TEXT: 1
  Lands in Shadow  
  for Shadow of the Demon Lord
  For over eight hundred years, the Empire has 
  dominated the lands of Rûl. A vast realm of 
  incredible wealth and military might, it grew by 
  conquest, annexing nation after nation, until it 
  stretched from the Desolation in the north to the 
  edge of the frozen wastes in the south, and from 
  the feet of the Shield Mountains in the west to the 
  shores of the Auroral Ocean in the east. 
   Rising from the ruins of the kingdoms it 
  conquered, the Empire became the mightiest nation 
  in all of Rûl, a power whose fall was inconceivable. 
  But fallen it has as the capital city of Caecras 
  drowns in the blood of the orc uprising, and many 
  of its provinces are breaking away. A shadow 
  now creeps across the land, the drums of war are 
  sounding, and chaos and uncertainty spread like 
  wildfire across the continent.
   This entry in the Lands in Shadow series details 
  Caecras (KAY-cress), the crumbling heart of the 
  Empire. In the following pages, you will read about 
  its history and geography, as well as the portraits of 
  important personages. You will also find statistics 
  for common characters, and several new options 
  Writing, Design, and Art Direction:  
  Robert J. Schwalb
  Editing: Tom Cadorette
  Proofreading: Jay Spight
  Layout and Graphic Design: Kara Hamilton
  Illustrations: Ivan Dixon, Michele Giorgi,  
  Andre Meister, and Andrey Vasilchenko
  Cartography: Cecil Howe
  Caecras is © 2017 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
  Shadow of the Demon Lord, Lands in Shadow, Caecras,  
  Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated logos are  
  trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
  Schwalb EntErtainmEnt, llc
  PO Box #12548
  Murfreesboro TN 37129
  info@schwalbentertainment.com       www.schwalbentertainment.com
  
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  for player characters. With Caecras, you have 
  everything you need to explore the ruined capital, 
  and make it the centerpiece of your Shadow of the 
  Demon Lord campaign.
  The Heart of an Empire
  In the old Kalasan tongue, Caecras means “struggle.” 
  There is no name more apt to describe the Empire’s 
  capital. It is a place whose history has been drenched 
  in the blood of countless peoples, with so many 
  nations rising and falling in this otherwise small and 
  innocuous patch of land. Before the Kalasans founded 
  their Empire, Caecras was the capital from which the 
  vile and terrible Witch-King ruled over his realm. 
  Before that it was the seat of power of the Edene, 
  built upon the ancient site that served as the home to 
  many tribes of the First People. And long, long ago, 
  well before the earliest reckoning of time by mortal-
  kind, Titania, Queen of the Faerie ruled here with 
  her husband Oberon. Some have called this land the 
  cradle of civilization, the light in the darkness, and the 
  land of kings. Others say it is better described as the 
  abattoir of history, the destroyer of civilization, and 
  the graveyard of empires. 
   One question historians have wrestled with is: why 
  these particular lands and not others? What has made 
  Caecras and the region surrounding it so important 
  over the centuries? There are far better places with 
  greater strategic value, other regions with better soil, 
  access to the oceans, and abundant resources. In fact, 
  the lands around the capital are so deficient in these 
  things, it makes the decision to found any domain 
  here seem poor. Yet, something about this land has 
  always appealed to would-be rulers.
   Geography offers one explanation. Its central 
  location gives the capital access to surrounding 
  territories, annexing those lands to provide a buffer 
  against enemies outside the realm, while also 
  allowing the centralized government to exert pressure 
  on its subject provinces and bring them to heel if they 
  grow rebellious. 
   Of course, this also means that any tyrannical ruler 
  risks giving common cause to the surrounding lands 
  to unite, attacking the capital from all directions to 
  cast them down from power. This understanding 
  served the Empire well over the most recent centuries, 
  ensuring the emperors could maintain rule over 
  their subjects, so long as they ruled in a manner that 
  fostered loyalty and compliance from their subjects.
   Aside from the geographical advantages, another, 
  more mystical reason draws would-be rulers to choose 
  Caecras as their seat of power. The city itself stands at 
  the confluence of several currents of magical energy 
  that enable practitioners of magic to cast their spells 
  and conduct their rituals with even greater power and 
  effectiveness. The potent energies of Caecras drew 
  Umessa of the Edene to make these lands the hub of 
  her rule, just as it did the Witch-King of Gog, and the 
  Kalasans who overthrew him. Most recently, the lands 
  drew the mages of Ys to establish their floating Tower 
  Arcane in the skies above the city. 
  Enhanced Magic
  When a creature casts a spell within the bounds 
  of the city of Caecras, it can choose one of the 
  following options:
  • Make the attack roll with 1 boon.
  • Impose 1 bane on challenge rolls made to 
  resist the spell.
  • If the spell has a duration of at least  
  1 minute, triple the spell’s duration.
  • Increase the range of the spell from touch 
  to short range, short range to medium 
  range, medium range to long range, or long 
  range to extreme range. 
  • The spell deals or heals 1d6 extra damage.
  The Kalasans
  The Kalasans founded the Empire 888 years ago, after 
  defeating the Witch-King and the hordes of undead 
  and demons that formed his horrific army. Historians 
  have argued about the origins of the Kalasans for 
  centuries, who quite literally seemed to arrive out of 
  nowhere upon Rûl’s eastern shore. Their ships were of 
  an unusual design never before seen in Rûl, and they 
  were armed with weapons of steel whose strength 
  rivalled that of the dwarfs. They practiced strange 
  forms of magic and spoke a language unlike any other 
  on the continent. 
   In fact, writings from the time of their invasion 
  suggest the Kalasans themselves were very puzzled 
  when they made landfall. The stars overhead were 
  completely different from those shining above their 
  homeland, and even the moon itself appeared strange, 
  even alien compared to the one they were used to 
  seeing in the night sky.
   None of this, however, would deter their leader, 
  the High Warlord Eronymous, a mighty warrior 
  known for his great strength and courage in battle. He 
  had led the Kalasans here to wage war against their 
  enemies, and that’s exactly what he intended to have 
  them do—despite the fact that those enemies didn’t 
  seem to be in this strange new land. 
   Having sailed for several months across the vast 
  oceans, through becalmed waters and hellacious 
  storms, Eronymous decisively settled all questions 
  about where they were or what they should do:  he 
  ordered all of their ships to be burned, so that the 
  Kalasans would know there was no turning back, 
  no retreat of any kind—the only way was forward, 
  under the command of the High Warlord. Behind the 
  vanguard flying Eronymous’s banners, the Kalasan 
  
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  armies marched inland, expecting one enemy—and 
  finding another and altogether different one. 
   By the time of the Kalasans’ arrival, the Witch-King 
  Ashrakal had already successfully established Gog, 
  his evil and tyrannical kingdom. A century before, 
  his monstrous legions swarmed out of the Desolation 
  into the gentler, lush lands of Rûl, destroying or 
  subjugating everyone and everything in their path. 
  The Witch-King’s armies were aided by two powerful, 
  unearthly forces. The first was a horde of undead 
  the evil sorcerer summoned and bound to himself 
  after using dark magic to smash the gates of the 
  Underworld. The second, a host of demons Ashrakal 
  somehow pulled into Urth from beyond reality’s 
  bounds, each demon under the command of demon-
  binders, magicians so insane and corrupted they were 
  little different from the horrors they controlled. 
   Armed with overwhelming supernatural 
  strength and profane magic, the Men of Gog swiftly 
  overpowered the weak and decadent Kingdom of the 
  Edene, and then spent nearly a century consolidating 
  their power in Rûl, building powerful city-states on 
  the shores of the Auroral Ocean, while reinforcing the 
  conquered lands of the interior against insurrections 
  and incursions.
   Although the Witch-King’s armies and kingdom 
  were strong and well-defended, they were caught 
  unawares by the unexpected arrival of the Kalasan 
  fleet on the eastern shores. In their initial battles the 
  generals of the Gog armies quickly discovered their 
  battlefield tactics were no match for the superior 
  tactics and organization and of the Kalasans. The 
  magicians of Gog were shocked to find their own 
  fearsome powers matched and even checked by the 
  Kalasan “destroyers,” sorcerers who deliberately 
  wrecked their bodies to amplify the ruinous spells 
  they cast. As Gog’s armies of undead and demons 
  issued forth, controlled by warlocks and binders, 
  the Kalasan phalanxes easily dealt with the massive 
  hordes of shuffling corpses, while their destroyers 
  targeted the binders, killing them and loosing the 
  demons to wreak deadly havoc and mayhem in the 
  enemy lines. 
   These early Kalasan victories over the Witch-King’s 
  forces emboldened the oppressed peoples under his 
  heel to rise up against the Men of Gog, disrupting 
  their supply lines and weakening the tyranny’s 
  infrastructure. Cities welcomed the Kalasan armies 
  liberating them, swelling their armies with eager, if 
  untrained, levies. Doughty dwarfs descended from 
  their mountain strongholds to join the fight against 
  Gog, followed by the faeries who emerged from their 
  hidden kingdoms to help cast down the Witch-King. 
   After nearly a decade of war across the continent, 
  Eronymous and Ashrakal finally met at the Battle 
  of Seven Sorrows, fought just outside the walls of 
  Caecras. The battle is so named for the seven great 
  heroes who gave their lives fighting alongside the 
  Kalasan host. As the two giant armies clashed, the 
  energies of a thousand terrible, destructive spells 
  crackled and ripped through the air, as a multitude 
  of demons ran amok, tearing apart allies and 
  enemies alike.
   Knowing the swiftest way to win the battle would 
  be to slay the Witch-King and thus shatter the morale 
  of the Gog forces, Eronymous and his Hundred—a 
  band of elite warriors personally selected and trained 
  by the warlord—charged through the chaos to 
  break through the battle lines and directly assault 
  the Witch-King and his Immortals—a cadre of foul, 
  demon-possessed soldiers totally enthralled to 
  Ashrakal’s will. 
   With the two armies locked in a horrific and 
  bloody battle the likes of which the world had 
  never seen, Eronymous and the Hundred met the 
  Witch-King and the Immortals before the very gates 
  of Caecras. The Hundred moved swiftly to engage 
  the Immortals, allowing Eronymous to confront 
  Ashrakal in single combat. 
   The Witch-King uttered his bitterest curses and 
  invocations at his enemy, hurling spell after spell to 
  destroy his foe, but Eronymous dodged or shrugged 
  off the effects, and moved in close to force his foe to 
  fight blade against blade. Legends claim Tarterus itself 
  
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  eclipsed the sun as they fought, the ground trembling 
  and quaking with each clash of their blades. The two 
  battled for hours, neither able to gain the upper hand 
  over the other.
   Eventually, Eronymous’s vaunted strength began 
  to flag. Seeing his weakness, the Witch-King pressed 
  his advantage and forced the warlord to his knees. 
  As Ashrakal raised his sword for the killing blow, he 
  paused to gloat, his mocking cackle echoing across the 
  entire battlefield. This brief moment of exultation was 
  the chance Eronymous needed. Desperately drawing 
  upon the last of his strength, the warlord leapt up 
  from his knees and slammed into the Witch-King, 
  knocking him to the ground and sending his sword 
  flying. Stunned and reeling, the sorcerer attempted 
  to rise up from the ground, making it to one knee as 
  the warlord bore down upon him. Before Ashrakal 
  could stand, Eronymous lopped off his head with one 
  mighty stroke.
   It is said that the severed head shrieked loudly 
  enough to be heard by the centaurs of the Endless 
  Steppe, and that the Witch-King’s body instantly 
  dissolved into hundreds of black snakes that quickly 
  slithered off in every direction, vanishing from the 
  world forever.
  A New Nation
  Although the histories portray Eronymous as a 
  glorious and gallant hero who saved the world from 
  darkness, the truth of the matter is that he was not 
  a particularly good or likeable man. While certainly 
  not an evil tyrant like the Witch-King he defeated, 
  the warlord was extremely ambitious and hungry 
  for power, seeking to rule over not just his own 
  people, but all other peoples they encountered. His 
  aggression toward Gog was not born from some deep-
  seated compassion or moral obligation to destroy 
  evil, but rather it provided him with a convenient 
  way to deflect attention from his arrogant mistake of 
  commanding the Kalasan fleet to be burned, which 
  stranded his people on an alien shore. 
   Once the fighting was over, Eronymous quickly 
  established himself as the ruler of the Witch-
  King’s former kingdom in order to prevent any of 
  the sorcerer’s allies and minions from attempting 
  to reclaim what had been lost. Rather than seek 
  vengeance against the people loyal to the Witch-King, 
  Eronymous pardoned them, and even invited several 
  to serve as his advisors, an act that the faeries, dwarfs, 
  and other allies saw as a betrayal. Because of this, the 
  faeries withdrew to their hidden kingdoms and the 
  dwarfs left the liberated lands in disgust. 
   However, Eronymous’s decision to preserve much 
  of the Witch-King’s governmental structure proved 
  to be a wise one, easing the transition to the new 
  leadership, allowing the rule of law and order under 
  the Kalasans to take hold. Upon the ruins of Gog, 
  Eronymous declared that a new realm would be 
  created, and would be called the Empire. This empire 
  would be governed out of Caecras, and Eronymous 
  himself would become its first emperor.
   The self-proclaimed emperor quickly shored up 
  his power base by granting lands to his soldiers and 
  officers, giving titles to those in the higher ranks in 
  order to form a new noble class. He also poured vast 
  sums of coin into infrastructure, repairing roads, 
  building bridges, and fortifying cities against attacks 
  from pirates and barbarians marauding out of the 
  hinterlands. He also allowed and even encouraged 
  The Order of Light, a new religion brought by the 
  Kalasans from their homelands, to become the 
  dominant faith in Caecras.
   Eronymous’s descendants proved every bit as 
  able and as accomplished, working to further 
  transform the land into a nation mightier than any 
  that had preceded it. As the Empire’s population 
  and strength grew, so did its appetite for new 
  territory. The emperors raised armies to expand the 
  nation’s borders beyond those of Gog, including the 
  nine city states in the east, Low Country, and the 
  western lands that eventually would become the 
  Grand Duchy of the West. This massive land grab 
  greatly expanded and enriched the Empire, but also 
  introduced a new threat that would forever change 
  the course of its history.
  A War of Vengeance
  Even in the days of the Edene and Gog, jotun raiders 
  from Blötland had been sailing north from their 
  frozen lands to plunder towns and cities along the 
  continent’s eastern shores. Every spring saw the 
  arrival of jotun longships to raid the eastern shores, 
  taking slaves, livestock, gold, and whatever they could 
  carry from the coastal towns and cities. To deal with 
  this threat, the Empire funneled funds into these 
  communities to increase the size of their garrisons 
  and raise stronger walls to keep out the raiders. These 
  efforts simply encouraged the jotun to strike wherever 
  the defenses were not as strong. 
   In fact, the Empire was caught completely off 
  guard when a large army of jotun attacked from an 
  unexpected direction:  from the Patchwork Lands 
  by way of the rivers, striking deep into the relatively 
  unprotected interior of the Empire. With few forces 
  to resist them, the jotun engaged in a widespread 
  campaign of pillage, slaughter, and destruction that 
  pressed as far inland as Low Country. In a few places, 
  hastily assembled groups of garrison soldiers and 
  local levies were able to stem the bloody tide. It was in 
  one of these that the emperor Titanus’s son and heir 
  was killed as he led a ragtag group in battle against 
  the jotun invaders. 
  
