Introduction
I originally began developing Ethrea as a setting for short stories, and perhaps an eventual novel. However, as I became more and more interested in Fantasy Role Playing Games, I decided that I wanted to GM these games. Because of this I chose to make Ethrea my campaign world. I have endeavored to make a world that is continuous, coherent, and most of all fun. Ethrea is a world in which mighty heroes and ferocious villains clash; a place where drama and adventure can take place on a grand scale. Though it is primarily an original work, there are significant portions which I have borrowed from other sources. In the spirit of gaming, I would in turn like to extend an invitation to others that wish to use any or all of the Ethrea materials in their games.
To keep things simple, as well as to maintain the flow of game-play, time moves exactly the same in Ethrea as it does in the real world. One second in the real world is equal to one second in Ethrea. Minutes, hours, days, months, and even years are the same as well. Years are grouped into decades, and centuries. In the world of Ethrea, a period of 1,000 years is known as an age as oppossed to a millenia. A comet known as The Chariot of Burtan approaches Ethrea every 1,000 years; thus marking the end of one Age and the beginning of another. The coming of this comet heralds events of great importance, such as the Cataclysm and subsequent fall of the Dracarii, whose empire controlled much of the world for almost 7,000 years until it’s collapse. Additionally it heralded the demonic incursion of the 6th Age, the age of Chaos which caused upheavals among the intelligent races, as well as in nature itself. The current age is the Age of Ashes since the final fires of the demonic invasion have been extinguished and the world has been given the chance to rebuild from those times of horror. The arrival of this comet always signals the beginnings of great events that will shape the world for the next 1,000 years. It is at the birth of the new age that the flow of magic is at its peak. During this time many artifacts, totems, and legendary weapons are created.
In addition to the passing of the Ages, the seasons of Ethrea are of great interest. There is the traditional fall, spring, summer, and winter, but there are also regular periods of extremes. The orbit of Ethrea around its sun is irregular, and as a result there are extended periods of warmer and cooler weather. This is 20 year cycle in which overall temperatures increase or decrease. It can result in brutal, terrible winters,scorching summers, as well as periods of very mild weather.
For the most part the world of Ethrea follows the basic laws of the natural world. The laws of gravity and thermodynamics all hold true because Ethrea is loosely based on the real world. However, this is still a fantasy setting where creatures are able to transcend these limitations. To borrow a line from one of my favorite movies, “As with the real world there are rules that govern everything; but here some rules can be bent, and others that can be broken.”
Thanks to the power of magic and the minds eye, the possibilities are nearly limitless. Magic in this world is born of the energies expended during the creation of the universe. Some creatures are more in tune with these energies than others, and thus they are able to manifest certain abilities. Not everyone in this universe is capable of controlling the weave of magic to suit their fancy hence arcane casters are uncommon, although far from rare.
Another facet of magic is that of the divine. The gods of Ethrea are always listening and are willing to lend their assistance to those that they deem worthy. Divine casters in Ethrea are more common than arcane for two reasons: divine casters gain their power through their connection to a deity as opposed to the universal weave itself; secondly there is a great demand for clergy because they make up a significant percentage of the educated population. They are looked to not only as healers and spiritual guide’s, but also as leaders and advisors.
In addition to these more traditional powers, others that prefer to rely upon the powers of the mind. In general, psionics in Ethrea are quite rare though there are some societies where they are more common. The creatures capable of manifesting these abilities are often disdainful of magic users because they see their reliance on capabilities that require a connection to an outside source as a weakness.
