays, after the Moerae revolution, they are a shadow of their former self; their never ending territories are reduced to their capital city and nearby fields. They are still insanely rich though, producing the best quality gold and steel and also beign the greatest producer of hallucinogens drugs.

The empire of Moerae is quite young compared to other nations of the western continent; it has an old conflict with the former empire of Evermere. But now the former empire is reduced to its capital and the new empire it strong and mighty.

Generations after the rise of the Evermere Empire, their inhabitants have gown obese and hedonistic, their empire founded upon commerce, art, drugs and diplomacy didn’t prepare them for what was about to come.

Their former allies, the dragons have returned but they were changed. The former wise and highly advance reptilians have returned savage and bloodthirsty, they attacked all the humans’ cities and settlements in their way destroying the empire order and power.
Unprepared for war against such mighty opponents the empire end up falling in anarchy, and the allowed a small clan of solider with blue blood to rise.

This clan using ancient High human artifacts was able to put an end to the dragon invasion and create a new empire; unlike the Evermere they were warriors and mages ready to put an end to their enemies.

Unlike their former masters they were againts slavery and allowed new nations to develop.

[Yora]

Plenty of reference pictures. Nice. Those really help a lot.

I like that this is clearly not another world in the Tolkien/Gygax style. Always nice to see more of those. And you can never have too many snake men.

The main question I would have as a player is what the overarching theme for adventures would be. What kind of stories could one expect? What are the conflicts and how to the PCs get involved?

[Perch]

I’m glad you asked, now that the lore-backstory is out of the way… Let’s get to the interesting stuff.

Plot hooks:

The Ghest curse:
The dragons, the empire of Evermere and the Ouroboros were not the only threats to the Empire of Moerae.

While the humans from the Evermere sought power in the coins and gold and the Empire of Moerae sought power in blades, war and strength, three city states formed their own nation based on magic.

The name of this nation was lost in history, something arcane and eldritch but their neighbors started calling then the “Iron triangle” three city sates that joined forces to end all threats.

The rising of the Iron Triangle:

They started as small tribes, weaker than the Moerae and less powerful than the Evermere, but they sought advice with the snakes.

Unlike our world the serpents in this setting are rational, able to think, speak and with a deep connection with the occult, magic and sorcery.

They agreed to teach the secrets of magic to these three tribes in exchange of worship, these humans started to worship the snakes and their lords The unseen serpents as Gods and soon they become masters of the dark arcane arts.

Little they knew that their source of power soon would be their undoing.

The city-states of the Iron triangle:

The first city state was composed of researches and scholars, they used all their resources tring to reach immortality and perfect the military applications of magic.

The second city state was the most interested in conquest, using their talents for magic they built an impossible high tower and used as their seat of power.

The final city state was reclusive, only leaving their walled city to assist the other two in conflicts.

Together they formed a powerful nation that feel could contest, they slaved the nearby tribes and soon their city states were large and powerful.

The beginning of the fall:

Little they knew that the dark energies they used to power their spells were highly addictive and corruptive, soon their leaders started to seek more power and their alliance started to crumble as each city started to get more and more individualistic.

One day, while conducting a massive ritual searching for immortality, an accident happened that wiped the first city state of the iron triangle form the face of the planet, in their former location a desert of golden sands and an imposing dark tower pulsating arcane energy.

All the inhabitants of the city were gone and in their place horrible undead like creatures with glowing blue energy all over their body, this legion soon started attacking the nearby settlements.

After that day the Ghest curse also started to appear.

When someone dies there is a small chance of them return to life as a new form of undead named Ghest.

These creatures are extremely similar to normal humans except they hunger for the souls of the living, if a Ghest doesn’t consume the soul of a another human it will soon decent intro madness and become a mindless undead. They can try to feed on the soul resonance present in corpses but it is a lot easier and satisfying to eat the soul straight out of living human being, the humans who lose their souls this way also return as a soulless ghest and most hunt for another soul to regain their humanity.



After finding out the destruction of their allies the third city state deiced to break up with their former allies and enacted a policy that no nation is allowed to interfere in their reclusiveness. Their tall walls were made even taller, using their magic they sealed away all entrances, they had finally perfect their technology and spells to the point where their city was completely self-sustainable.

And for a time they lived in blissful ignorance about the problems form the outside world.
But their tall walls didn’t protect them from their fall since their fall came from inside, no one hear their screams as their most powerful magic users, so corrupted and addicted to the arcane started to mutate in monstrosities.