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   Grief-stricken and enraged, Titanus ordered the 
  assemblage of the largest army the continent had ever 
  seen, drawing soldiers from every province of the 
  Empire to send them south to eradicate the jotun. It 
  took two years for the imperial armies to muster, and 
  for all the ships to gather in the ports to carry them to 
  the frozen wastes—over 1,000 ships, the largest fleet 
  the world had ever seen.
   The imperial army, 500,000 soldiers strong, was 
  comprised of Low Country slingers, mercenaries from 
  the Nine Cities, Caecras heavy infantry, mounted 
  knights from the Grand Duchy, and numerous other 
  troops from all of the provinces of the Empire. They 
  also brought with them myriad sorcerers, wizards, and 
  other practitioners of magic—a mighty force of arcane 
  power to support them in battle. When the imperial 
  soldiers made landfall in Blötland, they crushed the 
  jotun and conquered their homeland in a matter of 
  months. Titanus, however, wanted nothing less than 
  the total destruction of the barbarians, and ordered 
  the armies to pursue and destroy any and all jotun 
  that remained. 
   After many long and terrible years of bloodshed, 
  only a few scattered bands of jotun remained, who 
  fled deep into the hinterlands where the exhausted 
  imperial army was loath to pursue. Deciding that 
  enough was enough, Titanus ordered the armies to 
  return home, and to bring whatever jotun they had 
  captured to stand trial. Several hundred jotun were 
  hauled back to Caecras in chains, and forced to kneel 
  before the emperor to suffer his wrath and judgment. 
  A Legacy of Evil
  Among the many courtiers and advisors counseling 
  the emperor, the warlock Ahriman stood closest to 
  the throne. He somehow managed to gain Titanus’s 
  trust and confidence, despite his reputation in court 
  as a vile and loathsome character, and of less than 
  noble birth to boot. The other members of the court 
  whispered about him, saying he was a descendant of 
  the hated Gog, or that he bound demons, or, more 
  ludicrously, that he was the grandson of Ashrakal 
  himself. Many believed he had used some kind of 
  dark magic to bewitch the emperor. Whatever the 
  truth was, there was no doubt Ahriman had the 
  emperor’s ear, and that Titanus prized the warlock’s 
  advice over all others.
   Everyone expected the emperor to order the jotun 
  prisoners to be tortured and executed in the public 
  squares of Caecras as an example to any who would 
  challenge the might of the Empire. After all, these 
  barbarian scum had killed his beloved son—they 
  deserved nothing less.
   But, just as construction of the hurdles, posts, 
  and gallows for the drawing and quartering began, 
  Titanus did something that took all by surprise. The 
  emperor spared their lives, saying only, “Slaves shall 
  serve.” He then gave them over to Ahriman, who 
  had persuaded the emperor that the prisoners were 
  too valuable to be executed. Rather, the warlock 
  convinced Titanus that they could be transformed 
  into loyal servants, slaves to the Alabaster Throne. 
   In the deepest, darkest dungeons of the Imperial 
  Palace, Ahriman employed the most powerful, 
  blackest magic—from grimoires reputed to have 
  belonged to the Witch-King himself—to twist and 
  warp the jotun into orcs. In the process of their 
  creation, the warlock also bound them, and all their 
  descendants to come, as thralls to whomever sat upon 
  the Alabaster Throne.
   As described in Born to Kill, the new orcs proved 
  their mettle in a brief and bloody war against the 
  dwarfs of Guldurak, in which the dwarfs were 
  slaughtered down to the last man, woman, and 
  child. The Empire would then go on to use the orcs 
  to expand the borders even further. Orc legions 
  conquered what would become the March Lands, 
  crushed the resistance in Balgrendia, and cleared 
  several troublesome bandit princes from the 
  Patchwork Lands. Later, the orcs would be used to 
  drive back the undead from the Northern Reach, fight 
  the beastmen in the Borderlands, and bolster the 
  defenses in the Nine Cities against raiders from the 
  Pirate Isles. 
   Even though the orcs won the Empire greater 
  stability and more territory, they were a blot on its 
  reputation, a force of brutish, bloodthirsty killers, a 
  blunt instrument used to keep its citizens obedient 
  and its enemies at bay—they were the ultimate 
  symbol of the Empire’s willingness to employ any 
  means necessary to preserve itself. 
  The Cult of the New God
  Since the Empire’s founding, the Order of Light had 
  been the official faith in Caecras. As its influence 
  spread out into the imperial provinces, it weakened 
  the Old Faith. A dour and militant faith, its adherents 
  believed their god to be an Eternal Light at the center 
  of all things, whose radiance spread through the 
  universe, shining upon all things to foster life and 
  defeat death. 
   Opposed to this god of light, who they also called 
  the Lord of Morning, was the Adversary, its evil twin 
  yet opposite in every way, who reveled in darkness 
  and sought to plunge the world into shadow. The 
  Order taught that while light and darkness resided 
  in all things, it was the duty of all living things to 
  embrace the purity of the Eternal Light by rejecting 
  the Adversary’s temptations that always led one down 
  the path of destruction. Thus, the Order’s priests were 
  vigilant in their work to root out evil wherever they 
  saw it and punish the wicked. 
  
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   These priests also believed they possessed the 
  sole truth, and that all other religions were simply 
  manifestations of the Adversary’s evil work in the 
  world. Thus, the Order did what it could to purge  
  the Empire of other religions, pushing the devotees 
  of the Old Faith into the wilderness, persecuting  
  any who still clung to the tenets of what they 
  deemed “witchcraft.” 
   The Order of Light was organized and strong, and 
  might even have had greater success had they not 
  been so aggressive and overreaching in their efforts 
  to supplant all other religions. Because of their 
  fanatic crusade to become the one true religion, the 
  faith soon became unpopular, encountering great 
  resistance throughout the Empire. The Order soon 
  found itself confined to the imperial province of 
  Caecras, the Kingdom of Tarra, and a few other places 
  scattered about the provinces. Stifled in their crusade, 
  the Order of Light grew stagnant and turned in on 
  itself, with multiple factions and sects forming and 
  bickering internally, each claiming to have the truth in 
  their struggle for dominance. 
   Then came the Prophet of the New God, an event 
  that changed everything. Astrid, a young acolyte of 
  the Order of Light, belonged to the Believers, a faction 
  preaching tolerance, compassion, and peace. Like 
  all other followers of the Lord of Morning, her sect 
  believed in their god’s infinite power and inherent 
  goodness. Where Astrid’s sect differed from the 
  others, however, was their complete rejection of any 
  belief in a paradisiac reward after death for those who 
  live good and virtuous lives.
   Astrid traveled through Caecras, preaching the 
  Believers’ radically different tenets. She claimed that 
  mortal souls survived death and returned to live many 
  lives. Death merely freed the soul from the mortal 
  coil, she taught, to descend into the Underworld 
  where it would bide its time until it forgot its old 
  life in preparation for the new. Thus souls would 
  be born again into new bodies, live out their lives, 
  die, only to be born again. The goal for every soul, 
  Astrid preached, was to escape this endless cycle and 
  transcend reality to become one with the divine. Such 
  a transcendence was possible only if the mortal lived 
  an exemplary life, one ever in service and submission 
  to the New God, always resisting the worldly 
  temptations of the Adversary.
   Astrid’s message rekindled the fervor and zeal 
  of many in the Order, who began to call her “the 
  Prophet.” She also found many enemies among the 
  various factions and sects of the Order: those who 
  resented her and her growing number of followers, 
  or feared her because of the weakening of their own 
  power in the church, or hated her for what they 
  believed to be her heretical beliefs. After evading 
  multiple assassination attempts, Astrid began to move 
  around constantly to evade her would-be killers, 
  spreading her message even wider, until she finally 
  found refuge in the Kingdom of Tarra (see Kingdom 
  of God for more information about Astrid and the 
  emergence of the Cult of the New God as a major 
  political force).
   Astrid’s ascension—whether she was murdered by 
  her enemies or plucked from the mortal world by the 
  Lord of Morning—sparked a religious revolution. Her 
  followers, believing her to have ascended to become 
  one with the divine, spread her message to every 
  corner of the continent. With the aid of King Roland 
  of Tarra, her teachings were codified and a new 
  religion was born. 
   Soon thereafter, the Order of Light collapsed 
  into factional in-fighting and disarray. Most of the 
  faith’s adherents eventually joined the Cult of the 
  New God—the Swords of Astrid, for example, saw 
  a huge influx of the Order’s priests (see Kingdom 
  of God for more information about the Swords of 
  Astrid, also known as the Inquisition). Many others 
  continued to cling to the old beliefs for a generation 
  or so, but eventually even they turned away from 
  the old in favor of the New God. Now, the Order of 
  Light is considered an old-fashioned name for the 
  New God’s Cult. 
  Plagues and Dark Times
  The years following the emergence of the New 
  God’s cult were largely quiet ones. The new religion 
  gradually spread out from the Holy Kingdom, while 
  art, philosophy, the sciences, and other disciplines 
  of knowledge flourished, helping to bring the 
  Empire out of the darkness and into the golden age 
  of civilization. These centuries were not, however, 
  without their challenges. 
   Three major plagues swept through the Empire, 
  claiming over ten million lives. Rampaging 
  beastmen gathered into a horde that poured out 
  of the borderlands to harry the capital province. 
  The Desolation vomited forth undead, the Nine 
  Cities began to break away, and the jotun reached 
  sufficient strength to resume raiding in the south. 
  Earlier emperors could have easily dealt with these 
  challenges, but over time, the line of rulers had grown 
  weak and slow to respond to threats, which allowed 
  and even encouraged the provinces to gain greater 
  independence and exert more influence on the throne. 
   During this time, the Empire did manage to annex 
  the Borderlands of Tear and the Northern Reach. The 
  House of Healing worked ceaselessly to contain the 
  apocalyptic plagues. And the Empire successfully 
  pushed the undead threat back into the Desolation—
  for the time being, at least. 
   But each of these events weakened the Empire. 
  The Northern Reach was too far away and too wild 
  for the Empire to settle and develop, and the Holy 
  
  7
  Kingdom had actually done more to blunt the undead 
  invasion than did the Alabaster Throne. Similarly, 
  Horus’s exile into the borderlands, intended to rid 
  the emperor of a son believed to be nothing but a 
  troublesome ne’er-do-well, would instead transform 
  him into a great leader and one of the most influential 
  lords in the Empire—and possibly a threat to the 
  throne itself. The weakening of the imperial line, 
  combined with unanswered pushes for independence 
  by several of the Empire’s richest provinces, would set 
  the stage for the final calamity.
  The Last Emperor
  Eras IX ascended to the throne just over ten years ago. 
  Young, tempestuous, and quite insane, Eras constantly 
  swung from petulance to cruelty, an ineffective ruler 
  in his most lucid moments, and a terrible monster 
  when in the throes of his madness. He turned the 
  Imperial Palace into a den of wanton debauchery, 
  with orgies taking place there day and night, around 
  and even upon the Alabaster Throne itself. When 
  the madness came over Eras, he would rage among 
  his lovers, chasing and beating them. Those who did 
  not escape had their skin flayed from their backs by 
  the crazed emperor wielding a barbed scourge—who 
  would then flee the scene weeping when he went too 
  far and killed a favored companion. When a sculptor 
  perfectly captured his likeness in marble, Eras had 
  the artist and her entire family executed so the work 
  would remain unique and unequaled. 
   As much as possible, the court advisors contained 
  whatever damage they could by keeping Eras within 
  the imperial palace, all the while doing their best to 
  conceal his excesses and misdeeds. 
  King Drudge and the Uprising
  Just after the first orcs were created, Ahriman found 
  it useful to elevate one orc above the rest to serve 
  as their monarch, a leader to whom the other orcs 
  could look and through whom the emperors could 
  communicate with their legions. Orc monarchs 
  bore the name king or queen as a ceremonial title, 
  possessing no real authority other than to convey 
  directives from the Alabaster Throne. Over the 
  centuries, though, there were notable exceptions. 
  Some orc monarchs led troops in battle, while 
  others were chosen for their ineptitude as an insult 
  to the orcs who served. Regardless of the monarch’s 
  capabilities, they always had a place at court, standing 
  two paces back and behind the throne as a symbolic 
  reminder of the Empire’s might.
   Antimony, the second-to-last emperor and Horus’s 
  brother, chose Drudge, a veteran of the war against 
  the undead in the Northern Reach, to serve as the orc 
  king. The orc soldier earned many accolades in his 
  youth for his fighting prowess and tactical cunning, 
  rising up the ranks until he was named Marshal of 
  the Northern Reach, an extremely rare honor for a 
  non-human. When the last orc king, Egg, was sent to 
  “retirement” (see below), Antimony raised Drudge 
  up to take his place, who then served him until the 
  emperor’s death. So prized was he, the emperor 
  denied him his retirement, leaving instructions on his 
  deathbed to his son, Eras, to keep him in his post. 
   When Eras ascended to the throne, the tenor of 
  the imperial court greatly changed. Antimony was 
  not a great man, but there was at least a veneer of 
  respectability about his rule. Eras, on the other 
  hand, was the product of generations of inbreeding, 
  thoroughly insane by the time he came to power. At 
  first, his courtiers and hangers-on tried to exploit the 
  uncertainty of his reign, angling to expand their power 
  and influence—only to discover that Eras’s affections 
  and attentions were fickle at best, and could just as 
  quickly turn to anger and contempt. He exiled anyone 
  he disliked from court with impunity, regardless of 
  their standing, ties to the throne, or political rank. In 
  addition to the aforementioned near-constant orgies, 
  he had nobles drawn and quartered for rumored 
  indiscretions and crimes, seizing their assets and 
  holdings to heap upon whoever caught his fancy.
   With such an erratic, despotic emperor in power, 
  the court became a hotbed of intrigues, with various 
  factions jockeying for power and vying against one 
  another. As described in the Lands of Shadow entry, 
  Kingdom of God, the Matriarch wanted to assume 
  control over the orcs and break the hold of the 
  centuries-old dark magic upon them, in order to 
  convert them into devout soldiers who, she believed, 
  would then serve the New God.
   To accomplish this, she dispatched a bishop to 
  persuade Eras to relinquish control over the orcs 
  to the Cult or, failing that, to persuade Drudge to 
  rebel against the emperor. Both of these efforts 
  failed spectacularly, leading to the horrific revelation 
  to Drudge of the fate that awaited “retired” orcs: 
  summary execution at “farms” in the far north, 
  followed by the butchery of their bodies into meat to 
  be mixed with grains and made into fodder to feed the 
  Empire’s orc armies (see Born to Kill for more details 
  on this gruesome practice). 
   The discovery of this horrific truth enraged 
  Drudge and enabled him to break the ancient oaths 
  of servitude imposed by Ahriman’s dark magic. He 
  confronted the emperor with what he learned, and 
  when Eras dismissively acknowledged it, the orc 
  king drew his greatsword and swiftly beheaded the 
  emperor, cast his body from the throne, and then sat 
  himself upon it. 
   The emperor’s murder set in motion the most 
  violent and bloody uprising Rûl has ever witnessed. 
  From the blood-splattered throne, Drudge ordered 
  the emperor’s stunned orc bodyguards to go forth 
  
  8
  and slaughter each and every human throughout 
  the rest of the palace, and to command any orcs they 
  encountered to join them. 
   Realizing that they, too, were free of Ahriman’s 
  sorcerous shackles, the orc warriors swiftly moved 
  through the great palace, clearing every room in 
  the palace of any human they found with the cold, 
  methodical efficiency of a butcher. As they did so, 
  other orcs shrugged off their bonds and joined them 
  in the carnage. Soon, mobs of bloodthirsty orcs spilled 
  out from the palace and into the city on a frenzied 
  and murderous rampage. Before anyone knew what 
  was happening, Caecras, the capital city of the great 
  Empire, was bathed in blood and flame.
  A Land in Turmoil
  Caecras stands at about the center of the continent, 
  with provincial borders approximately 250 miles in 
  all directions. The Grand Duchy of the West sits on 
  its western border, the Holy Kingdom to the north, 
  Low Country to the south, and the Confederacy of 
  the Nine Cities to the east. The name Caecras refers 
  both to the city and to the surrounding lands under 
  its direct control, with locals referring to the capital 
  as “the city” and the surrounding lands as “the 
  countryside.” 
  The Countryside
  Since the Empire’s founding, emperors have always 
  carved up the countryside into smaller pieces and 
  bestowed them as prizes to the nobility, usually as 
  a reward for some service. Unlike a feudal system, 
  however, these grants rarely passed down to heirs: 
  ownership of the lands would return to the throne 
  upon the death of the grantee. Over the centuries, so 
  many dukes, barons, counts, and knights have had 
  claims on the lands around the city that no one has 
  any idea as to whom they truly owe fealty—other than 
  the emperor, of course. Ordinary people scratching 
  a living from the land might believe they live in one 
  barony, while their neighbor down the road might 
  claim they are both part of a different duchy. In all, 
  the constantly shifting boundaries and the incessant 
  parade of noble landlords causes most of the land’s 
  residents to throw up their hands and ignore the 
  whole mess as they go about their lives.
   The countryside of Caecras has four main regions, 
  mundanely named the north country, east country, 
  south country, and west country. Aside from a few 
  differences in geography, there is little to distinguish 
  one region from another. While the north country 
  rolls with hills as it rises toward the Weathertop 
  Mountains of the Holy Kingdom, and the south is flat 
  and covered in grain fields, the people of each area, 
  and their lives, are more or less the same. 
  Farming and Grazing
  The capital city demands a steady supply of food, 
  water, and raw materials, all of which is provided by 
  the country. Every inch of land has been dedicated to 
  producing the necessary materials to sustain Caecras’s 
  constantly growing population. The south country 
  and east country grow grain, while the west country 
  provides vegetables, pigs, and chickens. The north 
  country, unsuited to farming due to the rocky soil and 
  hilly terrain, is blanketed by giant pastures for cattle 
  and sheep.
   Any forests were cleared away long ago for 
  timber, as well as to make room for farming and 
  grazing. Small lakes and ponds still dot the region, 
  and one can find rivers fed by snowmelt from the 
  Weathertops in the north meandering through the 
  countryside. Most of these, however, have been 
  diverted to feed irrigation systems and to keep the 
  city supplied with water.
  Roadside Settlements
  Although most people in the countryside live on 
  farms, dozens of smaller communities have grown 
  up alongside the roads leading to the capital. These 
  towns are rarely destinations in their own right, but 
  instead offer respite to travelers, offering warm meals 
  
