CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEWImagine a world where the legends

of North America come alive — aplace of high adventure, magic, andmonsters, where history and mythintertwine.

Brawl with Mike Fink or swing anaxe with Paul Bunyan. Brave the dan-gers of the polar sea in search of thelegendary northwest passage. Trudgethrough steaming swamps in pursuit ofthe fountain of youth. Prowl the mistystreets of Boston on the trail of hell-spawned fiends. Take flight with acoven of witches upon a midnightride. Shiver at the call of the wendigoas you traverse a frozen wasteland.Carry the banner of liberty into battleagainst the forces of tyranny …

Northern Crown: New World Adventuresis a campaign world set in NorthAmerica’s legendary past, in an age offrontier adventure, political intrigue,and supernatural horror. Inspired byhistory and infused with myth, it is aplace where heroes fight for freedom,chart a vast wilderness, and battleunknown evils.

The possibilities for adventure inthe New World Adventures setting aremany. You might find yourself search-ing the wilderness for a lostMoundraiser city, or aiming a silver bul-let at the heart of an elegant vampirebeneath the Dueling Oak at NouvelleOrleans. At risk could be something aspersonal as your own honor, or as epicas the birth of a new nation.

Your character might be a hardyCoureur scout from the northernwoods, a stylish rake from the court ofCarolingia, a Witchling agent, or aMohawk bard like Okwaho, whosewords you just read. Your foes could beaxe-wielding Vinlander raiders, theautomaton soldiers of a deranged evilgenius, or a lich who once ruled as sor-cerer-king of a now-vanished nativecivilization. Along the way, you mightfind an ally in Jonny Appleseed or theprophet Tenskatawa. And you may justjoin them as a legend in your own right!

To help in your quest, you may pos-sess a psionic knack that lets you workwonders as a hex or a firebug, or evenwield the dreaded evil eye. Perhaps youpractice sorcery, daring to defy the edictsof church and state. Or you could be awitch, wresting your arcane powersfrom a fiendish imp at the risk of losingyour soul. A degree in natural philosophycan imbue you with the knowledge toconstruct anything from a flyingmachine to an earthquake generator, andlet you use the power of science to pro-duce impressive effects rivaling the spellsof magic-users. But if all else fails, thenyou’d better also know how to fire amatchlock musket or hurl a tomahawk.

It’s a dangerous world, after all. TheNew World seethes with conflict, as thestrifes and plagues of vying Uropan(yoo-ROPE-ahn) nations take root in fer-tile ground. Witches struggle againstPuritan firebrands; royal agents playgames of murder and deception for theglory of their monarch; and soldiers taketo the field of battle where dragoons andmusketeers clash amid the roar of cannon

and shot. Patriots stake their lives tooverthrow the old order and establish anew freedom, unfettered by the evils ofslavery and persecution. Natural philoso-phers compete to create clever inven-tions that could shape the course of thefuture, while wizards and sorcerers seekto preserve the arcane arts of the past.And in the deep forests, druids createstanding stones and earthen mounds tofocus the healing power of the land, andgather animal allies to defy the encroach-ment of civilization.

GETTINGSTARTED

If you’re a player, you’ll want toread Chiron Franklyn’s overview of thecontinent that appears later in thischapter, to get a feel for NorthernCrown’s history, cultures, and conflictsbefore you make your character. You’llthen follow the adventures of Franklynand Okwaho as you read this book —their narratives provide vivid first-per-son accounts of the campaign world,and suggest possibilities for your ownadventures.

If you’re the Game Moderator(GM), first read the Cultures chapterand pick three or four cultures to offeras possible backgrounds for your play-ers’ first characters; opening theirchoices up to every culture at oncewould be a little overwhelming, afterall. The mechanics of character cre-ation will feel very familiar to anyone

Onen tsi ne’i nakkara. This is my tale.Call me Okwaho — that is “Wolf” in the language of my people, the Keepers of the

Eastern Door. I am a rakarota, a master storyteller. Give me a seat by the hearth, and fillmy cup with pine needle tea, and I will tell you a tale of heroes.

We have been here since the Uncounted Time. We are the People of the Place of Flint.We live by the grace of the earth, of our sacred crops, of the thunder that brings the rain. Wetake what we need and no more, and we are grateful for the gifts of wood, bone, hide, food,and water. Preserving the balance of all things and returning thanks to that which sustainsus are the two hallmarks of a good life.

When the balance fails, heroes must rise to restore it. A hero defeated the stone giantsand monsters of old. By the grace of Sky Woman, a hero saved the world from the greatflood. Heroes composed the hymn of peace and combed the snakes from the hair of theenemy of peace and straightened his crooked form. A hero buried our weapons of warbeneath the peace tree, and so ended the conflicts that threatened to tear us apart.

Now the balance is again threatened. Newcomers have arrived from the sea. Forestsfall. Villages burn. Evil beings stalk the land, bringing strife and sickness. The weapons ofwar are wielded against our kin. It is a time for heroes.

This is their tale.

who has played a d20 System game,but a selection of new classes, feats,spells, and equipment have beenadded to fit the setting, and may takesome time for you to assimilate. Don’tpanic — many of the standard coreclasses are still available, while othershave been replaced by new ones moreappropriate to the campaign world.You’ll also find a wide array of newgame material, including rules forguns, fencing, artillery, and explosives,special guidelines for inventions, FirstOnes and Uropan spells and magicitems, and psionic knacks. GMs willfind the companion book, the NorthernCrown: Gazetteer, to be an essential refer-ence. It includes non-player character(NPC) stats, setting maps, adventureideas, a menagerie of new monstersand animals, and a complete gazetteerof the campaign world.

