Swashbucklers & 'Sauruses

Invaders and Natives

Empire of the Sons of Zarus

The "discoverers" of the new world, the Zarusian Empire is flush with power and wealth. The ruling class claims descent from Zarus, the Unconquered Man, who conquered vast tracks of lands before being assassinated by one of his slaves. though Zarus is dead, his descendents believe he will soon return and usher in a New, Glorious Reign of Man. Until then, the Emperor will conquer new lands, accumulate wealth, and scourge the non-humans wherever they can be found.

The Zarusian Empire's success in the new world is because of military adventurism, not colonies. As such, most of their settlements are forts, supply dumps, and the like. However, the older forts have become de facto colonies, poised to supply future expeditions and rule over conquered territory. They have established sugar plantations in these regions - less lucrative than gold, silver and jade, but still lucrative.

Shining Empire of Cormanthyr

Centered on the great city of Cormanthyr, the Shining Empire is a web of alliances and treaties, unifying elves across the old world. Elven blood is a prerequisite to be granted authority, but the total dominion of the seventeen Eldar Houses is fading. The military and bureaucracy is filled with those of demi-elven heritage, and they look to the new world as a place to make their mark.

Cormanthyri colonies are notable for the constant power-struggles between their military and civilian administrations. Any stability is more of a razor's-edge balance, typically the result of a charismatic individual or a cabal of like-minded folks.

Hierophantic Confederation of Ilych

The Ilych Isles are home to a devout and contentious people. They are divided by their many isles and creeds, but united by their hatred and fear of the continental Zarusians and Cormanthyri. Even so, their Confederation is seemingly constantly on the verge of breaking apart.

Ilychian colonies tend be settled by a single faith - either as an official venture of one of the Council Faiths, or by an ostricized or isolationist cult of some lesser god. The Confederation navy is not far-reaching, and Ilychians in the new world rely on mercenaries and privateers to do their fighting.

Dragon Cities of Nexal

The Nexala are in turmoil, having lost two of their great cities to the Zarusian invaders. The balance of power has been thoroughly upset, and internecine warfare continues, above cries to unify against the invaders. The dragon warrior societies, guided by their patrons, are beginning to present a unified front.

The Nexala cities are vast metropolises, rivaling or surpassing the cities of the old world. They practice human sacrifice, which discourages both trade and visitors. The cities are blessed with vast wealth, and a heavily militarized population.

Olmen Remnants

The Olmen live on both the isles and mainland of the new world in tribal or clannish arrangements. Most live a primitive existence, but some still make use of the great civic works of their fallen empire. The Olmen still practice some of the ways of their ancestors, most notably astronomy and necromancy.

Unlike the various colonies, Olmen settlements are mostly self-sufficient. In cases of peacable contact, the Olmen can offer a great deal of knowledge about local geography, wildlife and history.

Folk of the New and Old Worlds

The world is a vast place, and all sorts of exotic and rare peoples can be found in it. Most common by far are humans, in a wide array of appearances and cultures. Other prominent folk are elves of all sorts, dwarves, halflings, dragonborn, tieflings, half-elves, gnomes and half-orcs. A non-exhaustive list of more exotic folk follows:

Beastfolk

Aventi (legged merfolk), darfellan (orcafolk), gnolls (hyenafolk), hadozee (deck apes), kobolds (dog-lizard humanoids), lizardfolk, minotaurs, phanatons (intelligent gliding lemurs), saurials (dinosaurfolk), tengu (crowfolk), wemics (cat-centaurs), various were-creatures (including aranea [spiders], bjorns [bears], bouda [hyenas], kitsune [foxes], lycans [wolves], nagas [snakes], nahual [jaguars], Rodents of Unusual Subtlety [rats], selkies [seals], swanmays [swans], tibbits [cats], etc), and yuan-ti (snakefolk).

Hybrids and Planetouched

Cambions (half-fiends), changelings (fey-touched), devas (god-touched), dhampirs (half-vampires), dullahans (half-ghosts), gensai (element-touched), kalashtar (refugees from the plane of Dream), nephilim (half-angels), shadar-kai (shadow-touched).

