Brass Pieces (Campaign Seed)

Brass Pieces

Long have the wizards ruled over all worlds, using their magical abilities at the drop of a hat. The world bought and sold magic used and abused their power but they now pay the price.

Brass Pieces is a campaign setting where the inhabitants over use of magic has damaged the world. The constant magic use has taken it's toll on the world, Erratic weather patterns, extreme magical weather and living spells are just a few of the many new perils they face.

The inhabitants of Brass Pieces once used magic for everything - light, machinery, travel - They have gotten used to an easy life but with this new revaluation that magic is going to destroy them they are slowly turning away from magic and to science and technology

Author's Notes

I was reading over some new D&D material I had and pondering all sorts of new ideas for items and characters when the idea for Brass Pieces came to me a world that was more technological than Eberron but not necessarily steampunk. The idea evolved from there "why are these people turning to technology rather than magic?" "What would be the long term effect of magic on a world considering the effects one can create like spells that call or disperse weather patterns?".

The Setting

The People of Brass Pieces long ago went through a period of 'magical industrialization'. They had near two centuries worth of growth and prosperity not on the back of the people instead they used magic. As more and more magic was consumed and more powerful spells created the world slowly started to change. At first no one noticed a difference but over time they slowly came to see what was happening. Now seeing what was happening some people started to try to fix it. Proponents against magic use, scientists and engineers became more and more common. Slowly the world accepted that they could no longer use the magic they had grown accustomed to. So over time the world gained in technology as they decreased in their use of magic. The players enter the world at a time where technology is a new booming business and magic is slowly fading into the background. The world has entered a new era of industrialization but will they learn from the damage they've caused the world? Will the world ever recover?...

The World

The world is writhing in pain from the constant stress of the magic used on it. unnatural weather patterns and extreme weather are common place. Living Spells roam the regions between cities and stray into populated areas. Planar borders are constantly changing and merging. Despite this the people keep working, they try to find a way to cope in their new world. The people hope that technology will be their savior and so far it is working but only time will tell.

The Arcana Tainted

Andarians (Gray Elves)

These gray elves used to have great power, but then it become to diminish so they had to resource to create strong creatures to keep the little power they had but then their reproduction rate began to decrease. Andarians miss the old days when they had big armies of mages.

Most Andarians have suffered a magical disease when young. Pick a disease, then you can get one of these effects:

• you gain immunity against that disease, but you get a permanent penalty on your ability scores.
• from time to time that disease comes back to you when you cast spells, or use a magic item.
• you have a dormant version of the disease, and when it wakes up you spread it.
• you were successfully healed and have no consequences of the disease, except for some scars on your body.

Grayspawns

Creatures made by the Andarians, they are taught to serve the Andarians as their masters and creators. They have great devotion to the andarians. Includes Kenku, Ani-men, Anumus, Laika, Tibbit, and Golmoid

Sharakim

Sharakim are humans turned into an orc-like species. Cursed by their power greed, they have enslaved almost all of the migthy orcs.

Ogrebreed

Power thisty Ogres went mad when the flow of the arcane forces got changed, that insanity drove them to look to breed with other races to get even more powerful. Includes ogres, half-ogres and orogs.

History of the Andarians

On the Night of the Great Mistake, some Andarians were looking to tame an arcana power much greater than what they could handle.Their experiment went awry and many people died that day, and all of the survivors got cursed.Afraid of invasions from malignant warlords, some Andarians did unholy rituals to create servants, faithful and able to defend them, that day the Grayspawns were born.

But as soon as this new life were born, the births among the Andarians began to drop, most of them blame the Night of the Great Mistake, others think that it was a heavy price to pay for the creation of these Grayspawns.

History of the Sharakims

Unaware of what the Andarians had done, the humans of the Shar tried to use magic artifacts to defeat the orcs of their region, but because of the damage done to the Magic itself, the spells backfired at them and the humans turned into orcish like creatures.They got their victory over the orcs, but they also lost their former human appearance.

Sharakims don't blame the Andarians for the failure of their spells, they know that without what they did to the magic, their spells wouldn't had enough power to defeat the orcs.Still most Sharakim think of themselves as cursed by their greed of power.

History of the Ogrebreed

Some people say that it was because of the damage that Gray Elves did, some others say that the flow of power fueled their ambitions, anyway the Ogres became aware of the power around them and got fiercer, stronger and less careful than centuries before.Any member of the Ogrebreed is feared outside their regions.

