Finally! Empires Rising is now available to buy priced £12! You can order your physical copies online from Lulu.com or Leisure Games.
What is Empires Rising?
Empires Rising front cover. Artwork by John Hodgson.
Empires Rising is a new stand alone fantasy setting for HeroQuest filled with adventure, warfare, conquest and Empire building!
Two fledgling empires inspire to rule the world of Athennia, each making a fast grab for territory. The Grydornlan Empire, a totalitarian regime that uses religious enlightenment as an excuse to conquer its weaker neighbours, threatens to engulf the entire Southern Continent. Atalansia, a major naval power, sails the seas liberating nations from the yoke of tyranny. In the middle stands the Alliance, a handful of nations and smaller states who frightened of the prospect of invasion have decided to take a stand against the oncoming storm.
Andrew and I with our copies of Empires Rising.
Finally! The print version of Empires Rising is in our hands. Pictured with me is Andrew Pardy, my friend responsible for the interior artwork. Expect the printed edition to go on sale very soon!
You can now follow Empires Rising on Facebook. Click here and “Like” the book there.
Empires Rising front cover. Artwork by Jon Hodgson.
The empires have risen! Empires Rising is now available on PDF through DriveThruRPG! Empires Rising is a new stand alone fantasy setting for HeroQuest filled with adventure, warfare, conquest and Empire building, written by Nathan Baron and interior artwork by Andrew Pardy.
NEW! Preview of the first 12 pages.
Now available as a PDF RELEASE DriveThruRPG.com, £7/$11
Print version will be available in a couple of weeks.
In out next Gazetteer, we will briefly explore the lands of the Kamakura people and the oriental world of Empires Rising.
A Kamurai warrior
Ruling over a kingdom made up of the Island of Kamakura and the Northern Provinces, the Kamakurans once ruled a mighty empire in the east. The Kamakura people are a disciplined race believing in honour and tradition, and have a long-standing practice of a militaristic lifestyle, priding themselves on their martial prowess. The Kamakura people live in a feudal state, which is very prosperous, with a rich economy and a huge trade in importing goods to other lands. The autocratic Shogun, who imposes his will through his warrior-elite, runs a regime that is militaristic and totalitarian in nature, and the peasant class is subjugated and treated no better than slaves. There are various levels of society, starting with the Shogun warlord at the top, his warrior-elite (known as the Kamurai) in the middle, and the peasant-serfs at the bottom toiling in the fields. The laws are very draconian and justice is swift. The people know their place, and know not to try and rise above it.
The Kamakura people are one of the most disciplined people in the world. Years of strict training and tutoring has formed a unique society that thrives on honour and self-discipline. Most Kamakura men spend many years, from a very early age, learning different skills that will forge them into a true warrior. While the women learn domestic skills, in order to serve the man they will eventually marry. The only women that are allowed to learn the martial arts are priests, who are held in high regard, one equal to any man. The Kamakura practice ancestor worship, and firmly believe that their ancestors have a guiding hand in their lives. Ancestral Temples can be found in all the major cities and every home has a shrine dedicated to the family spirits.
A Kamakura woman
The Kamakura makes up the largest ethnic group, but actually are not the true native peoples of the region. The true natives are the Aiyu. They are seen as outcasts and hold no honour or rank in Kamakura society. They had lived in the region for many centuries before the Kamakura arrived. Most live freely on the islands of Chi and On, but those that live on the mainland are treated as slaves. Any Aiyu living in the region are not well treated and are often persecuted by their Kamakura overlords. At the end of the Winter Age, the Kamakura tribe came to the islands occupied by the native Aiyu. The Kamakura were a warring nomadic tribe, looking for lands to settle. They came across the island that is now present day Kamakura and conquered the peaceful Aiyu.
For the Kamakura cultural Keyword, please consult the Empires Rising campaign setting book.
One area that appears on the world map, but is not mentioned in the Empires Rising setting book gazetteer are The Shattered Kingdoms. In this blog entry, we will briefly explore the island nations that make up the Shattered Kingdoms, and provide a new cultural Keyword for heroes.
