# Mundus: The Lightless Realm

### "This world has been forgotten. All is lost." #### One hundred and twenty seven years ago, the sun cease to rise. Collectively, the churches and priests throughout the realm lost their divine connections and the world was plunged into an eternal darkness. The surface dwelling races fled underground, into the domain of the dwarves and gnomes. Many died as the surface became a snow-ridden wasteland, the tunnels of the dwarves became overcrowded, the drow were pushed back to extinction, and humanity found a place among the poor of their new underground neighbors. The survivors of the apocalypse above now live in the darkness below, without the comfort of divine magics. The future, both before and after death, is uncertain.

#### Today, the world is becoming adjusted to the new reality. The different races have founded differing factions and settlements, mimicing their old life above ground. But, food is scarce, violence is normalized, and the creatures of the Underdark have not taken kindly to their new neighbors. In the absence of divinity, many have turned to technology and extra-planar forces, as forms of power and even as religions in these dire times. Civilization has declined like never before.

#### The world is dark and filled with danger, but there is much to be earned for those willing to brave the threats and smart enough to survive them. More than coin or fame, but a lasting impact on a world in turmoil, shaping its form for the generations to come.

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### Campaign Style #### This campaign is set in a recovering apocalyptic society, where the sun has dimmed and the gods have left. Society is surrounded by danger and the unknown, both above and below. The campaign features a unique physical and political landscape, with humanity in decline and the races more suited to underground life (dwarves, kobolds, gnomes, etc.) being much more common than usual.

#### The party is a group of adventurers, as is standard, and will be free to roam Mundus in a very open-world manner. The gameplay mixture between combat, exploration, and roleplaying is fairly balanced between the three.

#### This campaign will feature survival elements. They won't usually be central, but food is scarce and the world is filled with disease and danger. The wealth of a successful adventurer allows you to ignore a good deal of this, but getting lost or running out of food on an expedition is a common threat here. This is in addition to the general scarcity of healing magic with no divinity. There will be the need for some planning on the party's part to make sure they are being wise with the resources they have.

#### Given the free-roam style, the overall direction of the campaign and Main Quest will be determined by the players and your collective interests. I heavily encourage you to learn about the world and explore what seems interesting.

### Player Buy-In #### All players will start at level 3, as you are experienced adventurers as the world is fairly magical, but abilities and heroism aren't the main focus of this campaign.

#### Players must create a defined character that fits into the world. There are many different factions and groups to come from, details can be found [here](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/S12kTHdJ8). This includes [custom backgrounds](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkWAPR5LlB), factions, and plenty of homebrew. The setting is still in development, however, and I would love to integrate your ideas into the world.

#### However, character class has specific restrictions. No Clerics, Paladins, Druids, or other divine/nature based class or sub-class period, for thematic consistancy and balance. Rangers still exist in a modified form to be more arcane. There will be plenty of homebrew content available to make up for this; much of what Vale has curated, as well as any others you with to include if you share them with me. Healing magic will be quite rare, but healing potions are very common and relatively cheap. Mana potions will also exist for all spell casters to use.

#### Characters must be willing to deal with difficult circumstances and a harsh reality of life. Many people are willing to undercut others for survival and this includes the party. Xenophobia, thievery, betrayal, and social manipulation are present in the world and players must be willing to play in a game featuring this kind of amoral behavior, but not nessisarily act in this way themselves if you wish.

#### The open-world design of this campaign leaves much room for the characters to grow. I heavily encourage your character to have a defined, long-term goal. This can be simply helping your faction or a specific goal of your own. There are many curiosities and powerful forces, both in and out of civilization.

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# Details

### Present Races #### Common Races: ##### Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Kobold #### Uncommon Races: ##### Half-Elf, Halfling, Goblinoid #### Rare Races: ##### Elf, Tiefling, Goliath, ##### Half-Orc, Genasi, Changling

