The World of Vaale
Come explore a story--YOUR story. Vaale is a world like our own--full of life, conflict and stories. Where it differs is in its inhabitants. Many and varied are these people and equally as varied are their stories...Won't you share your tale here in Vaale?
About Vaale
At it's heart, Vaale is a setting dedicated to humanity. Designed to be a mirror of the real world with its flowering and beautiful cultures, vibrant stories and larger-than-life figures, Vaale gives everyone and anyone a chance to live a life outside of themselves, if only for a short time.Designed to bring back the sensation of opening a new book as a kid or experiencing a story for the first time through film or a TV show, the world has been crafted to encourage exploration and learning; exploration of the self and of the world around you.While things in Vaale may become dark or grim, it is a place meant for the best parts of what makes us human to shine through--our experiences, our heritage and our ability to unite for the good of others. A place where we walk alongside heroes and share in what it means to be human--and perhaps see that we can be greater than we think we are, more powerful even without magic or weapons.Won't you walk with us in Vaale for a bit? Won't you tell us your story and share it with others?
How to Use Vaale
Vaale was designed to be a setting for story-telling; both in literature and for TTRPGs (Table-Top Roleplaying Games). It was also conceived to allow for the exploration of concepts and ideas that perhaps aren't common in media or that exist but require a strong suspension of disbelief--an example being the classic Pirates versus Ninjas.Vaale was designed to allow for these types of interactions--where a knight from a fairy-tale could conceivably fight alongside a llanero-styled sharpshooter and a technomancer who utilizes Taoist-based magic as they seek to stop an ancient dark lord from returning to power.To that end, I have created a brief explanation that can be read here that will explain in a bit more detail the rationale and mechanics for the setting from the outside looking in.
How Vaale Works
in Gaming
Vaale is a setting wherein all cultures are technologically equal but the aesthetics with which these technologies present themselves are wildly different.
Thematically, Vaale was conceived as a place for any number of stories and cultures to be explored. A place where a player could (and hopefully would) delve into their own personal interests in the world and explore it through the lens of fantasy.
While it is a fantasy setting, it is built on the idea that all cultures within its sphere more or less are equal in terms of basic weaponry and technology--be this through actual applied science or magic or both.What this means for a TTRPG game is that while a character may create a ranger who wanders the wilds using a bow and arrow, their weapon is no more or less effective than a gun as determined by the rules of the TTRPG.Example: Faust has rolled up as Paladin in D&D 5e. He was made to emulate a space-faring knight with a laser-based blade. Functionally, this blade has no more or less special properties than a standard metal blade in terms of damage, nor would it be more or less effective in a sword fight against a blade made of metal.This is done to allow players to play what they wish without the fear of being outclassed by simple flavor choices. The logic behind this is clear; if one lived in a world where a blade made of heated light could be fashioned, then your neighbors would act to find a means to counter-balance that threat be it with magic or some other means.
Places of Vaale
Herein you will find the fabulous and fantastical peoples that populate the world of Vaale.Because of the variety of people within Vaale, they have been split into groups based upon shared heritage and birthrights.During Character Creation your DM may allow you to use the traits listed within each of these locations instead of the usual Background options. It is strongly advised that players and DMs who use these options use the Standard Array method for ability score generation if these traits are used.For clarification on Languages in Vaale, please click Here. A complete list of alternative languages for the setting has been provided.
Magic of Vaale
The magic of Vaale is, in its most simplistic sense, mathematics. Complicated arithmetic, but still arithmetic. Using powerful, complex patterns of geometry, those who can understand magic are capable of incredible feats; combusting the air into a gout of flame, conjuring raucous thunderstorms or creating gateways between two spaces.Understanding this means that, for all its intricacies, magic is capable of a near-endless number of feats. It also means that magic is by its nature delicate, prone to mishap and malfunction. Mass production of magic items, true magic items) is nearly impossible, though smaller wonders such as communication devices or clothes that can change their color or patterns are in abundance.Outside of getting their hands onto the odd magical device, the layman will never cast a single spell. Those who teach themselves magic, colloquially referred to as 'Arithmeticians', take decades of study, working with formulas of such tangled numbers and angles that only the most dedicated learn anything substantive.Below are some examples of those that study and learn magic, applying it to daily living on a regular basis.