SOURCES AND SCOPE

New World Adventures was inspiredby the history, culture, folklore, andreligion of several Native American,African, and European cultures of theearly colonial period, re-imagined as asetting for fantasy adventure.Although presented as part of a fic-tional world, the names of these cul-tures have been left largelyunchanged, to give them due acknowl-edgement as the source of inspirationfor the campaign. This book does notaccurately describe present-daygroups, religions, or political entitiesthat may share the same names.Similarly, NPCs in this book who pos-sess the names of well-known personsare not meant to represent actual his-torical figures, but fictional versions ofthem based on the aura of myth thatthey have accrued over time in thepublic imagination, fiction, and film.

The enslavement of Africans byEuropeans in our own past is explicitlyreflected in the fictional history ofNorthern Crown, as are the religiousand ethnic persecutions and wars thatravaged the landscape of the earlymodern era. Echoes of crimes commit-ted by Europeans against NativeAmericans during this period are alsopart of the campaign world’s back-ground. These evils, rather than thedragons and orcs of many fantasy role-playing settings, are often the mostinsidious foes faced by the heroes of aNew World Adventures campaign. No fic-

tional evocation of America’s past canbe considered complete withoutaddressing these themes directly.

The First Ones of this campaign set-ting are inspired by some of the nativecultures living in the eastern half ofNorth America at the time of Europeancontact. The legendary past of the FirstOnes, represented by the Makers andMoundraisers, corresponds very roughlyto the Adena and Hopewell cultures ofmore ancient times.

This book is compatible withNyambe: African Adventures by ChrisDolunt (Atlas Games, 2002). TheCimarrons of Northern Crown aredescended from the Nyambans ofDolunt’s fantasy Africa. Informationon Nyamban character classes, reli-gion, magic, creatures, and peoplescan be found in his book, and furtheropportunities for crossover adventuresbetween Northern Crown andNyambe are encouraged.

THE CONTINENT

A report to the Uropan Society of NaturalPhilosophy concerning the continent ofNorthern Crown, delivered at the Society’sbiennial congress in the city of Paris upon thefirst of October, 1666, by Lord ChironFranklyn, First Magus of the Republic ofSophia. Presiding, His Most Royal MajestyLouis XIV, President of the Society.

Your Majesty, Members of theSociety, and Dear Guests,

At your monarch’s request I havebeen bidden to stand here before youand deliver a report upon the history,nature, and peoples of the northerncontinent west of the Atlantic Sea,lately called Northern Crown. Wemeet here not as men and women ofvarious nations, but as citizens of theKingdom of Science, united in ourpursuit of Truth and Reason. As herforemost natural philosopher, I feel Ican give an account as well as anyoneof this most remarkable land. Afterestablishing her place upon the terres-trial sphere, her peoples, and her nat-ural resources, I shall lay out a meresketch of the continent’s past ages andher current state, in the form of a nar-rative which I have culled togetherfrom many sources, including bothmaterial evidence and the spoken loreof the continent’s native inhabitants.

LANDSThe continent of Northern Crown

— also known in the Latin asSeptentrionalis — is named for the con-stellation that dominates its skies. It islocated west of the Atlantic Sea, span-ning the subtropical, temperate, andpolar latitudes of the northern hemi-sphere, and is connected to the conti-nent of Southern Cross by a narrowisthmus. Only the eastern half ofNorthern Crown has been mapped byour cartographers; it is not knownwhether the western half of the conti-nent is contiguous with the lands ofCathay in the Far East, or whether anarrow strait separates the two.Occupying several climatic zones, theknown area of the continent includeshumid swamps, warm pine forests,rugged mountains, temperate wood-lands, boreal forests, open prairie,freshwater inland seas, bogs, cold tun-dra, and polar sea. Native people haveingeniously adapted to life in all ofthese terrains, but their numbersremain relatively low, and well withinthe capacity of the land’s natural boun-ty to sustain them. Newcomers fromthe continent of Uropa have yet tomatch their skill in surviving thisoften-harsh land.

PEOPLESNearly two centuries have passed

since Uropans first began arriving innumbers on the shores of NorthernCrown, and after many wars, plagues,and migrations, the continent is hometo Uropans, Nyambans, and nativeFirst Ones. Generally, Uropans andNyambans occupy the coast and off-shore islands, while the First Onesremain populous in the interior.

THE FIRST ONESHaving dwelled on the continent

since the age of ice, thousands of yearsago, the First Ones are divided intodozens of nations. Many of them share acommon social organization and tradi-tions, including hereditary rule by chiefsand the division of each nation into sev-eral clans that each descend from a dif-ferent animal ancestor. Two major FirstOnes political entities exert regionalpower in the east: the Five Nations andthe Woodland Confederacy.

Northern Crown

Among the dozens of First Onespeoples, I have included in this volumedetailed descriptions of the followingfour cultures:• Cherokee are people of the deep, fer-

tile vales west of the Mountains ofSmoke. They live by a code of indi-vidual freedom, tempered by groupconsensus. Among their foremostadventurers are diplomats, clerics,and witches.

• Mohawk are the easternmost membersof the Five Nations, dwelling besidethe cold Mohawk River that flowsthrough the northern woods. Theirgeographical position has thrust theminto conflict with Uropan newcom-ers. Their adventuring folk includeraiders, bards, and political leaders ofgreat skill.

• Ojibwa dwell on the shores of LacSuperieur and the surrounding north-

ern forests. Adept at long journeys byland or water, and living in small,mobile bands, they produce skilledscouts, guardians of lore, and spiritualleaders.

