Almira In A Nutshell
After the End of the World
Almira is a “post-post-apocalyptic” setting. A thousand years ago, the world was swiftly and decisively conquered by the Palace of Sin, a collection of evil and chaotic outsiders. After this conquest, called the Dusk Crusade, the palace embarked on a thousand years of raids and wars, establishing an unshakable dominance. Under the rule of the Palace of Sin, evil is given free reign to commit whatever acts they choose.
Now, with a mass of slaves for food and entertainment, there is no reason for its denizens to venture out and attack the innocent other than the simple thrill of it. Large scale battles and offensives are not often instigated by the Palace except as retribution against rebellions.
Almira is a “post-post-apocalyptic” setting. A thousand years ago, the world was swiftly and decisively conquered by the Palace of Sin, a collection of evil and chaotic outsiders. After this conquest, called the Dusk Crusade, the palace embarked on a thousand years of raids and wars, establishing an unshakable dominance. Under the rule of the Palace of Sin, evil is given free reign to commit whatever acts they choose.
Now, with a mass of slaves for food and entertainment, there is no reason for its denizens to venture out and attack the innocent other than the simple thrill of it. Large scale battles and offensives are not often instigated by the Palace except as retribution against rebellions.
Abundant Magic
The world of Almira is a place overflowing with magic.
Five races, the Idala, the Ezymir, the Ji Chi, the Tebani and the Devorim were born from abundant magic.
Within Almira, deserts and glaciers abut one another, the disparate climates simply a product of the world’s overflowing magic.
With this abundance of magic, NPC class levels are reserved only for young characters. Common laborers may have a level of fighter, while gardeners may have a level of druid.
The world of Almira is a place overflowing with magic.
Five races, the Idala, the Ezymir, the Ji Chi, the Tebani and the Devorim were born from abundant magic.
Within Almira, deserts and glaciers abut one another, the disparate climates simply a product of the world’s overflowing magic.
With this abundance of magic, NPC class levels are reserved only for young characters. Common laborers may have a level of fighter, while gardeners may have a level of druid.
World of Inversion
Almira is a world rife with inversion of many classic fantasy tropes. In Almira, drow default to Lawful Good and dwarves live in a city of steel that extends into the sky. The major Almiran diety of undeath is chaotic good and humans make up a minority of playable races. A thousand years of evil has warped and twisted Almira beyond classic fantasy tropes.
Almira is a world rife with inversion of many classic fantasy tropes. In Almira, drow default to Lawful Good and dwarves live in a city of steel that extends into the sky. The major Almiran diety of undeath is chaotic good and humans make up a minority of playable races. A thousand years of evil has warped and twisted Almira beyond classic fantasy tropes.
Isolation and Distance
The cities of Almira are massive, sprawling affairs. When the Dusk Crusade swept across the land, every settlement smaller than a large city was wiped out. What remains are a variety of large cities, more like city-states, residing hundreds of miles away from each other. With the size of the world and the lack of small villages, it can take weeks or even months to journey to the closest city, meaning that wars between city-states are incredibly uncommon. However, evil cults, political intrigues, coup d'états, and residents of the Palace of Sin are quite common.
The cities of Almira are massive, sprawling affairs. When the Dusk Crusade swept across the land, every settlement smaller than a large city was wiped out. What remains are a variety of large cities, more like city-states, residing hundreds of miles away from each other. With the size of the world and the lack of small villages, it can take weeks or even months to journey to the closest city, meaning that wars between city-states are incredibly uncommon. However, evil cults, political intrigues, coup d'états, and residents of the Palace of Sin are quite common.
The Dusk Crusade
The world of Almira was not always such a dark and dangerous place.
A thousand years ago, the evils of Almira stalked across the dusty night, biding their time, wary of the archons, angels, garuda, and azata who kept order on the mortal plane. The forces of evil were cautious and the forces of good kept peace without constant war or bloodshed.
All this changed in a single stroke. An angel, captured and driven to madness, bore a child to a powerful Oni. The child emerged from the womb fully grown and the angel named her Asheera, meaning “to sing,” hoping her voice could coax beauty back into the world. However, when Asheera spoke, every creature who heard her heard the words most likely to drive them to violence. At the sound of her voice, the legions of good began a bloody crusade. Archons rode out to destroy devils, garuda hunted rakshasas in the steamy jungles, and angels corralled devils and executed them by the millions.
