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Final Redoubt Presents:

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Preview
 The world falls to darkness...

...Evil roams the land...

...But dark only becomes grim dark if you turn from the light...

...Will YOU answer the call?

Echoes of Heaven is a 5e setting and campaign 2024 rules. The Throne of God is an adventure for
set in a world of darkness and danger, where a Level 2 characters. This product will be released in
monolithic church has split into dozens of quar- PDF format with support for Foundry VTT.
reling factions, and holy war looms like a shadow.
Here, strength and brutality win the day, and only The Kickstarter is in pre-release right now, but you
those with the most faith, honor, and courage can can still follow it HERE:
stand against the terrible tyranny of those who https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robertjde-
would enslave everyone of a different belief, phi- fendi/echoes-of-heaven-reborn
losophy, or species.
Worse, it is a world infected by the very fabric of Subscribe to the newsletter and get a free story:
Hell itself.
This campaign includes a rebuild of the clas- https://roberts-newsletter-652501.beehiiv.com/
sic Echoes of Heaven Campaign Setting and the subscribe
adventure The Throne of God, now updated for 5e
 Dramatic Purpose Note: This preview uses our 2014 maps and stat-
The Dramatic Purpose of the Teaser is to draw blocks. We will update the maps as they are fin-
the players in, hopefully before a single die is ished and the statblocks when the license allows.
thrown. In a television show, the Teaser is the
part of the episode that comes before the credits, The Initial Battle
lasting anywhere from thirty seconds (for shows The adventure opens moments before the final bat-
like the long defunct Enterprise) to more than ten tle. Read or paraphrase the following:
minutes (for shows like Madam Secretary). The
Teaser is (relatively) short, to the point, and usu- And God wept.
ally set up to end in a cliff hanger to keep the It was the last days of the War in Heaven.
viewer from changing channels. One thousand years had passed since a third of the
Our Teaser serves much the same purpose. In it, Host fell, and in that time, your families stood on the
the characters start in a unique environment . . . parapets of Heaven, fighting beside angel and mortal
the final days of the War in Heaven. This will be alike. It was a long and painful war, and on this
a brief and violent opening that will hopefully set day, it ended.
a tone for the rest of the game . . . if it’s used. But the fallen angels didn’t fight alone. Slowly the
The Teaser of this adventure (and the upcoming mortals of Heaven—humans, elves, gnomes, half-
Teasers in the same series) create a story line, not lings...even dwarves—defected to the other side. Worse
quite chronological, of the characters and their yet, somehow the Fallen Host commanded not only the
battles in the last days. The Teaser is optional. living, but the dead...creatures who walked about in
direct defiance of God’s laws.
But the battle went poorly for the Fallen Host and
Teaser
The Teaser begins ten thousand years before
on this day they made a last, desperate attempt to
take the Holy City of Heaven, the location of the
Holy See, the seat of God’s throne. After this battle,
the rest of the adventure. The War in Heaven Heaven would stand or fall.
has raged for a thousand years and the forces of You stand on the walls of the Holy City as the en-
Heaven believe they’re winning. Only the Five emies of God array on the field below. Around you,
Prophets and God Himself know that a second mortals and angels flex limbs and wings, adjust ar-
fall looms on the horizon, and when it comes, mor and limber weapons. The light of God shines
Heaven will fall with it. from the Holy See behind you, illuminating the
The characters have known one another for some walls, the fields, all of Heaven. The sky arches high
time. They’re all veterans of the War, although above, fluffy white clouds reflecting God’s radiance
they’re young veterans. When the adventure opens, back down on the world below.
they’re standing on the walls of the Holy City, pre- Then a rumble builds in the army amassed below.
paring for the final battle. Creatures tense in blackened armor, brandishing vi-

Characters
At first blush, it might seem like characters designed for the Teaser would be Saintly creatures, people too
good for this world—people without faults. This is wrong. The Fall of Heaven wasn’t as cut and dried as
one might think. The second fall of Angels is symptomatic of a greater problem, a terrible gloom that fell
over Heaven after one-thousand years of war. Post traumatic stress, survivor’s guilt, and terrible phobias
are just some of the symptoms many of the Mortals carried by the end. In other words, the characters can
be as flawed as the players want. If, when given the choice between good and evil, they would eventually
choose good...that is enough.

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 cious weapons. A pulsing sound rises
above the rumble, a thousand weap-
ons beating against a thousand shields.
Your mouth goes dry. The pounding
fills your ears until you’re afraid they’ll
burst. The sound mounts and mounts
and mounts.
And then they charge.

Since this opening should prob-

ably be a surprise, the players might
have several questions at this point.
Answer them briefly, but force the
events to the fore. It’s important here
to make the players feel that things
are rushing forward whether they’re
ready or not.
The hordes of the Fallen Host
charge the wall. Angels fly into the
air, the Mortal and Undead creatures
of the enemy army crash into the
walls. Play up the chaos, the confu-
sion, the terror of the battle.
The enemy Skeletons are ready
for a siege. Altered so they can
climb like spiders, they scurry up
the walls. The defenders manage to
smash them down by the score, but
the first wave forces its way onto the
battlements.
Four Scaling Skeletons crest the Tactical Notes
wall. The party must destroy them to hold the de- This encounter takes place on the walls of the Holy
fenses. City of Heaven. The wall is about one hundred feet
high and twenty wide. It’s built with tiers for fight-
Scaling Skeletons: Medium undead; LE; AC ing. The first tier is at the one hundred foot mark and
13 (natural armor); hp 13 (2d8+4); Spd 30 ft., climb next to the merlons and crenels of the battlements.
30 ft.; Str 10 (+0), Dex 14 (+2), Con 15 (+2), Int Here the soldiers fight creatures trying to come up
6 (–2), Wis 8 (–1), Cha 5 (–3); Damage Vulner- the wall. Behind that band, 5 feet wide, you’ll find
ability bludgeoning; Damage Immunities poison; the next tier. It’s 5 feet wide as well but two and a
Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned; Senses half feet higher, so pikemen can attack down over
darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 9; Languages the heads of the front line. Behind that is another
Understands languages it knew in life but cannot tier two and a half feet taller, for archers. Behind
speak; Challenge 1/4 (50) that is a 5 feet drop to another tier, on the same level
Infernal Taint. as the first, for defenders from the rear tiers to hide
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach should there be a problem with their elevation ex-
5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage. posing them to attack. This tier has ladders that al-

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low access to the archers’ tier. It takes an extra 5 feet Turn Undead and Other Forced Movement
of Movement to climb a tier. If a character is forced The Undead are in a precarious position, but their
up a tier, and they don’t have enough movement to modification for climbing walls gives them some-
climb, they fall Prone on the new tier. what better positioning. If a Scaling Skeleton is
forced back 5 feet or is forced to flee, it will simply
The Attack slip down the wall. If they are moved back more than
The Scaling Skeletons will come up the crenels. They one, and they aren't moving on their own, they will
have Disadvantage from this position, and any at- fall and die.
tacks made by defenders will have Advantage.
The Skeletons will try a Strength Contest against Scaling Notes
any character trying to stop them from climbing The encounters in this adventure assume a four-per-
through the crenels. If they succeed, the defender is son party. In this encounter, pit the party against an
pushed onto the next tier. He must make a Dexterity equal number of enemies.
Saving Throw (DC 10) or fall Prone. Once a Scaling
Skeleton achieves the wall, they will fight normally.

