Welcome to Caecras, the greatest city in this or any age.

You can be anyone from

anywhere and reasonably be found here.

The year is 888 E.F. (Empire Founded) and the current ruler of Caecras is the
inbred whelp Eras IX. He is rarely seen in public and heavily publicized anytime he does
anything of note, such as speak a sentence or walk five feet. He relies on his court to do
all necessary functions of maintaining Caecras, which some do diligently. The court has
many means of maintaining order, the most public of which is the Grey Guard, the
marshalls ordained by the city.

Six Truths of Caecras

● Every wall, street, and sewer holds the stain of the Witch-King's reign, the ancient
ruler and conqueror who led the Men of Gog in conquest less than a millennium
ago.
● The Orcs have long yearned for their enslavement at the hands of the Empire to
end.
● Devotion to the Old Faith is dwindling in the face of the zealous Cult of the New
God, some of whose activity encourages xenophobia, animosity and inquisition
toward devotees of the Old Faith.
● Of all the ancestries of Rul, Humans are the most numerous and prosperous in
Caecras.
● Eras IX's rule is widely regarded as the weakest the Empire has seen since its
founding.
● The myriad classes and ancestries make Caecras a prosperous and contentious
city.

The city's promise is opportunity and bounty for the bold, cunning and cruel. The
Grey Guard ward the city and work to combat skulduggery and crime, all while
occasionally succeeding.

Floating above The Heights, where sits the location of the Imperial Palace and the
Alabaster Throne is the mysterious Tower Arcane, a gigantic structure of worked stone
and rock that houses the wizards of the order of Ys. Each member is clothed with their
color denoting rank, of which the common folk may only guess. No person in living
memory has heard a wizard of the tower speak.
 Tone
Rank each tonal option from 1 to 3, 1 being the most preferred story tone and 3 being the
least preferred story tone you are interested in the story being. These tones are the
foundations of games I am interested in running.

Action Intrigue Tension Mood

Adventure High Low Low Light

Subderfuge Low High Medium Grey

Horror Medium Medium High Dark

Movie Examples:
Adventure: Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mad Max
Subterfuge: Blade Runner, Parasite, The Silence of the Lambs
Horror: The Thing, The Exorcist, Alien, Annihilation

Encounter Descriptions by Tone:

Action: “You see the nobleman Elf round the corner and pause. He looks you in the
eyes. His nostrils flaring, he draws the bone sword and charges you with
uncharacteristic ferocity. What are you doing?”

Subterfuge: “You hear slow, controlled footfalls around the corner ahead of you. They
increase in volume until you see the outline of a slender man you take to be a
well-dressed Elf. You recognize Petalfall, ambassador to Caecras sent from the Summer
Court. On meeting your eyes, he sets his jaw. Then, with a deep inhale, he draws his
bone sword in one swift motion and charges you into the middle of the Imperial Palace.
What are you doing?”

Horror: “You have avoided detection until now, and your enemies are searching the
halls they believe they heard you in. Feeling relieved, you exhale and lean against a cool
wall. If anyone here recognizes you, you will be caught, pilloried, flogged, and executed
at best. That thought sobers you. You straighten to the sound of soft footfalls sounding
in the adjacent hall. Rounding the corner is a slender Elf noble, who you recognize as
the creature that has promised to take each of your fingers and teeth as a prize for his
fetishes. On recognition, he smiles, draws his wicked bone sword, and quietly dashes
toward you. What are you doing?”
 The Main Cast
The world of Urth is filled with violence and struggle. Death is commonplace
among the wretched. Survival is all most people can contend with. Anticipate your
survivability increasing with each obstacle you overcome. To quote Carl Sagan:
“Extinction is the rule, survival is the exception.” Treat the world with the same respect
you would give a violent predator: find ways to avoid and outsmart until you can gain
the upper hand.

I make no assumptions about the way you want to make and play your character.
In this setting, it would be reasonable to interact with or even play characters who are
not good, upstanding people. Consider this when conceiving your characters and
interacting with people in the world.

Rank from 1 to 5 each of the following options you see yourself preferring to
engage with to least desiring to engage with in the material presented.

● Instigator: ● Explorer:
○ Make Things Happen ○ Snoop Around
○ Take Risks ○ Gather Clues
○ Cut Down on Debates ○ Be Sneaky
● Thinker: ● Muscle:
○ Question Everything ○ Forced Entry
○ Do Research ○ Break Things
○ Talk Things Through First ○ Intimidate People
● Face:
○ Talk to People
○ Negotiate
○ Lie
 Rewards
What rewards a person values most is an intensely personal preference. Below is
a list of every variant of reward I can conceive for a TTRPG. Feel free to write your own
with a brief description if none of my options covers what you would be satisfied with
for a reward.

Select no more than two options below for the reward you feel most interested in
receiving in response to completing your goals. Answering one way over another does
not mean that I will only reward you or the group that way; my intent with this
questionnaire is to begin a dialogue between everyone’s goals and how they wish to be
rewarded. Just because Jaxon’s favorite reward style is personally connective does not
mean that every other person will always take a back seat and it does not mean I will
only reward with personally connective content. If you feel you would like to change
anything regarding this questionnaire partway through the game, approach me with
your concerns and suggestions.

● Mechanical: ● Personally Connective:

○ I kill the Gorgon guarding
the Blade of Secrets,
forged by the first witch
coven. I have earned the
right to wield it and will
use its powers to serve my
needs.
● Material:
○ I have slain the dragon
guarding the horde, and
now my coffers flow with
gold. I will construct my
barony with what I have
earned in this endeavor.
○ After much questing, my
sister has been cured of
her ailment by the
Jewelbloom I returned
with from the Desolation.
Our bond has never been
stronger.
● Content Familiarity:
○ After weeks of searching
the ruins of the Imperial
Library, I have learned the
name of the Summer
Queen who rules all the
Faerie’s Hidden
Kingdoms.