"...Ah. Revered ancestor...? No. A formless spirit. I welcome you to my humble abode. Take what you will of my offerings. You will find that the other Spirit-Speakers cannot measure up in that regard, I assure you. You may not be one of the revered, but no doubt you have some knowledge that we do not? Surely we can trade.

You seem confused. Would you care to know about the nation you've stumbled upon? My profession demands I know much about Lithra and its long, labyrinthine history, so that we might understand who we, well, Speak with! Of course, there are some things that any man knows...

Lithra and its peoples:

-Know that to not learn from the past is to be doomed to repeat it.

-Fear outsiders, with what we see as good reason, with few exceptions.

-Look to the wisdom of our elders and ancestors for hope.

-Know that the best way to support ourselves is to force competition between us all.

-Believe that some things are sacred. The dead remain such, and their shrines are great. We would not force our ancestors to return to their departed mortal coils.

-Believe that power should lie with all who care to use it, not with any few men. After all, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Therefore, we choose new leaders from a vote of every citizen every year.

-Suspect our authority's attempts to maintain order. Even peacekeepers are only human, after all.

-Oppose capital punishment, no matter the crime. Criminals do not deserve such a passage.

-Look to the magical and spiritual teachings of our elders and ancestors in peace and in war.

-Prefer dark colors such as purple and blue, the better to show our humility.

Of course, there are those among the maniacal Varlanders who would call us xenophobic, stubborn fools too busy looking behind to notice the obstacles in our path, who're incapable of tearing ourselves away from our dead long enough to engage with the living, who let those with wits and might run rampant while others starve...but what do they know? We'll drag them off their high horse when the War breaks out again anyway."

You have my bones.

"So you've decided to join our infallible, golden civilization and fight Lithra and their dogs? Naturally. It wasn't as if this was even a real contest. Who wouldn't want to pick the winning side? Because that's what we are. The fact that we lost more territory, quite a bit, actually, than we gained in the last War means nothing when this one will have us taking it all back and then some.

Oh, right. The War. It happens every five years or so. What of it? For the extreme most part, every man and woman in both nations gets the itch right about this time. It's just something you learn to deal with. The declarations of war on both sides are just formalities, really. After all, it's been this way for as long as anyone can remember, even a Keeper of Times Past such as myself. History simply was not recorded before Varland and Lithra were established as nations and the Wars began.

I tell you all this since it would be a good idea for all of you...ah, let me look up the statistics here...14-20-year-olds...of both genders...and varying races, yes, to know, seeing as that's the average recruit in Varland's Golden Tide. As for this map, it may be incomplete and basic, but I have little more to give you, seeing as how your little island of birth is typically not even displayed on maps of the known world. That will soon change, considering that the island borders Varland territory and is in danger of being conquered by the Lithranian mutts, but for now it's all you've got to work with. My apologies. You're free to update the map yourself if you find locations not on it.

Of course, you folks at the edge of our great civilization's reach need not sit there like lumps while the enemy prepares to break your door down. A Golden Tide myrmidon has called you from your homes across the eastern end of the island to the recently-renamed town of Torch, a light against the encroaching darkness. What you're to do when you get there is up to him...I mean, them. My apologies.

You'll probably die, eventually, or get stabbed in the back, or be the one doing the stabbing, or end up scarred for life. I don't mean to dishearten you, but it's a simple fact that people die in war, and moreso in -the- War. I do hope you put your affairs in order before you set off.

Good luck. You'll need it. Now, about my information exchange tax..."

You begin as a 'Good' character, as described on page 19 of the rulebook PDF, in the Character Creation chapter. You're 14-20 years of age, of either gender and of any race. You've been recruited (read: drafted) to serve in the Golden Tide, Varland's army, in the upcoming War, and you've traveled from whatever forested hamlets or seaside villages you lived in on this quaint foresting and farming island to the small town of Torch, of which you know almost nothing about, to prepare for the War to break out and to be at the front line when it does.

Remember, when considering your Phases, that you are not a hero, nor are you special. Your adventures probably scarred you, perhaps for life, and you likely faced death at least once. In short, you are lucky to be alive. Life in this world is short.

Do not actually create your character yet. I will gather us all up in a Steam chatroom to discuss the process, as it should be done collaboratively.

You also gain the following benefits, thanks to your choice of nation.

