WizardofOwls
2007-06-20, 11:33 AM
I would love to hear your opinions, ideas and advice on a campaign world I am designing. If you read this, please just drop me a line or two and tell me what you think, even if it is just to say "I hate it."
Thanks in advance!
Allen
PS A Note in Advance: Much of the info here would not be common knowledge to players, such as how windriggers are created, and details on navigators and shard-keys.
BASIC PREMISE:
Oramis was once a solid world like any other. A millennium ago, a war sprang up between two formidable mages (who also happened to be twin brothers but of differing ethical beliefs). This war raged on for many days, but neither mage could seem to get the upper hand. The final blow of this Wizard War was so potent that neither mage was able to contain it, and as a result the world was shattered like a glass ball into a thousand pieces. Since both mages were far more powerful than the Wizards’ Guild could handle, it was powerless to stop the war. Luckily, however, the Guild (some of whom were diviners) was able to foresee this disaster months before it actually happened and was prepared. Though unable to completely prevent this event - now referred to as the Shattering - they were able at least to save the world from total destruction. After determining how the world would be shattered, the Guild - working feverishly - devised magical devices called shard-keys and placed one of them on each piece of land which would someday become a shard. These devices maintain each shard's gravity, atmosphere, climate, and stability. If a shard-key were ever to be removed from the shard it was designed to protect, that shard would lose all of these things and would pose a hazard to other shards as it spun out of control. All of these shards were suspended inside a large envelope of air and set to floating within it in random, ever-shifting patterns.
Millions of people died in the ensuing chaos which followed the War’s conclusion. Common people, blaming mages for the destruction and death, hunted down and slew many wizards. Much knowledge of magic was lost. Modern mages have yet to duplicate many of the marvels that have been accredited to those ancient wizards - including the magic which created shard-keys! Even today, after one thousand years, mages are still feared, shunned, and - in many places - actively hunted, despite the fact that they were instrumental in saving the world from total destruction. Undaunted they have continued to be of great service to man, their greatest deed being the creation of windriggers, flying ships which provide transportation from shard to shard.
(Selections from) A DICTIONARY OF COMMON ORAMIAN TERMS AND PHRASES:
Air Traffic Controllers' Guild: The group which is now responsible for the creation and sale of windriggers. This Guild is rumored to be a branch of RASAMA-TAS. The Guild is completely neutral, and will sell windriggers to most anyone who has enough money to buy one. (See also: RASAMA-TAS; Windrigger.)
Airship: See Windrigger.
Children, The: See Children of the Light.
Children of the Light: A militant organization composed of extremist Lawful Good members who are fanatically driven to further their own alignment. They use inquisition-like tactics to find and convert those who are not Lawful Good to their own system of beliefs. It is rumored that the radical group called the Witch Hunters is in some way connected to this organization, since the Children condemn mages and all things magical in nature. Based on the shard called Caemlyn. (See The Lexicon of Shards: Caemlyn. See also: Shard; Witch Hunters.)
Compass: A compass is a portable magical device which can be used to locate any given shard from anywhere in the world. They are very expensive. (See also: Shard.)
Darkfall: Oramian term for the brief periods of semi-darkness resulting from one shard passing between another shard and the sun, temporarily casting its shadow on the other shard. Darkfall may also occur when an individual shard’s rotation causes it to briefly turn away from the sun. Darkfall can last anywhere from a few minutes to several days, depending on many factors. At least one shard, the shard called Dark Haven, is known to remain in darkness all of the time because it is somehow linked to another, larger shard, which always blocks it from receiving sunlight. (See Lexicon of Shards: Dark Haven. See also: Shard.)
Dragon: Dragons of the Shattered World are vastly different from those of other worlds. In the Shattered World, dragons are the primary components in the construction of windskiffs and windriggers. Thus dragons are heavily hunted and can bring high profits on the black market.
Dragon females give birth to large clutches of eggs which the mother then abandons. As the young dragons begin to hatch from their eggs, those which are quicker and stronger begin to break the other eggs and eat their siblings. As the survivors grow, they leave the nest and begin to congregate with other immature grays in flocks. Flocks of grays (so-called because their hide has not yet developed a color and appears as a neutral gray) are a common sight. At this point they have no more than animal intelligence. When they reach adulthood, their hide begins to take on its color, intelligence begins to develop, and a breath weapon develops. At the mature adult stage all Oramian dragons gain the ability to polymorph self.