Against this relentless and unprovoked aggression, the forces of chaos and evil united. Coming together to form great armies, creatures ranging from devils to demons to div laid waste to all they came across. In a matter of weeks, this army of darkness had spread to all corners of the Material Plane in a conquest known as the Dusk Crusade. The two commanders of this army, the High Count Therou and the Blackfire King Huo Hong, created a vast outer plane in which to house his army. This palatial plane would come to be known as the the Palace of Sin.
Now, a thousand years later, Almira is beginning to recover. There are no teeming masses of evil outsiders on every doorstep, but the Palace of Sin still exerts its dominance. Vacationing demons stalk the countryside, making meals of “free range” humans. Oni purchase numerous humans for unspeakable tortures. Hags lure female children to their extraplanar swamps to serve as coven slaves. However, the vast majority of the denizens of the Palace of Sin remain within the great Outer Plain, content with the ample slaves and entertainment there.
Travel to and from the outer plane of the Palace of Sin is facilitated by portals found throughout Almira. These portals are used by vacationing denizens of the Palace of Sin, by slave traders, and even by the occasional rebels making raids on the stores kept in Hong Xa.
All this changed in a single stroke. An angel, captured and driven to madness, bore a child to a powerful Oni. The child emerged from the womb fully grown and the angel named her Asheera, meaning “to sing,” hoping her voice could coax beauty back into the world. However, when Asheera spoke, every creature who heard her heard the words most likely to drive them to violence. At the sound of her voice, the legions of good began a bloody crusade. Archons rode out to destroy devils, garuda hunted rakshasas in the steamy jungles, and angels corralled devils and executed them by the millions.
Against this relentless and unprovoked aggression, the forces of chaos and evil united. Coming together to form great armies, creatures ranging from devils to demons to div laid waste to all they came across. In a matter of weeks, this army of darkness had spread to all corners of the Material Plane in a conquest known as the Dusk Crusade. The two commanders of this army, the High Count Therou and the Blackfire King Huo Hong, created a vast outer plane in which to house his army. This palatial plane would come to be known as the the Palace of Sin.
Now, a thousand years later, Almira is beginning to recover. There are no teeming masses of evil outsiders on every doorstep, but the Palace of Sin still exerts its dominance. Vacationing demons stalk the countryside, making meals of “free range” humans. Oni purchase numerous humans for unspeakable tortures. Hags lure female children to their extraplanar swamps to serve as coven slaves. However, the vast majority of the denizens of the Palace of Sin remain within the great Outer Plain, content with the ample slaves and entertainment there.
Travel to and from the outer plane of the Palace of Sin is facilitated by portals found throughout Almira. These portals are used by vacationing denizens of the Palace of Sin, by slave traders, and even by the occasional rebels making raids on the stores kept in Hong Xa.
Major Organizations
The reach of the Palace of Sin is vast and it’s vengeance is swift. Large organizations that offer a direct threat of resistance against the Palace of Sin are nearly impossible to form. While there are peacekeeping forces who help to protect cities from danger, no organization is foolish enough to march on the gates of the Palace of Sin. Rebel leaders know that no one has the power to combat these sinister beings, and the retribution they bring for even a slight provocation is swift and intense.
However, a large variety of defensive military, monastic, and trade forces exist within the world. A sample of the largest of the orders, organizations, and factions of the world are listed below.
However, a large variety of defensive military, monastic, and trade forces exist within the world. A sample of the largest of the orders, organizations, and factions of the world are listed below.
The Order of the Sword
Alignment: LG - NG
The Order of the Sword is housed primarily in the city of Tzalandar. The largest military installation in Almira, this elite army specializes in deploying highly skilled special ops teams to take on missions such as reconnaissance, rescue, escort missions, retrieval of artifacts, and rebuffing small squadrons of the Palace.