Arithmeticians
The scholars and delvers into the deepest forms of magic, it is from Arithmeticians that the vast amount of magic understanding in Vaale derived from; were it not for their tireless trial and error (often times lethally so) magic would remain a mystery.Granted, arithmeticians still keep the bulk of it a mystery for the sake of protecting people from themselves (or so most of them say), but their dedication has laid the groundwork for future generations.Once called 'wizards' or 'conjurors', the common man now knows them by the overarching title of 'Arithmetician' and is content to leave it there; actual casters may still break themselves down into schools or titles on their chosen form of magic.Scholars at heart, all of their magic is derived purely through study and application of formulae that allow them to bend the laws of nature. The more powerful the spell, the greater the mathematic principle required.
Artificers
Many arts and crafts exist in Vaale that are familiar--glassblowing, carpentry, smithing and chemistry to name a few. Artificers see these sciences as a means to perform and recreate magics that their traditionalist associates in Arithmancy fashion through math and geometry.Forming compounds in beakers, wiring together powerful courses of arcane energy in handheld devices or through enormous structures, Artificers have laid the groundwork for civilization to move beyond the principles of magic and apply it to the everyday lives of those around them.
Beneficiarii
Those who are the beneficiaries of magic from otherworldly sources. These individuals may be sinners or saints, gaining power from either divine beings--or those who are not quite divine.Many stories speak of those who are granted power by the gods to perform miracles, great or small; these moments are, in fact, times when the gods intercede to perform the appropriate geometric patterns for their supplicant rather than their supplicant doing it themselves. As such, all of the magic is produced under the lens of the actual practitioner--in this case, the god that is called upon.Of course, one need not call upon just the divine for such powers. There are many whose cry for power is answered by others; devils, fey lords, elemental djinn, demigods or even the eldritch nightmares that haunt mortalkinds' most vestigial nightmares.In whatever instance, just like with the divine guides, the color of the magic used by the holders of these pacts is tinged or tainted by their source and, like divine Beneficiarii, there is an exchange to be made and a price to be paid for the continued use of that power.
Cunning Folk
While an arithmetician may speak down about those known as 'cunning folk', there is no denying the efficacy of their craft. And Craft is indeed a word that Cunning Folk use to describe what they do. Straddling the line between artifice and formula, Cunning Folk and their magics come from the world around them and whatever they can lay their hands on; what people may still call 'druids' or 'witches' or 'hedge magic'.This magic, while taught, tends to be passed down within families or from an elder to a younger practitioner through rites and traditions far older than such practices as 'colleges', instead calling on the world itself and its inherent tendency towards shapes.Whether it is the careful intricacy of a spider's web or the cultivated ring of a bird's nest, nature is full of powerful shapes and the capacity to use them has been handed down from one person to the next, and its effects are used to help (or harm) those far from the regulated cities.
Savants
The least understood of all magic users, Savants by their nature fly in the face of all given principles of arithmancy. Whether capable of performing magic from the moment of birth without the use of geometric patterns or being capable of creating magic through art or song or even sometimes stories, savants are a force of wonder and fear among the populace of Vaale (including the savant themselves).Theories abound, with attempts to explain away some of the finer details for how these people are capable of what they do; 'artists and musicians create the proper geometries through drawn lines or the unseen shapes and waves of sound as it rebounds off surfaces' being a popular one.There is no true, accepted theory. What is concrete is that these individuals can create fantastic magical effects by dint of simply 'being good at it', without the need for decades of study in a college or madrasa or by calling upon outside influences to give them understanding.
Vital Magic
On the surface, the notions of vital magic sounds simplistic; the motion or angling of the body in such a way that it creates magical effects. While minor in comparison to the world-bending capacity of the arithmancy practices of others, this form of magic is (in theory) capable of being learned and practiced by anyone.While it has many names - Qi, Mana, Vitae - it functions all the same; drawing on the innate geometry of the body, blood and breath to formulate incredible feats focused primarily upon the self (although this is not always the case).Swordsmen who temporarily create a magical bulwark for themselves, a martial artist who makes a wall-shattering kick or a spy that turns himself invisible with a few gestures of the hand in an intricate and precise manner; these are the ways and means a person may access their own personal magic in Vaale.
