Trade

Trade on Wyrlde is the lifeblood of the Cities, the essential service of the towns, and the necessity of the nations.

Over the decades the influence and power of the Merchants Guild has waxed and waned, but it has always been one of the most powerful of all the guilds and has long been a thorn in the side of all the rulers. It is almost as if the merchants make a game of not paying their taxes.

Trade requires several elements to function. Among them is a way to communicate, a place to stay, a way to loosen resistance, money or goods, fair prices, and exchanges, and staying clear of the troublemakers.

Anyone who sells something, be it for coin or in kind, is subject to a tax on what they have earned, and that tat tax is aid monthly. The tax is collected by Guilds, or, for those who are not part of a guild, to the Fodge of the local Noble.

In order to sell, you must have a Mark of Trade.

Marks of Trade

Anyone who has reached a degree of proficiency in their tradecraft can apply for a Mark of trade. This is typically a symbol or seal, a way of identifying the products and works of the individual as theirs, and can found on strips of cloth, paper seals, wax seals, and engraved or stamped into materials.

These marks are assigned by the Guild, recorded in a grand ledger, and then the Guilds themselves report those marks for inclusion in the Imperial Register, which covers the seven cities.

Goods without a mark are either considered barter goods (frowned on heavily except in steadings and hamlets) or are brought under seal by a merchant and usually have a tag with the seal specifying where they came from – these are usually paper, sometimes leather, and affixed to the object in question should someone from a guild do an audit.

This is how the goods from places like Kahokia and Hyboria, Antilia and the Sea Realms are often brought in, though both Antilia and the Sea Realms have their own Marks of Trade – those are simply not entered into the Grand Ledges within the Empire.

A Mark of Trade costs 10 shillings, and this is in addition to Guild Tithe. For this reason, it is usually only those who are professionals that have a Mark of Trade.

In the Adventurers Guild, when people band together as a group, they can purchase a Mark of Trade for their group or band of people. This is a requirement for them to be able to exchange goods within he Guild itself with Guild Merchants, for example, or to sell their finds and earnings.

Marks of Trade are also used by the Banks to track and identify accounts with special properties (such as a large deposit in a special vault).

Merchants, Traders, Peddlers

In most Steadings, Hamlets, and Villages, tradesfolk engage in the daily business of retailing their wares, but all of them will give time and space to the people who do the hardest work in the industry of trade: Peddlers and Traders. They won’t trust them, mind you, but they will give them their due.

Merchants are generally local folks who focus on the bulk purchase and trade of goods at scale. They do not generally travel, instead they organize, plan, and manage. The travelers are the Traders and the Peddlers, always licensed and bonded by the Guild and anyone they happen to serve (even if it is sometimes themselves).

Traders are the middlemen between Merchants, scattered across the world. Most Merchants are Masters or Grand Masters within the Merchant’s Guild, whereas Traders are often Novice, Yeomen, or Adepts. Through the connections they establish within the guilds, they monitor goods, prices and similar items and operate using their networks of Traders to acquire and transport the goods. It is very rare that you will find a Merchant on the road – those who are these are usually Traders.

Peddlers, however, are small retailers who combine both roles, but focus on the smaller locations, the hamlets and steadings, villages and smaller towns, that may not know about or have access to a merchant in their settlement, and who still crave delicacies and rare goods and fineries. Peddlers, then, are traveling salesmen, often those who are breaking out to start on their own or who just care about the smaller places they visit. Peddlers are often unable to sell in large towns and are pretty much blocked from it in big cities, although the nature of the business allows them ways to get around that.

Trade Routes

Trade is the blood of the Empire as a whole and is part of what keeps it flowing and acts to equalize much of the distinction between the many Realms.

The major methods of Trade are, in order of importance, Water, Land, Train, and Sky.

Trade moves most commonly by water, either up rivers or around the Seas.

The Sea Trade Routes used are generally divided into the following:

Northern	Eastern	Southern	Western	Sea Realm	Secret	Savage
Sibola	Dorado	Qivira	Durango	Keris	Antilia	Hyboria
Akadia	Akadia	Aztlan	Lyonese	Islandia	Islandia	Kahokia

Akadia gets two routes because a lot of folks will tend to do a round robin, and Akadia is the primary home of the skyships, as Dorado is the home of the Train.

Islandia often acts as a clearing house for resources and materials from Duat and Thule, often captured from Duatian or Thulian ships, and Antilia, in defiance of the Empire, produces some distinct things of interest and value as well as collecting such rarities from the Dread lands through immigrants. Officially, Trade is forbidden with Antilia directly, though that only applies to the Empire – and the Sea Realms are not part of it, nor does Aztlan see itself as subject to such rules.

The Savage route leads up into the Savage lands of Hyboria and Kahokia, but an additional, rarely used route moves by sea, adding Bermuda to that mix, and enabling a degree of trade that Bermuda would love to see increased.

The Seven Seas route takes a ship along the full length of the inland seas and is mostly focused on the primary Ports that are major cities and a few Towns.

The River Routes are many in number, generally named after the realm in which they are located.

Land Trade Routes and the Train are similarly situated, with a single pointed distinction: the Train does not travel to Akadia. It runs from Dorado to Sibola and follows many of the same coastal roadways as land-based merchants.

Land trade routes are of critical importance, easily equal to that of Sea Trade, as they often connect those Villages, Hamlets, and other smaller settlements that may not be located near a navigable waterway. There is one overland trade route that follows the coast from Dorado to Akadia, and that is the only known overland trade route, as there is no passage from Sibola due to the Grimstone mountains coming right to the edge of the sea. It is noted that such is intentional, and the land route was discovered accidentally long after Akadia’s founding.

The Grand Round is the route from Akadia to Sibola, passing through all the major realms and linking the major Towns and cities along the Imperial Road. It is a fairly arduous and long trek, taking nearly two years to travel the full length, and a more average and typical year for the major stops.

The Skyships are the only Sky route, and they were a solution to a problem, but the cost associated with them is considered exorbitant even for many generally thought of Luxury goods, a problem the Mages of Akadia do not seem to worry about. Thus, much of the trade along it is trade headed to Akadia, and not so much trade headed out – it is said that it is cheaper to fly out of Akadia than to ship something out of Akadia.

The Sky Routes are much more pointed and direct, each one having a target City or town, and all of them starting in Akadia. Unlike Water or Land routes, they fly directly over the Seven Seas, crossing areas that are rumored to be extremely dangerous or untrustworthy and are only partially known, as no ship will readily travel more than 50 miles away from land, and most stay within a about 30 miles of it.

Trade Goods

Raw Goods. Raw goods are those things, including agricultural products, minerals, and metals, that are often still in a raw, unsettled format. They require refinement, often, or have to be placed into some form that is usable.

Finished Goods. Finished goods are things ready for market as they are, such as flour, livestock, or prepared goods.

Luxury Goods. There are some things that are not mined, not found, not reclaimed, not grown. They are the product of artistry and skill, of craft and cunning; they are the manufactured things, and their value and worth as goods is always worth knowing and considering.

There are a lot of goods that are traded throughout Wyrlde, and it would be a challenge to effectively list them all, but a significant number of important and common ones can be assembled and described.

Textiles

Fabric is expensive, bulky, and always in high demand, especially those that have been dyed. Most people have a single set of work clothes, a more formal set of clothing they take care of for celebrations, and if they are lucky a spare. Fashion is important in the Cities among the wealthier people, who may have as many as five possible outfits, but the typical person will have one set of clothing that includes sturdy material, such as denim. Linen is the man fabric of Sibola and Aztlan, but it can vary among the others. Dorado is fond of denim, apparently.

That clothing will be decorated – laces, bows, trims, and other fine work are very popular and in great demand. They are also pricey.

A standard bolt is 1 yard tall and 25 yards long. Some mills in Lyonese will make bolts that are 3 yards wide and 125 yards long.

Silk is made from a few different kinds of threads – from strange worms to spiders to creatures from the Fairywilde, large, small, and in between. It is especially popular among nobility and those with the money for it, as it is always in short supply. The most sought-after silk is that of large spiders who weave complex braided webs. The spiders are about 12 to 16 inches across, with a body about the size of a man’s fist. They are prized because their silk is not sticky, takes dye well, and they produce a great deal of it. The problem is they feed on small rodents and other small animals.

Another form of silk that is prized is that of Giant Silkworms, who are carnivorous and fungi eating creatures, about three feet long each, and they spin a constant stream of silk from shortly after hatching until they emerge from the eventual cocoons as predatory Bloodmoths (a hazard in the wilds and jungles).

Wool is more common in the northern Empire, shipped out and traded widely.

Cotton is more likely to be found in the western Empire and is popular – both in bulk and raw form but more so if woven into any kind of textile.

Linen is popular among the eastern Empire, and tends to be found often in the south, where it competes with Jute and Hemp fabrics. Bamboo is carefully treated and shredded for a kind of threadlike strip and woven into a special fabric used broadly.

Leather is rarely used among the wealthy but is quite common among the poorer peoples; this conflict is notable as well because the wealthy have a fondness for Fur, but not such furs as squirrel, rabbit, or bear, preferring the minks, beavers, and other more luxurious furs, especially in the north.

Paper is made in small batches, and typically will be set up on a sheet that is one yard square, then cut down to the size needed. It is made from bamboo, rice, and wood pulp, mostly sawdust.

Common Fabrics

Fabrics include Brocade, a woven style using contrasting colors of thread to create patterns; Taffeta, a treated woven silk; Satin, a weave in which the threads of the warp are caught and looped by the weft at certain intervals; Velvet, a tightly woven material with a short dense pile, giving it a soft feel; Woolsey, a tough weave with a linen warp and a woolen weft; Fusty, a linen weft and cotton warp; Kamber, a cotton weave with threads of silk or linen, cross woven on a special loom; Muslin, a basic cotton fabric; Sindlin, a linen version of muslin; Serjlin, a wool form of muslin; Canvas, a thick fabric made from hemp; Hesslin, made from jute fibers and used often in waxed fabrics for waterproofing; Wooless, a wool and jute wefted twill weave fabric treated for a waterproof uses that is warp faced; Denim, a sturdy cotton warp-faced twill weave textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. Qivira has Deslin, a bamboo weft and hemp warped twill weave that is very tight and is often treated with lacquer to create a strong, dense material used in place of or alongside leather.

Clothing

There are few trades more widely practiced than those involved with clothing. Every garment is hand-spun, hand-woven, and hand-stitched, so the vast majority tend to only have a few articles of clothing. Clothing is nearly as costly as weapons – only the prices of metals keep it high, and used weapons are rarely cheaper than a single garment. By the time a person puts on even a simple apron a dozen people have been involved in making it, from collecting the fiber to spinning it out, dyeing it, Weaving it, turning the cloth into a garment, embellishing the garment, and selling the garment.

As a direct result of the cost and involvement, clothing is considered a major part of a person’s wealth, and the sale and trade of used clothing that is in good condition is common enough and broad enough that some will sell the shirt off their backs for a bit a coin for food, or the boots on their feet for a place to sleep – and get a decent amount for such.

Although style and fashion vary from Realm to Realm, as a whole, the Empire tends toward a bit of commonality under which a strong sense of the need for durability remains, on top of which has been layered the desire for decoration and embellishment. Embroidery is a dedicated guild, as is spinning, weaving, tailoring, and other related tasks. Most clothing is generalized, then when and if it can be afforded it is fit and trimmed out, and the Lace makers are always busy as the ribbon makers, especially in Aztlan, where they are quite loved.

Clothing is slow to make, but many will fashion simple pieces that are suitable within a range of kinds of clothing, according to the style and fashion of the time and place. These pieces can then be altered or fit, but clothing takes a week at minimum to fashion, and usually can be a few weeks as people often have more than one task at hand.

Clothing can be broken down into a few general categories, within which there are certain common pieces, the particular cut of which will vary from place to place.

Undergarments

Chemise: a lightweight, thigh length garment worn beneath the clothing.

Camisole: a lightweight garment of waist or hip length, worn beneath outwear.

Bloomers, a waist to mid-thigh length, lightweight garment worn beneath clothing. It is, essentially, underwear. While it is generally loose fitting in the south, bloomers are tightfitting in the north.

Petticoats, layered underskirts that rest on the hips.

Corsets, a midline support garment, often meant to shape and support, but also often worn outside garments if armored. A Corset and Stays is a combination garment meant to provide support.

Stays, a group of garments that often include a wire, meant to provide support. The Exilian call them “brahz”.

Binder, a long piece of fabric wrapped around the chest for support.

Girdles, a wide belt worn around the waist, beneath outer clothing. Girdles are generally shaped and tied for men, while Corsets are generally tied and shaped for women, but only in Sibola and Aztlan are any form of sumptuary laws around them enforced.

Footwear

Bootlets, a boot that rises to just above the ankle, or mid shin, and is pulled over the foot, not laced. They may have a heel, or may not, and that heel can be as high as four inches. Some will have a platform to the sole, while others will be more wedge shaped.

Boots, A knee high boot that is pulled over the foot, not laced, and has a heel, typically about an inch or two.

Leggers, a laced boot, mid-calf to knee in height, with or without heel, but always having a thick sole. They are considered working shoes and avoided by the wealthy.

Slippers, a light soled shoe that covers the foot, perhaps the ankle. They do not lace, only slip on.

Sandals, thick soled, open shoes that strap around the foot and are the primary footwear. Some will protect toes, most will not. They must be strapped and buckled or laced and tied.

Clogs, solid, basic shoes that come up to an ankle. Some will be made from strips of shaped wood bound by leather; others will be woven. Clogs are the most common kind of shoe, and in very wet areas, they will have a set of risers beneath them, usually to stay out of mud or puddles.

Shoes, up to the ankle, solid sided and often fashioned from layered fabric, then laced and buckled around the foot. They often have a thick, padded sole.

Headwear

Beret, any of several slightly different hats that rest on the top of the head and mostly appear to fit in so that folks have a head covering. In some places, this is the most common kind of headgear, and almost required (Lyonese).

Range Hat, a very special kind of hat that Tinghabel calls a “cowboy hat” that is worn most often in Dorado. It has a wide brin, a doubled crown, and is useful for keeping both sun and rain out of the eyes and off the face.

Cap, a tight-fitting hat that has a single broad rim in the front to keep sun and rain out of the face.

Dress Hat, usually pinned to an updo, is meant to be worn with a fancy dress, such as a gown. They can be quite dramatic and startling, and if you ask me are a waste of money, though Tinghabel loves them. I am pretty certain it is because she sits in them while spying.

Formal Hat, the equivalent of a Dress hat, but less flashy. Often with a narrow brim, and either domed or flat at the top, they are worn mostly in Sibola.

Tops

Blouse, a pullover top that is never longer that the hips. Worn by everyone who isn’t wearing a tunic.

Shirt, a laced or fastened top. Fancy ones will have buttons of horn or ivory.

Vest, a sleeveless top, fastened, sometimes worn over a tunic or camisole.

Tunic, the standard wear of pretty much everyone on Wyrlde, even among the Savage lands or the Lemurians, the Tunic is the go to default garment. A normal tunic will not have sleeves and hang to about mid-thigh. Fancy tunics will have sleeves of assorted length. Tunics are meant to be belted, and are pulled over the head, not fastened. Tunics come in three basic lengths: Calf, Thigh, and Hip. The lighter fabrics are used for Undertunics, and heavier for Overtunics, both of which are usually sleeveless or short sleeved.

Sweater, pullover tops, almost always knitted or crocheted, made from wool and tufted cotton to ensure that they stay war, often trimmed with fur. Winter clothing.

Waistcoat, an overgarment, sleeveless, laced or fastened in the back, from shoulder to waist, and normally highly ornamented.

Doublet, a laced or fastened cold weather garment worn over a chemise, usually, made similarly to a sweater otherwise. Fancy ones may be made from expensive fabrics. Doublets have fitted long sleeves that a narrow at the wrist and wide at the shoulders, sometimes even set to puff out. Winter doublets are also often padded.

Jerkin, A leather or hide doublet, without the fancy stuff.

Bottoms

Shorts, are short Breeches, usually mid-thigh, sometimes a bit shorter for the daring.

Breeches, using a loop fastener, breeches are typically just past knee length and tie beneath them, loose fitting, and fairly common among tradesfolk.

Trousers, long breeches, reaching to the ankle, that are tied along the hips and belted at the waist.

Pants, a fitted pair of trousers, usually tight fitting at the waist area and wide at the ankle area. Pants are often made of durable material and worn by working folk. They tie at the waist through a draw rope.

Tights, knitted leg coverings similar to trousers, sometimes woven of a light material such as silk instead.

Culottes, which are a kind of very loose fitting, skirt-like pair of shorts, often designed to resemble kilts.

Skirts, which all come in Fitted, Sheath, and Wide forms, and can vary in length from mid-thigh to ankle. The two most common forms are used in part to suggest married status – knee length or shorter for unmarried, and below the knee for married. Fitted skirts are popular among the nobility and the wealthy, especially for women, who need not move quickly.

Kilts, a slitted kilt may be worn by anyone, and is a particularly popular form for warriors, usually falling to the knee and composed of leather or similarly tough strips layered over one another.

Coats

Dusters, an ankle length coat, heavy fabric, durable, split from hem to waist for riding.

Sea Coats, an open front coat that fastens beneath two wide lapels, often worn by sailors and marines originally but adopted by women after it became very popular in Aztlan. Often dyed very bright colors, they have an attached broad belt. Made from velvet for the wealthy but felt is common among the merchant classes. Back in another life, we called them Peacoats.

War Coats, mid-calf length, heavy material, treated against rain, these coats are the standard issue to soldiers. Padded slightly and lined, they are meant to protect against the cold and elements and became popular following the Goblin Wars.

Envoy Coats, popularized by Envoys these are lightweight, calf length, hooded coats with multiple pockets that are only accessible from inside the coat. Broad sleeves longer than the arms and long sashes attached at the back separate them as well from the War and Sea coats. A braided cord can be tightened around the hood to hold it in place. Often white, with gold accents, they are very loose and flowing.

Surcoats, which are knee length garments, short sleeved, with open sides, belted or sashed and emblazoned (usually with braiding and embroidery) with some seal, such as a House or Liege.

Wraps

Cloak, almost a basic essential found and owned by everyone, cloaks are often heavy, warm, and padded, and always have a wide hood to them. Cloaks are long, and never split, and often have treatment for warmth and waterproofing.

Cape, from mid back to thighs in length, capes are used to cover the shoulders, often attaching via a broach or similar device at the shoulders. Capes may or may not have a hood.

Shawl, a short piece of fabric, often knitted or crocheted, to cover the shoulders.

Sarong, a wide, long piece of fabric, particularly found in the Sea Realms, used to wrap the body and affixed using a broach of some sort at one or both shoulders.

Robe, an open from, full length (often trailing along the ground) garment, typically worn by specialists as a uniform of sorts, and frequently featuring multiple pockets within the folds of the voluminous garment. Robes do not have hoods, and often are worn with cloaks – sometimes underneath them.

Caftan, longer than a Sarong, with a hole for the head, this broad piece of fabric is pulled over the head and then wrapped around the body, covering down to the knees and shins. Some catans have been known to have a hood attached. Caftans are worn mostly in Lyonese.

Dresses

Sheath, a Sheath dress is form fitted to the person, usually with extra fabric inside to enable later adjustments.

Shift, a shift dress is the most common form of dress, a single piece, pulled over the top, without shaping.

Wrap, A wrap dress is cut so it is open in the front, with wide, long sleeves. It is wrapped around the body and tied, often worn by the youthful with more than a little bit of exposure.

Laced, this is a dress that is laced, often up the front, sides, and back, though it can be in any combination, and frequently features some sort of closure as well as ties.

Kirtles, an underdress, usually joined by an Apron or coveralls. Kirtles have wide straps that go over the shoulder, and often lace along the sides.

Jackets

Shrug, a short jacket that comes to the waist or slightly above it, and ties across the chest. May have sleeves of any length.

Riding, a short jacket, usually just above the hips, that has a wide hood attached and is long sleeved, with wide sleeves that enable rain to drip away. Often waxed or otherwise treated to be rainproof.

Workwear

Apron, A work garment that has a loop to go around the back of the neck, and ties in the back, covering the entire front of a person while they work, protecting their clothes.

Coverall, a single piece combining trousers and vest, tying at the back of the neck or supported by straps over the shoulders. Used broadly in work that is very messy, made from thick, durable material.

Poncho, a large piece of fabric with a hole in the center for the head, it drapes down to the waist or so. Made of lightweight material, it is worn mostly in hot and or humid climates, sometimes with nothing beneath it. A Serape is a working version of the same, made of a thicker, more durable fabric.

Gowns

A gown is a formal garment that is cut in a feminine style, to enhance the shape and appearance of a woman. Gowns consist of five layers, starting with an underdress, then a midi-dress, then an overdress, then a jacket, and finally a wrap. They will often involve the wearing of girdles, corsets, petticoats, and stays. Gowns are exceptionally expensive, richly decorated, and made from light to heavy fabrics that are often more costly than some people’s entire homes.

A typical Gown is worn to a highly formal event or for a similar occasion, and all gowns are fitted, often very precisely. A typical gown will take two to four months to fashion and are sewn in a manner that allows them to be adjusted over time and years. A wealthy woman may often only own a single gown in her lifetime, and will spend time adding to or removing decoration, embroidery, and accessories around it in order to give it a fresh appearance, some even going so far as to die a gown multiple times and have it resewn after.

Gowns are priced in Sovereigns and Crowns, never less.

Suits

A suit is a formal garment cut in a masculine style, to enhance the shape and appearance of a man. It will include either breeches or trousers, a shirt, an overtunic, a vest, and a coat. Girdles are pretty much a requirement, as is a broad sash or belt. Shoulders are often accentuated, and the coat is considered the most important part of the whole, usually knee length with wide sleeves (though narrow sleeves are popular in Sibola).

A normal Suit will take six to eight weeks to make, is always fitted, and will be richly embroidered at each piece. Sleeves will often have lace ends, and hems will be dressed with metallic thread. Most men will have one Suit if they are moderately wealthy, and will rarely change it, preferring instead to add a new one.

Suits are priced in Sovereigns and Crowns but are rarely as expensive as Gowns or Swens are.

Swens

A Swen is a formal garment cut in a style that is neither masculine nor feminine, to enhance the shape and appearance of a nonbinary person. Like suits and gowns, a swen is richly decorated and always pricey, as well as being fitted. Undergarments are required, and because of the variety of bodies, there is never a simple design. Swens are sometimes bought for folks who are not nonbinary, and one unusual aspect is that they are sometimes cheaper than gowns or suits, although they are also always priced in crowns and sovereigns.

Adventurer Clothing

Adventurers tend to prefer useful clothing that protects them and doesn’t limit them, while allowing them movement. Most adventure clothing is custom made and designed. Some examples of it are:

Critter Parts

There is one kind of item that many folks will speak about, but few will have the ability to acquire, and this is a major source of revenue for many. This is the gruesome and often disturbing trade in the parts and pieces of abominations, monstrosities, horrors, and other assorted creatures.

For example, Dragon’s blood is often worth several Crowns – one year Akadia’s entire tribute was derived from it. Troll bone is used to fashion hinges and flexible but strong tools. Beholder jelly is a potent tool for fashioning managems. The list is extensive and is talked about to a degree in Sheroo’s Bestiary.

Common Resources

One of the more interesting qualities to Wyrlde is that there are a variety of very common staples and core resources that are located and shared via trade and extraction throughout the Bright Lands, and that are often the target of Dread Land efforts to obtain.

Staples

There are several staple crops that make up the bulk of the available foodstuffs on Wyrlde. These crops do not always grow well across all regions, due to assorted mechanics, but are grown enough that they have an impact and are valuable trade goods.

Those mentioned are because of their value, importance, or impact. Agriculture within the Bright Lands has a complex structure to it that requires crop rotations, soil amending using composting, cultivation of particular crops both together and in a certain sequence. Nearly every farmer will have at least some strong idea of all of the plants mentioned here, and most will grow several of them over time, with a rotation on their fields that is different from the rotation in their neighbor fields. These rotations are tracked over long periods both by the farmers and by the local authority over them, and in some cases in Sibola can be traced back to before the formal founding of the city itself.

Almond	Apple	Apricot	Bamboo	Banana
Barley	Bean	Beetroot	Blueberry	Cabbage
Cacao	Carrot	Cassava	Celery	Cherry
Chick-Pea	Chicory	Citrus	Coconut	Coffee
Cucumber	Eggplant	Fava Bean	Fig	French Bean
Grape	Grapefruit	Groundout	Hops	Lentil
Lettuce	Lima Bean	Macadamia Nut	Maize	Mango
Melon	Millet	Mustard	Oats	Oil Palm
Okra	Olive	Onion	Orange	Papaya
Pea	Peach	Pear	Pepper/Chile	Pineapple
Pistachio	Plum	Potato	Potato	Radish
Rice	Rye	Sorghum	Soybean	Spinach
Squash	Sugar Cane	Sunflower	Sweet Potato	Tea
Teff	Tomato	Walnut	Wheat	Yam

Cereals

Perhaps the single most important form of these trade staples are cereals. They form a significant chunk of all agricultural effort within the Bright Lands, and represent the most basic blocks of keeping people fed.

There are five principal grain crops, each of which has a long and often storied history in and of itself. Each of these crops, in turn, has between three and a dozen different strains, varieties, and lines that all trace back to the core five that are noted in historic documents saved from the Ancient Land.

Tritia

The first of these is Tritia, which is used for a broad range of foodstuffs, but most notably bread. Hardy, comparatively easy to grow, Tritia has the position of pride as the major grain. It is used for bread, noodles, porridge, and more.

Baykern

The second one is Baykern. The oldest available records suggest that it is two things, but our actual knowledge of it shows it is just one. It produces larger kernels than Tritia’s finer style but has both a sweetness and a richness that triticale often lacks – however it does not make great bread. It is used in several different ways, including soups, roasted (it pops with an earthy scent), boiled, and ground for assorted flatbreads. It is also used as additional stock feed, in addition to the falfal and hay. Of note is that a single War Ration always includes Baykern. The grains are round, large, and grow in tight clumps within a sheath that must be peeled back.

Ryce

The next one is Ryce. Large grains, almost seedlike, that are used in much the same way as Tritia is, but with a sweetness and a lightness. It also does not form a strong dough, but flours from it blend well with the other two mentioned previously. Ryce is usually a light brown in color, and is often eaten just as it is, steamed.

Milgha

The fourth staple is Milgha, which grows like a grass to a height of around five feet, with each stalk topped by a massive forearm length cluster of small, hexagonal seeds that birds absolutely love but that is also extremely valuable and tasty. Milgha has some fifteen different varieties, bred over the years for different locations, and Qiviran Milgha is considered the richest, sweetest of all (often simply roasted lightly and then snacked on with a bit of salt).