The Path
Alignment: TN - LN - NG
Members of The Path, known as Sojourners, seek spiritual enlightenment through immersion in academia. A monastic order, Sojourners follow the 7 tenets of The Path. These tenets are:
The Path sees a logical progression in its teachings. The Path leads to knowledge, knowledge begets power, and power in the hands of evil is dangerous to all. As such, the Path teaches balance and moral law to its Sojourners. While the Path has no central location, branches are often found throughout Almira, and many Sojourners of the Path take up posts in the libraries of major cities.
The following archetypes reflect followers of The Path: Path Gunman | Path Researcher | Scholar of the Path | Path Studied Slayer
The Jadengarde
Alignment: NG - CG
Full of riverboat songs and natural magic, the Jadengarde joyfully patrol the rivers and streams of Almira. These nomadic caravans use their small, flat-bottomed boats, called gardskiffs, to float down rivers or attach them to powerful hounds to use as sleighs. Equipped with well worn weapons, strong magics, and boisterous songs, the Jadengarde travel the rivers and roads in search of trade goods and stories worth telling.
Alignment: LG - NG
The Order of the Sword is housed primarily in the city of Tzalandar. The largest military installation in Almira, this elite army specializes in deploying highly skilled special ops teams to take on missions such as reconnaissance, rescue, escort missions, retrieval of artifacts, and rebuffing small squadrons of the Palace.
The Path
Alignment: TN - LN - NG
Members of The Path, known as Sojourners, seek spiritual enlightenment through immersion in academia. A monastic order, Sojourners follow the 7 tenets of The Path. These tenets are:
- All things can be deduced through logic and reason.
- Understanding others leads to understanding one’s self.
- Knowledge begets power.
- Morality is not inherent, but it is practical.
- The journey and the destination are of equal importance.
- Blind faith is a dangerous perversion of logic.
- All knowledge is meant to be shared.
The Path sees a logical progression in its teachings. The Path leads to knowledge, knowledge begets power, and power in the hands of evil is dangerous to all. As such, the Path teaches balance and moral law to its Sojourners. While the Path has no central location, branches are often found throughout Almira, and many Sojourners of the Path take up posts in the libraries of major cities.
The following archetypes reflect followers of The Path: Path Gunman | Path Researcher | Scholar of the Path | Path Studied Slayer
The Jadengarde
Alignment: NG - CG
Full of riverboat songs and natural magic, the Jadengarde joyfully patrol the rivers and streams of Almira. These nomadic caravans use their small, flat-bottomed boats, called gardskiffs, to float down rivers or attach them to powerful hounds to use as sleighs. Equipped with well worn weapons, strong magics, and boisterous songs, the Jadengarde travel the rivers and roads in search of trade goods and stories worth telling.
The Deities of Almira
Divinity is a fickle thing in Almira. Gods are created on a whim of the universe, invested with a spark of divinity borne from random chance. All gods in Almira are ascendant from that which once was mortal. Most ascension stems from a single act or event, a night of bloodlust, a near death experience, or a masterfully created work of art or science.
This fickle nature of divinity, however, is a double edged sword. Should a deity interfere too strongly in the turning points of mortals, their divinity is lost forever. A deity may protect a single devoted soldier, but may not lead mortal troops to battle themselves. A diety may answer her follower’s request for a control weather spell to put out a fire which would change the course of the world, but may not summon a storm herself.
Most of Almira’s deities work through chosen mortals, equipping them with powers that will help them change the world in their favor. The two God Kings of the Palace of Sin are the exception to this rule. The High Count Therou and Huo Hong, having discovered the secrets of divinity, can reignite their divine spark at-will.
Additionally, the planar structure of Almira, and the origins of the gods themselves, mean Almira’s deities do not have vast extraplanar homes. The gods of this world walk among the people. It is not uncommon for a commoner to encounter two or three deities within their lifetime.
More information on the various deities of Almira can be found on the Pantheon page.
This fickle nature of divinity, however, is a double edged sword. Should a deity interfere too strongly in the turning points of mortals, their divinity is lost forever. A deity may protect a single devoted soldier, but may not lead mortal troops to battle themselves. A diety may answer her follower’s request for a control weather spell to put out a fire which would change the course of the world, but may not summon a storm herself.
Most of Almira’s deities work through chosen mortals, equipping them with powers that will help them change the world in their favor. The two God Kings of the Palace of Sin are the exception to this rule. The High Count Therou and Huo Hong, having discovered the secrets of divinity, can reignite their divine spark at-will.
