Morality Plays of the World Above

 In the World Above, the Sun King lays a heavy hand on all aspects of life - in his eunomy, something can either be vaunted, controlled, illuminated, or banned, forbidden, Exiled. 

The theatre is no exception. When you say “actor”, the average law-abiding citizen will think of a charming Chantry officer selected for excellent memory, a clear voice and a likeable manner. Some actors become locally famous, receiving mock-Images and attending all the parties of the gentry. 

The Morality Plays are the perfect opposite of the masked theatre. 

Where masked theatre is improvised, morality plays are stiffly formal and heavily practised. Where masked theatre is crude and vernacular, morality plays are refined and formalised. Where masked theatre is purely for entertainment, the morality plays (naturally) have a different priority. Where masked theatre is open to anyone without something better to do, in the morality plays, only Chantry officers are allowed to step onto the stage. Where masked theatre uses improvised sets on anything tall, the morality plays have dedicated rooms and buildings, and a budget. Where masked theatre is performed in an almost guerilla manner, the morality plays sit firmly and comfortably ensconced within the halls of power. 

Lastly - if a masked play resembles another troupe’s play, then it’s an embarrassment, a waste of an evening and possibly grounds for a brawl. If a morality play does not resemble every other morality play of its type, it’s a failure, an aberration, and possibly the result of some internal Chantry mistake. Due to this, the canonical morality plays are some of the very rare cultural touchstones that are genuinely universal across the world. 

Despite that, it is impossible to repress the creative spirit of the actors and the stagers. A perfect reproduction of a play is impossible, so variance within a certain bound is allowed. This creates a gradient across the kingdom - a play put on in Xiata will be pretty similar to the same one put on in Dramyth, but will probably end up quite different in tone, if not content, from the same play put on in Chelborc. 

Still, some elements are non-negotiable. Actors depicting important figures are never masked, and never hatted either. There are strict rules for costuming - two general costumes for each part of the Kingdom, a man’s and a woman’s, which are usually accurate, if old-fashioned and overdecorated. For example, the Kelkoran Man’s costume is more accurate to what was worn in Okiri about the year 900, but it remains the costume, and probably will never be changed. Each Chantry office will have a couple of each type - they are never identical to each other, but always recognisably of a kind. 

In addition, various accoutrements create Noble, Outlaw, Military, Comital and Ducal variants of each local costume. Then, there are two Signatorial costumes, with accoutrements to indicate the Signatory’s place of origin. Then, there are hooded, nonspecific, drab costumes, worn by a group of five to eight silent actors, to represent a crowd, the Masses. Lastly, there are the Knights’ costumes. The Chantry cannot remove the revered and beloved status of Knights, they can only work around it. 

Cranes, pyrotechnics, loud noises, and other trickery, are thoroughly forbidden. No daimon ex machina. There is a chorus, who introduce, comment, explain and conclude. There are three musicians, who accompany given scenes with the appropriate music (musical notation is not classed as writing, you might be interested to know). 

Actors depicting spirits are always masked, and these masks usually depict expressionless human faces, or animals, and are plain and undecorated. With these, full-body black clothing, black shoes, black gloves, and a voluminous, silhouette-eating black cloak. Even a child in the Kingdom is dimly aware that there are differing kinds of spirits, but no distinction of Kin is made in the play, and very rarely is a title or name given. 

Plays are preserved and passed down as oral tradition, with the help of books of mnemonic images. If your Chantry office forgets a play, it is of course a terrible moral failing, but you can always send a courier to the Capital to receive a refresh on the canonical plays from the master record. 

There is a rhythm to the theatrical year - plays are shown on the last day of every second month, resulting in one in Spring, two in Summer, one in Autumn, and two in Winter. The last play of the year is on the last day of the year, and is always a much larger production - it melds smoothly into the general celebrations that take place at that time. 

Every Chantry office is given dispensation to develop their own morality plays - each individual town, valley or city district will have its own moral needs (and moral failings), of course, so each must have a carefully-considered program of moral education. However, there are twelve universal, canonical morality plays, which all Chantry Offices everywhere will put on. With six plays a year, you might expect to see three of the canonical ones and three of your own local Chantry’s ideas in a given year, and have a gap of about four years before any plays repeat. 

The twelve canonical morality plays are as follows: 

1. The Great Ship, or the Virtue of Initiative
   Set in 960, when the Seriasi Sea is bedevilled by pirates. It’s written up in more detail below.  

2. The Last Three Duels, or the Virtue of Honour
   Set in 1130, in Saral Sar, just before duelling is outlawed. A strange sort of piece, which simultaneously extols those who take steps to defend their honour, and condemns duelling as a stupid and outdated practice. Some Scribes suppose it was supposed to have whatever replaced duelling added in later, as a post facto thing, but nothing ever did. 

