![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
True Tales of the Ley Line Patrol
Best described as “Dungeon Fantasy meets Technomancer meets Cops and Action,” TTLLP started as a setting I briefly ran a while back. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin—a cop game set in a fantasy universe with (more or less) modern technology. Unlike Technomancer (a great setting I would love to play in at some point), the idea behind this setting is that it was always a fantasy world—the technology just increased from swords and sorcery to guns and cars. And sorcery.
Unfortunately, I’m not really good at action-style games so the game folded quickly. It’s not a genre I particularly like—the only action movie I own is Hot Fuzz (well, I own other action movies, but they’re all SF rather than straight action movies) and I don’t watch action shows, and the cop shows I like are character-oriented. But I still love this setting, so I. working on cleaning it up and expanding it. Enjoy!
The World of Shevtra
This world, Shevtra, has four continents, several very large islands, and thousands of tiny ones. There are scores of kingdoms, republics, democratic states, dictatorships, not a few empires, and many other such nations, and they are populated by many types of intelligent beings. In the distant past, there was little (peaceful) interaction between these races but over the centuries this has changed. Today, in the year 3237, countries are divided by political lines, not racial ones.
Most of Shevtra is of Average background mana, but it’s crisscrossed with ley lines, Mana Wells, and Mana Sinks. Ley lines, which travel in straight lines typically about six feet wide but miles long, raise the mana level to High. Ley lines originate in Mana Wells, which raise the level to Very High in a small area (typically about three feet in diameter) and High in much larger area (usually about thirty feet in diameter). Mana Sinks tend to be very large (anywhere from ten feet to a mile in diameter) and lower the mana level to Low. Civilization tends to cluster around the Mana Wells and roads often travel along ley line routes, so Sinks are typically far away from civilization.
There is a single silvery moon with a 28-day cycle. There is also a large, bright ball of crimson light called Loár; it looks like a very large, bright star although it doesn’t twinkle. In addition, there are seven golden stars and eleven green stars. These stars orbit around each other in a complex, repeating, eight-year cycle. These stars form the basis of Shevtra’s common astrology, one of its religions, and the most commonly used system of magic.
The year is 361 days long and is divided into twelve 30-day months with the extra day being Yeartide. Yeartide is between the last day of the old year and first day of the new. Weeks are seven days long. The year is structured around the seasons, so the first day of the year is also the first day of Spring.
Mundane mechanical technology is firmly TL 7. There are no electronics, though—magitech has taken its place and brought the TL level to low-mid TL 8 (although there are a few countries where it’s lower for one reason or another).
Most energy is generated by summoned elementals that are contained in specially-made magical fields. Elementals are beings of pure creation and destruction, alive in the same way that viruses are and completely unintelligent. They exist by converting matter into energy and then back again in different ways, creating vast amounts of energy in the process; it’s possible, through careful enchantment, to harness the energy they produce by un-creating things. As long as the system is properly maintained, it provides cheap, clean, efficient electromana energy (EME). Most countries have several elemental power plants, delivering the power to their citizens through power lines.
The only problem is that a poorly-contained elemental can get loose—everything in its path instantly gets vaporized and recreated into something else (“everything” even includes souls). Rampaging elementals leave a trail of unworldly, soulless beings, horrifically mutated creatures both living and undead, and a completely warped landscape behind them. There’s a great deal of protest against the use of bottled elementals because of this potential danger, especially after the infamous release at White Rock Station in 3218—the area is still walled off and on a clear day it’s possible to see the elemental roaring around the area as a column of dark flame.
In addition, there are internal combustion and mechanical engines, some wind and solar power, and magical powerstones. Powerstones are crystals that have been designed to absorb energy and release them for use. Mass-enchanting and technomancy has made them easier and safer to make, and powerstones with quirks are rare and usually the result of home enchanting. In general, they cost about a third what they do in GURPS Magic (a 1 FP powerstone costs $24, for instance). A mage may only use one at a time and unlike standard powerstones, they don’t recharge from ambient energy; rather they require special wall-plugged chargers and regain mana at a rate of 1 FP per 6 hours.
Several examples of magitech will be listed later on.
The Kingdom of Tarastia
The bulk of the setting I produced takes place in the country of Tarastia, which has an “American Mid-West” feel. Tarastia is but one country in a much larger world.
Tarastia (which means “land of red gold in the language of one of the original native races, the Yatshem) was founded as a colony of Lirba in 2348 and became independent in 2852. In the 385 years since then, Tarastia has grown from a small, weak colony to a world power. It currently has a population of about 48 million, most of which is concentrated in the cities and towns, as there isn’t a great deal of arable land for spread-out farming. It covers a single time zone, but only through sheer bloody-mindedness. Its sister country, Timan, which borders it to the north, has two, and so Tarastia is out of synch with the eastern half of that country.
Government is a constitutional monarchy, headed by a non-ruling hereditary king or queen and an elected senate, which is headed by the Lord Senator. Every city and town is headed by a mayor and has a certain number of senators (dependant on population; there is approximately one per 65,000 citizens). Regular citizens vote for their mayor and senators, if large enough; senators and mayors can vote in national affairs. The current king is HRM Taulant III. He’s married to the young Queen Ariana, although it’s widely believed he has an elf mistress. The heir apparent is the Princess Camerine, who is 27. Their 23-year old son, Price Alaric, is a wild child and their youngest, teenager Princess Yana, is something of a recluse.