• Shawnee dwell in the hardwood forestsof the interior, where the natural powerof the land is strong and few Uropanshave yet tread. Shawnee adventurersare said to be wanderers at heart, trav-eling far from their homeland to live astraders, warriors, and protectors of theliving earth.

THE NYAMBANSThe continent of Nyambe-tanda,

located south of Uropa and east of theAtlantic Sea, is a place still littleknown to our natural philosophers.Nyamban peoples have become partof the tale of Northern Crown largely

through the practice of Uropan slav-ery, an evil that is still practiced inUropan plantations and minesthroughout the continent. Althoughpeople of Nyamban descent can befound among all cultures of NorthernCrown, one Nyamban-influenced cul-ture in particular — the Cimarrons —have arisen to challenge the scourge ofslavery and those who seek to perpet-uate it.• Cimarrons are the descendants of cap-

tive Nyambans who were forced tolabor in the mines and plantations ofNorthern Crown. Having fought towin their freedom, they live in inde-pendent communities throughoutthe Carib Sea and the southerncoasts, where they maintainNyamban traditions and send adven-turers against evil tyrants to defendtheir people and secure liberty forothers.

THE UROPANSSince first contact with the First

Ones, thousands of Uropans havecrossed the Atlantic Sea to establish afoothold in Northern Crown. Theyinclude agents of Uropan kingdoms,private enterprises, and religious sepa-ratists seeking a new life far from per-secution and worldly temptation. Themost populous and influential groupsinclude the following:• Albians are the dashing, witty sub-

jects of Gloriana, the half-fey queenof the land once known as England.They claim little territory inNorthern Crown, but nonethelessare among the foremost Uropan sol-diers and seafarers of the age.

• Buccaneers are colorful sea-goingpirates and scoundrels, culled fromthe exiles, rogues, and misfits ofmany nations. Capricious and vio-lent, but not without honor, theyprowl the seas in search of plunderand the freedom to live under no lawbut their own.

• Carolingians are the exquisitely attiredand well-mannered cavaliers of theEnglish king in exile, Charles II, whonow presides over the Kingdom ofCarolingia in Northern Crown.Skilled at riding, hunting, and main-taining their reputation for honorand courage, they defend their king-dom with style and steel.

• Commonwealthers are Puritan soldiersof God, raising a holy fortress in thewilderness as a bulwark against theEvil One and his many servants,both human and monstrous. Grimand determined, they rely upon theirfaith and conviction in their relent-

Northern Crown

less pursuit of evil. Their HolyCommonwealth of New England is amajor force in the northeasternregion of the continent.

• Coureurs (KOO-rurs) are the forestrunners of the north, possessing theskills and lifeways of First Ones, andthe language, weapons, and faith oftheir Français ancestors. Buccaneersof the forest, they are fiercely inde-pendent and experience life as agreat adventure, plying their trade asfrontier fighters, scouts, and traders.

• Espaniards are the imperial agents ofFelipe II, mightiest monarch in allUropa. Part of the greatest militaryand administrative machine Uropahas seen since the age of the Caesars,they defend the Viceroyalty ofNueva España from the depredationsof pirates, corrupt officials, and for-eign spies.

• Français (fran-SAY) are servants ofthe splendid sun king, Louis XIV.Using political savvy and dazzlingswordsmanship, they secure theroyal province of Nouvelle Franceand the city of Nouvelle Orleans,and plan for military and economicdomination of the continent.

• Kelts are the fey-touched members ofan ancient Uropan people,renowned as bards, raiders, and wan-derers. Brought to the shores ofNorthern Crown against their will aslaborers, they have since rebelled,and have re-established their clans inthe Appalachi Mountains, angeringtheir former Uropan masters andtheir new First Ones neighbors alike.

• Nederlanders are the members of aworldwide trading company withcrucial interests in Northern Crown.Stubbornly independent-mindedand pragmatic, they operate out ofthe rough-and-tumble port of NieuAmsterdam, a place of big deals,double-crosses, and fortunes lost andwon.

• Sophians are freethinking rebels fromevery corner of the continent whohave carved out their own republicfrom former English possessions.Drawn from the ranks of freedom-loving Uropans, Nyambans, andFirst Ones alike, they are dedicatedto the advancement of freedom andscience, and are among the conti-nent’s foremost thinkers and inven-tors — if I may be allowed to pay myfellow citizens a compliment.

• Vinlanders are the descendants ofancient Norsk mariners who longago arrived on the cold shores of

northeastern Northern Crown.Seven centuries later, they remain awarrior people, whose raiding shipsare the terror of the coast.

• Witchlings are followers of the OldWays, people of magic and shadows,who keep a precarious balancebetween redirecting the power ofevil for lawful ends and succumbingto it. From their coven on the rockycape of Naumkeag, they fight tokeep their independence from theCommonwealthers who seek todestroy them as servants of the infer-nal realm.

ANIMALSNorthern Crown is rich in animal

life. Its seas swarm with whales ofevery known species and shimmeringshoals of fish, while its skies are filledwith game birds, eagles, ravens, andhawks. In the rivers are huge catfishand sturgeon, while the Great Lakeshold pike and other freshwater gamefish. To the economy of the north, themost important water-dweller is not afish, but a mammal — the humblebeaver, whose soft fur is so much indemand on the streets of YourMajesty’s city of Paris, for the hatter’sand clothier’s trade.

The forests are alive with white-tailed deer; on the frontier, buckskinsare so plentiful that they are even usedas currency. Common predators of thewoodlands include wolves, panthers,and foxes; in the north, fierce wolver-ines and magnificent lynxes are found;and the polar sea is the kingdom of thegreat white bear. Her lesser relatives,the brown and black bears, are thelargest omnivores of the woodlands. Inthe west, where the forest yields toopen prairie, one finds huge herds ofshaggy, horned bison; other than theskilled First Ones hunters of thatregion, the bison fear only the prairiewolves, who hunt in well-coordinatedpacks.