3. The Siege of Okiri, or the Virtue of Prowess

Set in 735, a dramatisation of the conquest of the Kelkoran capital, Okiri, by the forces of the King. A war story that ends in Royal victory. Has an unusual element - both General Nadejda Omaciw, a Zzargovi, and the Kelkoran Peshwa, Dipak-Arjun, are presented as possessing the eponymous virtue, and in a sympathetic or even tragic light. Popular for the swordfights. 

4. The Two Artists, or the Virtue of Beauty

Set in 1379 in the city of Chelborc, Two artists compete to paint the most beautiful portrait of the woman they are both suitors to, driving themselves half-crazy in the process. One resorts to the aid of a spirit, and is ruined, the other asks a scribe for help, and is driven mad, but both produce their portraits. Then (in a line aimed right at the audience), the woman’s mother says that neither portrait is as beautiful as her daughter, and sends both artists away. 

5. Signatory Kine Defeats the Pestilence, or the Virtue of Selflessness

Set in 1221, when the Pestilence sweeps Draad. It’s written up in more detail below.  

6. The Burning Years, or the The Virtue of Fortitude

Set 1008 in the city of Palav, during a time of revolt and unrest called the Burning Years. The Tower Knights’ fortress of Svelezot, which was in the middle of Palav, has been burnt down by a mob, and disorder rules the streets (this is a lie - in history, the army burned it down deliberately). The play is honestly sort of a crime drama, following Katrina Aulay, the head of the night watch of Palav, as she attempts to restore order and justice to the streets of Palav. Popular because of all the violence. 

7. Sven the Boat Builder, or the Virtue of Diligence

Set in 1315 in the city of Aikamo, while the city is experiencing a boom. The story of Sven, a good-hearted, uncomplicated, hard-working man who builds boats. While working, he saves a Signatory from thieves, then from murderous outlaws, without failing to complete his tasks. Eventually he marries the Signatory and becomes prosperous and successful. 

8. Young Edith or the Virtue of Chastity

Set in 1400 in the countryside outside Amdusay, in peaceful times. The story of Edith, a young village woman, resisting temptation, living virtuously and carefully navigating the dramas of her home village, and being rewarded for it. Masked players of a vulgar persuasion (so, all of them) and Scribes of a more comedic style occasionally employ the character of Young Edith in a manner intended to, ahem, satire the original moral message of her play.  

9. The Soft Spoken Signatory, or the Virtue of Propriety
   Set in 1380 in the Royal Capital, Irgavio Sol, in good times. Effectively a sort of comedy of manners, following the mild-mannered Signatory Kvast, who navigates through Signatorial life with utmost propriety (a rosy version of it, of course, but with some surprisingly satirical personalities). Light on plot, but (truthfully) pretty witty and funny. 

10. Tis Good to Gift, or the Virtue of Generosity
    Set 1240, in Saral Sar, in lean times. The protagonist, Count Rose of the (fictional) Nuinio County, gives out food and treasure to her subjects to protect them from the depredations of outlaws, mercenaries and spirits who would take advantage of this weakness. She is driven to bankruptcy and hunger by her generosity, but then a direct gift from the King reverses her fortunes and the fortunes of her people, and from then on they prosper. 

11. The Liars’ Reward, or the Virtue of Honesty
    Set in 1320, in the hills outside of Carathis and then spreading out from there. The story of a gang of thieves who steal a portion of the Duke’s treasures, but are caught one by one in various places. Each is sent to Exile, but the last thief, who admits his crime and turns himself in, is given a pardon by the local Chantry office. 

12. The Fall of the Knights, or the Virtue of Piety
    Set in 905, in various places, but primarily in the area of Valentia, in difficult, tragic times. A dramatisation of the Knights’ Rebellion from the Royal point of view. This is the only play which uses the Knights’ costumes. Presents the Knights as good and moral, but possessed and tricked by spirits, and presents them all either slain or Exiled, which is not accurate to history. 

I have written up two of these in more detail below, as illustrative examples of the type of production these things are. 

The Great Ship, or the Virtue of Initiative 

Sets:

• Rozendak Harbour

• Vel Sera Harbour

• At Sea

Characters:

• Dariusz Canario (Costume: Seriasi Man)
  A poor son of Rozendak. Possesses great initiative. 

• Portmaster Prudence Yi (Costume: Seriasi Woman, Noble)
  The master of the port of the Seriasi city of Rozendak. Holds grudges. 

• Captain Courage (Costume: Seriasi Man, Military)
  The elderly captain of the eponymous ship. 