  9
  and comfortable beds for those en route to the city. 
  The settlements depend on travelers and thus are 
  more common in the east and north, less so in the 
  south, and very rare in the west, as few people have 
  any good reason or desire to travel to the Grand 
  Duchy (see The Grand Duchy).
   Routes north see larger towns accommodating the 
  steady flow of pilgrims bound for the Holy Kingdom, 
  often named after the famous saints and religious 
  leaders of the Cult of the New God. Some places claim 
  to have been sites of miraculous events in order to 
  attract more pilgrims and their coin. At least three 
  claim to have been visited by Astrid, and one has an 
  enormous cedar water bucket in which it is said the 
  reflection of the prophet has been seen at least twice. 
   Commerce with the Confederacy of the Nine 
  Cities has always been strong, so the communities 
  along the trade routes have grown quite large and 
  wealthy thanks to the influx of merchant caravans 
  headed in and out of the imperial province. Many of 
  the communities try to individuate themselves with 
  attractions that range from classy to garish. Several 
  boast famous wineries and exotic foods, while others 
  offer restorative hot springs, freak shows, and other 
  extravagant diversions. 
   Southern and western towns are smaller and 
  farther apart. One might travel a couple of days before 
  coming upon a roadside in or a tiny village built up 
  around an old, rotting temple. What little traffic there 
  is comes from further south for the most part, usually 
  farmers moving grains and livestock into the province 
  for sale in the city. Banditry and beastmen have 
  troubled the west for years and, until the uprising, 
  orcs routinely cleared the area once every few years.
  Ruins
  People have lived in these lands since the earliest 
  days of human expansion, and so the landscape is 
  filled with the wreckage of history. All across the 
  countryside stand crumbling castles, old bridges, 
  forgotten monuments, menhirs, and stone circles. 
  People take these remnants for granted and think 
  nothing of plundering them for raw materials or 
  incorporating the ruins as part of their homes and 
  communities. One might find a lean-to shack propped 
  up against a broken pillar, a family of twelve living 
  in the turret of an abandoned castle, or a farmhouse 
  constructed from heavy blocks of stone that once 
  made a fortress wall.
   With the abundance of ruins, people also pull all 
  kinds of interesting things from the ground—scraps 
  of armor, broken weapons, arrowheads, old coins, 
  bones, and the like. Sometimes, darker and more 
  insidious things lurk just under the soil, remains 
  from the dark times of the Witch-King. After several 
  disasters—unleashed demons, arcane explosions, 
  and dreadful curses, to name just a few—people 
  generally don’t go purposefully hunting for buried 
  treasure very often. Rather, they report anything they 
  might deem unusual or dangerous to the authorities, 
  secular or religious.
   Aside from beastmen in the west, the countryside 
  has relatively few monstrous troubles compared to 
  other lands in the Empire. Harvesters sometimes 
  set up shop in a town to pick off locals, and bands 
  of boggarts have been spotted in the northern hills. 
  There are, however, an abundance of spirits. So much 
  blood has been spilt on these lands over so many 
  centuries, and so many have lived and died here 
  that many souls, for one reason or another, have not 
  moved on to the Underworld or Hell. Apparitions (see 
  Common Characters, below) can be seen wandering 
  the ruins at night, while wraiths, specters, ghosts, and 
  other malevolent spirits frequently cause great trouble 
  to the living.
  After the Uprising
  The countryside has become a bloody battlefield 
  of burning villages and abandoned farms. The 
  orcs, freed from the dark sorcery that bound them, 
  swarmed outward from the city to vent their wrath 
  on an unsuspecting populace. Bands of orcs traveled 
  the roads, moving from town to town, killing and 
  plundering indiscriminately. Some communities tried 
  to resist the marauding orcs, but stood no chance 
  against the veteran warriors, and were either quickly 
  slaughtered or enslaved. 
   As word of the mass killings spread, people began 
  fleeing from their homes, seeking refuge far from the 
  city. Most headed north for the Holy Kingdom, but a 
  few went east and south. Refugees who made for the 
  Grand Duchy found the border closed to them, which 
  forced them to head north into the Borderlands or 
  back south.
   Although a few still roam and raid about the 
  countryside, Drudge has managed to establish some 
  semblance of order and command over the vast 
  majority of the orcs in the region, slowly molding 
  them into an army in preparation for the coming 
  war. The surviving people of the countryside have 
  been left to pick up the pieces of their lives, and even 
  encouraged at sword point to get back to the business 
  of growing crops and herding livestock. Anyone who 
  refuses usually suffers an excruciating end at the 
  hands of their orc masters, as an example to any who 
  might consider resisting the new order.
   King Drudge has ordered the construction of four 
  new strongholds in the countryside. Work on these 
  is still underway, but without timber, the workers—
  mostly human slaves—have had to build them using 
  scavenged materials from nearby towns and ruins. 
  Each stronghold has a garrison of one hundred orcs 
  who patrol the lands around them and enforce the orc 
  king’s commands.
  
  10
  10
  Countryside Sights
  You can use the following table for inspiration when 
  describing what the characters see while traveling 
  through the province.
  Caecras Countryside Sights
  d20
  Sight
  1
  The burnt wreckage of a farmhouse
  2
  A row of 2d6 crucified humans
  3
  A gang of 2d6 + 3 orphaned children
  4
  A pack of 2d6 wild dogs feeding on a dead horse
  5
  The burnt effigy of the old emperor
  6
  A collapsed building with a red fist painted on a wall
  7
  A column of smoke rising on the horizon
  8
  A mass grave
  9
  A band of 2d6 angry orcs spoiling for a fight
  10
  The corpses of a mother clutching her child, both 
  hacked apart
  11
  A scarecrow in a wheat field
  12
  A pasture littered with dead livestock
  13
  A broken signpost
  14
  A patch of scorched earth
  15
  A line of 5d20 refugees fleeing for the border
  16
  A dying human soldier lying on the side of the road
  17
  A group of 1d6 + 2 orcs leading 2d20 human 
  slaves back to the capital
  18
  An utterly destroyed town, corpses left to rot 
  where they fell
  19
  A broken, burnt wagon
  20
  A group of 1d20 + 50 orcs laying siege to an estate
  The City
  No city in the Empire has ever matched the majesty, 
  splendor, and magnificence of Caecras. It has been 
  a beacon of light in a world steeped in shadow, 
  ignorance, and violence for thousands of years. The 
  city’s great age shows everywhere, from its ancient 
  fortifications and the arches built by the Edene, to 
  monuments of great perversity still standing since 
  the dark times of the Witch-King and the countless 
  additions made by the Kalasans over their eight-
  century reign. Caecras is a city in which history is 
  alive in nearly everything: in the stones of its cobbled 
  streets, the water sluicing down its aqueducts, the 
  pale white spires left by the faeries at the dawn of the 
  world, and the crowded shops and homes huddled 
  tightly along the twisting streets that wend their way 
  through the city. 
   At its height, the city was home to over one hundred 
  thousand souls, a great melting pot of peoples from 
  all across the Empire and beyond. Despite the great 
  numbers of people, the city largely contained its 
  population inside roughly five square miles of a hilly 
  island rising from the center of the Wyne River, a 
  sluggish waterway that meanders down from Mercy 
  Lake in the Holy Kingdom, pools in a large polluted 
  lake around the city, before turning westward to end 
  in the vast marshes of the Grand Duchy. 
   With space at a premium, Caecras built up rather 
  than out. A veritable forest of turrets, spires, and 
  sharply canted roofs climb above the walls, shrouded 
  by a haze of smoke and filth coughed up by the 
  denizens of this claustrophobically crowded place. 
  Those people the city could not hold or did not 
  want spilled over onto the banks of the Wyne River, 
  collected into ramshackle shantytowns populated 
  mostly by the wretched and poor. Those industries 
  deemed unfit or undesirable to exist within the city 
  walls can be found here as well, in communities with 
  such charming names as Beggars’ End, Shit Town, 
  and Buboes.
   Today, from a distance, the capital looks much 
  as it always has, and the air remains thick with the 
  same foul odors that have always characterized it. 
  Upon closer approach, signs of upheaval can be 
  seen everywhere: from unburied and dismembered 
  corpses, makeshift crosses upon which hang the 
  remains of crucified humans, burnt structures 
  everywhere, and multitudes of dead-eyed survivors 
  shuffling about in the heavy chains and shackles once 
  worn by the orcs, living in constant fear of the crack of 
  the whip or random beating from their orc overseers. 
   The nearer one gets to the center, the more 
  disturbing the sights, the more horrifying the violence, 
  and the thicker the pall of suffering, hopelessness, and 
  death becomes. 
  Emperor’s Arms 
  Two bridges, called the Emperor’s Arms, stretch 
  from each bank, across nearly a mile of the Wyne, 
  connecting them to the island upon which the 
  main portion of the city is built. Huge stone pillars 
  climb up from the foul waters to either side of the 
  300-yard-wide expanses, reaching 50 feet overhead. 
  A web of steel cables stretches from these pillars 
  to support the bridges against the weight of traffic 
  moving across them.
  Walls and Maws
  A 100-foot-high wall encrusted with battlements and 
  turrets, decorated with the carvings of cruel demons 
  and strange monsters dating back to the era of the 
  Witch-King, encircles the entire island. From the 
  top of the wall hang swinging poles with dangling 
  cages, in which the bodies of convicted criminals 
  and political enemies were once left to rot. In the 
  aftermath of the orc uprising, the cages are again 
  filled, but now with a more random assortment of 
  victims, all human. 
  
  11
   The Maws, massive 50-foot-high gates, grant access to 
  the city from the Emperor’s Arms. The Maws look like 
  yawning mouths with heavy portcullis spikes serving as 
  their teeth. The gates normally stand open, but can be 
  sealed using a gigantic stone disc that can be rolled into 
  the gateway and secured with chains.
   Another, far less appealing way into the city, is 
  through its sewers. All around the base of the walls, 
  about three feet over the water line are 6-foot diameter 
  tunnels covered by iron bars. Water oozes out from these 
  passages, carrying the city’s filth out and into the Wyne. 
  These rat-infested sewers twist and wind under the city, 
  their ancient walls sagging in many places, the mortar 
  crumbling, with everything covered in slime. Madmen, 
  criminals, political exiles, and others having nowhere 
  else to go make the sewers even more dangerous—most 
  of these wretches are desperate to survive, willing to kill 
  over a crust of bread. 
   But rats and desperate citizens are but minor threats 
  compared to the harvesters, monsters, and other deadly 
  creatures lurking in the gloom. City leaders have always 
  left the sewers unaddressed to deter or hinder smugglers 
  and others who would otherwise take advantage of these 
  stinking passages for their own nefarious purposes.
  Wards
  Caecras is divided into six wards. Standing outside of 
  these wards are the Heights, a set of high hills rising 
  in the city’s center. Each ward has a peculiar character, 
  owing to the many different functions they have had 
  over the centuries. While the orcs now consider the 
  city to be theirs, they have made no effort to remake 
  the city, content to leave things just as they are—
  human inhabitants excepted, of course.
  Lost Souls
  A district of modest size, confined to a few streets at 
  the city’s center, Lost Souls was the religious center of 
  the city where one could find all the various religions, 
  sects, and cults known in the Empire. The largest 
  structure is the ancient Cathedral of Eternal Radiance, 
  built by the Order of Light in the Empire’s infancy, 
  and re-consecrated in the name of the New God. The 
  various old gods also have their shrines here, and 
  countless other structures offer salvation, answers, and 
  purpose from a bevy of strange and inscrutable deities.
   The main artery into the district, Petitioners Way, 
  is broad and largely clean by the standards of the 
  rest of the city, with numerous temples, shrines, and 
  monuments to forgotten gods standing on either 
  side. The rest of the district, accessed by smaller, 
  narrower streets, is a series of neighborhoods 
  where the clergy and their families lived, as well 
  as shops that both cater to the temples and exploit 
  their followers. Lost Souls is home to the city’s only 
  graveyard, where all the emperors have been laid to 
  rest since the Empire’s founding.
  
  1212
   The temples are all now empty, their priests 
  tortured and murdered, altars desecrated, and vaults 
  plundered for riches. So much blood was spilled here, 
  with no answer from the gods in whose names these 
  structures were raised. Now, the surviving population 
  avoids this place, grimly believing the gods have 
  abandoned them.  
  Traitor’s Square
  Traitor’s Square covers the city’s east side. Despite the 
  name, the ward encompasses far more territory than the 
  square for which it was named. The commercial heart 
  of Caecras, merchants from all over hawk their wares in 
  its crowded streets, while merchant princes argue and 
  set prices in the coffee houses that have popped up on 
  almost every corner. The main streets through Traitor’s 
  Square are larger than those found elsewhere in the city, 
  designed so to accommodate wagons and carts laden 
  with goods that come from such faraway places as the 
  Pirate Isles, Blötland, and beyond. 
   In addition to bazaars and marketplaces, Traitor’s 
  Square also houses the city’s merchant class, whether 
  they are natives of the city or visiting from elsewhere. 
  Gates open onto streets from fine townhouses, 
  with tiny gardens out back, policed by private 
  guards. A dozen or so fine inns offer well-appointed 
  accommodations for all travelers according to the 
  weights of their purses. There are also diversions 
  aplenty here, such as public houses, specialty shops, 
  fine restaurants, and discreet houses of pleasure. 
   Traitor’s Square was hit just as hard as the rest of 
  the city by the orc uprising. Most merchants fled, 
  but only the luckiest were able to do so with their 
  fortunes intact. The orc mobs ran wildly through the 
  upscale neighborhoods, burning many of its houses, 
  and killing or enslaving anyone they captured. The 
  destruction was not as widespread as in other wards, 
  however, and many orcs have taken up residence 
  in the intact dwellings evacuated by their previous 
  occupants. Drudge has recently allowed foreign 
  merchants back into the city, and those few who have 
  taken him up on the offer have settled here.
  Clamorhome
  Dismayed by the technological achievements of 
  Lij, the City of Wonders, several merchant princes 
  met with Eras just after his coronation to persuade 
  him to support the development of a new center of 
  commerce inside Caecras: a city ward for engineers 
  and alchemists to gather and bring glory through 
  their industry to the city and, by extension, the 
  Alabaster Throne. The young emperor saw no reason 
  to say no, so he approved their plans. 
   To make space for this new construction, orc 
  soldiers were sent in to clear out the Warrens, a 
  slum that had spread across the southern side of 
  the city. The orcs went door to door, driving out the 
  inhabitants with fist, sword, and flame. Workers came 
  behind to tear down and clear away the emptied 
  structures, and built factories where the former 
  homes once stood. As most people who lived in the 
  Warrens were poor, they had no place left to go. Many 
  moved to the already overcrowded shantytowns 
  outside the city walls, while a few scurried back in 
  after the orcs’ departure, rebuilding their homes 
  from scavenged materials in the shadow of the great 
  factories and workshops that produced strange 
  engines, weapons of war, and flying ships. 
   Clamorhome, taking its name from the incessant 
  noise emanating from the new buildings, has the 
  distinction of being the filthiest ward in Caecras. 
  Between the smoke pouring from the tall stacks 
  overhead and the chemicals spilling out in the 
  wastewater, the ward has become a toxic place. 
  The few people who reside here show signs of the 
  contamination in the wreckage of their bodies. 
  Missing teeth, unseemly tumors, patchy hair, and 
  other physical maladies afflict the survivors, who have 
  come to be known as calibans.
   The uprising did not touch Clamorhome in the 
  same way it ravaged the rest of the city. In fact, it 
  remains as desperate and as filthy as it was before. 
  However, the factories were emptied and the 
  workshops abandoned. The orcs found the calibans 
  to be ready allies, eager to serve their new overlords 
  by toiling in the factories and even helping to combat 
  the Resistance. While the orcs accept the aid of the 
  calibans, they neither trust nor mingle with them.
   Rebels from the Stacks make regular forays into 
  Clamorhome to forage for materials from which 
  they can make explosives. The frequent explosions 
  rocking the Heights and other parts of the city testify 
  to their success. Drudge has ordered patrols of the 
  ward increased, but they have had little effect so far in 
  reducing the bombings.
  Stacks
  The largest district in Caecras, the Stacks extends 
  west and south from Lost Souls, following the curve 
  of the Heights until it comes to an abrupt end at 
  Clamorhome. With space at a premium, the district 
  became a maze of towers and bridges, all of which cast 
  the streets below into deep shadow. Most structures 
  here reach ten stories high, though there are some 
  higher and lower structures interspersed throughout.
   The highest levels belong to the wealthiest and 
  most influential citizens while the poor are relegated 
  to the darkened depths, places that scarcely, if ever, 
  see the light of day. Mixed in with residences are 
  shops, restaurants, taverns, and the like. The Stacks 
  district is the most cosmopolitan part of the city, with 
  