Belief
A Note on the subject of Belief:
Belief is a powerful force within Vaale. Through it, kingdoms have risen and fallen but on an invidual basis it is a weak source of magic, requiring an amassed number of people to allow it to function in any true capacity. There are individuals, however, whose conviction is so great, so unshakably inherent in everything they do that it can allow for magic to be performed. This is usually in conjunction with vital magics rather than apart from it.
Languages
| Language | Average Speakers | Lang. Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Almiraj | Almiraj, Doqaltharl | --- |
| Asmaidi | Kahmoh, Uiara, Vegali | Aquan |
| Doqaltharl | Almiraj, Biir, Doqaltharl | --- |
| Eulmi | Universal | Common |
| Ghahlgic | Bauchan, Biir, Lutin | Goblin |
| Hicant | Chelhuah, Noor, Yamanto, Yaksha | Giant |
| Jahnan | Cambion, Daimon, Gaini | Infernal |
| Kenbek | Maihes, Setzobec, Sur'tuda, Uiara | --- |
| Lyr'Da | Alfar, Biir, Eul, Otso, Sefirot | Elvish |
| Manuhese | Maihes, Medusae, Setzobec, Sur'tuda | Sphinx |
| Medusean | Daimon, Cambion, Medusae, Nephele | --- |
| Ouráne | Daimon, Nephele | Celestial |
| Otsan | Almiraj, Otso | --- |
| Prakhaian | Biir, Prakhai, Vegali, Yaksha | --- |
| Vegalai | Jann, Kahmoh, Uiaran, Vegali | --- |
The Merchant Republic of Del’Acqua
A former pirate hold that has evolved from a thalassocracy and now into a merchant republic. This city-state is an expansive world power, recognized for its contributions to art, culture and craftsmen. Located within a glistening grotto of perpetual twilight, it is also known for a city of deep intrigues and secrets, with a sanctioned assassins guild and ruled over by a mysterious doge. It is also the headquarters of the Inquisitors, a group dedicated to the policing of the divine.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Increase either your Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma ability score by 1.
Skill Proficiencies. Choose two from Deception, History, Insight or Performance to gain proficiency in. You gain proficiency with your choice of an Artisan’s Tools, Disguise kit, Forger’s Kit or a musical instrument.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Eulmi (Common). Choose two additional options from Asmaidi, Doqaltharl, Ghahlgic (Goblin) or Ourane.
Equipment. Choose one of the following:
= a Forger’s Kit
= a musical instrument
= an incomplete work of art worth 10gp
= a Disguise Kit.
Feature
Select one of the following features that best defines your character’s life in their homeland:
Delicate Masquerade: Whether born into the upper classes or having climbed there from some lower rung, you understand well how to play the ‘Game’ of Del’acqua and learn secrets. You gain the following benefits:
= If you can see a creature's mouth while it is speaking a language you understand, you can interpret what it's saying by reading its lips.
= If you spend at least 10 minutes observing or interacting with another creature outside combat, you may attempt a Wisdom (Insight) check, the DC of which is the creature’s Wisdom score. On a success, you learn one of its personality traits if it has any and a piece of the creature’s history.Mobile Atelier: (requires proficiency in an Artisan’s tools) You are well-trained in your craft, able to make mundane objects with ease. When you make a check that involves using Artisan Tools with which you are proficient, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Licensed to Eliminate: There are many places within Del’Acqua that one can learn to take a life, either through brutality or subtlety. Choose one of the following features that defines how you learned to inflict violence:
= Assassin’s Guild Graduate: You gain proficiency with Poisoner’s Kit or Thieves Tools. You can conceal a dagger, dart or a handcrossbow and a single bolt on your person. Any attempts by another creature to detect these objects through physical contact or visual inspection are made with disadvantage.
= Skullduggery: You have learned how to coerce through brute strength and quick-wits in a brawl. You are proficient with improvised weapons and when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.