No one came for help when The Ghest curse took over their entire population and soon their impossible large city with colossal walls was nothing but a graveyard, a ghost city whose inhabitants were all Ghests or arcane abominations.

The fall:
Without their allies backup the last remaining city state had no way to fight against the Moerae. Dealing with the arcane corruption and the Ghest curse was already depleting most of their resources, with time after years of battle their entire empire was reduced to ruins.



It’s quite possible that the players will have to deal with the Ghest curse in their adventures, either looking for a cure, dealing with a Ghest trying to survive by feeding and the moral dilemma it brings or actually contracting the curse.

The classes:
The Empire of Moerae rose to power by uniting the nearby tribes against their enemies, their first Emperor was a charismatic leader and a brilliant strategist, but all the might of the unite tribes army was not enough to defeat the might of the grey dragons.



Once the weaker form of dragon these creatures with the help of the unseen serpents quickly rose in power, by performing the rituals of the serpents they were able to make their scales impenetrable and by dominating the power of the golden flames they were able to destroy all who stood in their way, these flames were able to instantly burn and destroy any kind of material leaving only a type of black rock in their place or if it’s an organic creature killed a black metal with unhuman strength.

With this power they subjugated all the other dragons and creatures, using the stones created by their flames they built their cities and using the metal they armed their servants, nothing could stop then.



Their only mistake was to revolt against their former master, the unseen serpents, furious of such treachery and insolence they appeared before the first emperor of Moerae in the form of angels and taught him secrets of a dark art that would allow him to forge weapons not only capable of damaging their hides but also grating humans godlike powers.

By poisoning the oldest of the grey dragons and fusing the flesh, bones and scales in melted gold as the ritual demanded he was able to forge a golden sword of unimaginable power, using this artifact he was able to destroy the dragons one by one and using their corpses to forge even more artifacts, such as a golden scepter that allowed him to control the other types of dragons.

He was able to unify the land under his rule and end the grey dragon’s influence forever.

As his empire grown and prospered, he started to fear for his legacy, so he used his power to seal away the Aurum artifacts in a way that only a human with blue blood would be able to use its power.

This way the blue blooded nobility rose and they were able to stay in power until this day, however with time and many attacks many Aurum artifacts were lost or stolen, diminishing the influence of the emperor and the blue blood nobility.

Now the blue blood’s’ try to keep their power while the power hungry red blooded nobility tries to rise the ranks and maybe one day seat at the ebony throne.

The Caste system:

The first emperor believed in a meritocratic rule, and as he united the tribes against their enemies he sought to put the best men in the position that best suited his skills.

Unlike the other nations he was also very inclusive allowing for women to join the army and act in any role as long as they were able to prove they were capable.

And thus the Caste system was born.

The young citizens of the empire are trained in many skills and when they come of age they are allowed to choose any of the castes to join as long as they are able to prove their power and competence.

This meritocratic caste system may sound great in theory but it’s very rare although not unheard of for someone to be able to advance to a caste different from their parents since training in politics or combat is quite expensive.

The castes are:

Warrior caste: They are the ones who receive formal combat training, they are the only ones allowed to use and hold weapons larger than a dagger, the members can choose an order to join but many end up as foot soldiers or city guards.(Most of the physical classes are members of this caste)

Farmers caste: Most of the population, although most of the time explored and abused by the others castes they are starting to gain a lot of political power under the protection of one of the major noble houses.

Smith caste: Smiths smelt raw materials to produce finished goods such as tools, weapons and armor. They are very secretive about their tools, philosophies and techniques.

Artisan caste: Artisans ornament the goods produced by smiths or simply create art for its own sake.

Miner caste: Responsible for mining gold, silver, iron and dragon steel.

Merchant caste: Responsible for the business and trades, most of the time richer than the nobles and frequently engaged in the exploration of the land seeking new trade routes.

Priest caste: Responsible for the rituals, administration of the temples, identifying the will of the gods, dealing with the undead and hunting down heretics. Some orders are allowed to have warrior monks who train and master the use of weapons just like the warriors caste.

Noble caste: The highest ranking and most esteemed caste in the empire, consisting of the most powerful and influential individuals. Membership is largely a matter of birth and marriage, but is not unheard of a member of a non-noble caste proving his or her worth and being accepted intro one of the Major Houses.

