GMs Note

Not everyone wants to be bothered to read the whole background to a game and that's fine. The only thing that I'll say, at this point is that we do sprinkle the background pages with clues to plots and the whereabouts of items, of ways to defeat certain enemies and details that will be useful to players of the game. So, if you don't read it, now, think about dipping in now and again, especially if you are looking for something in particular.

Additions will appear, regularly so watch this page and the OOC Board (restricted to registered users) for updates.  This page will generally have a brief paragraph with a more detailed page or pages available off a link. To join the site, contact gms(at)sigil.org.uk

The Setting

 Gwythaor is a dukedom within the Dragon Kingdom established by the family left behind in 1504 as stewards of the realm to which the fleet never returned. (or rather, returned a century on). The characters still have many battles ahead with old and new enemies, side quests and adventures. They live, primarily in and around the old island capital of Warvane with the intention of restoring Gwythaor and the lands around to the peace and prosperity they knew before the Chaos Wars. 

Gwythaor is one of the Ducal Islands. The islands formed a loose alliance after gaining independence from the Empire in the 15th century (before the campaign opened). For the first few years, they fought to retain that independence but as the empire crumbled, a power vacuum was created which various ambitious leaders tried to fill. Gwythaor consisted at that time of knight holdings under the duke plus independent lands belonging to the elves and dwarves. The great elven forest of Larrelorn covered most of the island. In the forest, the elven power was very great, particularly around the ancient fortress of Ternar-Baeryth and in the Circle of Lorefast, the Druidic and Bardic College. As the campaign re-opens in Gwythaor, the island is reduced in size by flooding, split in two where the lowlands have become a channel and the forest has shrunk. Lorefast has closed its gates to outsiders, the elven realm appears to be in tatters and the towns are loathe to come under any real rule from the throne of king or duke.

What has gone before

After a decade of struggling with the forces of chaos and darkness, culminating in the Siege of Warvane (1504), the surviving characters realised that powers had been unleashed which would destroy the world as they knew it. Setting out to discover new lands where the folk of Gwythaor could settle in peace, the exploration fleet entered a storm vortex which transported them four hundred years into the future to a world in chaos, almost covered by water. After a period continuing the battle against chaos, there, the fleet encountered an ancient race who shared an affinity with them - they too were a long way from home and their own time. Returning the fleet to a key moment in the timeline, they enabled the characters to change the future and to save the lands from destruction. However, in changing time, side effects were inevitable, including the preservation of some enemies that they believed they had destroyed and now would have to face, again......

The Dragon King

The Dragon King is the descendant of Maeglwyn Le Fey, Dragon Marshall of Gwythaor and the man who became steward of the realm after the fleet left and his father, Cedric, the original steward, died. Maeglwyn's successor, Geraint became Duke of Gwythaor, the realm being extended until his son, Maeglwyn I accepted the crown as Dragon King of the Isles. The century while the characters were away was a turbulent time for the islands. Quite apart from the rising sea levels, they had to cope with attacks by some of their old enemies as the potential weakness of a realm deprived of so many of its heroes was put to the test.  More on the Dragon Line...

Heroes, Villains, Characters and Adventuring

There are and have been many characters of particular note at Sigil. Some of those have reached our Hall of Fame where you can read up on them. Similarly, there have been villains of note and they, too, have their pages on the site for those who want to know more or just to look back at some of the enemies they have defeated, over the years. Online adventures run by the GMs are regularly available on the site, some involved with ongoing plots and others just one off opportunities for player characters to acquire money and items in the traditional way :)

In some sessions, maps will be provided to assist with describing character placement. In all adventure sessions, character skills come into play and it helps to have a character sheet which you can refer to online (or your own copy) so you can quote which skills you are using, for the GM. (i.e. Balzar draws his blade and attempts to strike the troll  while fending off its attack with the shield). This helps the GM work out the resolution in game rounds, more quickly.

Organisations - Guilds, Temples and Politics

As in all societies, there are numerous organisations with their own agendas and politics. Characters can remain outside these or can join the most suitable and often, rise to senior positions within them. There are a range of Guilds, most of which are quite influential, the military, temples and sects within the same and various official jobs which do come up from time to time with the promotion or deaths of other characters and npcs (non-player, - gm controlled, characters).  For details of some of these, look out for links off the maps and also from this page. Sigil has its own pantheons of mythical gods and creatures. Please use those provided and not names from copyrighted stories or other mythologies.

Magic and Mages

To play a character with spells, you have to have included the ability at the time of creation. We do prefer players to list and limit their abilities and spells to a reasonable level. Magic is not an easy skill to acquire and spells are not supplied, automatically upon increasing your character's abilities, as in some games. Spells have to be found and learned. They often turn up on adventures so always worth bearing that in mind. Because magic is such a powerful ability, it has been made harder to progress. There are covenants and some npc masters in the game but expect to have to role play and be smart to get what you want to increase your magic caster's powers.  One other point of note. As the campaign opens, mages are not at all popular and are remembered for an uprising which resulted in many deaths. Mages have to have a licence to practice or be treated as outlaws by the king's men and other mages. There are even Inquisatores, mages appointed to investigate uses of magic and to act against any who resort to necromancy or diabolism. The well known magical houses, formerly great guilds now only referred to by practicing mages were Incantia Arcana (ancient, dark magic and summoning) , In Celestia (astrology, astromancy, oracular and weather magic), Collegio Thaumaturge (thaumaturges use item driven magic, having to shape objects to represent what they wish to control), Ex Druidica (natural magic learned from the druids and sylvan races) and Magnus Illuminati (illusion and light). The elementalists always refused to be drawn into such guilds, led by their most famous master, Kilvallon who broke from the original major guild (The Seven Golden Wands), taking Austric of the High Plains and others with him. When Kilvallon & Austric vanished with the fleet in 1504, the elementalists continued their tradition of independence.