Albion

Albion

Overview:
Albion, a steampunk nation forged from the Aetherian Empire’s ruins, stands as Ecliptica’s industrial and arcane heart, with Ravensgate as its capital. Born after the Calamity of the Void (300 years ago), Albion faces an ongoing plague crisis confined to Ravensgate, where a successful magical lockdown contains eldritch threats. Beneath the city, Aetherian ruins house the seal that binds the Eldritch Gods—Azagorth, Elysia, Morgrath, Nyrathos, Seraphel, Vortulon, Xyraxis, Zaladria, and Zephyrus—in the Outer Darkness, with the lockdown as a failsafe should the seal fail. The plagues, echoing Calamity-era afflictions, threaten Albion’s stability, driving Plague Doctors to uncover their source, craft a cure, and banish a god. Factions like the Saffron Veil, Iron Quill, and Ebon Star clash amid rising tensions, navigating a nation teetering on the brink of a second Calamity.

Description:
Albion blends towering steam-driven cities with mist-shrouded provinces, where brass gears and arcane wards hum in unison. Ravensgate, the capital, pulses with the Crownspire’s lockdown anchors, successfully containing plagues and Veil rifts leaking eldritch influence. Beneath the city, Aetherian ruins conceal the ancient seal binding the Eldritch Gods, its arcane hum palpable in the city’s underbelly. Airships soar above smoggy factories, while rural regions harbor Calamity-scarred ruins. The plagues—psychic despair, radiant burns, starvation, or decay—link to gods like Morgrath, Seraphel, Vortulon, or Xyraxis, manifesting in Ravensgate’s streets. Albion’s atmosphere merges industrial ambition with cosmic dread, its people caught between progress and the fear of the seal’s failure.

History:
Albion emerged from the Aetherian Empire’s collapse post-Calamity, when Veil breaches unleashed eldritch horrors. Aetherian arcanists sealed the gods in the Outer Darkness at a site beneath modern Ravensgate, using arcane anchors that became the foundation of the city’s lockdown. Albion unified former Aetherian territories—Valthorne, Nocturne, Sylvaris, and Ironreach—into a nation of steam and magic. The “Iron Renaissance” blended Aetherian arcana with industrial innovation, but cults like the Radiant Dawn, Famine Cabal, and Cult of Shadows persisted, causing chaos with events like the “Lightstorm Riots” (Seraphel’s purges), “Famine Riots” (Vortulon’s hunger), and “Nightveil Riots” (Zaladria’s deceit).

A decade ago, resurgent Veil rifts prompted Albion’s Council to enact Ravensgate’s lockdown, a failsafe using Calamity-era anchors to contain eldritch influence if the seal weakened. The lockdown has successfully confined the plagues—psychic afflictions mirroring the Calamity’s Shatterplague (Morgrath), Whisperplague (Zephyrus), and Ashbloom Plague (Seraphel)—to Ravensgate, preventing their spread across Albion. However, cults like the Ebon Star and Breathseekers exploit the ruins’ weaknesses, performing rituals to breach the seal. Plague Doctors, backed by the Saffron Veil, navigate Ravensgate’s undercity to protect the seal and uncover the plague’s source, fearing a second Calamity if it fails.

Regions:

  1. Ravensgate: The capital, a steampunk metropolis under lockdown, housing the Crownspire and Aetherian ruins where gods are sealed. Factions like the City Watch battle cults like the Radiant Dawn.

  2. Ironreach Expanse: Industrial forges scarred by Azagorth’s devouring and Xyraxis’s decay, crafting lockdown tech to reinforce the seal.

  3. Sylvaris Lowlands: Forests tainted by Vortulon’s Starveplague and Zaladria’s illusions, where druids purify Calamity ruins.

  4. Nocturne Highlands: Scholarly enclaves haunted by Nyrathos’s whispers, studying Aetherian relics for plague cures.

  5. Valthorne Plains: Militarized fields, betrayed by Elysia’s veils, where militias resist eldritch cults.

  6. Mistmoor: Foggy marshes, home to Zephyrus’s Breathseekers, where airships navigate rifts and smugglers trade reagents.