  13
  a rich and diverse mixture of people, from various 
  humans to halflings, fauns, hobgoblins, elementals, 
  and others.
   The dense population, crowded conditions, and 
  labyrinthine nature of the buildings have kept the 
  orcs from finding much success in establishing any 
  control over the ward. Many people living here were 
  able to escape the city, albeit slowly. Most chose to 
  remain behind, however, unwilling to abandon their 
  homes and livelihoods. Some have pledged loyalty to 
  Drudge, while others have vowed to take the city back, 
  clandestinely fomenting rebellion against the orcs. 
  Because of this, the ward is a hotbed of deceit and 
  intrigue, as constantly shifting loyalties and surprise 
  betrayals keep everyone on the edge of paranoia. 
  Faerie Spires
  Caecras has eight gleaming white spires believed 
  to have been built by the faeries. Like the other 
  faerie spires found in the Northern Reach, no 
  means of ingress present themselves and no 
  stain or damage has ever marred their surfaces. 
  They appear as they have for thousands of years, 
  silent witnesses to the march of centuries. The 
  purpose they serve has been a mystery that has 
  not yet been solved and the range of speculation 
  includes beacons for calling the faerie folk back 
  to the world, physical incarnations of the wards 
  that keep the Demon Lord at bay, or conduits for 
  magical energy. 
   Fighting breaks out often in the Stacks. Each time 
  the rebels kill an orc or blow up a building in the city, 
  a new force of troopers tries to push deeper into the 
  ward. Often, their efforts wind up killing more of the 
  innocent than the guilty, but then these victims are 
  hailed by the rebels as martyrs to the cause. Smoke 
  from buildings set aflame by both sides contributes to 
  the city’s already unhealthy atmosphere. 
  Inkpots
  The Imperial University dominates the ward covering 
  the northeastern side of the city. Founded shortly 
  after the Empire, the Kalasans sought to educate 
  their subjects in an attempt to bring them out of 
  ignorance into a new era of progress. The University 
  was established to promote a culture of learning and 
  advancement the emperor believed would be crucial 
  to creating a new nation. 
   Placing the University in Inkpots was an obvious 
  choice as the area had once housed the Academy,  
  an ancient institution of learning burned by the  
  Gog. The ward was also the home for the Library  
  of Melphor, numerous copyist and scrivener halls, 
  and all the industries supporting such endeavors, 
  such as papermakers, mixers of inks, bookbinders, 
  and illuminators. Numerous public houses peppered 
  the ward, catering to University students and 
  professors alike.
   Inkpots suffered terribly in the uprising. The orcs, 
  disinterested in preserving knowledge, stormed 
  the district in the weeks following the emperor’s 
  death, and executed a large number of students and 
  faculty, deeming them useless in the new order. Fires 
  were allowed to burn themselves out in the district, 
  with the worst damage occurring in the University 
  buildings. Now, very few people remain here, but 
  those who do have grown quite skilled at hiding from 
  the roving bands of orcs looking for easy prey.
   Palace of Antiquities: One of the only museums 
  in the Empire, the Palace of Antiquities was built two 
  hundred years ago to collect and preserve artwork, 
  literature, and objects of historical significance for 
  posterity. The Palace once belonged to Rudolfen 
  Mattico, a rich and well-connected merchant who 
  made his fortunes by edging out his rivals in Caecras’s 
  extensive trade with the Confederacy of Nine 
  Cities, most notably Kem. His children proved to be 
  disappointments to him, so he willed his considerable 
  fortune and property to the city in the hope of 
  preserving imperial history for all.
  The Palace is a five-story building surrounded by 
  manicured gardens and a high stone wall capped 
  with iron spikes. Found within walking distance of 
  the Imperial University, students often came here 
  to research and achieve a better understanding of 
  significant historical and political developments. 
  Surprisingly enough, the Palace remains intact since 
  the orc uprising, but its doors were shuttered and it 
  has not opened since.
   The Great Library of Melphor: One of the 
  greatest wizards of antiquity was the Edene 
  magician, Melphor, whose accomplishments 
  and adventures inspired generation of would-be 
  apprentices to seek out mastery of the arcane arts—
  before being conquered by Gog, that is. The Witch-
  King’s reign largely erased memory of the wizard 
  from the world and, aside from a few monuments 
  to him in the city, only the Great Library remains to 
  commemorate his legacy.
   Historians believe the Library’s collection once 
  included all the great works of the ancient world, 
  from the philosophical writings of Plentus to the nine 
  great dramas of Quentas the Elder. Thousands of texts 
  and bound manuscripts covering every subject, from 
  astronomy and complex mathematics to gourmet 
  cooking and social etiquette, could be found on 
  shelves or stacked in piles throughout the thirty-seven 
  chambers into which the Library was divided. 
   The Witch-King ordered much of the library’s 
  collection to be burned, effectively erasing much of 
  the continent’s earliest histories. After the founding 
  
  14
  14
  of the Empire, efforts were made to restore the 
  Library to its former glory, though its lack of magical 
  lore and ancient works was conspicuous. Like the 
  Palace of Antiquities, the Library did not suffer 
  the ravages of the orc uprising, and it too remains 
  shuttered and closed.
  Nine Vices
  The arts and entertainment district of the city stands 
  at the base of the Heights on its northern side. A 
  raucous and lively place, Nine Vices offers every 
  kind of diversion a person could imagine, plus many 
  unimaginable entertainments as well. Big draws 
  to the ward include the Great Arena, the Imperial 
  Menagerie, and the Legendary Circus, a permanent 
  encampment with spectacles to boggle and amaze. 
  Brothels, some of the finest in the city, offer different 
  kinds of distractions, while opium dens, taverns, 
  gambling halls, fighting pits, and more offer ways for 
  visitors to spend their coin. So much wealth passed 
  through this district that, until the uprising, the Nine 
  Vices ward attracted the very best performers in the 
  Empire. From fortunetellers and singers to acrobats 
  and clowns, people with any kind of talent could 
  make a living here.
   Like much of the city, Nine Vices suffered in the 
  uprising, but not to the same degree as Inkpots and 
  Lost Souls. At Drudge’s command, the orcs spared 
  most of the buildings and the people living here, as 
  the orc king wisely understood his warriors would 
  need the distractions the district offered. Blood sport 
  can be found in the Great Arena, and numerous 
  fighting pits continue to see men and women tear 
  each other apart for the amusement of the crowds. A 
  few brothels closed their doors, but most stayed open, 
  sensing new opportunities with the new regime. The 
  zookeepers were able to escape with some of the more 
  exotic creatures, but most of the animals met their 
  end by being butchered for sport or meat.
   Great Arena: Built during the peak of the Witch-
  King’s reign as a way to both dispose of political 
  enemies and undesirables as well as provide 
  entertainment to keep the population complacent, 
  the blood of hundreds of thousands of people, 
  animals, and other creatures has stained the stones 
  of this grotesque monument to the excess and 
  violence of a lost era. The Arena is an enormous, 
  oval amphitheater, covering about eight acres in 
  the center of Nine Vices. Standing 180 feet tall and 
  constructed from basalt, the purpose for which the 
  structure was built is made evident in the surviving 
  statuary found in the many archways dimpling the 
  building’s exterior. Within, one can see statues of 
  people dying in many gruesome ways, like being torn 
  apart by wild animals, demons, and monsters, or 
  crucifixion, dismemberment, and disembowelment, 
  to name just a few. At various times, citizens have 
  begged the emperors to remove the most egregious 
  examples, but they always refused, stating that the 
  Arena should stand as a reminder of the horrors of 
  the Witch-King’s reign.
   The Great Arena still holds gladiatorial contests, 
  but, until recently, the battles fought were not the 
  grisly affairs of ancient times. Instead, the contests 
  were rarely fought to the death and the focus was 
  more on spectacle rather than public execution. Now, 
  though, Drudge has turned the Arena back into an 
  abattoir and, like the Witch-King before him, uses 
  it to make public examples of rebels and political 
  enemies. In fact, many priests from Lost Souls met 
  spectacularly grisly ends here, either butchered by 
  orc gladiators or mutilated by a variety of animals 
  liberated from the Imperial Menagerie. 
  The Heights
  Six high hills occupy the center of the city, five of 
  which are about the same height, with one rising 
  above the rest. Here is where the nobility has 
  traditionally lived, in the shadow of the Imperial 
  Palace, governmental buildings, and the infamous 
  Warrens of the Accursed—the breeding and training 
  grounds for the orc soldiers. Much of the Heights 
  survived the centuries unchanged since the time of 
  the Witch-King, so everything here reminds people 
  of what came before and what could become again if 
  people cease their vigilance against evil.
   The nobles live in small estates surrounded by 
  
  15
  walls and gardens. The higher the family’s standing, 
  the closer their lands are to the Palace, and only a 
  handful of estates stand high enough to have a good 
  view of the emperor’s home. The rest cling to the 
  sides of the steep hills, growing like barnacles on the 
  hull of a ship. The steepness of the lands make them 
  wholly unsuited to farming or grazing, so the nobles 
  have been free to beautify their houses with terraced 
  patios, fountains, gardens of flowers and statuary, and 
  innumerable winding staircases.
   Cathedral of Hate: Crowning the top of one of 
  the lesser hills are the ruins of the old Cathedral of 
  Hate, a structure that once housed the vile, devil-
  sworn clergy who served the Witch-King. While 
  little has survived of this once-mighty stronghold 
  of blasphemy, the broken walls, toppled columns, 
  and obscene statuary still evoke the atmosphere of a 
  much darker times. People whisper that beneath the 
  cathedral ruins stands one of the entrances to Hell, a 
  place called Gaethira. Whether true or not, something 
  must indeed lurk under the hill: long ago, an emperor 
  set the Bone Guard—a small force of intentionally 
  maimed orcs with no eyes, ears, or tongues—to stand 
  guard (see Exquisite Agony for more information about 
  Gaethira). The Bone Guard has stood watch ever 
  since—until the uprising.
   Imperial Palace: A collection of twenty-six 
  buildings rises from the highest hill of the heights, 
  named the Conqueror’s Crown. It is here where the 
  emperors and their extended families have made 
  their homes for nearly a millennia. Promenades and 
  covered staircases connect the various buildings, 
  some of which serve as living quarters, audience halls, 
  courts, armories, kitchens, and more. A 10-foot-high 
  wall of white stone wraps around the hill to keep out 
  unwanted visitors, while ornamental trees, flower 
  gardens, and strange beasts fill the grounds between 
  the wall and the buildings. It is rumored that there is 
  a labyrinthine network of secret tunnels beneath the 
  palace that connect to the city sewers, but no one has 
  ever confirmed this.
   The Imperial Palace witnessed the worst of the 
  slaughter to strike the city. No one who was not an orc 
  survived the slaughter, and their blood still stains the 
  walls, floors, and ceilings—a testament to the hatred 
  and rage of the orcs who answered Drudge’s call. Now, 
  the Palace houses the orc king, his closest advisors, 
  and many dignitaries from lands brave enough to 
  treat with the new monarch. 
  The Alabaster Throne
  Carved by dwarf hands over 1,500 years ago as 
  a gift to the queen of the Edene, the enormous 
  throne has become a symbol of imperial power 
  and endurance. By some miracle, the 12-foot 
  tall, 6-foot wide seat survived the Witch-King’s 
  rule and was restored to its place of pride in the 
  imperial palace. The throne features elaborate 
  carvings of armored warriors battling strange, 
  unknown monsters. Despite its fine appearance, 
  it is an uncomfortable seat and no amount of 
  cushions make sitting upon it pleasant. Most 
  emperors came to believe that this was as it 
  should be, as no ruler should ever rest easy on 
  the throne.
  Tower Arcane
  High above the capital city floats the Tower Arcane, 
  a 160-foot-tall stone tower rising from a rocky island 
  from which spills a waterfall to rain down onto the 
  city below. The Tower Arcane has looked down on 
  the city for so long and has become a presence so 
  constant that most people hardly notice it unless the 
  drifting tower passes overhead. Few people outside 
  the wizards who attend the archmage have ever set 
  foot into the place and its contents have been the 
  subject of great speculation and rumor. Whether 
  these suppositions are right, the colorful wizards who 
  sometimes descend from their aerie never say.
   The order of wizards housed in the Tower Arcane 
  came to Rûl centuries ago from a distant land 
  named Ys (see Beyond the World’s Edge for more 
  details), a faraway place some claim lies beyond the 
  Eternal Storm in the east or somewhere north of 
  the Desolation. These masked magicians brought 
  
