The Rugged Realms!

Welcome to America.

Introduction and Lore

THUDDING HOOVES HIT BARE DESERT GROUND, the sheriff of a nearby town calling upon the Holy spirit to protect him in combat as he pulls out his greatsword, chasing down the undead Gangrene Gang as they make away with the gunsmith's daughter. The college trained wizard from Westpoint lets loose a fireball as he rapidly flips through his spellbook, mixing together mercury and gold flakes to ensure his spell succeeds. The Gangrene Gang is forced to stop in their tracks as the skinwalking hunter from the Apache tribe divebombs, shifting from eagle to bear in an instant. The bones of the leader rattle as he jumps off his horse, his flaming green skull head eyeing the group, before pulling out his shotgun. "Draw!". This is the world of Rugged Realms, an alternate America setting set post Civil War in the 1870s and 1880s.

The Awakening

The point of divergence between Rugged Realms and standard U.S. history (aside from a few minor changes) starts at the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. The world's leylines swing through periods of low and high magic, and magic had been barren for hundreds of years. This all changed when Tenskwatawa, the spiritual leader of the Shawnee, summoned a volcano from the ground by pure will, a gigantic phoenix erupting from the smoke and battering back U.S. forces. Magic has come back with a vengeance, and everyone is living in the shadow of this historic change.

Magic as a whole is still fairly rare in settled places, but arcane colleges (such as Westpoint), have begun to dig deep into the arcane formulae that underlie the world. Meanwhile, cultures that had deep spiritual bases were the first to tap into dormant power. Civilizations long thought dead had entire cities suddenly pop into existence. The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan suddenly a thriving community, Viking ships raiding Eastern coasts, and Bahlam Yaxuun Tihl the Mayan God-King claiming ownership over Mexico.

Long-held barriers have fallen between the Prime Material and surrounding planes, and the Shadowfell now creeps at every grave. The Transcontintental Railroad has been delayed as King Fallaka, the almighty Xorn has erupted from the Rocky Mountains and claimed it as his sole territory.

New Faces, Old Places

"Aw hell. So we got a few more tusks, don't change who your blood is. I figure it ain't nothin' too bad as long as you can still plow and till." - First Generation Orc Farmer

All the standard D&D races have a place in Rugged Realms, with the most common two being human and orc. With the resurgence of magic, dormant ancestries appeared just as suddenly. Miners suddenly found themselves a foot or two shorter, with a hardiness to poison. People living in the Bayou suddenly found themselves with cold blood and scales. Latant Fey ancestries bring Irish family feuds into light. The nature of these transformations can be wanton and inconsistent, two members of the samily ending up orc and elf. For most people, a generation out from this resurgence, family and culture still comes before their newfound species. Racism prevalent at the time still mainly focuses on skin-color and culture compared to whether you're a elf or a gnome.

However, times are changing, and newfound worries and fears about the 'elven menace' continue to pop up in political rhetoric. The one race that suffers the most judgement in setting is Tieflings, who in the extreme faith based communities of America, are seen as abominations to be exterminated.

Wild, Wild West

Even moreso than in the West we know, the West of the Rugged Realms is dangerous and strange. Monsters roam the landscape and prey upon isolated settlements, and the introduction of magic to a already tumultous lawless land brings new complications. With the wide variety of cultures and times clashing, you could be fighting anything from giant mechanized steam-spiders to a hoodoo-slinging necromancer. The game is intended to be played in a episodic style, able to easily support shifts in tone and subject matter. The game is supposed to be about ragtag heroes performing daring actions. Realism isn’t incentivized, and isn’t a worry. Zany plans and actions that advance someone’s character are rewarded, and leeway is provided to make something narratively interesting work. Characters are supposed to be heroes, in one variety or another. How they carry out 'the Right Thing' is up to them, as is how they deal with morally questionable individuals, but they're never evil.

Ooh, He's up there alright

Players have the option of choosing any religion from the real world, alongside Elemental Worship and Worship of a few fantasy gods that have taken up a domain in the real world, such as the Raven Queen. Common options for clerical deities in the Wild West: Jesus Christ, Allah, Wukong, Akadi (the Queen of Air), Deities of luck, travel, exploration, discovery. Whether or not your God is actually there, the pure power of belief is enough to fuel a connection to divine magic for the few truly principled. However, charlatans are abound, and fakes claiming to be 'true vessels of our Lord Jesus Christ' roll into a cowtown every couple weeks.

Lines in the sand

"Everyone who's ever stepped foot on this beautiful dirt we call America loves it with all their heart. We just hate about half the people livin' in it." - Flail Snail Rancher

"It is a SIMPLE fact of life! This beautiful new nation was founded on the inherent principle that the Negro is destined to be subservient to the White Man. Whether orc, elf, or lizard for all I care. Slavery is a everlasting institution and a positive good." - Andrew Jackson, Lich-King of the Confederate States of America.

The chessboard of American territory acquisition has become muddled in the Reconstruction era, with the now powerful and growing populations of the various Native American tribes uniting under one banner to ensure they're not forced out of their territory. Alongside this, the Elemental Planes and their denizens are encroaching ever so quietly in the various areas of the United States, the most egregious example being the dominance of Xorn in the Rocky Mountains. The territory lines of who owns what are hotly disputed, and most maps are inaccurate depending on who you ask.

The Civil War never truly ended, due to the rampant use of necromancy by the Confederacy. Although the Union was able to push them back, influences from a unknown foreign aid let them continue the fight long past their expected surrender date. The fight has settled down to a No Man's Land on the border of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, with everything south of it being owned by the Confederacy.

Additional Equipment

We will use the DMG rules for Bombs, Gunpowder, and Dynamite found on page 268 of the DMG.

NAME COST DAMAGE WEIGHT PROPERTIES NOTES
Revolver $25 1d8 piercing 3lb. Ammunition (range 60/320), Reload 6, Light
Rifle $75 1d10 piercing 8lb Ammunition (range 150/1200), reload 4, two-handed
Shotgun $65 1d12 piercing 10lb Ammunition (range 15/30), reload 2, two-handed Can take an action to fire both shots, hitting two targets next to each other (Dex save based on user's dex)
Derringer $15 1d4 piercing .5lb Ammunition (range 30/60), reload 2, light Can be easily concealed.
Tomahawk $5 1d6 slashing 2lb Thrown (20/60), Light