Setting Outline

1. SOCIAL STATUS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT   In some settings, peasants and princes are treated generally as equals and would interact as equals in a party (at least, in the same sense that in the modern era it is presumed that the upper classes might have more money and power but are not inherently superior to the working classes). Knights might get bossed around by a commoner, smart mouthed peasants might act less than reverently toward a Bishop.   In this setting, human social status may be the most important character detail of all. It determines the character’s place in the world. The nobility has rights forbidden to commoners, like being allowed to wear swords publicly, and even get to wear certain fabrics and colors of clothing that peasants are forbidden by law. In a PC party of adventurers, characters who have higher social status should expect that characters of lower status would, within reason, be deferential to them; of course, some characters of higher status might be smart enough to recognize knowledge and experience from lower-status characters and respect their judgment on those issues.   Also, contrary to many assumptions in modern literature and media, while there were certainly some lords who were stupid or cruel, the majority of the aristocracy have a strong vested interest in caring for their vassals and subjects. Their wealth and prosperity depend on the well-being of their subjects, after all, and they believe they were born into their status as part of a divine responsibility to govern over the lower classes wisely.   2. MONOTHEISM   The medieval period was defined by religion. Specifically, by monotheism. In this setting, the human centric church worships Unconquered Sol, the God of Light and Law. The church hierarchy and bureaucracy are somewhat similar to medieval Catholicism. It is important to note the power of religion, and of the dominant monotheistic Church; as well as the strict division (the eternal spiritual ‘war’) between Law and Chaos, or Good and Evil. Heresy, heathenism, and especially the worship of demonic forces is not just some kind of different viewpoint of the world (like we might believe in our modern society), it is a direct threat to humankind in this life and the next.   Chaos represents a danger to human survival. Although there is some room for the supernatural (for example, magic being used in the service of humanity by Magic-Users who are faithful adherents of Unconquered Sol, just as in medieval Europe there were well-respected and pious men of learning who practiced magic), creatures and major forces (demons and Fae) of Chaos are always a threat to humanity. Demons, fae, and other intelligent creatures of Chaos are hostile to human existence. ‘Good’ Demi-Humans can be considered creatures of Law, with souls, who can also worship the monotheistic god.     3. LIFE IS CHEAP   One-third of children won’t live to see their 10th birthday. War is brutal, but disease and infection are as likely to kill you as an arrow or a sword. There are little to no second chances, there is no ‘resurrection’ spell that will bring back even mighty characters (or at least this is what the Church preaches). As such, the level-range is generally low. It should be assumed that the vast majority of people in the world are 0-level or 1st-level characters, that anyone reaching 9th level is a great hero who would likely be very well known for their achievements, and the most powerful people in the entire world might only be 12th-15th level.   4. MAGIC IS RARE   There are no ‘magic shops’. Without taking the short-cut of pacts with demons, magic is complicated and technically demanding (and often expensive). Common priests have no visible magic, only those special chosen of God are capable of miraculous powers: in the implicit setting of the game these are Clerics, who are chosen to manifest miraculous abilities by Unconquered Sol. They are not regular priests, but rather a special militant order within the Church with their own hierarchy, dedicated to fighting Chaos and spreading the faith. Powerful magic items are difficult to obtain, and only the extremely lucky or very experienced are likely to have items of any significant power.   5. CIVILIZATION IS SURVIVAL   The central and stable areas of civilization, the heartlands of kingdoms, are places of relative security and peace, except when the horrors of civil war break out. There’s crime and banditry, and sometimes rebellion or cultists, but most peasants living in a centralized area could go their whole life without ever seeing a supernatural monster. It is in the wilder lands, those wild areas beyond the reach of the order brought about by the King and the Church, that the terrible things of chaos are most likely to dwell. In those lonely places, monsters can be found. Only the truly brave, truly desperate, or truly crazy would choose to go outside the safety of civilization if they had any choice at all. It is also for this reason that rebellion, anarchy, and civil war are seen as terrible threats. When civilization falters, violence and suffering ensue; if instability rages for long, the unburied dead rise again, madmen and scoundrels are drawn by witchcraft and demonolatry to spread murder and terror, and creatures that once hid in caves in the woods and mountains are emboldened to hunt in places they previously wouldn’t have dared. This is why people of all social classes generally favor the security of firm law and strict justice, unless the corruption of those who rule becomes so terrible that they fail to fulfill their duty to maintain that self same order.