The dragons of Oramis do not follow the same patterns of those of other worlds. Skin color is NOT indicative of alignment or of breath weapon! It is entirely possible to have a chaotic evil gold dragon with a flame breath weapon! Each mature Oramian dragon is unique and such creatures will NEVER be found as a random encounter!
Dragon Lancers: Windrigger crews who actively hunt dragons to sell to the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild. Rumor has it that living dragons are the major component used in the manufacture of windriggers. (See also: Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild; Dragon; Windrigger.)
Dragoneers: Special windrigger crew members who specialize in protecting ships from dragon attacks. They often use special harpoons and lances especially enchanted for this purpose. Unlike Dragon Lancers, Dragoneers are only concerned with the protection of the windrigger they are currently working on, not with harvesting the bodies of dragons. (See also: Dragon; Dragon Lancers; Windrigger.)
Fragments: There are seven of these shards which are actually almost large enough to be called continents. One of these is even large enough to enclose a large inland sea. (See also: Shard.)
Globe: A puzzle/game popular with Oramian children. A three-dimensional glass ball which, when disassembled, becomes miniature models of all of the shards. Curiously, when the ball is reassembled, it is hollow. Magical versions of this game have been created which can be used as oracular devices. To use one the holder simply drops the solid ball on a semi-hard surface. The pattern the pieces land in is said to be able to predict future events. However, with one thousand pieces, the possible permutations are endless. It is nearly impossible to use an oracular globe without first consulting a Pattern Book. (See also: Pattern Book; Shard.)
Gray: See Dragon.
Key: See Shard-Key.
Keystone: See Shard-Key.
Moon: Before the Shattering, Oramis - like many other worlds - had a moon called Selene. It is theorized that when the world “exploded,” the sudden loss of gravity and the force of the explosion hurled it into space, leaving Oramis moonless. If this is true, then it becomes difficult to explain why the priestesses of Selene still revere the moon and - mysteriously - still retain their spell-casting ability and other granted powers! Some sages have theorized that this can be explained in one of two ways. First, perhaps some other power has adopted the moon’s portfolio and has “adopted” the priesthood as its own under the guise of Selene. Second, perhaps the moon was not lost at all, it just isn’t visible now because of the fact that there is no longer a true night. (See also: Oramis; Shattering, The.)
Navigator: Navigators are strange and mysterious beings who are present on all windriggers. No one seems to know exactly who or what they are. It has been rumored that navigators are diviners, using their magic to know exactly where any given shard is located at any given time. Navigators appear as faceless humanoids wearing midnight-blue hooded robes and have never been known to speak. It is forbidden to touch a navigator. (DM'S NOTE: The following information is NOT considered general knowledge, and as such it should not be made available to the players unless and until they discover it on their own. The reason it is forbidden to touch a navigator is because the navigator is not really there at all: it is merely an illusion projected by the ship itself. Unknown to the general public, windriggers are actually living sentient beings - probably dragons - magically shaped by mages to look like ships. Somehow, possibly through a natural homing instinct or a natural magical ability, they are aware at all times of exactly where each shard is at any given moment and whether or not there are any other shards blocking a given route. The "navigator” illusion is used simply so that windrigger captains may have somewhere to direct their orders for destinations.) (See also: Shard; Windrigger.)
Oramis: Setting for the Shattered World campaign. Once a solid world, Oramis was blown apart as the result of a Wizard War fought between twin brothers, both of whom were powerful mages. Due to a great deal of foresight and Foresight by diviners of the Wizards’ Guild, Oramis was saved but forever changed. Today, Oramis is composed of one thousand floating islands (called shards) suspended within an envelope of air which revolves around the Oramian sun in approximately the same position formerly occupied by the pre-Shattering world. True night is now unknown in the shards, though some shards experience brief twilight-like hours of semi-darkness (known as darkfall). Unfortunately, the moon is believed to have been blown from its orbit and is now nothing more than a fondly-remembered legend. (See also: Darkfall; Moon; Shard; Shattering, The; Wizard War; Wizards' Guild.)