Characteristics
Below are several common Personality options you may choose that exemplify the ideas and principles of a common member of your homeland:
I simply cannot wait to learn all of your secrets…!
Live in magnificence and you’ll never want for friends.
There are games played on so many levels in society. I enjoy making new rules as I go along.
My craft is my life, whether others understand that or not.
Let others bear the burden of power; I’d prefer humble contentment.
The gods, like politicians, are there to serve us, not the other way around.
The City-State of El'nasir
Beneath the blistering coastal sun, the city-state of El'nasir expands outwards into the hills. Marked as the birthplace of the god of burials, Aluce, it is signifigant to adherents of his personal cults--it is also, according legend, the only land that no undead can or would dare to set foot in.
With large cemeteries both within and without its walls and myriads of catacombs below it, it is as splendid and final a resting place as one could hope to have.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Increase either your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma ability score by 1.
Skill Proficiencies. Choose two from Religion, History, Arcana or Performance to gain proficiency in. You gain proficiency with your choice of Mason's Tools, Glassblower's Tools, Potter's Tools or a musical instrument.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Eulmi (Common). Choose two additional options from Asmaidi, Doqaltharl, Kenbek or Lyr'Da.
Equipment. Choose one of the following:
= a whip
= a musical instrument
= a holy relic worth 10gp
= a Level 1 Cleric spell scroll.
Feature
Select one of the following features that best defines your character’s life in their homeland:
Tender of Graves: The tending of graves and cemeteries is a solemn affair, one that tends to run in families or are handed down with great ceremony. You were trained in this art and can use it both to give peace to the living and the dead. You may cast Gentle Repose as a ritual. You may perform this ritual without needing to touch the remains so long as the remains are within a grave or some other form of burial arrangement and you know the name of the interred creature. In addition, you know the cantrip Toll the Dead.
Mobile Atelier: (requires proficiency in an Artisan’s tools) You are well-trained in your craft, able to make mundane objects with ease. When you make a check that involves using Artisan Tools with which you are proficient, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Licensed to Eliminate: There are many places within Del’Acqua that one can learn to take a life, either through brutality or subtlety. Choose one of the following features that defines how you learned to inflict violence:
= Assassin’s Guild Graduate: You gain proficiency with Poisoner’s Kit or Thieves Tools. You can conceal a dagger, dart or a handcrossbow and a single bolt on your person. Any attempts by another creature to detect these objects through physical contact or visual inspection are made with disadvantage.
= Skullduggery: You have learned how to coerce through brute strength and quick-wits in a brawl. You are proficient with improvised weapons and when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.
Characteristics
Below are several common Personality options you may choose that exemplify the ideas and principles of a common member of your homeland:
I simply cannot wait to learn all of your secrets…!
Live in magnificence and you’ll never want for friends.
There are games played on so many levels in society. I enjoy making new rules as I go along.
My craft is my life, whether others understand that or not.
Let others bear the burden of power; I’d prefer humble contentment.
The gods, like politicians, are there to serve us, not the other way around.
The Fourth Moon, Gol'eah
There were twelve moons within the sky of Vaale--then there were eleven after an ancient cataclysm brought one of them down to its surface. With it came the advent of the Vegali, as the moon was one of their settlements--one of them.The moon of Gol'eah was another as has since become a thriving if isolated city-state of its own. A vast network of streets in vibrant neon colors as bright as the Vegali who founded it, they have devised a means to govern through intellect and the use of arithemagical means utilizing pedralma (or soulstones) creating a 'wairua'roto-te'miihini' or 'Soulful Machine'.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Increase either your Constitution, Intelligence or Wisdom ability score by 1.
Skill Proficiencies. Choose two from Arcana, History, Investigation or Perception to gain proficiency in. You gain proficiency with your choice of an Tinker’s Tools, Navigator's tools, or Alchemist's Tools.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Eulmi (Common). Choose one additional option from Almiraj, Doqaltharl, Hicant or Vegalai.
