These are some basic facts about the world that all characters can find out easily, or are assumed to already know.
The world is called Urdd, it is made up of several countries that form one large continent and some outlying islands, a list of these can be found on The World page. These countries exist on the backs of huge, sleeping Dragons, buried deep below the ground. It is possible to commune with the Dragons in their sleep but if they were ever to wake up, it would destroy the world.
The world as we know it is flat.
Beyond the known world there is an all-encompassing mist from which no-one has ever returned.
There is a single moon and a single sun. At night there are visible stars.
The North is cold, The South West is warm and humid, and the South East is warm and dry. The main body of the continent is temperate.
There are multiple known planes of existence. These are:
The Mortal Plane, where you live.
The Void, where undead come from.
The Pit, where demons come from.
The Astral, where unclaimed souls go after they die.
God Realms, where souls who followed gods go when they die. There is one for each god.
The Feywild, where the Fae live.
The Elemental Planes, one for each of the four elements - water, fire, earth and air. This is where Elementals come from.
The Story Realm, a realm where all stories are true - this realm is created by the combined dreaming of the Dragons.
Time in setting is measured in years AC, or After Cataclysm. Around 1100 years ago, the Gods caused a violent cataclysm to shake the earth, killing untold numbers of people and destroying civilisation as it was. Humanity were forced to start again, with very little knowledge of what came before. Countries have spent a millennia rebuilding themselves to be the thriving hubs of commerce and trade that they are today. Technology is at a late medieval level and is likely to remain at that level.
In recent history there have been many threats to the world that your character might know about. The demon war of 1117AC is the largest in memory, leaving the world forever changed in its wake. As did the battle with the Zanar Kalash over the Dragons in 1124AC, leading to some reality bleeds that subtly alter known history.
Threats to the world as we know it seem to crop up on a global scale yearly.
There are many races that co-exist all over the world. Any town or city will likely be made up of a variety of different races. These are:
Humans: as basic as they come, they make up most of the base population, but there are some potential sub-races:
Sebythe: A rare human sub-race that drains life from individuals to prolong their own existence.
Alians: A rare human sub-race that can move their vitality around their body at will.
Zanars: A clan-based nomadic human sub-race that can push themselves beyond their limits by tapping into their inner rage.
Cursed: A human sub-race touched by the void, caught between being living and being undead.
Panisc: A human sub-race with animalistic horns, born of magic in 1124AC
Elves: Pointy ears, long lived. Elves have elemental sub-types. Playable elves are:
Cloud Elves
Fire Elves
Wood Elves
Earth Elves
Dark Elves
Trolls: Grey-skinned humanoids, stronger than average with skin that heals itself, but burns like paper.
Orcs: Green skinned humanoids with the ability to push themselves beyond their physical limits through risking their souls.
Goblins: Green skinned humanoids, weaker than most other races, but luckier.
Ratkin: Humanoid rat people who dwell mostly in sewers and keep to themselves. Rare to see. Also a weaker race.
Dwarves: Underground dwelling humanoid race, with a sensitivity to magic and a robust constitution.
Not everyone has an obvious class, most peasants are not considered to be any particular 'class' of hero, because they're not heroes (or villains). But as heroes there are several classes, most of them magical, that determine your heroic skills. These are:
Bard: Illusions, summoned weapons, buffing allies and manipulating enemies through use of words, stories and songs.
Cleric: Channel divine energy into armour, protection and healing as well as divine wrath and fury on the unholy.
Coercer: Mental manipulation of enemies and deception of those around you.
Evoker: Elemental magic, causing damage and destruction as well as crowd control.
Moulder: Utilitarian magics – breaking and repairing as well as other interactions with the physical world and bodies. Creating magical arms and armour and dispelling or protecting from other magic.
Necromancer: Channel voidal energies into great harm against your enemies and protection for yourself and allies.
Protector: Protection, armour and buffing allies whilst also stopping your enemies, tactically.
Rogue: Knowledge, Survival, Skills and lores- this is a utility class who can have a range of abilities in natural or urban environments.
Shaman: Natural magic and using nature to your and your allies advantage.
Warden: Channel demonic energy against demons, fight fire with fire and protect the souls of those around you.
Warrior: Combat, action and leading from the front. Take hits, deal hits, protect your friends and allies, kill your enemies quickly.
Gods are very real and very active on the mortal plane. They give boons and speak to their followers. It is hard, but not impossible, to deny the existence of these gods. Most characters will be aware of the Gods, even if they don't follow them. Some countries choose to worship local spirits of the land instead, but that doesn't stop the Gods from existing. You can follow up to three Gods, unless you choose to be a cleric. You may only wield the divine power of a single God and that God is unlikely to allow you to change who you follow once you've committed to them.
The Gods of Aberddu are:
Aesthetics: Purity of the mind, body and soul. Followers strive for perfection but do not hope to obtain it in this life.
Amroth: Warfare and honour in combat. Followers protect the weak and seek the destruction of evil wherever it is found.
Arioch: Magic and power. Followers seek great magical power and will further this goal whatever the cost.
Death: Bringing death and dying in glory. Followers do not fear death, they seek a worthy death or they seek to bring death to their enemies.
Keesoth: Victory at any cost and bloodshed. Followers will stop at nothing to win and succeed their goals.
Krynok: Familial affection and hunting. Followers will take care of others, and may hunt and seek worthy foes and prey.
Life: Living your best life, birth and healing. Followers protect the sanctity of life and the soul wherever they can.
Sea God: The oceans, naval travel and ownership. Followers show reverence, obtain his blessings before travel and hate stealing.
Trickster: Teaching and learning lessons the hard way. Followers seek to teach others through pranks and tricks but not cruelty.
Vengeance: The cycle of revenge and broken promises. Followers seek their own vengeance, or help others seek vengeance.
Volcano God: Crafting and destruction leading to rebirth and rebuilding. Followers seek perfection in their arts and repurposing the old.
Waarheid: Knowledge and secrets. Followers seek to sate their curiosity, they seek knowledge and learning from all sources.
Your character is a person, with a race and a class as outlined above, from a country somewhere in the world. You have chosen to become an adventurer, or someone has sent you to become one. Either way you have ended up at the Aberddu Adventurer's Guild. You know they make a decent amount of money. You also know that they've got a reputation as kind of a mess and are likely to die young BUT also likely to help save the world from any threat that comes.
You may choose what kind of background you come from, your country of origin and what God(s) your character follows. Your skills will be determined by spending XP to create a character with help from a referee or a marshal.
You will have a number of endurance ranks, commonly referred to as hits. If you are hit, you will bleed and if you are hit more, you will die. It takes a heroic individual approximately 5 minutes to bleed out without any kind of interference. As an adventurer, you are a heroic individual. Whilst you are bleeding out, you can yell to your friends and remove yourself from a dangerous situation by crawling (to an out of the way area where you are unlikely to be stepped on).
You have a soul, this soul exists within you. For now. When you reach the end of your life, aka when you bleed out, your soul leaves your body and goes either to the realm of a God you follow, or to the Astral, where it risks permanent destruction. There are spells to recover lost souls and return people to life if they die, but these are difficult to perform and have a chance of failure. Souls can be traded away to powerful entities, but it's generally considered to be bad for you.