• Portmaster Alfred Jin Unda (Costume: Dradian Man, Noble)
  The master of the port of the Dradian city of Vel Sera. Overly cautious. 

• Leah Edith Unda (Costume: Dradian Woman, Noble)
  The unmarried daughter of the Portmaster. Lonely. 

• Captain Sangue (Costume: Seriasi Woman, Outlaw)
  A notorious pirate of the Seriasi Sea. 

• The Masses, Ships’ Crews 

The Chorus tells us it is the year 960, and the Seriasi Sea is bedevilled by many pirates. Dariusz, a poor docker working in Rozendak, leaps to assist Portmaster Yi during an attack by the pirates led by Captain Sangue. Saving her life, he is rewarded with trust, and eventually a position upon the “Great Ship”, which sails back and forth between Rozendak and Vel Sera with important passengers, materials and messages. 

The ship is attacked by Captain Sangue, and Captain Courage is killed, but Dariusz leaps to take command of the scattered crew, and repels the pirates. They make it to Vel Sera, where he meets the overly cautious Portmaster Unda (and his daughter), who are tormented by the tribute Captain Sangue extracts from them and the city.

Dariusz leaps again, and takes the Great Ship back out, to hunt down Sangue, avenge Courage, and protect the city. He does so, and after an elaborately choreographed final fight, Sangue is slain and Dariusz returns a champion to Vel Sera, where he is made official captain of the Great Ship and marries Leah.  

The End. 

+++++++

Signatory Kine Defeats the Pestilence, or the Virtue of Selflessness 

Sets:

• The City of Dramyth

• The Palace of the Grand Duchess 

• Kine’s Hospital

Characters:

• Signatory Edward Jing Kine (Costume: Dradian Man, Signatory)
  A chirurgeon of Vel Index. Possesses great Selflessness. 

• The Masses, of the City of Dramyth 

• Two Nameless Chirurgeons (Costume: Seriasi Man and Dradian Woman, Signatories)

• High Chirurgeon Mallow Sakhri (Costume: Sarali Woman, Signatory)
  Head of the Needle Charter. Intelligent but overwhelmed. 

• Grand Duchess Jin Elizabeth Hongliang (Costume: Dradian Woman, Ducal) 
  Ruler of Draad. Noble but impatient. 

• A Spirit, Carrying a Brush 

The Chorus tells us it is the year 1221, and the City of Dramyth prospers. Six of the Masses dance to the music. Then, the Spirit enters and begins to “paint” each individual member with the brush they carry. As they are brushed, the Masses stop dancing, then begin to cough, and fall. The Chorus tells us that the Pestilence comes to the city. Some recover, due to the attention of the Chirurgeons (as the two nameless Chirurgeons come on and walk away two of the Masses), but most do not. The Masses who do not recover remain lying on the floor for the rest of the play. The spirit watches from the side of the stage. 

High Chirurgeon Sakhri bemoans that the Chirurgeons can only be in so many places at once. The Grand Duchess appears to chastise the High Chirurgeon, and demands that she work to remove the Pestilence from the city with greater fervour. While they speak, the spirit walks over and paints each with the brush, though neither reacts. 

The nameless Chirurgeons from earlier enter as the Grand Duchess and Sakhri exit, bringing the two recovered Masses. The Chorus explains we are entering the hospital of Signatory Kine, formerly his house. Kine is here, trying to treat the sick (the ones lying on the floor are arranged more neatly by Kine, but still do not rise). The Chirurgeons implore Kine to give up and flee the city with them - it’s a lost cause. Kine rejects this, and says that there must be some way to prevent the pestilence beyond just the miraculous powers of the Needle Charter. While they talk, the Spirit paints the two nameless chirurgeons with the brush. 

The Chorus tells us that the nobility, the signatories, and whoever else can, have begun to flee the city. But Kine remains behind to operate his hospital, regardless of the risk of death. He monologues to the audience his discoveries on the nature and origins of illness - this is how modern, or Kinean, medicine, is explained to the populace. After his monologue, the spirit approaches to paint Kine with the brush, but he holds up a hand, and the spirit silently retreats.

Kine cures the city with his new medical techniques. The Grand Duchess, in recognition of his selflessness, gives him an estate in the city so he no longer needs to sleep in the attic of his hospital. He converts this estate to be a second, even larger hospital. This is a real, true thing that the real Kine actually did, and not even Chantry propaganda. In recognition of his revolutions of medicine, Sakhri makes Kine the new High Chirurgeon and retires. 

The End. 

