The Altered Earth: Overview and History

--The Apocalypse--

A joint Scientific effort between the United States and Japan had been assembled to perfect dimensional travel, originally intended to be used for instantaneous site-to-site travel. After years of research, small scale tests of the technology were planned in Arizona. The portal machines worked properly between small distances, and in the spring of 2025 an official success had been announced after a successful travel between Maine and California. The first official unveiling for a public device was July 18th, 2025, a portal between New York, New York and Kyoto, Japan. However, when the twin portals were activated, they reached to a much more sinister place. Demons and monsters from the Abyss poured forth from the portals, slaughtering thousands and securing both sites. They stalled only slightly, demonic workers by the thousands dragged hellish obsidian through the ever-widening portal to erect a twin pair of citadel towers. Using corrupted or captured humans they released a short but declarative statement to the world media: Earth was now under the sovereign rule of the Abyss.

Six months of brutally bloody war followed, the demons rapidly taking immense swaths of land on both continents. In January, a bright shining portal of gold appeared over the battle lines outside of Washington DC. Angelic beings poured forth to assist the haggard human lines and force the demons back. As the world was wracked with rumors of the rapture, of Christ's second coming, and the true coming of the end times...the celestial host slowly turned out to be less than the saviors they were seen as. It became clear that preserving human life was a secondary goal to defeating the forces of the Abyss, and rumors started to abound of the so-called angels manipulating the faithful and acting with the same sovereignty as the demons claimed.

The war raged on with even more brutality than before, humans now caught in the middle of an ancient conflict. Efforts around the world shifted to preservation of life and other wholly defensive actions. Less than two months after the Washington, DC portal opened, two more events signaled what would be the finale of a long and harrowing apocalypse.

In Germany, Infernal strongholds began to appear. Devils clad in historic military outfits and using age-old abandoned military facilities threw their lot into the war, fielding an army against Celestial and Demon alike while simultaneously offering salvation to the remaining humans. The price was simple: Either an amazingly hefty amount of worldly resources...or a soul. It doesn't even have to be your own!

At the same time, a brass and clockwork monstrosity rose out of the earth on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. While small in number, The Inevitables made their presence known for a simple and cold reason: They were no saviors, and had no stake in the now three-way war. Instead, their goal was to preserve the knowledge of this world, and to ensure none of the otherworldly beings using Earth as a battleground break the rules of the universe...of which there are precious few.

Humanity had dwindled by the fifth year of the war. Most were in hiding, others were conscripted into one of the three otherworldly armies. Magic brought on by the conflict and pouring through the portals ravaged the land, causing strange mutation in the wildlife and the newly born. It is unknown what precisely took place, but the war came to an abrupt end thanks to a host of twelve russian warheads: atomic bombs targeting every otherworldly stronghold and citadel equally. Rumors still abound that this act was a laughing middle finger from the Abyssal Army. However, most people agree that the humans ended the war with a simple, unspoken message: We are still here.

--The World Today--

In the more than five hundred years after the Three-Fingered War ended(or at least grew cold) humanity has recovered...sort of. A strange mix of new dimensional travelers, corrupted and tainted blood, magic-ravaged swaths of land and otherworldly influence have split 'humanity' into dozens of new races. The details of the world before are lost to all but the most learned sages, and none can truly agree on the 'universal ancestor' the races seem to have...or if one even exists.

Civilization is back to its Medieval roots in most cases, anything from thriving cities to small villages cropping up between the ruins of the old world. Life moves forward, though the cities of old are often seen as dangerous nests to monsters at worst, and ancient battlegrounds at best. The old buildings still stand, and every so often one can find a relic of the past...if they're lucky, foolish or brave.

Magic has become a fact of life, brought on by the otherworldly portals now mostly closed. Like an empty vessel filled with water, the arts of magic and fantasy are here to stay. Clerics sometimes cling to mysterious Gods of old, devote themselves to pure concepts, or sometimes espouse "new" gods who have turned their eye to the 'new' world hidden until only recently. Mages study and experiment in their towers, taking apprentices or teaching whole classes. Monks and psychics alike perform amazing feats through asceticism and devotion.

The towers and citadels still stand. Most seem empty at first glance, their architects long gone. Remnants of the three armies still skirmish, however, and none foolish enough to enter the fortresses ever seem to come out.