Knight Caste: A sub-division of the noble caste, these warriors are a lot more skilled, well trained and well-armed than the members of the warriors caste, they often act as leaders and generals. They must choose one of the many knightly orders to join, learning their secrets and martial techniques.

Political caste: Members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons, responsible for creating and enforcing laws also serving as judges.

Mage caste: Although fearful of the dark power of the arcane art, any member of the empire that shows interest or skill with magic is hunted down and locked away in one of the imperial institutions dedicated to the study of magic. Few survive the training. Even less the lifestyle.

Servant caste: Their job is to serve higher castes in positions such as washerwomen, maids, cooks, barkeeps, etc. Their power and influence comes from selling information and frequently act as spies.

The Casteless: The lowest members of society below even servant caste. They are normally composed of unskilled youth who end up not qualifying for any of the castes getting banished from their very own family. They are forbidden from taking most legal jobs forcing many to turn to begging or crime.

Freemen: Members of the empire who haven’t applied for one caste yet and are in the process of training.

The players will likely end up dealing with the castes, either trying to prove their worth to join one, trying to change their own caste for a higher one or as hired as mercenaries to act in the behalf of one.


Changes in classes:
Magic is very rare in this world so a few changes are called for. There will be both mechanical and cosmetic changes.

Fighter -> Warrior: Members of the warrior caste, trained from a young age to be masters of their weapon of choice.

Barbarian -> Berserker: Members of the warrior caste, trained from to sustain the effects of a arcane drug that allowed them to rage and achieve phenomenal strength, barbarian is the term used for all non-imperial civilizations.

Clerics -> Wizards: Wizards are magic users who use the old rituals tough by the serpents to the members of the Iron Triangle, their form of magic is forbidden in the empire, who prefer the less ritualistic and more logical and scientific mages. Although their spells are not as destructive or fleshy as the Mages they are able to use magic to heal, cure and harm in a way the mages are still unable to mimic. Clerics are just members of the Priest caste and have no special powers because of that, they can be of any class they want (Many are warriors). They are also extremely sexist, not allowing women to join their ranks and learn their secrets.

Clerics -> Witches: Female members of the class, they hide in the woods and learning the rituals directly from the surviving serpents, they methods and rituals are vastly different form the Wizards but they do follow the same structure.

Wizard -> Mages: The imperial magic users, they approach the arcane energies in a less ritualistic way, using the scientific method they are able to prepare and confine spells in catalysts for later use, reducing the probability of corruption. They are members of the mage caste. Both man and women are allowed to join their ranks.

Bard -> Hermit: The use of songs and music to cast spells heavily clash with the overall theme of the setting so bards lose all their musical conations and are instead hermits who learned a lot of the lore of the land, martial skills and a little of magic. Bard is a common occupation for the members of the Artisan caste, but they have no special powers.

Druids -> Elementalists: They get their powers from the elemental planes rather than arcane energies or the force of nature. They are members of the Mage caste. Druids are local priest from rural regions who don’t follow the imperial gods and prefer to worship the old gods; they get no special power form that.

Paladins -> Crusaders: Warriors trained to fight the undead legion that comes from the dark tower. They DON’T learn spells but can keep their class abilities like lay hands or turn undead.

Ranger: Remains unchanged but they can’t learn spells.

Rogue -> Agents: Trained by the Warriors caste to be spies or infiltrators. They don’t have the criminal connotations and are used to explore Cyclopean ruins learning about traps and contraptions.

Monk: Remains unchanged. They are Members of the priest caste.

Warlock: Remains unchanged; they are mostly used as military agents for the Mage caste.

Sorcerer -> Spellbinder: These mages decided to bind the spells they cast in their very flesh, that allows them to use their powers more frequently than normal wizards but they are often mocked as lesser wizards unable to learn the complex rituals to prepare new spells forcing then to use their own bodies as a conductor and catalyst sacrificing their versatility. They use their own will to cast their spells making them a lot more charismatic and less susceptible to corruption.

Sorcerers: That’s the term the mages use for any one capable of using magic naturally. Any human exposed to large quantities of arcane may turn into a sorcerer; they are very powerful but have little control of their spells, causing a lot of devastation around. They hunted down and killed by the inquisition unless they freely admit being a sorcerer to a government official, they are forgiven of their sins and crimes but are treated as second class citizens and mostly used as living weapons in wars and against the undead legion from the dark tower.