VEGETATIONThe first Uropans to reach the

continent, the Norsk, came in searchof timber, not gold or silver. And theyfound it in abundance. If not for thetowering white pines of the northernforests, it is doubtful that the world’snavies would have tall masts uponwhich to spread their sails. Such trees

are as valuable to the timber trade asthe beaver is to the fur trade; bloodhas been spilled contesting a singletree’s ownership.

Besides the white pine, the wood-lands abound with many useful trees,including oak, elm, maple, and walnut.They supply lumber for a thriving cab-inetry industry from Carolingia to theCommonwealth. The maple is tappedby the First Ones to produce a sweetsyrup which can be rendered into edi-ble sugar by the application of steadyheat. Other naturally occurring foodplants of note include strawberries,blueberries, and wild rice.

The most useful food plant,though, is maize, or corn, which feedsboth human and cattle. It is doubtfulthat the early Uropan settlers couldhave survived without acquiring thisgiant native grain. Squash, beans, sun-flowers, goosefoot, potatoes, andpumpkins are also grown, in additionto the Uropan staples of wheat, barley,oats, and many vegetables. Nyambanshave brought with them the staplecrop of rice, which is grown extensive-ly in the wet soils of the southerncoast.

MINERALSAlthough Uropans have spent cen-

turies searching for gold and silver,Northern Crown has so far yielded nomajor lodes of these precious metals,while the southern continent hasproved rich in both. Copper and ironare abundant in mountainous areas ofthe north, but only Uropans have thetechnology to refine these metals fromore; the First Ones use native coppernuggets and the rare prize of meteoriciron, which is said to have magicalproperties.

The land is poor in gemstones,lacking significant deposits of dia-monds, emeralds, or rubies, but rich insemiprecious stones, especially tour-maline, quartz, jasper, and garnet.These too are believed to have magicalor divine powers; the Uropans usethem in the creation of protectiverings, amulets, and for scrying, whilethe First Ones keep them as charms toward off evil.

Flint is a strategically importantmineral both for First Ones tools andweapons, and for the firing mecha-nisms of advanced Uropan gundesigns. Several sources are known toexist in the Appalachi Mountains.

Northern Crown

Northern Crown

MONSTERSLike Uropa, the continent has its

own collection of abnormal creatures,which the uneducated call monsters.Some seem to be survivors of anothertime, perhaps the age of ice whichnative legends speak of; while othersare likely the product of ancient mag-ics or the embodiment of powerfulsupernatural entities. I present a briefsummary, arranged by type:• Elementals: The sanauk are a species of

earth elemental associated with richdeposits of flint. They are mostunfriendly to human beings.

• Fey: Just as Uropans do, the FirstOnes have their own species of fey,including the pukwudgee, little mis-chievous gnome-like beings of theforest, and the nunne’hi, a race ofnoble fey bards. In addition, the feyof Uropa have begun to appear, fol-lowing their human allies such as theKelts and Albians across the sea.

• Giants: Former masters of the conti-nent, the giants of Northern Crowninclude stone giants, hill giants, andthe fearsome wendigo of the farnorth. Many hags haunt the moun-tains and caves of the continent,including the spear-fingered u’tlun’ta.Towering over all others are the gar-gantuan amphibious giants known asgougou, which live in the GreatLakes of the interior.

• Magical Beasts: Few if any Uropanmagical beasts can be found on thecontinent except as exotic pets orguard animals, but there are manynative varieties. They include thepanther-like catamount, the dreadrattler, the sly and greedy kawkont-wawk, and the awesome thunder-bird. Other notable magical beastsare the serpentine okanangan, whichdwells in cold lakes, the gargantuan,bearish nyah-gwaheh, and the razor-back hogge, a monstrous form ofswine that lives in the southern pineforests.

• Monstrous Humanoids: The evil deedsof early Uropan invaders have bred acorrupted ilk of monstroushumanoids called haints. These crea-tures, also called bogeymen, are theruined, insane forms of foul crimi-nals. They leave their hiding placesat night to stalk innocent victims.

• Outsiders: Few outsiders dwell inNorthern Crown, aside from thosesummoned by sorcery. They includethe mountain guardian — or pomola— and the bog guardian — the moos-

soogit. Both are said to be celestial ser-vants of the creator god of the FirstOnes.

• Shapechangers: In addition to lycan-thropy among humans, we know of anative race of shapechangers calledtricksters, who prey upon unsuspect-ing travelers in the wilderness.

• Undead: Northern Crown has morethan its share of undead, bothUropan and native. The same haunt-ed scarecrows, lanternjacks, andheadless riders that plague thestreets of France have also been seenthere. In addition, there are severalterrifying native forms of undead,including the flying skeletons calledpauguk, and the undead sorcerersknown as bone dancers.

• Vermin: Rare in the north of the con-tinent, vermin are more common inthe warm, humid south. In the sub-tropical swamps and on tropicalislands, centipedes and spiders growto alarming size.

RELIGIONFirst Ones, Nyamban, and Uropan

religions share several common ele-ments, including the belief in asupreme deity, in celestial beings thatact as intermediaries between the deityand humankind, and in the concept ofan eternal soul or spirit that survivesthe death of the body. Clothed as theyare in different names and forms, thesecommon tenets are seldom recognizedas such by the three cultures, whichhas led to much fear, misunderstand-ing, and even bloodshed betweenthem. Among the Uropans, evenminor differences in belief have led towar between followers of differentfaiths; the Uropan continent has beentorn apart by such conflicts for thepast century.