Additionally, the planar structure of Almira, and the origins of the gods themselves, mean Almira’s deities do not have vast extraplanar homes. The gods of this world walk among the people. It is not uncommon for a commoner to encounter two or three deities within their lifetime.
More information on the various deities of Almira can be found on the Pantheon page.
Races of Almira
All official races are playable within Almira. These races live in small villages scattered throughout the world, and while cannon stigma between races exist, all playable races are united in solidarity. Even races who normally tend towards the enslavement or destruction of others, such as the drow and orcs, simply exist within the world. While all races are available to play in the Almira campaign setting, certain races are very different from the way they are presented in their original settings. The races with changed statistics are outlined below. You can find new races unique to Almira on the races page.
Kitsune
Kitsune in Almira are deeply religious, paying tribute to many gods, and respecting balance above all else. Kitsune villages often have shrines with statues of hundreds of gods, all on an even plane, as not to give a single god more focus. Kitsune often place statues of warring gods next to each other, in an attempt to mollify their violence, and return them to neutrality. Kitsune in Almira are often neutrally aligned, and may choose to gain a +2 racial bonus to their Wisdom instead of their Charisma.
Dwarves
When the Dusk Crusade swept across the land, the dwarves of Almira were forced into the desert, where they wandered until they founded the city of Motogama. Dwarves in Almira with a trait, racial trait, feat, or class feature which applies against a specific race (such as their Hatred racial trait or the Goblin Cleaver feat) may apply that bonus against Outsiders with the Evil subtype instead. This choice is made when the character is created, and cannot be changed.
The city of Motogama stretches high into the sky on metal roads and platforms, sung into shape by the Dwarves. Dwarves in Almira with the stonecunning racial trait may choose to apply their bonus to notice unusual metalwork, instead of unusual stonework. This choice is made when the character is created, and cannot be changed.
Orcs
Orcs in Almira can choose to gain a +4 bonus to their Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma score, and take a -2 penalty to their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores in place of their usual racial ability score modifiers. This choice is made at 1st level and cannot be changed. Orcs with racial Wisdom bonus belong to the shamanic caste, orcs with a racial Intelligence bonus belong to the caste of tacticians, and orcs with a racial Charisma bonus are part of the lucky caste. Half orcs with none of these bonuses and orcs with a racial Strength bonus do not belong to a caste.
Samsarans
Godhood in Almira is by no means permanent. Gods who interfere too closely in mortal affairs lose their divinity, and even those who retain their godhood can be slain if the circumstances are right. Samsarans in Almira are born from the souls of those who once possessed divinity. These souls are a powerful presence, and reincarnating endlessly into new samsarans.
Kitsune
Kitsune in Almira are deeply religious, paying tribute to many gods, and respecting balance above all else. Kitsune villages often have shrines with statues of hundreds of gods, all on an even plane, as not to give a single god more focus. Kitsune often place statues of warring gods next to each other, in an attempt to mollify their violence, and return them to neutrality. Kitsune in Almira are often neutrally aligned, and may choose to gain a +2 racial bonus to their Wisdom instead of their Charisma.
Dwarves
When the Dusk Crusade swept across the land, the dwarves of Almira were forced into the desert, where they wandered until they founded the city of Motogama. Dwarves in Almira with a trait, racial trait, feat, or class feature which applies against a specific race (such as their Hatred racial trait or the Goblin Cleaver feat) may apply that bonus against Outsiders with the Evil subtype instead. This choice is made when the character is created, and cannot be changed.
The city of Motogama stretches high into the sky on metal roads and platforms, sung into shape by the Dwarves. Dwarves in Almira with the stonecunning racial trait may choose to apply their bonus to notice unusual metalwork, instead of unusual stonework. This choice is made when the character is created, and cannot be changed.
Orcs
Orcs in Almira can choose to gain a +4 bonus to their Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma score, and take a -2 penalty to their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores in place of their usual racial ability score modifiers. This choice is made at 1st level and cannot be changed. Orcs with racial Wisdom bonus belong to the shamanic caste, orcs with a racial Intelligence bonus belong to the caste of tacticians, and orcs with a racial Charisma bonus are part of the lucky caste. Half orcs with none of these bonuses and orcs with a racial Strength bonus do not belong to a caste.