A long ship from the Shattered Kingdoms
The Shattered Kingdoms are group of islands that lie to the northeast of Olfenstien between the Arms of the World. The islands are not one united nation, but a serious of smaller, independent kingdoms that share a similar culture and language. The islanders of the Shattered Kingdoms are a hardy folk; as the rocky islands has a salt ridden soil, which is no good for growing crops or rearing livestock. Instead, the islanders are hardened mariners, fishing the seas around their islands or trading with neighbouring nations. During the summer months, some islanders take to their boats and sail south, looking for defenceless villages and farms to raid off the coasts of Atalansia, Olfenstien and the Alliance. This has given the Shattered Kingdoms’ people the reputation for being cutthroats and pirates, who yearn for bloodshed and treasure.
This could not be further from the truth, as in reality, the Shattered Kingdoms is a civilised place. Although a different lord known as a Jarl rules each island, disputes between the island dominions are settled by a moot. The Jarls gather upon the Moot Rock, a small island at the centre of the Shattered Kingdoms, to discuss whatever disputes that need to be settled and to cast a vote to decide on an outcome. The Jarls must abide by the decision of the majority and swear an oath to keep it. Any Jarl who goes against the vote risks a bloody retribution from their fellow Jarls. The position of Jarl is not a hereditary one, and any warrior maybe elected by his peers to the post, providing the previous Jarl is deceased. Although, killing one’s own Jarl is illegal and punishable by death.
The women of the Shattered Kingdoms are just as hardy as the men folk. They are no mere anglers’ wives, as some opt to accompany their husbands and sons on the summer raids. Those that remain behind on the islands help forge weapons, build boats, repair nets, make clothes, trade with foreigners, as well as raise their children. It is very unusual for an islander’s wife to be comely. The other inhabitants of the islands are thralls; able bodied people captured during raids and brought back to the islands to serve the Jarl. Servitude as a thrall is for life, and often they are given tasks involving backbreaking labour. The laws of the islands dictate that a Jarl’s thralls are to be freed upon his or her death. Some freed thralls remain on the islands, adopting the customs and beliefs of the islanders. Whilst others buy passage home, returning to their former lives many years after the capture.
The islanders of the Shattered Kingdoms keep the old heathen gods. The two dominant cults on the islands are Manolöre the Lord of the Waves and Solkranth the Storm Lord. Both deities are described as the “Nemesis of the Nine” in the Book of the Prophet, and both are considered heretical cults in the eyes of the Church. Even in the tales of the Twelve Pilgrims, Tolkeius uses trickery to defeat the storm giant named Solkranth, mocking the heathen god in the process. The truth is the religious practices and traditions of the islanders are little different to those found on the mainland. The marriage ceremony is conducted aboard ship on the open sea, children are baptised in saltwater, and when an islander dies, their family lay the body on a skiff, set fire to it and push it out to sea. The islanders believe in their saying, “The sea gives us life, and to the sea we must return in death.” An islander drowned or lost at sea is never mourned, as these are seen as the most purist forms of death.
The Shattered Kingdoms Cultural KeywordAbilities: Boat Handling, Fierce Reputation, Hardy Folk, Hardened Mariner, Hold Breath, Mythology: Old Heathen Gods, Raid and Pillage, Relationship: Jarl, Shattered Kingdom Culture, Spear and Shield Fighting, Sworn Oath, Strong Swimmer. |
In our latest gazetteer, we will be taking a look at one of the many factions and organisations that exist in Empires Rising. The mercenary company I would like to introduce can be slotted into any military campaign. The heroes may even belong to the company or have to face them on the battlefield. If the heroes are members, the company acts as a community, providing resources and support, which maybe be drawn upon during the campaign.
The Jovial Ghoul company sigil
In a time of empire building and conflict, mercenary companies have found that work is never in short supply. Many of the major powers often require extra auxiliary troops and smaller nations are always on the lookout for men to boost their ranks. One of the most infamous of these mercenary companies is the Jovial Ghouls, a macabre unit of infantry who dress as walking corpses to frighten their foes. The Jovial Ghouls have taken part in a number of recent wars, finding themselves in the employ of various notorious individuals. When the money is right, they will fight for whatever cause comes their way, and know when the time is right to get out if things turn ugly. Like many sell-swords, it has been known for the Jovial Ghouls to switch sides more than once during a single conflict.