Other Playable Folk

Giantkin (including firbolgs, goliaths, hagspawn, half-giants, and ogres), goblinoids (bugbears, goblins, and hobgoblins), orcs, revenants (reanimated intelligent corpses), shardminds (psionically animated crystals), sirines (sea nymphs), skellingtons (intelligent skeletons), warforged (living golems) and wilden (intelligent walking plants).

The Great Gods

The seven great gods cast out the old rulers of the world, the Titans. They are worshiped, individually and collectively, throughout the world. The gods have agreed to not meddle directly in the affairs of mortals, but to appoint champions in the form of clerics and paladins. Some more esoteric druids or warlocks are also sponsored by the gods.

Asharkû of the Many Colors

Asharkû is a god of excess, of actions without care for consequences. He is the patron of mad wizards, of brutal soldiers, of war profiteers, and those who would break a thing to find out how it works.

Divine Domains: Arcana, Forge, Knowledge, War.

Holy Symbol: An unblinking eye. Sometimes depicted emiting a multitude of colored rays.

Femta Hearthforger

Femta is the goddess of hearth and home, of the forge and field. It is to her that the farmer prays for a good harvest, the armorsmith for impenetrable steel, and parents for the health of their children.

Divine Domains: Forge, Life, Nature, Protection.

Holy Symbol: A crossed smith's hammer and cook's spoon. Moreso than any other god, Femta has a variety of holy symbols. Most combine the symbol of a craft and a domestic activity.

Gilgadar Wyrdbreaker

The ex-husband of Femta, Gilgadar has spurned the dictates of fate. He is invoked by those who wish to beat the odds and the system, be they gamblers, thieves, or rebels. Gilgadar lacks a church proper, and is served by a very loose association of wandering priests and ne'er-do-wells.

Divine Domains: Knowledge, Life, Protection, Trickery.

Holy Symbol: A die, split down the middle.

Kord, Storm of Battle

The youngest of the gods, Kord was born to battle. He led the other gods against the Titans, and claimed the lightnings of their king. Now, he is petitioned for battle prowess, for fair winds, and swift victory.

Divine Domains: Life, Light, Tempest, War.

Holy Symbol: A lightning-bolt-bladed sword.

Lloth, Queen of Spiders

Lloth is a goddess of planning, deception, and abrupt action. As such, she is a patron of assassins, generals, and merchant-lords. She is especially favored by the elves, who exalt the grace to make the difficult look effortless.

Divine Domains: Life, Nature, Trickery, War.

Holy Symbol: A spider, seen from above.

Selûne, Marshal of Borders

Selûne is the god(dess?) of the ephemeral, the transitory, the liminal. Naturally, philosophers derive endless amusement from trying to determine if they exists at all. More practical sorts praise them as the ruler of the moon and tides, of death and dying, and illusions.

Divine Domains: Grave, Knowledge, Light, Trickery.

Holy Symbol: The moon, in any phase or occlusion.

Zerika the Lawgiver

Zerika is the goddess of civilization, as exemplified by her particular focus on communication and negotiation. Research by her church lately led to break-throughs into the mysteries of resurrection and teleportation.

Divine Domains: Arcana, City, Knowledge, Life.

Holy Symbol: A phoenix holding an orb in both talons.

Lesser Gods

There are dozens of less powerful and influential gods, ranging from regional faiths to tiny cults. Many of these gods sponsor warlocks or druids instead of traditional clerics or paladins. Examples include: Malar the Beastlord, Rihissa Blackveil, Sanselie the Vigilant, Auril Wintermaiden, Beshaba - the Maid of Misfortune, Xvim the Tyrant, The Sixfold Tiamat, Ylsilar of the Poisoned Page, Lurue the Unicorn Queen, Mask-Vhaeraun, Miasmic Ashur, and many many more.

Zerikan Magical Advances

Recently, the Church of Zerika has made significant breakthroughs in several magical fields: psychic communication, teleportation, and resurrection. Though not without flaws, these new techniques have been widely distributed.

Psychic Communication

Any two people who know each other well can communicate psychically. Contacting someone who is not well known is very difficult. It takes a short while to establish contact, and it is extremely hard to do anything else while speaking in this manner. Any loss of nuance of facial expression is adequately conveyed by non-verbal psychic channels. Mental pictures can be sent, given sufficient clarity on the part of the sender. Psychic barriers will stop any attempt at psychic communication.