Equipment. Choose one of the following:
= Two spell scrolls from the Wizard cantrip list
= A Level 1 Wizard spell scroll
= A set of alchemist tools
= A set of tinker's tools
Features and Characteristics
Coming Soon in 'Vaale: Expounded'
The Republic of Graeos
Coming Soon in 'Vaale: Expounded'
The Principalities of Grausland
A vast region of dense forests and mountains, Grausland’s reputation precedes it as the cauldron into which all of the world’s superstitions and uncanny shadows have been poured. Brimming with tales of loup garou, hexen, horrible shades from nightmare and writing with the foul influence of both the Unseelie Court and the poisoning influence of It Which brings Mortality, the land itself is unforgiving and tainted.In this darkness, the Elkonicht rule, houses of nobles dating back for a thousand years—though many of them are ruled by mere specters of patriarchs and matriarchs (sometimes literally). Small hamlets lock their doors well before sundown and intone incantations and chosen words to safeguard themselves and their children from harm.Once the seat of power for the vast empire of the ‘true’ Alfar, it is now a husk of its former self, and the same nobles and boyars that ruled once now have fallen to petty squabbles amongst themselves.
Traits
Ability Score Increase. Increase either your Constitution, Wisdom or Charisma ability score by 1.
Skill Proficiencies. Choose two from Animal Handling, History, Survival or Religion to gain proficiency in. You gain proficiency with your choice of either Calligrapher's Tools, Cook’s supplies or Woodcarver’s Tools.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Lyr’Da. Choose two additional options from Doqaltharl, Eulmi (Common) or Otsan.
Equipment. Choose one of the following:
= A token of protection
= A writ of noble pedigree
= Woodcarver’s tools
= Handaxe
Feature
Select one of the following features that best defines your character’s life in their homeland:
Superstition’s Guide: You know of omens and portents that announce danger or doom (and occasionally good things) and know to follow the wisdom of your elders. Once per short rest, you may attempt to detect the presence of the undead or fey within 30 feet of you or the presence of traps as if by the Detect Traps spell. If you use this feature two or more times before completing your next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get a random reading. The DM makes this roll in secret.
Infamous Lineage: Your family’s deeds (or misdeeds) are known far and wide and you know how to leverage that to your advantage. When you select this feature, you gain proficiency in either Persuasion or Intimidation. When making either roll and invoking your family’s name or deeds, roll an additional 1d4 and add it to the result. If you use this trait within Grausland, you may double the proficiency bonus instead.
Chilling Presence: You or your family have been touched by the dread energies of Grausland—whether it be the undead or the unseelie courts. As a result, you cause others to hesitate to strike you with a look or a word. Gain the following trait:
= Until the end of the first round of combat, any humanoid or beast creature with a CR 4 or lower who targets you with an attack or a harmful spell must first make a Wisdom saving throw (DC is 10 + Your Proficiency Bonus). On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell. This spell doesn't protect you from area effects, such as the explosion of a fireball. This effect ends prematurely if you make an attack, cast a spell that affects an enemy, or deal damage to another creature.Spiralean: A unique set of soldiery created in the distant past of Grausland. You are or were considered for a role in this group thanks to your inherent connection to a poltergeist. You gain the following benefits:
= You learn the mage hand cantrip. You can cast it without verbal or somatic components, and you can make the spectral hand invisible. If you already know this spell, its range increases by 30 feet when you cast it. Its spellcasting ability is the ability increased by this homeland.
= As a bonus action, you can try to telekinetically shove one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. When you do so, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability modifier of the score increased by this feat) or be moved 5 feet toward or away from you. A creature can willingly fail this save.
Characteristics
Below are several common Personality options you may choose that exemplify the ideas and principles of a common member of your homeland:
I will defend my family, friends and home until my last breath!
Ending suffering is a goal every soul can share.
I will create a legacy that stands the test of time!
Having a weapon is different from actually using it.
There is no room for those who would exploit others.
I am open and eager to exchange divine beliefs with other devout souls.
Kandivarmahn
A splendid territory that is half peninsula and half archipelago, this lush land is full of thriving jungles, towering mountains and verdant lowlands. Islands that are close enough together are spanned by magnificent bridges, decorated by stone representations of guardian spirits and heroic ancestors. Architectural marvels for both religious and agricultural purposes are found in abundance as well as thriving villages that extend into the sea itself on stilted legs.