Night: A pre-Shattering myth. Supposedly when the world was solid, it would undergo periods of complete darkness, resulting from the world turning away from the sun. Sages say that such a thing is possible, but it is difficult for most Oramians to imagine such a concept.
Seas: The seas of Oramis have changed, as has the rest of the world. When the Shattering occurred, seas and lakes which were not land-bound flooded off the shards into the Wind Ways. Today, the seas (and there are seven of these) resemble large, free-floating, amorphous globs of fluid. There are also several fresh water “lakes.” Some aquatic life still remains in the seas of Oramis, supported at its most basic level by plankton. Seas appear bluish-green from a distance, while lakes are blue. (See also: Oramis; Shattering, The; Wind Ways, The.)
Selene: See Moon.
Shard: Any of the one thousand floating remnants of what was once the world of Oramis, resembling free-floating islands. They are composed of three parts: topside, shard-edge, and shard-root. A shard’s stability, atmosphere, climate, and gravity are maintained by magical devices known as shard-keys the existence of which is a closely kept secret. Windriggers must approach a shard at the shardedge. Otherwise, the shard’s gravity could possibly pull them down and result in shipwrecks. Due to the lack of a large, solid world to block the sun’s rays, there is no true night. Most shards will occasionally experience temporary periods of twilight-like darkness (called “darkfall”) as another shard’s path prevents it from receiving the sun’s rays, or, if the shard rotates, it may turn “upside-down” away from the sun. Otherwise, the shard-world is stuck in a perpetual state of never-ending day. Obviously telling time is much more difficult here than on other worlds. Luckily, all of the inhabitants of the world of shards have developed strong internal clocks which lets everyone know when it is time to sleep. How this works is unknown, but it may be a side-effect of the same magic which provides each shard with its gravity and atmosphere.
Magic varies from shard to shard. Some shards have normal magic, some have wild magic areas, and still others have dead magic areas, all of which are residual effects from the unleashing of the powerful magicks which caused the Shattering. (See also: Darkfall; Oramis, Shard-edge; Shard-Key; Shard-Root; Top-Side; Windrigger.)
Shard-Edge: The rim of a shard; the point from which - if one continues walking - one will fall off the shard into the Wind Ways. (See also: Shard; Wind Ways, The.)
Shard-Key: Magical devices which exist on each and every shard. These devices maintain a shard’s gravity, climate, atmosphere, and stability. If a key is ever destroyed or removed from the shard it was designed to maintain, the shard will become unstable and could pose a threat to other shards as it becomes uncontrolled and uncontrollable.
No two shards’ keys are exactly alike, their forms being disguised so that you would not know what you were looking at even if you saw one. On shards which have ruling families, it is usual that this family will have the shard-key under its protection, since the possession of a key would basically give the holder complete control over the shard and its inhabitants. (An old Oramian proverb says, “He who holds the ability to destroy a thing controls a thing.”) In the hands of a tyrant or other person with less than pure motives, the possession of a shard-key would be equivalent to holding the entire shard - and everyone on it - hostage, since simply by breaking it he would be sentencing everyone and everything on the shard to death. Also known as “keystones,” or simply as “Keys.” (DM'S NOTE: The following information is NOT considered general knowledge and as such should not be made available to the players unless and until they discover it on their own. Shard-keys are actually sentient, intelligent artifacts that bond with their owners. They will not bond with anyone of chaotic or evil alignment. If such a person gains possession of a shard-key, the key will attempt to take over the mind of its new owner. If this fails, it will attempt to change the person’s alignment to something more fitting. It is up to the DM to decide what powers each individual key possesses, but each should have powers designed to prevent them from falling into the hands of the wrong person, as well as defensive powers in case they do.) (See also: Shard.)
Shard-Root: The underside of a shard which hangs down much like the root of a tooth. Shard-Roots are popular nesting spots for dragons. (See also: Dragon; Shard.)
Shattered World, The: See Oramis.
Shattering, The: The final, catastrophic blow of the Wizard War which shattered the world of Oramis into one thousand pieces called shards. (See also: Oramis; Shard; Wizard War.)
Shipkey: See Shipstone.
Shipstone: A shipstone is a smaller, much less powerful version of a shard-key. It is this object which provides a windrigger with gravity. Navigators recognize the holder of a shipstone as captain and will obey only the holder’ commands. Also called “shipkeys.” (See also: Navigator; Shard-Key; Windrigger.)
