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Age of Parted Shadow

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|> |: The island of Wald {: .right }

Age of Parted Shadow is a 13th Age points of light campaign set on the island of Wald, an ancient land doomed multiple times over in previous ages and currently in a state of tenuous rebuild. As is all of the world of Etravar, the island's history is lost to the current age, and built on top of forgotten cultures and buried ruins. The pockets of civilization that do exist are marred by delicate order and weak alliances, clinging to prosperity while scraping together defenses against trouble from the many uncharted regions that are still home to brigands, monsters, cults, and beyond.

13th Age is a game of action-centric tactical combats and player-driven narrative agency. Adventures in the Age of Parted Shadow are likely to be about exploring the unknown and tugging at ancient mysteries, or thwarting the many threats that put the island of Wald at risk of ruin or collapse. 13th Age is a game of dynamic narrative determined at the table by way of backgrounds and icon relationships, so the particulars of the emerging threat(s) taking center stage will be determined during play.

Icons of Wald

There are nine powerful icons in the Age of Parted Shadow that make up the milieu of conflict across the island. Players choose relationships between their character and the icons, and these relationships create the foundation of how the character relates to the overall world.

None of the icons benefit from a particular power or advantage over any of the others, for now (though the campaign may likely become about how that balance changes!). The core icons from the 13th Age rulebook/setting are listed next to the icons of Wald in order to approximate a mapping between the published icons and ours, in the event a class feature or magic item or similar refers to the core icons. These mappings are not absolute, however, and it shouldn't be assumed that any particular element of the 13th Age icons shows up in the Wald icon it is mapped to.

Icon	13A Icon(s)	Theme(s)	Alignment1
The Abyssal Mother	The Diabolist	Disorder	Chaotic Evil
The Beastlord	The Orc Lord2	Violence	Chaotic Neutral
The Five	The Three	Dominance	Neutral Evil
The Gold Regent	The Emperor, the Dwarf King, the Elf Queen	Unity	Neutral Good
The Grand Druid	The High Druid	Balance, natural order	Chaotic Good
The Gray Sorceress	The Archmage, the Prince of Shadows3	Manipulation	True Neutral
The Hierophant	The Priestess, the Great Gold Wyrm	Devotion	Lawful Good
The Warlord	The Crusader	Conquest	Lawful Neutral
The Timeless	The Lich King	Corruption	Lawful Evil

The Abyssal Mother

The Abyssal Mother, a humanoid female not unlike a tiefling, is the herald of the hell-worlds of the Abyss responsible for the spawning of demons and devils that threaten everything in Wald. Her role, leading the id of the Abyss such as it is, puts her somewhere between being a demonic conductor and struggling just to point the demonic wave in the right direction. She might embody pure chaos, or she might have an agenda of her own, but her control over the hells is incomplete; she'd be an even bigger threat if she managed to get the demon lords or the Abyss itself under her clawed thumb.

The Beastlord

A massive shapeshifter who delights in the thrill of the hunt no matter the quarry, he and his unorganized clans torment the entire island, especially any semblence of civilization. He has no allies, but his ravagers keep his enemies in check --- for now. While some of his followers care only so far as satiating their bloodlust, he enjoys a healthy representation among those who are willing to look the other way or reintepret an ethos based largely on killing those weaker than oneself.

The Five

Five ancient chromatic dragons, perhaps the oldest living things in all of Wald. They slumber in hidden lairs, bound by a curse from a past age. Their dreams influence and tempt all creatures, but especially dragons, poisoning their minds with hunger for power and dominance. If the Five rose from their slumber and managed to ally with each other, their might would hand them all of Wald.

The Gold Regent

Leading --- nominally --- a group of lords, mayors, and royalty representing major regions and cities across Wald, the Gold Regent holds together a loose alliance with a shared goal of maintaining trade and peace for their respective peoples. Staying allied is considerably easier said than done, especially as it relates to the proud dwarves and aloof elves. Technically, the alliance spans from the underground dwarven kingdoms to the deepest elven forests, but everyone knows that it rests on a knife's edge.

The Grand Druid

Holding the highest rank among all circles of druids, the current Grand Druid is a half-elf woman determined to protect the lands of Wald and prevent the overreach of civilization. She maintains lukewarm relations with the Gold Regent --- aligned in dark times such as these, but at odds in their philosophies. Living dungeons being understood as a natural (but warped) occurrence, it's unclear if the Grand Druid opposes or secretly endorses them.

