New Awakened Skill Chart

The Awakened Skill Chart gives characters three random skill ranks each character level. It is rolled on a d1000. It has been modified to include Ferican regions and languages, and has split the Lore - General skill gains by region (so a character in Hessia doesn't get Region Lore - Tribnia, for example). View the Awakened Skill Chart here.

The Nations And Serpents of Ferica

Ferica is composed of eight nations, each of which contains a primary temple for one of their eight primary deities, all represented by serpents. The names of the nations are the same as the names of the serpent holding a major temple there. The other serpents hold minor temples within each nation.

Each serpent is represented by a band of four colors and an aspect. They will be listed in the left-to-right or top-down order in which the bands are displayed. However, if the leftmost or topmost color is "cold", (meaning it is blue, brown, violet or indigo), the "proper" reading of the bands is either right-to-left or bottom-up, as appropriate.

Babue the Boa has a major temple in the southern part of Ferica, on the eastern shore near the island nation of Gaska.The display order of Babue's bands is blue, brown, red, and orange, and its aspect is angels. This is not surprising, given that Babue is home to a race of flying humans called Hirazi that resemble angels.

Gaska the Python has a major temple on the large island just off Ferica's southeast coast. The display order of Gaska's bands is green, red, brown, and violet, and its aspect is birds. The island is home to a human tribe, most of whom raise birds.

Kona the Anaconda has a major temple in the center of Ferica. The display order of Kona's bands is indigo, blue, green, and red, and its aspect is the underworld. The nation of Kona is home to the continent's Sohleugir population.

Nambi the Cottonmouth has a major temple in the southern part of Ferica, on the western shore. The display order of Nambi's bands is red, orange, violet, and indigo, and its aspect is matter. The nation of Nambi is home to numerous centaurs of various types.

Nilya the Asp has a major temple in the northeast part of Ferica, near the Aashar Desert (called the Desert of Doom by non-Fericans). The display order of Nilya's bands is yellow, green, blue, and brown, and its aspect is spirit. Nilya (the nation) is home to humans. Unlike most humans of Ferica, over half of its priests worship elemental forces, believing them to be the forerunners of the serpents.

Tsudeph the Rattlesnake has a major temple on the southernmost point of the continent of Ferica. The display order of Tsudeph's bands is brown, violet, orange, and yellow, and its aspect is the sky. The nation of Tsudeph is home to humans who are trying to learn how to fly using technology.

Vori the Cobra has a major temple in the westernmost "bulge" of Ferica. The display order of Vori's bands is orange, yellow, indigo, and blue, and its aspect is beasts of burden. The nation of Vori is home to merchants and caravan drivers, most of whom are human, although every known race (elves, halflings, centaurs, and so on) is represented.

Zera the Viper has a major temple in the Aashar Desert. The display order of Zera's bands is violet, indigo, yellow, and green, and its aspect is sentient, mortal life. The nation of Zera has no dominant race; all races are present with approximately equal frequency.

More information will be presented as it becomes available.

The Origin of the World

No one knows what really happened, for no one was there. But the earliest legends all speak of something known only as Destruction. And when Destruction had destroyed everything else, it destroyed itself, leaving Creation in its wake. Thus ended the First Age: The Age of Decline.

Creation began to create in this new world. And when it had created everything else, Creation created Destruction anew. Thus both were in the world. And thus ended the Second Age: The Age of Ascension.

If Destruction were left to itself, Creation reasoned, it would destroy everything, including Creation. Then the actions of the past would repeat themselves, creating an Endless Cycle.

Creation began to oppose Destruction, but they were evenly matched. Therefore, something had to be done. Thus Creation merged part of its essence with that of Destruction, creating 99 mixed beings. These became known as the Greyscale.

Those beings of the Greyscale that were composed mostly of Creation's essence joined Creation, and those composed mostly of Destruction's essence joined Destruction. Only one being remained neutral, as it was composed of equal parts of both essences. Again, the two sides were evenly matched. To break the stalemate, both Creation and Destruction offered their power to the neutral being if it would join them.

The neutral being accepted both offers and began to call itself Arbiter. Arbiter created two worlds, one for each of the two Prime Beings. The first one would never be empty; if ever there were only one thing left in it, another would be created at random. The second would never be full; if only one thing were left uncreated, something in that world would be destroyed at random. The two Prime Beings were sent into their worlds, and the connections between those worlds and this one were destroyed. Then the Greyscale began to make the world anew, and Arbiter judged the results, destroying those things that were not worthy. Thus ended the Third Age: The Age of Creation and Destruction.

This went on for years. However, stagnation developed. For the day came when all objects were created and either accepted or rejected. Thus nothing new ever happened. Arbiter saw no problem with this, as this was the ultimate solution to the Endless Cycle, but the other Greys grew bored. So they asked Arbiter to go back to their former masters and petition them for a gift that would end the Stagnation. Arbiter agreed and arranged for temporary transport. Once they received their gifts, the Greys were transported to a distant island where the gifts were to be opened.

Arbiter ordered that Destruction's gift be opened first, fearing a trap. Inside was a card that read, "2 + 2 = 5".

"This is an Error," Arbiter intoned, "but Destruction has given us what we asked for. Until now, we have been judging things on a standard of perfection, leaving only certain designs as viable. By allowing imperfection, the Stagnation will end, as there will be things to destroy. Therefore, let this Error remain as an example to us all."

Creation's gift was then opened. It was a prism made of crystal, and the Greys set it up so that light passed through it. Seven beings emerged, each resplendent in color:

Reya, queen of Earth
Orana, mistress of Light
Yallo, king of Fire
Garin, lord of Permanence
Ballu, prince of Water
Indagu, master of Darkness
Valeta, princess of Air

Arbiter considered the revelation. "This, too, is useful," he concluded. "Creation has shown that items which appeared to be useless by themselves may have value when combined. Creation's wishes will be upheld. Go forth, beings, and fulfill your purpose." The Seven went forth and created many things: men, dwarves, platypuses, lambtrees, and centaurs. Thus ended the Fourth Age: The Age of Mixture.

After they did so, they came back to the island where they were first released and found Destruction's card. A fierce debate erupted among the Seven as to what to do with it. In the end, it was decided that since Arbiter allowed it to remain, they were free to use it. In the end, they gave it the name Erora, lady of Change, a body like their own, a brown robe, and let it combine itself into everything, including themselves. Thus things like disease, decay, mistakes, luck, and uncertainty were put into objects. Thus begins the Fifth and Current Age: The Age of the Eight Gifts.