Soya

The fifth staple is called Soya and forms small pea-like pods within which are five to seven small beans per pod. These are used in a variety of ways, even fermented, and used as an additive (soya juice) or treated to make a fine paste that is often mixed with dried fish to make a portable soup stock. Antelle says that she misses “the real thing” and claims that Soya is a hybrid plant between something called korn and a plant much like what we have, called soibein.

Tubers

There are many plants that are grown for their tubers, corms, or roots. They are, like cereals, consumed during nearly every meal, and fill many different purposes.

Taters

Taters are the most common of them, with a stunning 60 different kinds that have different growing needs and ultimately work together for a year-round yield while also functioning to help balance and stabilize the soils.

Kasiv

Kasiv is the second most common, and the one most often used for feedstock. Kasiv is often said to be bland and is one of the most common of the forms also founding the wild. It is a shallow, semispherical tuber, usually a gold with purple stripes, and grows a cluster of tall, broad leaves (usually a handspan in size) that reach about two and half feet to three feet high. A single tuber can be well over a foot in diameter at the widest part, with a rind or skin that is usually durable but not thick. They are peeled and then treated. Antelle calls them Turnavas.

Yam

The third major Tuber is the Yam. Many varieties, all of them are very sweet, and frequently are simply roasted on their own and then eaten. They grow in clumps beneath a small plant that has striking purple flowers when it prepares to go dormant for the season. The last major tuber grown is called Taroe. It is similar to Yams, but not as sweet.

Kathen

It is said that in the Dread Lands, there is a root called Kathen that is a major focus and serves as the principal crop for Agarthans and is used to feed slaves. In Akadia, they call it Bloodroot, because it requires blood to germinate properly, and it must be freshly spilled, and usually more than a person can spare.

Berries

The next major agricultural crop is sometimes called the largest, most important one. Berries are grown to serve an incredible array of purposes. Antelle says that all the Berries were intentional, that the Powers That Be chose and created them.

Wyrlde Berries can range from the fingertip sized ones to ones as large as two fists held together. Berries generally have a thin outer rind, a core, with seeds in each berry, ranging from 3 to 5 seeds per.

The plants themselves come in a huge variety of shapes and growth patterns, but the berries are always found growing in clusters of 15 to 50 small fruits. They grow year-round, adapting to all climates, and are found pretty much everywhere on the planet.

Paria tells a tale of how Berries were once many different kinds of plants and made to work more efficiently for the peoples of the world. Some used to grow on trees, with huge single pits, all green throughout, and people would take the flesh of the berry and spread it on toast.

Antelle says that it was intended that a balanced meal, meaning a meal that would truly help keep someone healthy and taste good, would be comprised of a cereal, a tuber or vejei, a few berries, and sometimes meat from the herds.

Other Crops

Other key crops are well known, but more restricted in where they can be grown. Stonefruit, Appas, Vadoes, Berries of different sorts, Seedfruit, Leafruit of course are all there.

Coffee is grown mostly in the mountain areas, and tea can be found in many different locations, with different strains of the plant producing different flavors that are then changed again by soil conditions.

Cereals are, of course, used heavily in the brewing of beer in homes, but there are Graphez which grow on enormous vines and form large clusters of berries that are often used in making wine and other beverages.

According to Antelle, the Powers That Be selected the edible plants that the world would possess, then seeded the whole planet with all the possibilities, having made sure the plants would work not only for the planet, but with each other, and be good and healthy for people.

There are no edible plants that have any kind of risk associated with eating them.

The most common “group” of plants are Berries, like Tomatoes, followed by Stalks and then Vejees, which are flowers that are eaten.

Livestock

It is hard to address staple foods within the Bright Lands without including the three kinds of livestock usually found in great numbers. Legend says they came with the Powers That Be, and it is more than one who occasionally mutters about changes. Chicory is famous for her complaints about the livestock.

Common Staple Meats Include:

Beef	Dormice	Mutton	Capybara	Elk
Pork	Chicken	Fish	Rabbit	Deer
Goat	Shellfish

Cheeses: Cow, Goat, Sheep, Aruk, Weg.

The three forms of livestock all have a multiplicity of importance. Although there are such wild animals as boars, deer, horses and more, it is these three that are tamed – Antelle says domesticated – and that exist to serve people.

Aruks

Aruks are large ruminants that survive on feedstock or graze the grasslands of the world. They provide milk, leather, meat, haul carts, pull plows, wool, and more. Standing about four feet high at the top of their shoulders, with broad heads capped by round tipped horns that grow down, they are huge animals that weigh several hundred pounds each. Shearing season is early autumn, and a typical Aruk will provide around 100 pounds of stiff wool that is prized for the lanolin that is in each fiber.

Milking Aruks are far more common, and the black and white patterns that are both part of their hides and match exactly the colors of their wool are often used to suggest something that is related to them. Most small families will have an Aruk as one of the most important provisions, especially when children are present, as the milk is easily tolerated and makes outstanding cheese and butter.

Aruks in mating season have a temper, however.

Fesan

Fesan are a kind of large bird, usually weighing as much as 40 pounds when full grown. They can fly, but usually not higher than a couple stories, never fast, and not for long. The record for distance for a Fesan is something along the lines of 120 yards. Fesan are brown, gray, and black in plumage, with hints of white. They have extremely strong upper leg muscles that they use to drive themselves into flight and stand two to three feet tall at the top of their head (taller for hens, shorter for cockerels).

Fesan have three layers of feathers that are shockingly easy to lose, and they grow rapidly and constantly so that they have to be groomed frequently. They do very poorly when caged, dying fast. They lay 3 to 7 eggs every three days, with any given group of ten hens laying eggs on different days. Eggs are about four inches tall, and one egg is enough for most people. The eggs have a yolk, a white, and a cren (like a secondary yolk for feeding an embryo), Cockerels are males and known to respond to the rising sun with a cry every day as a way to mark their territory, and they are territorial, each cockerel having 10 to 20 hens in a harem. The eggs are typically speckled, multicolored in browns, blues, whites, and yellows,

Fesan are seed and feedstock eaters, usually cereals, but can eat grains that people cannot and adore falfal seeds as well as millen (a feedstock grain).

Wegs

Wegs are a large, omnivorous, hoofed animal with a thick, bristly fur and extremely well-developed sense of smell. A fully grown adult Weg can weigh as much as 1500 pounds, stand three and a half feet tall, with strong teeth and powerful jaws set in a short snout, stretching out as long as five feet. They have long, curly tails that indicate their overall mood. Bacon is made from them, and their rendered fat is used in cooking alongside oilberry oil. Their meat is much lighter in color compared to the dark red of Aruk but is still deeper colored and far fattier than that of Fesen. Wegs will eat anything. Including people – but tend to want to eat at very specific times and they eat a large amount. They are often used to dispose of garden scraps, food scraps, and more.

All of these livestock are friendly to humans and comprise the majority of livestock. There are some small places that keep goats, fowl, and other animals, but they tend to be more specialized, and these are what is seen most commonly.

Minerals

Wyrlde has many metals and minerals that are of value.

Most Common Metals

Aluminum	Antimony	Arsenic	Copper	Gold
Iron	Lead	Nickel	Silver	Tin
Titanium	Zinc	Chrome	Cadmium	Vanadium

There are five alloys that each combine five of the above in equal parts.

Other Key Minerals

Limestone	Ash	Coal	Chalk	Bitumen
Gypsum	Oyster Shells	Clay	Magnesium	Phosphorous

At some point in its past, Wyrlde has an immense amount of mollusk and related sea life, several thousand times the size of that place from which current ones came, and it is common to find their remnants pretty much anywhere. Imps are known to favor them and can be bought off by offering them.

Artisans from the Mason’s Guild in Lyonese are said to be engaged in some strange new effort around the use of certain clays, limestone, lye, volcanic ash, chalk, and coal that involves burning rocks.

Bitumen

Used for waterproofing (scabbards, armor plates, clothing, fabric, etc.), shipbuilding, building and construction adhesive, embalming, mosquito repellent, lining cisterns, varnish, ink, paint, patent leather, and more.

Bluegleam

Sought by the Syndicates in Dorado, Bluegleam is of high value.

Like its similar cousin, this only appeared after the God’s War, and is a highly prized, very rare material found in the general wilds. Crystalline and flexible, it grows to about two feet long in small clumps, a fully formed crystal being for inches in diameter. Note that it reacts poorly with diamond and is very durable.

Electrum

Of the two gold mines outside of Qivira, the Arcadian mines include electrum as a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver within the dedicated mines being one of the more common ores available on Wyrlde.

Greenschine

A strange crystalline substance that has faint glowing properties (about 3 feet in a dim light around it), greenschine is used to alloy metals, improve health, provide for magical rites, and generally improve things. It is found in the wild and has great value. Crystals grow up to two feet long, with a diameter of about four inches. It is rumored to be a part of the birth of magic in Wyrlde. It reacts poorly with diamond. The Skyewards are always interested in finds of greenschine, but, like the Posse of Eld, never really explain why.

Starstone

Another crystalline material, Starstone is sought after by many smiths and wrights because it is used in the making of both Vitredur and Crystalium, which are extremely valuable and often used materials loved for their durability. Starstone has a strange dark color in its natural form, with tiny, bright specks of white, yellow, blue, red, and green throughout the dark mass – hence the name: it looks like stars within the night sky.

Precious Stones

There are not nearly as many kinds of precious stones on Wyrlde as one might expect – not all stones are as valued here. The following table shows the particular stones (all of which can come in a variety of colors) that are given additional value and are sought after and sought for.

An exception, of course, is Pearls. Pearls are extremely valuable – even more so if they are Giant Pearls, for they can be used to fashion all manner of magical devices. Giant Pearls, however, come from Giant Oysters and their close kin, and their close kin can be, well, a bit hesitant about releasing their pearls. One might even say deadly. Of note is that while Giant Abalone shell is liked, it is not considered a precious stone – it is more a valuable mineral and while used in jewelry, has other value (such as serving places for Triton homes).

Metals

Aluminum

One of the more abundant resources, and the primary metal resources of Aztlan, aluminum is more widely used here, often alloyed with titanium or other hard metal (but very rarely iron). It surprises some of the Powers that titanium is worked with here, but when you have magic involved, the creation of malleability is much easier.

Brass & Bronze

Iron being a comparatively rare thing, the ability to create alternative alloys and materials is of immense importance. Brass and Bronze are often used and tend to be a standard structure. They are slightly lighter and stronger, some incarnates have said, in comparison to where they came from.

These are mined on Wyrlde, coming mostly from Durango and its broad open face mines. Brass is mined and smelted pretty much as is, but sometimes separated into its components. Bronze is a unique and light metal here, mined as it is. Brass shines brightly, and is composed of copper, zinc, titanium, and tin. Bronze is copper, nickel, tin, phosphorous, and silicone.

Copper

Copper is a valuable metal used for several things, all of them pricey. The most common way that people will see it is in the form of coinage or Bars. Bars are pure, coins are alloyed, usually with electrum. Qivira’s mint mines much of this and the mines of Qivira are well known for their production of not just copper, but also gold and platinum.

Gold

There are five mines, three of which are in Qivira, for gold. Considered the most noble of metals, it is a malleable, magically reactive metal available in coinage and bars.

Iron

Iron is rare on Wyrlde, seemingly as a whole. As a result, it is often alloyed with assorted other metals and refined in surprisingly complex ways. It is believed that the alloys are critical for it to reduce the impact on magic. Wyrlde has a shortage of iron of a quality decent enough to make anything. Nearly all the steel and silver in weapons and gear found today is patched and reused or derived from recycled materials. The mines continue to dig for it, so the supply is increasing, but the sources are rarer and more difficult to find. Often, people will dig in ruins and abandoned places for it – scrap iron has high value.

Fae and Fell creatures are commonly allergic to unalloyed iron, to the point that it causes them greater pain and poisons them. The specific kind is called Cold Iron, which is forged without being smelted, from raw ore, the impurities beaten out of it. Extremely expensive. Steel hurts more but isn’t poisonous. Cold Iron does not keep an edge well, rusts easily, and needs frequent repairs. As a result, it is usually confined to manacles, daggers, and arrowheads.

The most well-known source of iron is found in the mines of Lyonese, which is also where the artisans are said to produce the finest weapons and best steel. However, they tend to export most of it through the Miner’s guild, and so the supply of this steel is still rare and considered to be unique.

One odd thing is that the Smiths of Qivira make a very potent form of steel called “teal iron” and guard the secret of its make closely; as of last known count, only three people knew the secret of it. It is believed to be a highly advanced alloy, incorporating both Bluegleam and greenschine into it.

Platinum

Used exclusively for coins, platinum is considered the property of the Empire, and tribute must be delivered in this form. All the cities have mines for it, and these shipments inevitably make their way to Qivira for use in the Mint.

Silver

The primary source for Silver is Dorado.

Vitredur

This is a composite substance, a form of flexible ceramic that is able to take an extremely fine edge and require little upkeep or be used in plates that are set within different garments to add protection. It is a strange and useful material, used by those in Qivira to make many things, including strips used in armor. As a ceramic, it goes through a process of curing but once cooled and finished, polished, and edged, the thing it is most famous for is how it is used in making deadly weapons that can outlast anything else.

Steelglass

Antilian merchants have been finding a market for the peculiar material they are famous for creating. It is a transparent, clear material that looks like glass, and yet is as hard as steel and takes an edge like vitredur. It looks like glass, and rumor says that the wealthiest of Antilian leadership can be found sporting armor of it. This is striking, because one thing remains true about Steelglass – it is heavier than and less flexible than steel.

Daengeld

A peculiar metal found growing in a crystalline pattern, it is brittle when discovered, easily turned into a powder, but when smelted becomes an extremely strong, magically potent metal. The dust is used in wand making and rituals, and the metal has occasionally been forged into startling forms and uses. It is unknown where it comes from, but it is something that the Posse of Eld is always on the lookout for, without ever saying why.

Crystalium

Another material made using the highly sought after combinations of Skystone and certain metals, it is stronger than the steel that is hard to find, and difficult to fashion. It is a slightly transparent material, and warms rapidly to the body, so it liked for armor, and is sometimes called rainbow hued, because the surface reflects in many different colors, like a rainbow.

Whiteshine

A more common stronger metal is called Whiteshine, crafted through a process that the folks in Lyonese keep as quiet and to themselves as the farmers of Aztlan, the Skyewards in Akadia, the Posse of Rails in Dorado, and the Syndicate does about their carriages in Dorado. It is, by all accounts, very hard to make. It uses a blend of Nickel and other metals. It gains its name from the white appearance of the metal, that can be polished to a luster.

An odd feature of it is that once it is alloyed, it never unalloys.

Tealiron

A material very much like steel that does use iron among its parts, it is the special creation of Qiviran specialists. It is a teal-colored metal, somewhat less flexible than steel, but durable and light. Like Glassteel, it is still exceedingly rare in the larger markets.

Magical Materials

There are certain materials on Wyrlde that are often used to support, improve, store, and influence magic and the effects of magic. As a result, it should be noted that the value of these materials is exceptionally high. A small ring with but a chip of Orikal might cost several thousand shillings. A Calcifer may be worth hundreds of crowns or sovereigns.

Skystone

A pearlescent crystalline stone with metallic properties that glows with an internal light. Mined in Sibola, it is a widely sought after stone because it allows for light without heat and does not seem to scar like Radiant light (such as the Sun) can cause.

The veins also are home to a species of snake-like entity, that can and will defend the ore. The veins move. Typically, it is shaped into crystals, polished and honed, faceted to provide light. A tiny fragment of it, about the same size as a candle flame burning on a wick, casts around 3 times the light of a single candle (3 candlepower, or around 36 lumens).

It should be noted that skystone also comes from meteors, and is often intertwined with meteoric iron, to which it can bond in some circumstances, used to make a very fine, extremely durable, and extremely flexible, glowing form of steel called Katanis.

Skystones are traded broadly and are one of the major light sources among the wealthy. The light of a Skystone never goes out, you see. They can be inherited and passed down among families.

Gaulaun

This is a gray, sand-like mineral, the tiny grains of which constantly move as if impelled by some living force. It is thought to be found in Durango’s Sand Sea. When a small amount of gaulaun is burned and directed by the correct spells (such as the hypothesized Mechanical Engine), it can provide significant motive force capable of powering magical machinery.

Orikal

An exceptionally heavy, hard, impervious, pinkish or reddish crystalline metal with the unusual property of being able to absorb and store all kinds of magic. Many mages wear Orikal jewelry. A one-inch cube of the material is said to weigh 1 pound.

The most prized metal on Wyrlde, it is found primarily in Lyonese with a deposit known to be somewhere in Arcadia. It is very reactive magically, and much sought after, particularly by Mages who use weapons. It is a very rare metal, with the unusual property of being able to absorb and store all kinds of mana. Many folks wear jewelry made of Orikal and use it to contain bits and pieces of their power that they could use when needed. However, Orikal not only absorbs the magic—it hungers for it, as though the metal was hollow and eager, aching even, for power to fill it up and make it whole. You can feel the desire for more magic, for more power when using it.

It is said that the extremely rare and expensive metal has the capacity to absorb magic, to store it for use when needed, enabling it to become a kind of magical battery over time.

It is often said that this is deeper than it seems — that Orikal not only absorbs the magic, it hungers for it, as though the metal was hollow and eager, aching even, for magical power to fill it up and make it whole; some claim that they can sense this, can feel it, as an active desire on the part of the metal.

Once it is properly smelted, it can be used to store raw magical power. One Grain (0.5 grams) of it typically can take in a bit of mana each day and be available afterwards.

If the prepared metal absorbs too much mana, it melts, losing all the stored Mana, and it is the application of too much magic that causes it to melt and be able to be shaped. Melted Orikal does not have heat – it remains temperature neutral, but it is said that contact with it can drain a caster in a moment of their mana.

Orikal bonds readily and easily with assorted woods such as Rowan, Oak, Willow, Hazel, Hawthorn, and Ash, and becomes almost impossible to separate from them (one must burn the wood). For this reason, it is often used in rods, wands, staves, and similar items. Note that it must be bonded to something else in order to be ingrained or imbued. Otherwise, it just absorbs the mana.

Orikal can bond to starwood, and doing so creates a dangerous tool that not only dispels magic, it draws the mana out of the person holding it. This is often used in cuffs or collars to restrain Mages. Nulls lose their resistance when in contact.

It is found in small clusters of crystals in many different places, and legend says that there is a flowing pool of it near one of the places where magic erupted into the world, and that this pool keeps the magic in check.

Starwood

A tree that strongly resembles bamboo and grows in much the same way and the same places that has a startling property: it dispels magic. It is often treated much like bamboo and used to create a kind of woven material that is light, strong, and flexible. It is used in the creation of certain kinds of armor.

It is illegal to bring starwood into or possess it within Akadia.

Calcifers

Calcifers are strange crystals that are unpredictable in where they are found or how many or how effective they are, but one thing is said about all of them: they are solid magic. Different calcifers may contain the stored capacity for different kinds of magic. Most of the crown jewels of the assorted Realms contain at least one calcifer among them, and the imperial Crown Jewels are known to include five different ones that enable their use no matter what the affinity of the Emperor may be.

Calcifers grow smaller when they are tapped or drawn from. They have a known limit, and this makes them very difficult to set into jewelry, so will often be set up so that they can be tapped without being lost (such as in a globe).

Calcifers, however, are, like magic, sentient. And they will often have their own plans, purposes, ideas, and needs that are often detrimental to those who use them.

Calcifers were used in the creation of all the great Legendary Weapons. A calcifer can be melted into and combined with other materials, but it requires mastery of one’s craft to do it, as well as significant study into the nature of and qualities of this kind of work.

It is said that the use of a calcifer can enable a single person to perform any ritual.

Common Prices

The following list of Merchant types and items is not complete but gives a general starting point for overall value of goods and services available.

Not every hamlet, village, or town will have everything on the following lists available – that will depend on the merchants and craftsfolk who frequent the area or live in it.

Prices for goods are typically recorded on Wyrlde in shillings and pence, sometimes in bits and bucks. Most people are shocked to ever see a quid or eagle, and while it is rare to see a farthing or florin, they are around.

The following gear and equipment prices reflect access available to characters through all means necessary short of theft. These prices are not reflective of the prices in the world itself, during game play – they are only prices for initial purchase. In game play, prices can vary from place to place, from cheaper to more expensive, according to quality and make, and is determined at the time you walk into the particular shop by the DM.

These prices are for Novice level equipment. For each stage above that (Yeoman, Adept, master, Grand master) add the price again (so a Grandmaster is 5 times the price shown).

Gear can break, war out, be lost, be stolen, and all of it weighs something. Especially coins. Most people don’t carry a lot of them around and Yuzuras charge a fee for changing one coin to another. There are also Banks you can store your funds in, but interest on Wyrlde is always simple, never compounded.

Not every hamlet, village, or town will have everything on the following lists available – that will depend on the merchants and craftsfolk who frequent the area or live in it.

Lifestyle Expenses

Lifestyle	Price/Day	Lifestyle	Price/Day
Wretched / Indentured	8 sp	Comfortable / Merchantry	245 sp
Squalid / Impoverished	15 sp	Wealthy / Gentry	450 sp
Poor / Peasantry	75 sp	Aristocratic / Patrons	2,250 sp
Modest / Tradesfolk	120 sp	Noble / Nobility	4,125 sp

Housing & Meals, per day

Lifestyle	Meals	Lodging	Lifestyle	Meals	Lodging
Wretched / Indentured	2 sp	3 sp	Comfortable / Merchantry	50 sp	65 sp
Squalid / Impoverished	3 sp	7 sp	Wealthy / Gentry	70 sp	125 sp
Poor / Peasantry	20 sp	30 sp	Aristocratic / Patrons	200 sp	250 sp
Modest / Tradesfolk	30 sp	50 sp	Noble / Nobility	350 sp	500 sp

Travel Services

Service	Fee	Notes	Service	Pay Per Mile	Notes
Road Toll	1 cp	To use road, every 30 miles	Airship passage	10 sp	Next City, Servant
Gate Fee, City	5 sp	To enter City	Airship passage	20 sp	Next City, Patron
Gate Fee, Town	3 sp	To enter Town	Train passage	10 sp	Main Car
Village Fee	1 sp	To enter Village	Train passage	30 sp	Shared Cabin
Hamlet Fee	3 cp	To enter Hamlet	Train passage	50 sp	Sleeping Cabin
Messenger	1 sp	Non-guild, per mile	Ship’s passage	11 sp	Steerage
Messenger	3 sp	Guild, per mile	Ship’s passage	13 sp	Shared Cabin
Courier	20 sp	Non-Guild, per mile	Ship’s passage	15 sp	Single Cabin
Courier	20 sp	Guild, per mile	Stage Coach	2 sp*	Per Stop
			Coach cab	5 cp *	Per Stop

Typical Staffing

Staff Role	Cost Per Month	Notes	Staff Role	Cost Per Month	Notes
Laborer	1000 sp	Unskilled	Castellan	3000 sp
Laborer	1500 sp	Skilled	Head Maid	2600 sp
Hireling	1000 sp	Unskilled	Head Butler	2600 sp
Hireling	1500 sp	Skilled	Maid	1800 sp
Artisan	1200 sp	Non-Guild	Butler	1800 sp
Artisan	1800 sp	Guild	Valet	2000 sp
Tradesman	1500 sp	Non-Guild	Chambermaid	2000 sp
Tradesman	2400 sp	Guild	Maidservant	1500 sp
Guard	2100 sp	Non-Guild	Manservant	1500 sp
Guard	2600 sp	Guild	House Staff	1100 sp	Untrained

Typical Services

Provision	Cost Per Use	Notes	Provision	Cost Per Use	Notes
Appraisal	250 sp	Non-Guild	Phsyic	75 sp	Non-Guild
Appraisal	350 sp	Guild	Phyisc	125 sp	Guild
Indentification	250 sp	Non-Guild	Sage	300 sp	Non-Guild
Identification	350 sp	Guild	Sage	500 sp	Guild
Feed, per animal	7 sp	Per Day	Oracle	300 sp
Stabling, per animal	3 sp	Per Day	Hauler, per load	3 sp	Per Day
Driver, per shift	4 sp	Per Day	Handler, per team	2 sp	Per Day

Assorted Gear

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Ladder	1 sp	25 lbs.	10 foot	Ram, portable	4 sp	35 lbs.	For Doors, not gates
Shovel	2 sp	5 lbs.		Grappling hook	2 sp	4 lbs.
Pole	.5 sp	7 lbs.	10-foot	Collapsing Pole	25 sp	15 lbs.	10 foot

Adaptive Aids

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Delving Chair	80 sp	15 lbs.	narrow, light wheelchair for tight spaces, not folding
Combat Wheelchair	500 sp	20 lbs.	https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KVW9Hv0QDPB6IiWbVY6RVi13S3W3bGuy
Arm Weapon	100 sp	5 lbs.	Club, short sword, hand axe, or hand crossbow
Leg Weapon	100 sp	8 lbs.	Short sword or spear
Eyeglasses	75 sp	1/10 lb
Spyglass	125 sp	2 lbs.
Hourglass	50 sp	2 lbs.

Mongery / Stalls

These are all items typically found only among common stalls in a marketplace.

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Mirror, steel	5 sp	0.5 lbs.		Half Mask	15 sp	0.25 lbs.
Bedroll	1 sp	7 lbs.		Full Mask	20 sp	0.25 lbs.
Blanket	5 sp	3 lbs.		Quarter Mask	10 sp	0.25 lbs.
Tinderbox	.25 sp	.25 lbs.		Dice set	1 sp	.1 lbs.
Pot, iron	4 sp	10 lbs.		Kress set	15 sp	0.5 lbs.
Pan, Iron	2 sp	5 lbs.		Playing card set	5 sp	.15 lbs.
Griddle, Iron	2 sp	3 lbs.		Domoe Set	1 sp	0.5 lbs.
Towel	1 sp	1.5 lbs.		Grand Games	.1 sp	—	Base Entry
Torches	1 sp	3 lbs.	3 torches	Grand Games	10 sp	—	Common Entry
Festival Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Grand Games	100 sp	—	Box Entry
Holiday Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Grand Games	500 sp	—	Noble Entry
Winter Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Clothing Bells	5 sp	.5 lbs.	6 tiny bells
Autumn Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Hand Bell	2 sp	.5 lbs.
Summer Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Bottle, glass	2 sp	2 lbs.
Spring Treat	.1 sp	.1 lbs.		Vial, Empty	1 sp	.1 lbs.
				Perfume (vial)	20 sp	.15 lbs.	5 uses

Peasantry

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Fishing Tackle	5 sp	4 lbs.	assorted lures	Hunting Trap	5 sp	5 lbs.
Fishing Rod	1 sp	3 lbs.		Hunting Snare	1 sp	3 lbs.
Fishing Net	3 sp	5 lbs.		Farmer’s Tools	2 sp	5 lbs.	per tool
				Shovel	2 sp	5 lbs.
				Pitchfork	2 sp	5 lbs.