Samsarans
Godhood in Almira is by no means permanent. Gods who interfere too closely in mortal affairs lose their divinity, and even those who retain their godhood can be slain if the circumstances are right. Samsarans in Almira are born from the souls of those who once possessed divinity. These souls are a powerful presence, and reincarnating endlessly into new samsarans.
A World of Inversion
Death and Dying
All souls in Almira go to The Catacombs when they pass from their bodies. When a creature dies, its soul falls into the Astral Plane and begins an incredibly painful process of decay. This decay leaves behind soul dust, the essential building block of the soul. In the Astral Plane, the soul must pass over the Four Bridges: the Bridge of Alignment, the Bridge of Emotion, the Bridge of Health, and the Bridge of Magic. If the soul can keeps its substance through this journey, it is able to enter the Catacombs.
Here, the souls of the fallen decay fully into soul dust in approximately one year. In times of war or when there is massive loss of life, this decay can be more timely, with souls fully decayed in a matter of days. When a new creature is born, its soul is created from the soul dust within the Catacombs.
This means resurrection in Almira is a tricky business. After a soul has decayed, even a wish or miracle cannot bring a soul back together, for it doing so would rip pieces of a soul from thousands of creatures across the world.
The exception to this rule are kitsune and samsarans. When kitsune die, their souls are drawn to Tian Ta, where they mingle with each kitsune ancestor who came before them. Samsarans are formed from the souls of dead deities or those who were once deific, and their souls are powerful enough to reincarnate into a new Samsaran immediately after they die.
All souls in Almira go to The Catacombs when they pass from their bodies. When a creature dies, its soul falls into the Astral Plane and begins an incredibly painful process of decay. This decay leaves behind soul dust, the essential building block of the soul. In the Astral Plane, the soul must pass over the Four Bridges: the Bridge of Alignment, the Bridge of Emotion, the Bridge of Health, and the Bridge of Magic. If the soul can keeps its substance through this journey, it is able to enter the Catacombs.
Here, the souls of the fallen decay fully into soul dust in approximately one year. In times of war or when there is massive loss of life, this decay can be more timely, with souls fully decayed in a matter of days. When a new creature is born, its soul is created from the soul dust within the Catacombs.
This means resurrection in Almira is a tricky business. After a soul has decayed, even a wish or miracle cannot bring a soul back together, for it doing so would rip pieces of a soul from thousands of creatures across the world.
The exception to this rule are kitsune and samsarans. When kitsune die, their souls are drawn to Tian Ta, where they mingle with each kitsune ancestor who came before them. Samsarans are formed from the souls of dead deities or those who were once deific, and their souls are powerful enough to reincarnate into a new Samsaran immediately after they die.
Outer Planes
The Outer Planes of Almira are arranged into eight planar tracts, each corresponding to a trigram of the I-Ching. To go from one plane to another plane which is higher in number requires a successful caster level check (DC = 10 + the square of the plane’s magnitude). For example, traveling from The Remains (magnitude 3) to the Valley of Smoke (magnitude 4) would require a DC 26 caster level check. On a failed check, the caster cannot attempt to travel upwards in that planar tract for 24 hours.
Only spells and abilities with a duration of instantaneous, such as plane shift, are affected this way. Spells and abilities which temporarily bring a creature or group of creatures to an outer plane, such as dream voyage, shadow walk and a solar oracle’s Astral Caravan revelation, do not require a caster level check to succeed.
The Outer Planes of Almira are arranged into eight planar tracts, each corresponding to a trigram of the I-Ching. To go from one plane to another plane which is higher in number requires a successful caster level check (DC = 10 + the square of the plane’s magnitude). For example, traveling from The Remains (magnitude 3) to the Valley of Smoke (magnitude 4) would require a DC 26 caster level check. On a failed check, the caster cannot attempt to travel upwards in that planar tract for 24 hours.
Only spells and abilities with a duration of instantaneous, such as plane shift, are affected this way. Spells and abilities which temporarily bring a creature or group of creatures to an outer plane, such as dream voyage, shadow walk and a solar oracle’s Astral Caravan revelation, do not require a caster level check to succeed.