Many First Ones religions centeraround a belief in a benign creatorcalled the Great Mystery. A remotefigure, said by some to dwell on amountaintop beyond the setting sun,the Great Mystery never interferesdirectly in human affairs. Instead, hemay use animal spirits or sacredobjects as intermediaries, to teachhumans to lead a good life and to pro-tect them from evil. Some First Onesacquire a personal manito at birth,with whom they can converse andpetition the Great Mystery for aid andguidance. Others receive a sacredobject that serves a similar purpose.

Folk of Nyamban ancestry believein a benevolent but distant Overpower,who relies on the intercession of divineorisha spirits to maintain a link withhumankind. Religious practices involverituals honoring one or more of theseorisha.

Most Uropans believe in a creatorgod, as well. Among all but theWitchlings and Kelts, this monotheis-tic faith has replaced the collection ofancient nature religions known as theOld Ways. Although they share abelief in one god, Uropans have his-torically fought bitter wars againstthose who disagree on relatively minormatters of faith. Currently, the fiercestdispute is between the long-estab-lished Roman Church and a handful ofDissenter faiths that are opposed,among other things, to the Church’shierarchy of priests and bishops. TheDissenters maintain that the salvationof souls is possible only through faithin God, while the Roman Churchbelieves that salvation can also besecured through good works. Theresulting wars have devastated muchof Uropa, and contribute a majorimpetus for settlement of NorthernCrown by Uropan exiles. While viru-lent enough, the conflict pales in com-parison to the cruelty reserved for fol-lowers of the Old Ways and otherminority faiths, who are often triedand executed as heretics.

COSMOLOGYThe First Ones, Nyambans, and

Uropans differ more strongly in theirconception of the universe. For thenatives of Northern Crown, the conti-nent is often represented as TurtleIsland, recalling the creature that pro-vided a refuge for life amid the watersof a great flood during the long-agoUncounted Time. Surrounded by thesea, and covered by the dome of theheavens, which may be conceptual-ized as a blanket or skin thrown acrossthe sky, the world is suffused with aforce that I shall call medawaywin(med-ah-WAY-win), the resonance ofthe living earth, which must be nur-tured and sustained if life itself is toendure. This, rather than the businessof saving souls, is the purview of FirstOnes druids.

Nyambans believe in a tripartite uni-verse, comprised of the material worldof living creatures; the spirit world,which is coiled like a snake about it,providing an abode for orisha and the

spirits of the dead; and the shadowworld, which permeates the materialworld and provides a medium of travelbetween it and the spirit world.

The Uropans once thought of theworld as a flat disk, but most haveyielded to evidence that it is a sphere,many thousands of miles in diameter.Still, a matter of debate is whether thesun or the earth stands at the center ofthe universe, but most agree that out-side the courses of the moon, the sun,and the five planets is a crystal spherestudded with fixed stars. This sphereseparates Creation from the celestialrealm, which is the abode of the cre-ator and the final destination of goodsouls. Within the surface of the earth isthe immeasurable abyss of Chaos, thelocation of both the infernal realm,where evil souls are sent for eternalpunishment, and Faerie, the abode ofthe mysterious creatures called the feywho have largely quitted their formerdomains on earth in the face of humanreligions antithetical to their presence.

MAGICDivine magic is wielded by First

Ones and Uropan druids, and byNyamban and Uropan clerics. Thepractice of arcane magic is known toall three cultures. Among the FirstOnes, sorcerers can cast spells withoutthe use of written texts. Mchawi wiz-ards and sei sorcerers are the Nyambancounterparts of Uropan spellcasters.The Uropans distrust sorcerers, whoare said to have infernal blood, butsome societies allow wizards to prac-tice openly, as long as they do notdelve into the unnatural art of necro-mancy, or use an evil black book tosummon outsiders from the infernalrealm. The arcane power of the songand speech of bards is widely recog-nized among First Ones cultures.

TECHNOLOGYThe First Ones are masters of

shaping natural materials from theirimmediate environment into usefultechnology, including stone-tippedand copper weapons and tools, cloth-ing sewn from fur and hide, clay ves-sels for storage and cooking, anddwellings and watercraft constructedfrom wood and bark. These thingsrequire much skill to make but a min-imum of resources, meaning that eventhe smallest communities can makewhat they need for their own survival.Nonetheless, a continental networkof trade has existed for thousands ofyears among the First Ones, trans-porting copper, shell, flint, and boneacross hundreds of miles to eagerlywaiting markets. These specialtymaterials are used for making magicitems, sacred objects, and mundanejewelry.

Nyambans preserve their ownadvanced skills in agriculture, metal-work, and other crafts, with manyadaptations from First Ones andUropan technology. Ironwork is aparticular hallmark of Nyambancraft.

The Uropans have brought theirown technology to Northern Crown— most notably the military innova-tions of firearms, horses, and steelweapons and armor, all of which havebegun to find their way into thehands of First Ones armies. Horses,oxen, and mules are used as draft ani-mals and power sources. OtherUropan technologies formerlyunknown on the continent includeglassmaking, printing, metal refining,wheeled transport, sailing vessels,wind- and water-powered mills, andthe astonishing inventions of naturalphilosophy, which show greatpromise but have so far not been pro-duced in great numbers.

HISTORY OF NORTHERNCROWN

The history of Northern Crowncan be divided into two major ages:the Uncounted Time before the arrivalof the Uropans, and modern history,which begins with the appearance ofNorthern Crown upon Uropan mapsand extends to the present time. Weshall not attempt to separate mythfrom fact here, for all enduring mythsspeak to a universal truth about thehuman condition, even if they are notstrictly factual, and facts do notdescribe the world as it is lived, only asit is observed.