Skyship: Alternate name for a windrigger. (See also: Windrigger.)
Skywyrm: Oramian term for a dragon. (See also: Dragon.)
Topside: The upper portion of a shard. (See also: Shard.)
‘Ways, The: See Wind Ways, The.
Wind Ways, The: The space that exists between the shards. A chaotic, wind-filled area dominated by strong air currents and buffeting winds. Sometimes referred to as simply as “the ‘Ways.” There is no gravity in the ‘Ways, so anything which falls into the ‘Ways without some means of self-propulsion will be buffeted haphazardly by the winds. It is nearly impossible to determine time and direction in the ‘Ways unaided. (See also: Shard.)
Windrigger: Magical conveyances which resemble normal ships but have the ability to fly, allowing travel from shard to shard. Most windriggers may also land on water. Windriggers are built from the bones and hides of young skywyrms called Grays. All windriggers have a mysterious figure known simply as the Navigator onboard. Creation and sale of windriggers are controlled and regulated by the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild. Rumor has it, however, that one of the mages who first learned how to create windriggers has gone rogue, and is helping the Sky Pirates of Gao-Den to create an armada of pirate windriggers. (See also: Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild; Dragon; Navigators; Rogue Mage; Shard; Shipstone; Sky Pirates of Gao-Den; Skywyrm; Wind Ways, The.)
Windsailor: Sailors who are trained in the operation of windriggers. (See also: Windrigger.)
Windship: See Windrigger.
Windskiff: A windskiff is a small flying boat designed to accommodate no more than six people. Unlike windriggers, a windskiff is a man-made vessel. Because of this, it has no navigator, and therefore the pilot is on his own when determining direction, routes, etc. (See also: Navigator; Windrigger.)
Windtamer: Windtamers are a special type of mage which can often be found on Windriggers. They have focused their abilities into harnessing and taming the Wind Ways, making travel therein much easier. (See also: Windrigger; Wind Ways)
Wizard War: The catastrophic war in which the world of Oramis was shattered into myriad shards. (See also: Shard; Oramis.)
Wyrm: A dragon. (See also: Dragon.)
Thanks in advance!
Allen
PS A Note in Advance: Much of the info here would not be common knowledge to players, such as how windriggers are created, and details on navigators and shard-keys.
BASIC PREMISE:
Oramis was once a solid world like any other. A millennium ago, a war sprang up between two formidable mages (who also happened to be twin brothers but of differing ethical beliefs). This war raged on for many days, but neither mage could seem to get the upper hand. The final blow of this Wizard War was so potent that neither mage was able to contain it, and as a result the world was shattered like a glass ball into a thousand pieces. Since both mages were far more powerful than the Wizards’ Guild could handle, it was powerless to stop the war. Luckily, however, the Guild (some of whom were diviners) was able to foresee this disaster months before it actually happened and was prepared. Though unable to completely prevent this event - now referred to as the Shattering - they were able at least to save the world from total destruction. After determining how the world would be shattered, the Guild - working feverishly - devised magical devices called shard-keys and placed one of them on each piece of land which would someday become a shard. These devices maintain each shard's gravity, atmosphere, climate, and stability. If a shard-key were ever to be removed from the shard it was designed to protect, that shard would lose all of these things and would pose a hazard to other shards as it spun out of control. All of these shards were suspended inside a large envelope of air and set to floating within it in random, ever-shifting patterns.
Millions of people died in the ensuing chaos which followed the War’s conclusion. Common people, blaming mages for the destruction and death, hunted down and slew many wizards. Much knowledge of magic was lost. Modern mages have yet to duplicate many of the marvels that have been accredited to those ancient wizards - including the magic which created shard-keys! Even today, after one thousand years, mages are still feared, shunned, and - in many places - actively hunted, despite the fact that they were instrumental in saving the world from total destruction. Undaunted they have continued to be of great service to man, their greatest deed being the creation of windriggers, flying ships which provide transportation from shard to shard.