  1616
  wonders and gifts to the emperor, bargaining with 
  him to secure permission to construct a center of 
  learning above the city in exchange for passing on 
  their lore to worthy pupils. While suspicious of 
  these strangers, the emperor also feared what might 
  result if he refused, and so he agreed. One week later, 
  the tower appeared in the sky above Caecras and 
  has remained ever since, drifting over the city in a 
  tightening spiral until reaches the city center and then 
  reverses course.
   The tower perches atop a hill-sized chunk of 
  volcanic stone that tapers to a point at the bottom. 
  Caves pit the sides all around, with a massive 
  waterfall spilling out of one particularly large 
  opening down to the ground below. The water has 
  no source that can be determined and has never 
  stopped flowing, leading some to believe the waters 
  are magical and possess healing properties. People in 
  the city leave basins and buckets to collect the falling 
  water as the tower passes overhead so that they can 
  be restored, though few, if any, can give proof to its 
  supposed restorative properties.
   Drakes inhabit many of the caves, flying about the 
  structure day and night. The drakes never trouble 
  the people on the ground nor do they take livestock 
  from the countryside. Rather, they pick off sheep, 
  goats, and the occasional shepherd from the Grand 
  Duchy—it is not unusual to see a struggling animal 
  (or shepherd) in the clutches of these monsters before 
  they disappear into the darkness of the caves.
   The great tower stands thirteen stories tall and 
  features dozens of minarets that climb up around 
  it, each one home to one of the twenty-one wizards 
  attending the Archmage, who himself or herself 
  dwells in the central tower. The central tower’s top 
  boasts an enormous Orrery—not to be confused 
  with the relic found in Lij—that the wizards use to 
  track the movements of celestial bodies and keep 
  precise time. The rest of the central tower holds a 
  vast repository of books covering a wide range of 
  topics such as histories, magical theory, and various 
  religious tracts.
   Finally, a circle of rune-encrusted gold stands in a 
  large hall at the bottom of the great tower. The mages 
  use this circle to move from the Tower to the city and 
  back again, traveling from one location to the next in 
  an instant. Only mages of the Tower have the ability to 
  use this circle.
   Mages of the Tower Arcane: The mages of the 
  Tower Arcane live apart from Caecras’s people and, 
  as demonstrated by their lack of action in fighting 
  against the orc insurrection, consider themselves 
  wholly independent from the Empire and under no 
  obligation to come to its defense. Since the tower’s 
  appearance, it is believed the original wizards 
  making up the order have largely died off, replaced 
  by apprentices who found a place within their 
  secret society. How and why certain individuals are 
  chosen to join the order is a secret known only to the 
  members, though it is thought they scour the lands 
  of the Empire for suitable candidates, whisking away 
  any they find worthy for training and indoctrination. 
  One is not invited to join, but conscripted. 
   The identities of the various members remain 
  unknown, as the founders’ descendants maintain 
  the customs of Ys, which require each member to 
  don clothing covering them from head to toe, and to 
  never show their faces to outsiders. Over the years, 
  the wizards have descended from their remote aerie 
  to move among the people on the ground. These rare 
  appearances have allowed people to identify certain 
  wizards by the color of their clothing. No two wizards 
  wear the same color, which extends to everything 
  the wizard might wear, from robes and gloves to 
  boots and jewelry. The color white is reserved for 
  the Archmage, who heads the order and is believed 
  to be the most powerful practitioner of magic on the 
  continent, if not the world. Aside from the Archmage, 
  nineteen wizards live in the tower, with two others 
  traveling the known world.
  Arcane Colors
  Color
  Notes
  White
  Archmage
  Red
  Great wizard
  Yellow
  Great wizard
  Blue
  Great wizard
  Orange
  High wizard, attends the red wizard
  Green 
  High wizard, attends the yellow wizard
  Indigo
  High wizard, attends the archmage
  Violet
  High wizard, attends the blue wizard
  Sage
  Lesser wizard
  Turquoise
  Lesser wizard
  Vermilion
  Lesser wizard
  Magenta
  Lesser wizard
  Scarlet
  Lesser wizard
  Azure
  Lesser wizard
  Aubergine
  Lesser wizard
  Amethyst
  Lesser wizard
  Teal
  Lesser wizard
  Viridian
  Lesser wizard
  Chartreuse
  Lesser wizard
  Brown
  Lesser wizard
  Gray
  Secret wizard, known to great wizards 
  and Archmage, at large
  Black
  Secret wizard, known only to Archmage, 
  at large
  
  17
  Navigating the City
  Getting around Caecras was trying even in the best of 
  times—in the aftermath of the orc uprising, it borders 
  on the impossible. Many of the streets never had 
  signs to begin with, and most that did have since lost 
  them. After the orc rampage, all city services—like 
  rubbish collection, policing, and maintenance—came 
  to an end. Collapsed buildings, widespread rubbish 
  and debris, dog-worried corpses, roving bands of 
  murderous orcs, the attacks of resistance fighters, and 
  so much more make simply traveling a few blocks an 
  adventure in itself.
   The initial outbreak of the uprising was brutal 
  and bloody, but the worst of it petered out after a 
  few days. Thus, most buildings remained intact by 
  the end of the uprising, and what damage there was 
  came from people fleeing ahead of the vengeful orcs. 
  Since the uprising, various resistance groups have 
  fought against the orcs by setting fires and blowing 
  up buildings, resulting in extensive damage across 
  much of the city. Great swathes of the city now stand 
  in ruins, the burnt remains of buildings offering mute 
  testimony to the horrific struggle that has unfolded in 
  this city.
  City Encounters
  Peril awaits anyone who seeks to travel through 
  Caecras. Between packs of wild dogs, orc patrols, and 
  rebels fighting to drive out the occupiers, wherever 
  one goes there’s risk of running into something 
  unfriendly and, most likely, dangerous. Whenever you 
  like, roll on the following table to determine what a 
  group encounters in the city.
  Caecras Encounters
  d20
  Encounter
  1
  A pack of 1d6 + 3 wild dogs (small animals with pack 
  fighting) worrying the carcass of a small child
  2
  A patrol of 5 orcs searching for rebels
  3
  An explosion sounding in the distance
  4
  A band of 2d6 orphans (commoners with 
  improvised weapons) scavenging for food
  5
  A swarm of rats (as animal swarm) rushing out from 
  the darkness of a sewer or abandoned house
  6
  Mad, shrieking laughter echoing down a street and 
  then ending abruptly
  7
  A crucified and disemboweled human
  8
  A patrol of 10 orcs looking for loot
  9
  A ruined building collapses, filling the air with dust
  10
  A band of 1d6 + 1 rebels (as hired killers) searching 
  for weapons
  11
  A pack of 1d3 ghouls dragging off human corpses 
  into the darkness
  12
  The bodies of 2d6 orcs and 4d6 humans strewn 
  about a side street
  13
  An old man or woman hobbling down the street, 
  weeping
  14
  A pitched battle between 2d6 orcs and 3d6 humans 
  (as commoners)
  15
  A dying man seated on the ground, moaning, his 
  entrails heaped into his lap
  16
  An organ filch extracting body parts from a 
  struggling victim
  17
  A flock of ravens picking over the dead heaped up 
  at the end of an alley
  18
  A fountain choked with body parts 
  19
  A band of 1d6 + 2 orcs on patrol
  20
  A killing mist creeps down the road
  Law and Order
  Enforcing law and keeping the peace fell 
  to the Capital Guard, known as the Gray 
  Cloaks for their homespun hooded cloaks. 
  The Capital Guard had twelve precincts 
  at key positions throughout the city, with 
  666 constables divided between them, all 
  under the command of the Watch Captain. 
  Staunch requirements and rigorous discipline 
  made the force well-liked throughout the city, as they 
  maintained order without being oppressive or corrupt.
  
  1818
  When the orcs threw off their chains, the Capital 
  Guard were the first to respond to the threat. The 
  orcs disposed of them quickly, butchering them with 
  axes and swords, or simply tearing them apart with 
  their bare hands. The Gray Cloaks’ brave efforts did 
  little to slow the orcs in their rampage, and their 
  dead numbered among the appalling casualties in 
  the first days of the uprising.
   A few Gray Cloaks somehow managed to survive 
  the violence and, true to their natures and loyalties, 
  stayed instead of fleeing. Most have thrown in their 
  lots with the rebels, taking positions of authority 
  in the various cells working against the orcs. A few, 
  though, have put their efforts into protecting the 
  innocents who have remained behind, working to 
  spirit people out of the city. 
   Drudge has yet to rebuild a force to police the city, 
  instead assigning the duties to his soldiers. Most orc 
  patrols move through the city looking for any sign 
  of troublemaking or rebellion, and brutally making 
  examples of anyone who resists them. While bluntly 
  effective, these efforts do not inspire the survivors 
  or would-be visitors to support or trust that the new 
  regime will make any commitment to restore Caecras 
  to any sort of law and order. 
  An Uncertain Future
  Although small pockets of resistance continue to 
  cause trouble, Drudge considers Caecras secured, and 
  he has begun to turn his attention to enemies beyond 
  the imperial province’s borders. The orc king has 
  divided the orcs into three armies of 20,000 soldiers, 
  bolstered by slaves taken from the city to maintain the 
  supply lines. The first army is stationed in the capital 
  and countryside to enforce order. The second army is 
  stationed along the borders of the Grand Duchy and 
  Low Country to fortify the borders against possible 
  invasion from the west or south. The third army sits 
  near the borders of the Holy Kingdom, as Drudge 
  intends to carry war to that province.
   The orc king has made no secret of his loathing for 
  the New God’s cult, or of his desire to crush the Holy 
  Kingdom and stamp out the religion forever. However, 
  he understands the unifying influence any assault on 
  the province could have on many of the remaining 
  provinces, so he is biding his time until he can 
  reinforce his army with a fresh crop of new recruits 
  from the training grounds. Until that time, Drudge 
  has begun sending out agents and emissaries to sow 
  division and unrest throughout the remnants of the 
  Empire in the hope of sparking some kind of unrest, 
  dissent, and maybe even an uprising or two.
  The Stirrings of War
  War appears inevitable. Too many centuries of 
  oppression and exploitation have passed for the orcs to 
  simply forget their grudges—and, certainly, forgiveness 
  isn’t something that was ever bred into their nature. They 
  want vengeance and will do whatever it takes to free all 
  orcs on the continent, as well as exact vengeance upon 
  those who placed the chains on their people. 
   Even if the orcs could overcome their hatred, they 
  were bred to kill, and violence is all they know or have 
  ever known. Certainly, some orcs seek peace after all the 
  hard years of fighting, but most believe their training and 
  suffering have led to this decisive moment in time.
   The flood of refugees pouring out from Caecras 
  into the bordering provinces brings with it tidings of 
  atrocities occurring during and after the uprising. This 
  news, along with the logistical problems of having to 
  deal with the fleeing masses, has spread alarm and 
  fear through the provincial populations. Even as they 
  begin mobilizing for what appears to be the coming 
  war, several of the provincial leaders have sent envoys to 
  Caecras in the hope of forestalling the conflict, as well as 
  to get a sense of the current conditions in the capital. 
   The battle lines are still being drawn and, for now, 
  Drudge has more enemies than allies. That could 
  change, however. The Confederacy of Nine Cities broke 
  from the Empire long before the uprising, and while 
  each member city has made noise about their neutrality, 
  each has also sent a trade emissary to Caecras. The debts 
  owed by the Empire to the Vault brought the banking 
  consortium to the city to look after their interests. Kem, 
  the Golden City, has a vested interest in a continent-wide 
  war, as it will certainly profit by making loans to both 
  sides. Of all the cities in the Confederacy, only Azūl, the 
  City of Death, has made any public sign of siding with 
  Caecras, leading provincial leaders everywhere to beef 
  up their personal protection measures to guard against 
  the dreaded assassins of the Black Hand. 
   Balgrendia and the March Lands in the south are 
  too far away to be drawn into a war anytime soon. 
  Balgrendia, however, has always chafed under imperial 
  rule and many believe the province will break away 
  from the Empire soon. Founded as a military state to 
  guard the Empire’s southern borders from beastmen 
  incursions, the March Lands have always been loyal 
  to the Alabaster Throne. Ansa Hargrove, the current 
  duchess of the March Lands, has not moved for 
  independence, but she has been pulling troops from the 
  southern front to secure the province’s northern borders 
  against possible orc aggression out of Caecras.
   Low Country and the Grand Duchy of the West both 
  remain part of the Empire. The leaders in Low Country 
  know if they tried to break away, the orcs would simply 
  overrun them, so they continue supplying Caecras with 
  textiles, grains, and other materials. The Grand Duke of 
  
  19
  the Westers is too feckless to take a serious stand. He has 
  sent an emissary to the imperial city, with a very tepid 
  pledge of loyalty to the throne (see “The Orc King and 
  His Court” below), but little more than that. He believes 
  that will be enough to appease Drudge, although 
  his advisors tell him even that small gesture might 
  antagonize Tear and the Holy Kingdom.
   With the orc king’s attention fixed squarely on the 
  Holy Kingdom, it appears that province will be the 
  first to face the onslaught of the orcs. As a result, the 
  Kingdom is massing troops along its borders and has 
  started calling in old debts, most notably those owed 
  by the Borderlands of Tear. Tear’s ruler Horus has been 
  reluctant to declare against Drudge, despite being the 
  last surviving human heir to the Alabaster Throne. He 
  has some sympathy for what he sees as the rightness 
  of the orcs’ anger, as well as worry his small province 
  will once again be plunged into warfare. Horus knows, 
  however, that he owes much to the Holy Kingdom for its 
  faithful support during Tear’s darkest days. Tear is ready 
  to take the fight to Caecras if need be, or, at the very least, 
  send reinforcements to shore up the Kingdom of God if 
  it is attacked. 
  The Orc King and His Court
  Like all his predecessors, Drudge’s loyalty to the 
  Alabaster Throne was absolute. The curse binding 
  his people to the emperors ensured that neither he 
  nor they could take up arms against their human 
  masters—they had no choice but to do whatever was 
  asked of them, even if it meant laying down their 
  lives. Yet, the moment Drudge discovered the truth 
  behind the Empire’s policy of orc “retirement,” the 
  vile act of execution and cannibalism as a way to 
  both control and feed the growing orc population, 
  the curse’s hold on him was broken. As the orc king 
  gained the free will denied to him his entire life, so 
  too did orcs everywhere. 
   Before the uprising, Drudge had no ambition 
  beyond serving the throne and leading his people—
  but the shedding of those shackles, along with 
  centuries of oppression and exploitation, awakened 
  in him a greater sense of purpose. No longer bound 
  to serve, he committed himself to rule his people.  
  Drudge is determined to make the world safe for orcs 
  and visit justice upon those who enslaved them.
   A serious, driven, and focused man of few words, 
  Drudge does not revel in his new status. Far from it. 
  He finds the trappings of his station to be a burden 
  and has ordered the finery of the palace sold to raise 
  funds for the war effort. While he demands that he 
  is now the rightful ruler of the Empire and all its 
  lands, he refuses to call himself emperor and only 
  with great reluctance does he accept the title of king. 
  Rather, he sees himself as the first among equals, the 
  representative of all orcs, leading with their consent.
   Drudge stands just shy of seven feet tall and 
  weighs just over three hundred pounds. He has long 
  black hair, gray, scarred skin, and dark, smoldering 
  eyes. He dresses in the manner of a warrior, a mail 
  shirt covering his torso down to his knees, with his 
  greatsword either strapped to his back or never far 
  from hand. 
  KING DRUDGE 
  DIFFICULTY 250
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 11 (+1); shadowsight
  Defense 18 (mail); Health 68; Insanity 3; Corruption 2
  Strength 16 (+6), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect 11 (+1), Will 12 (+2)
  Speed 12
  Battlefield Leadership When Drudge gets a success on 
  an attack roll, he can choose one creature within short 
  range. Before the end of the round, the target makes its 
  next attack roll with 1 boon. 
  Fighter’s Resolve Drudge makes challenge rolls to resist 
  attacks with 1 boon.
  Rising Fury When Drudge takes damage, he makes his next 
  attack roll before the end of the next round with 1 boon.
  Weapon Mastery When Drudge makes an attack roll with a 
  weapon and the number on the d20 is 9 or less, reroll the 
  d20 and use the second number in place of the first.
  Combat Mastery When Drudge uses an action to attack 
  with a weapon, he can choose to deal 2d6 extra damage, 
  1d6 extra damage and make one additional attack 
  against a different target, or make additional attacks 
  against two different targets.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Greatsword (melee) +6 with 1 boon (5d6 plus 1d6 on attack 
  roll 20+)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Attack Command Choose one creature within short range. 
  If the target can hear and understand Drudge, it can use 
  a triggered action to attack and it makes the attack roll 
  with 1 boon and the attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Catch your Breath Drudge can use an action, or a triggered 
  action on his turn, to heal 22 damage. Once he uses 
  Catch your Breath twice, he must wait until he completes 
  a rest before he can use it again.
  Direct the Troops Drudge can use an action, or a triggered 
  action on his turn, to choose one creature within short 
  range. If the target can hear and understand what he 
  says, the target moves up to half its Speed.
  Shadow of the Demon Lord
  In both Shadow of the Demon Lord and The 
  Hunger in the Void, Drudge is presented as the 
  figure on whom the Demon Lord’s shadow has 
  fallen as the default threat to the world of Urth. 
  If you adopt the “Fall of Civilization” shadow, 
  Drudge becomes a far more monstrous figure, 
  one eager to spread chaos and destruction 
  across the continent. If you have Hunger, you 
  can apply the Demon Spawn role to the above 
  statistics box to represent the effects of demonic 
  influence on him.
  