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 Dramatic Purpose
This fight serves dual purposes. First, it’s a simple, fun fight, easier than normal because of the character’s
Advantage. It’s usually good to start with a straightforward battle (especially at the beginning of a campaign).
There’s a strong wish-fulfillment element to role-playing and you satisfy that by letting the players feel compe-
tent, powerful. Once a player feels like their character is unbeatable they begin to strongly identify with them,
and only then does threatening the character make the player feel the proper level of excitement.
The second purpose is more mechanical. This being the first adventure in an adventure path, it’s likely
there are players who’ve either never role-played before or who’ve never played in a 5th Edition game.
Starting with a nice, normal battle allows everyone to get a handle on things like initiative, attack resolution,
and house rules on actions, and table chatter.
One final note: whereas above we advised to push things forward, that is only true from a storytelling
aspect. Once combat starts, be aware of any new players and their frustrations. It’s acceptable for a player
to feel like they’re in over their heads story-wise. It’s not acceptable for them to feel the same way about
role-playing or the rules of the system. If a player gets confused or frustrated, stop everything and make
sure to address that player’s concern. Sometimes, a more experienced player can help out, explaining
everything slowly while the GM pounds on the adrenaline in the other aspects of the battle.

The Second Falling As the party braces for attack, the first Humans
reach the top of the wall. There are two soldiers.
As soon as the players win the battle, allow some
time for more questions. Make sure they realize Heretic Soldiers: Medium humanoid (com-
little details that will be different between Heaven mon man); LE; AC 16 (chain shirt and shield); hp
and the Mortal Realm...for instance, the only light 16 (3d8+3); Spd 30 ft.; Str 13 (+1), Dex 12 (+1),
source is the light of God himself, in his diamond Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 10 (+0);
palace of the Holy See (behind them). Details like Senses passive perception 12; Languages Divine
this allow the players to roleplay properly later Tongue; Challenge 1/2 (100)
when everything changes. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach
As soon as the momentum of the game seems to 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8+1) slashing damage.
drop, read or paraphrase the following:
Tactical Notes
For a moment, the battle around you lulls and you have This battle follows the same tactical notes as the
time to breathe. You watch the hordes of the fallen crash previous one. There is one notable exception. if a
against the walls, sudden and brutal, animal in a way that Heretic Soldier is pushed back 5 feet off the wall,
makes you shiver. You’re watching the unholy, the blasphe- he must make a Dexterity Saving Throw (DC 15) to
mous, something dark and feral. catch his ladder.
Then a cry goes up in the air above you, the sound
of hundreds of angels crying out in pain and rage. Scaling Notes
You look around and see that half the remaining If the party consists of three members keep the same
Host has turned against the other half. Angel fights number of enemies. If there are six PCs, increase
angel, and tumults of feathers, sweat and blood hang the number to four. At eight PCs, add another sol-
above you in the sky. dier. For nine or ten, add another.
Only the mortals remain ready to defend the walls.
With the Host fallen upon itself, there are only you Dramatic Purpose
and those like you to defend against the horde of mor- The Dramatic Purpose of this encounter is the
tal and angel alike. The defenses are falling. same as the first. The battle is slightly tougher to
And there’s nothing you can do about it. force the party to stretch their abilities a bit.

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The Summoning The party sees little in the way of people as they
enter the Holy See, they are missing, probably fight-
After the party has dispatched the soldiers, give them a
ing about the See, trying to keep the Fallen Angels
moment to regroup and heal if necessary. Once they’re
from reaching the door. The light of God is the most
ready, read or paraphrase the following:
comforting here, but it can’t alleviate their fear.
Something is strange, though. A second light
Suddenly, a voice blasts through all your minds, gen-
builds elsewhere in the Holy See. If the players
tle but compelling. It brooks no denial.
don’t clue in that this is where they should look for
“The Holy City has fallen. Defend the Prophets,
the Prophets, keep coming back to it. The characters
protect the Holy See.”
will know this is an unusual event, and they don’t
The battle rages and surges around you. Nearby,
need to make any rolls to think it strange, but the
stairs lead down from the wall, but around you, all
players might take a while to come around on their
the remaining troops are locked in deadly combat.
own (and that’s most satisfying).
You don’t think anyone can get free.
The characters can work their way through the
Anyone but you.
maze of diamond halls. It isn’t hard to make it to the
source of the new light. This takes some time, but
The party should probably make a dash for the narrate your way through that quickly. If you feel that
Holy See now. It’s easy to spot: a great glowing the characters need a Short Rest, the time they spend
palace made of one unbroken piece of diamond. inside, coupled with their proximity to God, could be
Around them, chaos, but the streets are starting to enough to grant the effects, at your discretion.
clear as Fallen Angels fly overhead.
If the party wishes to commandeer horses, they Dramatic Purpose
can find several in a corral nearby. They are un- This is a basic chase scene, and a brief one at that.
guarded. This is Heaven after all. The purpose is to build excitement. The purpose
If the party makes a dash through the city, have of the falling boulders is to give the players some-
them make a Dexterity Saving Throw (DC 10). If thing tangible to fear as they run.
they ride, have them make a Wisdom (Animal Han-
dling) Check (DC 10). As they travel, a group of
Fallen Angels drop large boulders onto the streets
Meet the Prophets
near them. When the characters arrive at the light, read or para-
A Dexterity Saving Throw or Wisdom (Animal phrase the following:
Handling) Check (if mounted) can help them dodge
the falling boulders. Their roll determines the dam- You stumble into a room filled with light. In the
age of the attack as debris flies through the streets. center, a growing beacon of yellow radiance shines,
Less than five = 1d10 damage. A 5 or better = 1d8 reflecting and refracting off the diamond walls.
damage. A 10 or better = 1d6 damage. A 15 or better Around this light five people stand, the Prophet of
= 1d4 damage. A 20 or better = no damage. each of the Mortal Races. They all chant in unison,
Describe the run through the city. As much as pos- each a part of some ritual too vast and complicated
sible try to build a sense of excitement with words for you to understand.
and body language. When the characters near the What they are doing is far beyond your skill and
Holy See, read or paraphrase the following: understanding, but as you watch them, you can hear
troops entering the Holy See. The Prophets are de-
As you round the corner, the Holy See comes into fenseless.
sight: a huge fortress comprised of a single piece of What do you do?
cut blue diamond. It shines with the constant light
of God.

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 The party should leave and find a defensible Final Stand
place. There are a few corridors leading off this
Read or paraphrase the following:
room (there need to be a few in case you need to
run a similar opening for other characters later in
the adventure path). One of the corridors is obvi- A fallen angel comes through the halls, nine to ten
ously the most direct route from the front door. The feet tall, grasping both walls at the same time. It
characters can hear something down that hall. They hurtles forward like some four-legged thing, its skin
should probably move to defend it. If they do, they darkened by blasphemy, its feathers covered in thick
will have to make their.... gore. It sees you and screeches like a predatory bird,
drawing a massive sword and preparing to attack.