From Yore (Arctic Monsters from Firmament)

 The coldest place in the World Above is Ayfen, the Province of Winter, a region of Outer Magnos cloaked in, well, winter. It gets only barely warm at the height of Summer, and is snowy for most of the year. Some Signatories believe the cold of Ayfen is what keeps Zzargod chilly and Magnos rainy, unlike the rest of the (warmer) World Above. These same Signatories point out that high, dry and hot Saral Sar lies at the opposite side of the disc from Ayfen. 

Anyway, that’s a digression. Ayfen is neither arctic enough nor monstrous enough for an arctic bandwagon. 

The coldest place in the World Below is Yore, a vast and blasted land lying at the foot of the Marble Mountain in the uttermost north of creation. Ancient chaoskampf struggles dug great gouges into the land, and ice lies in sheets as tall as houses. Powerful Stellar spirits keep distant retreats in Yore, for it is a little-inhabited place, only occasionally traversed. The only people who reside here permanently are the reclusive and scholarly Udvarli, who burn the half-petrified remains of ancient buried forests for warmth, and study soteriology. 

MONSTERS FROM YORE

Chroniclers 

7HD (42HP), AC17 (Steel and Stone), Morale 6 (Must Preserve the Data) 

The great spirit called History spends Autumn and Winter in Yore, so their servants can be found here, too. Fifteen-foot tall lumbering statues, made of black stone and steel, rimed with frost. Their searchlight eyes can be seen sweeping the blizzard-darkness of Yore at deep midnight. Each has a uniquely-designed face-mask of finely-machined black steel bolted onto their iron-cage heads, which hiss out freezing vapour from the cavern of their bodies. Their barrel chests open like massive steel doors. 

No. Appearing: 1d2 (1d6 near the Tower of History) 

Movement: Slow, inexorable steps, which shake earth and shatter ice.  

Senses: Sight like a telescope, excellent hearing, dull touch. No smell or taste. 

Morality: Curious, patient, alien - prioritise recording and preserving history even over human life. 

Intelligence: Very high, but nonverbal. Intelligent enough to judge the best targets for its Maddening Beam with a minute of observation. 

Attacks: Maddening Beam, then 2x Punch, usually not on the same target. The Chronicler’s head can revolve 360°. 

• Punch - +7 to Hit, 2d8+4 bludgeoning damage. 

• Maddening Beam - The Chronicler gazes at a given target at the start of its turn. This target gains 1d6 Information Overload. Creatures with 4HD or more may save to not gain it. If Information Overload ever exceeds the target’s WIS score, they take 6d6 mental damage, and for the next 1d6 days they are: (1. Confused 2. Blinded 3. Always Lost 4. Paranoid 5. Obsessive 6. Full of Trivia). Reading a new book clears 1d6 Information Overload. Writing down what's in your mind clears 2d6 Information Overload, and might end up being indirectly helpful.

Magic: Chroniclers are omniliterate, like scribes. They can instantly “print” words that they see onto metal contained inside their internal storage. 

Internal Storage —Chroniclers can carry up to 60 slots of equipment in their chest. Things carried inside a Chronicler are suspended perfectly, frozen and unable to decay. People are 10 slots big, and if they are inside when the doors shut, they begin to fall into suspended animation - save to resist this for a minute, but it is inexorable. They mostly use this to retrieve texts, artefacts and people of interest for their creator. They usually have 10 slots of metal plates, for “printing” on - they prefer to take the original text and make a copy. 

Durable Form — Chronicles take minimum damage from fire, cold and mundane weaponry. 

Fragmentines

8HD (48HP), AC14 (Hard Crystal), Morale 6 (Not Entirely Brave) 

Resembles something like a 10ft wide spider or crab, made entirely of jagged, harsh, brightly-glinting crystal. In its body, shadows seem darker, and light seems brighter. They say you can see a different world through lenses of fragmentine glass - but, well, you can go and harvest the glass yourself, thanks.

No. Appearing: 1 (1d4 in the Fractal Fragment Fields) 

Movement: Speedy scuttle, stops and starts, never moves in a directly straight line. Always approaches on the angle. Does not like to be near living creatures. 

Senses: Excellent sight, can see like a telescope or a microscope, can see forbidden colours and see heat. No other senses. 

Morality: Alien, cruel, territorial. Oddly histrionic. 

Intelligence: Despite it all, no more intelligent than a human being. 

Attacks: 2x Beam or Scintillate, then a Stab, reluctantly, if anyone is in melee range. 

• Beam - Automatic Hit, Deflected by Mirrors, 2d8 light damage. Effectively infinite range. 

• Scintillate - Everyone who can see the Fragmentine must save or be blinded for 1d6 rounds. 