  20
  20
  The King’s Court
  Compared to the last emperor’s court, Drudge’s 
  throne room is rather barren. The orc king rid himself 
  of the previous emperor’s sycophants and hangers-on 
  by simply killing them. Now, the court attendants are 
  a mix of orc and human advisors, along with those 
  few diplomats who have come to see who has taken 
  the place of the slain emperor. 
   General Skullsplitter: One of the personal guards 
  assigned to Drudge before he came to power in the 
  Empire, Drudge named Skullsplitter Protector of the 
  City, charging him with the establishment of order, 
  with the authority to do so in any manner he chooses. 
  Skullsplitter hates humans and therefore takes special 
  pleasure in the task assigned to him. He directs his 
  troops to show no mercy to traitors, rebels, or anyone 
  else who would threaten the new order. 
   Skullsplitter is an enormous orc, nearly eight 
  feet tall, with a powerfully built body covered in 
  scars and tattoos that account for all the humans 
  he has killed in his career. He has a large notch in 
  his forehead from the time his head caught an axe, 
  which he subsequently pulled out and used to slay 
  its former wielder.
   General Weeper: The supreme commander of the 
  three orc armies, Weeper gained renown leading orcs 
  against the beastmen in Tear, crushing a rebellion 
  in Old Edene, and hunting down and killing Eron 
  the Red, a notorious bandit who spent the summer 
  of 871 terrorizing the countryside of Low Country. A 
  combination of a keen, strategic mind with a fearsome 
  disposition won her the loyalty of her troops and the 
  king’s confidence.
   Weeper stands six feet tall and has a wiry body. She 
  scarred her cheeks with a knife to make it appear as if 
  tears run down her cheeks. When she talks, she does 
  so in a husky whisper, due to a slash to the throat she 
  suffered in battle. 
   Lord Alonzo Flench: Fearing invasion, the Grand 
  Duke of the West dispatched an ambassador to the 
  court of the orc king to monitor events in the capital 
  and to provide assurances that the Duchy would 
  remain part of the Empire despite the recent troubles. 
  The task of accomplishing this fell to Alonzo Flench, 
  an utterly inept and incompetent noble from a very 
  minor family. The Grand Duke dispatched him 
  because he was expendable—if anything happened to 
  him, he could easily ignore the protests from his kin. 
  Flench does not want to be in Caecras and has lived 
  in abject terror since his arrival in the city, which he is 
  incapable of hiding. 
   Lord Flench is a nervous young man in his mid-
  twenties. He sweats and wrings his hands a lot, his 
  eyes wide in horror from what he has seen. He has not 
  mustered up the courage to broach the topic to the orc 
  
  21
  king for which he was sent and has been, for the most 
  part, a silent guest and the butt of several cruel jokes 
  by the other court attendants.
   Eran Sumple: Not part of the Empire, the 
  Freeholds of Nar dispatched Eran Sumple to gauge 
  the situation in the capital and, if possible, maintain 
  her nation’s neutrality. A skilled negotiator and 
  diplomat, Sumple has managed to establish cordial 
  relations with the orc king and feels confident that 
  he will respect her nation’s independence and 
  unwillingness to become embroiled in any conflicts. 
  She is concerned about Irinith Qui’s efforts to spark 
  a war and sends regular reports to her masters back 
  home, urging them to prepare for the conflict.
   Sumple is a middle-aged human woman with short 
  brown hair streaked with gray. She wears spectacles 
  on her face and has a quick smile. She dresses in a 
  black suit and keeps a pistol inside her jacket pocket.
   Irinith Qui: The Golden City wasted little time 
  in sending representatives to Caecras, seeing in the 
  new king an opportunity to enrich themselves in the 
  coming war by bankrolling the orc armies. Irinith Qui, 
  a dark-skinned human with bright blue eyes and a 
  smooth scalp, leads the entourage from Kem, bringing 
  gifts of gold and gems to entice Drudge into forming 
  an alliance. If the carnage in the city has affected him, 
  Qui shows no sign of it. In public he is all business, all 
  the time. In the privacy of his lodging outside of the 
  palace, however, it is rumored he and his retinue of 
  servants hold parties of splendor and excess to rival 
  those of the slain emperor’s orgies.
   High Banker Levon Latrice: The Vault in Kem 
  dispatched Levon Latrice, one of the high bankers, to 
  accompany Irinith Qui to get a sense of the situation 
  in Caecras and to determine whether Drudge intends 
  to continue making payments toward the debts 
  incurred by the last emperor. If Drudge defaults on 
  the loans, the damage to the continent’s economy 
  would be severe, forcing the Vault to pressure the 
  neighboring provinces to take up arms against the 
  orcs and reestablish the human monarchy. Should 
  it become necessary, Latrice has agents in Tear 
  and the Holy Kingdom awaiting his command to 
  open negotiations with Horus and the Matriarch. 
  It remains unclear which way Drudge will go and 
  Latrice worries that the orcs might be too many to 
  stop if it comes to war.
   Latrice is a human in his fifties, with silver hair and 
  a long, drooping mustache. He wears violet robes and 
  rings of white gold on each of his fingers. Around his 
  neck, he wears a white gold chain on which hang nine 
  keys, one for each city in the Confederacy.
   Martinius Edder: Rumors have been circulating 
  about an early alliance between Drudge and Azūl, 
  the City of Death, and Martinius Edder’s presence 
  in the capital further stokes the fires of speculation. 
  An ancient man, bald and liver-spotted, he moves 
  
  22
  22
  with the aid of a cane and 
  assistance from six young 
  boys who see to his needs. His 
  age and infirmity disguise a 
  ruthless determination forged 
  over a lifetime spent killing 
  people for money. A senior 
  member of the Black Hand, 
  he and Drudge are, in fact, 
  secretly negotiating an alliance 
  in which the Black Hand would 
  eliminate key political figures 
  in neighboring provinces in 
  exchange for territory in the 
  Holy Kingdom and Edene 
  upon Drudge’s final victory 
  over his enemies.
   Pilsby Benjan: The 
  representative of Low 
  Country is effectively 
  trapped in Caecras, 
  having been in the city 
  on business when the 
  uprising began. Pilsby 
  Benjan was appalled 
  by the violence and 
  would have left with 
  the other refugees, but 
  he felt he could help the 
  people by staying behind. A halfling 
  3 feet tall, with broad features and a mop of curly 
  brown hair on his head, Benjan has been secretly 
  feeding intelligence to the Resistance at great 
  risk to himself. In fact, he was nearly caught but 
  managed to kill the orc soldier who had stumbled 
  onto his meeting in the maze of secret tunnels 
  beneath the palace. 
   Guy Pemberton: Many stayed in the city during 
  the uprising. Some remained as Caecras was their 
  home and they were willing to stick it out. Others felt 
  it was their duty to fight against the orcs, while many 
  felt they were simply trading one tyrant for another. 
  Guy Pemberton represents the people who want 
  peace in the city and who have accepted Drudge as 
  their new ruler. Called the Collaborators by their 
  enemies, Pemberton’s faction has been complicit in 
  many of the atrocities taking place in the city. They 
  out members of the Resistance, report suspicious 
  activities, and give food, shelter, and aid to the orcs, 
  who would simply take these things from them 
  anyway if not offered. Pemberton might not like the 
  orcs, but he feels cooperation will save more lives 
  than fighting them.
   
  Guy Pemberton is a middle-
  aged human with short blond 
  hair and green eyes. He wears 
  tattered green robes and a 
  simple silver chain around his 
  neck. Cringing and obsequious, 
  he laughs a little too loud at 
  the orcs’ jests and is a little too 
  helpful when dealing with his 
  new masters. Other members 
  of the court call him the King’s 
  Creature. 
   The Vermilion Mage: Since 
  the Tower Arcane appeared 
  in the sky above the city, 
  there has always been a 
  member of the order 
  in attendance at the 
  imperial court. Acting 
  more as observers 
  than counselors, the 
  wizards rarely act in 
  a political manner, 
  offering insights 
  only when asked 
  directly. Such 
  insights tend 
  to be cryptic and 
  mostly unhelpful. When 
  Drudge slew the emperor, the wizard in the 
  court cast a spell and disappeared. A few weeks after 
  the uprising died down, a new wizard appeared in 
  the Imperial Palace. Clad head to toe in vermilion, 
  with only his or  
  her eyes visible, the new wizard has said little, but 
  seems keenly interested in the events at court. 
  A Beleaguered Population
  Diversity has ever been a hallmark of Caecras’s 
  population. Even though humans have always had 
  the greatest numbers, they live alongside dwarfs and 
  halflings, hobgoblins and salamanders, and countless 
  others. While orcs were a regular sight, they lived in 
  the city as slaves, confined to their barracks around 
  the imperial palace or marching through the streets to 
  go on patrol or stand watch  
  on the walls. 
   The city’s population has, understandably, 
  undergone some stark changes. Taking into account 
  those slain during the uprising and the refugees 
  fleeing the violence, Caecras has but a fraction of 
  its former population, numbering between 20,000 
  and 30,000 inhabitants, about half of which are orcs. 
  The remaining people are humans, for the most 
  part, with smatterings of goblins, clockworks, and 
  representatives of other ancestries. 
  
  23
  The Victors
  The orcs make up the largest cultural group in the 
  city. When the enslavement curse that bound them 
  to the throne was broken, centuries of pent-up rage 
  and hatred drove them to commit acts of appalling 
  violence against the human citizenry. After weeks 
  of fighting, the bloodletting slowed until something 
  close to stability returned to the city. The orcs have 
  turned their attention from vengeance toward the 
  coming war against the Holy Kingdom, in addition to 
  securing and fortifying all they have conquered.
  The freedom wrested from the imperials fills orcs 
  with pride and enthusiasm for what is to come. For 
  too long, the orcs have seen themselves used and 
  discarded, exploited by their weak and unworthy 
  masters. Now is the dawn of a new age, the Age of 
  Orcs, and the world will tremble before their might. 
  Toward that end, orcs ceaselessly train and work, 
  making ready for the great conquest to come.
   Much of the random, rampant violence in the city 
  has died down—at least compared to the uprising—
  and the orcs have come to see themselves as the 
  masters of the city. They tolerate no disobedience or 
  resistance from the other peoples living in the city, 
  publicly executing dissidents and rebels in extremely 
  painful and gruesome ways. So long as the other 
  people accept their lots and do as the orcs say, they 
  can live. If not, they will most certainly die.
  The Collaborators
  Sensing the way the wind was blowing, many people 
  came forward to pledge fealty to Drudge. Called 
  Collaborators by the members of the Resistance, they 
  have done everything they can to find normalcy in 
  their new circumstances. Many go about their lives as 
  they did before the uprising, returning to their homes 
  and working in their professions, all the while turning 
  a blind eye toward the atrocities and chaos swirling 
  around them. However, as conditions worsen and 
  the city is slowly being transformed into something 
  unrecognizable, their ability to tolerate the horror 
  diminishes and more and more of them either take up 
  with the Resistance or leave the city altogether.
  The Resistance
  Few in Caecras dispute the horrible conditions 
  under which the orcs lived or the disturbing efforts 
  to which the Empire went to check their growing 
  numbers. Their violent and bloody overthrow of the 
  government, however, and the staggering civilian 
  casualties that followed, destroyed what little human 
  sympathy they might have had. A growing group of 
  survivors in the city, calling themselves the Resistance, 
  have been working to wrest control of the city from 
  the orcs, or at least make them pay dearly for trying to 
  hold it. 
   The orcs’ patrols and tight grip on the city effectively 
  prevents the various groups of resistors from working 
  together. Instead, the Resistance has cells scattered 
  throughout the city. Former priests, constables, 
  adventurers, and ordinary people lead these groups, 
  doing whatever they can to sabotage the orcs’ control 
  efforts and weaken their grip on the city. Tactics vary 
  by the group. Some stockpile weapons and armor to 
  arm the populace for their own uprising. A few groups 
  blow up buildings, while others prey on orc soldiers, 
  luring them into traps and murdering them. 
   The factions in the Resistance agree the orcs must 
  be removed, but what comes after is a matter of great 
  debate. The Loyalists want to weaken the orcs so that 
  Horus, the last human heir to the Alabaster Throne, 
  can crush them easily when, it is believed, he will 
  come to liberate the city. The New Order, a group 
  made up of common people, resents the excess of the 
  old emperors and the huge disparities in wealth and 
  lifestyle between the rich and poor. While the horrors 
  of the orc uprising were regrettable, they believe, the 
  orcs have broken the imperial line and created an 
  opportunity for all people to become truly free. Other 
  factions simply try to help people escape the city, seek 
  revenge, fight injustice, or simply revel in the chaos.
  The Slaves
  In an act of incredible hypocrisy, or revenge, the orcs 
  have made slaves of many people living in Caecras 
  in order to maintain control of the city and support 
  preparations for the coming war. Slaves live in the old 
  orc camp, forced to labor twelve hours a day or more 
  to produce arrows, spears, clothing, rope, and other 
  materials the orcs will need when they invade the 
  neighboring provinces. Others are marched out to the 
  other two orc armies in the north and south, to toil away 
  in the construction of ramparts and roads on the front 
  lines. Each week, orc patrols move through the city, 
  rounding up more people to swell the ranks of the slaves. 
  The Refugees
  People fled Caecras in droves during the uprising 
  and the landscape all around the city shows the 
  signs of their flight, from the discarded clothing and 
  possessions left where they fell to the picked-over 
  bones of people who could not withstand the rigors 
  of the exodus. The massive flood of refugees has been 
  reduced to a mere trickle, but people continue to leave 
  the city, knowing that to remain is to face violence, 
  enslavement, or death at either the hands of the orcs 
  or the bombs of the Resistance. A few priests of the 
  Old Faith who escaped the slaughter have opened 
  routes out of the city through the sewers, trying to 
  keep them clear by fighting against the harvesters and 
  other strange things infesting them.
  
  24
  24
  The Parasites
  Harvesters have always lived under Caecras, extending 
  their lives by stealing flesh and organs from the people 
  above. The new arrangement in the city has only 
  emboldened these creatures. For reasons of their own, 
  the harvesters here don’t prey on orcs, and the orcs 
  don’t really care if the humans in the city get torn apart 
  by these parasites. In a few places, harvesters have 
  begun moving in the open, even settling in homes 
  vacated by dead or fled citizens. The Collaborators 
  press for protection against the creatures, but their 
  cries have been ignored as the orcs have far greater 
  concerns than the pleas of the conquered.
   For more details on harvesters, be sure to check out 
  Horrific Parasites.
  Military Industry
  Caecras depends on imports to sustain its people 
  and economy. Food poured into the hungry city from 
  the surrounding farmlands, suitable only for raising 
  livestock and growing crops after the landscape was 
  denuded of forests and other natural resources long 
  ago. Mines in the north continue to extract a bit of 
  iron and copper, but most have been played out. 
  Reliant as the capital was on materials from outside 
  its borders—much of which was required by the 
  throne as tax revenue—it is unclear how long the new 
  government can maintain its hold on power, with 
  the flow of goods slowed to a trickle and the future of 
  trade uncertain at best.
   Not long after the uprising, the orcs looted the city 
  for materials to prepare for the coming war. Bells 
  were taken down from temples and melted down to 
  become swords, axe blades, and arrowheads. Entire 
  buildings were dismantled to build ballistae and 
  catapults. Nothing in the city went to waste: clothing, 
  leather, pottery—anything and everything was 
  gathered up and put to use to build the orc armies. 
  While somewhat diminished now, some looting and 
  scavenging still continues, as slaves and citizens alike 
  are forced to gather these materials and help turn 
  them into the machines of war. 
  A New Tyranny
  The people in Caecras have no rights, no freedoms, 
  nothing other than that which has been granted to 
  them by their orc masters—which is very little. The 
  orcs organize themselves in a loose military society 
  with King Drudge at the top of a chain of command 
  that leads down to the troopers making up the bulk 
  of the armies. The city’s rulers expect deference from 
  all noncombatants and utter subservience to the 
  military’s needs. Rebellion, sedition, theft, arson, or 
  any other crime perceived as anti-military is rewarded 
  with summary public torture and execution. 
  Adventures in Caecras
  The uprising threw Caecras into chaos, making it an 
  exciting and dangerous place in which to set your 
  adventures. Orc patrols constantly prowl through 
  the streets, public executions are almost a daily 
  occurrence, buildings explode without warning, 
  refugees seek help in sneaking out, and a massive war 
  between the orcs and the rest of the Empire looms on 
  the horizon. Caecras is the perfect place to kick off a 
  campaign that will ultimately determine the fate of 
  Rûl and its people. Use the following ideas to inspire 
  you when creating your own adventures set in this 
  war-torn land.
  • People in the city start going insane and acting in 
  wild and self-destructive ways. An investigation 
  reveals that a fungus has contaminated the grain 
  stores.
  • The harvesters have made a pact with King 
  Drudge and are now allowed to move in the open, 
  as well as prey on the populace. With authority 
  from the king, the harvesters hold a lottery each 
  week to see which lucky soul will have to offer up 
  a vital organ.
  • The Resistance manages to set bombs off inside 
  the imperial palace, killing one of the king’s 
  advisors and seriously injuring Drudge. The orcs 
  clamp down on civilians everywhere in the city 
  using brutal, draconian methods.
  • Saboteurs from Tear have infiltrated the city, 
  to bring arms to the Resistance and begin a 
  campaign of terror against the orcs.
  • Food shortages lead to widespread hunger. 
  Someone has to bring food into the city or the 
  whole place might collapse.
  • An orc gothi, a priest of the Dark Gods, has 
  climbed to a position of influence with the orc 
  king, advising him to start sacrificing humans to 
  win the gods’ favor for the coming war.
  • The characters are trapped in the city during the 
  uprising and must find a way out.
  • The Tower Arcane falls from the sky, crashing 
  into the city. There’s no sign of any of the order’s 
  wizards.
  • After war breaks out between the Holy Kingdom 
  and Caecras, a powerful devil leads an army 
  of hogmen (see Exquisite Agony) out from Hell 
  through the gates of Gaethira to put everyone, orc 
  and human alike, in the city to the sword.
  