(Selections from) A DICTIONARY OF COMMON ORAMIAN TERMS AND PHRASES:
Air Traffic Controllers' Guild: The group which is now responsible for the creation and sale of windriggers. This Guild is rumored to be a branch of RASAMA-TAS. The Guild is completely neutral, and will sell windriggers to most anyone who has enough money to buy one. (See also: RASAMA-TAS; Windrigger.)
Airship: See Windrigger.
Children, The: See Children of the Light.
Children of the Light: A militant organization composed of extremist Lawful Good members who are fanatically driven to further their own alignment. They use inquisition-like tactics to find and convert those who are not Lawful Good to their own system of beliefs. It is rumored that the radical group called the Witch Hunters is in some way connected to this organization, since the Children condemn mages and all things magical in nature. Based on the shard called Caemlyn. (See The Lexicon of Shards: Caemlyn. See also: Shard; Witch Hunters.)
Compass: A compass is a portable magical device which can be used to locate any given shard from anywhere in the world. They are very expensive. (See also: Shard.)
Darkfall: Oramian term for the brief periods of semi-darkness resulting from one shard passing between another shard and the sun, temporarily casting its shadow on the other shard. Darkfall may also occur when an individual shard’s rotation causes it to briefly turn away from the sun. Darkfall can last anywhere from a few minutes to several days, depending on many factors. At least one shard, the shard called Dark Haven, is known to remain in darkness all of the time because it is somehow linked to another, larger shard, which always blocks it from receiving sunlight. (See Lexicon of Shards: Dark Haven. See also: Shard.)
Dragon: Dragons of the Shattered World are vastly different from those of other worlds. In the Shattered World, dragons are the primary components in the construction of windskiffs and windriggers. Thus dragons are heavily hunted and can bring high profits on the black market.
Dragon females give birth to large clutches of eggs which the mother then abandons. As the young dragons begin to hatch from their eggs, those which are quicker and stronger begin to break the other eggs and eat their siblings. As the survivors grow, they leave the nest and begin to congregate with other immature grays in flocks. Flocks of grays (so-called because their hide has not yet developed a color and appears as a neutral gray) are a common sight. At this point they have no more than animal intelligence. When they reach adulthood, their hide begins to take on its color, intelligence begins to develop, and a breath weapon develops. At the mature adult stage all Oramian dragons gain the ability to polymorph self.
The dragons of Oramis do not follow the same patterns of those of other worlds. Skin color is NOT indicative of alignment or of breath weapon! It is entirely possible to have a chaotic evil gold dragon with a flame breath weapon! Each mature Oramian dragon is unique and such creatures will NEVER be found as a random encounter!
Dragon Lancers: Windrigger crews who actively hunt dragons to sell to the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild. Rumor has it that living dragons are the major component used in the manufacture of windriggers. (See also: Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild; Dragon; Windrigger.)
Dragoneers: Special windrigger crew members who specialize in protecting ships from dragon attacks. They often use special harpoons and lances especially enchanted for this purpose. Unlike Dragon Lancers, Dragoneers are only concerned with the protection of the windrigger they are currently working on, not with harvesting the bodies of dragons. (See also: Dragon; Dragon Lancers; Windrigger.)
Fragments: There are seven of these shards which are actually almost large enough to be called continents. One of these is even large enough to enclose a large inland sea. (See also: Shard.)
Globe: A puzzle/game popular with Oramian children. A three-dimensional glass ball which, when disassembled, becomes miniature models of all of the shards. Curiously, when the ball is reassembled, it is hollow. Magical versions of this game have been created which can be used as oracular devices. To use one the holder simply drops the solid ball on a semi-hard surface. The pattern the pieces land in is said to be able to predict future events. However, with one thousand pieces, the possible permutations are endless. It is nearly impossible to use an oracular globe without first consulting a Pattern Book. (See also: Pattern Book; Shard.)
Gray: See Dragon.
Key: See Shard-Key.
Keystone: See Shard-Key.
Moon: Before the Shattering, Oramis - like many other worlds - had a moon called Selene. It is theorized that when the world “exploded,” the sudden loss of gravity and the force of the explosion hurled it into space, leaving Oramis moonless. If this is true, then it becomes difficult to explain why the priestesses of Selene still revere the moon and - mysteriously - still retain their spell-casting ability and other granted powers! Some sages have theorized that this can be explained in one of two ways. First, perhaps some other power has adopted the moon’s portfolio and has “adopted” the priesthood as its own under the guise of Selene. Second, perhaps the moon was not lost at all, it just isn’t visible now because of the fact that there is no longer a true night. (See also: Oramis; Shattering, The.)