• Stab - +5 to Hit, 1d8+3 Piercing 

Light Eater — Fragmentines kept in total darkness for three days straight will slump over and become dormant. A dormant Fragmentine will be reawakened even by the glint of a candle, but only for a short time. They require having eaten sunlight that day to use their Beam or their Scintillate. Fragmentines are very territorial of high-up places that get good and regular sunlight, which are thankfully quite plentiful in Yore. These high-up feeding platforms also make for excellent beam-artillery-towers. 

Icewrite Penguins 

3HD (15HP), AC14 (Thick Feathers), Morale 6 (Animal) 

On the shores of the frozen Icewrite Sea, you shall encounter penguins like no other. Well, if you’re from the World Above, you’ve probably never seen a penguin before in your life - so you have no point of comparison. All the same - these ones are eight feet in height, white-bellied with butter-yellow backs and goldenrod beaks. Their eyes are a bright green, and seem strangely perceptive for such inelegant things. 

No. Appearing: 4d6 (If a dice rolls 1-3, then there are 1-3 1HD fledglings in the huddle). 

Movement: As huge, heavy penguins. 

Senses: Decent sight, muffled hearing, good sense of smell and taste. Can sense incoming storms and blizzards 3 days in advance. Have some unclear way to navigate around the Icewrite Sea without difficulty. 

Morality: Flock-centric. Very protective of their young, but otherwise curious, placid, even jovial. 

Intelligence: Low. :) 

Attacks: Peck - +3 to Hit, 1d8 damage, 3d6 on a critical. 

Reverberating Sound — A given Penguin can use its turn to create a deep, warbling vocalisation, in one of two tones. At a high tone, it causes other nearby Penguins to approach, ready for a fight, and causes a sharp pain in the earth, dealing 1d2 nonlethal sound damage to all non-penguins nearby. At a low tone, it causes nearby Penguins to flee from the source of the vocalisation, and causes visual hallucinations of ripples and shimmers in the air, giving -2 to hit with ranged weaponry in earshot. 

Farwalkers 

10HD (50HP), AC14 (Thick Feathers), Morale 11 (Brave and Careless) 

Huge, semi-humanoid figures. They have massive, muscle-bunched shoulders, overlong furred arms, massive white wings sprouting from their middle back, furred legs like a big-cat’s, a spine-covered tail, and a strange, fang-filled, animalistic face. They are the strange creations of an ancient long-gone spirit, their numbers never to be replenished, slowly vanishing from the world. But until they do, they shall make the world remember them. 

No. Appearing: Always Solitary. 

Movement: Languid loping walk, rapid all-fours run, speedy flight, or Wind Walk (see below). 

Senses: Excellent sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Sight unimpeded by weather or water. Can shut their eyes to see the surroundings as if from five miles above their own heads. The winds bring them sounds, giving them preternatural hearing within a mile. 

Morality: Proud, hot-headed, tempestuous, resentful of the world, intent on making a mark. Ultimately kind to the meek, and generous to the needy. 

Intelligence: High, but focused on practical matters, understanding the world and problem-solving. Not particularly well-read, and occasionally amusingly forgetful. 

Attacks: 2x of Clawstrike, Twister or Windflaw, then Call Lightning.

• Clawstrike - +10 to Hit, 3d6+6 damage. If any dice shows a six, the Farwalker automatically grapples the target in its catching claws.

• Twister - In an area 10' in diameter, all unsecured creatures must save or be picked up and flung 20' vertical by a sudden twister.

• Windflaw - Target creature and everyone next to them gets launched 50' in a direction of the Farwalker's choice by a sudden, violent gust. Creatures in contact with the ground may save to stay where they are. Often combined with Twisters to great effect.

• Call Lightning - At the start of the Farwalker's next turn, target creature is struck by lightning, taking 6d6 damage. This can harm even spirits. Creatures with some protection against lightning can save for half, but this is not common.

Magic: Farwalkers can speak many long-forgotten languages, and remember the very ancient past. If they like you, they may bless you with alacrity (re-roll DEX until it's higher). They can purify water with a touch, and are never lost. They can also send their voices on the wind, effectively allowing them to directly converse with anyone within a mile radius. Some Farwalkers also have MD, and keep the acquaintance of ancient spirits.

Wind Walk — Farwalkers can focus for a minute to discoporate and become a roaring free-flying wind, which can move at up to 120mph in any direction, but cannot stop in place. They can bear grappled creatures and unsecured objects along in the gust.

Stormbringer — In Yore, Farwalkers are always accompanied by a heavy blizzard about three miles in diameter, centred on their position. If they Wind Walk, the storm instantly dissipates, then reforms at their new location. Elsewhere in the world, Farwalkers are accompanied by thunderstorms, sandstorms, or stranger weather. 

