Age of Worms/PlayersGuide

## The Age of Worms

Since the beginning of history, humanity has measured time in ages. Ages of glory, of Dreams, and even of Great Sorrows mark the human tally of the years, giving a sense of order to the events of past centuries.

But one age has yet to occur, an age of darkness, of decay, and of writhing doom.

Witty bards and wrathful preachers know it as the Age of Worms, weaving it into the peripheries of their passion plays as a mythic era of destruction that could begin at any time.

Astrologers, diviners, and servants of the fates know more.

The canniest among them fear that the Age of Worms has already begun...

## Diamond Lake

At a perfumed arcade known as the Emporium, Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff rubs shoulders with common laborers awaiting an appointment in the Veiled Corridor. In an adjoining antechamber, snakes and exotic dancers gyre to a sonorous weave of cymbals and seductive pipes. A ﬂoor below, a gaggle of grasping miners presses against the windowed door of a darkened cell, impatient for a glimpse of a two-headed calf.

Out in the street, a gang of rowdies screams obscenities at a crumpled halfling, kicking it as if scrambling for a ball. Their drunken laughter echoes off shuttered windows and bolted doors.

In a tower-ﬂanked fortress across the shadowy square, filthy men with nothing to lose shout hymns to the Divine Martyr, clutching to their idealism and principles like cornered animals. Their wild-eyed chief minister smiles as he draws a cat-o-nine-tails across his bare back, awash in their adulation and the spirit of his god.

But it’s just another night in Diamond Lake.

## Rules

### Languages

In this setting there is no Common language. For all intents and purposes, it will be replaced with Mokerian, which you may select instead of Common at character creation. Infernal and Abyssal are combined into one language, Fiendish. Goblin and Orc are combined into one language, Orschan. Other available starting languages may include: Spluerian, Half-Speak (Language of Halflings), Dwarvish, Gnomish, Elvish and others, depending on the character.

### Rest

We will be using the Gritty Realism rest variant.

### Character Abilities

Use Standard Point Buy (27) or Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)

### Masterwork Weapons

Masterwork weapons are non-magical weapons of superior quality. They have a +1 to damage only.

### Mana Potions

Mana potions can be purchased from the appropriate vendors.

### Flanking

Flanking can grant advantage. This benefit is available to both PCs and NPCs, so be wary of enemies flanking you in return.

### Lingering Injuries

If a character hits 0 HP or below and survives, they suffer a lingering injury, as described in the PHB.

### Level Up

Levelling up must be performed in a safe place, with access to trainers.

## Notable NPCs of Diamond Lake

### Authority Figures

Governor-Mayor Lanod NeffSherrif CubbinCaptain Tolliver TraskAllustan
### Religious Figures

Mobad Valkus Dun (Mokerianism)Father Jierian Wierus (Church of Ralom)Herbad Nogwier (Mokerianism)
### Mine Managers

Instead of scheming against the government, Diamond Lake's six mine managers plot endlessly against one another, desperate to claim a weakened enemy's assets while at the same time protecting their own. While they are not nobles, the mine managers exist in a level above normal society. They consider themselves far above their employees, many of whom are indentured or effectively enslaved as part of a criminal sentence. The miners' loyalty tends to map directly to working conditions, pay, and respect offered to the miners by their wealthy masters.

Ragnolin DourstoneChaum GansworthEllival MoonmeadowLuzane ParrinBalabar SmenkGelch Tilgast
### Merchants

Taggin (General Store)Tidwoad (Jeweler)Tyrol Ebberly (Weapons Dealer)Venelle (Bowyer/Fletcher)Lazare (Proprietor of Lazare's House)
## Races

### Dwarf (Hill Dwarf)

No dwarves call Diamond Lake home, though a few live there. Most have some sort of business with the Greysmere Covenant, perhaps as a guard, negotiator, or even magical advisor. Ultimately most will have the distant city of Relon Moker as their place of origin.

### Elf (High Elf)

Right-thinking elves loathe Diamond Lake, as it represents everything elves find churlish and cruel about humans. Only Ellival Moonmeadow and his deputies—exclusively elven—seem to have the stomach for the place. A PC elf might serve as a guard or confidant of one of these deputies, or might be a deputy himself!

### Gnome (Rock Gnome)

Gnomes might be lodgers at Tidwoad's or agents of any of the mine managers. Those with a theatrical flair might find steady work with the Emporium.

### Goliaths

Goliaths are rare, originating in the Crusader Lands to the far south, but the occasional mercenary makes its way to Mokeria. Some sell their labour to make ends meet.

### Halfling (Lightfoot halfling)

Many halflings in Diamond Lake work in the hospitality field, as a clerk, cook, or menial of some sort.

### Half-Elf

Half-elves might belong to the Bronzewood Lodge community or might live among the "civilized" poor of Jalek’s Flophouse. They might find themselves in the employ of Ellival Moonmeadow, but soon become aware that the mine manager simply doesn’t like anyone other than elves, and half-elves don’t quite qualify.