  25
  • An explosion rocks the city, killing hundreds of 
  innocent civilians. The Collaborators turn against 
  the Resistance and the city is once more plunged 
  into violence.
  • The characters are sent to infiltrate the city and 
  recover an important relic from the Great Library.
  • Several cults devoted to the various aspects of the 
  Demon Lord seize the opportunity gained from 
  the city’s unrest to move out from hiding and work 
  their wickedness in the city.
  New Creatures
  Spirits haunt the lands of Caecras, lurking in old ruins 
  or prowling the lands under the cover of darkness. 
  The following spirits supplement those presented in 
  Shadow and other sources.
  Apparition
  The echoes of people long dead, apparitions appear 
  as they did in life, but are semi-transparent, revealing 
  their ephemeral nature. Apparitions appear only in 
  places where they lived and died, and then only at 
  night, dissipating in sunlight, and reconstituting when 
  night falls. Each performs the same activities it did 
  when it was alive, running the same errands, toiling 
  at the same task, conversing with the same people, 
  each night without end. Apparitions never alter their 
  behavior and do not recognize other creatures or 
  changes to their environment.
  APPARITION 
  DIFFICULTY 1
  Size 1/2 to 1 horrifying spirit
  Perception —
  Defense 10; Health —; Insanity —; Corruption —
  Strength —, Agility —, Intellect —, Will —
  Speed 10
  Immune all damage; gaining Insanity; all afflictions
  Ephemeral An apparition can move through creatures and 
  solid objects. It ignores the effects of moving across 
  difficult terrain.
  Relive the Past An apparition performs the same set  
  of tasks it performed in life. It cannot detect the 
  presence of other creatures other than apparitions  
  or acknowledge changes to its environment.
  END OF THE ROUND 
  Night Bound If the apparition is in an area lit by sunlight, it 
  ceases to exist until the area is no longer lit by sunlight.
  Ghost
  Some souls, through sheer power of will or by dint 
  of their great power resist the natural order and 
  remain in the mortal world, existing as ghosts. Most 
  ghosts remain until an undone task is completed, but 
  their time between life and death strips away what 
  compassion they might have had, inculcating them 
  with an enduring hatred for the living.
   Ghosts move unnoticed in the world, their invisible 
  presence spied only out of the corner of the eye by 
  children, animals, and, of course, other spirits. They 
  can, however, reveal themselves by exerting their 
  will, appearing in whatever form they last had when 
  they lived. Thus, most ghosts appear to bear ghastly 
  wounds or to suffer the infirmities of great age. Such 
  an appearance is both startling and unnerving, for it 
  manifests the horrors one is bound to face in death. 
   Unlike many other spirits, ghosts remain anchored 
  in the world, so when they become incapacitated, they 
  vanish and return to the space they left 24 hours later. 
   Ghosts typically know High Archaic and some 
  know the Common Tongue. 
  GHOST 
  DIFFICULTY 500
  Size 1 horrifying spirit
  Perception 15 (+5); darksight
  Defense 20; Health 100; Insanity —; Corruption 1d6 + 3
  Strength —, Agility 16 (+6), Intellect 13 (+3), Will 13 (+3)
  Speed 8; flier
  Immune damage from cold, disease, fire, and poison; 
  gaining Insanity; asleep, blinded, deafened, diseased, 
  fatigued, immobilized, poisoned, slowed
  Insubstantial A ghost takes half damage from weapons, 
  can move through solid objects and other creatures, and 
  ignores the effects of moving across difficult terrain.
  Naturally Invisible A ghost is invisible to all creatures 
  except animals, children, and other spirits. The ghost 
  cannot use its attack options while it’s invisible.
  Shocking Appearance When a creature gets a failure on 
  a challenge roll to resist the ghost’s horrifying trait, it 
  gains 1d6 extra Insanity. While frightened from gaining 
  the Insanity, the creature is also impaired and slowed. A 
  creature driven mad by gaining Insanity in this way takes 
  damage equal to its Health, having died of fright.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Touch the Soul (melee) +6 with 1 boon against the target’s 
  Agility (6d6 plus Possession)
  
  26
  26
  Possession The ghost can attempt to possess the target of 
  its attack as part of the same attack. The ghost makes a 
  Will attack roll against the target’s Will. On a success, the 
  ghost enters the target’s body and remains there until it 
  moves out of the target’s space or is forced out by the 
  target (see below) or an effect that ends possession. A 
  possessed target becomes compelled by the ghost and 
  the ghost can access the target’s memories, knowledge, 
  and spells. Each time the possessed creature takes 
  damage, it can make a Will challenge roll with 1 bane. On 
  a success, it forces the ghost out of its body into a space 
  of the ghost’s choice within 1 yard. If the ghost gets a 
  failure on its attack roll or is forced out of a target’s 
  body, the ghost cannot use Possession on the same 
  target again until it completes a rest.
  Telekinetic Slam (short range) +3 with 1 boon (4d6)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Manifestation The ghost uses an action, or a triggered 
  action on its turn, to become visible. It remains visible 
  until it uses an action, or a triggered action on its turn, to 
  become invisible once more.
  MAGIC 
  Power 5
  Telekinesis mind over matter (6), crush (3), dancing weapon (3), 
  hold (2), force wave (2), telekinetic outburst (1)
  END OF THE ROUND 
  Epic Recovery The ghost removes one affliction from itself.
  Epic Adversary Roll 1d3 + 1 to determine how many actions 
  the ghost can use during the next round. The ghost can 
  use these actions during any turn and can do so before 
  its enemies act. Each time the ghost uses an action, it 
  can move up to its Speed before or after the action.
  Flee the Light If the ghost is in an area lit by sunlight, it 
  becomes invisible if it’s not invisible already.
  Common Characters
  Adventures set in and around Caecras might involve 
  any of the following characters in addition to the 
  usual sorts of characters described in Shadow of the 
  Demon Lord.
  Caliban
  The wretched, mutated people of Clamorhome, 
  calibans sport all kinds of strange maladies in their 
  flesh, such as shuddering tumors, weeping sores, 
  and odd scaly patches. Cursed to live in agony, they 
  despise the hale and healthy.
   Calibans speak the Common Tongue. 
  CALIBAN 
  DIFFICULTY 5
  Size 1 frightening human
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 10; Health 12; Insanity 1d6; Corruption 1d3
  Strength 12 (+2), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 9 (–1)
  Speed 8
  Life is Pain A caliban takes half damage while not injured. 
  A caliban takes double damage while injured.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Club (melee) +2 (1d6)
  CALIBAN MOB 
  DIFFICULTY 25
  Size 3 frightening human
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 10; Health 48; Insanity 1d6; Corruption 1d3
  Strength 12 (+2), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 9 (–1)
  Speed 8
  Life is Pain A caliban mob takes half damage while not 
  injured. A caliban mob takes double damage while injured.
  Mob A mob takes half damage from attacks that target 
  individual creatures and double damage from attacks 
  that affect an area. The mob acts as a single creature, 
  but it counts as ten creatures for the purpose of 
  choosing targets. A mob makes Strength, Intellect, and 
  Will challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  Creatures can move through a mob’s space, but they 
  treat the area as difficult terrain. The mob can squeeze 
  through openings large enough to permit the passage 
  of an individual member and can move through spaces 
  occupied by other creatures.
  Spawn When the mob becomes incapacitated, it dissipates 
  and 1d6 calibans appear in open spaces within the space 
  the mob formerly occupied. The spawned calibans take 
  the next available turn.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Improvised Weapons (melee) +2 with 2 boons (3d6 or 1d6 
  if the mob is injured)
  END OF THE ROUND 
  Overwhelm If the mob is not injured, each creature that 
  isn’t a swarm or a mob that is in the mob’s space or 
  within 1 yard of it must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll or take 2d6 damage.
  Gray Cloak
  The beleaguered constables who survived the 
  uprising now fight to carry out their duty by 
  protecting the surviving citizens against the 
  depredations of the conquerors. Once the city’s 
  enforcers of law and order, they now serve as 
  defenders, leaders of the Resistance, or vigilantes. 
  GRAY CLOAK 
  DIFFICULTY 25
  Size 1 human
  Perception 12 (+2)
  Defense 17 (mail, large shield); Health 23; Insanity 0; 
  Corruption 0
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 11 (+1), Will 11 (+1)
  Speed 10
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Sword (melee) +3 with 1 boon (2d6 + 2)
  Crossbow (long range) +0 with 1 boon (3d6)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Last Ditch Effort If the Gray Cloak would become 
  incapacitated by an attack, it can use a triggered action 
  to heal 5 damage. Once it uses Last Ditch Effort, the 
  Gray Cloak cannot use it again until it completes a rest.
  Stand Fast If the Gray Cloak would be moved against its 
  will, the Gray Cloak can use a triggered action to cancel 
  that movement.
  Guerrilla
  Certain members of the Resistance hope to defeat 
  the orcs by making it too costly for them to remain 
  in the city. They hope to achieve this by blowing 
  up buildings, setting booby traps, and sabotaging 
  supplies.
  
  27
  GUERRILLA 
  DIFFICULTY 1
  Size 1 human
  Perception 9 (–1)
  Defense 12 (hard leather); Health 10; Insanity 1d6; 
  Corruption 1d3 – 1
  Strength 10 (+0), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 11 (+1)
  Speed 10
  Unstable Possessions If the guerrilla takes damage and is 
  carrying one or more bombs, it must get a success on an 
  Agility challenge roll or explode, taking damage equal to 
  its Health and sending fire and fragments out in a 3-yard 
  radius centered on a point in its space. Everything in the 
  area takes 2d6 plus 2d6 extra damage for each bomb 
  the guerrilla carried after the first. A creature in the area 
  that gets a success on an Agility challenge roll takes half 
  the damage.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Axe (melee) +0 (1d6)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Explosive A guerrilla carries 1d3 + 1 bombs. Using an action, 
  the guerrilla can set or throw an explosive. If the guerrilla 
  sets the bomb, it detonates after a period of time chosen 
  by the guerrilla, up to 1 hour from when it was set. If the 
  guerrilla throws the bomb, it detonates when it impacts 
  against a solid surface. A guerrilla can throw the bomb 
  up to 20 yards.
  When the bomb detonates, it explodes in a 1d6 yard 
  radius, dealing 2d6 damage to creatures in the area and 
  12 damage to objects in the area. A creature takes half 
  the damage with a success on an Agility challenge roll.
  Looter
  Opportunistic scoundrels have taken to looting the 
  abandoned buildings and making off with their gains. 
  The orcs shut down these activities whenever they 
  find them, but the city is too big for the orcs to be 
  everywhere.
  LOOTER 
  DIFFICULTY 1
  Size 1 human
  Perception 9 (–1)
  Defense 10; Health 11; Insanity 1d3 – 1; Corruption 1d3 – 1
  Strength 11 (+1), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 8 (–2)
  Speed 10
  Quick Reflexes The looter can use a triggered action on its 
  turn to hide or retreat.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Club (melee) +1 (1d6)
  Stone (short range) +0 (1d3)
  Orcs
  The orcs enslaved by the Empire conquered the 
  capital and have since organized their society in the 
  ruins of their former prison. The following entries 
  provide additional variations of orcs. All orcs speak 
  the Common Tongue and Dark Speech.
  Orc Bone Guard
  The elite guard once entrusted with guarding the 
  gates of Hell under the Cathedral of Hate, the Bone 
  Guard now protect the orc king and make up his 
  personal retinue. Although deprived of eyes, ears, 
  and tongues, they are not at all discomfited by their 
  lack of senses and can handle themselves with 
  incredible skill in battle.
  ORC BONE GUARD 
  DIFFICULTY 100
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 12 (+2); sightless
  Defense 20 (full plate, large shield); Health 45; Insanity —; 
  Corruption 3
  Strength 15 (+5), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 11 (+1), Will 14 (+4)
  Speed 10
  Immune gaining Insanity; blinded, charmed, deafened, 
  frightened
  Rising Fury When an orc takes damage, it makes its next 
  attack roll before the end of the next round with 1 boon.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Greatsword (melee) +5 with 1 boon (5d6)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Double Attack The bone guard attacks twice with its 
  greatsword.
  Swift Strike When a creature moves into the bone guard’s 
  reach, the bone guard can use a triggered action to 
  attack the creature with its greatsword.
  Orc Gothi
  Priests of the Dark Gods, orc gothi eschew armor and 
  display a triquetra scarred on their chests. They are 
  savage combatants, eager to kill and die to earn their 
  place in the company of their deities.
  ORC GOTHI 
  DIFFICULTY 25
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 9; Health 30; Insanity 1d6 + 1; Corruption 1d3 + 1
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 9 (–1), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 12 (+2)
  Speed 12
  Spill the Blood While injured, the gothi makes attack rolls 
  and challenge rolls with 1 boon.
  Warpriest When the gothi gets a success on an attack roll, 
  it can grant 1 boon on the next attack roll made by a 
  creature it chooses within short range.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Battleaxe (melee) +3 (1d6 + 2)
  Hatchet (melee or short range) +3 (1d6)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Battle Resurgence The gothi can use an action to heal  
  7 damage and then grant each creature within short 
  range 1 boon on attack rolls until the end of the round.
  Prayer When the gothi or a creature within short range 
  makes an attack roll or challenge roll, the gothi can use  
  a triggered action to grant 1 boon on the triggering roll.
  MAGIC 
  Power 2
  Battle augmented attack (3), close wounds (2), mighty 
  attack (2), arc of death (1)
  Destruction ruin (3), rend (2), erode (1)
  
  28
  28
  Orc Overseer
  Charged with maintaining order among the slaves, or 
  bringing up orc young in the customs and manners 
  of their kind, orc overseers are hulking brutes, cruel 
  bullies by nature, who unflinchingly dish out pain. 
  ORC OVERSEER 
  DIFFICULTY 5
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 13 (brigandine); Health 17; Insanity 1d3;  
  Corruption 1d3 + 1
  Strength 12 (+2), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 8 (–2)
  Speed 12
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Club (melee) +2 with 1 boon (1d6)
  Whip (melee; reach +1) +2 with 1 boon (1d3)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Painful Lash The orc overseer uses its whip to attack one 
  creature it can reach. On a success against a target 
  wearing light or no armor, the target also becomes 
  impaired for 1 minute. If the target is already impaired, 
  the target takes 1d3 extra damage.
  Orc Renegade
  Not all orcs were willing to obey King Drudge, or at 
  least not yet, for they have yet to quench their hate 
  for humans, or slake their thirst for blood. Few in 
  number, these renegades roam Caecras, brutally 
  killing anyone they can catch.
  ORC RENEGADE 
  DIFFICULTY 25
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 9 (–1); shadowsight
  Defense 15 (mail); Health 23; Insanity 1d6; Corruption 1d3 + 2
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 8 (–2), Will 9 (–1)
  Speed 12
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Battleaxe (melee) +3 with 1 boon (2d6 + 2 or 3d6 + 2 
  against an injured target)
  Orc Sergeant
  Sergeants lead squads of four to five orcs into battle. 
  They are usually veterans that rose through the ranks 
  after several engagements.
  ORC SERGEANT  
  DIFFICULTY 50
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 11 (+1); shadowsight
  Defense 17 (mail, large shield); Health 33; Insanity 1d3 – 1; 
  Corruption 1
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 10 (+0)
  Speed 12
  Rising Fury When an orc takes damage, it makes its next 
  attack roll before the end of the next round with 1 boon.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Sword (melee) +3 with 1 boon (2d6 + 2)
  Large Shield (melee) +3 with 1 boon (1d3 plus 1d6)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Double Attack The sergeant makes two attacks with a 
  weapon it is wielding.
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Rally the Troops The orc sergeant uses an action to rally 
  any number of creatures it chooses within short range 
  and that can hear it. Each target removes one affliction 
  and heals 1d6 damage. Once the sergeant uses this 
  action, it must wait until it completes a rest before it  
  can use it again.
  Orc Trooper
  More reliable than ordinary orcs, troopers have had 
  discipline drilled into them since birth, selected from 
  the ranks to serve as the Empire’s heavy infantry. Most 
  troopers have their squad and company numbers 
  tattooed on their faces.
  ORC TROOPER 
  DIFFICULTY 50
  Size 1 orc
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 17 (mail, large shield); Health 29; Insanity 0; 
  Corruption 1
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 11 (+1)
  Speed 12
  Disciplined An orc trooper makes challenge rolls to resist 
  the frightening and horrifying traits, as well as to resist  
  or remove the charmed and frightened afflictions, with  
  1 boon.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Sword (melee) +3 with 2 boons (2d6 + 2)
  Spear (melee or short range) +3 with 2 boons (2d6)
  