Basiner / Casker

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Small Chest	5 sp	15 lbs.	4”w / 2”h / 2’d	Cask, Mercantile	2 sp	10 lbs.	Empty
Pack Chest	10 sp	5 lbs.	8”w / 4”h / 4”d	Pack	15 sp	1 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Cart Chest	15 sp	25 lbs.	24”w / 12”h / 12”d	Bushel	20 sp	3 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Wagon Chest	20 sp	50 lbs.	36”w / 24”h / 18”d	Vat	25 sp	5 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Room Chest	25 sp	75 lbs.	48”w / 24”h / 24”d	Barrel	30 sp	10 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Basket, Woven	1 sp	1 lbs.	Woven Bamboo	Butt	35 sp	20 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Basket	1 sp	2 lbs.	Woven Straw	Shead	40 sp	30 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Basket	1 sp	1 lbs.	Woven Reed	Drum	45 sp	40 lbs.	Empty, shipping
Trunk	35 sp	100 lbs.	5’w / 3’h / 3’d	Crate	50 sp	50 lbs.	Empty, shipping

Bookery / Scribery

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Book, Ledger	25 sp	2.5 lbs.	Blank Book	Abacus	2 sp	2 lbs.
Magnifying Glass	100 sp	0.1 lbs.		Ink	10 sp	–	Single Phial
Spellbook, Travel	50 sp	1 lbs.	Prepared, Empty	Ink Pen	2 sp	–
Spellbook (Grimoire)	50 sp	3 lbs.	Prepared, Empty	Paper	2 sp	–	Single Sheet
Spellbook (Nomicon)	50 sp	3 lbs.	Prepared, Empty	Parchment	1 sp	–	Single Sheet
Spellbook (Apocrypha)	50 sp	3 lbs.	Prepared, Empty	Book, Topic	20 sp	3 lbs.	Single Topic
Spellbook (Picatrix)	50 sp	3 lbs.	Prepared, Empty	Ink	15 sp	.3 lbs.	Single Stick

Domesticated Beasts

Animal	Cost	Weight	Notes	Animal	Cost	Weight	Notes
Chicken		10 lbs.		Pig		400 lbs.
Sheep		250 lbs.		Aruk		2500 lbs.
Cow		2500 lbs.		Fesan		25 lbs.
Goat		275 lbs.		Weg		500 lbs.
Ox		3000 lbs.		Goat, Milking		70 lbs.

Chandler / Cooper

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Candle	2 cp	.1 lbs.	4 hours	Backpack	2 sp	5 lbs.
Chalk	1 cp	—	1 stick, white	Waterskin	2 sp	5.25 lbs.	.25 lb when empty
Sealing wax	5 cp	.1 lbs.	1 stick, 25 uses	Pouch	25 sp	1 lbs. lbs.
Torch	1 cp	1 lbs.	1 torch	Bag	1 sp	.25 lbs.
Soap	2 Bits	0.1 lbs.	1 bar	Sack	2 sp	.5 lbs.
Case, scroll	1 sp	.3 lbs.		Purse	1 sp	.25 lbs.
Case, map	2 sp	.3 lbs.

Farrier / Smith

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Chain	5 sp	10 lbs.	10’	Whetstone	.1 sp	1 lbs.
Piton	1 sp	.25 lbs.		Tinderbox	.1 sp	1 lbs.
Grappling Hook	2 sp	4 lbs.		Honing Tools	1 sp	1 lbs.
Shovel	2 sp	5 lbs.		Warming Pan	sp	2 lbs.
Spikes, Iron	1 sp	5 lbs.	10 spikes	Bell, hand	1 sp	.3 lbs.
Bucket	.5 sp	2 lbs.		Mending Kit	.3 sp	.5 lbs.
Pick, miner’s	2 sp	10 lbs.		Travel Anvil	10 sp	25 lbs.
Crowbar	2 sp	5 lbs.		Block and tackle	1 sp	5 lbs.
Hammer, builders	1 sp	3 lbs.
Hammer, sledge	2 sp	10 lbs.

Physic / Healer / Midwife

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Healer’s Draught, I	50 sp	.25 lbs.	Lesser, 1 Use, 2 hp	Flowbane	4 sp	0.1 lbs.	1 Use, Dram
Healer’s Draught, II	100 sp	.25 lbs.	Common, 1 Use, 4 hp	Notnow	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	1 Use, Dram
Healer’s Draught, III	150 sp	.25 lbs.	Greater, 1 Use, 6 hp	Padding	2 sp	.25 lbs.	7 Days
Antidote	23 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, mineral cure	Flowease	1 sp	0.1 lbs.	1 Use, Dram
Antifungal	20 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, fungal cure	Babenod	1 cp	0.1 lbs.	1 Use, Dram
Antitoxin	25 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, poison cure	Kolikhush	1 cp	0.1 lbs.	1 Use, Dram
Antivenom	25 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, venom cure	Stump Cap	sp	.25 lbs.	Copper or brass
Antibiotic	30 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, parasite cure	Hand Hook	5 sp	3 lbs.	Wood
Antiviral	15 sp	.25 lbs.	1 use, sickness cure	False Hand	20sp	7 lbs.	Articulated Wood
Wound Treatment	50 sp	—	treatment, 1 hp	False Arm	35sp	10 lbs.	Articulated Wood
Healer’s Kit	10 sp	1.5 lbs.	7 uses	False Foot	10 sp	7 lbs.	Articulated Wood
Poultice	33 sp	.25 lbs.	Single use, 1 hp	Peg Leg	5 sp	10 lbs.	Wood
Wrap	50 sp	.25 lbs.	Single use, 2 hp	False Leg	20sp	10 lbs.	Articulated Wood

Clothier

Event Clothing: Price *3, Weight*2, Cold Weather Clothing: Price*4, Weight*2.

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Chemise	5 sp	.5 lbs.		Blouse	10 sp	1 lbs.
Camisole	7 sp	.5 lbs.		Shirt	10 sp	1 lbs.
Bloomers	2 sp	.5 lbs.		Vest	15 sp	1 lbs.
Petticoats	7 sp	3 lbs.		Tunic	5 sp	2 lbs.
Corsets	20 sp	2 lbs.		Sweater	7 sp	2 lbs.
Stays	10 sp	.5 lbs.		Waistcoat	25 sp	3 lbs.
Binder	7 sp	.5 lbs.		Doublet	20 sp	2 lbs.
Girdles	12 sp	2 lbs.		Jerkin	10 sp	1 lbs.
Skirt, Sheath	10 sp	1 lbs.		Shorts	10 sp	1 lbs.
Skirt, Wide	10 sp	2 lbs.		Breeches	10 sp	1 lbs.
Kilts	12 sp	2 lbs.		Trousers	12 sp	2 lbs.
Dusters	30 sp	4 lbs.		Pants	13 sp	2 lbs.
Sea Coats	35 sp	4 lbs.		Tights	10 sp	1 lbs.
War Coats	35 sp	5 lbs.		Culottes	12 sp	1 lbs.
Envoy Coats	30 sp	3 lbs.		Skirt, Fitted	10 sp	2 lbs.
Surcoats	25 sp	3 lbs.		Coverall	10 sp	2 lbs.
Cloak	20 sp	3 lbs.		Poncho	15 sp	3 lbs.
Cape	12 sp	2 lbs.		Caftan	15 sp	2 lbs.
Shawl	10 sp	1 lbs.		Dress, Sheath	20 sp	3 lbs.
Sarong	15 sp	2 lbs.		Dress, Shift	10 sp	3 lbs.
Robe	15 sp	3 lbs.		Dress, Wrap	20 sp	3 lbs.
Full Gown Set	2,000 sp	20 lbs.	Complete	Dress, Laced	25 sp	3 lbs.
Full Swen Set	2,000 sp	18 lbs.	Complete	Shrug	10 sp	½ lbs.
Full Suit Set	2,000 sp	15 lbs.	Complete	Kirtle	10 sp	2 lbs.

Cobblery / Hatter

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Sandals	15 sp	1.5 lbs.		Bonnet	5 sp	.25 lbs.
Slippers	8 sp	1 lbs.		Dress Hat	25 sp	.5 lbs.
Clogs	10 sp	3 lbs.		Formal Hat	20 sp	.5 lbs.
Shoes	20 sp	2 lbs.		Cap	7 sp	.25 lbs.
Bootlets	25 sp	3 lbs.		Witchery	10 sp	2 lbs.
Boots	35 sp	4 lbs.		Beret	8 sp	.25 lbs.
Leggers	30 sp	3 lbs.		Range Hat	12 sp	.25 lbs.

Sagery

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Fashioned Crystal	200 sp	1 lbs.		Sprig of Mistletoe	1 sp	–
Fashioned Orb	400 sp	3 lbs.		Wooden Staff	5 sp	4 lbs.
Fashioned Rod	100 sp	2 lbs.		Ash Wand	10 sp	.25 lbs.
Fashioned Staff	250 sp	4 lbs.		Rowan Wand	10 sp	.33 lbs.
Fashioned Wand	100 sp	1 lbs.		Pine Wand	10 sp	.20 lbs.
Amulet, Clerical	100 sp	1 lbs.		Yew Wand	10 sp	1 lbs.
Emblem, Clerical	100 sp	1 lbs.		Oak Wand	10 sp	.2 lbs.
Reliquary, Clerical	300 sp	2 lbs.		Totem, Carved,	125 sp	.1 lbs.-	Shamanic

Herbalist / Spicery

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Salt	1 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses	Fadeleaf	20 sp	.25 lbs.	3 uses
Peppercorns	1 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses	Tobacco, rolled	5 sp	.25 lbs.	3 uses
Ginger	1 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses	Mindnumb	10 sp	.25 lbs.	3 uses
Cloves	2 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses	Heartsalve	10 sp	.25 lbs.	3 uses
Cinnamon	10 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses
Saffron	64 sp	.25 lbs.	10 Uses

Jewelry

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Signet ring	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Troth Ring	25 sp	0.1 lbs.	Silver
Locket	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Pledge Ring	50 sp	0.1 lbs.	Electrum
Pendant	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Necklace, Light	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze
Earrings	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Necklace, Medi	6 sp	0.2 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze
Circlet	7 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Necklace, Heavy	7 sp	0.3 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze
Broach	5 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Hair Comb	3 sp	0.2 lbs.	Ivory or Wood
Bracelet	8 sp	0.1 lbs.	Common Brass or Bronze	Hair Brush	5 sp	0.3 lbs.	Ivory or Wood
				Hand Mirror	10 sp	.5 lbs.	wood and slivered copper

Instruments

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Accordion	35 sp	8 lbs.		Clavichord	25 sp	10 lbs.		Harp	50 sp	12 lbs.
Bagpipes	30 sp	2 lbs.		Drum	6 sp	3 lbs.		Horn	3 sp	2 lbs.
Banjo	25 sp	5 lbs.		Dulcimer	25 sp	10 lbs.		Shawm	2 sp	1 lbs.
Bellcoat	25 sp	2 lbs.		Flute	2 sp	1 lbs.		Sitar	35 sp	5 lbs.
Bugle	25 sp	2 lbs.		Handpan	25 sp	3 lbs.		Tambour	25 sp	1 lbs.
Buisine	25 sp	2 lbs.		Oboe	25 sp	2 lbs.		Triangle	25 sp	1 lbs.
Castanet	25 sp	1 lbs.		Ocarina	25 sp	1 lbs.		Trumpet	25 sp	2 lbs.
Cithar	25 sp	2 lbs.		Pan Flute	12 sp	2 lbs.		Vielle	25 sp	2 lbs.
Lyre	30 sp	6 lbs.		Pipa	25 sp	2 lbs.		Viol	30 sp	2 lbs.
Mandolin	25 sp	4 lbs.		Recorder	25 sp	1 lbs.		Zither	25 sp	3 lbs.
Mouth Harp	25 sp	.5 lbs.		Clarinet	25 sp	2 lbs.		Lute	35 sp	5 lbs.
Signal Whistle	.3 sp	.1 lbs.		Clave	25 sp	2 lbs.		Harmonica	25 sp	.5 lbs.

Lockery & Mekanist

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Lock, chain	2 sp	1 lbs.	general	Lock, Simple	2 sp	1 lbs.
Manacles	2 sp	6 lbs.		Lock, Common	4 sp	1 lbs.
Leg irons	3 sp	10 lbs.		Lock, Hard	8 sp	1 lbs.
Chimeglass	25 sp	.5 lbs.	24 minute hourglass	Lock, Very Hard	14 sp	1 lbs.	8”w / 4”h / 4”d
Bellglass	15 sp	.3 lbs.	4 hour hourglass	Lock, Improbable	18 sp	1 lbs.
Ringlass	35 sp	.1 lbs.	2.4 minute hourglass

Lanternry

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Lamp, Dish	1 sp	.25 lbs.	Bowl with wick	Lantern, Bullseye	10 sp	2 lbs.	Oil, Shutter creates a beam
Lamp, Tradtional	3 sp	1 lbs.	Spout, handle	Lantern, Hooded	20 sp	3 lbs.	Oil, Easily Darkend
Lamp Oil,	1 sp	1 lbs.	Low Grade 10 Uses	Lantern, Pole	25 sp	4 lbs.	candle lantern on 6-foot pole
Lamp Oil,	3 sp	1 lbs.	High Grade	Lantern, Pole	30 sp	5 lbs.	oil lantern on 6-foot pole
Candle Lantern	2 sp	1 lbs.	Candle	Candle Holder, tin	.5 sp	.2 lbs.

Potter / Carpenter

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Bowl, ceramic	3 sp	.5 lbs.		Bed	125 sp	125 lbs.
Chamber Pot	1 sp	1 lbs.		Ladder (10 foot)	1 sp	25 lbs.
Eating Sticks, Ceramic	1 sp	.1 lbs.		Wardrobe	220 sp	60 lbs.
Flask	8 cp	1 lbs.		Rocking Chair	350 sp	20 lbs.
Jug or pitcher	6 cp	4 lbs.		Chair	125 sp	10 lbs.
Mug, Ceramic	2 sp	.3 lbs.		Desk	200 sp	60 lbs.
Plate, Ceramic	1 sp	.3 lbs.		Stool, folding	15 sp	5 lbs.
Plate, Stone	2 s	.5 lbs.		Stool	3 sp	3 lbs.
Tankard	8 cp	1 lbs.		Bench	15 sp	25 lbs.

Cutler

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Bowl, copper	4 sp	.3 lbs.		Cup, copper	1 sp	.2 lbs.
Food sticks, copper	1 cp	.1 lbs.		Cup, tin	1 cp	.2 lbs.
Fork, copper	1 cp	.1 lbs.		Mug, tin	2 cp	.2 lbs.
Knife, eating	2 cp	.1 lbs.		Plate, tin	3 cp	.3 lbs.
Mess kit	2 sp	1 lbs.		Skewers, copper	2 cp	.1 lbs.
Plate, copper	3 sp	.3 lbs.		Mug, copper	2 sp	.2 lbs.
Spoon, copper	1 cp	.1 lbs.		Bowl, tin	4 cp	.3 lbs.

Saddlery / Leathery

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Bit And Bridle	5 sp	1 lbs.		Quiver, Arrow,	5 sp	1 lbs.	20 Capacity
Saddle Pad	3 sp	4 lbs.		Quiver, Javelin	5 sp	1.5 lbs.	6 capacity
Saddle, Doric	30 sp	25 lbs.	Doradan saddle	Cinch, 10’, buckle	10 sp	5 lbs.	Leather strap
Saddle, Military	20 sp	30 lbs.	Jousting Saddle	Cinch, 6’, buckle	7 sp	3 lbs.	Leather strap
Saddle, Pack	8 sp	15 lbs.		Strap, 6’, tie	5 sp	2 lbs.	Leather strap
Saddle, Riding	10 sp	25 lbs.	Regular saddle	Quiver, Bolt	5 sp	1 lbs.	12 Capacity
Saddle, Side	60 sp	40 lbs.	Sibolan
Saddlebags	8 sp	8 lbs.

Tentery

Item	Cost	Weight	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	Notes
Pavilion	80 sp	100 lbs.	40 ‘ square	Tent, Partition, large	125 sp	70 lbs.	4 spaces
Tent, large	20 sp	20 lbs.	8 Person	Ground Pad, woven	7 sp	3 lbs.	Woven Reeds
Tent, medium	10 sp	10 lbs.	4 Person	Ground Pad, simple	2 sp	5 lbs.	Straw-Filled
Tent, Partition, medium	75 sp	50 lbs.	3 spaces	Tent, Partition, council	500 sp	120 lbs.	1 to 6 spaces
Tent, Partition, small	30 sp	30 lbs.	2 space	Tent, Partition, very large	200 sp	90 lbs.	5 spaces
Tent, small	5 sp	5 lbs.	2-Person	Canvas square	3 sp	5 lbs.	9’ square
Tent, very large	40 sp	60 lbs.	12 Person	Ground Pad, stuffed	7 sp	7 lbs.	Cotton Or Wool

Ropery

Item	Length	Weight	Cost	Notes	Item	Length	Weight	Cost	Notes
Rope, Hemp	50’	10 lbs.	1 sp		Rope Ladder	25’	12 lbs.	8 sp
Rope, Flax	50’	12 lbs.	3 sp		Rope Ladder	50’	24 lbs.	13 sp
Rope, Silk	50’	5 lbs.	10 sp		Rope Ladder	75’	36 lbs.	17 sp

Rationer

A Ration is a thick pastry shell wrapped around a mixed filling of some sort. Some are open along one end, and the most common ones are baked in a hearth or fire. It is a strong tradition among the Empire to use rations when traveling, once made of simple things that were scrounged and carefully rationed during the Bleak Journey and are constantly being changed and improved and exchanged; often sold as street food these days Meals are simply that: packaged meals, usually meat, fruit, and root vegetable in a bundle, perhaps with cheese or bread.

Item	Cost	Weight	#	Notes	Item	Cost	Weight	#	Notes
Loaf of Bread	0.1 sp	1	1	1 Loaf	Rations, Soft	1 sp	1.5	3	1 Day’s Worth
Meal, Trail	.1 sp	.5	8	8 Meals	Rations, Crusty	1 sp	1.5	3	1 Day’s Worth
Hard Tack	.1 sp	.5	8	8 Meals	Rations, Raid	2 sp	1.5	3	1 Day’s Worth
Meal, Basic	.1 sp	.5	8	8 Meals

The three most common types of rations are Soft, Crusty, and Raid.

Soft Rations are unleavened and made using a mix of ground corn and flour of rice or buckwheat, possibly with potato. Soft rations are typically eaten in threes. They are steamed most often these days. Soft rations are usually wrapped in rice paper or leaves.

Crusty Rations are made with a dough of wheat and other flours that is leavened and often baked into handheld items with thick, hard crusts that can survive the day’s efforts. Crusty rations are often said to be best in twos, but many can only eat one. Crusty rations are usually wrapped in thick paper.

Raid Rations are made of a mix of more whole grains, held together by a syrup and starches, along with bits of berry or fruit. They are about the size of a hand, and one can suffice for a meal. Raid rations are wrapped in cloth that has been dipped in beeswax.

Food and Drink

Item	Cost	Weight	Item	Cost	Weight	Item	Cost	Weight
Bread, loaf	2 Bits	1 lbs.	Ale, mug	1 cp	.5 lbs.	Uzo, flask	3 sp	1 lbs.
Cheese, hunk	4 Bits	.5 lbs.	Ale, pint	3 cp	1 lbs.	Rum, flask	4 sp	1 lbs.
Meat, chunk (1/4 pound)	6 Bits	.25 lbs.	Ale, flagon	1 sp	2 lbs.	Gin, flask	2 sp	1 lbs.
Breakfast, meal	5 cp	2 lbs.	Mead, mug	5 cp	.5 lbs.	Vodka, flask	2sp	1 lbs.
Brunch, meal	1 sp	1 lbs.	Mead, pint	8 cp	1 lbs.	Rye, flask	1 sp	1 lbs.
Lunch, meal	5 cp	2 lbs.	Mead, flagon	3 sp	2 lbs.	Tequila, flask	5 sp	1 lbs.
Dinner, meal	5 cp	3 lbs.	Beer, mug	3 cp	.5 lbs.	Whisky, flask	7 sp	1 lbs.
Supper, meal	5 cp	2 lbs.	Beer, pint	5 cp	1 lbs.	Virale, flask	6 sp	1 lbs.
Snack, meal	1 cp	.5 lbs.	Beer, flagon	2 sp	2 lbs.	Shoju, flask	6 sp	1 lbs.
Goat’s Milk, Pint	1 Bit	.5 lbs.	Beer, jug	5 sp	4 lbs.	Makushmur, flask	5 sp	1 lbs.
Cow’s Milk, Pint	3 Bits	.5 lbs.	Cider, mug	3 sp	.5 lbs.	Brandy, Fine, flask	9 sp	1 lbs.
Wine, common, flagon	7 sp	2 lbs.	Cider, pint	5 sp	1 lbs.	Brandy, Middlin, flask	7 sp	1 lbs.
Wine, watered, flagon	2 sp	3 lbs.	Cider, flagon	7 sp	2 lbs.	Brandy, Common, flask	5 sp	1 lbs.
Wine, fine, flagon	10 sp	2 lbs.	Cider, jug	10 sp	4 lbs.

Mounts & Pets

Item	Cost	Speed	Capacity	Notes	Item	Cost	Speed	Capacity	Notes
Horse, Draft	50 sp	40	540		Seahorse, Giant	325 sp	60	200	Swimming only
Horse, Kahokian	200 sp	40	625		Dolphin, River	225 sp	60	—	Swimming only
Horse, Pack	75 sp	40	550		Dolphin, Sea	500 sp	60	—	Swimming only
Horse, Riding,	75 sp	60	480	Common	Oxen	10 sp	30	1,000
Horse, Riding,	125 sp	65	475	Qiviran	Elephant	800 sp	40	1,320
Horse, Riding	100 sp	60	500	Doradan	Camel, Pack	40 sp	40	550
Mule, Pack	5 sp	40	500		Camel, Riding	50 sp	50	480
Mule, Riding	8 sp	40	420		Dog, Guardian,	20 sp	40	—	Hyborian
Pony, Pack	65 sp	40	350		Dog, Hunting,	20 sp	40	—	Hyborian
Pony, Riding	30 sp	40	225		Dog, Mastiff	25 sp	40	195
Warhorse	425 sp	30	550	Azlian	Cat, Hunting,	20 sp	40	—	Hyborian
Warhorse	400 sp	30	540	Sibolan	Falcon, Hunting	25 sp	60	1	Kahokian, flies
Donkey, Pack	4 sp	40	500		Goat, Riding	10 sp	40	100
Donkey, Riding	8 sp	40	420		Goat, Hauling	7 sp	40	125

Tool Sets & Kits

Item	Cost	Weight	Item	Cost	Weight
Musician’s Tools	12 sp	1 lb	Glassblower’s Tools	30 Sp	5 lbs.
Alchemist’s Supplies	50 Sp	8 lbs.	Healer’s kit	5 sp	3 lbs.
Brewer’s Supplies	20 Sp	9 lbs.	Herbalism kit	5 sp	3 lbs.
Burglar’s Kit	35 sp	5 lbs.	Jeweler’s Tools	25 Sp	2 lbs.
Calligrapher’s Supplies	10 Sp	5 lbs.	Leatherworker’s Tools	5 Sp	5 lbs.
Carpenter’s Tools	8 Sp	6 lbs.	Mason’s Tools	10 Sp	8 lbs.
Cartographer’s Tools	15 Sp	6 lbs.	Navigator’s Tools	25 Sp	2 lbs.
Climber’s Kit	25 sp	12 lbs.	Painter’s Supplies	10 Sp	5 lbs.
Cobbler’s Tools	5 Sp	5 lbs.	Poisoner’s Kit	50 Sp	2 lbs.
Cook’s Utensils	1 Sp	8 lbs.	Potter’s Tools	10 Sp	3 lbs.
Diplomat’s Kit	35 sp	5 lbs.	Priest’s Kit	35 sp	6 lbs.
Disguise Kit	25 Sp	3 lbs.	Scholar’s Kit	35 sp	5 lbs.
Dungeoneer’s Kit	35 sp	10 lbs.	Smith’s Tools	20 Sp	8 lbs.
Entertainer’s Kit	35 sp	10 lbs.	Thieves’ Tools	25 Sp	1 lbs.
Explorer’s Kit	35 sp	10 lbs.	Tinker’s Tools	50 Sp	10 lbs.
Explosives Toolkit	160 Sp	15 lbs.	Weaver’s Tools	1 Sp	5 lbs.
Firearms Toolkit	100 Sp	15 lbs.	Woodcarver’s Tools	1 Sp	5 lbs.
Smth’s Tools	50 sp	35 lbs.	Farrier’s Tools	40 sp	30 lbs.

Vehicles

Vehicles use Vehicle Stat Blocks. These describe certain capabilities of vehicles.

Vehicle		Cost (sp)		Team
Type		Piloting		Propulsion
Size		Officers		Speed
Weight		Crew		Fuel
Armor Class		Passengers		Handling
Hit Points		Cargo		Acceleration
Threshold		Space		Turn Radius
Heavy Mounts		Medium Mounts		Light Mounts

Type: This is the Vehicle’s type:

Drawn, vehicles drawn by a single person or animal over ground.

Wagons, Vehicles which are drawn by teams of people or animals over ground.

Groundcraft, Vehicles which are powered by some form of Engine over ground.

Sandcraft, vehicles which are used on the Sand Sea.

Watercraft, vehicles which are used on the surface of the seas and rivers.

Divecraft, Vehicles which are powered by some engine and operate mostly underwater.

Skycraft, Vehicles which are magically powered and operate mostly in the air.

Demesne, which are small islands that float in the seas or in the skies.

Magical, which are vehicles empowered by spellcraft.

Size: Vehicles have a size rating.

Weight: Vehicles have a weight rating.

Armor Class: Vehicles have an AC for the body of the Vehicle. This is sometimes called a Hull.

Hit Points: Vehicles have hit points.

Damage Threshold; All vehicles have a threshold of at least 10% of their total HP. Damage less than that threshold has no effect.

Pilot: Vehicles require a Pilot.

Officers: Some vehicles have a number of officers, expressed in number of adult bodies.

Crew: Some Vehicles have a crew capacity, expressed in number of adult bodies.

Passengers: Vehicles have a passenger capacity, expressed in number of adult bodies.

Cargo: Vehicles have a cargo capacity, expressed in pounds.

Space: Vehicles have a set amount of space, expressed in either cubic feet or number of Containers.

Propulsion: the means by which the vehicle is able to move.

Fuel: Some vehicles have a fuel requirement.