THE UNCOUNTEDTIME

What is known of the UncountedTime is derived from only twosources: the spoken lore of the nativepeoples of the continent, and thephysical artifacts left behind by theirancestors. It is impossible to create anexact chronology for this bygone age,but it certainly stretches back severalthousand years, to a time when theworld was a much different place.This account is not a definitive ver-sion, for each native nation tells thestory differently.

Northern Crown

Northern Crown

THE WENDIGO ANDTHE AGE OF ICE

It is said that in the distant past,Northern Crown was ruled by thewendigo — the evil spirits of the farnorth. Whether this is literal truth ormere poetical fancy, it is evident fromthe geography of Northern Crownthat a mantle of ice indeed once cov-ered much of this land. Strange beastsroamed the frozen wastes, whosebones are still unearthed from time totime. It was an age of bitter hardshipfor all living things — a winter with-out end.

After many centuries, by some act ofchance or providence, several smallbands of human wanderers arrived in thiscold waste. Some of our natural philoso-phers say they were Tatars of Asia, whileothers hold that they had always beenhere, all but unnoticed amid the vastspaces and mammoth beasts. Still othersclaim they had been created by the GreatMystery to free the land from the grip ofthe wendigo. In lore, these early wander-ers are known as the First Ones. Tales tellof the epic battles of the First Onesagainst the wendigo to free the land frometernal winter. The animals of NorthernCrown, some of whom had the power ofhuman speech, fought on both sides ini-tially, but eventually became unitedagainst the wendigo and drove them tothe far north, where they still lurk, com-ing south only during the depths of win-ter to exact revenge upon their ancientenemies.

THE FLOOD No longer chilled by the presence

of the wendigo, the ice-mantle beganto melt, causing a great flood thatthreatened to destroy all life inNorthern Crown. Most of the beastsand the people of the First Onesdrowned in the deluge. Only a singlehero and a few of his folk were left,

along with his animal allies, clingingto the back of Turtle, who aloneamong them could provide a solidhandhold. But Turtle’s strength wasfailing. They needed to find solidearth, but around them were only theroiling waters of the flood. At last,Muskrat (some say rather that it wasOtter, or Water Bug), who was small instature but not in courage, bid hisfriends farewell, and dove beneath thewaves. After what seemed an age ofwaiting, he returned to his friends,only to die of cold and exhaustion.Amid their grief at the loss of theirfriend, they noticed a clump of mudstill held tightly in the grip ofMuskrat’s tiny paw. Placing the mudon Turtle’s back, they called out to SkyWoman, who caused the mud to swelland grow, until it became an islandlarge enough to provide the survivorsa place of safety. When the floodwa-ters retreated, the land was repopulat-ed by these few beasts and people;their descendants now occupyNorthern Crown, which they still callTurtle Island.

THE MAKERSAfter the flood, many of the savage

beasts of the age of the wendigo werenot seen again: the great dagger-fanged lions, the towering wooly ele-phants, and creatures even stranger forwhich we have no name, but whosebones are still found in farmers’ fieldsand riverbanks. In their absence, thechildren of the First Ones multiplied,filling nearly all of the lands ofNorthern Crown, from the cold pineforests of the north to the fertile rivervalleys of the interior to the warmtidelands of the coast. Their speechand manners of dress changed overtime, until there were many nations ofpeople in the land. Footpaths andrivers wove the nations into a web oftrade that brought copper from thenorth, shell from the south, and crystalfrom the east. Where the great rivers

of trade met — where the Ohio Riverempties into the Espiritu Santo —makers of wondrous artifacts gathered,crafting ornaments, tools, vessels,pipes, and weapons of great beautyand virtue. The finest pieces were saidto have arcane powers, and are highlysought after for this reason, even tothis day. It is said that the craft of sor-cery was first practiced in NorthernCrown during this time, as the Makerslearned the secrets of arcane magicfrom outsiders, used carved and paint-ed glyphs in order to extend their ownlives, and delved ever deeper into thesecrets of craft and artifice.

And so began an estrangementbetween them and their animalbrethren, who withdrew into remoteareas of the wilderness, fearful of theMakers’ reckless pursuit of power anddenial of the natural order. Thisestrangement between humans andtalking animals continues to this day.

The Makers grew rich on theirtrade, and made elaborate tombs forthemselves, filled with objects ofpower that they could not bear to partwith, even in death. Whether thiscostly obsession destroyed their pre-eminence in the trading network, orwhether they probed too far into theforces of dark magic, one thing is cer-tain: the Makers have vanished, alongwith many of their secrets, leavingonly their burial mounds and objectsof power.

THE MOUNDRAISERSAround the time of the decline of

the Makers, the practice of growingmaize appeared in Northern Crown,spreading north and east from thegreat empires of the south beyond theburning deserts of Quivera. The earlyadapters of maize farming soon foundthat many more people could be fedby this method than from the old waysof hunting and gathering; it was notlong before they began to multiply,and settle in larger and larger commu-

nities. Soon, in imitation of the waysof the south, they began to raiseimmense flat-topped mounds thatdwarfed the burial mounds of theMakers. The veneration of the GreatMystery and his creation was replacedby worship of self-styled god-kings,who exacted tribute from their ownsubjects and from weaker neighboringstates. The arts of sorcery were refinedfurther, and pacts were made with eviloutsiders in exchange for even morepower. Temples were erected atop themounds, where offerings were made tothe outsiders and to their royal humanintermediaries. As the Moundraisers’numbers grew, they began to competewith their neighbors for the best crop-land along the riverbanks. Wars brokeout; people began to shelter behindwooden palisades and ditches.Diseases that had always been endem-ic in sparsely settled regions nowraged amid the crowded settlements.In the end, these two perils — war andsickness — ended the reign of thegod-kings. A few peripheral sites wereleft intact, especially in the south, butthe great walled cities were emptiedfor good. Their ruins still brood uponthe riverbanks, overgrown and silent,and the monstrous servants of theseevil gods still lurk in the swamps anddeep forests, biding their time untilhumankind begins to venerate themonce again.

