Lore

Peoples of Aeledd

The people of Numina III come in all sorts of different colors, shapes, sizes, genders. Aeledd has no concept of “race.” Beyond the nation and culture that one calls home, Aspects are the primary feature by which people identify.

Aspects

An Aspect is an outward exhibition of one’s inner self and reflects a connection to the forces of the creation. Everyone is born exhibiting at least one Aspect but may have more than one. Someone’s Aspect may be the same Aspect as one or both of their parents, or come from a distant ancestor, or have a totally different Aspect than others in their family. Aspect is not genetic or inherited, though some families have a long history of exhibiting a specific Aspect. Likewise, there are specific communities and cities with a predominance of certain Aspects, but even there, there is no guarantee that aspects will appear with any fixed frequency.

There are no names for people based on any of these characteristics, save for literal descriptions. “There is a group of people with white hair at the door” or “Do you see those two Divine Aspected walking down by the lake”. The people of Aeledd do not make up names to classify groups of Aspected as a subset of people, each Aspected is a unique person.

As people exhibit one or more Aspects, the rational people of the world recognize that discrimination against an individual based on their Aspect is wrong. Individuals or cultures who do discriminate against someone based on their Aspect are considered villainous and treated as such.

Aspects don’t change on a day to day basis; it’s not like dyeing hair or putting on makeup, it’s something fundamental. While an individual’s Aspect can change, it is generally due to a major event, the culmination of a set of actions focused on realigning oneself, or significant time spent in an area that has ties to a given aspect. For example, someone who spends a lot of time at a forge, surrounded by the heat and flames, might start to exhibit Elemental Aspect.

The following Aspects are commonly known in the world of Aeledd.

Arcane

Arcane aspected are touched by arcane energies and exhibit characteristics like unnatural horns, bone protrusions, or swirls of bright colors.

Beast

Beast aspected are linked to animals and display features of the animal to which they are closest.

Construct

The inanimate and living are combined within the construct aspected, be it through choice or circumstance, and their appearance shows what substance they are infused with.

Divine

The divine aspects have the energies of the divine within them which can be seen by having the metallic (gold, silver, copper) coloration upon their faces.

Ghost

The ghost aspected have been touched by the spirit of one who has died, and show that through a gaunt visage.

Elemental

The raw elements of earth, air, fire and water are a part of the elemental aspected and they show those elements upon their countenance.

Life

The life aspected are infused with life. This can be demonstrated by having exaggerated ears, or teeth, but not all life aspected show this. Simply being alive and not another aspect is enough to reveal one is life aspected.

Plant

The flora is a part of the plant aspected and they display the nature of those plants.

Shade

The Shade aspected have a bit of the shade within them and show those bits upon their face including Constellations, Heraldrics, Shade locations and other Shade beings. This aspect more than any other is very diverse as there are many parts of the shade.

Multi-Aspects Individuals

Some people, though it is not common, have two or three Aspects. Aspects come together to create a unique whole within the person who manifests them. For example, someone touched by Elemental and Beast might show characteristics of a lightning wolf. A different person with Plant and Divine Aspects may have golden roses grown on silver vines pictured upon their skin.

Foundations

The word “Foundation” is used in Aeledd to refer to one’s basic training and profession. While everyone’s story is unique, certain Foundations are common elements of peoples’ backgrounds. One person might describe their Foundation as “I spent my time as a wastrel in the taverns, spending my days dicing for coins and deep in the cups;” another might say “I was a dutiful apprentice to a wizard, delving deep into the mysteries of the arcane under the tutelage of my preceptor.” Both of these tales show how foundations occur in the complex tapestries of peoples’ lives.

The following foundations are common enough to be generally recognized:

Agriculture

You have sown crops, raised livestock and/or gathered the fruits of the world. You can find bounty anywhere, even where others would find naught. You could have owned a farm, worked on the land of another or kept gardens of flowers for their beauty.

Alchemical

There are times when you wonder if you have more alchemical substances running through your veins than you do blood. You have distilled potions, venoms, poisons, and balms. You could have spent years in an alchemical shop, apprenticed to an alchemist of great note or experimenting on your own.

Arcane

The Arcane was your world. Maybe you grew up in the house of a mighty wizard or arcane researcher. Perhaps you found a great book of magic in your youth that taught you how to control the arcane or maybe it just came naturally to you.

Artifice

Where something could be accomplished through muscle you create amazing constructs to achieve it. Where something could not be done through normal means, you found even more fantastic creations to realize it. You may have been part of an manufactory, were a lone inventor or come from a family with a history of working in creation.

Ecclesiastic

You may have spent your years in a temple or traveling the world preaching your faith. You dedicated your youth to the service of a single faithful order or perhaps you learned many faiths to better broaden your enlightenment.

