Campaign Frame

"Stone does not race."
— Ancient Elven Proverb; Doctrine of Slow Roots.
"Neither does a corpse."
— Imperial Officer Beccin.

Welcome to Eschatia: The Paper Cage

The war did not end with a final stand. There was no glorious charge, no dark lord exploding into light. It ended thirty years ago in a quiet room, with the scratch of a pen on parchment.

You are a citizen of the Elven Republic of Eschatia, a nation that prides itself on patience, magic, and wisdom. But patience has become your prison. The Beccin Empire has arrived, bringing with them steam, iron, and a terrifying urgency. They are choking your culture not with violence, but with permits, schedules, and "modernization."

Look up. The black shapes of Imperial airships blot out the sun.

Listen. The grinding of the train tracks drowns out the birdsong.

Focus. The "Static" in your head screams whenever you try to touch the web.

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

How to Use This Guide

This document serves as both the Campaign Frame and the Player’s Guide for our upcoming game. It is the blueprint for the story we are going to tell together.

While the "Handbook" tells you how to play the game mechanically, this document tells you how to play this specific campaign. It bridges the gap between the lore of the world and the stats on your character sheet.

What This Document Provides:

The Tone: We are aiming for a specific feel—gritty, grounded resistance. This section aligns our expectations so we are all playing the same genre.
The Reality: Context on the political deadlock, the occupation, and the "Static" that changes how magic works mechanically in this setting.
Character Roots: Restrictions and prompts to help you build a character who is already embedded in the world, rather than a generic adventurer wandering into town.
Session Zero Prep: At the end, you will find safety tools and collaborative questions. These must be reviewed before we meet for our first session.

Read this fully before generating your character. In Eschatia, knowing the rules is the only way to break them properly.

I - Core Concepts

The history books call it the Great Armistice. We call it the slow suffocation. Before you build your character, understand the world they are trying to survive in.

The Elevator Pitch: We are playing a campaign about resistance under bureaucracy and occupation. Think Star War's Andor meets high fantasy.

The Great War ended thirty years ago. The Elven Republic of Eschatia (The Last Elven State) won the peace but lost the country. We were not conquered by fire or swords, but by papers, treaties, "foreign aid," and bureaucracy.

The Beccin Empire now controls our trade routes, our laws, and our sky. They are building a railroad and telegraph lines through the Sacred Forests to "modernize" us. Meanwhile, a maddening psychic noise known as "The Static" is isolating our people, making magic dangerous and communication impossible. The Elven government is paralyzed by tradition, and the Empire is weaponizing that paralysis.

The Vibe:

Cynical & Grounded: You are not legendary heroes destined to save the world. You are smugglers, angry farmers, disgraced knights, and tired veterans.
Paranoia: The Pale Watch (Secret Police) and the Spies of Verdenheim are everywhere. Trust is the most expensive currency.
Tech vs. Tradition: The Empire brings steam engines, telegraph lines, and rigid schedules. The Elves hold to ancient magic, bloodlines, and the belief that haste is a form of madness.

II - The Three Pillars of the World

Resistance in Eschatia isn't just about fighting soldiers; it's about fighting gravity. Three immense forces press down on the citizens of the Republic, shaping every aspect of daily life.

1. The Doctrine of Slow Roots

The Elven government believes that "the fruit must ripen." Their Constitution mandates that legislation proposed in the Spring cannot be voted on until the Autumn.

For the Players: This is why the rebellion exists. You aren’t just fighting the Empire because they are evil; you are fighting because your own government is legally incapable of saving you in time.

2. The Iron and the Black Wing

The physical presence of the occupation is unavoidable.

The Melanoptera (Black Wings): Massive, sleek, black Beccin airships that hang silently over the cities. A constant reminder that they own the sky.
The Railroad: A scar of iron cutting through ancient woods. It brings in cheap Imperial goods and extracts Elven resources.
The Telegraph: Running alongside the rails, these lines are the nerves of the Empire, replacing the magic they have disrupted.

III.3. The Dissonance (The Static)

Six months ago, a psychic interference intensified across the region. It punishes those who reach out too far.