Speed: Vehicles have different types of movement (wheels, propeller, wings, sails, oars, skis, team, engine) with different speeds. This is the same speed rating as given to living creatures. Speed impacts the DC of Maneuvers.

Handling: Vehicles have a handling score. A Handling score is a DC for piloting the vehicle. Certain circumstances and Maneuvers add or subtract to the Handling score, and the character has to successfully roll their piloting score against the handling DC to achieve the action. Handling represents how easy the vehicle is to pilot, and the default DC is 10.

Acceleration: one tenth the maximum speed of the Vehicle. Each round that a vehicle accelerates, it adds this number to previous speed. Vehicles reach their maximum speed in 10 rounds.

Turn Radius: space to turn around. Trying to turn too tightly will capsize the vehicle.

Weapon mounts: Vehicles have between 0 and 20 weapon mounts. Vehicle weapons make ranged attacks as normal. There are three kinds of Weapon Mounts: Light, Medium, and Heavy. Vehicle weapons have their own weapon table.

Range: The range of the Vehicle in miles per day. Range is reduced by certain maneuvers. Range is determined using the travel Speed chart, based on the Speed of the vehicle.

Drawn Vehicles

These are vehicles that are drawn by a single person or single creature.

Small Cart		Cost (sp)	125 sp	Team	1
Type	Drawn	Piloting	—	Propulsion	Person
Size	Big	Officers	—	Speed	20
Weight	500	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	—	Handling	20
Hit Points	35	Cargo	400	Acceleration	—
Threshold	3	Space	14	Turn Radius	10 ft.

Hand Cart		Cost (sp)	100 sp	Team	1
Type	Drawn	Piloting	—	Propulsion	Person
Size	Medium	Officers	—	Speed	20
Weight	300	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	—	Handling	20
Hit Points	35	Cargo	200	Acceleration	—
Threshold	2	Space	6	Turn Radius	10 ft.

Large Cart		Cost (sp)	200 sp	Team	1
Type	Drawn	Piloting	—	Propulsion	Person
Size	Large	Officers	—	Speed	15
Weight	1000	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	1	Handling	20
Hit Points	75	Cargo	600	Acceleration	—
Threshold	5	Space	28	Turn Radius	15 ft.

Buggy		Cost (sp)	200 sp	Team	1
Type	Drawn	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Big	Officers	—	Speed	30
Weight	600	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	2	Handling	15
Hit Points	100	Cargo	600	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	5	Space	4	Turn Radius	20 ft.

Lyonian Light Chariot		Cost (sp)	250 sp	Team	1
Type	Drawn	Piloting	Riding	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Medium	Officers	—	Speed	35
Weight	500	Crew	2	Fuel	—
Armor Class	12	Passengers	—	Handling	15
Hit Points	100	Cargo	—	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	10	Space	—	Turn Radius	10 ft.

Wagons

These are vehicles that are drawn by teams of Mounts.

Buckboard		Cost (sp)	125 sp	Team	2
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Huge	Officers	—	Speed	40
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	7	Handling	10
Hit Points	100	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	28	Turn Radius	30 feet

Bullock		Cost (sp)	150 sp	Team	2 or 4
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Huge	Officers	—	Speed	35
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	7	Handling	10
Hit Points	100	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	36	Turn Radius	30 feet

Carriage		Cost (sp)	300 sp	Team	2 or 4
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Huge	Officers	—	Speed	45
Weight	1700 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	3	Handling	12
Hit Points	120	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	12	Turn Radius	30 feet

Coach		Cost (sp)	800 sp	Team	4 or 6
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	45
Weight	1900 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	4	Handling	13
Hit Points	160	Cargo	600	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	6	Turn Radius	30 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	1

Great Coach		Cost (sp)	1,200 sp	Team	6 or 8
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	35
Weight	2500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	6	Handling	14
Hit Points	200	Cargo	600	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	6	Turn Radius	30 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	1	Light Mounts	2

Open Wagon		Cost (sp)	200 sp	Team	2
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Huge	Officers	—	Speed	40
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	5	Handling	10
Hit Points	100	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	15	Space	36	Turn Radius	30 feet

Covered Wagon		Cost (sp)	250 sp	Team	2 or 4
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	35
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	5	Handling	12
Hit Points	100	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	15	Space	36	Turn Radius	30 feet

Camping Wagon		Cost (sp)	300 sp	Team	4
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	40
Weight	1800 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	3	Handling	15
Hit Points	200	Cargo	300	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	15	Space	18	Turn Radius	30 feet

Lyonian Heavy Chariot		Cost (sp)	1,000 sp	Team	4 or 6
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	1	Speed	40
Weight	750 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	15	Passengers	—	Handling	16
Hit Points	100	Cargo	—	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	20	Space	—	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	1

Exilian Corf		Cost (sp)	1,500 sp	Team	5
Type	Wagon	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	40
Weight	2500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	5	Handling	15
Hit Points	250	Cargo	500	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	25	Space	12	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	2	Light Mounts	2

Groundcraft

Self Propelled Vehicles

Durangan Auto Carriage		Cost (sp)	15,000 sp	Range	240 miles
Type	Groundcraft	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Enjin
Size	Huge	Officers	—	Speed	130
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	Yes
Armor Class	10	Passengers	3	Handling	9
Hit Points	100	Cargo	125	Acceleration	30
Threshold	10	Space	3	Turn Radius	10 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	4

Sandcraft

Vehicles which travel within the Sand Sea.

Sand Sled		Cost (sp)	25 sp	Team	4 to 8
Type	Sandcraft	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Mount
Size	Large	Officers	—	Speed	45
Weight	300 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	8	Passengers	1	Handling	13
Hit Points	50	Cargo	300	Acceleration	mount
Threshold	6	Space	6	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	1

Sand Skimmer		Cost (sp)	4,300 sp	Team	—
Type	Sandcraft	Piloting	Sail	Propulsion	Sail
Size	Huge	Officers	1	Speed	50
Weight	2500 lbs.	Crew	3	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	4	Handling	13
Hit Points	250	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	30
Threshold	10	Space	36	Turn Radius	30 feet
Heavy Mounts	2	Medium Mounts	2	Light Mounts	4

Divecraft

Vehicles designed for use underwater

Kerisian Submersible		Cost (sp)	157,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Divecraft	Piloting	Wagon	Propulsion	Turbine
Size	Massive	Officers	1	Speed	50
Weight	1700 lbs.	Crew	3	Fuel	Yes
Armor Class	10	Passengers	6	Handling	10
Hit Points	150	Cargo	300	Acceleration	25
Threshold	6	Space	3	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	1	Medium Mounts	1	Light Mounts	2

Watercraft

Watercraft for rivers and seas.

Canoe		Cost (sp)	50 sp	Team	1 or 2
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	River	Propulsion	Oar
Size	Big	Officers	—	Speed	50
Weight	25 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	8	Passengers	1	Handling	9
Hit Points	35	Cargo	100	Acceleration	15
Threshold	2	Space	2	Turn Radius	10 feet

Kayak		Cost (sp)	50 sp	Team	1
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	River	Propulsion	Oar
Size	Medium	Officers	—	Speed	50
Weight	25 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	8	Passengers	—	Handling	8
Hit Points	20	Cargo	—	Acceleration	15
Threshold	2	Space	—	Turn Radius	10 feet

Dinghy		Cost (sp)	125 sp	Team	1 to3
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	River	Propulsion	Oar
Size	Big	Officers	—	Speed	50
Weight	100 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	4	Handling	11
Hit Points	50	Cargo	100	Acceleration	15
Threshold	5	Space	3	Turn Radius	10 feet

Rowboat		Cost (sp)	250 sp	Team	1 to 5
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	River	Propulsion	Oar
Size	Large	Officers	—	Speed	50
Weight	250 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	6	Handling	11
Hit Points	50	Cargo	250	Acceleration	15
Threshold	7	Space	5	Turn Radius	15 feet

Raft		Cost (cp)	300 sp	Team	1 to 6
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	River or Sail	Propulsion	Pole, Oar, Sail
Size	Large	Officers	—	Speed	50
Weight	300 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	1 to 7	Handling	16
Hit Points	50	Cargo	600	Acceleration	15
Threshold	3	Space	10	Turn Radius	15 feet

Skif		Cost (sp)	150,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	Sail	Propulsion	Sail
Size	Gigantic	Officers	—	Speed	175
Weight	1500 lbs.	Crew	—	Fuel	—
Armor Class	11	Passengers		Handling	14
Hit Points	200	Cargo	1000	Acceleration	30
Threshold	10	Space	12	Turn Radius	18 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	2

Fishing Boat		Cost (sp)	165,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	Sail	Propulsion	Sail
Size	Gigantic	Officers	1	Speed	200
Weight	2500 lbs.	Crew	8	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	—	Handling	14
Hit Points	250	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	30
Threshold	10	Space	24	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	2

Merchant Galleon		Cost (sp)	250,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	Sail	Propulsion	Sail
Size	Massive	Officers	3	Speed	250
Weight	5500 lbs.	Crew	12	Fuel	—
Armor Class	12	Passengers		Handling	20
Hit Points	400	Cargo	3500	Acceleration	30
Threshold	20	Space	360	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	1	Medium Mounts	2	Light Mounts	4

Yacht		Cost (sp)	250,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	Sail	Propulsion	Sail
Size	Humongous	Officers	1	Speed	200
Weight	6000 lbs.	Crew	5	Fuel	—
Armor Class	11	Passengers	8	Handling	16
Hit Points	300	Cargo	1200	Acceleration	30
Threshold	20	Space	100	Turn Radius	30 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	2	Light Mounts	4

Barge		Cost (sp)	50,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Watercraft	Piloting	Sail or River	Propulsion	Pole or Sail
Size	Massive	Officers	1	Speed	100
Weight	5000 lbs.	Crew	2	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	4	Handling	18
Hit Points	400	Cargo	2400	Acceleration	30
Threshold	20	Space	1000	Turn Radius	20 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	1	Light Mounts	2

Skycraft

Vehicles which travel through the sky.

Sky Skimmer		Cost (sp)	35,000 sp	Team	—
Type	Skyship	Piloting	Sky	Propulsion	Turbine
Size	Massive	Officers	—	Speed	55
Weight	000000 lbs.	Crew	1	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	2	Handling	10
Hit Points	100	Cargo	60	Acceleration	25
Threshold	5	Space	3	Turn Radius	60 feet

Private Akashik Airship		Cost (sp)	85,000 sp	Team
Type	Skyship	Piloting	Sky	Propulsion	Turbine
Size	Humongous	Officers	1	Speed	110
Weight	000000 lbs.	Crew	4	Fuel	—
Armor Class	10	Passengers	4	Handling	10
Hit Points	200	Cargo	600	Acceleration	50
Threshold	5	Space	12	Turn Radius	90 feet
Heavy Mounts	—	Medium Mounts	—	Light Mounts	2

Mounted Weapons

Weapon	Type	Cost	Die	Damage	Range	Min Range	AC	HP	Notes
Ballista	Light		d24	piercing	120 / 480	12	11	40
Mangonel	Light		d30	bludgeoning	100 / 400	60	11	70
Harpoon	Light		d20	slashing	60 / 120	5	9	25
Grappling Line	Light		—	grappling	60	15	10	30	On hit, grapples target.
Ballista	Medium		2d24	piercing	180 / 710	25	13	50
Mangonel	Medium		2d30	bludgeoning	200 / 600	60	13	80
Harpoon	Medium		2d20	slashing	120 / 240	5	11	30
Ballista	Heavy		3d24	piercing	240 / 940	50	15	60
Mangonel	Heavy		3d30	bludgeoning	300 / 800	60	15	90
Harpoon	Heavy		3d20	slashing	180 / 360	5	13	35

Mounted Weapon Ammunition

Item	Cost	Weight	Quantity	Weapon	Notes
Bolt, Light	10 sp	10 lbs.	5	Ballista
Bolt, Medium	10 sp	10 lbs.	5	Ballista
Bolt, Heavy	10 sp	10 lbs.	5	Ballista
Stone	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Ballista
Shot, Waxed	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Ballista	Separates on firing, doing 2d6 to targets in a 30 foot cone
Shot, Fire	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Ballista	Bursts on impact, spreading fire in 10’ circle
Stone, Light	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Mangonel
Stone, Medium	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Mangonel
Stone, Heavy	10 sp	2 lbs.	3	Mangonel
Stone, Scored	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Mangonel	Separates on firing, doing 2d6 to targets in a 30 foot cone
Stone, Cored	10 sp	10 lbs.	3	Mangonel	Bursts on impact, spreading fire in 10’ circle
Harpoon, Light	10 sp	10 lbs.	3
Harpoon, Medium	10 sp	10 lbs.	3
Harpoon, Heavy	10 sp	10 lbs.	3

Armor & Shields

Armor on Wyrlde is categorized according to: Standard, Light, Medium, and Heavy. Each type has an impact on your overall abilities, and in some cases may drastically impact your ability to do things like cast spells. Armor can penalize mages on rolls when casting spells due to constriction of movement for the somatic aspects.

Armor Training is needed to be able to properly wear any armor. Proficiency penalties apply to all actions worn while wearing armor one is not proficient in. Armor also takes time to put on and take off.

Category	Don	Doff
Standard	1 Minutes	1 Minute
Light Armor	2 minutes	1 minute
Medium Armor	3 Minutes	2 Minutes
Heavy Armor	5 Minutes	3 Minutes
Shield	1 Action	1 Action

Don. This is the time it takes to put on armor. You benefit from the armor’s AC only if you take the full time to don the suit of armor.

Doff. This is the time it takes to take off armor. If you have help, reduce this time by half.

Armor is still uncommon on Wyrlde. Many Adventurers claim that they do not need it, that they are so capable that armor does them little good and yet there are those who will splurge for custom armor built for their character, providing a means to accentuate their overall appearance. IN truth, one of the key aspects around Armor is that iron is rare, expensive, and so rarely used for armor outside of an additive. Aluminum, tin, copper, and other metals are used in the making of alloys that are then used in armor – and it is hot, dangerous, poisonous work.

Those who have served in a garrison at some outlying Fort or Keep will often have a preference for armor, but many will find it constricting and limiting if they seek to use magic.

Standard Armor

Armor	Cost	Weight	Armor Class (AC)	Stealth
Light Buckskin Armor	15 sp	5 lbs.	10 + Dex Modifier	—
Padded Cloth Armor	10 sp	8 lbs.	10 + Dex Modifier	Disadvantage
Glazed Leather Armor	25 sp	10 lbs.	10 + Dex Modifier	—
Duric Pocket Armor	20 sp	18 lbs.	10 + Dex Modifier	—
Heavy Buckskin Armor	40 sp	5 lbs.	11 + Dex Modifier	—
Hide Armor	50 sp	12 lbs.	11 + Dex Modifier	—
Korinthian Leather	75 sp	10 lbs.	11 + Dex Modifier	—

Light Armor

Armor	Cost	Weight	Armor Class (AC)	Stealth
Hyborian Beast Armor	60 sp	11 lbs.	12 + Dex Modifier	—
Kahokian Woven Armor	70 sp	12 lbs.	12+Dex Modifier	—
Qiviran Lacquered Armor	75 sp	15 lbs.	13 + Dex Modifier	Disadvantage
Studded Hide Armor	See Below	15 lbs.	13 + Dex Modifier	—
Studded Leather Armor	See Below	13lbs	12 + Dex Modifier	—

Medium Armor

Medium Armor	Cost	Weight	Armor Class (AC)	Strength	Stealth	Speed
Aztic Scale Mail	200 sp	20 lbs.	14 + Dex (max 3)	STR 9	Disadvantage	—
Chain Tunic	150 sp	20 lbs.	14 + Dex (max 2)	STR 11	Disadvantage	—
Exilian Chain Vest	160 sp	10 lbs.	13 + Dex (max 2)	STR 10	—	—
Lyonian Light Plate	325 sp	35 lbs.	16 + Dex (max 2)	STR 12	Disadvantage	-5
Scale Mail	165 sp	20 lbs.	13 + Dex (max 3)	STR 10	—	—
Seascale Mail	230 sp	15 lbs.	13 + Dex (max 3)	STR 9	—	—
Piecemeal (Scale)	See Below	See Below	See Below	2 + Below	See Below	See Below
Piecemeal (Chain)	See Below	See Below	See Below	2 + Below	See Below	See Below

Heavy Armor

Heavy Armor	Cost	Weight	Armor Class (AC)	Strength	Stealth	Speed
Bead Mail	450 sp	30 lbs.	16	STR 10	Disadvantage	-5
Chain Mail Suit	550 sp	45 lbs.	16	STR 11	Disadvantage	-5
Lyonian Half Plate	600 sp	45 lbs.	16	STR 10	Disadvantage	-5
Heavy Piecemeal	See Below	See Below	See Below	See Below	See Below	See Below

Armor Pieces (Piecemeal)

Armor Pieces are sections of Armor. A Cuirass covers the shoulders but does not include Pauldrons; a Bustier does not cover the shoulders. Armor pieces are a very common way to armor up, and Don or Doff time moves down only one level if a full set is not used. Armor pieces cannot be worn over other armor.

Piece	Cost	Weight	Type	Covers	Adds to AC	Strength	Stealth	Speed
Base Garment	20 sp	1 lbs.	Standard	Body, Required	1		—	—
Torso	15 sp	3 lbs.	Standard	Torso	3		—	—
Neck	5 sp	1 lbs.	Standard	Neck	1		—	—
Shoulders	10 sp	2 lbs.	Standard	Shoulders	1		—	—
Bracers	20 sp	1 lbs.	Standard	Forearms	1		—	—
Groin	8 sp	2 lbs.	Standard	Groin, Buttocks	1		—	-1
Greaves	7 sp	1 lbs.	Standard	Shins	1		—	—
Boots	25 sp	2 lbs.	Standard	Feet, to Knee	1		—	-1
Cuirass	115 sp	6 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Torso, Over Shoulders	5	+1	Disadvantage	-3
Bustier	112 sp	5 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Torso, Under Shoulders	5	+1	Disadvantage	-2
Bracers	57 sp	1 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Arms	1	+1	—	-1
Kilt	75 sp	3 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Hip to Knee	2	+1	—	-1
Greaves	57 sp	1 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Legs	1	+1	—	-2
Boots	58 sp	4 lbs.	Medium, Scale	Feet, to Knee	1	+1	—	-2
Cuirass	115 sp	6 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Torso, Over Shoulders	5	+1	Disadvantage	-3
Bustier	112 sp	5 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Torso, Under Shoulders	5	+1	Disadvantage	-2
Bracers	80 sp	1 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Arms	2	+1	—	-1
Kilt	75 sp	3 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Hip to Knee	2	+1	—	-1
Greaves	80 sp	1 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Legs	2	+1	—	-2
Boots	100 sp	4 lbs.	Medium, Chain	Feet, to Knee	2	+1	—	-2
Cuirass	165 sp	15 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Torso, Over Shoulders	5	+3	Disadvantage	-3
Bustier	115 sp	11 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Torso, Under Shoulders	5	+2	Disadvantage	-2
Bracers	35 sp	5 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Arms	2	+1	—	-1
Kilt	75 sp	3 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Hip to Knee	3	+2	—	—
Greaves	35 sp	7 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Legs	2	+1	—	-1
Boots	50 sp	5 lbs.	Heavy, Brass	Feet, to Knee	3	+2	—	-1

Shields

Armor	Cost	Weight	Armor Class (AC)	Strength	Stealth
Arm Shield	10 sp	3 lbs.	+1	—	—
Battle Shield	15 sp	6 lbs.	+2	Str 9	—
Buckler	15 sp	5 lbs.	+1	—	—
Formation Shield	20 sp	10 lbs.	+2	Str 10	Disadvantage
Sibolan Wall Shield	25 sp	23 lbs.	+3	Str 12	Disadvantage
Spell Shield	250 sp	3 lbs.	+1	Str 6	Disadvantage

A Spell Shield is Made from rare clay, a special tool developed for use by mages used as a base for assorted defensive spells. It is a small, 1 foot diameter shield worn on the off arm.

Sibolan Shields are full body shields that prove partial cover.

Weapons

Weapons are grouped according to Simple, Common, Adept, Expert, and Specialist. These groupings determine the degree of skill and training needed to use them effectively, and so what types of weapons are available. This does not mean that one cannot simply pick up a weapon and use it – this is about the facility and skill to use it well enough to defend and attack in a manner that allows it to cause damage. Access to trained people limits the exposure one can have to magical education, and so those who focus more on magic have less in weapons education, and those who focus more on weapons have less magical education.

Simple Weapons are the found or least training needed sorts, the “easiest to use”, and are found among many of the realms. Common weapons are the weapons that folks who have at least some cause to take up weaponry skills turn to and learn, such as soldiers and guardsmen. Adept and Expert weapons are for those who take the skills to higher levels, who push themselves forward. For the most part, weapons in these groups are rare, hard to find, and used only by those whose pursuit of martial capability is nearly single-minded.

Weaponry Notes

Firearms

Wyrlde Firearms are standardized, but extremely difficult to make. It is said that the Gods interfere. There are no burst fire weapons, though all are a form of revolver cartridge or breech loader.

Firearms were developed in Dorado, building on some ideas described in ancient records. They are made and sold chiefly there. Aside from the snuffer, the secrets to making firearms remain with the Kurgan, head of the Eld Posse. Knowledge of this for those other than Gunslingers carries a penalty of death.

Firearms in the hands of anyone other than a gunslinger are difficult to find ammunition for, and only Gunslinger’s have the access to the Firearms skills as they are kept deeply secret. Ongoing investigations continue to attempt to track down the people who make black market ammunition for them, and it is known there are some few weapons that are not in the hands of gunslingers.

Hand Cannon: This is a large bore, single shot weapon, breech loading. Loading takes two hands. It can be dual wielded, but reloading takes 1 action per cannon.

Doradan Rifle: This is a large bore, pop out revolver cartridge, two-handed, long-range firearm. Each 1 action reload is 6 rounds, each firing takes time to turn and set the cartridge. Possession by anyone other than a Gunslinger carries a death penalty, as it is presumed the individual stole the weapon.

Longtom: This is a single shot, large bore, long-range rifle, used for hunting. It is typically loaded with Shakes rounds. Reloading takes an action.

Snuffer: This is a smaller, lighter, single shot, breech loading, smaller bore version of the Hand Cannon, developed in secret and found primarily in Durango. Possession of a Snuffer is generally considered to be punishable by death. It can also be dual wielded. Reloading takes an action.

Doradan Pistol: This is the height of firearms; belonging to a very select group of Doradan Gunslingers and requiring grueling tests. This is a single action reload, six shot revolver cartridge, large bore firearm that can be fired one handed, with each shot requiring time to turn and reset the cartridge. Possession by anyone other than a Gunslinger carries a death penalty, as it is presumed the individual stole the weapon and is subject to being hunted by someone from the Posse of Eld and slain, without mercy or remorse.

Ammunition comes in two sorts: Rounds and Shakes.

Shakes are assembled through the firearms proficiency to break up, but they do not scatter widely.

Rounds are hard pellets, typically of stone, shaped by the firearms proficiency with a toolkit. It takes an hour to shape 10 rounds unless one has a feat. Metal is never used lest it draw the Spirits.

Sibolan Glaives

A glaive, on Wyrlde, is a staff, weighted on one end with a large bulbous weight and bladed top on the other end with a variety of different configurations, notably sword tip, spear point and axe head. Glaives are as tall as the shoulder of the person who uses them. They are a two-handed weapon, and a common form of weaponry used on Wyrlde – even more than swords. A Glaive is a custom fitted weapon, always 4 inches shorter than the person who wields it and balanced for their specific use. They are often highly decorated and very personalized weapons.