The Blue Kings of the Ogre got so mad in their seek of power that they sent their soldiers to war, not only for riches or more land, they went to war looking to breed their people with other races and make the Ogrebreed stronger.

Progenies of Light

Elves from the Twilight Mist (High Elves)

They lost their old realm and now they live in a new place were the oldest ones miss the days when they could wander freely among the Highest Fey Courts.

Halflings

Cunning little merchants, they are always looking for good investments or at least enough money to get a good meal.They are not known to travel farther from their hometowns, but when they do, they are really suspicious about strangers.

Fey children

People who got their fey heritage awaken by experiments from elves. Includes Feyborn and Feytouched. Not all the feytouched get along with elves, some of them blame them for their appearance, or for cutting the connection with the Fey world.

History of the Elves

The Elves from the Lost City of the Evergreen Tree were the first ones to notice that arcana magic was damaging the nature around them, they tried to stop the disaster but because they chose to act with secrecy, people from other places got suspicious and believed that they were trying to conquer the world.When that people realized their mistake, it was to late and the arcana magic began to cause serious damages.

So the Elves sacrificed their beautiful and ancient city, to make a magic barrier that saved the lives of many, but they lost their connection with the Fey world, and their fabled city disappeared in a Twilight Mist.

History of the Halflings

Friends of humans and elves, the Halflings were there when elves went to the Evergreen Tree, they were there When The Elves Returned.The Halfling´s routes for trading are extense and they found happiness in the ways of the merchants, selling and buying goods from one culture to another.Still a fairly isolacionist people, halflings make deals with almost all kinds of characters but never want to mess with the internal affairs of any kingdom.

Also in spite that rule, somehow there is always a halfling, in the most dangerous times risking his own life to avoid a horrible fate for us all.And if that halfling survives, he will become a legend among their people, when he returns.

Ancient Stone Carvers

Dwarves

They had a bond with the stones that made them to become affected when magic got berserk on their lands.

Giants

That once ruled over many lands but now they are decaying.

Doppelgangers

Masters of many faces, secluded and almost driven to extinction by dwarves.

Drow

Dark elves fear the wrath of the dwarves.

History of the Dwarves

In the past they were in war against the Giants that lived among the clouds, the Drows that worship Spiders, the Doppelgangers that are no more treacherous than the humans that once were the secret allies of the Giants.But it was a fairly peaceful time when a flow of chaotic arcana stroke their land, dwarves call that event the End of the Old Houses.

Even today dwarves talk about how strange bolts got out of the stones harming all the people around, some of them died, others got changed as if the power of the stones went inside them.Those changes gave them new racial abilities but they were also a source of division among the dwarves.

Dwellers of Vanished Forests

Lizardfolks and others were the first ones to discover a piece of the world that was hidden for centuries.

Lizardfolks

Reptilian beings owners of their land.

Shards

Living shards

Chemiras

Strange mix of humanoids and mythic breed.

Insectoids

Evolved insects from afar.

History of the Lizardfolks

After losing an old war against another kingdom, the lizardfolks crossed the sea to a new continent where they prospered, even though there were other nations that didn't want to share their lands with them.Some lizardfolks found signs that this continent used to be bigger, and that knowledge became a mystery for a long time, until one day nature reacted awfully to a chaotic arcane surge, and tore down a magic barrier that was concealing those pieces of land missing.

Realms

Bronze Axis

Kingdoms remnants of a once big magical empire, they are still strong, but not as strong as many years ago when they could afford to have an extensive army of mages.

The Eternal River League

A group of allied nations that trade among them and have no enemy nations inside their borders

Kingdoms of Silver Swords

They have great amounts of metals and have a great army.

The Vast and Immense Green

They live in a wild place, they make medicines and produce condiments.

Gray Chain

They call it Andarnuri, but most people call it the Gray Chain, because the Gray elves live in these hilly territories.

Munturmuri

The Gray Towers, were the palaces are built, and the Gray Elves rule.

Mormanuri

The Gray Tombs, were ruins are left and mages gather, this place reeks on negative energy and is dangerous.

Gricolnuri

The Gray Cage were the armies and servants of the Gray People are trained.Foreigners call this place a Slaveland.

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