Teleportation

Using this spell, a person can travel to any place they know very well. Getting to know a place well takes several days. Teleportation to a destination that the traveler does not know very well will have messy results. Travel in this manner is disorienting, and induces nausea in most people. Experienced casters can bring along other people, send people without traveling themselves, and mitigate the disorientation. Abjurations can put up a block against teleports, preventing anyone from entering or leaving without extreme effort.

Resurrection

With this spell, a caster can reconnect the soul and body of the recently deceased. It requires an intact spine and brain, and does not restore any damage taken - someone with a severed limb will quickly bleed out again, for instance. In combination with healing magic, it can restore the dead to life - however, they will be weak for several days as they heal, even with additional healing magic. Destruction of the brain, spine or enormous physical damage prevent resurrection, as does magic that removes the soul.

Common Magical Abilities

All characters can use the Psychic Communication and Teleport cantrips. In addition, characters can choose two additional cantrips from the list below.

Bards, clerics, druids, rangers and paladins add the spell Zerika's Renewal to their 1st level spell list.

Discernment of Lloth

Divination cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 5 feet

Components: S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a pass of your hand over an item or creature, and you can sense if the target is venomous, poisonous or has been poisoned. You receive no knowledge about what sort of poison is present.

Femta's Threshold Charm

Abjuration cantrip

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: 8 hours

You invoke a blessing of Femta on a threshold. If anyone crosses the threshold, and you are within 1 mile, you receive a mental ping that will instantly wake you.

Firestarter

Evocation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute.

You snap your fingers, and a small flame hovers just above your thumb. This flame can be used to ignite candles, torches and campfires, and can be used as a candle, illuminating 5 feet brightly and casting 5 feet beyond that into shadow.

Kord's Oath

Enchantment cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You call upon Kord to witness an oath being made, and to punish anyone who breaks the oath. You cast the cantrip, and the oath-taker speaks their oath. If they later break it of their own free will, they suffer from one of the following effects (chosen by you or stated in the oath):

Become blind.

Disadvantage on Strength checks and saving throws.

Immediately take lightning damage equal to (their level)d6. Gain Vulnerability to lightning damage.

The effect is permanent until the oathbreaker receives a remove curse spell. This cantrip can only affect willing targets.

Lodestone

Transmutation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour.

You attune yourself to aetheric currents that encircle the world. You gain an unerring sense of north, and are advantage on skill checks to determine your physical location. Oddly enough, you also gain the ability to pull unattended iron objects (up to 1lb) towards you, at a range of 30 feet.

Psiprint

Divination cantrip

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: Touch

Components: S

Duration: Permanent until destroyed

You transfer an image from your mind to a transparent surface, such as a piece of glass, a gemstone, or a pool of still, clean water. Psiprints are mental images, and less important details are fuzzy.

Psychic Commmunication

Divination cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Unlimited

Components: None

Duration: Concentration

You establish a psychic link to someone you know well. If you do not know them well, make a Wisdom check (DC variable) to contact them. Once you have made contact, you can speak with that person, and they can speak to you, as if you were in the same room together. Both of you must maintain concentration to communicate.

Mental pictures can be sent as well, but particularly detailed or complex images may require a Wisdom check to convey or understand.

Psychic barriers will stop any attempt at psychic communication. This spell cannot cross planar boundaries of any sort.

Repel Water

Abjuration cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You create a 3 foot diameter dome next to you that will repel water. While this is typically used as an umbrella, it can also be used to gain a +2 bonus to armor class against the attacks of water elementals, and any other creature made entirely of water.

Scales of Gilgadar

Divination cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration

For the duration of the spell, you can discern many fine details of handled items, such as weight, purity, translucency, age, and hardness. This allows you to make an accurate appraisal of the intrinsic value of a precious item, absent any artistic value.

Walk Selûne's Path

Necromancy cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You touch a living creature that has 0 hit points. The creature becomes stable. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.

Zerika's Renewal

1st-level necromancy

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You touch a creature that has died within the past ten minutes. The corpse must be intact, and the creature must have an intact brain or spine. It cannot have died from old age, or be an undead. If the soul is free, the creature is revived with 0 hit points, and must immediately make a death saving throw (it starts with 0 failed saves and 0 successful saves).