The current captain of the Jovial Ghouls is Raskhin Vhal, a grizzly mercenary who spent his entire life soldiering. It is said he was an orphan boy who was adopted by the company, and has grown up with the Ghouls, acting the role of the captain’s steward. His election to captain did not come as surprise, as Captain Vhal had spent time being educated in the art of warfare by previous captains he served. The company accepts men and women from every nationality, and most of the Ghouls are runaways or deserters, looking to strike it rich from the loot of the battlefield. The company is reportedly fifteen-hundred strong, but this figure may not include raw recruits who are not battle ready and various camp followers. Currently, the Jovial Ghouls are fighting in Jhartika on the side of the Sultan, in a campaign to repel the Grydorlanian military incursion in the south of the country.
Company Resources: Warfare 12Ш, Morale 9Ш, Diplomacy 18, Wealth 18, Magic 12.
For our fifth gazetteer, we shall be taking a brief look at the city of Grydor, the capital and centre of the Grydorlan Empire. This blog entry simply expands on the one in the Empires Rising setting book.
The Grydorlan Empire's coat of arms
The city of Grydor is one of the oldest examples of Durran occupancy of the Southern continent. Dating back to circa 200 Old Calendar, Grydor was once a place of culture and learning, with the embodiment of democracy at its very heart. It was this very democratic process that allowed Mirandiele to take power, and transform Grydor from a slumbering city-state into a mighty empire. With riches plundered from conquered nations, a radical rebuilding program began, transforming Grydor into a modern city. All the slums and rookeries of the old city were demolished to make way for modern living accommodation, new public buildings were erected, and great monuments were constructed to Mirandiele’s achievements. Today, the city is a good example of modern architecture, with its plazas and wide avenues laid out in a grid pattern, symbolizing both efficiency and expediency. At the heart of this grand design stands the great cathedral dedicated to Mirandiele the Immortal Empress. The building itself has been placed so it dominates the city, a strong symbol of the ideology that has been thrust upon its citizens.
At first, the people of Grydor were enthusiastic and ecstatic at the prospect of regime change. Mirandiele’s rise to power was meant to herald in a golden age of prosperity. What she promised, Mirandiele delivered, as the city grew rich on plunder derived from conquest. However, all this came at a price, as Mirandiele’s regime started to impose strict draconian measures on its people, in an effort to stamp out any thought of discontent. Civil liberties vanished, martial law was imposed, and the new religion was imposed upon the people, as Mirandiele’s megalomania and narcissistic tendencies grew out of all proportion. The citizens who had handed power to her, and once loved her too, now live in fear of persecution. Speaking out against the regime is a crime punishable by death, and the more popular political agitators simply disappear in the night. A dark cloud has descended over the city, as a totalitarian age dawns for its people, and the so-called golden age has turned to rust.
To celebrate the birth of the immortal bard William Shakespeare, in our next gazetteer we meet Empires Rising’s own famous playwright, William Waggledagger.
William Waggledagger at the Triangle Theatre
The name William Waggledagger has become synonymous with the theatre. Every man, woman and child in Atalansia and beyond are talking about his plays and sonnets. Born and brought up in the sleepy village of Avonford-upon-Lanta, Waggledagger started his career as an actor, before turning his hand to writing. Within quick succession, Waggledagger founded a playing company, after receiving patronage from Lord Edwin Stork, the King’s viceroy. With the backing of a powerful patron, The Viceroy’s Men moved into the newly constructed Triangle Theatre in the heart of Lantaport, and Waggledagger was given a retainer that gave him a steady income and a house for him and his family to live, so long as he produced plays that favoured the current royal dynasty.
Amongst Waggledagger’s most famous plays are A Midwinter’s Day Nightmare, Hate’s Labour’s Won, The Miserable Husbands of Welvinine, The Merchant of Armon and Little Ado About Something. His most recent play, The Calm, has the critics in hysterics, and has been so successfully received, a national tour is being planned. Waggledagger has not only written comedies, as some of his plays are about historical figures, whilst others have been tragedies. Tarin the Butcher is a bloody play about the rise and fall of a tyrannical lord in Kerilan, and paints the Atalansians as saviours and heroes of the Kerilan people. The play is a masterpiece of propaganda, and misses out the atrocities committed by the Atalansian military and the bloody occupation that followed.
Significant Abilities: Backing of a Powerful Patron, Career as an Actor, Famous Playwright, Favoured by the Critics, Highly Spoken of, Relationship: The Viceroy’s Men, Steady Income, Synonymous with the Theatre.