### Orschan (Orc, Half-Orc, Hobgoblin, Goblin, Bugbear)

Orschans great Strength makes them ideal miners or thugs, and Diamond Lake is filled to bursting with both. A more original
approach might cast an Orschan as a
roustabout or performer at the Emporium.
The garrison does not employ Orschans
as a rule, and most soldiers despise
them thanks to the War of the Orcish Incursion and the recent threat of raiding on the border with Orscha.

### Human (Crusader, Mokerian, Spluerian)

Humans can fill any role in
Diamond Lake, from the humble miner
to the child of a prominent citizen. Most
are laborers.

### Lizardfolk

The nearby Mistmarsh is home to tribes of swamp-dwelling lizardfolk, a separate breed to the desert-based Ahktarra of Carurlonia. The Lizardfolk of the Mistmarsh speak Old Davorean.

### Tiefling

Far to the south, in the jungles of Austrulania lies the accursed city of Dar Iblis, the target of multiple Fiendish Crusades. In recent decades refugees from this place, who call themselves tieflings, have fled to surrounding lands, even as far north as Mokeria. The drab coastal city of Alhaster is home to a small community of tieflings, where they are over-represented in the muscle of the despotic prince Zeech Lorchester.

## Classes

### Artificer

The ancient Soldara spellweavers possessed a great talent in magical technology that has never been rivalled. They passed some of this knowledge on to Davorea, but when this civilisation fell the secrets were lost for millennia. Lately individuals have begun to rediscover this science through knowledge gleaned from ancient Soldara or Davorean ruins.

### Barbarian

In the secluded valleys of the
Cairn Hills, primitive traditions hold strong
and humans at times seem more like beasts
than like men. In the vast swamp to the
south, wiry, feral humans fiercely contest
small patches of dry land, narrowly holding
out against lizardfolk and more horrible
denizens of the murky marsh.

### Bard

Bards looking for an interesting
way to fit into Diamond Lake need look
no further than the Emporium. Players
looking for a slightly less debauched
hook might make good performers at
the *Spinning Giant* or another
unnamed venue.

### Cleric

Priests of Mokerianism, the Church of Ralom, Tengoku Seifu and the Cult of Chaos are all likely to be found in Diamond Lake. An occasional wandering elf, gnome or dwarf missionary might give a presence to the Transcendent Court, Celestial Architects or the Allfather respectively.

### Druid

Druids fit perfectly into the
Bronzewood Lodge community, and might get into the
campaign as representatives of Nogwier, who leads that
community and who sends them into the
hills chasing stories of unkillable undead
and unnatural green worms.

### Fighter

Most fighters in Diamond
Lake are part of the garrison contingent,
but a few work as muscle for the
mine managers. For an interesting spin,
consider making a PC fighter a deputy
serving under the corrupt Sheriff
Cubbin.

### Monk

Monks native to the Diamond
Lake region uniformly come from the Twilight Monastery, an edifice located just outside
the town. A PC monk might befriend another
PC before the campaign begins, making
him an ideal invite when the other PC
learns of the Whispering Cairn.

### Paladin

The Chapel of Khor regularly houses one or two
young paladins from the Free City,
who work within the garrison sanctuary as a lesson in humility on a path
to bigger and better things within the
greater church. A paladin beholden
to the Divine Martyr or the Sun King would be a
minor figurehead in the Church of Ralom, uniformly
respected by the flock.

### Ranger

Few rangers dwell within
Diamond Lake, but the druidic community
at the Bronzewood Lodge includes
several who might have reason to regularly
visit Diamond Lake. Other rangers
might come from the wild tribes of the
Cairn Hills or the Mistmarsh.

### Rogue

Rogues are right at home nearly
anywhere in Diamond Lake, but especially
in vice dens like the Emporium or
the Midnight Salute. Each of the mine
managers sponsors at least one gang of
toughs, making a rogue PC a great point
of contact with the town’s seedy underworld.
For a compelling challenge, make
the PC a gofer for Balabar Smenk.

### Sorcerer

The proximity of Mokerius City ensures that the Wild Mages that rule Mokeria for Wyrmissa are not unknown in Diamond Lake. Additionally, the Emporium is always on
the lookout for charismatic exhibitors
with a magical trick up their sleeve—the
flashier the better. Sorcerers might also
be affiliated with a street gang that frequents
the Feral Dog or might be in the
employ of one of the mine managers.

### Warlock

Demon pacts are an ancient and terrible secret in Orspederia, dating back to the days of old Davorea. Additionally the Great Chaos Dragon Wyrmissa has been known to grant boons to those that dedicate themselves to her principles.

### Wizard

Consider apprenticing wizard
characters to Allustan, one of the
central NPCs in the Age of Worms Adventure
Path. Such characters will feel even
closer to the action of the campaign, and
will serve as excellent interlocutors between
the party and their arcane patron.