Acropolis Attributes
Level: 4
Laws: Magic
Playable Races: Infused
Foci: Carries A Quiver, Channels Sinfire, Entertains, Infiltrates, Leads, Metamorphosizes, Practices Soul Sorcery, Regenerates Tissue, Works Miracles
Skills: Arcana, Strange Knowledge
Connection to the Strange: The large sky above Acropolis is a direct window to view into the Strange. Occasionally a large creature like a swarm of Kray or a Planetovore will float past the window. This shows up as a constellation flowing and soon disappearing across the sky. The sloping structure of the land falls directly into the Strange, like a body of liquid. Sometimes monsters from the Strange and other magical recursions bleed through and wreak havoc on towns near the border.
Connection to Earth: Creatures from fantasy and nightmares inhabit Acropolis, and sometimes villainous creatures with the spark will find their way back to Earth.
Age and Size: Developed Recursion
Spark: 20%
Trait: Intelligent
Infused – Humans of Acropolis are infused with natural magic. This manifests in bright colorful tattoos in flowing fractal patterns across the neck, arms and backs. It also manifests the following benefits:
- +2 to One pool of your choice (Choose during first translation to Acropolis)
- You are able to manifest minor arcane cantrips along the following lines: raising an object weighing no more than 10 kg into the air, changing the color of an object no more than 10 kg, and producing minor visual effects.
- Any focus abilities stem from your connection to the arcane.
Acropolis came to be through fictional leakage from high fantasy settings and fictional “systems” or “laws” of magic. The land is circular, with the edges descending down directly into the strange. The skies over the temperate plains and mountains are bright with the stars and swirling stratum of The Strange. The humans of Acropolis are all infused with the naturally present magic of the recursion. This manifests in glowing sigils and glyphs on their skin similar to tattoos and minor arcane cantrips, depending on how strong the personal connection to The Strange and Acropolis magic is. Sometimes the connection is so strong that they can become a Sorcerer, manipulating reality around them. Creatures of fantasy live and breathe in Acropolis. Whether it’s the wandering Minotaur nomads of the plains or the Perytons of the western mountains, strange and wondrous creatures roam. Long dead kings and sorcerers still inhabit their ancient ruins as mummies, vampires or even demons, and great wyrms the size of mountains fly high above the recursion, never landing.
There are three competing kingdoms in Acropolis, all surrounding a strange area called The Barren Lands. The northern kingdom of Gladius is ruled by a single king and queen, Rennel and Shanoa. Their rule is generally fair, but in recent times they have risen taxes on the common folk. They hold a small portion (roughly a 1/10) of the western mountains, and they dig as far as west as they can. As a general rule, they do not cross their borders, and keep descending farther into the earth. It’s possible they could awake something ancient and powerful down there…
The south-eastern kingdom of Nahg is not ruled by royalty, instead it is presided over by a Council of Mages. Together they act like a king, managing taxes and national security. As mages, their interests also tend to lean towards the academic side. The Council of Mages is willing to pay anyone who brings them never-before seen creatures to experiment and catalog. Rumor has it they are looking for the perfect war-machine…
The western kingdom of Ferra is ruled by a tyrant. No one has ever seen his true form, and if they have they were dead long ago. Some accuse him of being a demon or devil, or a corrupted god. His name is Oberron, the Night Shroud. Its armor is made of crude iron infused with the blood of his friends and loved ones. It wields an axe made of enchanted violet crystal, and commands extreme powers over the arcane. The only thing keeping Oberron from conquering all of Acropolis is his drive for mining. He seeks something hidden in the mountains, although no one knows what. In between these three kingdoms is the area called The Barren Lands. Thousands of years ago The Barren Lands was its own kingdom, but a great comet of fire and brimstone landed on it, blanketing it in terrible ash and lava. Tensions between the surrounding kingdoms rose dramatically when a mage revealed that ancient artifacts of great power were left in the scorched ruins. Anyone who takes them could rule Acropolis without opposition…
Every human in Acropolis has some semblance of magic in them. This comes from an event the natives of Acropolis call the Strangefall. Legends and inscriptions in the Barren Lands show that something “tore the sky apart” and radiated “divine energy” down on the mortals of the lands. The Estate theorizes that something from the Strange may have sundered the recursion, and only recently has it recovered.
Whatever the cause, the humans of Acropolis have been irreversibly changed. The most common mastery of magic is very faint, only allowing a minor control over motion, gravity, and sometimes production of offensive attacks. Stronger connections tend to favor one aspect of magic, and that can dictate a person’s profession, if not their interests. Farmers could control water and the force of life, while the most valuable miners can sense and feel mineral veins like their own limbs. The humans of Acropolis are not the only beings infused with these energies. Common beasts like stag and boar have grown exponentially in size, and predators like bears and wolves have grown much more powerful. Monsters creeping in the dark have become much more prevalent to society, and fending off sieges and raids by ancient species that have only recently become hostile are now common to human cities.