by Tiago Bonifácio, Loremaster

In one of our previous posts, I went over the principles that guided us while we developed our various characters. You don’t need to read that text first, but the information there does serve as an introduction to this one. Today, I’d like to talk about how the broken world of Agnar affects its inhabitants. It’s a harsh living out there and that tends to make for harsh characters. 

The world of Agnar is broken. It was shattered by a magical cataclysm known as the Fall, over 1200 years ago, and the survivors have spent that time picking up the pieces. This process has been arduous, to say the least, and the struggle has shaped the societies of the new world that emerged from the ashes of the old. Much of the continent of Selejia is still wild, filled with dangers, both magical and mundane. The great nations of the continent tend to use a veneer of civility to hide a history filled with brutality, once necessary for survival, now used as a tool of control and conquest. 

And then there is the Malediction, a region where the dangers are much greater, unimaginably so. Inside the Storm of Chaos, even the already calloused explorers are faced with extreme challenges that demand extreme solutions. The world doesn’t have a scar left by the Fall, it has an open, festering wound. What does that say about the people picking at the wound?

I should clarify something: the world of Relics Untold is a very dark place, but it is not without light. There are havens of peace within it, even if they are few and far between. There are good people out there. Sometimes these people will be faced with the realities of the world and will fail. Other times, they will endure and grow. The dark fantasy we are going for is not completely hopeless, just very grim. That being said, the people who inhabit this world are on a spectrum from “little control over their own lives” to “the decisions they make change the world”. This means that, although all are eventually forced to face the corruption of the world, some carry a will within themselves that allows them to fight back. Namely, the Seekers.

The Seekers are the current protagonists of our story and serve as a window into the societies they belong to. They were always meant to be the characters that, when faced with unfamiliar dangers, would demonstrate familiar, or at least relatable, reactions. You may not agree with their decisions, but you will be able to understand why they made them. Some Seekers are much closer to the classic definition of a hero than others, but all of them have the power to change the world in some significant way. That’s why we created the term Seeker to refer to our protagonists. “Hero” doesn’t really fit all of them, if any at all… Each of these characters has faced monsters of both the magical and human varieties. They have survived situations that would’ve shattered a weaker person, body, mind, and soul. Now, they must each go to the Malediction, Agnar’s little slice of hell on earth, and face a darkness beyond anything they can conceive. If they will fight against it, succumb to its madness, or harness its power, it’s up to each of them. The choice remains their privilege.

Let’s take the example of Auric Evenhand, our dwarf Seeker, to see how we applied these principles to his character. He starts life as a regular person, a dwarf who grew up on tales of his legendary ancestors and dreamt of taking over the family business. At a young age, he suffers a terrible injustice at the hands of the Primal Blood, losing half of his family in a vicious attack. He is then saved by the Order, growing into adulthood within the walls of New Osterath. The value he puts on his heritage, the history of his people, and the love of his family, all of these create his starting point. His values are those of his people: honor, endurance, unity, and loyalty. Whoever he becomes later, he starts life as a man with ideals. The attack that took his father’s life and his rescue by the Order were crucial events for him. The love he had for his father soured into hatred for those who had stolen his life. That day, he had to make a choice about his future. Auric was faced with the darkness of the world and, as a result, has become quite the dark man himself. His passion for his people burns ever more fervently, only eclipsed by his hatred for the Primal Blood. He has spent the last few decades on a personal crusade of vengeance that has made his name known far beyond the walls of New Osterath. For the Order, and for all people who travel through the Golden Road, Auric has been a great boon, and his people have prospered under him. He has also accomplished feats in other areas, such as the unification of dwarves under a single banner, but his single-mindedness towards his goals has prevented him from dedicating himself to that front. Auric is hailed by many as a hero, but he is a man hardened by decades of conflict and he has become more brutal than the enemies he faces. Whether he succeeds or fails in his campaign, his future seems to be stained with blood. Maybe he can still choose a different path forward, but he is an old man now and seems to be set in his ways. 

Nevertheless, he still holds the power to choose. Just as every Seeker does.

Auric seems to be quite far along on the path he has chosen, but other Seekers have just started on their own paths. You will be able to follow as they make the choices that will define how they will shape the future of Agnar… And you will also witness how this broken world will shape them.