The Fallen Angel

is a powerful foe, and
the party should not be
able to win this fight
without a lot of luck.
The party will
hopefully do the he-
roic thing and stand
and fight. This En-
counter is not won
by beating the Angel
(although that would
qualify for the vic-
tory conditions.) This
Encounter is won
by holding the hall
long enough for the
Prophets to finish the
Ritual. That is, five
Rounds. The charac-
ters succeed or fail
by not backing down,
even when they real-
ize that can’t win.
If the party is
completely killed,
but they stood and
fought, they win as
well. Still, that’s not
as likely in time al-
lotted if the Cleric
is ready with heal-
ing. If the party runs,
the Angel will fol-

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low them, so while they failed on a personal level, Scaling Notes
Heaven still survives. For every character over four, give the Caraph an
additional 12 HP.
Fallen Caraph: Large celestial; LE; AC 17 (nat-
ural armor); hp 52 (7d10+14); Spd 40 ft., fly 100 ft.;
Str 20 (+5), Dex 14 (+2), Con 15 (+2), Int 16 (+3), The End
Wis 16 (+3), Cha 18 (+4); Saving Throws Wis +6, If the party runs or holds out or beats the Angel,
Cha +7; Skills Perception +6 Religion +6; Damage read or paraphrase the following:
Resistance radiant, acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison,
thunder, as well as bludgeoning, piercing, and slash- The light behind you continues to build until it
ing from non-magical weapons; Condition Immunity drowns out even the light of God. The See rumbles
exhaustion, frightened; Senses darkvision 120 ft., and seems to blur into a dozen, a hundred separate
passive perception 16; Languages all; Challenge 5 images. The fallen angel in front of you screams in
(1,800) fury and impotence. You feel yourself drifting side-
Infernal Taint. ways...drifting...drifting....
Protective Aura. Creatures with the Angelic and The light becomes brighter and brighter until you
Divine Sparks within 20 ft. have Disadvantage can see nothing else, until you can feel the rays sleeting
when attacking. through your bodies, your minds, your souls.
Bane. The fallen caraph deals an extra 7 (2d6) Then you can no longer tell where the light begins
damage of the same type as the attack to targets with and you end.
an Angelic or Divine Spark. And after that, there is only darkness.
Innate Spellcasting. The fallen caraph's spell-
casting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). The The Prophets have done it. They’ve foreseen the
fallen caraph can innately cast the following spells, end of Heaven and they’ve realized that only by
requiring only verbal components: Sundering it can they save God’s divine plan. The
At Will: Bless, Detect Evil and Good, Detect Ritual is over. Heaven, as it was, is no more.
Magic. Detect Poison and Disease, Protection from Note that you can run this ending even if the par-
Evil and Good ty fails, should you think they earned it and don’t
2/Day: Cure Wounds want to end the story here. Being in Heaven, this
1/Day: Lesser Restoration, Zone of Truth might be the only time in gaming you can get away
Soul Sense. A fallen caraph can sense any mor- with the sin of deus ex machina. If they failed,
tal’s greatest temptation. however, don’t award them the experience for this
Lay on Hands. As the Paladin ability, 35 HP. encounter.
Multiattack. The fallen caraph makes two
sword attacks.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach To be continued 10,000 years later in
5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing damage. the Echoes of Heaven adventure, The
Shape Change. The fallen caraph can take the Throne of God...
form of a medium or large humanoid creature, in-
cluding a unique individual. It retains its stats and
abilities.
Dramatic Purpose
Tactical Notes The purpose of this scene is to let the characters
This battle takes place in a ten-foot wide diamond get in over their heads but mainly to prove they’re
corridor. The Angel will essentially fill the hall, and heroic. This isn’t about a battle being winnable or
press the attack with every opportunity. unwinnable, but about courage in the face of ter-
ror and proving their mettle.

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 courage can stand against the terrible tyranny of
Welcome
By opening these pages, you enter a new world, a
those who would enslave everyone of a different
belief, philosophy, or species.
Worse, it is a world infected by the very fabric of
world of danger and nobility, a world of shadow and
Hell itself.
light, a world of sorrow and love. Most of all, it is a
It’s a world that once knew extraordinary, perfect
world of hope.
grace, where mortals and angels labored side by
The Mortal Realm desperately needs heroes. Will
side, and all spent their days basking in the light of
you answer the call?
God. There was no Mortal Realm. Hell was nothing
more than a province of Heaven. All lived in Para-
Preview dise and knew what it was like to wander in Grace.
This document is a preview of The Echoes of Then came the War.
Heaven Campaign Setting. Each of the sections be- The Fall of the first third of the Host of angels
low is an experpt from the first product release. We nearly destroyed Heaven. The Fall of the second
hope you enjoy it. third came as a death knell. Only the foresight and
planning of the Five Prophets saved everyone from
What Is the Echoes Of Heaven languishing under the rule of the Fallen ...but it
came at a terrible price.
Campaign Setting? Enter Meridrin, the Mortal Realm, a world sun-
Echoes of Heaven is a game world of darkness and dered from Paradise, a world both familiar and
danger, where a monolithic church has split into strangely different. A world where you can make
dozens of quarreling factions, and holy war looms a difference.
like a shadow. Here, strength and brutality win the Echoes of Heaven is designed for use in four
day, and only those with the most faith, honor, and different game systems. They are the games using
the Open Game License (for use with the third and
fifth editions of the world’s most popular roleplay-
ing game), plus Rolemaster (owned by Iron Crown
Enterprises) and HARP (owned by Iron Crown
Enterprises).
This product contains stats for the 5th edition of
the world’s most popular roleplaying game.

Line Elements
Echoes of Heaven contains two main elements.
They are sourcebooks and adventures.

Sourcebooks
Some of the scheduled sourcebooks are as follows:
The Echoes Of Heaven Campaign Setting—The
book you are currently reading. Echoes of Heav-
en Campaign Setting details the Mortal Realm
and includes a bonus supplement detailing the
Kingdom of Ludremon at no extra charge.
The Last Free City—This book details the city of
Felric’s Redoubt, also known as the City-State.
Sheltered in the lands of Ingrast but beyond the