The Gray Sorceress

A long-lived and powerful spellcaster unknown to most, with an interest in maintaining Wald's advancement --- as she interprets it, anyway. The Gray Sorceress's true name is unknown; she is currently inhabiting the body of a human woman, advancing her schemes by subterfuge or direct intervention in Wald's affairs, treating any capable individuals or groups as pawns. She has few agents, but attracts followers and enemies alike when her schemes and manipulation become known.

The Hierophant

A righteous human blessed by the gods and goddesses of light, his influence crosses many concerns over the pantheon, and he is also the superintendent of the Holy Order, a broad organization of holy warriors seeking to further the advancement of the light, however difficult that is to accomplish in this age. His leadership is both organizational and spiritual, though he cannot attend to all of the details of the holy bureaucracy.

The Warlord

An amoral king and chosen of the gods and goddesses of darkness, the Warlord's thirst for dominion over of all of Wald is tempered, for now, by his campaign against the demons, undead, and other forces seeking to ruin the world he would claim as his own. As his dark gods continue to empower him and his armies, he may move on his aspirations.

The Timeless

A lich whose true name and history have been lost to the centuries, the Timeless is followed and revered for his arcane power and access to terrible magic otherwise forgotten or shunned in the current age. Lost civilizations hold more secrets and yield more undead to scour the land, so the Timeless's followers are common to ruins. His cults, more prevalent than admitted, operate openly in the isolation of the wild and in secret in the graveyards and catacombs of cities.

The Island of Wald

|> |: The world map of the island of Wald. Note that this includes only major cities and features of the island; with many towns, keeps, dungeons, hellholes, forests, camps, lakes, and so on left to fill as the campaign progresses. In this sense, it doubles as the baseline of what anyone in-game would know about the map of Wald. {: .full-width }

In prior ages, Wald was largely explored, mostly understood, and heavily settled. This age, all of that is lost --- the Wald of the Age of Parted Shadow is generally mapped but largely unexplored, at least concretely. There are few major cities, and the scattered towns and villages come and go without warning. A general route spanning from east to west exists, but it is especially rough and vague on the western half of the island. The southern peninsula is even less welcoming to land travel as most visitors come in to its cities via the sea known as the Mouth. Countless settlements are scattered throughout the island.

All of that said, there are eight settlements large enough and stable enough to be considered Wald's major cities:

• Bladesdale --- the center of trade in eastern Wald, situated conveniently enough between Hydra Pass and Prism to the north, and Silver Port and NAME HERE across the sea to the south. The closest Wald has to a capital city, the Gold Regent holds court here.
• Coldhill
• Gale
• Hydra Pass, aka the Gateway to the West, aka the End of Civilization (to those better off in the east) --- a major trading hub and thoroughfare, nestled among Many-Heads, and the only major establishment near the Great Wastes.
• Silver Port
• Last Chance, as in "the Last Chance to turn around" --- a cosmopolitan city of brigands, outcasts, monstrous humanoids, the occasional good-natured soul, and the like, Last Chance attracts all variety of unconventional civilization due to its remoteness and adjacency to Blackmarsh.
• Onyx --- the Warlord's kingdom originated in Onyx, his most significant fortress which also serves as his castle and seat of power. Below it is an elaborate system drawing water from an underground lake, and Onyx is said to drill even deeper into the underworld.
• Prism

And, the most significant (un)natural features of Wald:

• The Forest of Misfortune --- a thick and ancient wood, it's believed this was once the stronghold of the elves. Certainly they are more represented there than elsewhere, but the forest is now known more for its ancient and failing magic wards that thwart, entrap, and confuse travelers. Suspicious-minded folks suspect elves are immune to this magic.
• Many-Heads --- a nearly impassible mountain range, dense with impressive peaks and treacherous mountain faces, with only one rough path through the range. Hydra Pass maintains some amount of order on the path, enough to defend travelers from casual threats, but many dangers and secrets reside deeper in the mountains.
• The Mouth --- a relatively calm sea, the Mouth sees healthy trade between the cities and towns on its coast. Many small islands dot the sea and attract pirates and predators. The large island to the east, entering the Mouth, is heavily contested by traders, pirates, and various monsters, and particularly chaotic.

Character Creation

Refer to the usual steps and notes for creating a character, and let bss know when you've got questions or something to take a look at.

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1. The game does not use alignment, so this is just a general reference point. The lines are meant to be blurry, and the * Neutral icons are ones that only rarely, if ever, fall on the "good" side of the line. ↩︎

2. Our actively marauding analogue to the Orc Lord is not dead as the Orc Lord of canon is. ↩︎

3. The Gray Sorceress manifests the mysterious and clandestine nature of the Prince of Shadows's manipulative ways. Thieves and assassins could be associated with many of the other icons; the Gray Sorceress is above petty larceny and simple murder. ↩︎