Campaign Frame

Pitch

The continent of Caradon had experienced a singular moment in time, argued to be a minute, that is lost to the collective memory of all living souls - all that remains is the history before and the days that come after The Lost Moment. In the aftermath of The Lost Moment, civilizations were laid to waste, marking the beginning or a dystopian era, with creatures and relics appearing throughout Caradon - celestial, demonic, fae and even eldritch in origin, collectively known as Fossils. No one knows how or why these Fossils appeared, or how so much destruction occurred.

In this campaign, the players form an adventuring party (one of precious few) who are sent out to explore a new 'breakthrough'. The assignment is from scholar Jesin Ren who sends the party out to retrieve what they believe to be a piece of the Effulgent Fossil from a fellow scholar in a different part of Caradon.

Tone and Feel

Adventurous, The Unknown, Epic, Mystery (The Horrors(tm))

Themes

Post-apocalyptic, Survival, Found Family

Touchstones

Age of Umbra, Cloudward Ho!, Midst

Player Principles

A Lot of Questions, Not A Lot of Answers

The aftermath of The Lost Moment has left Caradon in post-apocalyptic survival mode. At this point in the campaign, there are very few answers that are considered 'facts' about The Lost Moment. As an adventurer, you're one of the few in the world who are willing to venture into the relative unknown in search of answers to a greater unknown. Not everyone is eager to have a full understanding of what happened during The Lost Moment, and fewer still are built for surviving the harsher climates that now befall the countries within Caradon in an effort to search for answers. Those who answer the call of the scholars to go exploring need to be brave, curious, or just need money badly enough that they're willing to take the risk of a scholar's 'hunch'.

Navigate Your Faith (Or Lack Thereof)

There were gods before The Lost Moment, but now, they stand silent. Very few are blessed with the magics that were once gifted by the gods, and so another questions stands: where are they? Are they the cause of the Fossils? Are they the Fossils themselves? Consider whether your character believes in the gods, for good or for worse, and if they had any hand in where the world finds itself today.

GM Principles

Drip-Feed Lore

Each of the Fossils has lore attached to them - not all details of the Fossils will be known by the PCs, or even by the NPCs they encounter. The true masters are those who study the Fossils, Scholars, but even their knowledge is limited nearly a century on since The Lost Moment. As the campaign progresses, the PCs get closer to 'awakening' one of the key Fossils (The Umbra Fossil) but they need to be introduced to a variety of other Fossils first for it to be impactful.

Build on Player Theories

In their own way, the players can also act as scholars when encountering a Fossil. Encourage theorizing and

Unique Setting Distinctions

The Fossils

The main stars of the show in Caradon. Each Fossil acts as landmarks within Caradon, found within settlements that sought to rebuild themselves close to the magical sources. Many Fossils are found within the remnants of civilization before The Lost Moment.

Unearthing Relics

Relics are discovered regularly still, each acting as potential clues as to what happened during The Lost Moment. While there are certain groups who are sent out to follow rumours and speculations as to the locations of more relics (essentially like archeologists), adventurers are those who follow rumours that are more dangerous than most. Unearthing a relic is an important event.

Inciting Incident

Jesin Ren