There are five really large cities in Tarastia, each with over a million inhabitants, as well as plenty of smaller cities and towns. The largest, Il Patror, has a population of 3.8 million. It’s built out, not up, making it into a wide, sprawling place. It’s known for its eponymous University (with top-notch medical and law programs), Seidan Cathedral and associated university, the prestigious and exclusive Fegre Academy prep school, and the High Reaches Mall, the largest shopping center in the country. Il Trelean has about two million and has the largest zoological and botanical parks in the country, as well as the Biomancy Research Center (a huge university and laboratory dedicated to cutting-edge research), and the Osani Mining Company, which exploits the rich crystal quarries in the area. Ineshtya has a population of just under three million. Although smaller than Il Patror, it’s considered to be a far more sophisticated and cultured place and is best known for the Court Ring, a huge, circular sculpted park surrounded by theaters, museums, exclusive shops and restaurants, and very expensive apartments. It’s also home to the Lumani Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Penoras, with its population of 2.9 million, boats Penoras Tech, the country’s premier institute of magitech and engineering research and what is probably the second-best tech college on the continent (beat only by Oalyshea University in Timan). It’s also home to the Fort Tudor military base. Finally, Yadoras, with a population of 2.4 million, is the capitol. The Royal Palace, Senate buildings, Royal Museum, and the headquarters for the Tarastian Intelligence Operation, and the Tarastian War Memorial are all located here.
Of the smaller cities, the more important are on areas where two ley lines meet. While not of higher mana level, they form natural crossroads. Other important cities and towns include Teuana (a port city, and home base of the Naval Patrol), Houkan, Il Teniman, Aukang (which is a college town, around Aukang University), Nimrahou, Onshiras, Itonens, Wan Ukrall (known to be very rough-and-tumble), Rulouch, and Tenguan.
Most of Tarastia is mostly flat, scrubby desert with large, impressive mesas, steep cliffs, deep gorges, rolling hills, and mountains, although there are some wide but sparse forests as well, which grow thicker and lusher towards the north, and prairies in the south and east. The rocks are banded in red, brown, and yellow ochre. The two tallest mountains (both under 5,000 feet but very rugged) are Mount Algumon and Mount Nesvono. The country is dry and warm and tends to rain only in the winter and early spring. There is only one major body of water, the slightly briny Lake Nehen, but there are numerous seasonal rivers and streams and the occasional oasis in the desert.
There is a wide variety of mundane animal life. These include coyotes, red and gray foxes, wildcats, skunks, prairie dogs, ferrets, several species of snake (including rattlesnakes, coral snakes, and sidewinders, along with the more harmless garter snakes and whipsnakes), gila monsters, horned toads, numerous types of insectivorous lizards, skinks, peccaries, cottontails and jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, black and red squirrels and ground squirrels, armadillos, several species of tortoise, and pronghorns. Avian life includes condors, vultures, hawks, falcons, owls, roadrunners, quails, pheasants, roadrunners, wrens, doves, blackbirds, hummingbirds, and finches, along with both insect-eating and fruit bats. There are several types of more fantastic animals as well, such as giant sand crabs, wyrms, and ruby eagles; these will be listed in the bestiary. There are relatively few monsters, as most have long-since been cleared out. However, there are believed to be winged, human-faced lion-creatures in the mountains (there is debate as to whether or not they are manticores or sphinxes, but it is known they’re capable of speech) and there are persistent rumors of a dragon as well, although photographs have been frustratingly blurry.
The most common types of plants are shrubs and bushes, such as creosote bushes, yucca, sumac, and sagebrush. There are many types of cactus as well, including prickly pear, chollo, and saguaro; many of them are harvested for medicinal properties, food, and to produce certain types of alcohol and drugs. There are sparse forests of cottonwood, mesquite, oaks, spruce, juniper, Joshua trees, aspen, and eucalyptus. The grassier areas are also home to agave. Wildflowers are common and include asters, poppies, vetch, jojoba, butterfly plants, verbena, phlox, lupine, and larkspur. There are also several varieties of vampiric thorn bushes, despite radical attempts to exterminate them, and at least one species of cactus has the ability to shoot its thorns.
There are several notable natural formations. The Star Pillars are a circle of seven naturally occurring, enormous, wind-shaped rocks. Once every eight years, throughout the month of Shriaum, the seven golden stars align themselves perfectly over the pillars (there are similar places throughout the world). This is seen as a particularly holy or magical time, although the pillars are a favorite place for astrologers, religious pilgrimages, budding astronomers, and for people who want a place to meditate. Just to the south lies the Labyrinth, a maze-like collection of rock formations, giant boulders (many as large as a five-story building), and scraggly thorn bushes. Moving around this area is difficult and it’s possible to get lost here. To the east of the mountains is a shallow basin where the salt-trees stand—ancient, branched columns made of rock salt, left over from a long-since evaporated salt lake. The Scar is a chasm about 10 miles long and 1 ½ deep. A pool lies at the bottom. Saved from evaporation by heavy, cool shadows and the waterfall output of a subterranean river, the Scar houses many unique species. There’s also a heavily guarded doorway into Bemorad, the local dwarf kingdom. Along the western side of Tarastia is the Zashodic Ocean. There’s only a thin strip of beach and many places meet the ocean in sheer cliffs. Many of the beaches, however, are popular travel spots. Finally, there are the Flats. Interspersed throughout the country, the Flats are not so much a landmark as a lack of landmarks. They are huge stretches of little more than dirt, sand, dirty sand, and sandy dirt. The occasional rock, scraggly bush, tumbleweed, lizard, and skeleton help to break up the monotony.