Simple Melee

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Hatchet	3 sp	00 lbs.	d4	Slashing	STR	Axe	Farm Tool
Club	1 sp	00 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer
Dirk	2 sp	.5 lbs.	d4	Piercing	—	Knife	Light
Hand Knife	2 sp	.5 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light, Common Knife
Kadaga	10 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Piercing	—	Knife	Light
Sickle	2 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Farm Tool
Brass Knuckles	5 sp	.25 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	—	Rod	Unarmed
Sap	1 sp	.5 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	—	Rod
Sharp Stick	—	.5 lbs.	d4	Piercing	STR	Spear
Pitchfork	3 sp	3 lbs.	d4	Piercing	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach, Farm Tool
Thresher	2 sp	3 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning		Stave	Farm Tool
Mashetay	7 sp	2 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword
Rock	—	.25 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	DEX	Thrown	Light

Simple Ranged

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Field Bow	12 sp	5 lbs.	d4	Piercing	30/150	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Hand Crossbow	35 sp	3 lbs.	d4	Piercing	25/100	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Sling	3 sp	.25 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	30/100	Sling	Loading, Ammunition

Common Melee

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Hand Axe	10 sp	2 lbs.	d6	Slashing	STR	Axe
Light Hammer	10 sp	4 lbs.	d6	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer
Dagger	7 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Piercing	DEX	Knife	Light
Hyborian Knife	15 sp	1.5 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Knife
Karn	7 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light
Karzh	7 sp	1.5 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light
Fighting Stick	3 sp	1 lbs.	d6	Bludgeoning	—	Rod
Javelin	2 sp	1 lbs.	d6	Piercing	30/90	Spear
Short Spear	3 sp	2 lbs.	d6	Piercing	20/50	Spear
Quarterstaff	2 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Bludgeoning		Stave	Versatile, 2 Handed
Balan	7 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword
Greatsword	50 sp	10 lbs.	d10	Slashing	—	Sword	Heavy, 2-Handed, Reach
Kampi	7 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword
Kukris	5 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword
Shortsword	20 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword
Smallsword	20 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Sword

Common Ranged

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Throwing Axe	10 sp	1.5 lbs.	d6	Slashing	20/60	Axe	Thrown
Light Crossbow	50 sp	7 lbs.	d6	Piercing	50/200	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Short Bow	35 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Piercing	80/320	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Snuffer	250 sp	1 lbs.	d6	Piercing	5/15	Firearm	Loading, Ammunition
Sling, Soldier’s	5 sp	.5 lbs.	d4	Bludgeoning	30/120	Sling	Loading, Ammunition
Throwing Dart	10 sp	2 lbs.	d4	Piercing	DEX	Thrown	Light, Thrown, 12
Throwing Needle	15 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Piercing	DEX	Thrown	Light, Thrown, 24
Throwing Spike	15 sp	1 lbs.	d6	Piercing	STR	Thrown	Thrown, 6

Adept Melee

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Broad Axe	25 sp	10 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Axe	2-Handed,
Doric Mace	20 sp	7 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer
Great Club	1 sp	15 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer	Heavy, 2-Handed
Athame	15 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light
Korl	20 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light
Fighting Rod	12 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Bludgeoning	—	Rod
Spear	6 sp	3 lbs.	d8	Piercing	20/60	Spear	2-Handed, Reach
Axe Glaive	85 sp	3 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach
Halberd	60 sp	17 lbs.	d10	Slashing	—	Stave	Heavy, 2-Handed, Reach
Hammer Glaive	75 sp	4 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach
Pick	60 sp	12 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach
Pike	60 sp	15 lbs.	d10	Piercing	—	Stave	Heavy, 2-Handed, Reach
Spear Glaive	65 sp	3 lbs.	d8	Piercing	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach
War Flail	20 sp	7 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning		Stave
Backsword	35 sp	5 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Broadsword	50 sp	7.5 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Kopesh	35 sp	6 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Longsword	35 sp	5 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Scimitar	35 sp	5 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword

Adept Ranged

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Horse Bow	30 sp	3 lbs.	d6	Piercing	50/200	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Medium Crossbow	35 sp	14 lbs.	d6	Piercing	75/300	Bow	Heavy, 2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Hand Cannon	300 sp	5 lbs.	d8	Piercing	20/60	Firearm	Loading, Ammunition
Longtom	380 sp	10 lbs.	d8	Piercing	60/180	Firearm	2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Scattertom	400 sp	8 lbs.	d8	Piercing	20/40	Firearm	2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Throwing Dagger	12 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Piercing	DEX	Knife	Light, Thrown, 4
Slingshot	10 sp	1.5 lbs.	d6	Bludgeoning	50/180	Sling	Loading, Ammunition
Harpoon	15 sp	15 lbs.	d10	Piercing	20/50	Stave	Heavy, 2 Handed, Thrown
Throwing Disk	18 sp	2 lbs.	d4	Slashing	DEX	Thrown	Light, Thrown, 6

Expert Melee

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Battle Axe	35 sp	12 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Axe	Heavy, 2-Handed,
Maul	20 sp	18 lbs.	d10	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer	Heavy, 2-Handed
War Mace	20 sp	10 lbs.	d10	Bludgeoning		Hammer	Heavy
Warhammer	15 sp	9 lbs.	d10	Bludgeoning	—	Hammer	2-Handed
Doric Knife	25 sp	2 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Knife
Fighting Knife	20 sp	2 lbs.	d6	Slashing	—	Knife
Sharambit	8 sp	1 lbs.	d4	Slashing	—	Knife	Light
Morning Star	20 sp	9 lbs.	d8	Piercing	—	Rod	2-Handed
War Spear	10 sp	5 lbs.	d10	Piercing	—	Spear	Heavy, 2-Handed, Reach
Battle Flail	16 sp	7 lbs.	d10	Bludgeoning		Stave
Scythe	12 sp	9 lbs.	d10	Slashing	—	Stave	2-Handed, Reach
Bloodsword	25 sp	2 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Cutlass	35 sp	4 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Rapier	40 sp	2 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword
Saber	35 sp	4 lbs.	d8	Slashing	—	Sword

Expert Ranged

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Type	Properties
Heavy Crossbow	45 sp	24 lbs.	d8	Piercing	100/400	Bow	Heavy, 2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Longbow	25 sp	5 lbs.	d8	Piercing	150/600	Bow	Loading, Ammunition
Pistol, Doradan	425 sp	2 lbs.	d10	Piercing	30/90	Firearm	Loading, Ammunition
Rifle, Doradan	500 sp	5 lbs.	d10	Piercing	40/120	Firearm	2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Slingstaff	12 sp	3 lbs.	d8	Bludgeoning	70/240	Sling	2-Handed, Loading, Ammunition
Throwing Wedge	10 sp	0.3 lbs.	d6	Slashing	DEX	Thrown	Thrown, 3

Specialist Melee

Weapon Name	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Class	Type	Properties
Fighting Fan	3 sp	1 lbs.	d4	slashing	—	Special	Rod	Light, Shield +1 AC
Lance	10 sp	6 lbs.	d10	piercing	—	Special	Spear	Reach, special
Trident	5 sp	4 lbs.	d6	piercing	20/60	Special	Spear	Reach, Thrown
Whip	3 sp	3 lbs.	d4	slashing	—	Special	Special	Reach, special

Specialist Ranged

Weapon	Cost	Weight	Die	Damage	Range	Kind	Properties
Blowgun	5 sp	1 lbs.	1 hp	piercing	25/100	Special	Thrown	Ammunition, loading
Bola	10 sp	3 lbs.	d4	bludgeoning	30/150	Special	Thrown	Special, thrown,Entangle
Net	3 sp	3 lbs.		Entangling	5/15	Special	Thrown	Special, thrown, grapple

Ammunition

Item	Amount	Cost	Weight	Notes
Arrows, Fire	12	15 sp	1 lbs.	self ignites on contact, dealing 1d6 fire damage
Arrows, Glass	12	20 sp	1 lbs.	used to deliver a liquid payload
Arrows, Hunting	12	1 sp	1 lbs.	-1 Die chain
Arrows, Mock	12	3 sp	1 lbs.	leaves mark. Used for tactical and duels
Arrows, War	12	2 sp	1 lbs.	+1 die chain
Arrows, Whistling	12	2 Sp	1 lbs.	War arrows trimmed to whistle
Ball bearings, ceramic	100	1 sp	2 lbs.
Blowgun needles	25	1 sp	1 lbs.
Caltrops	20	1 sp	2 lbs.
Cartridge, Crossbow, Hand	—	12 sp	1 lbs.	Holds 6 Bolts
Cartridge, Crossbow, Heavy	—	13 sp	1 lbs.	Holds 6 Bolts
Cartridge, Crossbow, Light	—	8 sp	1 lbs.	Holds 6 Bolts
Cartridge, Crossbow, Medium	—	9 sp	1 lb	Holds 6 bolts
Crossbow bolts, Hand	6	5 sp	1 lbs.
Crossbow bolts, Heavy	6	8 sp	3 lb
Crossbow bolts, Light	6	3 sp	1½ lb
Crossbow bolts, Medium	6	5 so	2 lb
Firearm Rounds	10	150 sp	1 lbs.	only available in Dorado
Firearm Shakes	10	200 sp	1 lbs.	+2 Piercing damage, only available in Dorado
Firearm Scat Rounds	10	175 sp	1 lbs.	everything in a 6 wide cone.
Sling bullets	30	8 cp	1 lbs.
Snuffer Rounds	6	100 sp	½ lbs.	Single shots.
Throwing Lever	—		1 lbs.	Atlatl

Explosives

Doradan engineers in the Triskelion Posse also developed Explosives, using the same principles that they used to create firearms. They have fashioned these into three forms, one of which has two additional variants.

Explosive	Skill	Cost	Weight	Range	Radius	Damage	Save Vs
Charge – Basic	Adept	300 sp	5 lbs.	10’	25’	4d6	Dexterity, DC 12
Charge – Sharp	Adept	500 sp	5 lbs.	10’	5’/10’ Cone	6d6	Dexterity, DC 15
Grenade	Common	175 sp	.5 lbs.	60’	10’	3d6	Dexterity, DC 15
Grenade — Fire	Advanced	200 sp	1 lbs.	60’	5’	2d6 + 1d6/trn	Dexterity, DC 15
Grenade – Smoke	Advanced	200 sp	.5 lbs.	60’	30’	1d6	Constitution, DC 18
Ordnance Kit	—	15 sp	1 lbs.	0	3’	1d6	Dexterity, DC 10

Charges come in two types, Basic and Sharp.

A Basic Charge can be of any basic shape, is around twelve inches (1 foot) in diameter, and when detonated affects an area in a 25-foot radius, dealing 4d6 damage to any creature who fails a Dexterity throw.

A Sharp Charge is built to push most of the blast in a single direction, though it still has an effect. Sharp Charges are built for knocking holes in things. Due to their nature, charges can only be thrown about 10 feet.

Grenades are small objects of basic shape that are about 4 inches in diameter that can be thrown up to 60 feet away and generally does damage in a 10-foot radius.

A Smoke Grenade releases a thick, colored smoke that fills an area in a 30-foot radius.

A Fire Grenade spreads a thick, viscous gel over a five-foot radius that is ignited and will burn for up to ten minutes. Fire grenades will do an additional 1d6 in damage for each turn the person is covered in the burning gel. The gel can be washed off, smothered, or otherwise treated like typical fire.

In each case, a Dexterity save can be made to avoid it, but it is hard.

Bulk Goods

On the borderlands, many people conduct transactions through barter. Like gems and art objects, trade goods—bars of iron, bags of salt, livestock, and so on—retain their full value in the market and can be used as currency. But also, a good bundle of something can be extremely useful on the open road or to passing merchants who want to up their fortunes for a little less overhead. Trade goods have different exchange rates on Wyrlde.

Item	Qty.	Wt.	NC	SV	EC	SC	SR	WC	FR	Notes
Name	(#)	(lb)
Woolen Yarn	1	1								Skein
Linen Yarn	1	1								Skein
Cotton Yarn	1	1								Skein
Brocade	1	1								Square Yard
Taffeta	1	.2								Square Yard
Satin	1	.3								Square Yard
Velvet	1	.3								Square Yard
Woolsey	1	.3								Square Yard
Denim	1	.75								Square Yard
Deslin	1	.5								Square Yard
Silk	1	.2								Square Yard
Canvas	1	1								Square Yard
Quality Silk	1	.1								Square Yard
Wool Fabric	1	.4								Square Yard
Linen	1	.5								Square Yard
Jute	1	.8								Square Yard
Hemp	1	.8								Square Yard
Bamboo Fabric	1	.5								Square Yard
Fusty	1	.3								Square Yard
Kamber	1	.3								Square Yard
Muslin	1	.5								Square Yard
Sindlin	1	.5								Square Yard
Serjlin	1	.5								Square Yard
Hesslin	1	.5								Square Yard
Wooless	1	.5								Square Yard
Chiffon		.2								Square Yard
Terrycloth		.3								Square Yard
Cheesecloth		.1								Square Yard
Twill		.6								Square Yard
Drapery		1.25								Square Yard
Common Fur	1									Square Yard, tanned
Quality Fur	1									Square Yard, Tanned
Specialty Fur	1									Square Yard, Tanned
Common Leather	1									Square Yard
Quality Leather	1									Square Yard
Specialty Leather	1									Square Yard
Common Hide										Square Yard, Tanned
Quality Hide	1									Square Yard, Tanned
Rare Hide	1									Square Yard, Tanned
Chicken	1	10
Sheep	1	250
Cow	1	2500
Goat	1	275
Ox	1	3000
Pig	1	400
Aruk	1	2500
Fesan	1	25
Weg	1	500
Pigment: Bleach	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Black	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Red	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Orange	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Yellow	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Green	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Blue	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Indigo	1	8								Jar
Pigment: Violet	1	8								Jar
Cotton	1	180								Bale
Wool	1	320								Bale
Hemp	1	225								Bale
Linen	1	200								Bale
Jute	1	250								Bale
Coffee Beans	1	50								Sack
Tea Leaves	1	30								Sack
Chocolate Beans	1	60								Sack
Platinum	1	5	17500	17500	17500	17500	17500	17500	17500	Ingot
Gold	1	5	1750	1750	1750	1750	1750	1750	1750	Ingot
Copper	1	5	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.5	17.5	Ingot
Tin	1	5	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	Ingot
Nickel	1	5	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	Ingot
Aluminum	1	5	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	Ingot
Tealiron	1	5	5000	5000	5000	5000	5000	5000	5000	Ingot
Iron	1	5	7500	7500	7500	7500	7500	7500	7500	Ingot
Silver	1	5	175	175	175	175	175	175	175	Ingot
Electrum	1	5	875	875	875	875	875	875	875	Ingot
Chrome	1	5	3000	3000	3000	3000	3000	3000	3000	Ingot
Ore, Platinum	1	180	525k							Crom
Ore, Gold	1	162	52k							Crom
Ore, Silver	1	88	5250							Crom
Ore, Electrum	1	135	26k							Crom
Ore, Copper	1	75	525							Crom
Ore, Nickel	1	74								Crom
Ore, Tin	1	61								Crom
Ore, Chrome	1	60								Crom
Ore, Zinc	1	60								Crom
Ore, Aluminum	1	23								Crom
Ore, Iron	1	66								Crom
Ore, Whiteshine	1	70								Crom
Ore, Crystalium	1	25								Crom
Ore, Bluegleam	1	20								Crom
Ore, Greenschine	1	20								Crom
Ore, Daengeld	1	100								Crom
Ore, Vitredur	1	25								Crom
Ore, Steelglass	1	75								Crom
Ore, Bitumen	1	12								Crom
Ore, Lead	1	95								Crom
Ore, Titanium	1	38								Crom
Ore, Tungsten	1	164								Crom
Ore, Magnesium	1	15								Crom
Glass, chunk	1	24	50							Crom
Glass, Sand	1	26	65							Crom
Apple	1									Cord, Lumber
Ash	1									Cord, Lumber
Balsa	1									Cord, Lumber
Bamboo	1									Cord, Lumber
Cedar	1									Cord, Lumber
Ebony	1									Cord, Lumber
Aspen	1									Cord, Lumber
Mahogany	1									Cord, Lumber
Oak	1									Cord, Lumber
Pine, white	1									Cord, Lumber
Pine, yellow	1									Cord, Lumber
Teak	1									Cord, Lumber
Maple	1									Cord, Lumber
Willow	1									Cord, Lumber
Birch	1									Cord, Lumber
Hickory	1									Cord, Lumber
Walnut	1									Cord, Lumber
Poplar	1									Cord, Lumber
Beech	1									Cord, Lumber
Alder	1									Cord, Lumber
Elm	1									Cord, Lumber
Spruce	1									Cord, Lumber
Fir	1									Cord, Lumber
Oil, Olive	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Berry	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Seed	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Whale	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Blood	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Black	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Kerosene	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Camphor	1	100								Barrel
Oil, Nut	1	100								Barrel
Wheat	1	50								Sack
Barley	1	50								Sack
Oats	1	50								Sack
Rice	1	50								Sack
Corn	1	50								Sack
	1	50								Sack
	1	50								Sack
Salt		25								Sack
Saffron		25								Sack
Cinnamon		25								Sack
Cloves		25								Sack
Ginger		25								Sack
Peppercorns		25								Sack

Travel & Transport

To travel, you must have a Guild Pass, Knight’s Mark, or Travel Token from a recognized authority, to enter a city or town.

Cities, and Towns are walled. Villages, Hamlets, and Steadings will have a Refuge of some sort. Starting your own village (which grows to become a town and then a city) is even encouraged in most places.

These walls and refuges are essential: the world is not a safe place. Especially at night. The world left after the God’s War has plenty of critters malign and benign who just aren’t healthy to be around. The only safe place at night is a walled compound. There are monsters in the world that will prey on travelers. From Dreadnaughts to Powers That Be to beasts.

Traveling beyond your home is a dangerous thing, and even though the merchants talk tough and all, ever notice how rarely you see one come back through?

Typically, a city will support a few Towns, each of which supports a few Villages. Each City influences the culture of the Towns and Villages beholden to it – typically because that is where the people came from (limited space inside cities that are walled), but also because of the assorted ways in which laws and governments work around them.

Different Powers That Be tend to favor certain cities.

Passes & Marks

Travel between Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets always requires a Pass or Mark of some sort.

These can vary from metal plaques stamped to ornate scrolls that must be signed, and so forth. Entry into a location requires a pass, and they are often expensive if simply bought. Guilds, Circles, and Posses are all able to offer Passes, while Nobles will offer Marks.

Messengers in uniform, even retired single messengers, are the sole exception to this: no one gets in without a pass, though a single pass can serve for a group traveling together.

Passes have a set period of time that they are valid, usually a watchnight. Passes will act across realms, but always require a reporting in at the assigning body – Posse or Guild, or Circle, that exists in that location on arrival. This does mean that if there is no Circle or Passe for that location, entry will not operate, and so this means that many villages, Hamlets, and Steadings are closed.

Marks have a period that is often Longer, but only operate within the range or beneath the cover of that Noble and their Liege. So, a Durango Noble pass is not of much use in Lyonese. Marks, however, will otherwise allow free travel within those lands. Most Merchantry (to include Peddlers and others) will carry multiple Marks and Passes, with the passes covering periods and times in the future, based on their expected speed of travel.

Docks and piers always have a Riverward or Seaward whose job it is to ensure that those on ships are appropriately covered, and Watches are known for random checks.

Most gates will collect information about those entering the town – name, purpose, duration – and will always direct adventurers to the nearest Public House (which often gives them a cut of the higher fees charged to adventurers from outside the region).

Containers

Most shipping is done using an 8-foot-wide, 8-foot-tall, 18-foot-long wooden box that can be opened along any side. The Wyrlde measures are based on the interior, which has to be slightly more than 2 yards wide, and slightly more than 5 yards deep (Wyrlde Standards). A container is capable of supporting up to 1 Ton (2152.9 lb. US), and is designed to hold ten Crates, which is a standard size shipping unit roughly one Yard in all dimensions (Wyrlde yard: 39 inches). Crates are stacked five deep and two high and are the defacto unit of trade for bulk goods, although a crate will often contain smaller units.

Containers are fitted with removable wheels that store in slots along the outer walls. These wheels are usually made of metal reinforced wood, with free axles built into the base. There are six wheels for each, around four feet in diameter, strongly built. The containers all have struts that are raised or lowered using a ratchet system built into the walls, allowing them to be set in place by a team of four to six people quickly, and allowing the wheels to be used on either ends or sides, depending on which direction they want to move the container.

There are designs for this box that vary according to what is going into one (including designs for a double stateroom for passenger craft such as cutters), but the dimensions do not change. Containers are built with ballast to help them float should they be lost at sea, but this is not always a certainty. Each major merchant has a seal they use to secure their own goods, and the Guilds are very particular about ensuring cargo is moved readily and easily and traceable.

The story goes that containers have been used for as long as there have been people – and vehicles are designed around them, including Water, Air, and Land vehicles.

Ramps are used in all ports for moving them around, often little more than large platforms that rest on two wheels on a free axle. Skyships typically carry them in slings and moorings beneath the ship, Sailing craft and riverboats on the broad decks, and the Train is little more than a conveyance for them supported and hauled along by the Enjin.

The use of and ownership of Containers is limited to Guild members, especially and primarily of the Merchant’s guild. Merchants and Traders make extensive use of them and prefer that the rabble not get their hands on them.

The Waters of Wyrlde

Wyrlde’s ships are designed along similar methods, with all the larger vessels capable of long voyages in rough seas. While some of the more specialized craft may employ a wheel, the mainline ships of Wyrlde are all sailing craft. While there are some, rare few, single hulled ships on Wyrlde, the vast majority are multihull ships and vessels, and have been for well over a thousand years. It is said that the very first ships on Wyrlde were the twin hulled ones.

Construction Norms

Ships of Wyrlde are built using only a few methods, in part because they are traditional and handed down generationally, also in part because it has been a challenge to make improvements.

On Wyrlde, there are two broad divisions of watercraft: Rivercraft and Seacraft. All the Ships and Boats of Wyrlde have a normal speed of around 25 knots, with some reaching as high as 60 knots. This makes them quick – they can sail from Deseray to Vendia in a day.

The difference between a Ship and Boat is generally considered to lie in hull shape, size, and complement. Ships are the larger of each and Boats are the smaller – a boat is said to be a craft for fewer than a dozen, with a shallow hull and less than 2 Chains in length (about 165 feet or so).

Ships are primarily built of wood, often sealed by a combination of pitch and other substances, and often having the ability to break out immense oars in limited fashion, typically on the second level within the outer hulls. Multiple different woods are used, depending on the shipyard, with Oak and Bamboo being two of them, although Teak has been making inroads. They use a lapstrake, or clinker, methodology, and the overlapping joints are further enhanced with assorted lacquers and resins both for strength and to assist with the durability.

Construction methods for most Wyrlde ships are mostly fixed with minor changes and improvements that vary from shipyard to shipyard and shipwright to shipwright. The base hulls are always built using a braced, flatter hull for River craft or a braced, deep, narrow hull for Sea craft. This is the most notable design difference between the two, as the shallow draught enable easier navigation of the rivers.

Wyrlde ships and boats tend to be narrow, usually about 2 units long for every one unit in width and are characterized by a flush-laid flat bottom at mid-hull which gradually shifts to overlapped strakes near the posts, though the angle of the hulls is much sharper for Seacraft than Rivercraft, and height is a factor as well, since the hulls for Seacraft often act as living quarters and crew space, enabling the central Deck to be used for cargo.

Of note is that only the rare single hull ships (mostly of a Cog style) and triple hulled ships have central masts that are stepped and braced. The rest have an unusual, angled mast that is based in the center of the outer hulls, and depending on the design may angle inward over the deck or outward away from it. This creates the ability to have three sets of sails (a square center and two triangular sides) that is said to give it a characteristic “flying” form.

Keels are surprisingly variable among the different shipyards, and one of the major concerns is the flexibility of the crafts, especially as it pertains to their usual or intended purpose – Rivercraft rarely move out beyond a mile or two from shore in the seas, and Seacraft have a tremendous challenge in being able to operate in the changing currents of the rivers. This is one of the reasons that riverboats have begun to take over so much of the river traffic, with their shallow draughts and powerful wheels that defy the need for sails. Keels typically lack a rabbet, with stem and sternposts straight and long, connected to the keel-plank through intermediate pieces, and in some cases (especially in Lyonian Shipyards) using a clockwork mechanism.

Masts are relatively thin, composite and modular (allowing them to be lengthened or shortened, and providing easy replacement while out of port), but are also designed to be flexible. They are fixed, and lined up, with some of the larger craft having staggered masts that cant at different angles. Rigging, as might be gathered, is a complex affair, but is also done with an eye to keeping the size of the crew small (they do live in the hulls), and relies on a multitude of different cordage, most commonly hemp or flax. Sails are almost always a call of the vessel’s owners – most sails are emblazoned with the colors and trade marks of their owners. Indeed, only the poor will use white sails, which are considered to be bad luck, though no one uses black sails as they are a signal of imminent disaster: piracy.

Much of this kind of construction allows Wyrlde watercraft to have a very low displacement, shallow draught, and so they can be beached almost regardless of the size and are difficult to board from craft which are smaller than them because of the height. The peculiar sail arrangement enables them to effectively tack, and while the square and side triangle rigging is the norm, many will play with it in order to improve speed, stability, or maneuverability. This also means that the jetties and quays of most wharves are very wide, and very long, but also fairly high, to enable movement of the Containers readily (a typical jetty is as wide as six containers with teams). Most include several cranes as well, and the cranes mark the berths.

The single hulled ships and boats are built along the same lines, typically much smaller, with cabins in the aft behind the mast, and wheel and rudder above them. The biggest difference is that the single hulled vessels use their hills for storage of goods, and so often have winches and winch struts on the mast as well as a hold or two below deck. They are typically single decked, and usually require a crew of no more than seven to operate, often as simple as just one person (as in the Kaghs).

A key feature of all Wyrlde ships is that the central deck can be pretty much anything – a net, a massive spread of fabric, wood, woven reeds – as long as it provides a surface, it functions. They are usually left clear of anything but general operational equipment and supplies unless they are hauling cargo, and it is there that they store cargo. Crew are quartered, always, in the hulls, which are often entered through either fore or aft hatches that lead to the multiple decks within. These hulls will have portholes and even windows, off quarte4s, a usually include a galley and other features.

Tradeships

Tradeships are broad, double decked, and built to carry the large, removable wheel containers that are used in most mercantile efforts. They have a foredeck and a raised aft deck, with crew quarters aft and leadership fore within the hulls. They are usually double masted, though the larger triple hulled ones out of Sibola and Aztlan — typically a third again as big – have a third mast and midquarters. Loading these ships is considered a fine art, and they would rather travel light, as even a little overweight can cause capsizing if the load is not well balanced or comes loose.

They are divided into Barges, Galleons, and Schooners.

A typical Barge can hold 4 containers, with a crew of 10 to 15, 1 Chain wide and 2 Chains long.

A Galleon 8 containers, a crew of 15 to 20, and are 2 Chains wide by 4 Chains long.

A Schooner can carry 12 containers, with a crew of 20 to 25, and are typically 3 Chains wide and 6 Chains long.

Coreships

Coreships are single or double masted Boats that make up most private and support craft. They are divided into Yachts, Fishers, and Cutters.

Cutters for passenger carrying can also hold 2 to 4 containers. They are typically about a Chain wide and 3 Chains long, crewed by 10 to 15, and focused on speed.

Most fishing vessels fall into this category, hence the name Fishers, and have an unusual design as they will typically see the central space of their deck used to install an extension that enables them to bring up water to hold and keep their catches alive. Most fishers operate through trawling and traps, using variable sailing patterns and immense nets let out from the center of the vessel and then drawn behind it. Fishers are often extremely tough ships and boats. Mostly around 11 yards wide and around 15 yards long, making them mostly square craft out on the water that gives them a high degree of stability and a tight radius for turning. Fishing boats are crewed by 7 to 12 people.

Yachts are the smallest of them, typically not more than 5 yards wide, and 15 yards in size. They can be crewed by 5 to 10 people.

Riverboats

Transport by water is still the main method of most trade and travel among the Bright Lands. On the full-scale map of Wyrlde, there are several rivers shown. These are navigable, and while some smaller ones are as well, it is on these magnificent rivers that you will find the Riverboats.

A Riverboat comes in two general sorts: Sail and Wheel. Sailboats are the smaller of the two, used often by small traders and families as homes and storefronts. They will almost always be twin hulled, very low to the water, with never more than two masts (fore and mid). Very simply built, they can be crewed by as few as one, though may have crews up to 10.

The Wheelboats are three hulled, the distinguishing feature for all of them is that they are wide, with shallow drafts, and each hull could possibly be pierced to support a massive water wheel driven by a magical engine. Typically, there will be one large wheel, situated in the rear of the central hull, with rudders on the out hulls, though for larger, three wheeled boats, they will have a central rudder set forwards of the wheel. They always have crews of at least a dozen.

Riverboats are slow. They average about 5 knots a day upstream, about 10 downstream. They are also less sturdy, but can operate in waters as shallow as ten feet. Typically, riverboats are about 3 fathoms wide resting on two to six shallow, almost round hulls, and 7 fathoms long. There are always poles available on them for poling, and anchor guides for teams should they need shore-based teams to pull them.

The Oar Wheel. The Oar wheel is a large round wheel that has several slightly warped and tilted panels all around it that act as oars. Paddle wheels are what power the Riverboats up and down the rivers. There is no sail on Wheelboats. The Wheel is what impels them, and the secret of the making of it is lost in the depths of Qivira. Some say that within the Wheel is a man or a group of men who turn the wheel by running. Others say it is some form of magic. I have heard that the real truth is between the two – that Qiviran or Lyonian Mages created golems that move the great wheel and so power the large boats.

