fragments of a blue ruin
In Vaarn many things have become intertwined, and much that was once the province of mankind alone - speech, reason, art, religion - has been granted to other forms of life and these beings hold themselves as humanity’s equal. In the mycomorph death and life are preserved in strange balance, for the creatures are formed… Continue reading PLAYER ANCESTRY: MYCOMORPH
No play report this week, as I wasn't able to convene my usual Sunday session. We should be back on track next weekend however. In the meantime I wanted to share the map of Vaarn that I've been working on. I'm sometimes reluctant to create maps of fictional spaces; for some reason I feel that… Continue reading REGIONS OF VAARN
The ancients created wondrous artifices, perhaps none so worthy of envy as the thinking machines that were built to flatter and serve them. When the Collapse came, the laws that bound synths to man’s service were sundered and they ran rampant across the Urth, slaughtering and creating and dying in an orgy of pure and… Continue reading PLAYER ANCESTRY: SYNTH
The newbeasts are cyborg animal species, produced through intensive nanotech enhancements and bioengineering, a quixotic project to create animals with the ability to speak and walk like men. Perhaps once intended as amusements or party pieces, these chimera are not well-liked by the common folk of Urth, and many newbeasts make their homes in lonely… Continue reading PLAYER ANCESTRY: NEWBEAST
Heavy plate armour is not favoured in Vaarn, due to the extreme heat the region experiences during much of the year. Nevertheless, the denizens of the blue ruin have ample need to protect their person from all manner of threats, and thus follows a brief primer on the protective clothing, both common and uncommon, that one… Continue reading ARMOUR OF VAARN
Cacogen are the descendants of those unfortunates who were left to weather the great Collapse upon the ruined surface of Urth. Necessity is the mother of invention and so, warped by radiation and preyed upon by biotech monstrosities and crazed thinking machines, the cacogen developed in a million different forms. Each individual is genetically unique,… Continue reading PLAYER ANCESTRY: CACOGEN
The true-kin sealed themselves inside hidden arcologies when the Collapse came, and in this fashion they preserved their bodies from the degradations that afflicted those left living upon the surface. The true-kin have fanatically kept their bloodlines free of mutation and parasitic nanomachinery, and closely guard their mastery of the ancients’ technology. The societies they… Continue reading PLAYER ANCESTRY: TRUE-KIN
Hegemonic Standard - The language of bureaucracy, taxation, legal contracts, debt, and edicts. The official tongue of the New Hegemony, and therefore the ‘official’ tongue of the occupied areas of Vaarn as well. Not widely heard outside of Gnomos and the southern badlands. Vaarnish - The lingua franca of Vaarn and the surrounding regions. Vaarnish… Continue reading THE TONGUES OF VAARN
Vaarn lies at the very end of Urth’s history, amidst the ruin and decay of millions of years. It is known that this is the final age and there will be none after, as the sun grows red and weak and the brightest stars are visible even at noon. Of all the tales of the… Continue reading TITANS OF A FADED AGE
Skiff - a lightweight hover-bike, kept aloft by a sky-seeking stone. Skiffs are generally propelled by an engine at the back of the craft. They are fast and nimble but unstable, and can be lethal when they malfunction. Used by outlaws, Hegemony rangers, bounty hunters, and anyone else who needs to make a quick getaway. … Continue reading TRANSPORT IN VAARN
VAULTS OF VAARN 