Campaign Frame

I. The Elevator Pitch

Genre: Bureaucratic Fantasy Noir.

Touchstones: Andor (TV), Dishonored (Game), Children of Men (Movie).

The Hook: The war did not end with a final stand; it ended with a signature. You are citizens of the Elven Republic of Eschatia, a nation that prides itself on magic and wisdom. But for the last 30 years, you have been occupied by the Beccin Empire—a force of steam, iron, and terrifying efficiency.

They are choking your culture not with violence, but with permits, schedules, and "modernization." You are not legendary heroes destined to save the world. You are smugglers, angry farmers, disgraced knights, and tired veterans. You are tired. You are watched. You are losing.

But today, you received a letter from a dead man. And for the first time in thirty years, you are going to do something about it.

II. The Three Pillars of Gameplay

Resistance in Eschatia is not just about fighting soldiers; it is about fighting gravity. These three forces will press down on you every session.

1. The Weaponization of Time

• The Conflict: The Elven government operates on "Slow Roots"—a constitutional requirement to delay votes for months to ensure wisdom. The Beccin Empire operates on "Industrial Time."
• The Result: While the Elven Senate spends six months debating the wording of a permit, the Empire builds a factory in a week. You are fighting because your own government is legally incapable of acting fast enough to save you.

2. The Iron Scar (Technology)

• Visuals: Massive black airships (Melanoptera) block the sun. Train tracks cut through sacred forests like sutures on a wound.
• Surveillance: The telegraph lines are the nerves of the Empire. If you cut the lines, the beast goes deaf. If you use the lines, the Vardenheim Intelligence Service hears you.

3. The Psychic Smog ("The Static")

Magic is broken. A background radiation known as "The Static" makes casting difficult and long-range communication (Sending/Telepathy) impossible.

We will use a Daily Weather Mechanic to track this. The Static fluctuates from a dull headache to a psychic storm.

• Clear: Standard Magic.
• Haze: Irritability rises; Spellcasting requires focus checks.
• The Scream: Nosebleeds and hallucinations; Magic causes exhaustion.
• The Shroud: Total silence and amnesia; Magic is nearly impossible.

III The Inciting Incident

This incident will change over time. Take the tone not the letter of this incident.

The campaign begins not in a tavern, but at Union Station.

Each of you has a connection to a man named Aelion Thorne (The Clerk). To the world, he was a boring civil servant in the Department of Retroactive Compliance. To you, he was the man who "misfiled" your arrest warrant, approved your pension, or hid your family heirlooms.

Yesterday, the Pale Watch kicked in his door. Aelion is gone.

Today, you received a key to a locker at the train station and a coordinate.

The Mission: You have 10 minutes to bypass checkpoints, open the locker, and board the Solstice Train before it departs for the Outer Rim.

IV. Tone & Expectations

• Cynical & Grounded: Do not expect to slay a dragon in the first arc. Expect to bribe a guard, forge a travel permit, and stab a spy in a rain-slicked alley.
• High Lethality, Low Trust: The Secret Police are everywhere. Trust is expensive.
• Lines & Veils: We will deal with themes of imperialism, fantasy racism ("Knife-ears"), and police state oppression. We will not include sexual violence or harm to children. A full safety calibration will happen in Session Zero.

V. What Comes Next?

If this frame interests you, the next steps are:

1. Read the Player’s Guide: STILL BEING WORKED ON This contains the specific rules for Character Creation (The Ritual of Six), the Races of Eschatia, and the "Fluency" language system.
2. Attend Session Zero: We will build the "Cell"—determining how you know the Clerk and why you trust each other.