Breathtakers 

6HD (30HP), AC10 (Vapour), Morale 3 (Not Used to Harm) 

At rest, resemble a shimmering pale human silhouette with ice-glint eyes. In motion, a cloud of roiling vapour shot through with rainbow scintillations. Invisible in snowstorms. These beings are born from the otherworldly Cave of Vapours which bores into the side of the Marble Mountain. 

No. Appearing: 1d3

Movement: As a running human, sometimes, but most often as windborne vapour. 

Senses: Dull sight, 100’ radius sense heat, otherwise, guided by vague instinct. 

Morality: Don’t understand the value of life, desire heat above all else, will happily murder to get it. 

Intelligence: Impossible to tell, but they’re smart enough to work to foil countermeasures against them. 

Attacks: Freezing Touch - Target saves or takes 3d6 cold damage. If the save is 5 or less, they also become unable to breathe properly for 1d6 rounds (winded, I suppose), unable to undertake strenuous activity. Running from a Breathtaker is strenuous. If the save is a fumble, the touched body part (use a hit location table) is dismembered or disfigured, as appropriate, as the skin and/or flesh freezes and/or shatters. 

Magic: Breathtakers extinguish fires smaller than them instantly by a touch, and can slowly drain larger fires in them-sized increments, at a speed of one per round. 

Heat Eater — If a Breathtaker goes a month without stealing heat from a fire or a living creature, they coalesce into a human-shaped block of ice, and die. Fires are much better sources of heat than people, and Breathtakers will always prioritise them. 

Vapour — Breathtakers are immune to mundane weaponry.

Marmoreals

5HD (30HP), AC16 (Marble), Morale 9 (Spirited) 

Strange genomoi born from Yuzha, one of the Pillars of the Earth. They surface through the slopes of the Marble Mountain and clad themselves in the white stone, before tumbling down the slopes, gathering snow as they go. The Marmoreals wander Yore compulsively, alone or in pairs, seeking great truths. They resemble slender youths of symmetrical proportion carven from pure marble, with shining white eyes. From afar, they cut bizarre figures, for their gauzy, light clothing does not at all suit the weather. 

No. Appearing: 1d2 (At a rare festival gathering, 3d6 in one place) 

Movement: Nimble but thunderous, quick but with a great deal of momentum. 

Senses: Slightly better than human. 

Morality: Mostly as human, but they have an instinct to examine the unknown and to range widely, and despise things which oppose those instincts. 

Intelligence: As human. 

Attacks: Varies based on equipment, but generally, x2 a turn with +5 to hit. 

Magic: Marmoreals have Earth Glide, and two other abilities from the following list. They can use each once, then need to meditate underground for 24 hours to regenerate them:

0. Earth Glide - For the next hour, the Marmoreal can move through soil and stone as though it was water. With no need to breathe and no fear of the earth, they will happily use this to comfortably bury themselves if the need arises. 

1. Tallow-of-yuzha - With ten minutes, they can create 5 slots of this substance, which is an oily, white, shiny, almost buttery mineral substance. When lit, it burns like a road flare, blinding spirits that look into the flame. The smoke produced causes hallucinations and vomiting in humans and animals, and long term exposure causes bouts of rage and ennui.

2. Chemical Breath - They exhale a 30’ cone of chemical vapour, which would also rapidly fill a closed room. Anyone breathing it in takes 2d6 acid damage, and must save or be blinded and winded for 1d6 minutes. 

3. Crystalline Eye - A third eye opens on their forehead, which glimmers with rainbow colours, and casts soft beams of light out ahead like a bullseye lantern. This allows them to see in the dark, and also to see even hidden spirits. The Eye can read like a Scribe can. 

4. Stone Shape - At their shouted command, up to 20 slots of rock reshape over the course of 1d4 rounds into any form they desire. 

5. Create Gemstones - With an hour, they can turn 20 slots of rock into a ⅓-slot sized gemstone, worth 2d6*100 talents. They use these for the purposes of bribery, and never perform the process in front of witnesses. 

6. Alloy Master - With ten minutes, they can heatlessly fuse the correct proportions of any two metals into their secret alloys. They love doing this, and show off the process to everyone, spinning the metal in their hands like bread dough. 

Equipment — Roll 1d10 - on a roll of 1-2, the Marmoreal has no equipment.
3-5 indicates the Marmoreal is armed with white steel weaponry, which absorbs light, then glows in the dark. Marmoreals favour light triangular daggers and medium flanged maces.
6-8 indicates the Marmoreal also wears pristine, angular armour of white steel, raising their AC to 18.
9-10 indicates they also possess one of the following:

1. Chamakna Sword - A heavy triangle-bladed greatsword of rainbow-scintillating chamakna, a crystalline alloy born of Yuzha. Has +2 to hit and damage, gives the wielder +2 to saves vs. magic, and can be used to attempt to blind someone with its scintillations. 