### Political Landscape #### Humanity on the Backfoot: ##### Humans, unaccustomed to the darkness below, have found themselves in the lower levels of society without any independance from the dwarven and gnomish cities in Mundus. #### Dwarfdom in pieces: ##### As the surface world came to an end, the dwarven clans were in the midsts of a fued over the inheiritence of kingship. This divide and the apocalypse shattered the kingdom into city states, still staining their relationships today. #### Gnomes Strained: ##### While there are many gnomes in dwarven society, the only truly Gnomish city, Milrennic, has remained intact due to it's depth and educated populice. But, the city's ability to survive has made it a paradise that few can afford. #### Dragons on the Rise: ##### Kobolds have found themselves in a position of power, as they've been living in such conditions for most of written history. Now, they have secured a small empire for themselves and look to claim the power of their draconic lineage and forge a new future for themselves under the Patronship of Tiamat. ### Campaign Specific Homebrews #### Modern Rangers: ##### Rangers will have some redone elements to fit the world. They are wizards and scholars with a heavy focus on ecology. #### Magi-Punk Flair: ##### The world is relying on a mix of magic and tech. There will be instances of prosthetics, robots, flamethrowers, magic guns, and other badass creations. #### Backgrounds: ##### [13 custom backgrounds](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkWAPR5LlB) for devout Viventus Aesist, surface explorer, private Investigator, magi-technician and more. #### Custom Kobold Race: ##### [Heavily modified kobold race,](https://www.worldanvil.com/sheet/144768/view) for the mini-dragons they are. Including scale colors and [breath weapons via a feat](https://www.worldanvil.com/sheet/109555/view).

### Themes #### Divine Abandonment: ##### The gods have left this world, we must make it on our own. Or, has our worship has been misplaced all along? #### The Human Condition: ##### We survive, but create so much pain in doing so. Comradery is the only thing left, but can we afford that luxury? #### Tribalism: ##### No one is given any reason to trust a stranger. But, how can progress be make while we war over scraps? #### Technology, Magic, & The Divine: ##### Should we trust what seemingly abandoned us already, or change with our environment and delve into the unknown?

### Character Creation ##### All character stats will be generated using a custom method. Players use the standard point buy system. But, a player may forgo 1 point for an additional 50 gold pieces in equipment or a common magic item (max of 3 points), 2 points for a feat (max of 2 points) or 3 points for an uncommon magic item (max of 3 points).

##### Homebrew character options are valid, but must obey the general themes of Mundus and the specific rules I have set forth earlier. Ask me if you have any questions or concerns over validity, I am inclined to say yes unless something specific sticks out. This is especially true for crafting or exploration based character options.

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# Homebrew & Variant Rules for Mundus

### **Fear & Horror (Vanilla):** ##### When confronting threats that are beyond what any normal person would experience, you may find yourself unable to handle the sight. In this senario, the party may need to make a wisdom save to be able to confront any perticularly disturbing encounters.

### **Gritty Realism Rest Variant (modified):** ##### Adventurers are still mortal, requiring both physical and mental rest to recover from intense or traumatic experienced. In Mundus, a short rest is considered 8 hours of sleep and a long rest is at least 5 consecutive days of living in relative safety (as opposed to the vanilla 7 days). But, classes who are capable of changing prepared spells after a long rest by vanilla rules are able to do so after a short rest in Mundus. Given this, certain spells with long durations (*Mage Armor, Darkvision, Conjuring Spells, etc.)* will have increased durations, specifics will be determined at a later stage. ##### Additionally, there is a new form of rest: a ***breather.*** This is simply 10 minutes of light activity during which adventurers can expend hit dice up to or equaling half their proficiency modifier (rounded up), gaining additional health equal to their constitution modifier for each dice expended. This can only be performed after a character exits initiative while conscious. This also allows the recovery of burnout dice size as per the *dangerous magic* rule as found below.

### **Firearms** ##### Blackpowder is common in Mundus, weaponry that uses them is also easily found in the hands of many who want for simple protection or long range offense. This campaign will use a modified version of *Arcane Artillery* that is better suited to this level of technology and abundance. ***Note: Only firearms will have counted ammunition, arrows and bolts are cheap enough to discount.***

### **Crafting & Inventing** ##### Non-adventurer work will be viable for the party to perform and specialize in as side work. The players are capable of creating almost any item with the proper materials and skills, magical or non-magical. Proficiency in a toolset can be valuable in the long term, consider this in character creation. *Expanded Blacksmithing* and other, similar rulesets may be used during the campaign as needed.

### **GiffyGlyph's Darker Dungeons Ruleset** ##### This ruleset can be found online for free. It adds numerous, modular rules to make D&D more harsh and survival focused, like Mundus itself. We will be using the following rules: wear & tear, dangerous magic, and deadly diseases. These may change based on player input.

### **Healing & Alchemy** ##### With the absence of healing magic, a much more mundane system of healing has been created. While there are physicians or surgeons one may go to for treatment, mechanically identical to godly temples in more traditional settings. However, in the field you will have to rely on healing potions and healer's kits. Expect alchemy to be cheap, but not always reputable. Buying alchemical supplies from shady dealers may lead to unexpected side effects. Additionally, anyone who is proficient in medicine is considered to also have the *Healer* feat at no additional cost.

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