Characters:

  1. High Chancellor Vaelor Ironspire

    • Description: Albion’s leader, brass-trimmed robes, resolute gaze.

    • Backstory: Oversees Ravensgate’s lockdown, tasks Plague Doctors to secure Aetherian ruins (Persuasion DC 15).

  2. Dr. Lysara Duskweave

    • Description: Nocturne Highlands alchemist, shadowed lenses, trembling.

    • Backstory: Researches plague cures in Ravensgate, tainted by Nyrathos’s secrets. Offers serums (Investigation DC 16) but fears deception.

  3. Lord Kael Nightquill

    • Description: Iron Quill noble, mirrored cane, cunning smile.

    • Backstory: Spires aristocrat, hoards Morgrath’s mirrors from Aetherian ruins, trades relics (Persuasion DC 15).

  4. Captain Talia Mistblade

    • Description: Skyrunners’ Guild pilot, misty goggles, wary eyes.

    • Backstory: Mistmoor smuggler, hears Zephyrus’s whispers in Ravensgate, trades reagents (Insight DC 14).

  5. Sister Vionna Saffronveil

    • Description: Saffron Veil healer, golden robes, steady hands.

    • Backstory: Shadows medic, resists Elysia’s illusions, seeks relics in ruins to stop plague (Religion DC 14).

  6. Toren Ashforge

    • Description: Ironreach smith, ashen scars, grim resolve.

    • Backstory: Ironreach Expanse forger, crafted Xyraxis’s Ashshards, aids Plague Doctors with lockdown tech (Arcana DC 15).

  7. Sylva Witherbloom

    • Description: Verdant Covenant druid, withered vines, calm gaze.

    • Backstory: Sylvaris Lowlands herbalist, purifies Vortulon’s hunger, trades anti-plague herbs to Ravensgate (Nature DC 12).

  8. General Vren Starveil

    • Description: Valthorne militia leader, scarred armor, muttering.

    • Backstory: Valthorne Plains commander, fights Seraphel’s purges, tasks players to destroy relics near ruins (Persuasion DC 14).

  9. Duskcaller Zorath

    • Description: Ebon Star cultist, void-scarred face, manic grin.

    • Backstory: Desolation zealot in Ravensgate, serves Azagorth, weakens seal via rifts. Fights players (CR 3, Cult Fanatic).

  10. Madame Elyra Gloomweave

    • Description: Syndicate seer, inky veil, cunning whisper.

    • Backstory: Ravensgate fortune-teller, uses Zaladria’s illusions to scam, trades plague lore from ruins (Deception DC 14).

Impacts on Denizens:
Albion’s denizens, centered in Ravensgate, endure the ongoing plagues, contained by the lockdown but echoing the Calamity’s horrors. Ravensgate’s citizens suffer psychic despair from Morgrath’s mirrors, starvation from Vortulon’s hunger, and decay from Xyraxis’s Witherplague, all tied to the Aetherian ruins’ seal. The Saffron Veil heals refugees in the District of Shadows, resisting Zaladria’s deceit and Elysia’s illusions. The Iron Quill, hoarding relics from the ruins, succumbs to Nyrathos’s secrets, fueling paranoia. The City Watch, led by Vaelor, guards the Crownspire and ruins against Seraphel’s eye-burning purges. Skyrunners in Mistmoor navigate Zephyrus’s whispers, trading reagents amid rifts. Ironreach Expanse workers, scarred by Azagorth’s devouring, craft tech to reinforce the seal but fear its failure. Valthorne militias, betrayed by Elysia, distrust magic, clashing with cults like the Ebon Star, who seek to breach the seal. Sylvaris druids purify Vortulon’s taint, sending herbs to Ravensgate. The plagues, linked to Calamity afflictions like the Shatterplague and Whisperplague, threaten Albion if the seal fails. Plague Doctors must explore the Aetherian ruins, navigate faction conflicts, and counter cult rituals to uncover the plague’s source and prevent a new Calamity.