Varlander: You gain a free aspect, "Citizen of Varland", phrased however it fits you.

Varland Magic Specialization (if applicable): As a novice Keeper of Ways Mystic, your teachings were quick and easily-learned...at the cost of safety and efficiency, that is, typical of Varland teachings. All powers except those of the Death, have the Wild Magic weakness: "Power use has unpredictable side effects. Any power skill check generating positive or negative spin creates a random and often detrimental aspect on the scene or caster." You gain a +1 bonus to your Death, Dimensions and/or Fate power skills if you already have points in these skills. However, Death, Dimensions and Fate powers have the Varlander's Revenge weakness: "If a power skill check fails, excess magic energy leaks out." This weakness is also a possible effect of Wild Magic.

>>356
*As a novice Keeper of Ways Mystic, your teachings were quick and easily-learned...at the cost of safety and efficiency, that is, typical of Varland teachings. All powers except those of the Death, Dimensions and Fate areas have the Wild Magic weakness [...]

Faiths of Varland

Caelen Steadfast: Church of the Steadfast

The legendary Myrmidon Caelen Steadfast, hero of the First War, is known to all the children of Varland as the reason why their nation still exists today. Steadfast, a nineteen-year-old wunderkind, held the line when Varland's capital city of Starbright was in danger of being overtaken by Lithra's hordes until reinforcements arrived. By that time, however, he had taken several arrows to the gut and bled to death soon after. His soldiers, encouraged by his rallying speeches given not moments before, struck back against the Lithranians with renewed vigor, and the remainder of the First War consisted of them slowly being beaten back across the land, their momentum shattered.

The most widespread of Varland's religions, the Church of the Steadfast consists of many worshipers and a brotherhood of monks who preach for them and lead them into battle. The Church and its devout followers admire martyrdom, stubbornness, and charisma, and abhor cowardice, negotiation, and the weak-willed.

Alden the Ethereal: The Returners

Little is known of the eccentric, hermit Returners, the most skilled alive in the art of necromancy. It is the Returners who live deep in Varland palaces and receive shipments of the dead, who return them to life and set them to their lifelong assignments. It is said that Alden the mage, with an amazing ritual that has yet to be replicated, transformed himself into a formless spirit not long after Varland's consolidation. Unfortunately, lacking a form, he was unable to cast the spell to turn himself back. He considered this a minor nuisance and took to spreading the ancient secrets he learned in the realm of the unliving and unborn to those he thought most capable of handling that knowledge, the Returners...and that knowledge remains with them (and their rare apprentices) today. He's said to spend his now-eternal unlife occasionally haunting Lithranian rituals of ancestor-calling for "shits and giggles", a Returner reports intepreting. Whatever that means.

The Returners form a vital part of Varland's economy, despite their small numbers, raising the dead that do most of Varland's menial labor. Their job is endless and thankless, and many of them grow neurotic and paranoid as a result. The rare apprentice of death magic that survives the initiation usually ends up the same way. The Returners and their apprentices and disciples admire boldness, knowledge (the riskier the better), and mischief. They abhor disrespect of their art, those who abandon the pursuit of magic for any reason, and ungratefulness.

The Cog Within Cogs: The Technocracy & The Servitors

There was once a man, or a woman, or maybe a group of men who made the technological and architectural wonders that dot the Varland landscape, and the incredible gadgets that have brought so much convenience to day-to-day life. Today, these people have been forgotten, replaced by the Cog within Cogs, the symbol that adorns so many of Varland's buildings and everyday items. Those that maintain and build these things are known as the Technocracy. The high status that comes from being born into the Technocracy has somewhat dulled over the years when their increased privileges and high-publicity lifestyles allowed them to breed like rabbits, spreading their noble blood across the nation. Nonetheless, the workings of many objects and weapons, and the art of architecture entirely, is known to none but the worshipers of the Cog within Cogs.

The second-largest religion in Varland; any can praise the Cog within Cogs and the progress it brings, but only those born into the Technocracy are privy to learn how such things work, or how they're made. People who worship the Cog within Cogs but aren't part of the Technocracy exist and are called the Servitors. The Technocracy and its Servitors praise creativity, forethought and obedience, and abhor Lithra sympathizers, social conservatism, and excessive ambition.

This is gonna own

I AM READY

http://pastebin.com/VGyF3LcH

http://pastebin.com/LDcbpXV4