--The Citadels--

The Obsidian Spires

The city was called New York once. Its real name has been all but forgotten since the war. Demons rapidly overwhelmed its people and warped its buildings, and now what's left is an immense field of husked spires made of a deeply black sharp stone like obsidian. Around the edges of the field one can see ruins of iron and glass buildings half transformed into the inky black spires, and the roads of cracked green glass end abruptly in ruined rubble and stone. The field of spires is home only to monsters, the ghoulish dead from the three-fingered war still wandering around their home. The largest spire is driven like a railway spike in the middle of what must have been a forested area, surrounded by trees, bushes and benches turned to black rock. It is adorned with iron fittings and impossibly huge doors, and along its gently flared length are numerous balconies in rings around the "spike". There are still signs of life here, lower tiers of demons congregating along the base of the spire, patrolling the obsidian wasteland or scavenging old Abyssal war machines. Larger demons like Balors or terrifyingly unique-looking demons sometimes appear on the balconies, not seeming concerned about the things happening below them.

Close to the Great Spire is the Dimensional Initiative Building, standing like a church and perfectly preserved in time. It is surrounded by a wall of bluish energy like a haze that prevents all from coming closer than thirty feet...even the demons. It's not clear if the portal inside is still there...but light still streams from the inside.

The spires territory ends abruptly at the ocean on one edge. On a small island lies an immense, ancient statue of copper. It depicts a powerful, resolute woman holding a torch aloft in one hand, and clutching a book in the other. She's thoroughly stained with patina, and has seen better days. Still, she stands tall. At night, her torch glows with brilliant light.

The Chained Palace

Japan has been cut in half. Equidistant between the remains of Kyoto and Tokyo are battle lines cut sharply into the landscape. Dense foliage stops in a sharp line to reveal ruined, blackened earth. Husks of war machines both demonic and ancient human alike dot the lines, but otherwise the land is barren for several miles in all directions. Closer to where Kyoto used to be, however, sits a sprawling village that seems to be ripped straight from archaic, ancient Japan. Through accident or design, the demons thriving here are the very image of Japanese mythology and horror, hideous faces hidden behind Noh masks, and horrifying physiology hidden behind fine silk kimonos. Here the demons and their petitioners live out a mockery of ancient Japanese life, terrorizing their human captives or soulless petitioners with obscure rules of conduct and society that change based on the Demon's whim. Above the mocked village floats a massive palace of fine Jade, sat upon a massive chunk of rock and chained to the ground. Demons fly to and from the palace constantly, and demons are constantly telling of the word of an Emperor nobody has ever seen. Whether this is a cruel joke to justify their whims or a real presence that rules over them is unsure, but either way the Emperor's whims are fickle, dangerous, and insane.

The Overgrown Cathedral

The city once known as Washington, DC is all but entirely gone. In its place is a massive garden of abundance and wonder. Resting areas are dotted with marble furniture, fountains and exquisite statues. In the middle of the garden sits a massive hedge maze of rose bushes and crawling vines. Inside that, visible for a great distance, is a wide cathedral made of white marble. Despite the garden's wealth of resource, few ever stay long within its walls...for they are being watched. Angels and Guardinals whose bodies often match the wonderful marble architecture patrol the grounds will politely(but firmly) insist travelers are trespassing. They often let the good natured rest and enjoy the bounty of the garden's fruits, but even they will usually be escorted along their path.

There do not seem to be many angels. From the distance most see it at, the cathedral definitely seems empty and overgrown with vines. There are even rumors of a community inside the rose maze, one descended from the original allies of the angels in the Three-Fingered War. If this is true, they are hidden from simple scrying magics, and do not leave the safety of the garden.

Alpenfestung, The Alpine Fortress

World War Two is long forgotten, and many of its fortresses and locations have now become synonymous with Devils.  They can still be encountered widely patrolling most of Germany and Austria, in bands bearing mock-military banners and infernal soldiers wearing ancient army uniforms and twisted gas masks. Their base of operation is presumably the giant mountain-fortress Alpenfestung, nestled deep in the hostile mountain ranges of Germany. Rumors of infernal factories filled with tormented souls are common, but the harsh mountains turn more foolhardy travelers away than the Devils ever do.