2. Lead-of-Yuzha Bombs - Carven marble canisters. Filled with powdered lead-of-yuzha and a “fuse” of pressurised oil which is hypergolic with cold air. The bombs explode for 5d6 when flung at a target, losing 1d6 damage per 10’ of distance from the blast. Those aware the bomb is coming may save for half. 

3. Combinant Stars - Multimetallic objects resembling gigantic caltrops. When flung, they burst into ~100 caltrops of various metals and materials, which scatter over an area 20’ in radius. 

4. Stopping Flute - The eerie piping of this instrument paralyses wild animals and makes intelligent beings sluggish and lethargic. 

5. Glintpoint Darts - Long steel darts tipped with a point of shimmering, shifting radiance. Ignore metal armour, flying through it as if it were air. 

6. Mirror Shield - Hexagonal metal shield with a brilliant mirror finish. In it, the world is shown shimmering with a subtle, oil-sheen rainbow. With a save, allows the wielder to deflect spells, causing them to hit a random target instead of you. If the total of the save is 20 or higher, the spell is bounced back to the caster. 

Living Stone —Marmoreals take minimum damage from fire and cold, and half damage from weaponry and lightning. They feel nothing from environmental cold. They have no need to breathe, eat or sleep. 

Outlaws 

4HD (20HP), AC10 (Rags), Morale 13 (Hate Life) 

Sometimes, Udvarli who break their taboos, defile their sacred places, or offend the powers above, become these things - frostbitten hands and feet, torn clothing, bone spines protruding from their skin, and eyes filled with concentric rings of rainbow colour.  

No. Appearing: Always Solitary. 

Movement: As a sickly human with bad legs - except, tireless, unslowed by ice, unsleeping. 

Senses: Dull versions of human senses, 

Morality: Evil as fucking hell. Cruel, too - they like to kill people by stealing their warm clothing and watching them freeze. 

Intelligence: As a drunk human being with a head wound, usually.  

Attacks: 

• Claw - +5 to Hit, 1d8+2,  +1d6 damage to the unaware or those in a position of disadvantage. 

• Foul Breath - The Outlaw exhales a horrid black cloud that rapidly expands, filling an area up to 100’ in diameter. It hangs around for a few hours, or a few minutes in high winds. Anyone inside the cloud cannot speak and must save or lose the ability to do anything but try to flee to the edge of the cloud through the shortest route, regardless of danger. No matter the danger, being inside the cloying psychic rot of the cloud is worse. Anyone successfully held in a cloud for an hour or longer must save or turn into another Outlaw. 

Magic: Outlaws are mostly invisible in darkness. If you make eye contact with an Outlaw, you must save, or be paralysed. 

Sun-Hated — Outlaws take 1HD of damage per round of direct exposure to sunlight. 

Outlaws encountered near the ruins of the great temple-city of Citanadi come in groups of 2d6, wear ancient rusted armour that gives them 14AC, and wield spears tipped with sharpened antlers. 

Carven Ivories 

5HD (25HP), AC14 2DR (Bone), Morale 9 (Mad, Shrieking) 

Eerie eidolons left-over from a different time. When the Udvarli were mighty and cruel, they made these things to extend their reach, but now they are humble and peace-loving, and the ivories haunt them - spectres of their mothers’ mothers’ mothers’ sins. A long-limbed humanoid shape made of animal skulls, narwhal ivory and whalebone, bound with sinew. They have a carven-bone face shaped into a grotesque screaming face, and from their shoulders sprout strange wings made of tied branching antlers. 

No. Appearing: 1d3* 

Movement: Inexplicable silent creepy flight, stilted walking, all-fours crawl when speed is needed.

Senses: Excellent sight, dull hearing, no smell, taste or touch. Sense hate, sense fear. 

Morality: Little to none. They were created to be remorseless killers, and, so they are. 

Intelligence: Limited, but cunning, able to lay traps, ambush others, and coordinate with each other. 

Attacks: 

• Piercing Claw - +6 to Hit, 1d8+4 Piercing Damage. Max damage or critical hits will either disable a limb or destroy something in the target’s inventory, player’s choice. 

• Sinew Twist - Target creature saves or becomes unable to attack or run until the Ivory that used this ability has suffered 6 or more damage. 

Magic: The Ivories can perfectly imitate voices they have heard. 

