The Universe
The universe is a collection of Worlds, the space between them, and other important cosmological features. How exactly worlds come into existence isn’t all that well understood, but it would seem that new worlds continue to pop up across the universe from time to time. There is always a new world to discover. The existence of other Worlds in the universe is viewed unanimously as a good thing and travel between them is celebrated.
Worlds
Worlds are where people live and are full of cultures, settlements, conflicts, and celebrations. Each world is unique and has its own magic, technology, and peoples. Worlds can have their own micro-cosmologies and might have metaphysical planes related to common energies and phenomena that exist on that World.
The Astral Interdiction
The Astral Interdiction, commonly referred to as just The Interdiction, is the event that closed off the Worlds of the universe from one another, preventing travel between Worlds during the period of time now referred to as The Interdiction Age (or the IA for short). The IA lasted for a generation, roughly 30-40 years on most worlds. Time passes at similar, but not identical, rates on different worlds, and the discrepancy in number of years that the IA lasted on differing worlds can be attributed to the Interdiction starting earlier on a specific world or time passing at a different rate on a world compared to other worlds. This difference in time passing is only ever observed over large periods of decades or longer.
Staff Note
This time discrepancy is built in so that world builders have flexibility in the specifics of the Interdiction in different worlds and so player characters can write backstories for their characters that need not conform to strict timelines.
Source
Source is a physical phenomenon of purple crystals that contain incredible energy. There is much about the origin of Source that is not understood, but it is widely agreed upon that Source comes from the space between Worlds. Source Storms are events where these crystals rain down and can be collected for future use. Source is commonly used when casting powerful spells, creating extraordinary or magical items, and is traded as currency despite being technically priceless as there is no known method to fabricate or synthesize Source. More information on Source can be found here.
Malevolent Worlds
A Malevolent World, or World in Malevolence, is a world that is no longer in the group of worlds that can be normally traveled to in the universe. The exact mechanism that causes a world to fall into Malevolence is unknown but it is said that if a world “dies” then ultimately that world will become Malevolent. These fallen worlds cease being homes to their former peoples and become populated instead by Malefactors, powerful immortal beings that take the form of twisted caricatures of what the world once was. Some people decide to tap directly into the magic of Malevolent Worlds and become Maleficers, wielding the vicious magic of Malefice and forever changing themselves in the process.
Staff note
Player characters that choose to become Maleficers during play will cease being playable characters and must be retired. If you want a player experience that explores wielding the power of Malefice we recommend the Herald of Malevolence Prestige Path in the rulebook.
Travel Between Worlds
Traveling between worlds can be accomplished in different ways depending on circumstances.
Gates and Portals
The most common way to travel between worlds is to use gates or portals. A gate is a permanent structure erected for the specific purpose of facilitating travel between worlds. A portal is a temporary magical door between worlds that can be created by Magic Users. In both instances, gates and portals are two-way, allowing passage to and from both connected worlds, and can only travel to “open” worlds. “Closed” worlds cannot be traveled to in this way.
Staff Note
Player characters should be from open worlds.
Ships
The next most common way to travel between worlds is to use a ship capable of traversing the space between worlds. These ships can travel to both open and closed worlds and are capable of carrying cargo from one world to another. The method of creating these ships is a closely guarded secret and having access to one is very rare. Before the IA, Astral Corsairs sailed the universe from world to world on these ships, selling their services. Many of these ships are modeled after nautical vessels, while some bear a closer resemblance to airships, and others still are much less conventional in appearance.
Banishment
The least common way to travel between worlds is via Banishment, a process that forcibly sends a single creature to another World. This process is dangerous, unpredictable, and generally happens without the subject’s permission. Some creatures and spells are powerful enough to force creatures to travel to another place or world in this way.
Staff Note
Since the end of the IA, The Travail is an open world and can be traveled to and from easily via Gate and Portal. Player characters cannot be created with access to a ship, but it’s a reasonable goal for a character to work towards. Characters can initially arrive in The Travail via banishment, and this could be a fun option to explore, but creating a character whose goal is “to go home” will probably not be a very interesting story at Travail.
The Travail
The Travail is a special world in the universe, created by a group of individuals collectively referred to as the Heroes of the Travail. These impressive folks come from a multitude of backgrounds and disciplines and joined forces to create a world where they could not only live and work together, but have a central point in the universe where others could come to learn, request aid, and collaborate. The creation of the Travail was completed not long before the start of the IA and very few people, if any, had a chance to visit before travel between worlds was no longer possible. Now that the IA has ended, the Travail is an open world and people from across the universe will be heading there for the purposes it was created for. Some have decided to come unprompted, while others have received invitations from the Heroes to join them in The Travail, and others still may have been motivated to go for their own reasons to learn, request aid, or ask for residence. It is widely accepted that The Travail and its Heroes are hospitable and welcoming to the point where they welcome folks to stay with them for as long as they need. The Travail itself has many wondrous properties, most of which must be discovered, to help its Heroes and visitors.
Staff Note
The players at the first Travail event will be some of the first people to visit The Travail in a long time. When the game starts, your characters will just be arriving. All players will start equally with no real operating knowledge about The Travail and its heroes. The wondrous powers of The Travail are the explanation for why player characters can change Paths frequently and will be explained further during the first event.