Advent: Magicka Rising
Advent: Magicka Rising
Advent: Magicka Rising (later referred to as just Advent) is in essence Pokemon with swords, magic and the ability to beat monsters into a bloody pulp, should they prove to be disobedient. For a long time (since I was around eight) the idea of running around with a team of monsters that answer to your beck and call was one that appealed to me greatly, as it would to any little boy, and Pokemon gave me just that. When I began to become interested in pen and paper rpgs the desire to convert the Pokemon game into such a thing arose within me and now, after five years, I am actually starting to put pen to paper (of finger to key, as it were.)
Of course the happy-go-lucky game play style of Pokemon seemed a little too shallow and far too light hearted for anything I would want to play. So Advent game along, pokemon’s evil twin.
The game, in creation, became something more than this, even still, and I hope that players and Storytellers will use it to create epic tales.
So now Advent is a game for players who want to play in a world and Empire dealing with two types of invasion, enemy armies from the North and unnatural monsters spawning from the Ether. Can you conquer both? Or would you rather learn to live with them? Both routes are possible to a player, it’s up to you to decide.
All you need to play Advent is this manual (though others may help as only 18 monsters are included in this book) some pens and paper, friends and a set of polyhedral dice (D4,D6,D8,D1,D12 & D2).
This supplement to Advent will introduce new rules and expand on the ones already found in the core rule book. None of these rules should be used with out the approval of your Storyteller before you begin playing with them.
The Dark Arts supplement
This supplement is aimed for games which will involve PCs or NPCs using unsavoury means to their goals or training Dark Odic monsters. You will not find anything useful for character’s of pure heart, unless you wish to know your enemy.
The Geography of the Empire.
The Tyris Empire is made up of five once independent realms. These were systematically conquered by the Empire and are now all within its dominion. Because the lands have been controlled by the Empire for so long the peoples are largely mixed and racial heritage is no longer a big deal. However all realms serve as a homeland for one or more races, except for the middle plains, the heart of the empire, which acts as a melting pot for a multitude of races.
The following pages contain a description of each of the five realms, including the general geography, the capital of each realm and other places of interest.
Karsill (The Great Plains)
Karsill is more often referred to as the Middle Realm or the Great Plains. Indeed its official name is only truly used in ceremonies and scholars books, having lost a true need for a separate name since the Empire began.
The Great Plains is situated in the middle of the four other realms and is made mainly of flat grassland, with a few small hills and copses of trees dotted across its landscape. Due to its flat nature you can stand in the Tower of the Six Lords, in the capital city of Tyrin, and see into the surrounding realms, even past the south and into the Ocean of Souls, with only a few cities to obscure your view. Across the lands herders let their animals roam, though now many hire monster catchers to guard themselves and their animals. To the south, before the Oran river splits into its many deltas and travels into the Orc and Goblin tribal lands, the rivers fertile banks are the home of Karsill’s main corn and wheat fields. Along the river there are many small watermills which also have docking stations for the supply barges, at these points the grain is ground down before moving onto the capital.
The Oran river itself runs from the northern mountains and down through the middle of the realm. The river has a slow current and works as a water highway between the south and the north of the Empire. It passes through the city of Tyrin, which was built on the three banks as the river splits at this point into the Oran and Latchla rivers. The Oran continues due south whilst the Latchla veers of to the west, worming its way through the small hills of the Gnomish heartlands and into the estuary each feeds the Border Sea. There are a few other, small rivers, that come from the north, some running into the Oran, others travelling east and west.
The middle realm’s weather is often characterised as boring. Indeed it is incredibly temperate, meaning it’s climate is not too different from the warm south or the cold north to make it uncomfortable to its denizens. During the season of growth Karsill experience heavy, slightly warm, showers for days at a time as the warm southern winds push clouds from the heated Ocean of Souls. During the peak of this season, the Storm of the Founder occurs. Always happening within the week of the solstice, the great storm lasts for one day and one night only, beginning at dawn one day and ending at dawn the next. It is said that this is a symbol from the Founder for the people of Karsill to begin storing food, to prepare for the coming season of recedence.
During the recedence rain is scarce even though the sky is dark. The land becomes cold and frigid and without the warm air, clouds are not pushed high enough to break. Because of this the clouds break over the mountains to the north, causing the rivers of the realms to enlarge and spill their banks. The mass flooding that occurs does much damage to nearby cities, but the people consider it necessary as it makes the land fertile for the coming season of growth.