The Devils sometimes trade favorably with humans, selling their infernal machines or magic to anyone with enough gold, or anyone foolish enough to sign one of their insidious contracts.

The Brilliant Vaults

There are now several clockwork towers surrounding the former city of Las Vegas. They keep watch like sentinels over a perfectly preserved pre-war section of a city: the only one of its kind in the world. The casinos and stores of the "Strip" are in perfect and working order, but the clockwork 'zone of jurisdiction' ends abruptly at the ring marked by the six towers, which marks out only several miles in either direction. On the borders you can find the bones and husks of buildings, collapsed roads, and long-faded billboards. While the number of true Inevitables is very low, clockwork minions swarm the city, protecting the preserved zone and keeping it in working order. Visitors are generally ignored so long as they steer clear of the city's brass and clockwork soldiers keeping watch over casino vaults that formerly held money and riches. It's widely believed that the vaults hold preserved ancient technology and knowledge, and the city is simply the largest jewel in their collection.

The Casinos, or Vaults as they're more widely known, all still function. The lights work and go off and on as they're intended. The storefronts work but are bereft of product. The gambling machines work and still make their ungodly racket, but it's rare anyone finds one of the cards or bills they need to gamble...and even then, getting pre-war currency from them would be a novelty at best. Everything functions, though none of the clockwork maintenance men or soldiers seem inclined to provide service...or even communicate beyond delivering warnings or ultimatums to anyone tampering with things inside the city or sneaking around the "employee" areas near the true vaults hidden inside. Hotel rooms are all still controlled by a computer system that isn't easy to use and guarded closely by the clockworks, but anyone who finds a way inside them isn't bothered unless they try to steal something from inside. They are summarily kicked out after a week, a robotic voice informing them over the phone that the room must be cleaned and the guest is to leave by noon. "guests" refusing such are usually dragged out.

The gleaming neon strip perfectly kept safe from the ravages of war and time is certainly a tourist attraction, and there is no shortage of brave men intending to crack open one of its vaults. However, the desert is harsh and unforgiving. For this reason, a semi-nomadic city has sprung up on the outskirts of the clockwork 'ring', since neither the inevitables nor their robotic minions seem to care about visitors who aren't wandering where they're clearly not supposed to be. Many desert dwelling entrepreneurs have made money selling adventuring supplies to those intending to ransack the vaults...or at least drag a few clockwork maintenance men outside and scrap them for their metal.

--Civilization, Northern America--

Newark

The vast northeast of the North American continent is dominated by the kingdom of Newark. Their borders are cut to the south by the presence of the Pale Mountains as well as the pair of dangerous, semi-abandoned celestial fortresses, The Obsidian Spires and The Overgrown Cathedral. To the north and east their borders are defined only by the sea, and to the west Newark boasts an immense amount of near-inhospitable land in its borders. These areas share a large trio of lakes with La Republica de Vitálidad and the border continues in a straight line along that longitude for some distance. The western borders of Newark are somewhat contentious, as beset by raiders and nomads as the west is. People living so far west within Newark's borders are often solitary sorts who expect no assistance from the government.

Newark's people are hearty and self reliant, brought on by their strong traditions of seafaring and the harsh environment. While trade with the major cities of Newark is quite difficult by land, they have a close relationship with Augustine due to their traditions of trade by ship. Newark's massive galleys are a common sight along the coast as well as its small, deft fishing boats. The dusky deep-blue ships owned by Newark's government are captained by talented mages and boast holds chilled by magic to trade fresh fish and crustaceans.

Newark's government is a council consisting of one representative from each major city. While official votes among the people are rarely held for any reason, a councilman's job is to know what his people need and represent it fairly. In addition to this, the council member from New Portland, a vast coastal city, is set in charge of the state's navy. The military is controlled by the council member hailing from Newark's capital city, Ville-Marie. For somewhat obvious reasons, Newark's government is very "hands off" and each major city or area generally takes care of itself. Most sport a local militia which accepts government control only in times of war or serious disaster.

Newark's people are very no-nonsense and unimpressed by monsters or dangerous animals. The vast majority of citizens receive basic martial training as part of government-sponsored schooling. Other subjects include hunting, trapping, and archery. Coastal cities also teach swimming and basic sailing. Thus, many citizens of Newark make a living selling the hides of exotic beasts. "Monster Hunters" are quite common, and Newark-born monster hunters are often a sight for sore eyes even in other countries. What was a tradition has slowly grown into semi-official colleges and apprenticeships dotting the land. They have a strong tradition of using long, two-handed harpoon-like spears, but they are taught to be pragmatic and always research what weapon is needed for the job.

