Beginner's Guide to Vosel

Vosel is a setting for Dungeons & Dragons. This article aims to briefly introduce the key thematic elements of the setting so that a new player joining a campaign set in Vosel for the first time understands the big picture themes that govern this setting.
== A Land in Need of Heroes ==
The VOSEL setting can best be described as one of Sword & Sorcery. This is a world that rewards selfish and ambitious people. This is a political world full of complex and multilayered conspiracy and earth-shaking conflict. It is also a world of great inequality. Many live in exuberant excess, while others fester in abject poverty. The lines of ethics are blurred compared to standard D&D: A Gold Dragon is not necessarily good, a Red one necessarily evil.
== The Divines are Vulnerable ==
The original Divines were slain and their power stolen by former mortals. This apocalyptic event shook the world to its core. Ever since the dark days of the Godfall, all know that despite their awesome power, the Divines are VULNERABLE. To protect their power, the Divines rarely depart their bastions in the Outer Planes, or even send omens and signals to their followers. Most of their energy is spent protecting themselves from the other Divines, waging war against other Divines, or staving off legendary Level 20 adventurers who seek to kill them and steal their power.
== A World of Magical Technology ==
Arcane engines hum in the air, bringing riches from lands near and far. Young and unproven artificers and magewrights swarm the streets, selling magical implements both real and fake. Arcane cyborgs, organisms of metal and magic, police the streets, though unbeknownst to most they have begun to develop sentience. Magiware can be installed into organic bodies, replacing mortal flesh and allowing people to transcend the limits of biology. 
It is obvious to all that THE ARCANE saturates VOSEL to its very core, and everywhere the eye falls, it can see the all-pervasive influence of magic, both fair and foul.
The field of magic, arcanology, is a field of scientific inquiry, much like physics or chemistry, and produces such wonders as arcanological engines, magitech devices, and other a myriad other artifacts.
== A Blend of Races ==
VOSEL is a diverse world in which all standard D&D races and tropes have a place. However, there are groups that buck the trend: the bureaucratic Dwarves of Istendelft and the fascistic Elves of the Nivelorian Regeneration Movement are but two examples. Whatever character concept you can imagine, whether it be a childlike singing orc or a supremacist halfling, has a place in this world. VOSEL also features many additional races and subraces, such as the Khem and the Shadow Elves.
== An Age of Adventure ==
THE TYRANNY HAS ENDED! For the first time in history, men are free to do as they will. This is the Golden Age of Adventuring, in which one can take their life and fate into their own hands and leave their mark on this flawed and violent world. Will you rise to the challenge of leaving VOSEL better than you found it?
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