Horrible Shriek — When Initiative is rolled, each present Ivory lets out a nightmarish, ear-splitting, almost electrical shriek. Anyone who can hear it becomes frightened, and cannot approach the Ivories. If you have heard it before, you may save, with a -1 Penalty per Ivory present beyond the first. 

Eidolon — No need to breathe, eat, or sleep. Immune to poison and the cold. 

Shimmershells 

9HD (45HP), AC18 (Thick Chitin), Morale 11 (Tyrannical) 

Crustaceans the size of a wagon with semi-spherical shells, spiny crablike legs and an underside thickly coated in “fur”. They live in their hundreds on the bottom of the Icewrite Sea, but females will make solitary pilgrimages onto land to lay clusters of head-sized eggs on high snowfields. I think “solitary pilgrimage” is maybe too sympathetic of a phrase - believe me, the expectant Shimmershell mothers are not the ones in danger. 

No. Appearing: Always Solitary (but see Zoea). 

Movement: As a very heavy crab. 

Senses: Dim sight, little hearing, excellent sense of taste, no smell, 1000’ radius sense heat. 

Morality: Territorial, aggressive, swaggering. 

Intelligence: Dim cunning. 

Attacks: 2x Claw then 2x Leg, or Charge

• Claw - +7 to Hit, 2d6+4 slashing.

• Leg - +8 to Hit, 2d4+2 piercing. 

• Charge - A fury of shimmering legs. Target and all next to them must save or be pinned and take 4d8+8 damage. Requires a runup. The Shimmershell will switch to Claws and Legs on pinned targets. 

Shimmering Shell — Beautiful nacreous rainbow. Halve the [sum] of spells targeted against the Shimmershell. It is impossible to judge distance from them in a snowstorm or blinding white noon. 

Eggs — Shimmershell eggs have an inch-thick layer of hard, leathery slime, and on top of that, a coating of protective ice. 

Zoea — Juvenile Shimmershells lack the shimmer, lack the shell, and generally don’t resemble the adults at all. They’re only 1HD and about the size of your face. They have spidery, fuzzy legs, and nasty pinching claws. All they desire is to scuttle back to the Icewrite Sea, where they can begin to grow, but unfortunately, most animals in Yore find them delicious. They move in groups of 10d6 or more, hoping to survive by numbers. Of those who live in or pass through Yore, only the servants of History, and the Udvarli, understand that the “fuzz crabs” are actually juvenile Shimmershells. 

Patient Dreamers 

4HD (20HP), AC16 (Thick Ice), Morale 6 (Prioritise Self-Preservation) 

Ancient Udvarli queens from an earlier chapter of history. In this time, the Udvarli were foes of the Star Spirits that came to Yore, and were worshippers of the Moon. That era is long gone, but ever-dreaming mystics lie entombed in their ice-coffins, suspended at the line between dead and alive by Lunar energies. 

No. Appearing: Always Solitary. 

Movement: Nil. (As human, if thawed out). 

Senses: Can perceive as if scrying anywhere within a mile of their tomb, but otherwise, none. 

Morality: Proud, haughty, occasionally cruel. Have a queen’s detachment. 

Intelligence: As a very well-educated, well-read human. 

Attacks: None, but see below. 

Magic: 4MD | Each Patient Dreamer is a Lunar Astrologer, and knows 2d6 Spell Spirits, who they can invoke anywhere they can perceive around their tomb. 

Ice Coffin - Each Patient Dreamer is sealed in an energy-suffused sarcophagus of ever-melting, ever-freezing, ever-reforming ice. They can voluntarily leave them, but are loath to do so, for they each only have a few weeks of motion and life left to them. They prefer to send forth Oneiroi, or loyal Udvarli warriors. 

Oneiros Conjuror — Every Patient Dreamer is served by up to 10HD of Oneiroi, dream-monsters, born from her own ambitions, nightmares and desires. If these Oneiroi are destroyed, it takes three days of dreaming each to recreate them. They can range as far from her tomb as she desires, but are universally destroyed by Sunlight. 

Ascension — Every Patient Dreamer has 15+1d4 Ascension, if it comes up. Entombed Dreamers cannot gain any more Ascension. 

Dungeon Master - Each Patient Dreamer is ensconced safely at the bottom of a fortified tomb-complex, filled with other monsters, Carven Ivories, Lunar strangeness, hungry dreams, and spike traps. Generally speaking, Early Royal Udvarli queens have 3-floor tombs, Middle Royal Udvarli have 7-floor, and Late Royal Udvarli have 4-floor tombs. 

Oh and, the spirit Winter has a palace in Yore, so of course her handmaidens, the Khiones, can be found there.