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 grasp of the elves, this city has remarkable free- Each adventure is designed for characters of a cer-
dom...but with freedom comes danger. tain Level. A GM needs only to use the milestone
The Lost Kingdom Of The Dwarves—Centuries method or adjust the experience gain rate to meet his
ago, an Ulcer opened inside the dwarven kingdom group’s needs. If a group can play an entire adven-
of Uzarâg. Now this land is more Hell than earth ture in one weekend, and that leaves three more until
and filled with many dark and evil creatures, most the subsequent product releases, then the GM needs
notably the cambionic orcs and, worse yet, the only to match the experience gained to move hand in
Great Fiend known as the Warlord. hand with this pace. Meanwhile, he’ll find Adventure
Seeds in every product that will allow the characters
Adventures to explore the world around them until they’re ready
Each sourcebook comes packaged with an adventure, for the next episode of the adventure path.
one part of an ongoing adventure series. Between For more on gauging experience given, see the ac-
these two works, your campaigns can explore an ev- companying adventure.
er-widening world of intrigue and danger.
The Throne Of God—The adventure included World Threads and Adventure Seeds
with this sourcebook. In a story that spans 10,000 We’ve all been there. A GM tries to plan his next ad-
years, the players learn the lay of the land in the venture, and although he can find many things that
Mortal Realm and fight to find an ancient relic—a seem intriguing inside the game world, they have no
diamond splinter said to come from the throne of idea what will be explored in future sourcebooks. If
God Himself. they answer a mystery now, will they have continu-
The Festering Earth—The characters travel to ity problems if the answer doesn’t match a future
Felric’s Redoubt, the City-State. There, they must work from the publisher?
solve a series of murders before the serial killer There are two types of hooks in Echoes of Heav-
brings the entire place to its knees. en. World Threads are little intrigues about the
On Corrupted Ground—Still reeling from their world itself. Some will be explained to the GM, and
adventures in Felric’s Redoubt, the characters some will be withheld for future revelations. How-
must now delve into the heart of Hell on earth—
Uzarâg. Inside the fallen kingdom, it will take all
their skill, faith, and mettle to survive.

Our Philosophy
At Final Redoubt Press, we wish to bring high-qual-
ity products to gamers who need them. Starting with
characters ignorant of the world around them, play-
ers can discover the Mortal Realm even as the story
unfolds. With each new adventure, player and char-
acter alike will find a world rich in excitement and
adventure, as intriguing as their GM can make it.

An Ongoing Campaign
We’re aware that different games progress at many
different rates. Some groups play almost daily, and
some fight to meet once a month. Therefore, we’ve
tried to devise this world and this series for any rate
of play.

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ever, since these are world elements not marked as Demons walk the earth. An Ulcer is a center of hate
Adventure Seeds, the GM knows they might be ex- and evil, a nexus of two planes, where the fabric of
panded. The GM can still play with them and even reality thins and twists. An Ulcer is the beginning of
change and reveal them, but they know the risks of the end. It is a wound on the face of creation.
conflict with future supplements if they do. And if it isn’t healed fast, it becomes a fatal
The second type of hooks are Adventure Seeds. wound.
These are puzzles, mysteries, and problems that we at Inside Ulcers, reality breaks down. The Ulcer
Final Redoubt Press promise never to explore. Sup- takes aspects out of the dreams of the former in-
pose we state in an Adventure Seed that no King of habitants, the Demon who created it, or even those
Ludremon has lived longer than thirty years. In that who enter. An Ulcer can be wild and unpredictable,
case, a GM knows they can build adventures, in- if that’s its nature, but more often the changes are
trigues, and even entire campaigns around this puzzle, subtle and one doesn’t realize where they are until
and we will never do anything to dispute their answers. it’s too late.
That is not to say that a GM can’t touch World Threads;
they should just know the risk. Anything they do with a The Formation of Ulcers
World Thread might invalidate future material. No one is positive how a Devil or Demon creates
an Ulcer, but it is known they are connected to sin.
Ulcers (From Chapter 8) Ulcers feed on evil and, once formed, tend to flood
with Cambions or the dead. They fester and boil
Ulcers are the greatest threat to the Mortal Realm.
with foul life and a normal Mortal turns from domi-
The Gray Death is but a plague on Mortality. Ulcers
nation of the land into prey.
are a plague on the world itself.
Ulcers begin subtly. Nothing seems untoward
The Nature of Ulcers about the region at first. Then there is some hint.
Ulcers are perhaps the most important element The dead rise. The animals turn feral. The sun dims.
of play in The Echoes of Heaven. If the party is It is in these early days that it’s easiest to cleanse
a crusading group, Ulcers will likely be their first an Ulcer. Conversely, it’s also in these early days
and primary targets. Many adventures will likely in- the inhabitants are least likely to admit something
volve one in someway. is wrong. Some of this is denial, some superstition
When the Savior and the Four Prophets Sundered about naming evil. Most of it is the understandable
the world into Heaven, Hell, and the Mortal Realm, fear of what an outsider might do when they’re
it left the universe in a tiered pattern. Heaven, at the found out. This fear is justified.
highest, is the home of God, and God does not come As an Ulcer develops and enters its growth stage,
to Mortals, all Mortals must come first unto God. the effects become more pronounced. Often there
Only when they invite Him into their hearts can he are magical quirks. Sometimes the Ulcer cloaks it-
show them the way up. Always up. self in illusion. Strange formations might to grow.
But the depths of Hell strive to move up as well. The Demon or being who has attached himself to
The Devils, the Archdemons, the Dukes, and the the thing typically takes up residence, though he of-
common Demons all conspire against Mortality. ten uses disguises. The land shapes to the minds of
They strive and they plot and they tempt, and when the lord, the inhabitants, or both.
one is successful, he manages to open a wound in the If not stopped when it finishes its initial growth
fabric of the Mortal Realm. He creates Hell on earth. spurt, an Ulcer fully develops. At this point it be-
An Ulcer. comes “permanent.” Fully developed Ulcers are
An Ulcer is an infection in the fabric of Meridrin. only rarely, if ever, destroyed. Entire branches of
It’s a blight on the land and the people, a vortex of the Church seek Ulcers, cleansing them before they
sin and evil among sinners. In an Ulcer Mortals lan- ever get this far.
guish and die. The Nopheratus raises the dead and