THE EFFIGY-MAKERSAND THE GATHERINGTHREAT

After the fall of the Moundraisers,Northern Crown became once more aplace of many small nations, again vener-ating the Great Mystery. Smaller moundswere built, not as burial monuments ortemple platforms, but in the shapes ofbeasts: snakes, birds, panthers, and bears,covered with green turf. Always theseeffigy mounds were raised in places werethe natural power was strong, to channelthe life force of the land so that it mightsustain the natural order and protect allliving things against evil. It seemed as ifthe land itself were braced against anunseen threat that would soon make anassault upon the children of the FirstOnes — a greater danger even than thewendigo lurking in their distant northernfastness beyond the shimmering skirts ofSky Woman.

THE AGE OF STEELAND HORSES

Far across the Great Water to theeast, another world was stirring.Uropa, the land of iron and horses,was stretching forth, sending greatships full of warriors in bright armor

across the sea to claim new lands forcrown and cross. The kingdoms ofNyambe — the Land of theOverpower — had repulsed theseinvaders through the protection of theorisha and the virulence of native dis-eases against which divine cures hadno effect. And so the ships of Uropasailed west, across the sea, in search ofthe Spicelands of Cathay and thefabled Isle of Xipangu. Instead, theyfound a world entirely new to them.They called it Northern Crown afterthe never-setting constellation thatshines brightly in the northern skies.At their first footfall upon the shore,the Uncounted Time came to an end,and the time of written history began.

MODERN HISTORY

The early written history ofNorthern Crown consists of a fewcryptic sources from the centuries fol-lowing the fall of the Caesars; the his-torical record does not begin in earnestuntil the arrival of the mariners of theroyal courts of Portugal, Spain, andEngland some one-and-a-half centuriesbefore the current era. In the subse-quent interval, life upon the continenthas changed drastically, bringing for-tune to a few, and strife to many …

Northern Crown

Northern Crown

EARLY VOYAGESMany claims have been made by

the nations of Uropa as to who wasthe first to reach Northern Crown. Inthe archives of Queen Gloriana atLondon I have found evidence that anEirish cleric of the Roman Churchnamed Brendyn made a crossing of theAtlantic Sea in the 8th century, as did aCymric prince of named Madoc whomade the journey in the 12th century.But they left no physical evidence oftheir visits behind, only writtenaccounts, which are full of obviousfancies and nonsense. The first hardevidence is the presence even to thisday of the Norsk upon the peninsulaof Vinland, in the extreme northeast-ern regions of the continent. Theirown sagas tell us that they have beenthere nearly seven hundred years, andalthough they have brought ruin uponthe native states of that area, theimpact of the Norsk upon the whole ofthe continent has been minor com-pared to that of subsequent Uropaninvaders. The certain knowledge thatthere was a great continent beyondBeothuk and Vinland never reachedthe great courts of Uropa, even if theNorsk ever knew it themselves. It tookthe lure of eastern spices to draw thefleets of Uropa westward, only to dis-cover Northern Crown instead.

THE DARK YEARSIt was Miguel Corte-Real who first

brought news of Northern Crown tothe courts of Uropa. On a mission tofind his brother Gaspar, who had beensearching for a way west to Cathay, hemade landfall along the eastern coastin 1501. His lord, King Manuel ofPortugal, could not conceal this newsfor long, and soon the Espaniards, theFrançais, and the English were sendingships across the sea to plant the flagsof empire in the soil of NorthernCrown.

The Uropans brought horses,firearms, and steel weapons to securetheir foothold, but more deadly wasthe weapon of disease, which sorelyafflicted the natives of NorthernCrown, many of whom had wel-comed the newcomers and helpedthem survive their first winters there.Some of the native nations of theeastern coast were weakened nearlyto the point of eradication, and theirlands were soon occupied by Uropansettlements. Fighting to defend them-selves, many of the First Ones werekilled or made captive, to toil in thefields of the victors.

During this time, foul Uropanraiders often captured Nyambans fromthe states of Bashar’ka and Taumau-Boha and delivered them to the mines

and plantations of Northern Crown,Southern Cross, and the Carib Sea.This evil trade has since been all butstamped out by the resistance of theNyambans themselves, but the memo-ry of it hangs like a shadow over theUropans whose forbears participatedin it. The Cimarrons, descendants ofcaptured Nyambans, still fight fortheir liberty in a climate of persecutionand abuse.

This first century of Uropan occu-pation is often called The Dark Years,for many evil deeds were done in thename of righteous conquest in thattime, by fortune-seekers, fanatics, andmadmen alike, while the majoritylooked the other way or countedtheir profits. There are places inNorthern Crown where the echo ofthese fiendish acts still resonates; Ihave walked in these abandoned vil-lages, these bone-scattered fields andwoods. I have felt a chill to my verysoul, and the native peoples say thatthe medawaywin is silent, as if Natureherself recoils from the memory ofthe torture and slaughter perpetratedthere — acts for which the Uropanswho now occupy these lands have yetto atone.