Navigator: Navigators are strange and mysterious beings who are present on all windriggers. No one seems to know exactly who or what they are. It has been rumored that navigators are diviners, using their magic to know exactly where any given shard is located at any given time. Navigators appear as faceless humanoids wearing midnight-blue hooded robes and have never been known to speak. It is forbidden to touch a navigator. (DM'S NOTE: The following information is NOT considered general knowledge, and as such it should not be made available to the players unless and until they discover it on their own. The reason it is forbidden to touch a navigator is because the navigator is not really there at all: it is merely an illusion projected by the ship itself. Unknown to the general public, windriggers are actually living sentient beings - probably dragons - magically shaped by mages to look like ships. Somehow, possibly through a natural homing instinct or a natural magical ability, they are aware at all times of exactly where each shard is at any given moment and whether or not there are any other shards blocking a given route. The "navigator” illusion is used simply so that windrigger captains may have somewhere to direct their orders for destinations.) (See also: Shard; Windrigger.)
Oramis: Setting for the Shattered World campaign. Once a solid world, Oramis was blown apart as the result of a Wizard War fought between twin brothers, both of whom were powerful mages. Due to a great deal of foresight and Foresight by diviners of the Wizards’ Guild, Oramis was saved but forever changed. Today, Oramis is composed of one thousand floating islands (called shards) suspended within an envelope of air which revolves around the Oramian sun in approximately the same position formerly occupied by the pre-Shattering world. True night is now unknown in the shards, though some shards experience brief twilight-like hours of semi-darkness (known as darkfall). Unfortunately, the moon is believed to have been blown from its orbit and is now nothing more than a fondly-remembered legend. (See also: Darkfall; Moon; Shard; Shattering, The; Wizard War; Wizards' Guild.)
Night: A pre-Shattering myth. Supposedly when the world was solid, it would undergo periods of complete darkness, resulting from the world turning away from the sun. Sages say that such a thing is possible, but it is difficult for most Oramians to imagine such a concept.
Seas: The seas of Oramis have changed, as has the rest of the world. When the Shattering occurred, seas and lakes which were not land-bound flooded off the shards into the Wind Ways. Today, the seas (and there are seven of these) resemble large, free-floating, amorphous globs of fluid. There are also several fresh water “lakes.” Some aquatic life still remains in the seas of Oramis, supported at its most basic level by plankton. Seas appear bluish-green from a distance, while lakes are blue. (See also: Oramis; Shattering, The; Wind Ways, The.)
Selene: See Moon.
Shard: Any of the one thousand floating remnants of what was once the world of Oramis, resembling free-floating islands. They are composed of three parts: topside, shard-edge, and shard-root. A shard’s stability, atmosphere, climate, and gravity are maintained by magical devices known as shard-keys the existence of which is a closely kept secret. Windriggers must approach a shard at the shardedge. Otherwise, the shard’s gravity could possibly pull them down and result in shipwrecks. Due to the lack of a large, solid world to block the sun’s rays, there is no true night. Most shards will occasionally experience temporary periods of twilight-like darkness (called “darkfall”) as another shard’s path prevents it from receiving the sun’s rays, or, if the shard rotates, it may turn “upside-down” away from the sun. Otherwise, the shard-world is stuck in a perpetual state of never-ending day. Obviously telling time is much more difficult here than on other worlds. Luckily, all of the inhabitants of the world of shards have developed strong internal clocks which lets everyone know when it is time to sleep. How this works is unknown, but it may be a side-effect of the same magic which provides each shard with its gravity and atmosphere.
Magic varies from shard to shard. Some shards have normal magic, some have wild magic areas, and still others have dead magic areas, all of which are residual effects from the unleashing of the powerful magicks which caused the Shattering. (See also: Darkfall; Oramis, Shard-edge; Shard-Key; Shard-Root; Top-Side; Windrigger.)
Shard-Edge: The rim of a shard; the point from which - if one continues walking - one will fall off the shard into the Wind Ways. (See also: Shard; Wind Ways, The.)