Coming back from the dead - even a short jaunt - is an ordeal. The target takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. Every time the target finishes a short rest, the penalty is reduced by 1, until it disappears.

Zerika's Teleport

Conjuration cantrip

Casting Time: 2 actions

Range: 10 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

This spell instantly transports you to a destination that you know well. The destination must be within 1000 miles, or the spell fails. The round after you arrive, you are disoriented (treat as poisoned; disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks).

Getting to know a location well enough to teleport there requires 24 hours - this could be taking three long rests in the location, or spending an hour observing the location over twenty-four days. Teleporting to a location that you don't know well has a 75% chance for the spell to fail, and a 25% chance to work successfully. In both cases, you have a 50% chance of horrific injury (10d6 untyped damage),

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 1st level or higher, you can bring any willing targets within range. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you do not have to teleport yourself. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the casting time is 1 action, and you are not disoriented on arrival. When you cast this spell using a higher level spell slot, it will break through teleport blocks of equal or lower level.

Zerika's Watch

Divination cantrip

Casting Time: No action

Range: Self

Components: S

Duration: Instantaneous

You know the current time, down to the second.

Other Spells

Other notable spells include those that block psychic communication and in- and out-bound teleportation. Such spells are contrary to Zerikan ideals, however, and have not traveled as far or as fast.

Arms and Armor

Armor

Light armor could be a heavy leather coat, a pair of metal vambraces, a buff coat (typically worn below heavier armor), or a set of tattoos imbued with defensive spells. It could also be one of the heavy quilted tunics of the native Nexala.

Medium armor typically builds on top of Light armor, adding a helmet, vambraces or pauldrons. It could also be a suite of defensive spells that go so far as to restrict movement, or a full suit of Nexalan quilted armor.

Heavy armor almost always consists of an open-faced helmet, a breast- and back-plate, and gauntlets and vambraces, all on top of a buff coat.

Weapon Properties

All weapons have special properties related to their use, as shown on the weapons table.

Ammunition. You need ammunition to make a ranged attack with this weapon. If you roll a 1 when making an attack roll with this weapon, you are running low on ammunition. If you roll a 1 when you are running low on ammunition, you are out of ammunition. At the end of a battle, you can take a minute to recover expended ammunition. This allows you to increase your ammunition from 'out' to 'running low' or 'running low' to 'full.'

Charged. Charged weapons are filled with destructive magical energy. This energy can be fired at a target with a command word. Once expended, a charged weapon naturally accumulates mana over time, and will be ready to fire again in about fifteen minutes.

When making an attack with a charged weapon, You can use your Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma modifiers for the attack and damage rolls. You can use a charged weapon as a spell focus.

Finesse. When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifiers for the attack and damage rolls.

Off-Hand. An off-hand weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for two-weapon fighting. An off-hand weapon gives you +1 to your Armor Class, and counts as a shield for rules purposes. It grants this bonus even if you aren't proficient with shields.

It can also be used to attack. When you take the Attack action and attack with your mainhand weapon, you can use a bonus action to attck with your off-hand weapon. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If the weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.

Range. The numbers in parenthesis are the weapon's range. The first number is the weapon's normal range, and the second is the weapon's long range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You cannot make attacks at targets beyond normal range.

Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks.

Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. You use the same ability modifier for that attack and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a club, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has finesse property.

Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two hands. If used with two hands, you have advantage when rolling damage (roll the damage dice twice, and take the better result).

Class and Race Changes

Revising the weapons and armor tables has altered the proficiencies of several classes, and three racial traits

Dwarves. Dwarven Combat Training gives you martial proficiency with spears, swords and wands.

Elves. Elf Weapon Training and Drow Weapon Training give you martial proficiency with bows, daggers and rapiers.

Bards & Rogues. You have simple proficiency with all weapons, but martial proficiency with daggers, rapiers, swords and wands.

Druids. You have simple proficiency with all weapons, but martial proficiency with clubs, bows, whips and spears.

Monks. You have simple proficiency with all weapons, but martial proficiency with a single weapon of your choice.

Sorcerers & Wizards. You have simple proficiency with all weapons.

About the Author

Kiiratam has been much concerned with Bees of late.