Riverboats are named so because they do not venture into the open sea – they are never out of sight of land, stay in freshwater courses, and during storms they will tie up wherever they are. Even the largest of Riverboats will avoid challenging the open sea, though many will play the waters of the Sea of Tears.

Skiffs

The smallest and most basic of crafts – skiffs they are called as a group, but they are Kayak, Kanoo, Dingy, and Skiph. The largest of them are about two fathoms long.

A Kagh is a small watercraft. They are used heavily by families of Thalassen and other river dependent people, single hull with a single fixed mast. They are used as homes more than trading or combat craft, often highly decorated, used for fishing and other activities.

A true Skif is a small private one room shack on a small single hulled vessel – often with an outrigger that can be raised and lowered, and always a single mast.

A Dingy is a single hulled, shallow draft, wide in the middle and pointed at the front, usually flat at the back with a rudder, and lacking a stabilizing bit. Most ships have one or two aboard, for when they need to get to a shore or the tides are wrong for docks, or even just to fish. They are generally able to seat up to 10 people, and moved by oars, usually four per dingy.

A Kanoo is a small craft for up to four people, usually run by one, that has no rudder, only oars. They are shallow, long, narrow, and as simple as it can get. They are often used by raiding groups in piracy between ships, and they are light – sometimes little more than a covering over a frame.

A Kayak is a single person, single hull boat driven by oar power. For some reason, they are always associated with recreation, and not used widely in the Empire, but it is said that they are sometimes fitted with outriggers by Islanders and used extensively there. I would think they would be handy for river travel, but I get boat sick, so who knows.

I was once asked where the lifeboats were on a ship by another incarnate. I replied, truthfully, that there are no lifeboats on Wyrlde. If you can’t get in one of the skiffs that are used for everything, then you won’t have a lifeboat. I hope they have some on that Argos. And what a weird name – it seems familiar, but I just can’t place why.

The Argo

It is said that the Argo, the massive five hulled monstrosity commissioned by the Adventurer’s Guild, has seven masts. However, it is expected to crew a thousand and survive a journey few are expected to return from: it may take a decade more before they are ready, but they plan to circumnavigate the world. Descriptions of it give it a size of longer than a Rod, each hull being 4 Fathoms wide with a deck a full seven fathoms in size, rising a full chain above the water.

Warships

Warships are triple masted, large vessels, with most of them using a double or triple hull system to provide stable firing platforms. They often have two to four decks, and some of them are fitted for rowing. They have a crew complement of 20 to 60. Warships are divided into Battleships, Destroyers, and Frigates.

Frigates are the smallest, about 4 Chains long and 2 Chains wide.

Destroyers are terrifying vessels, 3 Chains wide and 5 Chains long, their massive hulls claiming multiple decks.

The largest ships are the Battleships, massive square beasts Seven Chains to a side, essentially floating platforms that have multiple anchors and can lay out additional supports, giving them command over an area roughly a mile wide in any direction.

Weaponry

Warships do not have cannon on Wyrlde. They use catapults on occasion, usually hurling some form of burning material, but most of it is done using ballistae. Able to fire lances, balls, bombs, and the like, they are the principal weapon of not only sailing craft, but Skyships and battlecraft as well.

Ballistae range in size from the scorpion-like large crossbow to massive weapons that can hurl a forty-pound stone at over two hundred miles an hour using metal springs. The practical and effective range of many of them is a mile.

The Skyships

Akadia is the home of the Skyships, and the place where they were reborn. There, the House of Skye controls them, and strives to be as controlling as their competition on the ground. Going only from City to City where there is a Gantry – a tall, stone and wood building typically five stories high containing a lift, stairs, and limited amenities – the various Skyships that fly out from Akadia are a universe to themselves. The Skyships vary in size from small private craft, typically owned by the wealthy and nobility, to the vast monstrosities that are reportedly able to fend off the Dragons themselves, the size of what we would call football fields.

Skyships were used to devastating effect a thousand years ago, it has taken many centuries to recover the secrets that allowed them to return to the skies. Because that history is still well known, Skyships are not always trusted, and looked on with suspicion by most folks. It is rumored that there are pirates, but no one would confess to such, and the Gantries are well controlled, so even if there were, where would they dock?

They provide trade between Aztlan, Sibola, Durango, Lyonese, Qivira, and Dorado, but do not travel to Antilia.

Wizard candidates often share a common experience of having ridden in one of them. Sadly, they also often share the experience of those who failed the tests while traveling exiting them while in transit. The Wizards of Wyrlde are often not the folks people think of them, and while the Training is not particularly abusive, the being discovered and brought there can be and is often traumatic.

Description

Skyships are often made of wood, particularly bamboo and light woods, creating a pair of hulls that are typically oval in shape, with smaller ones being about the size of a horse’s back, and larger ones scaling up from there. The two hulls tend to be wide at the front, and slightly canted to meet closer towards the back. From above, the whole thing tends to have a semi-triangular shape and is described when seeing them pass below like watching a giant manta ray pass through the sky. Very large Skyships will have a third hull, broader, also adding the capability of firing weapons through ports on the side, but especially in front, where an opening resembling a mouth can be found.

To either side of the hulls stretch the large, pointed wings, often fabric and wood, reinforced, almost gossamer in the right light. Each side has a single wing, and between the struts that support it is the strange material that gives the Skyships their ability to fly. Trailing off the wings, following the shape is additional light and thin fabric, like a lace trim, as the courtly women will giggle. Often the wings will have small, rectangular sails mounted at an angle off the edge to capture the wind. Take out a wing and you limit the skyship.

Long folding struts support a set of ski like braces on either side should the skyship have to land, although most skyships for passengers tend to prefer the Gantries, so that they do not release the magical material that allows them to fly, so landing is strictly an emergency measure. These struts are tucked up under the wings, to the side of the hulls.

Between the Hulls stretches the Deck. The deck is usually wrapped below, to give a smooth shape, in canvas and fabric, providing crew space and compartments between the hulls. The aft contains a large rudder, made of a sail itself, and beneath are two large propellers driven by the wind through complex workings.

In the center of the Deck there is a tall mast, v shaped, between which are hung sails that stretch both between and out from the v shaped mast. Smaller versions of the skyships will have a mast that is sometimes no taller than two people, and personal ones will have no mast at all. Fore and aft of the Mast of large Merchanters are the cargo spaces for the containers, as well as spaces beneath each hull.

Skyships generally travel at about 45 miles per hour. They are not fast, even though some have gotten up to as much as 90 miles per hour for short bursts, but they do not face the same dangers and risks for the most part that Sea and Land travel has following it.

Skyships come in five sizes:

Private

The small and light creations used frequently by Arch Wizards and the wealthiest of nobility are Skyships that can seat a few, never more than five. Most are very personalized.

Cruise

Cruisers are the purely passenger-based ones, that never carry more than a dozen passengers and perhaps a single Container. They often have armed guards who ride upon the deck whilst the passengers ride within the well-appointed cabins.

Merchant

Merchanters are the workhorses, hauling freight and goods around at a speed that is competitive with the Train, albeit at a higher cost. Used most often for luxury goods. A general limit of about four Containers.

War

Akadia is sworn to always come to the defense of Sibola, though they do not necessarily respond to the defense of the Empire. War Skyships are bristling with not only terrifying weapons, but also entire contingents of Battlemages.

Land Based Vehicles

We’ve made much of the more incredible and costly ways of travel and shipping, but there are also the more common and regular forms as well.

Containers themselves are able to be set up to be drawn by a team, linked together to form Convoys that were likely the inspiration for the Train. Many merchants will transport their goods through this, but the size of the containers makes it somewhat challenging for long journeys across rough terrain.

They also don’t do much for the average person, who may not be able to afford a personal riding horse. Most people have a pair of draft animals, used to pulling carts or plows, or perhaps oxen or related beasts of burden. What they have for those are a few different types of Wains.

A wain is a type of horse- or oxen-drawn, load-carrying vehicle, used primarily for agricultural purposes but sometimes for transporting people. Wains can have two or four or even six wheels.

The Train

One of the most unusual forms of land transport, and a major mercantile partner, is The Train.

Owned and operated by the Posse of Rails, the Doradan Train is the wonder of the world, and has changed all manner of things while also creating a host of unforeseen problems.

Starting in Dorado, doing a circuit that touches on several Towns and Cities, the Trains of Dorado are wholly owned by the Posse of Rails, one member of whom is the Duke of Dorado. The Posse employs Eld gunslingers to defend the Train, but there are also the Greymen who are known to pursue thieves and vagabonds to the end of the earth, and are often former adventurers themselves, often armed with magical and even legendary gear.

There are no tracks. The Train snakes through the world often by following roads, and hovers about 24 inches above the ground on average through some sort of effort that only the Posse of Rails knows, much like only the Skye know how to make the skyships and the Durangan Syndicates know how to make their moveable coaches.

There are two Trains running throughout the world, and each Train carries at least one Dynamo and as many as three dozen carriages. The Dynamo is the part that pulls the train along and is one of the largest things built on land – rivaled only by the Sandships. Most of those carriages are filled with trade goods, but at least one carriage always has passengers, typically the wealthiest.

Once a Train is moving, it only stops in the Waystations and Cities along its route – some of which have sprung up entirely around it being there. There is always a stop coming, always a schedule to keep. The Train is made of wood and stone imbued and ingrained with a hundred different spells – including anti-magic ones. The most controversial locations are the two large Depots, complete with non-guild Inns, like villages unto themselves, a piece of Dorado far from home.

The Waystations of Wyrlde are: Dorado, Dream Depot (located along the River of Dreams), Fortton, Chenmar, Qivira, Sedimar, Lyonese, Halnes, Mount Depot (located about 200 miles south of Shadowdale in the Blue Valley), Shadowdale, Durango, Daleovia, and just shy of Sibola. There is a spur being built, the first of them, that will head southwest to Aztlan and expected to be completed in about four more years.

Depots are fortified structures, usually self-sufficient, with Posse members stationed there for entire cycles of the train. Both are seen as challenging different kingdoms, but no one has taken action yet, as they are almost exclusively concerned by the Train – though each is said to have a garrison of up to 250.

Still, that much potential wealth, no matter how fast it is moving, tends to attract those who want a piece of it for themselves. Even more so since one of the reasons for it being so favored is that it is described as safer than a caravan, and able to carry much more.

Each Dynamo on a Train, the lead carriage, has a Paladin who follows the Order of Eld, a Master Wizard or similar, and 10 men-at-arms called Greymen for the long grey coats they wear. They are outfitted with ballistae and the front is equipped with an adamant wedge.

A single Carriage interior is typically twelve feet wide by thirty-six feet long and twelve feet high. The walls of a given carriage are usually around four inches thick. They can carry a lot of cargo.

Being able to move much faster than a single person on a mount, the Train is often a way to travel across large chunks of the planet, but it is not the only way. Of all the forms of Travel, there is none faster: the train can travel up to 75 miles an hour, 600 miles a day, though it usually travels about half that (40 miles an hour) in order to avoid derailing during many of the curves and turns. The trains stop every 8 hours to allow the engine to cool, regardless of speed.

There are two trains, and they make a circuit so that when one is in Dorado, the other is in Sibola. It takes about 6 weeks to travel the full circuit one way, so everything is organized in 3 month sets for round trips. Compare this to the one third as fast ships, or the half as fast skyships.

Sandships

The Sand Sea of Dorado is an immense, mostly hostile place which is loved for the many rare minerals and other things of value found within it. However, it is a brutal place, hot and dry; water is rare and precious, and food is scarce. The sand is like a sharp-edged powder, finer than beach sand or sea sand, clingy and gritty. Travel in it is often compared to travel in the snow. Except snow doesn’t have giant worms or glass like octopi roaming around in it.

Take a Cutter. Modify the two hulls to be akin to broad skis in a strange “v” shape that can flex flat, with thick struts supporting them the length of the ship. Add sails in a half circle around the whole, rectangular instead of triangle or squares, supported by thinner, flexible masts that can be folded up into a large column midship. Give them bright colors, contrasting with the terrain. Now let it travel as fast as 20 miles an hour over that sand. That is a Sandship.

Drawn Vehicles

Bullock

A bullock is a large, four wheeled wain typically pulled by oxen.

It conventionally includes a sturdy wooden tongue between the wheels, a yoke connecting the pair of oxen, a wooden platform for passengers or cargo, and large steel rimmed wooden wheels. The storage area is a v shaped space with high sides.

Wagon

A wagon is a largish four or six wheeled vehicle, featuring a hauling area and heavy-duty wheels covered by a set of suspension ribs over which a canvas cover it tightly wrapped to protect cargo and such from weather. Deep and tall sided, they are the primary way most farmers haul the fruits of their labors to market, and often will have an attached awning or a supportive cart.

Buckboards

A buckboard is a is a four-wheeled wagon meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal. A utility vehicle, the buckboard has no springs between the body and the axles. The suspension is provided by the flexible floorboards of the body and a leaf spring under the seat. The buckboard has no sideboards on the body, leaving the floor quite mobile, or has ones that can be attached and are low and meant to flex. In rough terrain, the floor can flex and “buck”, lending the vehicle its name.

Carriage

A carriage is an open or fabric frame topped, four wheeled vehicle pulled by one or two animals (usually horses). Carriages can be a bit bumpy and can be tricky to maneuver in tight spaces but are the most used for transport of people.

Coach

A coach is a team drawn (four to six animals) covered vehicle with four wheels and sometimes a complex suspension. They have large, widely spaced wheels that operate with a limited degree of independent movement affected by the size of the compartment. Coaches have a driver mounted high, above the team, and often a trunk in which packages or gear can be stored. They will have a door on each side, and two to six windows. Coaches carry people, not cargo.

Buggy

A Buggy is a one or two seat, single horse drawn, two wheeled vehicle with an open front and shade cover, often with a window in the back. Some Buggies have a small area for luggage or perhaps a single bay of Hay behind the buggy cover. Buggies are affordable and popular.

Clockwork Carriage

Durango has strange contraptions that are clockwork based. They are set on four wheels, rectangular with a squarer top. They have windows that can be lowered, and the top is permanent for protection from weather. They can seat four comfortably.

In the front is a hood that can be raised where a large, typically black, sealed box sits, with a hole in the center of it. A large key is inserted into this and turned to wind the clockworkings and enable the carriage to move without the use of something to pull or push it beyond the black box.

A single winding is good for up to 50 miles, and they can achieve speeds as fast as a galloping horse on cobbled streets.

Cart

A cart is a two wheeled, pushed or pulled standing vehicle often hauled around by a single person that can be of many different designs depending on the needs of the cart owner. Many are used for preparing street food, or hawking wares at markets, or even by peddlers making their way through small Hamlets or Villages

Korf (Exilian)

Korfs are specific to the Exilian and their nomadic style of living. Part tent, part wagon, and part coach, a Corf will carry all the belongings of a family or individual and the tools and means by which they make their living. An Exilian made coach is often considered among the best, as they have learned over the decades living in these small, cramped, tight little wains how to maximize space, reduce jarring and bumping, and handle rough weather.

Other

There are three other common ways of traveling not mentioned: Brooms, Cauldrons, and Carpets.

Coinage

There are six core coin types for Wyrlde. The standard for them was set years ago, although there is currently a difference in the ways that they are described and the particular nature of the coins themselves in details and engraving.

Wyrlde’s coins do not have figureheads on them. Instead, they are all meant to be carried on coin strings, and so all of them have a hole punched in the center. That hole is always shaped, and the shape of it tells where the coin was minted. The content and make of the coins were standardized several years ago during the first Zefir meeting, and old timers say that every single coin in the realms changed shape overnight to match the agreed-on standard. Around the hole is usually the name of the reigning noble, the date, and on the obverse some wise saying or other chosen by that country’s leader as an expression of their reign.

The coin holes show where they are minted – e.g., hexagonal holes at Lyonese, circle holes at Sibola, square holes at Aztlan, and triangle holes at Qivira. The hole shapes were selected based on the coins themselves. There are tens of thousands of coins in circulation among every realm – even the Dread Realms are said to use them, which makes sense given how many they have stolen over the years.

Standard Exchange Rates

Imperial Coins	Bit bp/b	Pence cp/p	Shilling sp/s	Farthing ep/f	Quid gp/q	Crown pp/c	Sovereign Coins
Bit (bp)	1	1/8	1/80	1/400	1/800	1/8000	Bit
Pence (cp)	8	1	1/10	1/50	1/100	1/1000	Guilder
Shilling (sp)	80	10	1	1/5	1/10	1/100	Buck
Farthing (ep)	400	50	5	1	1/2	1/20	Florin
Quid (gp)	800	100	10	10	1	1/10	Eagle
Crown (pp)	8000	1000	100	50	10	1	Sovereign
Ingots	Not made	Ingot	Ingot	Ducat	Doubloon	Guinea	Ingots

Bits are squarish, rounded corner coins of a highly mixed metal, used for common trade. They are the smallest denomination and serve as a measure of inflation and accounting. A Bit should get a person a chunk of bread or cheese, a small mug of beer, or a bowl of porridge.

Pence are triangular, from a larger coin that is hexagonal and then broken up. The larger coins are still occasionally found, and a sixpence is considered a lucky coin. Pence are the main unit of practical exchange, used often in general daily trade. Pence have a copper color to them.

Shillings are circular, or round. Many transactions are reckoned in Shillings when it comes to trade and commerce. Shillings have a silver color to them and are the sort most often traded. Prices herein are normally given in Shillings, as they are the default currency for the realms, and what most things are reckoned in.

Farthings are square, with very slightly rounded edges, also from a larger coin called a Full Farthing. Farthings have a mottled blend of silvery and gold color to them. They tend to be used more often by the Merchantry, due to their higher value and odd positioning within the schema.

Quids are hexagonal, and a gold coloring to them. They are the most sought-after coin, and rarely seen by any below Guilders. The value of a Quid is such that one could likely feed a family for months or lift an impoverished out of poverty.

Crowns are octagonal and have a shiny, reflective surface derived from what some think is chrome. Crowns are the most valuable and rarest coin used commonly in the realm – one is more likely to encounter a Guinea ingot that a Crown, and then only in large level trade. However, it is known that adventurers often come across them. A Crown could feed an entire family for a year or more.

Dorado and Durango do the mining for and production of the gold, silver, platinum, copper, tin, nickel, aluminum, and zinc that go into the alloys to make the coins. No coin is more than 55% the base metal it is often referred to as being, as all coins are an alloy that includes at least some each zinc, aluminum, and tin, with some nickel tossed in there usually.

There are eight Bits to a Pence. “Two bits, four bits, eight bits, a Pence!” The Pence is the base, with a value of 1. A Shilling is worth 10 pence. A Farthing is worth five shillings, a Quid is worth ten shillings, and a Crown is worth ten quid. Few carry around a lot of coin, but this is due less to weight and more to the comparative poverty of most folks.

The coins are hefty – 35 of them equals a pound. Experienced cutpurses can tell the weight of a string by how it swings and can usually add them up on sight. Rafael says to say that a coin weighs around the same as 2 quarters. Whatever that is.

In terms that meet the general sensibility, look at a Pence. It will buy you a half loaf of bread, a pint of milk, a wedge of cheese, a meager beer, and a pile of straw to lay your head in at night. With change.

A day’s wages for the typical Serf (an impoverished worker) usually work out to about 2 pence a day (16 Bits).

This exchange rate is based on the norms established for the meetings in Zefir and holds as the main rules there and more generally in the wild. It is also used by the Guilds, so has tremendous influence, and is the de facto standard.

Imperial Coins are used mostly in Akadia, Durango, Dorado, Lyonese, and Sibola.

Sovereign Coins are used in Antilia, Aztlan, and Qivira.

Ingots are a special coin, in the shape of a bar with a hole on one side. Ducats are bars of electrum, Doubloons are bars of gold, and Guineas are platinum bars. These bars are about five pounds each, the equivalent of 175 coins. They are used in large exchanges and noble contracts.

Other Currency Forms

Currency has a few different forms, with coins from before the God’s War being of the highest possible value.

The value of an Ancient Coin is equal to 3 Crowns each. These bright orange coins are fluorescent, and they are made from a platinum and titanium ceramic composite that is extremely hard (some say adamantine, though no one has figured out how to make it work yet) but are also extraordinarily rare. Only about 100 have ever been found, and they have immense value above their strict monetary value as collector pieces among the wealthiest. They are all stamped with a strange design on the face of a round orb in fifths against a shadow of Wyrlde, and on the obverse is a series of markings around the edge: MMMMCCLXXXV. They measure about two links in diameter. According to a reliable source, there were 5000 of them in total minted. It is often suggested that modern coins were based on these.

Blood Coins are incredibly old coins minted from a strange red stone-like metal, in the shapes of a circle, a triangle, and a square, all with a hole of the same shape in the middle, a little more than an inch in diameter, and used primarily in Qivira, Lyonese, and Aztlan. Their value comes from their age, as no one can find any more of the stone, and they are exceedingly rare. They are called Chips (cp, pyramids), Shards (sp, ovoids), and Stones (gp, cubes).

Yuzuras

One powerful faction is the Yuzura Guild. All Cities have several, most Towns have one or more of them present, but they are an exceedingly rare sight in villages except in their local realm. Yuzuras usually charge a high commission for handling money (the Bank fees for every transaction, their own fees, profit) that comes out to roughly 10% of whatever the coinage type in trade is.

Most funds transfers and such are with Yuzuras, who do not typically advertise themselves. They are more likely to come across as and to operate out of pawn shops, where they keep meticulous records.

A Yuzura traveling is usually en route to or from whichever of the large banks they have business with on behalf of their customers.

Banks

The Yuzura Guild Houses operate as Banks. Each Yuzura Guild House operates as a Bank, and most Adventurer’s guild’s have a liaison that spends their days there. These Banks operate as depositories, and often are directly involved with the local Trusty and the assorted Fodges. Banks themselves cannot sell anything, as they are still Guilds, but they can offer accounting and ledgers, issue Letters of Credit, and provide Loans to those in need. They operate together in a Consortium of Banks, but this is most often a formality. Moving a deposit is difficult, takes a lot of time, and generally banks avoid the use of magic, making it all very laborious and tedious.

Banks charge a fee of 2% for every single transaction, and it is important to realize that is in addition to the Yuzura you are dealing with having a fee of 3% of every transaction.

Loans are made by Banks, and they use the reputation of the individual and a sense of the ability to pay, as well as a team of three Yuzuras who must all be willing to personally guarantee the transaction. The interest rate on these loans can vary up to 10% and the terms of payment are fixed according to a date, with significant penalties that are considered to be criminal. Compound interest is illegal. It is said that shortly after the last Skyfall some were charging interest rates that compounded at 28% or more, and the Emperor ended that practice not only by law, but by declaring all loans repaid – with those who would argue being put to death. Yuzuras call that Black Friday, though no one knows what the word “Friday” means.

Letters Of Credit are essentially bearer bonds – a bank will issue one for a fee, and it will be accepted at other banks for the face value. These letters of credit are statements of how much money is physically present – not promissory bills. A typical letter of credit will have a half dozen seals on it and be a wood frame with coated wax inside which is the document itself. This is done to prevent tampering. The banks themselves will present the document to the issuing bank and collect the sum through intermediaries.

Some of the Nobility operate their own banks. The Realm of Aztlan operates one and has placed significant oversight on the Yuzura Guild.

Communications

There is a way that information travels among the world. News, legends, stories, ideas – all of it is carried through the work of the Bard’s Guild, often linked to the Messenger and Envoy guilds, and the agents that they collectively send out will bring word and news back, or pass it along, and inevitably it ends up in the Broadsheets that are published by the Guild and passed out for free to the people – even in Sibola, though much more secretively.

Literacy is low on Wyrlde, by and large, and so there are entertainments – songs, dances, orations, poems, and even simple Readers who share the news and keep the thoughts of the Empire connected.

The typical amount of time that it takes news to travel from Dorado to Sibola is generally a week. For more common or routine deliveries, it can take up to three, so the average time for most information and news traveling from one location to another is around two weeks.

There are other somewhat common ways that some people are able to communicate, if they have the funds, over great distances. Of course, there is also just plain, old fashioned, every day, run of the mill magic, too.

Messengers

Messengers carry letters both of grand import and lesser, but also, they carry the memorized words. These are folks who will take down the thoughts and feelings of people and convert them into written language and then travel to deliver the letter, and even read it to the recipient if they cannot.

Messengers can be found in any village, town, or City, and usually a Messenger guild will have five to ten staff at any given time.

Language

The most widely spoken language in the Empire, stretching into the Savage lands and the Sea Realms and Anilia, is Common. Common is more formally known as Guild Cant. It is not a full language, but a means and way by which merchants who travel and ply the waters, the lands, and the sky can communicate and keep records and do their business. To that core set have been added additional words, and it has essentially grown into a basic, simple language that is able to be used in most places, as there is usually someone who speaks it. Most folks otherwise speak the language of their homeland.

As a result, only about a fifth of the population in any given area is literate, and while that number increases in the Cities, it drops dramatically in villages or smaller settlements. It is then made worse by a lack of cross-national literacy. This does not apply to mathematics, however, which are widely taught in the Tanjins.

One of the reasons for this is the use of official languages and scripts, as each of the major Cities has its own official, required language and writing system, in no small part due to hostility towards Sibola and the history around it. Akadian scholars are often enraptured by their studies of the glyphs and runes and ideographic semantic symbology of Caligulan that even they do not get around to much literacy. Caligulan is an unreadable script to those without magic and magic itself has assorted scripts that it uses.

While the history of the spoken language is fascinating, it had significant impact on the development of the writing systems. Ancient uses only a small set of some twenty-six letters with strange additional figures that appear as well. It was not adopted later, and when Belial created the Progenic basis, he included and used a structured Alphabet that has remained the basis ever since. Though the Alphabet has remained mostly intact, the lettering systems have not.

As a result, learning a written language is just as involved and challenging as learning a spoken one. There are people who can read one language they may have never heard spoken, and people who can speak a host of languages and never able to read any of them.

The Linguistic History

All languages on Wyrlde stem from one language that was spoken over all of Wyrlde for several hundred years called Ancient, though we think they called it Ingish. It does not seem to have roots in common with other languages, and tradition holds that it is the language of the Powers. One thing seems to remain true: if you are not from Wyrlde and you are reading this, odds are very good you speak Ancient.

During the early years of the Reign of Belial, a new language, constructed by Belial and Pallor, was put into place. Called Progenic, it was ultimately combined with Ancient and became the parent language called Colonial. Progenic-derived languages are still spoken, and Progenic is the forebear of Thulian, Lemurian, and other languages of the Foe.

Progenic is deeply important, however, because it used a structure that is very different from Ancient in how it assembles language and speech, using a system of prefixes, suffixes, roots, and additions that deeply influenced all languages spoken today except perhaps Dragon, but no one has survived asking them about their language.