Citizens wishing for a more academic schooling are forced to travel to the largest cities such as Ville-Marie to find mage-towers. While many distrust magic in general and the arcane in specific, weather magic is wildly popular and the biggest fishing companies always boast a few spellcasters to assist in their endeavors. All forms of magic are taught except for Necromancy, its omission owing to a rocky relationship with Calavera. Even before Newark's political skirmishes with La Republica, animating the dead was quite against public sentiment. The average Newark citizen believes magic's best use is for destroying monsters...and using it to CREATE monsters is foolish at best. Historically, Newark's ire has even extended toward conjuration, but most are forced to admit that the majority of conjuration spells are much safer. Casting a Gate spell for any reason is still a very serious offense in Newark, however.

The Pale Mountains

Monstrous and violent people are often pushed to live in harsh places where no one else dare live. The Pale Mountains run like a gash through the eastern portion of the continent, separating three kingdoms. They are named for the first tribe of orcs to declare sovereignty over the mountain range, the Pale Hand. This tenacious but arrogant tribe declared their place as a true nation and used their immense numbers to bully and skirmish the few people who still lived there away from their homes. While the Pale Hand are remembered only as a legend, their descendants fill the rocky mountains and caves. Massive tribes of Orcs are common and the area boasts at least two Orcish strongholds. However, others such as goblins and ogres have slowly migrated to the Pale Mountains because of persecution in the more civilized lands. Only the foolish or desperate travel directly through the Pale Mountains.

While the Pale Mountains has no overarching government to speak of, tribes will often make accords and treaties with one another. Orcish politics often becomes an exercise in who's drawn an accord with who, and which accords the fiercely loyal Orcs are willing to break. Labor and goods are traded and tribes will make alliances bound in blood and shamanic magic. This practice is born from the Pale Hand being routed and near decimated by Augustine's army in the distant past and one tribe becoming many. Usually content to keep to their lands and keep humans away by any means necessary, they have been stirred into action by Calavera aggressively taking control of the River bordering their lands. Orcish bridges were burned, dams were collapsed, and more than one village was completely wiped out. This robbed the Orc tribes of their best source of travel, and a healthy source of food. The first Orc tribe to make an attack upon the border were the Flayed Brothers, who torched a Calaveran water wheel and destroyed its housing. Other tribes are following suit, and there are rumors of a massive Accord in the making.

Augustine, The Land of Flowers

Augustine dominates all of the area south of the Pale Mountains including the continent's "pan handle" and a large chunk of land west of that. Their northern border is "pinched" by the presence of the Overgrown Cathedral as well as goblin lands at the foot of the pale mountains. To the west and underneath the mountains Augustine claims ownership of swampy coastal land, right up until their border shared with La Republica cut just east of the Mississippi River. The Augustine people are known to possess a bravery which others often call insanity, and thus Augustine merchants often take routes up the river that skirts Pale Mountain territory in flat-bottomed riverboats, or through a northern trail which narrowly passes the three major threats that keep large caravans from traveling directly to Newark. This trade route that skirts past the Overgrown Cathedral, the Obsidian Spires, and tribal goblin lands is known by the jovially (and deliberately) ironic name of The Sunshine Trail.

The lush area thrives with agriculture, fishing and trade. They boast an immense amount of coast to their kingdom, and many port towns because of it. It is said(though not QUITE true) that a person riding along the coast of Augustine can sleep in an inn every night. They have a proud but gregarious nature born from years of trade with exotic races and peoples landing along their coast, and the monarchy in charge of Augustine is notorious for being aggressively diplomatic. This habit has been strained only twice: Once when La Republica claimed ownership of the Mississippi river, and once when a good-faith diplomatic envoy had to retreat from the Pale Mountains.

