Glory in Fog

If you are interested in more details on this game, please see the forum post here:

https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/6970214/lfp-pathfinder-1e-discord-need-1-2-more-players-homebrew-setting-long-term-campaign-sun-evenings-new-players-welcome/?pageforid=6970214#post-6970214

Please post about it there or PM me privately; do not use the Listing Discussions below.

Hogakuni is a land under siege- even if most who live within its borders never glimpse its assailants. Those borders are defined by The Balzûg, a supernatural fog, constantly encroaching on the land. Any who pass through it for more than a brief few seconds are lost forever, twisted and changed, only to one day stalk back through the silver mists, mindless and murderous. Two elements, in conjunction, work to keep the realm safe: the Four Winds, powerful gales that emanate from the center of Hogakuni, constantly pushing the Balzûg back at the borders, leaving a roughly circular realm untouched by the fog, the rest of the world lost to it; and The Sunscar, those fortresses and fortifications built along the border (though not everywhere on the border), to repel the Balzûg-touched beings that assault the realm. Even as the monsters are held back, the Stormlands where Hogakuni ends are unpleasant places to live, constantly wracked by blizzards, hurricanes, or thunderstorms, depending on the region, and the people affected by the mere presence of the vile fog, manifesting strange minds and stranger abilities.

While the areas beyond the border and the Stormlands are free of these issues, they are by no means idyllic. Safety can be generally estimated as greater closer to the center of Hogakuni, and lesser farther away- this is primarily due to the law and order brought by the Empire of Dai-Yamatai; generally, the closer one is to Dai-Yamatai, the great city-nation at the center of Hogakuni, the more influence the empire’s armies have over the region, and the more peaceful it is- though there are lawless pockets within the nation’s influence, and areas in Hogakuni where safety is extended all the way to the Stormlands. Outside of the law and order provided by the samurai armies of the empire, myriad dangers abound: militaristic gnoll clans roaming the northern deserts, Oni warlords subjugating villages and towns for their own despotic hungers, Rakshasa taking human form, stalking the streets and selling sin to all who would buy it; the vile, cannibalistic Kech haunt the forests of the Goltwald Reach, and bandits and Ronin extort gold and resources for safety out of the innocent. Creatures of shadow and death stalk the night, and the world teems with Kami, spirits who champion either physical wards or ideals; if properly bribed, respected, and tricked, they can make fast friends. If slighted (even by some mad rule only they understand), the cunning spirits can make life exceedingly difficult.

Humans are, by and large, the most populace race throughout Hogakuni. Elves are a young race, comparatively, and are rarely seen outside of their home nation of Ifren Amari, built around and atop their god, The Father Tree, Silhe Sihreen. Those the uncommon Elves seen elsewhere are considered aberrant exiles, most often due to conflicts with Ifren Amari’s rigid caste system. Half-Elves are more common abroad, for the same reasons as their full blooded cousins. In a similar vein are the Half-Orcs, persecuted descendants of the Orcs, having carved out a place in Hogakuni with their technologically innovate skills, especially in their gunpowder-powered home city of Phlogest. Wyrmfolk- men and women with draconic features, apparent descendants of the long extinct dragons- are scattered throughout the realm, having no home, finding their own paths as ambitious mercenaries, merchants, or would-be lords. Similarly spread throughout the world are the half-blooded descendants of Kami (Wardtouched), Rakshasa (Sinbrood), and Oni (Gorgeborne). Then there are the Kai, the various animalistic races (of which many scholars include the Wyrmfolk): these include the Catfolk, the Tengu, the Kitsune, the Gnoll, and the Tesso (Ratfolk). Their settlements tend to be far from Dai-Yamatai, many being citizens of Ifren Amari, though there are small populations of the Kai races in Dai-Yamatai, treated as second class citizens. Then there are smaller populations of other races, rarely seen outside of their home territories: the mountain-dwelling, ascetic Orcs, and the alien, destructive Wyrweld.

Overall, it is a time of great change, even for a realm as chaotic as Hogakuni. The current Empress, Minako, is nearing the end of her life, and is expected to pass within the year. When her daughter takes the Zenith Throne, it will be a time of great upheaval- both politically, and, some say, martially- history tells of ‘The sun hiding in sorrow, the winds growing silent’ at each Empress’s passing, which, if true, would allow the Balzûg to encroach on the land. The attacks from beyond have been growing more dire in recent years, and even as Dai-Yamatai tries to expand the Sunscar, it never seems to be enough. Even among those lands that have long known order by the samurai’s yumi, some are learning they must rely on themselves, or outside help for protection- something those close to the Stormlands, being resistant to Yamataian law or overlooked to receive it, have known for quite some time.