Shard-Key: Magical devices which exist on each and every shard. These devices maintain a shard’s gravity, climate, atmosphere, and stability. If a key is ever destroyed or removed from the shard it was designed to maintain, the shard will become unstable and could pose a threat to other shards as it becomes uncontrolled and uncontrollable.
No two shards’ keys are exactly alike, their forms being disguised so that you would not know what you were looking at even if you saw one. On shards which have ruling families, it is usual that this family will have the shard-key under its protection, since the possession of a key would basically give the holder complete control over the shard and its inhabitants. (An old Oramian proverb says, “He who holds the ability to destroy a thing controls a thing.”) In the hands of a tyrant or other person with less than pure motives, the possession of a shard-key would be equivalent to holding the entire shard - and everyone on it - hostage, since simply by breaking it he would be sentencing everyone and everything on the shard to death. Also known as “keystones,” or simply as “Keys.” (DM'S NOTE: The following information is NOT considered general knowledge and as such should not be made available to the players unless and until they discover it on their own. Shard-keys are actually sentient, intelligent artifacts that bond with their owners. They will not bond with anyone of chaotic or evil alignment. If such a person gains possession of a shard-key, the key will attempt to take over the mind of its new owner. If this fails, it will attempt to change the person’s alignment to something more fitting. It is up to the DM to decide what powers each individual key possesses, but each should have powers designed to prevent them from falling into the hands of the wrong person, as well as defensive powers in case they do.) (See also: Shard.)
Shard-Root: The underside of a shard which hangs down much like the root of a tooth. Shard-Roots are popular nesting spots for dragons. (See also: Dragon; Shard.)
Shattered World, The: See Oramis.
Shattering, The: The final, catastrophic blow of the Wizard War which shattered the world of Oramis into one thousand pieces called shards. (See also: Oramis; Shard; Wizard War.)
Shipkey: See Shipstone.
Shipstone: A shipstone is a smaller, much less powerful version of a shard-key. It is this object which provides a windrigger with gravity. Navigators recognize the holder of a shipstone as captain and will obey only the holder’ commands. Also called “shipkeys.” (See also: Navigator; Shard-Key; Windrigger.)
Skyship: Alternate name for a windrigger. (See also: Windrigger.)
Skywyrm: Oramian term for a dragon. (See also: Dragon.)
Topside: The upper portion of a shard. (See also: Shard.)
‘Ways, The: See Wind Ways, The.
Wind Ways, The: The space that exists between the shards. A chaotic, wind-filled area dominated by strong air currents and buffeting winds. Sometimes referred to as simply as “the ‘Ways.” There is no gravity in the ‘Ways, so anything which falls into the ‘Ways without some means of self-propulsion will be buffeted haphazardly by the winds. It is nearly impossible to determine time and direction in the ‘Ways unaided. (See also: Shard.)
Windrigger: Magical conveyances which resemble normal ships but have the ability to fly, allowing travel from shard to shard. Most windriggers may also land on water. Windriggers are built from the bones and hides of young skywyrms called Grays. All windriggers have a mysterious figure known simply as the Navigator onboard. Creation and sale of windriggers are controlled and regulated by the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild. Rumor has it, however, that one of the mages who first learned how to create windriggers has gone rogue, and is helping the Sky Pirates of Gao-Den to create an armada of pirate windriggers. (See also: Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild; Dragon; Navigators; Rogue Mage; Shard; Shipstone; Sky Pirates of Gao-Den; Skywyrm; Wind Ways, The.)
Windsailor: Sailors who are trained in the operation of windriggers. (See also: Windrigger.)
Windship: See Windrigger.
Windskiff: A windskiff is a small flying boat designed to accommodate no more than six people. Unlike windriggers, a windskiff is a man-made vessel. Because of this, it has no navigator, and therefore the pilot is on his own when determining direction, routes, etc. (See also: Navigator; Windrigger.)
Windtamer: Windtamers are a special type of mage which can often be found on Windriggers. They have focused their abilities into harnessing and taming the Wind Ways, making travel therein much easier. (See also: Windrigger; Wind Ways)
Wizard War: The catastrophic war in which the world of Oramis was shattered into myriad shards. (See also: Shard; Oramis.)
Wyrm: A dragon. (See also: Dragon.)