La Republica de Calavera

Known colloquially as "Calavera" or "The Skull Republic", this militant country is known by its neighbors quite often as an unforgiving neighbor. This country's eastern borders are defined by rivers running parallel to the Pale Mountains. The Northern border is beset with military camps and lookout towers left from conflict with Newark, and to the west the country is cut by an immense wall protecting Calavera from the raiders who camp near the Brilliant Vaults. To the south the country runs very deep, its true border only officially cut several day's travel south of its deep capital Tenochtitlan. The official state story of this Country's past is that southern survivors of the Three-Fingered War pushed north to tame lands wild with monsters and provide a safe place to live and thrive.

A republic in name only, this country survives by military power and harsh punishments for wrongdoing. Travel through its borders is taxed, but not restricted. Traders are inspected and their wares categorized, but only the most dangerous of goods are confiscated. Because trade by flat-bottomed boats sailing down the river is very common, tax for entering along this border is a few silver at most. Punishments are meted out swiftly, with the most common being indentured servitude or conscription. Public executions for people convicted of serious crimes are held, and while attendance is not mandatory...it is highly suggested. Every major city has a massive stone slab in its town square, cut with the form of a human body and with channels leading out of it. The victim is fastened by metal cuffs to the "altar", and execution is accomplished by a public official wearing a black robe and painted skull mask. Neat slices are made in the wrists, thighs and neck, and blood is drained until the victim is dead. It runs through the channels cut into the stone and below the altar, leading some to believe it's being collected and used by the military.

This theory is not without merit, because Calavera's military might is bolstered primarily by its necromancers. Bodies of those without family, of convicts and raiders, and of those who die in war on both sides are raised as skeletons and other types of dead. These dead are kept sequestered away from citizens until needed, but the speed at which the state's necromancers can work spreads rumors of the living dead being mere steps away from everyone, watching. The military's necromancers either paint their face or wear masks of their leader's symbol: A skull decorated with bright colors and elaborate floral patterns. It is referred to as the Calavera(the country's namesake), Flower Skull or Sugar Skull and is the primary symbol of the Republic and reminder of its leader.

The deeply southern capital of Calavera is Tenochtitlan, a sprawling city of bone-white buildings. It bustles constantly, a city that never seems to truly sleep. Here the military might and propaganda is greatest, with posters of their leader's Calavera symbol being on most street corners, and the show of militaristic presence being deliberate and omnipresent. The city sees a relatively low rate of obvious crimes and is free of monsters and beasts for miles around. It is a beautiful city full of both life and the symbols and trappings of the dead...and this is all because of the country's benevolent dictator, La Calavera Isabella. She is a stark, imposingly tall skeleton constantly swathed in bright colored dresses and wide-brimmed flowered hats. Isabella keeps coy about how powerful she is, but it's a common fact that she's a Lich, and a very old one at that. She isn't shy about showing her face, and obviously feels that the secretive manipulation of power common to her kind is gauche and boring.

Death Valley

West of Calavera, the land rapidly turns to dusty, harsh deserts. La Calavera Isabella's thoughts of pushing her influence to the continent's western coast were crushed by two major factors. One is the unforgiving and near uninhabitable land. The other was the relentless raiders who have chosen to live in Death Valley. The Brilliant Vaults have drawn adventurers and criminals alike for years, with promises of treasure and ancient technology inside the gleaming casinos. Virtually no one has ever gotten inside of any of these vaults, however, and the unsuccessful and destitute band together, hiring themselves out as mercenaries or raiding for supplies. It is common for these bands to be inspired by the images and advertisements still standing in the Vaults, so their equipment and armor are often a gaudy pastiche of Terra Prime's past. Morality varies wildly between bands of these gangs and raiders, but all share a common trait: Ruthlessness.

There is a single, immense city on the far western coast named Las Almas. It is run by a guild that started as a nomadic raiding gang called Nine Hands. Thus, Las Almas is less than safe and the city's "Guard" can sometimes only really be counted on to stop obvious or brazen crimes. The city has virtually no laws, and most wrong-doing is punished by indentured servitude. Only the most heinous of crimes earn you a life in slavery, but many people have spent a few months in a Las Almas chain gang. This fact and its somewhat close ties with foreign traders means the city has become known for being a place one can find anything, if they look hard enough. Las Almas exists as a crime and smuggling sanctuary, but also as the only major landfall point for traders from the East. These trading ships always bring their own protection, but have made a habit of hiring raiders as additional security. It's an open secret that they're doing so to distract and cause in-fighting between gangs, but since the coin is good, nobody seems to care.