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 One final note. Fully formed Ulcers do continue cate their lives to the hunt are relatively few. Those
to grow. The growth stage of an Ulcer refers to its who wipe out entire villages rather than seeking out
increase in power inside a fixed space. Once they the core of evil tend to lead much longer lives.
fully form, they spread, taking in land, and corrupt- Hopefully, the player characters will be made of
ing the areas around. Entire nations have fallen to nobler stuff than that.
Ulcers. It seems inevitable that one of these will Practically, it takes a great evil to perpetuate an
eventually devour the Mortal Realm. Ulcer. Most of the day-to-day evils of Mortal life
There is no set time line for the development of won’t do it. Evil lords and grasping moneylenders
an Ulcer, although a week for its birth and a few only rarely help anchor an Ulcer, but sometimes
months for its growth is typical. there is another great evil inside. It’s possible to de-
stroy all the Cambions and Undead in a place, only
Ulcers in Game Play to discover later that a serial killer or a Demon wor-
An Ulcer is the ultimate adventure site because in- shipper has lived there undetected for years.
side a growing Ulcer there is little that can’t hap- Destroying a fully formed Ulcer is trickier. At this
pen. That’s not to say that anything can happen in a point, killing everything evil inside is only the first
single given Ulcer. Ulcers each have a logic and an part, and the second is always unique to the Ulcer.
atmosphere of their own, and once it is set, they do Perhaps there is an object inside that needs to be
not vary. They aren’t bereft of natural laws. It’s just destroyed. Perhaps there is ground that needs to be
that any law can become natural in the early days. blessed or a grave that needs to be dug up and its
This allows a GM much latitude. Many types of contents burned. Every Ulcer is different and tied
classic RPG adventures are hard to rationalize in a re- intimately to its nature and history. If this is a fallen
alistic game. However, an Ulcer’s reality is the reality monastery of the Church, the answer might be in the
of Hell. If a GM wants to build an adventure around teachings of the monastery’s patron Saint. If this is
magical traps that are too elaborate to build one at a the manor of a lord, it might involve the lord’s dead
time, he can put a Demon with a love of the things at brother. If it’s a city, it might involve the founder, or
the center, and let them form from his will and imagi- the mayor, or the person who was most charitable
nation. To build an adventure around an unlikely in the city’s history. Every Ulcer is different. Only
amount of riddles, make the Ulcer inside the mansion investigation and empathy can find the answer.
of a man who studied riddles as his life’s passion. Once they have reached or surpassed the growth
Any type of adventure is possible inside an Ulcer: stage, destroyed Ulcers disappear violently. Typically,
typical roleplaying adventures, romances, tragedies, this consists of a rapid decrease of the Ulcer’s radius
comedies, hack and slay, horror. The sky’s the limit. with tremors and occasionally a strange magical effect.
People who destroy a growth Ulcer are typically near
Destroying an Ulcer the heart when this happens. Anyone too deep in the
Destroying an Ulcer is known as “cleansing.” As Ulcer during the collapse will stay there. This means
long as the Ulcer hasn’t fully formed, the method of they will end up following the Ulcer back to Hell. The
destroying one is simple: kill everything evil inside. amount of distance they must travel to get out depends
Unfortunately, this can be trickier than it looks. on the Ulcer, but halfway to two thirds of the way to
Since there is no simple way to detect evil in The the original edge is a good rule of thumb. Beyond that,
Echoes of Heaven, the easiest way to destroy an they can successfully dive out if they see the wall of
Ulcer is to simply kill every living thing. Unfortu- the Ulcer approaching (or just run out if they can’t).
nately, most people choose this path. It’s the method Destroyed Ulcers collapse quickly and spectacularly.
the Church condones among the questing Orders. There’s rarely time to loot and a dead run is the best
This is not a matter to take lightly, after all. While pace for escape.
it’s possible to surgically remove the evil from an
Ulcer, that evil is tricky and those willing to dedi-

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Magic and Ulcers A last note: Ulcers wreak havoc on divination
Again, everything can change from Ulcer to Ulcer, of any kind. The simplest divinations fail where
but for the most part, they don’t affect magic, except they’re involved. Almost nothing can see inside (or
in the fact they are more closely aligned to Hell the through a magical surface in an Ulcer). Generic div-
further they develop. A fully formed Ulcer is half inations sometimes work, but the dampening effects
Hell and half Mortal Realm. Whether this affects a of the Ulcer can even reach outside. If a madman is
spell has more to do with the nature of the spell and sabotaging an army because he’s been corrupted by
the rules at the GM’s table than any hard/fast setting the Demon inside an Ulcer, no direct divinations on
traits. For most GMs, it’s probably easiest to ignore the madman will likely work, even if the sabotage
this aspect in 90% of all Ulcers. happened outside.
One thing that is consistent, is that all Ulcers are
magical. Anyone with the ability to see magic can Ulcers in the Warrens
tell just by looking. At their beginnings, there might Ulcers develop in the Warrens as well as on the sur-
be one tiny locus for the Ulcer. When it enters its face. There are only two things that have kept this
growth phase, every surface inside the Ulcer will from destroying the world. . . .
read as magical. Also, Ulcers are corrupt. Any spell
that detects corruption (detect evil, for instance) Continued in The Echoes of Heaven
will spot the effect of the Ulcer’s magical field if Campaign Setting.
any part of it is in range.

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Setting Overview (From In the years after the Sundering, Bamon worked
and toiled, continuing his war against Heaven. But
Chapter 1) now there was an intermediary land, and here the
The Mortal Realm is a big place and the continent of forces of Heaven and Hell would fight future battles.
Belkanâth is only a fraction of it. Still, Belkanâth is Ulcers are infections in the fabric of the Mortal
the known world, cut off by impassable lands to the Realm where the laws of nature break down and all
north, deserts to the south, seas and barbarians to the horrors of the underworld seethe and grow. Ev-
the west, and the dragons of the Enârôz to the east. ery Ulcer is different. Some are built on the nature
Within these bounds civilization flourishes. of the demon who spawned them. Some are born
out of the hearts of those who once loved the land.
The Sundering Adventures inside Ulcers can be dungeon crawls,
Twelve thousand years ago there was no Mortal mysteries, puzzles, horror, and beyond. Since even
Realm and Hell was nothing more than a province the laws of the universe can break down inside, no
of Heaven. This was the golden age, when mortal adventure idea is too improbable. Anything is pos-
and angel alike worked side by side to create a so- sible in an Ulcer.
ciety of peace and progress. There was no hardship, An Ulcer in its early stages is simple to destroy...
no terror, and no war. in theory. One must merely kill every bit of true evil
Then the angel Bamon, once beloved of God, fell inside. The problem is knowing what is truly evil
from grace to the deadly sin of pride. He led a third and what is not. This is why the Church and most
of the Host of Heaven against God. Angel fought nations, when dealing with Ulcers, kill every single
angel. The mortal species threw in their lots on one thing inside. Once an Ulcer forms completely, they
side or the other, and for a millennium this war are almost impossible to destroy.
scarred the face of Heaven itself.
In the last days, it looked as if the Faithful had fi- The Church
nally triumphed. The final battle seemed a desperate The Church is monolithic, all-powerful. Not even
thrust from the fallen, an attempt to take the Throne the squabbling of its internal orders can diminish it.
of God itself. It seemed doomed to fail. It’s the source of all good and truth in the world, led
And then a second third of the Host fell. by an infallible and prophetic master, the Faerarch.
The forces of good crumbled. The Faithful died Or so the Church would have us believe.
under savage weapons. Only the Five Prophets, one There are actually six churches, but the biggest is
from each of the mortal species, saw this coming. the Church of Angenus, or simply the Church. This is
Only they had a plan. the human faith, those who believe the human Prophet
With a tremendous magical ritual, using the power Angenus (of the Five Prophets) was the leader of the
of God himself, they Sundered Heaven. The fallen Sundering and the divine Savior of mankind.
angels found themselves carried away to live in a Although each of the other mortal species be-
wasteland of pain and horror called Hell. The faith- lieves that their Prophet was the Savior, and they
ful Host remained in Heaven, to bask in the light of have their own churches dedicated to this faith, the
God. The mortals ended in the world between, the Church is the most powerful.
Mortal Realm of Meridrin. There, the history of his- The Church protects and guides. It is the shep-
tory itself was written. herd to the fold of mankind. The Church cares
This is the Mortal Realm. for mankind and hunts down evil and corruption
This is the battleground. wherever it is found, especially the corruption of
magic. Let the elves and the gnomes practice their
Ulcers heathen arts; the Church is there to protect the true
Hell has not sat idly by. followers of Angenus.
And they need protecting.