Places of interest in Karsill.
Tyrin
The Empire’s capitol city is home to all the races of the lands, although it’s permanent inhabitants are mainly human and gnomes, are great deal of traffic comes from the orcs, elves and dracoth. Set just south of the centre of the Karsill in the crux of the Oran and Latchla rivers, the city is divided into three main parts, with a small island at the centre.
The southernmost bank holds the dock and merchant quarters of the city, the area punctuated by its ‘vibrant’ activities, loud noises and foul smell (unless of course a vessel carrying elven perfume has just come into port.) These docks are the centre of commerce for all the realms, buyers and sellers loading and unloading vessels, only to have the goods move five metres before a stall is set up. The docks themselves are built upon a floating platform, that touches the earth during the season of growth, but during the floods of the recedence float, leaving the boats and stalls unharmed. Further up the river, closer to the crux, more expensive shops (with actual buildings!) can be found. All though not all the stores sell savoury wares, most keep up appearances, if only to appease the guard.
The eastern bank is taken up mostly by housing. The streets on this bank are covered in squalor and muck. The people who live on this side of the river are poor and dying souls. The rent is cheap here but affords no luxury and only the desperate find themselves on this side of the bank. It is a sad fact, however, that over 8% of the cities population make their residence there.
The western bank is the wealthy and entertainment quarter. There are many manors on the east bank and the marbled streets are walked upon by laughing elves and stern, noble, dracoth. This is the city at its finest, with the Grand Library and Imperial Arena it truly is the heart of the Empires culture. Here a man, or woman, can make their residence for a year and never be forced to see the same piece of entertainment twice, if they went out every evening. Indeed the city boasts some twenty theatres and concert halls of which eighteen are on the west bank (The Stray Dogs theatre is on the east and the Caracas auditorium is on the south bank.)
Finally the centre isle is home to the Tower of the Six Lords, where the original six warlords met to survey their realm. All though the Tower is open to the public, who wish to view the expanse of the empire, the top most floor has been converted to the Emperors private chambers. However twice a year the whole tower is closed down as the Emperor and his four chancellors (one for each realm other than Karsill) meet to discuss matters of the Empire. The tower itself is a remarkable building, all though only made of grey faced stone the tower was built to stand the test of time. It extends nearly to the heavens, a whole thirty floors, each floor alternating balconies that face north and south or east and west.
Each of the islands is wide enough to take half a day to walk around, except for the middle which only has ten metres of spare land around the towers base.
All of the quarters have levies built to stop the street flooding during the recedence.
The Founder’s Hammer.
The Empire states that the middle plains are the middle of the whole world. They base this on a single piece of evidence. The Founder’s Hammer. The Founder’s Hammer is a huge monolith, larger than the biggest dragon, that stands at the exact centre of Karsill. This monolith is covered in deep red runes, that are embedded a quarter of a foot within it’s surface. Although none have fully been able to translate the language of the runes, a series of mines in the north seem to have similar runes, found by the elven archaeologist Mio. Half way up the monolith there is a large circular hole, many believe that this hole once housed the shaft of the hammer and thusly that the hammer was used in the creation of the world. According to common lore, the Founder, happy with his work on the world, returned to were he first pounded out the flat plains from the ether and laid down his hammer.
Karden’s Fort.
On the eastern border the Fort of Karden sits on a small hill, the first of the eastern foothills and marks the originally boundary between the two lands. Since the empire expanded over the east the fort has fallen into disuse and disrepair. Indeed none have visited it for many years and stories are abound about some great Oni who lives there, feeding of the despair of those who fought and died in the surrounding lands.
The North Wall.
After the Empire had pushed back the Trollish advances they built a large wall whish spanned from the eastern foothills through to the western woods, with an outpost once every half days ride. The old towers are once again being manned, as this is the Empire back up line, should they lose the northern mountains.
The Ashen wall.
Morshan walked to the edge of the western forest, the elven realm, and order the chopping down and burning of trees in a line across the border, ten trees deep. Once this had been finished he shouted into the Forest telling the elves that any who cross that line would be dead within a minute, to this end he had a row of archers constantly positioned ready to fire at any elves who dared pass. As Morshan rode back to the capital all the archers were slaughtered, littered among their bodies many elves with multiple arrow wounds each. The land was stained with ash and blood and a dark row runs the barrier between the two lands, even to this day.
Tags: Paul Roberts