Colonial is still used today as the parent language of the Planar roots, and is the mother language of the Hyborian peoples, though theirs has shifted over the centuries into Hyborian. Each of the assorted forms there has several additional branches as well for each of the dimensions. During the God’s War, to reduce the enemy understanding of plans and messages, Colonial was shifted into a more coded form that used some of the same mechanisms as Progenic but followed more of the core basis of Colonial and created Mortalian. It has recently been shown to be the parent tongue of the Exilian peoples, which has strong similarity to Old Kahokian.

Mortalian spawned five languages: Elfin Cant, a shorthand combining gestures and single syllable sounds that was used during combat operations during the God’s War; Dwarfin Cant, a symbolic language of complex markings that helped them to convey ideas with people they would never meet about how to build or construct, or manage something, as well as a form of shorthand for taking notes at speed that were exact; Old Shanty, which is the parent tongue of both Islandian Shanty and Kerisian Shanty, which are only varied in the way that sounds are spoken within the water; Old Kahokian, which interacted with Hyborian over the years and became what we hear today from them; and finally Journian, which was the language that evolved out of Mortalian during the Bleak Journey and was ultimately the language that founded Sibola.

Many of the earliest records of Sibola show the slow shift and the occasional leap into what we now call Old Sibolan over a few hundred years. Old Sibolan was a direct change from Journian, and many words that were previously slang became common terms, and some common terms vanished.

Old Sibolan led to Akashik and Aztani, with Aztani leading into Qiviran later on as it reacted to Mid Sibolan. Mid Sibolan was a direct result of an Imperial Decree that sought to regiment and formulize the language after the Akashik and Aztic Rebellions. It is from Mid-Sibolan that we reached Imperial as it is spoken today, and also the sister languages of it – Durian, Dorian, and Lyrik, also called Lyonian. The Syndics of Durango developed out the Shadow Cant used by the underworld, and Imperial is the basis of the Guild Cant, also often called Common, which serves as the essential lingua franca of the world – hence why it is called Common.

It is known that Dragons have their own language, and on occasion we hear vague, unconfirmed tales that there are other beings that speak languages unknown to us just as the language of dragons are. We keep hoping one will teach us, but thus far they seem more interested in the kill it first and talk later sort of exchange.

The Cants are special, private languages used within their respective professions. Note that Common is a stunted language, with a limited vocabulary, so the cants often add additional terms known only to those within the same language, making them often mostly unintelligible to others. The Cants also do not have a written form in the traditional sense. They do usually have a set of marks that are ideograms, stylized expressions of a concept, that are used in some cases – rumored to have been borrowed from the Exilian.

The Distinctions

One of the more key things about all the languages on Wyrlde is that they are heavily dependent on prefixes and suffixes but in distinct ways. For some, it is only nouns, for others it is only verbs, for yet others it is both. The suffixes and prefixes format changes from languages to language, and how they are applied does as well. Combined with historical metaphors and kennings and the like, the various languages are no longer able to be understood unless they speak common.

A secondary and equally troubling aspect is that there are several words that are not affixed and are conjugated according to a seemingly arcane set of rules that vary from language to language. These are notably such things as pronouns, but also simple prepositions such as “the”, “and”, “or”, and “but.

The affixes are what can change a given root into a noun, a verb, an adverb or adjective, and even demonstrate the possessive – which can be complex since they impact the object being possessed, not the possessor. This is easily described and ultimately simply taught, and greatly speeds up education and learning of language compared to some historical sources but does fundamentally contribute to the near unintelligibility of all the languages since each language has its own set of basic or core root words, of which there is a comparatively short list for most purposes.

Complex terms that combine multiple concepts into a single word become very difficult in many languages, as that sort of compound word forming isn’t possible in most of them.

On the other hand, some of the languages are wonderfully musical and poetic, and poetry is a rarity in art form and function.

Common is a curious thing, using a much simpler linguistic base (there are only about eight hundred roots in Common) that is very much suited more to trade than anything else. At the Convocation, Sibolian is spoken, and it remains the de facto “universal language” for much of the Bright Lands.

Standard Spoken Languages

The list of Languages available in Wyrlde is as follows:

Imperial	Durian	Dorian	Lyrik	Qiviran
Akashik	Aztani	Kahokian	Hyborian	Shanty
Kerisan	Exilian

Rare Spoken Languages

Some languages are very uncommon to hear someone know, and nearly all of them have some strange tale to be told of how they were learned.

Foe Languages include:

Bermudan

Lemurian

Agarthan

Thulian

Duatian

Planar Languages include the following:

Angelic	Valkyrian	Malakish	Fae	Tanjiblish
Hellish	Abyssal	Hagish	Elemental Cants	Wraith
Ghoulish	Ghastish	Wightish	Shikini	Radish
Shaded Tongue	Nightmare	Wispic

It is known that Dragons have their own language, and on occasion we hear vague, unconfirmed tales that there are other beings that speak languages unknown to us just as the language of dragons are. We keep hoping one will teach us, but thus far they seem more interested in the kill it first and talk later sort of exchange.

Literacy

The vast majority of people in Wyrlde are educated in the home, usually by one or both parents, and learn much of their knowledge from rote and immersion. Those from steadings, hamlets, and villages are unlikely to have had a chance to attend a Tanjin and are most likely to be illiterate. Those in Towns and Cities are more likely to have a chance, and about one fifth to one third of those there will be literate in at least one language – not always the one they may speak.

Each of the major languages has its own particular way of writing their language, often due to a formal law and or edict for how businesses is to be conducted. Here, we use a particular set of flexible rules that provide a rough guide to the language, with the conventions for using certain letters and then the representations for those letters provided.

Written Languages

Imperial	Duric	Doric	Lyrik	Qiviric
Akashik	Aztic	Kahic	Hyboric	Shantic
Lemic	Agaric	Thulic	Exilic	Bermic

Scholarly Written Languages

Scholarly Languages are those that have a greater difficulty being learned and are used mostly by those who study old manuscripts and records. They are dead Languages, not spoken by anyone.

Kantikul	Mortalian	Progenic	Old Kahokian
Old Sibolan	Old Shanty	Colonial	Old Planar
Journian	Ancient	Mid Sibolan

Imprecations

If there are things that the people of Wyrlde enjoy almost universally, it is smoked meats, good bread, and coming up with extraordinarily creative imprecations regarding the Powers That Be.

Soil, sand, smoke, and stone!	Antelle’s Ass!	Qetza’ s Balls!	Pishposh!
All of Tarnation!	Gallae’s great gazongas!	Sikayaya!	Goblinguts!
Egads!	Chicory Hickory Liquory Lapse!	Ah, turdbossoms!	Ya Mafa!

Even the Clerics get into it, though they tend to create them for Powers That Be other than the one they serve.

The Powers That Be are not beloved on Wyrlde. This is forever an understatement, and it is the role of Clerics to restore the faith in them, to prove that they can be turned to, can be valued, can be worshipped.

It is much more difficult than it sounds.

Regular Courtesies

Among the norms that one will find worldwide are Please and Thank you, a greeting that is often specific to the area, and the celebration of festivals around the same time.

Greetings and Honorifics vary by realm, and you can find them in the description of the realm. Not using a greeting or honorific, or using the wrong one, is a major mistake, and can create a sense of being rude and discourteous. Most homelands have traditional parting sayings. These common courtesies include a variety of aspects, covered under the realms listing.

Communication Devices

Scryorbs: Spheres, or orbs, crafted from large crystals and ingrained with differing abilities, they enable people to see each other and communicate across great distances. They are always made in matched sets, that are always only linked to each other. It is said the Rulers of all the Realms have one gifted to them by the Powers That Be, that they were waiting for them at Zefir when they arrived.

Scrying Mirrors: Known because some junior Clerics let slip the secret, most of the major Clergy are able to stay in touch through the use of scrying mirrors. Some say that these mirrors may be able to do more than merely allow communication – either way, the Temples neither confirm nor deny this, they ignore it, pretending such things don’t exist.

I can say that I have seen one, and they look pretty but I am not sure I could hold my arm like that.

Factions

The major kinds of Factions are Houses, Guilds, Circles, Posses, Syndicates, and Orders.

Guilds and Posses form the most generally well respected and well-known groups, devoted to their respective efforts, while Syndicates (concentrated and based around Durango) seek to corrupt and empower themselves and the Circles strive to stay relevant and in power (that is, outside of Aztlan).

It should be noted that nearly all of them derive their initial basis from Guilds, and so Guild is what they are often called (particularly in Guild Cant). All of them follow the apprenticeship model, as well, even the Syndicates.

All of these factions and assorted groups compete and struggle with each other, sometimes not entirely legally, and often using people they have hired for things that they need to wash their hands of. Renown has a direct impact on one’s standing in any of these.

The Guilds

The second most common and obvious of all the factions on Wyrlde (after Houses) are the Guilds, who operate as a kind of private enterprise entirely on their own, limited and structured only by the powers of Nobility and basic laws.

Guilds are everywhere that there is a sizeable enough group of people, and their influence stretches across the Empire. Guilds have little influence in Hyboria or Kahokia and are said to lack a presence within the Sea Realms.

Guilds are taxed independently of the members, as well, and so all of them charge dues to help cover those taxes, as well as to help cover expenses.

Guilds act as a governing body and a kind of union, essentially having control of direct trade throughout the realms, while the Nobility taxes and set policies and laws that govern it, enforcing most of their restrictions on the Guilds, who then in turn enforce the on members.

Membership

In order to obtain either a Mark of Trade or a Writ of Commerce, both of which are necessary to be able to sell in a market, you must be a member of the Guild. The penalties for lacking such are stiff; legally, one faces confiscation of all of one’s goods, and extralegally there are the sanctions that a Guild may put upon someone.

The one exception to this is locals: local sellers who are residents are usually free to set up a stall or shop with little impact, but often they will need to pay a market fee to do so, or they will be selling out of their homes.

The good news is anyone engaged in the activity the guild is over can join a guild, and many people are already part of one. The only thing they have to do is keep up with their dues.

Seasonal Dues

Dues are paid seasonally and are based in several factors: the degree of mastery, the level of success or wealth of the member, the guild itself, and the assorted graft beholden to a particular area.

As an example, the Dues for the Adventurers Guild are 1 Crown every season. The dues for each of its subguilds vary and are an addition to the Adventurers Guild’s dues.

Structure

All guilds follow a common structure that is said to date back to before the God’s War. Nearly all guild activity takes place within a Guild Hall, often a large building that will include the ability to house and provide for members.

Apprenticeships

On Wyrlde, children are Apprenticed out of their home at the age of 15. This is part of why they are called such at that age.

Degrees of Mastery
Apprentice	(-3) to 0
Novice	1 to 4
Yeoman	5 to 8
Adept	9 to 12
Master	13 to 16
Grand Master	17 to 20

Apprenticeships are usually an arrangement, sometimes contractual, and is normally until the age of 20, but could be up to the age of 21. To be taken on as an Apprentice, a Keeping Fee must be paid, and an Escrow set aside. This can often leave people unable to leave a trade, however, if the fees are too great, and so they are usually formally set, typically around a Shilling a year for the fee and 10 shillings for the Escrow. The Escrow becomes a part of the Apprentice’s starting wages when they move to Novice. After apprenticeship, one is a Novice. A Master has their own shop and wares and trains Apprentices, usually after proving themselves to the Guild to which they belong, with the aid of Professionals and Adepts.

Apprentice

Novice

Maven / Yeoman

Adept

Master

Grand Master-

For nomadic cultures, a similar structure is in play, though it tends to start younger. This is due in part to having been the system that was established in the Age of Legend, and it has worked extremely well. Individual Tribes tend to have their own terms for this. Nomadic groups tend to also have fewer roles. An individual can and do apprentice to their own parents, but usually one seeks to apprentice out, even if it is within the same trade or profession, in order to improve the skills one picks up or expand possible family trade opportunities.

All young adults who are Juvenal – or Apprentices — or those who appear to be this age are generally called ‘prentices, as the guild system in place reinforces it, and the long-held traditions of preparation and defense that have been baked into the culture over the years make it a necessity. It is during this time that a young person is prepared to take their place in adult society. Marriages are arranged, one’s future is bargained for, the trade or craft you will enter is laid out for you. Most impactful is the Guildwage, a fee that will be used to pay some Master to take you on as an apprentice and teach you the things you will be doing the rest of your life.

A typical apprenticeship is five years, but it is not uncommon for Apprentices to find a way to buy out of their original and buy into a different one that fits their needs and goals and desires. Most Apprentices with earnest effort will complete theirs in three years, but struggle with the two years they are not considered an adult afterward. It is a hard time, full of competition, often filled with great cruelty or incredible kindness. There will be Dances and masquerades, and of course there are the flings and fresh loves – and for many, getting married in this period is a thing that is desired and happens – while others will only look forward to earning enough to begin forging their own path and becoming Grand masters. For apprenticeships that involve research and great knowledge, such as scholars, antiquarians, sages, physics, and similar, the time is usually five years.

Guilds – as well as Circles, Posses, and Syndicates – control most aspects of life, and the only ones who can escape it are shepherds and farmers and such. For many, who cannot take the normal process, there is the goal of Apprenticing to a Master or Grand Master of the Adventurer’s guild. Save for Wizards, who will take them but be very grumpy about it because nearly all of them trained at Akadia and think that such should start while one is still a child, or a Youth at the worst, because there is simply too much to learn and so many bad habits to unlearn, many who set forth on the path will begin in such a manner – but some will come to it later. Coming to it later can grant additional skills that may be of value and use when one least expects it.

While not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to move to a guild, the vast majority of people of means do enjoy such, often leaving their small Steading, Hamlet, or Village to apprentice in a Town or City. In doing so, you can take a background that reflects your time as an apprentice – but only if you completed the five years of apprenticeship and became a novice within the Guild.

Advancement

Advancement within a guild is determined by what is essentially a combination of practical effectiveness and overall popularity (or, as some would describe, overall desire not to have to take on the job). The Guild Lord is the head of the Guild, the executive that is essentially in charge of the guild itself, on top of whatever other concerns they may have.

Advancement as an individual is dependent on the skill and practice one can put forth, combined with experience and time. The typical path from Apprentice to Novice is as much as 3 years, and then generally it takes about four years to move forward for every degree of mastery, although this can change through recognition and renown of one’s workmanship and quality; the tales have been told of those who were recognized for outstanding contributions to the craft.

In Akadia, Aztlan, Dorado, and Qivira, the Guild Lord is appointed from a list provided to the rules of each land. In Sibola, Durango, and Lyonese the Guild Lord is selected by the Grand Master membership in a secret lottery.

In either case, to be eligible for the position, one must be at least a Grandmaster, and one has to have served within the guild for at least one year.

Beneath the Guild Lord is usually a Council that meets seasonally, typically in the middle of the season. The Council is made up of all the Grand Masters in the Guild, and sometimes includes the Masters within the guild. The Guld will often have Masters and Grand Masters who have either lightened their personal workloads or retired, and moved into the administration of the Guild as a full time effort. This is made possible often because they have several adepts and yeomen or professionals working for them and are able to continue to pay their taxes.

The typical life of a Guilder is that they go into an Apprenticeship and remain there, gaining experience and honing their craft until they are at the very least a higher degree of yeoman before they step out on their own, but ore commonly this happens after they reach adept mastery, and then only if there is a good reason for them to do so, and there is enough of a market to support them and their former masters.

Ther are, of course, stories of Yeoman who seek to destroy or undermine their prior masters, but that is one of the factors of import to a Guild: The Guild Lord has the power to revoke and issue marks of Trade and Writs of Commerce under the will of the ruling noble. They also often act as Arbiters unless forced to consult a magistrate or arbiter by an outside agency.

This means that often the rebelling guilder will find themselves removed from the guild, denied the ability to practice their craft, and all but ruined locally through the inevitable whisper network.

Types of Guild

There are several different types of guild, but it is also important to recognize that there are certain categories of creating that fall under certain segments of the guild and determine how they are named. The major ones are the Smiths, Swains, Wards, and Wrights.

A Wright is someone who deals primarily in fashioning a raw product into a given shape or form – A Wheelwright bends the wood to make a wheel, for example. Carts, wagons, ships, locks, clocks, and more.

A Smith is someone who uses a forge to fashion ore into a useful item – and they are divided according to the kind of ores they work with (with iron being the Blacksmith, Brightsmith’s specializing in silver, Redsmiths in Copper, and so on).

A Swain is someone who fashions processed material, such as fabric, into a particular shape as a product. Boats need repairs and upgrades, lights need mending and fashioning, sails need creating and nets need making.

A Ward is someone who protects and looks after something. The Greycoats are an offshoot of the Reeves, who represent the guild of guardsmen.

Guilds are then generally divided between Common and Master Guilds. Common guilds generally only have themselves as a guild. Master Guilds will often have several subguilds beneath them. A Subguild is a narrower focus guild that is run the same as any other guild but has banded together with other guilds that share a common interest area and so created a Master Guild that is a guild that sits above them all. Master guilds are not widely liked, because they mean a double set of dues each Season, one to the gild proper and one to the master guild.

In most cases, the “field of endeavor” or occupation is a “-ry”; so, an artist engages in artistry, a Chandler practices Chandlery, a Plumber does Plumbery, and so forth. The Smiths, Swains, Wrights, and Wards are similar in nature.

Guild List

The most often encountered and used Guilds in a single list are:

(Miscreants)	Actors	Adventurer’s	Alchemists	Ambassadors
Antiquarian	Apothecary	Arbiters	Armorer	Artisan’s
Astrologer	Author	Bakers	Barbers	Bards
Barker	Beadwright	Bellsmith	Blacksmith	Boatman
Boatwright	Bookward	Borer	Bowright	Breeders
Brewers	Brickery	Broom	Buckler	Builder’s
Butcher	Carriage	Cart	Carver	Castellans
Catchers	Chandlery	Chefs	Chimeswain	Claywright
Cleaners	Clerk	Clockswain	Clothier	Coalswain
Cobblery	Cooper	Counters	Couriers	Criers
Crofters	Crystalsmith	Cunnings	Cutler Smith	Dance
Deckhands	Diplomats	Dishwright	Distillers	Dollswain
Draftery	Draper	Druids	Drumery	Dyeswain
Embroider	Enamelwright	Envoys	Faithward	Farmers
Farrier	Feltwright	Ferryfolk	Fieldward	Fishers
Flowerward	Fodges	Framery	Furnisher	Furwright
Game	Gardenward	Gardeners	Glass Smith	Gloveswain
Goldsmith	Greyman	Grocery	Gunslingers	Hallward
Hatwright	Healer’s	Hearthward	Hearthswains	Heralds
Herbalist	Hornwright	Horseward	Hostelry	Hunters
Inkswain	Innkeeper’s	Innry	Jewelswain	Juggler
Knitswain	Laborer’s	Lacewright	Lacquerwright	Lathery
Launderers	Lawyer	Lightswain	Limner	Lockswain
Luthier	Mages	Manorwards	Mapwright	Mariner’s
Mason	Merchantry	Merchants	Messenger’s	Messengers
Midwife	Miller’s	Miner	Minstrel	Mongery
Music	Mystics	Navigators	Netswain	Noble’s
Oracle	Oration	Orewright	Painter	Paperwright
Pastrier	Peddlers	Perfumer	Physic	Pigmentwright
Pilots	Piperswain	Plasterery	Plumbery	Poet
Porters	Potsmith	Provisioner	Pubry	Purlswain
Purser	Rangers	Ratter	Redsmith	Reedwright
Reeves	Riverward	River Pilots	Road	Rug Makers
Saddleswain	Sage	Sailswain	Saloonry	Scribe
Scrimswain	Sculptor	Seaward	Seneschals	Shepherds
Yuzuras	Shipwright	Shopkeepers	Silversmith	Skyward
Smith’s	Song	Spicery	Spinwright	Stage
Stewards	Stonewright	Stringwright	Surveyor	Swain’s
Tanner	Tavernry	Teamster	Thatchery	Tinkers
Traders	Traveler	Treasurer	Trusty	Tumbler
Tuneswain	Upholsterer	Vanguards	Vintners	Wards’
Warriors	Watchward	Water Mill	Weaveswain	Wheel Mill
Wheelwright	Whitesmith	Wind Mill	Wizards	Wood (Carpenter)
Wood (forester)	Wordwards	Wright’s

This list is broken down as follows:

Common Guilds

Arbiters	Astrologer	Bakers	Barbers	Breeders
Catchers	Chefs	Cleaners	Crofters	Farmers
Fishers	Gardeners	Hunters	Launderers	Miner
Pastrier	Porters	Ratter	Shepherds	Yuzuras
Teamster	Tinkers

Master Guilds

Adventurers	Innkeepers	Messengers	Merchantry	Artisans
Builders	Smiths	Swains	Wrights	Wards
Healers	Millers	Laborers	Mariners	Nobles

Adventurers Subguilds

Bards	Mages	Faith	Envoys	Mystics
Vanguards	Warriors	Reeves	Rangers	Druids
Gunslingers	Wizards	Cunnings		(Miscreants)

Colonies

Colony	Perspective	Focus
Onisaman	Way of the Open Hand	Defensive, non-lethal
Eridian	Way of the Shattered Heart	Offensive, weaponry
Thunderheart	Way of the Peaceful Hope	Self defense through effective offense
Diaspore	Way of the Brilliant Mind	Development of mind and body

Colleges (Bards)

Dance

Music

Oration

Song

Stage

Artisans Subguilds

Clothier	Carver	Painter	Sculptor	Author
Actors	Perfumer	Barker	Minstrel	Poet
Tumbler	Juggler

Builders Subguilds

Bricker	Drafter	Mason	Surveyor	Framer
Thatcher	Plumber	Hearthswains	Plasterer	Lather

Hearthswains specialize in making fireplaces and foundries.

Drafters are what we would call architects.

Healers Subguilds

Physic

Herbalist

Apothecary

Midwife

Alchemists

Innkeeper’s Sub-guilds

Inn	Tavern	Hostel	Pub	Saloon
Brewers	Distillers	Vintners

Mariners Subguilds

Pilots	Navigators	Ferryfolk	River Pilots	Deckhands
Boatman	Provisioner

Messenger Subguilds

Couriers

Traveler

Messengers

Wordwards

Wordwards are people, primarily women, who take the words of an individual along with the sentiments therein, and craft from that a letter that is then delivered to the person if they are within the realms.

Merchantry Subguilds

Mongers	Traders	Peddlers	Merchants	Shopkeepers
Chandler	Grocer	Spicer

Mongers are the folks who operate a stall, booth, or cart in the community markets, often specializing in a single kind of thing, but covering a vast range of possible goods. They are akin to shopkeepers, but don’t operate out of a fixed building location, and may even travel from city to town to village.

Millers subguilds

Wheel

Water

Wind

Mills are one of the major industries of Wyrlde. Grain is delivered, ground into various flours, and returned, all for a fee. Recently, some ills have started using clockwork applications to create looms that fashion fabric. These are located in Lyonese, and are generally expected to be a failure.

Nobles Guild

Trusty	Fodges	Manorwards	Criers	Treasurer
Ambassadors	Diplomats	Stewards	Seneschals	Heralds

Scholars Guilds

Counters	Sage	Scribe	Limner	Book
Clerk	Lawyer	Antiquarian	Oracle

Smiths subguilds

Armorer	Bell	Black	Buckler	Crystal
Cutler	Farrier	Glass	Gold	Pot
Red	Silver	White

Bucklers deal with bucklers, button, and fasteners of all sorts.

Crystalsmiths work with the assorted crystalline materials of Wyrlde.

Whitesmiths work with cold metal and handle more delicate finishing and polishing work. They might make pie tins, cookie cutters, candlesticks, coffee pots, and similar stuff. Often found working with Enamellists.

Redsmiths work with copper, brass, and bronze.

Farriers are traveling or local blacksmiths who focus on horseshoes, nails, and similar basic needs.

Swains subguilds (Processed)

Bead	Boat	Borer	Bow	Chime
Clock	Color	Cooper	Doll	Draper
Dye	Embroider	Furnisher	Glove	Ink
Jewel	Knitter	Light	Lock	Luthier
Net	Piper	Purl	Purser	Rugswain
Saddle	Sail	Scrim	Shoe	Tune
Upholsterer	Weave	Wood (Carpenter)	Drumery

Coopers create Basins, Barrels, Tubs, Chests, Casks, and similar items.

Pursers make purses, sacks, backpacks.

Chimeswains make the small bells for harnesses and chimes and doors.

A Luthier makes stringed instruments.

A Piper makes reed instruments.

A Borer make pipes for plumbing.

A Drumswain is a maker of drums.

Wards Subguilds

Castellans	Field	Flower	Game	Garden
Greyman	Hall	Hearth	Horse	River
Road	Sea	Sky	Watch	Wood (forester)

Castellans are household servants, usually for the nobility and the wealthy, roughly equivalent to house managers, maids, butlers, and the like.

Wrights Subguilds (Raw)

Broom	Butcher	Carriage	Cart	Coal
Disher	Drum	Enamellist	Felter	Furrier
Glass	Hat	Horn	Lace	Lacquer
Map	Ore	Paper	Pigment	Potter
Reed	Ship	Spinner	Stone	String
Tanner	Wheel

Chandlers deal in Candles, Soaps, Bleach, and Detergents

Distribution of Guilds

Every one of the Seven Cities has a Guild Hall for all of the guilds shown, and their counterparts can be found in the Sea Realms major cities (Islandia and Keris) as well. Antillia has no Guilds in the traditional sense, but does have Unions, which resemble guilds, and there are many more of them, for each job has a union, and there are no master Unions.

Towns typically have the Master Guild Halls but will lack the subguilds beneath them as stand-alone halls. Common Guilds are also likely in a town, each with a Hall of its own.

Villages, Hamlets, and Steadings are unlikely to have a Guild Hall, but larger Villages may have a combined Guild Hall that will serve the local region of hamlets and steadings and make arrangements for getting goods to markets.

Notable Guilds:

The Adventurer’s Guild

The Adventurer Guild Motto is “We fight just a little harder”.

To the best of their ability, the massive, somewhat frightening Adventurer’s Guild has a branch in every town, and there is one found either in or just outside of every city. Rare few villages have a Common House run by a Guild; though, lacking lodging, but enabling storage and usually cheaper food and drink than a guild run pub or inn. Dues are 1 Quid a month or 1 Crown a year and joining has a fee of 10 Shillings plus Dues upfront. Members of the Guild can stay for free in greater comfort at a Guild House, as well as find opportunities. AGs can be contracted for bounties, escort jobs, and more. They work closely with several other guilds, at excellent rates, including those who operate in the shadows. It also serves as the Mercenaries’ guild, taking all manner of jobs for listing.

Adventurer is a job, in and of itself, and considered to be a calling. Adventurers are weird; that is, they have been touched by the Powers in some way that has made them suitable and interested in that field, and so are considered dangerous and risky and short lived.