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The Divine and the Infernal Fiend to pieces slows it down as much as a mortal.
In the early days of the War in Heaven, the dwarves The effect just isn’t permanent.
were the first mortals to step forward and offer to The Great Fiends are the biggest continual threat
fight. Every dwarf was willing to take up the war and to mortality. When they rage out of their Ulcers,
God gave them all the divine spark, a spiritual en- even the greatest enemies combine forces to stop
dowment that made them hardier and stronger than them.
the original species of dwarves. humans and elves
stepped forward next, but not everyone in these spe- The Nopheratus
cies offered to fight. God gave only those few the No one knows what the Nopheratus is or from
divine spark, creating the species of exalted elf and whence it came. All they know is that it appeared
exalted human, amplifying the attributes of each of sometime during the War in Heaven, and with it
these species. came the power of necromancy.
The divine spark is a spiritual attribute, not a he- The Nopheratus is Bamon’s greatest ally. It wasn’t
reditary one. It’s impossible to determine which hu- an angel, and that’s all anyone knows for sure. It
man and elven children will bear the divine spark might be a force. It might be the essence of evil; it
and which won’t. might be as powerful as God himself (though sug-
But Bamon has a gift as well, the infernal taint. He gesting this is heresy). No one even knows if the
has given it to his most faithful, the fallen dwarves, Nopheratus is intelligent.
the fallen elves, and everything with corrupted The Nopheratus might well be the instigator of
blood. It’s the opposite of the divine spark. As the Bamon’s fall. It’s almost certainly the motive en-
infernal taint is usually possessed by entire species, ergy behind the formation of Ulcers. Even mortals
it is passed to all pure-blooded children. can access it with fell necromantic magicks.
These are the battle lines in the Mortal Realm. It The Nopheratus is everywhere.
might be impossible to see inside a man’s heart, but
the spark in his spirit can be obvious. Cambions
When a demon lies with a mortal, any progeny is a
Evil and Good cambion. There are five species of cambions, one for
The Mortal Realm is a place of intrigue and deceit. It each species of mortals. Hobgoblins are part human.
is impossible to detect the quality of a person’s soul. Orcs are part dwarf. Beastmen are part elf. Goblins are
While magic to detect spiritual energies does exist, part halfling. kobolds are part gnome.
it only detects the divine spark and the infernal taint. Cambions carry infernal blood. They rampage
While a person can lose either through their actions, and destroy, and they display the deadly sin most
this is still only a guess into the natures of his soul. tempting to their mortal half. If given their way,
In the end, only God is the true judge. they will destroy civilization.

Note: It might be your instinct, upon seeing the

The Great Fiends
word cambion, to look for a monster stat block.
When the last great Empire of man fell, it left be-
It’s important to remember that a cambion is
hind its mark on the world. There are five Great
not a specific species, but rather an entire cate-
Fiends, the Chaos, the Warlord, the Lich King, the
gory of creatures. There is no cambion monster,
Demon Queen, and the Siren. Each of these—ex-
as such.
cept the Chaos—controls a permanent Ulcer in the
world, and the Chaos is, in itself, an Ulcer.
The Great Fiends are the closest things to gods in
Nephilim
The second third of the Host fell to the sin of wan-
the Mortal Realm. Not even a saint has been able to
tonness. They took wives of the mortal species and
slay one. Still, they can be stopped. Hacking a Great
imitated the husbands of the married. The progeny
of these unholy unions were the nephilim.

-21-
 The nephilim are the species of giants: five mighty spells. This tells the caster which of these traits is
forces of death and destruction in the world. Where- present. If any other spells that detect alignment
as the cambions exemplify the five deadly sins, the are introduced to the game, they will only detect
nephilim stand in conflict between the sin and its these traits. The divine spark doesn’t indicate the
corresponding virtue, half fallen with corrupted moral standing of the person in question, but a
souls. There are five species of true giants, but other person can lose their divine spark by committing
minor versions such as ogres exist, corrupted out of enough evil acts.
the nephilim by the power of Ulcers. When a person sins enough to lose their divine
The nephilim are the first species born of evil, and spark, the body sinks, and the traits wane. The
when they die their souls become demons. As long presence of the divine spark might not prove any-
as they persist, the ranks of Hell will swell. thing, but its loss tells quite the story. Only the
most heinous offenders, such as serial killers and
The Divine Spark (From prolific demon worshipers, lose their divine spark.
For the most part, the divine spark has no other ef-
Chapter 2) fect on play. However, specific effects, particularly
When the original third of the Host fell, the dwarves involving Ulcers or monster attacks, have a greater
stood up and offered to fight. God smiled on this or lesser impact on those with a divine spark.
sacrifice and rewarded the dwarves with the di- Of final note is the infernal taint. Whereas the
vine spark: a flame of divinity carried within their divine spark is the same spiritual essence carried
hearts to aid them in battling evil. All dwarves, by an angel (albeit diluted), the infernal taint is the
regardless of sex and station, set aside their lives essence of a demon. Fallen species and cambions
and took up arms whenever the fallen threatened, all have the infernal taint.
and because of this, dwarves are born with the di-
vine spark to this day. The only exceptions are the The Five Deadly Sins (From
fallen dwarves, individuals so tainted by sin their
divine spark has vanished. Chapter 2)
The humans and elves volunteered next, but Because of their proximity to the first fall of angels,
only the bravest and noblest of these species vol- every species in the Mortal Realm bears the taint of
unteered. Unlike the dwarves, humans and elves sin. While this doesn’t doom them to Hell, it does
didn’t stop their entire society when the fallen ap- mean the species have certain inherent weaknesses.
proached, so only certain members of these species Any time a character confronts their deadly sin,
received the spark. To this day, all exalted humans they should roleplay this weakness. If the tempta-
and exalted elves carry the inner flame. tion is great enough (or magical enough) to warrant
Bearers of the divine spark tend to be larger than a roll, then the character receives disadvantage to
other members of their species, and their physical the saving throw.
attributes are closer to the cultural ideal. Exalted
humans are more robust than ordinary humans. Bastrin War College (From
Exalted elves are more noble than other elves. As
all normal dwarves carry the divine spark, most Chapter 5)
people drop the “Exalted” designation. Dwarves To stand on a wall. To fight the never-ending hordes
are simply dwarves (fallen dwarves exist, but don’t of orcs in Uzarâg. For some, these are the heights
usually interact with other species). There is noth- of warfare.
ing to compare them with, but it is assumed they But defenses fail, and armies inevitably take the
are more dwarven than Pre-War dwarves. field. Only the most talented officers and generals
One can detect the presence of a divine spark (or can stand against the Warlord.
infernal taint; see below) with detect evil and good The history of the struggles against Uzarâg is one
of attacks and feints. No patrols or defenses can

