Writing/Illustration—Grimoire Campaign Setting

•

In June of 2015, Drop Dead Studios held a contest requesting submissions for sample worlds based on their new supplement, Spheres of Power. My submission, Grimoire, won the contest and is currently available along with two other sample worlds in the downloadable PDF Worlds of Power from Paizo.com, DriveThruRPG.com, and the Open Gaming Store. Below are some samples of the finished PDF, featuring my original art and writing. Layout and design by Drop Dead Studios.

WORLD OF GRIMOIRE

History
In the beginning, the animals of Athanasia knew of neither humans nor spellcasting. Then, the Strangers—semi-divine beings from another world—came and taught the animals how to harness mana and bend it to their will. Since that time magic has criss-crossed the land in rivers called ley-lines, fueling magic for both good and ill.
Thus empowered, the animals all began changing their shapes to look more like the Strangers, each to varying degrees of success. Those who achieved the transformation perfectly became known as humans, a race favored by the Strangers. Since the Cataclysm, however, the knowledge of how to change one’s shape has begun to fade, and the animal races remain in their hybrid states.
Magic is still available, however, waiting for those who discover their connection to it. Some seek out writings of Strange Wisdom and words of power; these are known as mages. Others find that magic literally flows from their souls like the ley-lines; these call themselves wunderkinder. Shamans commune with the world of spirits, especially those of their ancestors who learned wisdom from the Strangers. The dendrites believe they are the Strangers’ literal children, and are reborn century after century to ensure that Athanasia’s fate is guided by the Strangers’ will. Finally, exemplars make oaths to powerful beings in exchange for their magic, whether they devote themselves to a Stranger of Light or Darkness, or to the World Soul—the very spirit of Athanasia—thus harnessing its primal elements.
Athanasia itself is a young world, full of new beginnings. The first kingdom, Euzoria, was formed only a few hundred years ago. Euzoria is the home of humans, with the rest of Athanasia’s animal races living in their own communities. Thanks to the wisdom of the Strangers the denizens of Athanasia have enjoyed relative peace. But that peace is not without growing pains.
The córeans roost at Bristlebane, at the height of Mount Córea. Meanwhile their rivals, the seraphim, occupy the Pirium Spire, floating over the Eye of the World. The leonians roam the Ranai Forest, the sirens swim the Siren’s Sea, and the bóreans remain secluded in their tunnels near the outskirts of the Eye of the World. Many other animal races dot the planet, such as the merrows, draconians, ranai, and fenrir.
While none of the animal races share the organized government peculiar to humans, they are no less loyal to their own kind. Members of the animal races follow communally-respected leaders for as long as they remain relevant, and then govern their own local tribes internally when there is no immediate need for regional coordination. This has resulted in most of the animal races remaining localized to their own homelands, while the humans explore and expand year after year, spreading across most of the known world.

The Cataclysm
Thought to have been the result of a Stranger’s single word of condemnation, Athanasia was cracked like an egg roughly 400 years ago, creating a chasm from the Siren’s Sea to the North Axis, forming an ever-descending river into the Great Chasm’s depths. The North Axis itself was scooped away from the rest of the planet and flung into orbit where it now serves as Athanasia’s only moon. The resulting crater is now known as the Eye of the World.
The Cataclysm resulted in more than just devastation, however. The Eye of the World itself contains hundreds of miles of exposed pirium ore, a relatively rare substance in Athanasia. Known to turn black in the presence of daylight and shine with a silvery golden glow in the darkness, pirium is closely guarded by the seraphim, who only permit the bóreans to mine it. Magical experiments have revealed that pirium’s raw form shares a similar relationship with mana as it does with light, creating negative magic zones where mana is plentiful, and shedding forth an abundance of mana where none would normally be available.
In addition, the Cataclysm is said to have woken the Stone Spirits, who have slumbered since before the Advent of the Strangers. The soul of each Stone Spirit is housed inside its core gem, out of which it can also perceive the physical world, like an eye. Evidently nothing more than a collection of stones held into a vaguely human shape by force of will, some Stone Spirits are the size of a pet, while the greatest are larger than a castle. Unable to speak, the Spirits have not made their agenda known to the denizens of Athanasia, but they always seem to be present when significant events transpire. Word has it they can be killed, however, and there are some who seek to destroy the Spirits before they can enact their allegedly treacherous plans...

To read more about Grimoire, please purchase the full PDF, published by Drop Dead Studios!