The Mechanic: Any attempt to use magic for long-distance communication (Sending, Telepathy, Animal Messenger) over distances greater than 1 mile carries terrible risk.
The Cost: The caster must make a Saving Throw. On a failure, the spell fizzes out, the message is lost in the noise, and the caster takes a level of Exhaustion, suffering migraines and nosebleeds.
The Rumors: Some say it is the psychic screams of the dead from Delphi (attacked 7 years ago). Some say it is an "Arcane Bleed" (magic running out). Rebels believe it is a jammer used by the Empire to force reliance on their telegraphs.

III. History

To the Beccin, this is a story of modernization and benevolence. To us, it is the autopsy of a nation dying by inches. Here is how we got here.

The Ancient Trunk (Unknown Era): The land was known as Cormanthil. This is the era of high magic, the "Golden Age" stoneheads won't shut up about.
The Silver Throne (300 Years Ago): The nation was known as Eaernthil. A time of isolationism and purity.
30 Years Ago: The Armistice: The Great War between the Gilded Nations (The Eastern Coalition) and the Beccin Empire ends in a stalemate of attrition. Eschatia, a buffer state, is abandoned by the Gilded Nations. The Elves feel betrayed.
20 Years Ago: The Slow Coup: The Beccin Empire offers "reparations" and aid. They begin appointing Proxenos (Ambassadors) to "advise" the Elven reconstruction.
10 Years Ago: The Schism: The Athenaeum (The Great Wizards) secede from Eschatia, taking their knowledge and magical defense towers with them. Eschatia is left defenseless.
7 Years Ago: The Fall of Delphi: The city of Delphi is attacked by forces from the Shadowfell. The death toll is in the millions. The "Static" begins as a low hum.
3 Years Ago: The Iron Act: Pressured by Imperial debt, the Elven Government grants the Right of Alacrity to the Empire. Construction of the Railroad begins, utilizing steam trains invented by an Elf traitor working for the Ossurian Forges (a Dwarven Ancestor-Slayer state).
6 Months Ago: The Static intensifies. Long-range magic breaks.
Present Day: The Rails are running. The woods are bleeding. You are meeting a dead man.

IV. The State of the State

Eschatia is not a dictatorship; it is a paralyzed democracy. The machinery of state still turns, but the gears grind on nothing. Understanding who holds the stamps is often more important than understanding who holds the swords.

The Executive

The Archon Basileus The Head of State wears the Diadem of Burden. Legend says it gets heavier the sadder the people are.

The Truth: He hasn't been seen in public in years. He knows he is a figurehead.

The Legislative (Three Houses)

The Ecclesia (Chamber of Commons): 500 representatives. They shout a lot, pass bills to stop deportations, and then wait 6 months for them to be voted on. They are powerless.
The Boule (Chamber of Guilds): 200 Guildmasters. They control the money and the trade. Most have been bought out by the Iron Coffers (Imperial Bank).
The Synedrion (High House): 12 Sorcerer Families sitting in a Sky Oculus. They hold Divine Veto power. They are obsessed with bloodline purity and ignoring the poor.

The Judiciary

The High Magistrate: Traditional Elven courts. Minimum age for a judge is 100. Trials take weeks.
The Imperial Circuit: The "Shadow Court." If a crime involves "Imperial Security," it skips the Elven court. The judge is a Human Legate. Trials take ten minutes. Verdict is always guilty.

The "Advisors"

The Proxenos Imperial Ambassadors. By law, they are guests. In reality, they hold the Right of Alacrity, a legal loophole that allows them to bypass the "Slow Roots" voting process to pass "Emergency Imperial Decrees" instantly.

V. The Handler

The Clerk

VI. A Draft of the Indicting Incident

Stuffs

VII. Safty Lines and Veils

Test

VIII. PC Gen

How to

IX. Lingo of the Setting

When the walls have ears and the air itself swallows magic, words become weapons. To sound like a local, you need to know how to speak in the shadows.

X. Collabtion Questions of the Setting

A party formed in a tavern is a cliché. A cell formed by necessity is a bond. Let’s establish the threads that tie you to the world, and to the dead man who brought you here.

Please answer these for your character:

The Debt: The Clerk saved your skin once. What did he do for you that made you answer his call today?
The Contraband: You possess a piece of "Old Republic" (Eaernthil) contraband that would get you arrested immediately. Is it a book? A flag? A medal? A forbidden religious icon?
The Adaptation: The Static affects everyone differently. How do you cope with the noise? Do you drink? Meditate? Or do you hear voices in it?