THE PRESENTThere are some who say the Dark

Years have yet to end, but even if thatis so, clearly the advance of theUropans has been greatly slowed oflate, for reasons of geography, politics,and perhaps, some forces less tangible.First, the great barrier of the AppalachiMountains has slowed attempts tooccupy the interior. Second, much ofthe Uropans’ resources are now spentfighting one another, and defendingthe colonies they already hold, leavingfewer forces to win new lands. Third,the native nations of the interior areorganized into several confederacies,and cannot be destroyed piecemeal aswere many of the states of the coast.And last, there are some who say theland itself has organized a resistance tothe Uropan advance. Terrible stormsbeset settlements along the frontier;animals larger and fiercer than normalwaylay travelers, and have even beenseen fighting alongside native forces;and the power of native magic seemsto grow ever mightier the further onepushes westward.

Because of these factors, the east-ern shores are occupied by small butprosperous Uropan states andcolonies, separated from the nativelands by a long, dangerous frontier,behind which brood forces both polit-ical and natural that may yet drive thenewcomers back into the sea. In themeantime, the unsettling menaces ofundead creatures, evil outsiders, andsinister secret societies and cults havebegun to stir once more, casting alengthening shadow over their con-quest. A time of great conflict andperil is at hand in Northern Crown,the outcome of which may depend onthe actions of a handful of youngheroes just now taking their placeupon the world’s stage.

USURPERS OF THENORTHERN CROWN

Who among the many Uropanpowers now sharing the eastern shoresof Northern Crown does not seekmastery over all? Nederlanders clashwith New Sweden in the DelawareVale and with Nouvelle France in thenorth; Espaniards and Carolingianscompete for the favor of the Creekand Cherokee nations to gain an edgein their struggle for control of thesouth. Cimarrons pursue the cause ofliberty for all Nyambans and othercaptive peoples. Commonwealthersseek mastery of their neighbors’ souls,

while my own Republic of Sophiastruggles to free their hearts and mindsfrom superstition and tyranny. And theFirst Ones of the interior are bandingtogether to rebuff these invaders, con-solidating their own holdings. Onlyone head at a time may wear a crown,Your Majesty. Will one of the youngcaptains now fighting upon the battle-fields of Northern Crown seize it byforce of arms, becoming master overall — an Alexander of the new era?

ARMIES OF DISCOVERY

As you are no doubt aware, Uropanknowledge of Northern Crown ends atthe western banks of the great riverEspirtu Santo, which divides the conti-nent in two from north to south.Beyond, our maps show only terra incog-nita and cartographic conceits: goldencities, burning deserts, and rivers run-ning conveniently to the Pacific Sea.The same lure of the unknown thatbrought Corte-Real and Cabot acrossthe Atlantic Sea is now driving my coun-tryfolk into the unknown west. You mayhave heard that the First Lord of Sophiahas organized an Army of Discovery topenetrate the continent’s interior. Itincludes scouts, soldiers, diplomats, andnatural philosophers, well trained andwell supplied. I understand that YourMajesty has employed priests of theIgnatian Order and Coureur scouts forthe same purpose, and that the emperorFelipé of España has sent his armoredcaptains into the deserts of Quivera andthe high, bare lands of Kansa. The trueobjective of these missions — whetherknowledge, trade, gold, or empire —can be debated among royal ambas-sadors from here to Havana, but onething is certain: success or failure willdepend upon who among these smallcompanies has the will, the strength, andthe favor of Fortuna to unlock the key tothe western lands.

REASON’S CHILDRENAs we sit beneath the glow of the

galvanic lamps that illuminate thischamber — gifts to your majesty frommy own laboratory in Sophia — weare keenly aware of the innovationsthat the divine gift of Reason and thescience of natural philosophy havegranted us through the unlocking ofthe secrets of aeliopilic power, gal-vanism, mesmerism, and more. Surelythese inventions hold great potentialto free humankind from toil and dis-comfort, but there is a growing aware-

ness among us that they also may sowthe seeds of destruction, in the form ofever-deadlier weapons of war, plagues,and lethal engines. The next genera-tion of natural philosophers, our intel-lectual children, will decide how thisPromethean drama will play out:either bringing the light of Reason tothe world at large, or beginning aholocaust that will engulf us in mis-eries undreamed of in earlier eras.Northern Crown — a place of relativefreedom, far from the courts of Uropa— could be the place where this ques-tion is decided for us all.

WIELDERS OF WITCHCRAFT ANDSORCERY

But if you think that the old order willgo quietly into the night as the age of rea-son dawns, I am sorry to say that the prac-tices of sorcery and witchcraft are aliveand well in Northern Crown. TheWitchling enclave of Naumkeag sits but aday’s ride from the Puritan capital ofBoston, ready to unleash the very forcesof the infernal realm upon its neighbors.The secret order of sorcerers known as LeDragon Rouge is active in Sophia, andrumors of L’Ordre du Sang, that cabal ofancient vampires, have arisen in the foggystreets of Nouvelle Orleans. Only a fewintrepid clerics and paladins have dared tocombat these occult menaces; the actionsof these young heroes could determinewhether Northern Crown will be sparedthe evil influence of sorcerers and vam-pires, or forever fall under their yoke.

The First Ones’ sorcerers can castspells for which we have no name, andproduce magical items of great power.Within their lands are ancient ruinsthat are said to contain lost arcanespells, mighty artifacts, and evil out-siders summoned by long-dead mages.If these things are brought into thelight of day by a few bold plunderers,the balance of power over the entirecontinent could shift overnight.

CONCLUSIONAnd so, I present to Your Majesty

this tome, encompassing our presentknowledge concerning NorthernCrown — its peoples, creatures, lands,legends, and magic. May it guide YourMajesty’s hand in choosing a wise pathin your conduct with my countryfolk.As a wise man once said, “The noblestquestion in the world is, ‘What goodcan I do in it?’ ”

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