Note that the Adventurer’s guild is composed of several smaller guilds. Associated with them are the Merchanters, Antiquarian, Physic, Sage, Oracle, Delving, and (Miscreants). One offshoot of the Adventurer’s Guild of the adventurer’s guild, without contact between contracting parties. Of note is that the Guild is inclusive of the Syndicates – all of them are members, reportedly.

One of the key aspects that is often forgotten about outside the Adventurer’s guild is that many adventurers will group together for mutual aid and benefit in a formally recognized team, called a Company or Corps. These companies will typically establish some form of headquarters, called a Bastion, and from there they will make their names and lead their lives. In some cases, a Company will be granted a special dispensation by a local lord to establish a settlement, and thus become a Noble Corps, though they do have obligations as a result (and they are handled collectively). A company is a formal arrangement, and has rules for formation, for disbanding, for turnover of members, and some have become famous while others have become infamous.

The Circle of Lanterns

The Circle of Lanterns claims to oversee all sex work on Wyrlde. They are known to compete somewhat with the Innkeeper and Tavernhost Guilds and will often operate in opposition. Their Saloons are very popular in Dorado.

The Circle of Crossings

Provides guards for traveling caravans and mercenaries not affiliated with a guild. They compete with the Vanguard guilds, as well as the Adventurers Guild. They do not get along well with the Hovewards.

The Circle of Dreams

The Circle promises all a very good time, albeit with perhaps an uncontrollable interest to return after.

The Circle of Spells

Originally out of Lyonese, and merged with a couple others, it is considered one of the finest organized groups providing imbued and ingrained items to the public (for a price).

The Messenger Guild

One of the oldest three guilds (Dreams and Lanterns being the other two), the Messenger Guild has existed in some form or other since well before the God’s War. Within their secretive Guild Halls, they have people who are capable of some startling things, and there have long been rumors and suggestions and third- or fourth-hand evidence that they are involved with one or more of the Illuminati groups.

The Messenger guild is exactly that, a guild whose business is the recording of, transport of, delivery of, and care of messages and packages from one place to another. There are several different roles within the messenger Guild, which is essentially the equivalent of what was once called a Post Office on one of our Befores, or a Courier, or something called a runquail. Rafael’s world was weird.

Messengers serve in many different roles throughout the Empire, as they are also records keepers on par with the Bards and Envoys. A Messenger will go anywhere, and nothing will stop them from delivery short of their death, which for those assigned the greatest priority roles, is nothing short of immensely difficult.

The One thing to keep in mind about them is that one of the groups they have within the guild is that of the Mystics, whose powers are peculiar and grant them additional abilities. Other professions are employed by the Messenger Guild, but Mystics are a unique group within them, and the source of the linkage to the Illuminati groups.

Miscreants

There is one guild where you can find fences, padfoots, con artists, and more, and it is called the Miscreant’s Guild, and no one knows how extensive it is, how connected it is, or usually where it is located unless one is a member. The Miscreants Guild in Durango is known to change location every month. This Guild is usually written in parentheses and operates without oversight and beneath the law. It is known to exist, however, but the operations of the guild is always questionable, for it is hidden from any who are not members. They are known to consort with Envoys, Corsairs, and others to achieve specific goals and aims, and to have a very strong opposition to Paladins and Reeves from ever finding them. Rumor has it there is some kind of Thieves Cant that members use.

Alcohol Guilds

Alcohol is overseen by Brewers, Distillers and Vintners. Most alcohol is enjoyed warm, even slightly heated. Those who can afford it will speak of how it improves when cold, using assorted magics, but I think the magic strips something from the alcohol, myself.

Brewers create Beer and Ale. These are a thick, low alcohol beverage that is usually the main beverage everyone drinks during the day, instead of water. Beer can be made by most homes in villages as a side effort, which is then sold in small batches to ale peddlers that collect it, and most places will serve a beer or ale made either on site or formed from a mix of local well-known ale and beer makers.

Distillers create, transport, and market hard liquors. Of the dozen or so major liquor types, the ones produced most often by the most places are Whiskey, Vodka, Gin, and Rye. All distilled liquors have very tightly guarded secrets for how they are made, and usually have support for charges from the local nobility to exposing recipes or processes. The greatest secrecy concerns the workshops, but in general it is known that most of the beverages comes from some form of mash, often tweaked with some form of extra element. Imperial liquors are all very white, perhaps having only the faintest of shades of color.

In terms of highest popularity and desirability, Aztlan produces something called Uzo, Akadia has several varieties of Gin, Dorado produces Tequila, Durango makes Rye, Lyonese makes a popular form of Whiskey, Sibola is famous for a Vodka, and Qivira makes a sweet liquor called Virale, enjoyed in tiny glasses, as well as a clear liquor called Shoju. Antilia produces some potent Ciders, and Exilians produce a peculiar liquor called Makushmur that varies in flavor and potency constantly as it is rarely made from the same things, being distilled from whatever they happen find in their travels. The Sea Realms drink an immense amount of Rum, which is the primary alcohol there.

Doric whisky isn’t very popular outside of Dorado, being bitter, dry, and very strong, but is considered the most affordable whiskey that is made, and they make a lot of it. Rum is so popular there are ancient children’s songs about it, that Rum has been adopted by Mariners pretty much everywhere.

Mead, made from Honey or syrup from a tree, is typically made in Temples and Shrines, and sold during festivals. Wyrlde Mead is sweet, dry, and potent. Temples and Shrines are the unofficial Beekeeper’s Guild but are generally called the Faith Guild and tend to be very strict about people trying to make their own Mead.

Vintners make, market, and promote Wine. Wine on Wyrlde is mostly made from a kind of berry called a Grape. However, it is not the only sort of berry used, and there are five very broad categories of wine as a result: Red, White, Green, Pink, and Yellow or Olive. Within each broad type are several kinds of wine that highlight certain aspects of certain fruits. Green Wines are more akin to ciders or some forms of rum, but considered lighter, though why they do that is beyond me. Ting says it has to do with a combination of dryness and sweetness, whatever that means. I like my ales, thank you.

In any case, Wines are grown, pressed, aged, and then sold. Wines are sold by the Jug to the common folk, but by the Drum in bulk. Wine is heavy, and Vintners seem to have learned something several hundred years ago that allowed them to create something called Brandywine. It is basically a very strong form of wine, very much like a Liquor, and strong and highly scented. It is the most sought after of beverages and considered a drink of indolence and wealth. It is considered a major offense to sell Brandywine if you are not a member of the Vintner’s Guild – many tales that Tink likes to tell show that selling Brandywine without being a Vintner can result in death or Prison.

Brewers are the oldest of the Alcohol related Guilds, followed by Vintners. The Distiller’s Guild is relatively new (shortly after the last Skyfall), by comparison, and there is a great deal of bad blood between Distillers and Vintners for some reason.

InnHost Guild (InnKeepers)

Inn

On Wyrlde, the Innhost’s Guild controls the Inns and Taverns through subguilds. They do this with what is regarded as a velvet glove drenched in blood around an adamantine fist with spiked steel knuckles built in. Given the constant encroachment of the Syndicates, the Royal vagaries, and the flat-out defiance of the Posse of Rails, it may well be that they must. There are, then, some Inns and Taverns that are not Guild linked. At least two Powers are known to set up Inns in the middle of nowhere from time to time, moving them around.

An Inn is a building that has a walled area, stabling, pasture, offers food and drink, and has both a communal sleeping area and 4 to 24 private rooms that sleep two.

There is an Inn located typically 30 miles out along any road where there is not already a village, town, or city. There is a network of Inns within a given region defined by ethnicity, and they will all be similar within it and ultimately controlled by the Guilds.

Inns commonly have 2 to 12 Wardsmen, and Innkeepers are usually capable of at least some magic, even if most of it is meant to keep the place running and clean. They have stable hands, cooks, assorted help, and, yes, servers that are most likely women in patriarchal regions, men in matriarchal regions, and both in less rigid regions.

Inns are “signs of civilization in the wild” as well – many a small hamlet has been built up around an Inn located in the middle of nowhere. A good Inn is like a small private compound, able to take care of visitors and travelers from wandering Monks to adventuring parties to entire caravans or Noble entourages. As a result, they have many of the features that make the stays of their guests and the lives of their staff easier.

Taverns

Taverns are Guild-run establishments that will serve food, beer, and possibly wine. They are usually near a Public House or on a Shop Street, and the two may be owned by the same person or family, but they are always careful not to cross the guilds by combining the two. There is usually a carriage house nearby, or the site will have a stable, but is unlikely to have the ability to deal with a wagon. In many Cities, though not all (Sibola, Aztlan, and Durango come to mind) Taverns are often found near the Markets.

Taverns usually have a Host, a few cooks, some servers, and a few ancillary staff.

Public Houses (Pubs)

A Public House is a place of short term, temporary residence, usually near a gate. They usually can handle horses and wagons. They are often considered seedy places, but continually prove themselves of strong value, especially to Adventurers. The guild will often have arrangements with a better class of one for their members and are always happy to recommend one or two depending on the purse size of the party.

In a Village, Town, or City, Pubs usually have housekeeping, a pubkeeper, and a stable hand.

Saloon

A Saloon is an establishment that just sells strong, hard liquor, wine, and of course beer, ale, and mead. Saloons are often rowdy places that are controlled by the Innkeeper’s Guild and are often one of the earliest establishments in Camps. Saloons are pretty much everywhere except Cities and Towns though they will usually allow a scant few to operate near the Gates and the Watchhouses.

Saloons are frequently segregated spaces, either by gender (the most common, or by some other aspect (such as heritage). When they are such, Saloons will be located in a tight cluster of competing ones, often owned by the same person or group of people. Open Saloons are fairly rare, but do exist, mostly in remote Villages where there is a defacto segregation of those who are locals and everyone else.

Dorado has a great many saloons, and the largest number of open saloons. They are becoming almost synonymous with the realm – there is an outpost said to house a Patrol beside which has sprouted two dozen saloons that serve the merchants coming up from the Sand Sea to the City.

Some Saloons are operated by The House of Dreams. They do not serve drink and are frowned upon as their clients find themselves unable to avoid returning.

A Saloon will typically only have servers and a bartender, possibly a bouncer. The saloon often doubles as the residence of the saloon keeper. Most saloons will have a cluster of 4 to 24 chairs around a smattering of tables, a piano or stage to one side where they have entertainment, and a very long bar that is standing room only, usually with a rail running ankle height at the base of it. They are dimly lit.

Knightly Orders

Many who rightfully call themselves “knight” earn that title as part of one of the knightly orders.

These knighthoods are secular and nongovernmental organizations of warriors who follow a philosophy, or consider themselves a kind of extended family. Although there are organizations, such as the Knights of the Black Lotus, that use the trappings of knighthood without necessarily being warriors, most folk of Wyrlde who hear the word “knight” think of a mounted warrior in armor beholden to a code.

Below are a few knightly organizations.

Knight: Black Lotus	Knight: Red Masque	Knight: Round	Knight: Silver Chalice
Knight: Unicorn	Knight: White Rose	Knight: Wild Heart

The Knights Of The Unicorn began as a fad of romantically minded sons and daughters of noble families in Sibola. On a lark, they took the unicorn as their mascot and went on various adventures for fun. The reality of the dangers they faced eventually sank in. Over time the small group grew and spread, gaining a following in places as far as Durango. The Knights of the Unicorn are chivalric adventurers who follow romantic ideals: life is to be relished and lived with laughter, quests should be taken on a dare, impossible dreams should be pursued for the sheer wonder of their completion, and everyone should be praised for their strengths and comforted in their weaknesses. The Knights are always men.

Long ago, the Knights Of White Rose were a famous adventuring band, and Dove Falconhand, one of the famous Seven Sisters, was one of them. The band took its name to honor the legendary Ancient City, just as the new Knights of White Rose do today. With the city in ruins, Dove Falconhand decided to reform the group with the primary goal of building alliances and friendship between the civilized Bloodlines of the world and goodly people to combat evil. Their members, each accepted by The White Rose herself, are above all valiant and honest. Today, they are both a Syndicate and a Clan in Durango. The Knights of the White Rose are always women.

The Knights Of The Silver Chalice was formed by edict of the demigod Siamorf in Antilia a century ago. Siamorf’s ethos is the nobility’s right and responsibility to rule, and the demigod is incarnated as a different noble mortal in each generation. By the decree of the Siamorf at that time, the Knights of the Silver Chalice took it upon themselves to put a proper heir on the Council and reestablish order in the region. Since then, they have grown to be the most popular knighthood in Antilia, a region that has hosted many knighthoods in fealty to the Council. A side note: Siamorf is thought to be Urisha, one of the Powers That Be.

When it comes to the Knights Of The Black Lotus, little is known about this group of mostly older, retired people with military backgrounds other than their love for a complex strategy game with arcane rules and strange piece, the rarest of which is the Black Lotus.

The Knights Of The Red Masque are one of the more popular orders for when you need things done that the others would find distasteful, this order is famous for the blood red masks they always wear, carved in grimacing and horrible faces. These masks are worn any time they are out in public.

The order of the Knights Of The Round, created in honor of a find in an ancient ruin, always follows the Code of Chivalry, but they are also among the cheapest to hire. While they do have Paladins among their membership, they are not the main body.

The Knights Of The Wild Heart serve the interests of Antelle and Paria, who often partner up on whatever the latest machinations of the Powers That Be are at that time. Founded 23 years ago in Qivira, it has a distinct Code that is kept secret and known only to members. The Wild Hearts are said to be entirely without gender.

Circles

Chance	Lanterns	Dreams	Crossings	Spells
Songs	Sweets	Skirts	Home

The Circle of Lanterns: The Circle of Lanterns claims to oversee all sex work on Wyrlde. They are known to compete somewhat with the Innkeeper and Tavernhost Guilds and will often operate in opposition. Their Saloons are very popular in Dorado.

The Circle of Crossings: Provides guards for traveling caravans and mercenaries not affiliated with a guild. They compete with the Vanguard guilds, as well as the Adventurers Guild.

The Circle of Dreams: The Circle promises all a very good time, albeit with perhaps an uncontrollable interest to return after.

The Circle of Spells: Originally out of Lyonese, and merged with a couple others, it is considered one of the finest organized groups providing imbued and ingrained items to the public (for a price). They are engaged in direct conflict in many locations with the Mage Guild and Wizard Guild but are often on friendly terms with the Cunning Guild.

The Circle of Songs: The Aztani equivalent to the Bards Guild, with a focus on those who use music as performance.

Circle of Home: A collection of places that provide care for infants, Children, and youths during the workday. Strictly found in cities, except for Sibola. Popular in Akadia.

Circle of Sweets: Candy makers, sugar growers, sugar sales folk. They have a practical monopoly on Sugar.

Circle of Skirts: Clothing makers. Originally focused on mending and adjusting existing clothing, an unpopular Guild Lord in the Clothiers Guild gave rise to it becoming much more. Currently, only women are allowed to be members.

Syndicates

Syndicates compete with Guilds in Durango and at the same degree, using less savory tactics and with a more criminal bent. Syndicates are headed by a Syndic, who achieves their position through violence and subterfuge, removing the prior person for the most part, although in more internally peaceful times, there will be a designated heir. Syndicates are considered criminal organizations but tolerated because they do compete with and give pause to the Guilds, even as they will prey upon the same people and focus on their criminal activities.

Syndicates do not tolerate Circles in their territory, as it is seen as a threat to their business and competition, and syndicates do not want competition.

Copper	Fashes	Ford	Kamora	Kells
Kosa	Kudjel	Kuza	Lantern	Monsanto
Muskay	Nostra	Riders	Shovay	Sinola
Skythe	Treypers	Triskelion	Trumps	White Rose

Syndicates openly and explicitly state themselves to be organizations dedicated to trade and public welfare, yet appear to specialize in fraud, extortion, gambling, prostitution, drug use, robbery, kidnapping, theft, and graft as normative aspects of their operations.

Most Durangans tithe a Syndicate of one sort or another because they know that the bonds of a syndicate are stronger than blood in many cases, and the Syndicate protects its own; at least in theory. They are also aware that if they don’t, they will be brutalized, suffer startling misfortunes, and other bad things.

While based in and around Durango, they have influence which spreads throughout the world, and they seek to keep it going at any cost. Small Syndic outposts are said to exist in every major city.

The street murders that Durango is famous for are the work of Syndicates, who often disagree about territory, business, and loyalty. The Syndicates are very wealthy, overall, though the Syndics themselves may come from very humble or impoverished beginnings. One interesting thing is that the syndicates do not harm their targets usually; for example, a shopkeeper who tithes to one syndicate and is desired by another won’t have to worry about the syndicates causing his place of business harm (unless he misses a payment), as they will fight among themselves. They will also fight any of the assorted police, and the reputation of a Syndicate man as a murderous thug with little heart or morality is well earned.

Syndicates have a strong internal discipline, rigid codes, and expectations of those who are members, and often competing middle management. They do, however, keep their promises – for woe or for weal, they always keep their promises.

The most influential Syndicates currently are the Cosa, the Triskelion, the Kuza, the Sinola, and the Kamora. It is notable that the Lantern syndicate and White Rose Syndicate are indeed related to the Circle and the Order of Knighthood that share their name.

Posses

Dorado is the home to many new and different ways of doing things that are already done perfectly well elsewhere, but this has given us such thing as the Pistols of Eld and the Train and more. Among the reasons for and the examples of this trend are the Posses.

Rails	Eld	Nym	Ism	Apel
Cattlemans	Marms	Lights	Monsanto	Jind’r
Gigle	Natjeo	Ponderosa	Surkel Bar	M’klintok

A Posse is a formally confirmed business arrangement among many diverse people who pool their resources, people, and effort towards a business purpose. Posses are formed by a Charter that is registered with the Kinhouse and operated in a strange way.

They are created by the pooling of resources by several different people who each have an interest that is considered property all by itself. This interest is recorded by Deed and has a value that determines how much of the Posse’s left-over revenue in each season goes to that person. These people are called Members, and while they collectively have oversight and are in charge, the day-to-day affairs of a Posse are run by a Leader, who is himself employed by the members and in turn employs the people needed to achieve their goals, as that is the Leader’s job: to make as much money as possible for the Members.

The Train is the work of the Posse of Rails, and the Leader of the Posse is Hariman, who is both a Member and the Leader. His father was the person who designed and created the first Dynamo, and they have kept the secret of that process ever since while building the vast rails that connect the Bright lands along the traditional trade routes. It is estimated that out of every ten gold pieces the Train brings in, one falls to Hariman.

Posses, then, are essentially an alternative to the Guilds, though several guilds are members of the Posse of Rails, making it less a competitive model and more a way of achieving things that no one person or small group can do on their own.

The Illuminati

As befits them, they are secret societies so as I have never been a member, I cannot tell you much about any of them. It is known that they are frequently found to have Bards and Envoys as lead agents, and they have mysterious rituals.

To hear them talk, the world is trapped in a secret war has raged on since the end of the God’s War between powers and forces that seek to overthrow the leadership and bring in the Dread powers as a part of the whole, with themselves at the leadership. A few Scholars think there may be something to it, particularly if the Dread Powers are active.

The Illuminati is divided into three aspects: The Duskdanceers, The Dawnbreakers, and The Euphonium.

• Duskdancers focus on magic and spycraft,
• Dawnbreakers are more operational and leadership, and
• Euphonium are the warrior caste of the Illuminati.

Tanjin

In all Cities and many Towns, there are established schools, called Tanjin, that grew out of an effort originally sponsored by the Emperor, but was strongly influenced by aspects of Qiviran society and the mysterious Colonies. These schools vary from informal ones that teach basic language and math skills to the general population.

Some Tanjin specialize in certain things, but the majority of them are there to teach language, math, history, customs, mores, norms, and typical socialization activities.

They are not required, but since they are free or sponsored, most do not charge and act as a kind of day care for the young between Childhood and youthhood, ending when they become an apprentice. Tanjin are not large places, usually having only three, perhaps four buildings in a square around a large open space that serves as a communal eating, play, and meeting area. A typical Tanjin can support up to around 80 students.

Tanjin are generally among the earliest things to be set up once a settlement reach the size of a hamlet or village, and all of them will have at least one, even if it is a small one of a single building. Specialty tanjin may locate in out of the way places that enable them to focus on their work without much challenge – this is especially true of those that are run by noted scholars, and these ore involved Tanjin are starting to form up in ways that act as a replacement for the Guild system of apprenticeship – someone seeking to study a particular area like antiquities, for example, might choose to move their apprenticeship to the Tanjin.

Lastly, there are the secret Tanjin, where esoterica and veiled knowledge are taught, rare and hard to find, with extremely few students and then only those found worthy.

The Colonies

This group is worth noting because they are so unique, and those are the Colonies. Within these vast, forbidding, very much out of the way places are small groups of people who devote and dedicate themselves to mastering some form or other of martial art, both armed and unarmed. Each of them has a slightly different take, a different style, but all of them are still very much organized in a manner similar to the other factions.

There are four Colonies: Onisaman, Eridian, Thunderheart, and Diaspore. The first was founded by Onisama herself around the time of the second Skyfall. One of her pupils later left and founded Eridian Colony. A fortuitous meeting between pupils of the two led to the founding of the Thunderheart Colony after that, and the Diaspore was the final Colony established and is the least well known. Each colony has a host of people present. They are entirely self-sufficient, and they seem to draw in travelers and outcasts, those who seek something more, something different, and those who seek to prove themselves.

They are called Monks, and they are engaged in a life-or-death struggle that seems to consume them called the Dire War. They live ascetic lives, with few comforts, but they are seemingly unflappable and able to defy much, and they have peculiar powers that are not always magic in derivation. Each colony has around 400 people or so, who tend to all the many tasks and chores, while also all training, at all times, and all of the colonies are located in out of the way places among the mountains, with very few who are not of great power or great wisdom ever knowing exactly where, for they do guard the knowledge carefully.

Like Mystics, they are a group that seeks to aver and avoid scrutiny and prefer to remain inscrutable and mysterious. They do enter the broader world, and some will leave the Colonies for years in order to hone their skills and help provide through tithing.

It is important to note that each Colony has a particular focus to the arts they teach. Onisaman teaches something called the Way of the Open Hand. Thunderheart teaches the Way of the Peaceful Hope. Eridian teaches the Way of the Shattered Heart. Diaspore teaches the Way of the Brilliant Mind. What they mean and how they mean it only seem to make sense to the Monks themselves.

They are, much like the House of Eld, reserved and have a strong focus on training and competition and self-improvement, and always focused on something that they are doing in those isolated places, some sort of massive combat challenge.

Dire Wars

During the second Skyfall, shortly after the founding of Sibola, the still new Colony hidden away among the Mountains was beginning to teach a new way of fighting, to escape the violence of the old wars and forge a new path. Onisama, the woman who founded the colony now named for her, and her way of doing things, was visited by a strange man, whom many say even today was a Warlock of exceptional skill and talent.

He claimed that those he served would like to come to our world, and asked if Onisama, in her wisdom, would grant them safe passage and a place to rest. Suspecting a trap, she offered a counter: if they could defeat her best with their best, she would let them come and learn and take shelter from what they sought to escape.

With a wicked gleam in his eye and a wrathful smile on his face, the Warlock agreed on behalf of his benefactors, who were from another dimension and sought to find a path to ours, that they might take it over. This was the origin of the first of the Dire Wars.

Dire War is returned to every six years, with the next known one scheduled to happen in 301. It is a contest of martial strength and skill, of creative effort, of absolute perfection, and of absolute importance, for should the Colonies ever lose, should the Monks ever fall, then our world will have a gateway to the Nightmare dimension and all the nightmares of the world will be released to wreak havoc. It is generally agreed by most on Wyrlde that we have enough nightmares already, and do not need any more. Generally. Some folks are less certain.

At that very first Challenge, the future of them all was established as dire, as mortal, when the first victor slew the chosen champion instead of merely taking a victory (at the behest of their wicked leader, who declared both fatality! and It has begun!), and since that moment, all the challenges have been Dire and it has erupted through efforts to cheat, to manipulate, to corrupt into true warfare fought for the sole purpose of saving the world.

Each bout in dire conflict is to death or to absolute incapacitation. Fatalities, often gruesome, are common. The contests are held every sixth year from Windy 1^st through Windy 28^th. The first week there are 128 bouts. The second week there are 64 bouts. The third week there are 32 bouts. The first day of the last week has 16 bouts. The second day has 8 bouts. The third day has 4 bouts. The fourth day has one bout. The fifth day has one bout. And the final bout is the sixth day – the 27th of Windy — with the victory declared on the final day of the month. The next scheduled Dire War rounds are in Windy of the year 301. One hundred twenty-eight of the finest, greatest, bravest, most capable warriors are tested every six years, with few surviving the experience.

Combatants can only use what is inherent to them. They can bring into the venue no weapons, wear no armor, and they must possess impeccable honor. At least for our side. The nightmare side seems to have folks who have weapons as part of them.

To prepare for this in the time between, the many Monks and now other warriors called by the Colony masters to these contests compete in far less fatal contests of skill, tactics, strategy, and mastery to determine who will fight the bouts. This testing begins in Windy of the second year following the Dire War. In that year, each of the four great Colonies choose 128 of their greatest, usually through volunteering or recruitment of outsiders. Note that the Grandmasters of the Colonies are not above using their mysterious powers to encourage outsiders to fight. Qetza is particularly fond of Grand Warfare, and it is said that Lamia and Timur have taken stakes in the past as well.

The following year, the Colonies have their champions face off against the champions of another Colony. The order is a rotating one. This continues in the fourth and fifth years, as well, until there are 128 warriors chosen. They all then travel to the mysterious tropical island that was set aside for these events following the 13^th cycle when an entire Colony was nearly destroyed.

This island has 128 discrete fighting areas, that are cleaned and prepared for a year, decorated, and sometimes adjusted, so that none of the contestants are aware of what venue, or what the venue will look like or consist of. The particular venue is randomly selected, and all are named and designed to look like some place elsewhere on Wyrlde, and bounded by strong wards that will let someone in but will only let one person out unless they know the particular rituals to enable leaving (such as when dragging a body out).

Entrants must be at least Adepts and are typically well known and deeply honorable in all their actions. They must represent the best Wyrlde, after all, and stand firm even though those they fight will try to cheat, and sometimes succeed. It is noteworthy that Adventurers are rarely chosen, though many have volunteered after hearing about it. The finality of the events means that those who choose to do so must be aware that they will be facing their own mortality, their own death, in the form of a nightmarish being, and that once committed there is no escaping, no turning back, and it is final. Death in the Dire War removes one from the Cycle, and so resurrection is not possible.

These events, over the many, many years, have come to be watched closely by many in power. Some from great distances, others will make the journey to the Island of Venues. It is said that even Denizens from other dimensions will make a special journey just to watch, for it is one of the most brutal contests within all that is known, and it is said even the Three Old Ones turn a blind eye to the Warfare.

Compendalia Wyrldica

The Wyrlde Rules