This section covers the world of Altera Awakens; its cultures, peoples and organizations. Altera Awakens takes place after a long age of magical quiescence but with its return the world is changing dramatically every day. For the most recent developments and discoveries, be sure to visit our player-created “wiki”, The Verinfall Archives.
World of Altera
The continent of “Altera” lays in the southern hemisphere of a fantasy world. Its shores bound the only known lands of the world. This land mass is home to five major cultures, although four of these are under the governance (or oppression of, depending on who you ask) of the Kingdom of Altera which lays at the center of the continent.
As a whole, the nations of Altera are roughly equivalent to Earth’s late Middle Ages. While many aspects of its civilization and cultures are reminiscent of Earth, there are also many important differences.
Foremost is the fact that Altera is world of fantasy and magic akin those found in the pages of fiction. It has no shared history with the “real world”. It is populated by humans very much like those Earth, but with their own cultures and history.
While lost for a time, magic is real in Altera and is blossoming again. Fantastic beings and places share this world with the characters you will portray; some friendly while others are decidedly less so.
The inhabitants of Altera are primarily human, but with the resurgence of magic a small but significant number of individuals have begun to exhibits traits of races previously thought to be mythical.
In addition to the nations of Altera, there are several groups whose presence extend beyond the border from which they developed. These include the likes of the Fighting Styles, the Bardic College and various trade & merchant guilds. Trade and economics exist with standardized coins of Copper, Silver and Gold; each worth 10 of the lesser denomination. Raw ores, gems and other practical goods are also traded and exchanges for goods and services.
Finally, there are the newly re-emerged schools of magical practice each with their own mysteries and techniques waiting to be discovered and mastered!
At the center of this new world is the once insignificant town of Verinfall where searchers, seekers, adventurers and villains seem inexorably drawn.