  29
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Shake It Off When the trooper takes damage, it can use a 
  triggered action to reduce the damage by 13 (minimum 
  0 damage). Once the trooper uses this talent, it cannot 
  do so again until it completes a rest.
  Slave
  A growing number of slaves drawn from the ranks of 
  once-free citizens now toil in oppressive conditions 
  in Caecras. Malnourished and worn down, the slaves 
  look forward to death as a welcome end to their never-
  ending misery.
  SLAVE 
  DIFFICULTY 1
  Size 1 human
  Perception 10 (+0)
  Defense 9; Health 10; Insanity 1d6; Corruption 0
  Strength 10 (+0), Agility 9 (–1), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 8 (–2)
  Speed 10
  Broken A slave makes challenge rolls to resist or remove 
  the frightened affliction with 1 bane.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Unarmed (melee) +0 (1)
  Tower Wizard
  The wizards of the Tower Arcane are thought to be 
  the most powerful users of magic in the Empire. A 
  secretive cabal of powerful mystics, they consider 
  themselves above the petty disputes of mortals 
  are content to watch events unfold from afar. The 
  following statistics box can be used to represent any of 
  the lesser wizards. Trade out traditions and spells as 
  needed to customize this character.
  TOWER WIZARD 
  DIFFICULTY 250
  Size 1 human
  Perception 15 (+5)
  Defense 13 (staff of magic); Health 34; Insanity 1d6 – 1; 
  Corruption 1d3 – 1
  Strength 10 (+0), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect 15 (+5), Will 14 (+4)
  Speed 10
  Grimoire The Tower wizard makes challenge rolls to recall 
  information about magic with 1 boon. 
  Grimoire Casting While holding the grimoire, the Tower 
  wizard can cast one of the following spells by expending 
  the casting of a spell he or she has learned of the same 
  or higher rank: sanctuary (rank 1 Protection), vigor (rank 
  2 Protection), shortcut (rank 2 Teleportation)
  Spell Mastery The Tower wizard has 6 spell points. When 
  the wizard casts a spell, he or she can spend a number of 
  spell points equal to the spell’s rank (minimum 1 point) to 
  cast the spell without expending a casting, or to cast a 
  spell for which the wizard has no castings remaining. The 
  wizard replenishes all spent spell points when he or she 
  completes a rest.
  Staff of Power The wizard’s staff of magic grants 1 boon 
  on attack rolls the wizard makes when casting an attack 
  spell and imposes 1 bane on challenge rolls made to 
  resist that spell.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Staff (melee) +2 with 1 boon (2d6)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Spell Recovery The Tower wizard can use an action to heal 
  8 damage and regain two castings of spells he or she 
  cast. Once the Tower wizard uses this talent, he or she 
  cannot use it again until he or she completes a rest.
  Counterspell When a creature the Tower wizard can see 
  attacks him or her with a spell, the Tower wizard can use 
  a triggered action to counter it. The triggering creature 
  makes the attack roll with 1 bane and the Tower wizard 
  makes the challenge roll to resist the spell with 1 boon.
  MAGIC 
  Power 6
  Arcana arcane armor (8), magic dart (8), arcane shield (4), 
  empowered magic (2), arcane lightning (2), arcane 
  retribution (5)
  Conjuration conjure useful item (8), direct conjuration (8), 
  conjure small monster (4)
  Illusion clamor (8), disguise (8), thimblerig (4), phantasm (2)
  Magician sense magic (8)
  Teleportation dismiss (8), fetch (8), boundless step (2), 
  portals (2), travel (1)
  Survivors and Victors
  Caecras’s importance to the Empire and role in the 
  coming war makes this setting an ideal place for 
  characters to claim as their homeland. Characters 
  from Caecras use the normal rules for creating 
  characters as presented in Shadow.
   Ancestries: Characters from any ancestry might be 
  found in the capital and surrounding lands. 
   Languages and Professions: Nearly everyone in 
  Caecras speaks the Common Tongue. In addition, all 
  human characters from Caecras speak Kalasan (see 
  Only Human).
   Imperial Background: Characters of ancestries 
  other than orcs can use the following table in place 
  of the background tables normally provided for their 
  ancestries.
  Caecras Background
  d20
  Background
  1
  You were a member of the Capital Guard. Start 
  the game with a uniform and 1d3 Insanity. Add 
  guard to your list of professions.
  2
  A temple you visited was sacked and burned by 
  the orcs. 
  3
  You accepted the orcs as masters of the city and 
  count yourself among the Collaborators.
  4
  You worked on a farm or raised livestock in the 
  lands around the capital. Add farmer or herder to 
  your list of professions.
  5
  You seized the opportunity created by the chaos 
  to loot a few shops. Gain 1 Corruption and 2d6 ss. 
  6
  As the orcs moved from temple to temple, you 
  tried to help an injured priest. He died, but he 
  gave you an object important to his faith and told 
  you to protect it. Gain a random enchanted object. 
  7
  You witnessed friends and loved one brutalized by 
  the orcs. Horrified and angered by what you saw, 
  you have joined the Resistance. 
  8
  A friend or a loved one was dismembered by a 
  harvester. Gain 1 Insanity.
  9
  You were an entertainer in Nine Vices. Add singer, 
  courtesan, musician, dancer, or entertainer to your 
  list of professions.
  10
  You earned a living working in your profession. 
  Nothing significant has happened to you so far.
  
  30
  30
  11
  You lost everything in the uprising and were 
  enslaved by the orcs. You have recently escaped. 
  Add slave to your list of professions and your 
  starting lifestyle is destitute.
  12
  You were a librarian at the Great Library. Add 
  High Archaic to the list of languages you know. 
  You can also read and write all the languages you 
  have learned so far.
  13
  You fought in the Great Arena. Start the game 
  with a few scars and a military melee weapon of 
  your choice.
  14
  You found the entrance to Hell under the 
  Cathedral of Hate. Gain 1d3 Insanity.
  15
  The Resistance blew up a building near your 
  home. The resulting fires wiped out your 
  neighborhood and killed a loved one. 
  16
  You worked in a factory in Clamorhome. There, 
  you befriended a few calibans. 
  17
  You worked as a merchant in Traitor’s Square. 
  Add merchant to your list of professions. 
  18
  You were a servant in the Imperial Palace. You 
  survived the slaughter by hiding. Add servant to 
  your list of professions.
  19
  You were born into a noble family. Your starting 
  lifestyle is rich.
  20
  You were apprenticed to the wizards of the Tower 
  Arcane. You quit when it became clear your 
  masters were not going to do anything to stop the 
  orcs. You discover one tradition of your choice.
  New Paths
  The following new paths represent avenues of 
  character development that reflect the changing 
  circumstances in Caecras, though characters from any 
  setting might choose these paths.
  Saboteur 
  Expert Path
  A building collapses. A wagon throws a wheel. 
  A champion’s armor fails at the most desperate 
  moment. These events could be a turn of bad luck—
  or they could be the work of a saboteur. 
   Saboteurs sow chaos and unrest by dismantling 
  and destroying the works of their enemies. By 
  attacking their equipment, they weaken their foes 
  and create confusion when something fails to work 
  as it should and with little explanation. Saboteurs 
  need access to the items they seek to undermine, 
  which means most saboteurs are skilled at stealth, 
  infiltration, and disguise. 
  Saboteur Story Development
  d3
  Story Development
  1
  You learned your techniques to help fight tyranny 
  and oppression.
  2
  Your saboteur talents arose naturally from your 
  criminal pursuits.
  3
  You developed your skills at dismantling objects 
  and setting traps as a way to frustrate and 
  terrorize your enemies.
  Level 3 Saboteur
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +3
  Languages and Professions You speak another language 
  or add a criminal profession.
  Breaker Your attacks against constructs and objects deal 
  2d6 extra damage.
  Quick Reflexes On your turn, you can use a triggered 
  action to hide or retreat.
  Sabotage You know how to use a tool kit to sabotage 
  objects so that they break under specific conditions. 
  Choose one object or part of an object you can reach. 
  You must then concentrate, during which time you use 
  your tools to weaken the target. The amount of time 
  it takes depends on the object’s Size. If the object is 
  smaller than Size 1, you must concentrate for 1 minute.  
  If the object is Size 1, you must concentrate for 10 
  minutes. If the object is Size 2 or larger, you must 
  concentrate for 1 hour plus 1 hour per point its Size is 
  greater than 2. When you finish, you sabotage the object.
  When you sabotage an object, you can either choose 
  to break the object, in which case the object takes 
  damage equal to its Health, or you can have the 
  object break under a specific condition as you 
  decide. You might choose to have the object break 
  after a period of time, when it’s used, or under 
  some other circumstance with the GM’s approval. 
  When the condition is met, the object or part 
  of the object takes damage equal to its Health. 
  Breaking an object in this way could have 
  other results. For example, if you sabotage a 
  bomb (see Demon Lord’s Companion), it might 
  detonate when it’s destroyed. If you sabotage a 
  boat, it might sink, carrying any passengers and 
  cargo with it.
  The GM can decide certain objects cannot be 
  affected by this talent or that some uses might 
  take even more time. For example, you can’t 
  use this talent to sabotage an entire sailing 
  ship, though you could sabotage the mast or 
  part of the hull. Similarly, if you try to use this 
  talent to sabotage part of a floor in a passage, 
  the GM might rule that you have to spend a 
  significant amount of time digging under it to 
  weaken the floor.
  
  31
  Level 6 Saboteur
  Characteristics Perception +1, Health +3
  Trap Expertise You make challenge rolls to find, disarm, 
  and resist the effects of traps with 2 boons.
  Set Trap You know how to create minor traps using a tool 
  kit and trap components worth 5 ss. Choose a cube of 
  space you can reach, up to 2 yards on each side. You 
  must then concentrate for 10 minutes, during which time 
  you use your tools to assemble the components into one 
  of the following traps. When you finish, the trap is set. 
  When a creature enters the trapped space, it triggers the 
  trap with the effects described below. The trap remains 
  until triggered or until you use an action to dismantle  
  the trap. If you dismantle the trap, you regain all the  
  trap components you used. A creature can find the trap 
  by searching the spot where you placed it and getting  
  a success on a Perception challenge roll with 1 bane.  
  A creature can use tools to disarm it by making an 
  Intellect attack roll against your Intellect score.
  Alarm: When triggered, the trap creates a loud noise 
  that lasts for 1 minute. The alarm can be heard from up 
  to 1,000 yards away.
  Harm: When triggered, the trap deals 4d6 damage to 
  the triggering creature. The kind of damage depends on 
  the nature of the trap you created.
  Obstacle: When triggered, the trap makes passage 
  through its space difficult or impossible. You might rig  
  a deadfall or collapse the floor. 
  Snare: When triggered, the triggering creature 
  becomes immobilized. A creature can remove the 
  affliction by getting a success on a Strength challenge 
  roll with 1 bane.
  Level 9 Master Saboteur
  Characteristics Health +3
  Deadly Sabotage When an object is destroyed by your 
  Sabotage talent, any creature in direct contact with the 
  object must make an Agility challenge roll with 1 bane. 
  A creature takes 3d6 damage on a failure, or half the 
  damage on a success.
  Rapid Trap It takes you only 1 minute to use your Set  
  Trap talent.
  Evasive Maneuver When you get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll and your Speed is at least 2, you can move 
  up to 2 yards without triggering a free attack.
  Trooper 
  Expert Path
  Veteran soldiers, troopers make up the elite fighting 
  force of any army. Disciplined, skilled, and thoroughly 
  dangerous, they march into the thick of battle, 
  overpowering their foes with their superior skill and 
  endurance. Orcs made up the majority of troopers in 
  the Empire, though troopers of all ancestries can be 
  found across the continent and beyond.
  Trooper Story Development
  d3
  Story Development
  1
  You were part of an elite unit in an army and 
  learned your techniques on the battlefield.
  2
  You trained under an orc veteran, who taught you 
  advanced combat techniques. 
  3
  After suffering a terrible defeat, you redoubled 
  your efforts to improve your fighting ability.
  Level 3 Trooper
  Attributes Increase two by 1
  Characteristics Health +6
  Languages and Professions You speak another language 
  or gain a military profession.
  Combat Veteran When you attack with a weapon,  
  you make the attack roll with 1 boon.
  Shake It Off When you take damage, you can use a 
  triggered action to reduce the damage by an amount 
  equal to your Strength score (to a minimum of  
  0 damage). Once you use this talent, you cannot  
  use it again until you complete a rest.
  Level 6 Trooper
  Characteristics Health +6
  Deadly Advance Your attacks made as part of a charge 
  deal 1d6 extra damage.
  Level 9 Master Trooper
  Characteristics Defense +1, Health +6
  Crush your Enemies Once per round when you roll a 1 on a 
  d6 for a damage roll, you can reroll the die. You must use 
  the result of the second roll.
  Undaunted You ignore banes on attack rolls imposed from 
  being fatigued or frightened.
  Mage of the Tower 
  Master Path
  The mages of the tower are a secretive society based 
  in the Tower Arcane that floats above Caecras. Known 
  for the colorful clothing that completely conceals 
  their appearance, they are devoted to the study of 
  magic and the advancement of their understanding 
  and capabilities. Mages of the Tower Arcane do 
  not reveal the inner workings of their organization 
  to outsiders, and add to their numbers with great 
  reluctance only when necessary.
   To choose this path, there must be an opening in 
  the ranks of the mages as determined by the GM. 
  Level 7 Mage of the Tower
  Attributes Increase three by 1
  Characteristics Health +2, Power +1
  Languages and Professions You speak another language 
  and add an academic area of knowledge to your list of 
  professions.
  Magic You discover a tradition or you learn one spell.
  Color of Magic When you choose this path, the GM grants 
  you a color from those available within the order. You 
  are then given hooded robes, veil, gloves, and boots in 
  that color and you are expected to don these garments 
  wherever you go. While wearing these garments, you 
  gain all of the following benefits:
  •	 A +2 bonus to Defense
  •	 Normal precipitation does not touch you, light wind 
  does not affect you, and you are not discomfited by 
  cold or heat, though the garments do not protect you 
  from damage that sources from cold or heat.
  Tower Refuge If you are within 100 miles of the Tower 
  Arcane, you can use an action to teleport yourself and 
  everything you wear and carry to the hall; at the bottom 
  of the Tower Arcane.
  Level 10 Mage of the Tower
  Characteristics Health +2
  Magic You discover a tradition or learn one spell.
  Spell Defense When a creature attacks you with a spell, 
  you impose 1 bane on the creature’s attack roll. As well, 
  you make challenge rolls to resist spells with 1 boon.
  Tower Lore You can expend a casting from a spell you 
  have learned to cast a spell from a tradition you have not 
  yet discovered. The spell must be of the same or lower 
  rank. Each time you use this talent, you gain 1d3 Insanity.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadow of the Demon Lord/Lands in Shadow/SotDL - Lands in Shadow - Caecras (oef).pdf