UnderRealm

UnderRealm is set in the UnderRealm deep beneath the earth. Fleeing an environmental catastrophe inhabitants of the surface fled underground to cities and warrens constructed ever deeper into the earth. In time, many discovered entrances into a deep otherwordly realm of caverns, tunnels and ancient fortresses, long abandoned. Seemingly finding refuge, they settled eagerly into these fortresses, exploiting the protection they offered in this dangerous and mysterious new world. The locations of the entrances are lost and the surface has become but a fable.

You the player, are one of these 'UnderHolds', a city in a world still mostly unexplored, connected only by the relative safety of various 'under roads', which connect the fortresses together. Gaining in confidence, many advocate exploration of roads leading into the unknown, some leading deeper into the earth, where the delvers, who claim to of built the Underholds, warn dark creatures lie in wait.

Inspirations: Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, D&D, Arcana: Iron and Magic (Shrike's SD upon which the ruleset is based)

Underrealm PC Powers

Setting

The Underrealm is a series of caverns, often hundreds of many hundreds of meters in diameter, some even greater, linked together by natural caverns, tunnels and the under roads. It is not a dark place, the bacteria which feed on thermal vents found throughout the underealm are luminscent, forming thick biofilms in many caverns and tunnels. Be it night or day, many caverns are awash with vibrant light.

The origin of the Underholds is unknown, a race native (so they claim) to the Underrealm insist they constructed them in ages past, before the deep ones befell them and forced them to abandon many (leaving many strangely intact, with no signs of battle).

Known History

Little is known from the period before the settlement of the Underholds. Oral tradition and fragmented records state most denizens of the underrealm are from the surface, a lush land of greenery with a open sky bathed in light. Forced from the sky world as it turned to ice and snow, they dwelt underground for many years, sheltered from the cold.

Geography

UpperRealm

The UpperRealms was the first to be settled. It contains the most intact Underholds and UnderRoads but lacks many of the rare minerals, creatures and treasures found deeper in the subterranean warrens The Underholds here are old, proud but lack experiance with the sharper edge of life in the underrealm.

LowerRealms

In time, the Underholds grew fat and overcrowded and migrants delved ever deeper, eventually finding several routes to the lowerrealm, a more dangerous but more rewarding area with more vibrant wildlife, rare minerals and Underholds though more damaged, but containing vaults of artifacts.

Travel to the lowerRealm from the upper either involves the dragons back, a path spiralling downwards through a deep cavern, or one of several UnderHolds who possess ancient mechanical elevators seemingly designed for the purpose of trade between both sections of the UnderRealm.

DeepRealms

General Geography
Consult this for a general overview of the world.

National Placement Map
Consult this when choosing nation placement. One Cavern is one Hex except for those inside a Underhold.

NPCs

Races

Humans

You're human. Shut up.

Humans are pretty varied. If you have bunny ears, cat ears, elven ears, your just another human.

Djinnae

The physical features of a Djinnae are unknown to most, due to their cultural dress. Every member wears some form of full-body cloak or robe, along with gloved hands and a mask or hood of some kind. Their clothes are often decorated with multiple knick-knacks and are sewn together with seemingly-random fabrics. They’re shorter than most people, and their limbs seem longer than normal for humans. Beneath their robes, they resemble human-sized monkeys, covered in brown hair, but with human faces and hands, and no tail.

Djinnae are keen-minded and have a love for technology and exploration. Many are scavengers or merchants, finding deposits of crystals or lost treasures and selling them in UnderHolds. They also work as craftsmen, producing various goods for sale to others. They’re quite communal, and many richer ones have the company of the Marione, their own creations. They’re particularly fond of crystals, and many great alchemists or magicians are Djinnae.

Marione

Created by the Djinnae as servants, these beings look like fleshy marionettes, complete with segmented joints and near-featureless faces. Their mouths are barely slits in their face, and they seem to have no eyes (though they see fine, as their ocular organs can see through the skin around their face). Designed as labourers and bodyguards, these beings are extremely quick and dexterous, capable of great precision. They also learn quickly, picking up tasks by rote.

Marione are not entirely sentient when first created, most quickly develop sentience. Upon discovering this, Djinnae treat them as servants and employees rather than slaves, paying them for their work. Many are used as crafters and haulers, or to guard their masters; most have remained as such. They are loyal and straightforward, but very quick to learn and adapt. The Djinnae have given the Marione the process used to create them, allowing them to ‘birth’ new members of the species.

Ferran

Ferrans are most known for their unique diet – in addition to human food, these humans can feed on certain metals. This is not a natural evolution, but rather a byproduct of prolonged exposure to certain ores found in the deeper UnderRealm. A Ferran who comes into contact with iron, copper, or gold finds the metal bonding to his skin, slowly absorbed into his flesh like ice melting. This process is involuntary, painful, and extremely intoxicating, making it every difficult to stop when it has begun. It can also be addicting; Ferrans have a semi-deserved reputation amongst colonists as thieves and bandits.

Ferrans resemble dark-skinned humans. However, the marks of their diet are present in blotches and protrusions of metal in their bodies, skin transformed into a strange, living alloy. The texture and colouration depends on the absorbed metal, and is a mixture of hybrid tissue and actual metal. Ferrans do not age unless utterly deprived of metal from birth; if killed, soft tissue quickly rots and hybrid flesh coalesces into true metal, leaving their skeleton and growths behind. Many Ferrans also have traces of sunstone in them; rare members develop natural Crystalium cores in the center of their torsos, granting them innate (and untrained) magical power. Many develop strange transformations resembling natural magitech, granting them strange and useful abilities. Ferran’s need for other food and water is much less than most humans, and is eventually eliminated altogether.