-22-
hold the Great Fiend inside his Ulcer; eventually, he is automatic for nobility and guild masters of major
attacks, and someone must put him back in his box. guildss, but the Council has the right to invite new
While bordering cities squat behind their defen- members. Thus, others can buy their way in with a
sive walls, armies range across the land: armies large bribe. The populace fills ten reserved spots with
whose sole goal is to destroy the orcish marauders. a general election.
Thus, was Bastrin War College established. The Council handles most of the city’s broad,
Over the years, the singular purpose has blurred. sweeping policy, but there’s the High Council for more
It has become a school of general warfare, empha- critical and time-sensitive tasks. The High Council
sizing fighting demons. Still, this is one of the pre- consists of ten members and the Mayor. The Council
miere strategy and tactics schools worldwide. The elects the High Council, and the High Council elects
cost is enormous (1,000 GP a term), but many no- the Mayor. One member of the High Council has to be
bles send their sons here to learn the ways of war. from the general election, but much of the infighting
Bastrin War College has a friendly rivalry with the in the Council comes from the swing of High Council
Premane War College. The two schools conduct a seats between lords and the guild masters.
series of war games every few
years to increase enrollment
and put the fire of competition
under the students.
Most students attend the
school only to pick up some
tactical, strategic, and logisti-
cal skills. Not many students
have the wherewithal to dedi-
cate their lives to the school,
with its cost and competitive
studies.
Those who do learn the ad-
vanced skills and wisdom
to lead armies in battle. The
world’s next crop of generals
will come from these ranks.
And rightly so.

Felric’s Redoubt
(From Chapter 4)
The ‘last’ free city. A capi-
talist stronghold ruled by a
council of guilds.

Name: The Free City of

Felric’s Redoubt.
Ruler: The Lord Mayor Eadic
Illéoding.
Government: Felric’s Redoubt
is essentially an oligarchy.
Membership on its Council

-23-
Capital: Felric’s Redoubt. The Sons of Almia (see chapter five) feel closely
Major Towns: Felric’s Redoubt (54,682). connected to Felric’s Redoubt, which shares the
Resources/Trade: Felric’s Redoubt is a trade power- same heritage as Æld. They base themselves se-
house. From their position on the Gulf of Orbean, they cretly in the city (it’s an open secret, as the Church
collect and distribute goods from all over Belkanâth. doesn’t condone the order, but the citizens do).
It’s a mark of prosperity for Maroldan merchant houses Church: The city chiefly follows the Church of
to have summer homes in or around Felric’s Redoubt. Angenus, but the churches of all the Saviors are
Felric’s Redoubt also benefits from its cosmopolitan represented, as is the Atavistic church (the Atavists
nature. Every species can be found inside its walls. have their section of town.) Only the pagan church-
Dwarven crafts, elven art, gnomish knowledge, and es are forbidden inside the city limits, but even they
halfling cooking are all readily available. often have small shrines outside the walls.
Population: 263,880, primarily humans but with a Allies: Ingrast, Mab, Ludremon, Marnele.
healthy sampling of all mortal species. Enemies: Uzarâg.
Languages: Ludremonian, Maroldo, Ældic, The History: In 521 AI, the Empire built the fortress
Divine Tongue, and many others. of Kerius on the site of Felric’s Redoubt. At the
Cultural Weapons: Swords, Bows. time, the Empire was worried about the elves
Overview: Felric’s Redoubt is a tightly packed, an- of Ingrast, who’d caught rumors of the Killing
cient city. The buildings have long since grown into Accord and seemed likely to revolt. In Kerius, the
one another, and when one falls, someone raises a Emperor placed a legion of his finest troops who
new one right on top of it. Some houses in Felric’s ranged around Ingrast and took prisoner any elf
Redoubt have five or more sets of foundations, and who moved farther than a bowshot from the for-
if one were to tear down the rear wall of most build- est’s borders.
ings in the slums, he’d find rotting walls of former After the declaration of the Cult of Eurustace as
buildings packed behind. Termites are a problem. the state religion, these orders progressed to the
Felric’s Redoubt is one of the few cities in Bel- murder of any elves that left the borders—a settle-
kanâth with extensive sewers. Dwarves built these ment formed to service the legion.
sewers during the early days of the city. They are The elves of Ingrast didn’t act at first. They could
palatial and can hide entire underground organiza- typically slip by the gauntlet and weren’t ready to
tions (which they do). The Ratcatchers’ Guild, for move against the Emperor, not with most of their
instance, headquarters inside the sewers. brethren withdrawing deeper and deeper into their
Felric’s Redoubt is also the site of a major insti- woods. The elves bided their time and waited.
tute of learning, Leondic University. This ancient Then, the Marshal began his war with the Em-
school teaches almost every purely academic sub- peror, and it seemed like the Empire might revolt.
ject. One used to be able to learn magic there as Ingrast prepared to launch an attack against Kerius,
well, but those sections of the University have shut but they were forced to leave a defensive force on
down, though there are rumors that certain criminal their entrance to the Emperor’s Roads. They at-
magic elements still use them at night. tacked, but the legion beat them back.
Felric’s Redoubt is known as the Last Free City Then, when all seemed lost, a body of knights as-
by the narcissistic people of central Belkanâth. saulted Kerius from the sea. The knights were hu-
Still, if one only considers the feudal lands in the mans dressed as legionnaires, and they tricked the
area, Felric’s Redoubt does have a remarkable lack legion into believing they were reinforcements.
of kings pushing its populace around. This is main- They seized the fortress and the town through
ly because they live within the shadow of the elven trickery, wiped out the legion, and built a bastion
kingdom of Ingrast, which has no wish to rule a against the Emperor in the west. The leader’s name
chiefly human population. was Felric, and the knights were the Order of the
Knights-Errant from the Sons of Almia.

-24-
 During the rest of the war, Felric held the city with a Duchesses of Hell. They rule under the brutal tyr-
contingent of archers from Ingrast. Renamed Felric’s anny of Bamon, the Dark Prince.
Redoubt, from here he launched attack after attack at
the Emperor’s legions. He should have lost because The Nephilim
of the Emperor’s Roads, but the Marshal took most The Sin of Wantonness caused the second Fall of
of the Emperor’s attention. Felric’s Redoubt held. Angels. These Angels laid with the daughters of
After the fall of the Empire, Felric’s Redoubt al- Mortality and begot children by them–the races of
lied with Saint Kûlan, drudging the depths of the giants, the Nephilim.
Sons of Almia to supply troops for battle against the In creating the Nephilim, Bamon accomplished
Great Fiends. From here, they launched reinforce- his greatest achievement. The Fallen Angels would
ments that held back the Demon Queen. From here, only dwindle in numbers from that time forward,
they sent expeditions that held the Lich King be- because God created no new Demons. But the
yond Shieldwall. From here, they fought the War- Nephilim could marry one-another and produce
lord, and it was on the walls of Felric’s Redoubt, at young. It was a race that could perpetuate itself.
a shrine now marked as holy by the dwarves, that The true importance of this achievement wasn’t
Kûlan took his fatal arrow. clear until the first Nephilim died. Its soul went to
Since then, Felric’s Redoubt has been a monu- Hell and became the first Demon. Suddenly, not
ment to human achievement in the West. It’s a fi- only did a race of evil walk the Mortal Realm, but
nancial monolith, a defensive bastion, and the only they swelled the ranks of the Infernal in Hell as
free city in “civilized” lands. well. Within a few generations, Demons outnum-
World Threads: For World Threads and more bered Devils.
Adventure Seeds for this settlement, see the upcom-
ing supplement The Last Free City. Demons
But not all Demons are the souls of dead Nephilim.
The Orders of the Infernal Some Demons, the Demons of Damnation, are not
necessarily of Infernal birth. These are the souls of
(From Chapter 8) dead Mortals or Cambions who achieved such a
Almost all the creatures of the Infernal share a com- greatness of evil in their lives that Bamon rewards
mon heritage, owing their origin back to Bamon’s them in death. They are infused with Infernal ener-
first moment of defiance. Here are the orders of gies through some unknown process, becoming full
Infernal creatures and their relationships. Demons. Some of them become so powerful and
are worshipped so widely they become the Infernal
Fallen Angels equivalent of Saints . . . the Archdemons.
God created the Angels, but Bamon created the
Infernal by corrupting the plan of God. He caused
the Falls of Angels, claiming two thirds of the Host
of Heaven by the end of the War. No one knows if
the Nopheratus has any connection to this Fall, but
by the end, the deed was done.

