welcome to miradawn
Illustration by Craig Fraser.
“we must discover wherefrom this strange behaviour of the ravenwood Manifests, and how it’s seemingly mystical properties can be understood.”
- Sir Adrian, Knight of Baltheria.
Welcome to the Ravenwood, a large unaligned territory north of the great trading bay called the Sea of Mir, on the northwestern continent of Miràdawn. In the world of Dark Ascension, you will have the ability to play members of various factions, kingdoms, religions/spiritualities, and cultures that are trying to spread, control, or simply live in or around the surrounding areas of the Ravenwood. It is recommended to create a character or characters that align variously to the goals and efforts of these factions in order to participate optimally in world plot and role-play. Time spent as a Commoner is meant to learn the basics of common world knowledge.
Factions:
The Admaari Empire started with the takeover of central Miràdawn by King Constance II of the kingdom of Antenor under the grace of the Lord of Light, Admaar, through the teachings of his son and prophet Eshia. Constance II was said to be an enlightened holy-lord and named himself the first of a long line of rulers bearing the crown of Pontifus Rex: the Priest-King, Lord Commander of Military, Church, and State. Now, the empire stretches over most of the western mainland and extends its way north and south along the coast, attempting to spread its borders as far as possible under the light of Admaar. The population tends to be fairly spread in cultural and physiological roots because of the vastness of the land it covers. All Citizens must perform mandatory military or missionary service, which contributes greatly to the strength and power of the empire’s reach.
Baltheria is a kingdom forged by the union of three provincial kings, who all make decisions in a council. Each province will act under its own guidance except in issues of national crisis or emergency, with each king heeding some degree of council from the largest land holding lords and the heads of knightly or divine orders within their province. The most northern province, bordering south of the wild lands of the Ravenwood, is Ceréon. Ceréon’s lands are among the most fertile of all Baltheria and are owned by wealthy merchants and respected lords, as well as knightly and divine orders who may venture into Ravenwood in search of trade, to spread holy words, to protect the roads and spread peace, and to help keep back the various indigenous peoples, flora, and fauna that seem always to spread wilderness over the tame lands of civilized folk.
A coalition formed out of a grudging necessity between the warring houses of the northern realms of Miràdawn, the Rusgaard are a tough and naturally stubborn people but unite for the purposes of protecting the north from invaders and securing free and safe trade among clans. . Most Rusgaard are small land-owners, artisans, fishers, crafters, and traders who train to fight and raid in order to prosper in their harsh clime. Some clans are still known to rebel and raid other Rus clans, while other times clans may freely unite to raid against southern kingdoms and peoples, often under their own banners or those of the United Rusgaard. Currently, a large raiding party, rumoured to be led by a champion called “Thrice Mad Mott” is travelling deep into the heart of the Ravenwood to lay claim to its treasures: natural, magical, or otherwise.
Commoners
All players begin as a Commoner and can remain as one until they understand the rules of the game enough to confidently play a Civilian or Combat character and begin to learn and use character skills.
Commoners are not expected to understand all of the lore or mechanics of the game. Time as a Commoner is meant to allow the player to learn the role-play requirements and effect calls of the game, as well as their place in the world. Role-playing a Commoner is easy: when you are confused, just act confused.
To start making a character, check out the Character Section of the Core Rulebook.