Ferrans originate from the deeper, smaller UnderHolds. They tend to eschew company of other humans, mistrusting them and causing conflicts due to their hunger for metal and tempting appeal to greedy men.

Making a Nation

Nations are created using X nation points.

A nation can only have as much population as it has support for. Population provides X wealth.

Underholds

UnderHolds are ancient fortresses built into entire caverns, or possibly cut from the rock itself. They are all lined with a tough unbreakable base layer of hexagonal brickwork overlaid with various materials such as marble (styled in something that resembles baroque), often this is replaced by whatever denizens have claimed the Underhold and the originals stored in vaults. The Entrances into such Underholds however are far from impregnable, wide avenue like underroads lead into expansive Gatehouse's made from typical materials.

UnderHolds can contain entire caverns within them, the larger ones several. Your free to think of the 'city' portion of a underhold as it's own cavern, or combined with one of the caverns it holds, as your own preference.

Minor UnderHold

25 points

Provides 5 Population

Produces 100 wealth

Holds one cavern

UnderHold

A typical Underhold,

50 points

Provides 10 Population

Produces 500 Wealth

Production sites for all non-beast units.

Holds 2 Caverns

1 free link

Exalted UnderHold

Huge sprawling or towering centres of civilization, such a Underhold has several expansive chambers.

125 Points

Provides 20 Population

Produces X Wealth

Production sites for all non-beast units.

Holds 5 Caverns

2 free links

Caverns

Caverns are areas of similar geography, in which sites are housed. They are also affected by cavern & site modifiers which customise regions and sites. If a cavern is left empty of sites, it is considered half cost, preferably spent on another empty cavern.

Wild Caverns

Scouted, but untamed, Wild Caverns are dangerous to enter.

10 points

Supports 2 Beast Pens

Cultivated Cavern

Civilization has spread to this cavern, allowing cultivation the resources on offer, hope you like bacterial goop stew mixed with sugar fronds.

10 points

Supports 2 Goop Farm

Sunstone Cavern

Here ancient varities of surface crops can grow, such as coffee and tea.

10 points

Supports 2 Plantations

Flooded Cavern

Devoid of land, flood caverns are plentiful in natural resources, such as fish and provide considerable benefits

10 Points

Supports 2 Fisheries

Mushroom Forest Cavern

Either a number of connected caverns, or single cavern that is covered in large mushrooms

10 points

Supports 2 Mushroom Farms

Fungal Jungle Cavern

Either a number of connected caverns, or single cavern that is entirely swamped by fungal growths that tower like large trees and brimming with peculiar life.

10 points

Supports 1 Fungal Extractors

Supports 1 Beast Pens

Rocky Cavern

Devoid of life, these rocky cavern is probably full of poisoness metals thrust.

10 points

Supports 2 Mineral Mines

Wastes

Devoid of life, this cavern is a barren wasteland full of gases venting through cracks but not in sufficient quantities to trouble a traveller.

5 point

Poison Wastes

Devoid of life, this cavern is a barren wasteland full of poison gases venting through cracks that choke the air.

10 point

Defensible

Sites

Sites are areas of civilized activity, either constructions or areas of habitation. They are placed in Caverns.

Goop Farm

The top layer of the bacterial biofilm is scooped up, producing a staple kind of blue porridge that is surprisingly tasty.

10 points

Supports 5 population

Coffee Plantation

Under the blue light of a sunstone, various surface crops can be grown.

10 points

Provides 5 Wealth

Sugar Plantation

Under the blue light of a sunstone, various surface crops can be grown.

10 points

Provides 5 wealth

Potato Plantation

Under the blue light of a sunstone, various surface crops can be grown.

10 points

Supports 5 population

Fruit Plantation

Under the blue light of a sunstone, various surface crops can be grown.

10 points

Supports 5 population

Fortifications

Fortifications are outposts, small castles and walls that defend the tunnels into a cavern. They are useful for delaying the enemy while you respond to attacks.

10 points

Must be seized and captured before the associated Cavern can be conquered.

Slum Town

Desperate people sometimes build their own towns in caverns, berfit of the protection offered by a Underhold.

10 points

Provides 2 population

Links

Tunnel

A natural link between caverns, dangerous and full of native life.

1 points

Under Road

Lit with sunstone, Under Roads are walled and paved roads that provide relatively safe passage between caverns, nearly all Underholds are linked together by a Under Road.

5 Points

Under Canal

Lit with sunstone, Under Canals are walled and provide relatively safe passage between caverns. Most have walkways either side, allowing for pack animals to pull canalboats.

5 Points

Under Rail

Few understand the mechanisms behind these automatic wagons that travel on metal tracks, but pull a lever and they will travel between stations, belching steam.

15 Points

Cavern, Site & Underhold augments

Get Huge

This cavern is particularly large, double all support values. Be warned, upon game start D6 will be rolled, 2-6 will result in 1-5 unknown links due to the size of the cavern.

5 Points

Abyssal Chasms

This cavern has several chasms from which

10 Points

Hidden Routes

This cavern D6 tunnels that only your power is aware of, leading to other caverns (including neighbours).

10 Points

Special Resources

Adamantium

Ultra-hard red metal, able to hold an exceptional edge and resist puncture forces

Mithril

A bright blue metal, comparable to steel, but virtually weightless.

Orichalcum

A luminous translucent metal that resembles a shard of smooth crystal that glows a faint gold, particularly suited to enchantment.

Terrigen Gas

A mutagenic gas, carefully used can be used to breed better creatures and.. people.

Military

UnderMilitary