Devils
There are a finite number of Devils because there
were a finite number of Angels. Every Fallen Angel
that survived the War in Heaven ended in Hell af-
ter the Sundering. These are now the Devils of Hell
and many of them are powerful–the Dukes and

-25-
Cambions Ludremonians have a greater than normal sense
When a Demon lies with a Mortal, the resulting of self-entitlement. Old women in villages aren’t
child is a Cambion, a creature half Mortal and half afraid to tell off a noble. They might even thump
Demon. Cambions are the final level of the Infernal. him with their canes just a little. They love their ar-
The Cambions can mate with one another and re- istocracy and they don’t have aspirations of class-
produce, creating their own young. This makes climbing. Still, they aren’t above telling a lord he
them not only the final rank of Infernal, but the one “doesn’t know his arse from a pile of good winter
most numerous in the Mortal Realm. seed.” Unless he does, in which case they might
start talking down to their “farmer lord.”
Ludremonian People (From It can’t be stressed enough, though. Ludremoni-
ans respect their nobility. A village won’t storm a
Appendix 1) lord’s manor just because there’s something suspi-
Ludremonians are a friendly people who love to talk cious going on there, even if it seems wrong. They
and laugh and tell stories. They tend toward fierce might even present a united front against outsiders
patriotism and they love their Regent almost as provided the lord isn’t sacrificing virgins or some
much as their prince. Even centuries after the begin- other wicked act.
ning of the Curse, it’s still a major matter for discus- It’s probably this love for the aristocracy that
sion in taverns around the country. makes their rebellions, when they come, so terrible.
Ludremonians are a pious people, loving the They are peasants and the lord is the lord. If either
Church and defending and honoring their members. side violates his duties, the affront to Ludremonian
Abuse a priest in the streets of Ludremon and one is propriety will know no bounds. A lord who acts like
likely to end fighting a mob. Atavists are not loved, some pathetic merchant, or worse, like he’s a bad
but respected for their beliefs. Ludremonians have a Angian, is on borrowed time. A lord that doesn’t de-
muddled enough past to share a cosmopolitan out- fend his people or brings them direct harm is done.
look. A druid might not have a mob save him if he’s Above all, Ludremonians are scrappers. If some-
jumped in the streets, but the attacker will certainly one invades a village, they will find harsh resis-
be harried by Hey now’s and What’s all this then’s. tance. People who try to take candy from Ludremo-
The people won’t turn a blind eye and they’ll call a nian children will receive a savage kicking. An old
guard if that seems safe. man who finds his pocket picked is likely to punch
Ludremonians love foreigners (except for the the culprit in the throat.
Mab, the Keireenish, and the Marnench). They find Regent Scolyn is said (possibly apocryphally) to
Maroldan merchants interesting and exciting and have visited Marnele once while that king preened
even a pagan would likely be met by more interest for war. He showed the Regent his finest royal guard,
than hatred, although he’d have to withstand a bar- resplendent in polished breastplates and beautiful
rage of missionary efforts. uniforms. The King showed the Regent the men at
Ludremonians are hard to impress but they love drill and their marvelous skills on horse and in tour-
people who try. A good story, especially one that ney. He turned to the Regent and said, “These are
seems to be firsthand and true, will likely find many the finest two-hundred knights in the world. Do you
drink offers in a bar. A nice trick will find more. And
then competition. If the visitor doesn’t buy drinks
for other suitable stories or tricks, the offers will dry
up after a night or two, but he won’t meet hostility
or wear out his welcome. He’ll just become known
as “that damned miser.” The Ludremonians will say
it with a smile if that’s the person’s only offense.

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think you can find any five hundred of your country- a person’s character. The order does not accept dull-
men who could best them?” ards.
“Maybe not,” the Regent said, “but I’d bet any The test will also include a powerful moral ele-
fifty would try.” ment. Not everyone will agree on the right thing to
do, but the person’s character should become read-
The Illuminated (From Chapter 5) ily apparent.
There are shadows in the world. Some are deep The Illuminated stay behind the scenes. Most of
and endless, like the Coalition. Others are more ob- their agents are diplomats or advisors, and they po-
vious, like the Shadowed Legion. Some are random, sition themselves near kings, the heads of churches,
like the Sowers of Seeds, more a nuisance than a and other influential good personalities. Typically,
hindrance. However, all shadows need light to exist. these people do the Illuminated’s bidding without
For years, conspiracy theorists have denied the needing payment.
existence of the Coalition. Almost no one speaks of The Illuminated are a savvy group. They rarely
the rumors of the Illuminated, yet this ultra-power- need to reveal themselves directly, preferring to
ful organization is one of the most influential on the nudge those around them into doing what’s right.
planet. However, they are not without their defenses; some-
The Illuminated is a band of thinkers and strat- times, they go to war with the Coalition.
egists, high-minded and noble, who
stand behind the world and help keep it
whole. They are the primary opposition
of the Coalition, though it’s not sure if
even the Coalition knows they exist.
The Illuminated hold no armies and
control few agents. They do not have
the strict organization of the Coalition.
They act through diplomacy and manip-
ulation, rarely through direct force.
The only way to join the Illuminated
is to be selected by one of its members.
That member then presents the applicant
to a high-ranking Illuminated (though
the applicant probably has no idea any-
thing is happening). If they see promise
in the applicant, the high-ranking mem-
ber will devise a test for him.
The nature of this test will depend on
the applicant. A brilliant cripple won’t
face combat, whereas a scrappy fighter
with a heart of gold will probably not be
given mind-bending logic puzzles.
But they will be tested in whatever
capacity the Illuminated think they can
fill. There will always be tests of clev-
erness; all Illuminated must have sharp
minds, but tests can take many forms,
from mechanical aptitude to evaluating

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