Entertainer

A room full of people reading and studying is as boring as a tomb to you. You would rather see them all singing together, enjoying a play, or dancing the night away. Perhaps you were a traveling bard, an actor in a theater, a story teller, or maybe you were just the best singer in your town.

Expressionism

Perhaps you are a painter, a sculptor, or another creator of physical art. You gain insight and inspiration from the act of creation. Your works bring laughter, tears, and epiphany to those who view them.

Heroic

You are a hero. Perhaps you come from a time lost, like Fortune’s Bend’s past. Perhaps you are a modern hero, who has put yourself in peril to save others. You put the good of others and the good of the world above your own safety.

Leisure

You have money and goods at your disposal. When you are hungry there is food, when tired there are the softest of beds and when you want to go shopping there are always funds and eager merchants to sell you things. You grew up with money and know how to spend it.

Mariner

You could have been the captain, first mate or a sailor upon a vessel on the seas or rivers. You know navigation, ropes, and a wide range of ports of call. As a mariner you understand the weather, the tides, and the call of the waves.

Mendicant

You spent your years helping those in need, setting bones, healing the ills of those around you and learning about what cures and afflicts the body. You may have been the town healer, worked in a large house of healing, or traveled to help those in need.

Mercantile

You may have worked in a merchant house, run your own store, or traveled from town to town buying and selling goods. As a merchant you understand the real value of money and have connections that allow you to turn coin into goods or coin into more coin.

Military

You spent years serving in an army as a soldier or officer. You could have served in a kingdom’s army, as part of a mercenary company or as the defense of a city. You know the ways of battle and understand the honor that comes from following a respectable commander.

Noble Courts

Maybe you have spent time as a courtier in the noble courts of your lands. Perhaps you are the 7th child of a noble of the sword and grew up amongst other children of the nobility in the palaces. Mayhap you were adopted by a Baron and gained her family name. You know the politics of your kingdom and understand how the nobility operate… (Note: This background does not grant any inherent noble or political rights, powers or status outside of the skills you can purchase. This background would be appropriate for someone interested in their character having a noble background, but that background cannot be of the direct line of the ruler of a kingdom or some other noble of significant status. You can be of a line related to the ruler, but it would be far enough away that there is no likelihood of inheritance.)

Poverty

You never knew if you’d have enough food to eat, a place to sleep or somewhere to get in out of the rain. Perhaps you are an orphan who had to make their own way, maybe your family fell on hard times and you had to work from a young age, or you might have had everything taken away by a bandit and were left with nothing. You know how to survive like no one else, because you’ve had to.

Reformed

You were not a hero, or even a good person. You committed foul deeds and made dark deals. But that is the past. You have changed and are that person no longer. You know what it means to be a good person, because you have seen the darkness and how easy it is to fall into evil. Now that you have come to the side of good, you understand more than any how important it is to stay there.

Stargazer

The constellations of the shade drew you from a young age. Maybe it was your choice, maybe it was theirs, but your past was bound to the shade. You may have traveled it when young or lived on the edges of it, but you know the shade.

Traveler

You never felt comfortable living in a single place. Perhaps you grew up in a family that was nomadic. Maybe you just left your place of birth to see what’s out there. Or mayhap you are following a legend across the world seeking answers. In any case, you love to travel and have seen much of the world.

University

You might have been a student, a professor, or a staff member of one of the great houses of learning. You have experience in classes, books and researching information. You know the way to dig for the right answer within a tome and how to record information so it is not lost.

Wilderness

Soft beds, ample food, the comforts of civilization, these things were not for you. You spent your years in the wilderness, be it by fate as you were lost there, by choice as you wanted away from the life of cities or by necessity as you had to leave wherever you lived. In any case, you know of life within the forests and wilderness.

The Numina Campaign does more with a character’s Foundation than it simply being a roleplay element and a part of your story. When creating your character, you will have the ability to choose from a short list of Foundational skills that reflect the Foundation of your choosing.

Choosing your Foundation

The difference between Foundation skills and other skills is that they will be situational based on the Foundation you choose. For example, someone who chose the Soldier Foundation could choose to purchase skills that were useful during a field battle. Someone who chose Merchant, could spend CP to have access to additional choices or discounts from the mercantile exchanges and a player whose Foundation was the Noble Courts might choose from skills that impacted negotiations or political dealings.

Two additional thoughts, first we plan to offer ways that you can choose multiple Foundations which defined your character’s earlier years. As we publish more details on character creation we will provide the mechanisms for selecting one or more Foundations. For now, let your imagination run wild on what you think makes up your character’s background. Second, you should not feel your character history should be limited to the Foundations you choose. Your character can have done or been more than your chosen Foundations. Your Foundation should represent the aspects of your history which you feel mean the most to your character during the game.