Credits PTU System Lead Paradox (aka Doxy) PTU Design Team castfromhp, zoofman, Data Manager KujiUn Contributors and Consultants Anise, Aori Radidjiu, Counterbeard, Domovoi, Kain Information Sourced From Bulbapedia, PokémonDB Legalese Pokémon® is a trademark of Nintendo and does not sponsor, authorize or endorse Pokémon: Tabletop United. Pokémon: Tabletop United is a free use fan distribution by fans, for fans of both tabletop RPGs and Pokémon®. Thanks to Our Community Tanks to everyone that has helped us in a million small ways along the way, and given us support and encouragement. And thanks to everyone else involved in creating and designing Pokémon Tabletop Adventures, without which this endeavor would have never started. Contact Us! Ofcial site and blog: http://pokemontabletop.com/ Zetaboards Pokémon Tabletop forum - http://forums.Pokémontabletop.com/index/ Doxy’s personal email: i.climb.clouds@gmail.com /tg/ - Traditional Games #PokémonTabletop on the Rizon IRC network at irc.rizon.net Artwork We’ve used artwork from all over the Internet in PTU. If you see your art here and wish to have it removed, contact us at the forums below. Artists: meiti, ruun, azuma yukihiko, morino hon, ibui matsumoto, doomdesireking, rita (56yellow), 貝柱 (from pixiv), Delano-Laramie, malta (redmini), merlusa, homura subaru, yui (kari), You (Roka), どむ(from pixiv), Re:D.summer, shuri (84k), mato, Sa-Dai, hakuna158, Kuri-chan, Anpolly/アンポリー, MTC-Studios, shaun healey, arkeis-Pokémon, bergamind, yorujisa yuuto, wadani hitonori, yomo (ym), reirou (re16ko89), arugeri, rebusalpa, いもーす (from pixiv), きんとら@しばらく休止 (from pixiv),Credits Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Genre and Setting So you wanna run a fantasy campaign? ………….. 5 High or Low Fantasy?…………………………………. 5 Just How Supernatural Are Tings? ……………. 7 Translating Pokémon Setting Basics to Fantasy. 8 Poké balls …………………………………………………… 8 Pokémon Storage ……………………………………….. 8 Pokémon Centers……………………………………….. 9 Te Pokédex ………………………………………………. 9 TM’s and HM’s …………………………………………… 10 Mega Evolution ………………………………………….. 10 Flavors of Fantasy…………………………………………… 11 Age of Discovery………………………………………… 11 Steampunk and Tribal Fantasy……………………. 12 Arabian Nights…………………………………………… 13 Chivalric Romance …………………………………….. 15 Dungeon Fantasy……………………………………….. 16 Sengoku Jidai……………………………………………… 17 Urban Fantasy ……………………………………………. 19 Wuxia ………………………………………………………… 20 Te Supernatural and Metaphysics…………………. 22 Te Nature of Types and Pokémon …………….. 22 Supernatural Power Sources……………………….. 23 Supernatural Phenomena and Magic………….. 23 Example Systems ……………………………………….. 25 Elemental Anima, a Pokémon Metaphysics… 27 Fantasy Pokémon Variants……………………………… 31 Chapter 2: Alchemy and Gear Better Living Trough Alchemy …………………….. 37 A Method to the Madness ………………………….. 38 Handling Alchemy as a Game Master…………. 39 Example Alchemized Items………………………… 41 Example Legendary Alchemy Items……………. 43 Arcane Weapons…………………………………………….. 44 Novice Arcane Weapon Moves…………………… 44 Expert Arcane Weapon Moves …………………… 45 Chapter 3: Trainer Classes General Trainer Edges……………………………………. 47 General Trainer Features………………………………… 47 Berserker ……………………………………………………….. 48 Rune Master…………………………………………………… 50 Arcanist …………………………………………………………. 53 Rank 1 Power Manipulations……………………… 55 Rank 2 Power Manipulations …………………….. 55 Fortress ………………………………………………………….. 56 Marksman ……………………………………………………… 58 Skirmisher……………………………………………………… 60 Bug Elementalist: Swarmlord …………………………. 62 Dark Elementalist: Shade Caller …………………….. 64 Dragon Elementalist: Herald of Pride…………….. 66 Electric Elementalist: Spark Master………………… 68 Fairy Elementalist: Glamour Weaver ……………… 70 Fire Elementalist: Fire Bringer ……………………….. 72 Flying Elementalist: Wind Runner …………………. 74 Ghost Elementalist: Apparition………………………. 76 Grass Elementalist: Druid………………………………. 78 Ground Elementalist: Earth Shaker………………… 80 Ice Elementalist: Frost Touched ……………………… 82 Normal Elementalist: Prism …………………………… 84 Poison Elementalist: Miasmic ………………………… 86 Rock Elementalist: Stone Warrior…………………… 88 Steel Elementalist: Steelheart………………………….. 90 Water Elementalist: Maelstrom………………………. 92 Chapter 4: Campaign Settings How to Use Tese Settings……………………………… 94 Six Duchies ……………………………………………………. 95 Technology and Setting Basics……………………. 97 Te Land of Ardairslen ………………………………. 102 Trainer Creation…………………………………………. 105 Building a Six Duchies Campaign………………. 105 Campaign Hooks ……………………………………….. 105 Visiwa: the Eastern Isles …………………………………. 108 Te Wilds and Setting Basics ……………………… 110 Te Eastern Isles ………………………………………… 114 Trainer Creation…………………………………………. 120 Building a Visiwan Campaign ……………………. 120 Plot Hooks …………………………………………………. 120 Table of ContentsIntroduction Game of Trohs is the ofcial Pokémon Tabletop United guidebook for creating and running fantasy campaigns or introducing fantasy elements into any sort of PTU Campaign. Not every fantasy campaign will beneft from using all of the content of this book, but GMs are recommended to pick and choose elements they like to create their own campaign world. Treat the book as a toolkit. Chapter 1 outlines a wide variety of fantasy sub-genres and how they can be used with Pokémon. Tere’s a very large difference between a campaign about Poké Vikings and their travels and a modern era campaign about a hidden school for Psychics, and their assumptions on a setting as a whole. You’ll also fnd expanded details about topics that ofen get back seated in normal PTU games, such as the nature of supernatural powers and how Types metaphysically work. Also included will be details on how to implement Pokémon capture, storage, and treatment in settings with lower tech levels. Chapter 2 is dedicated to gear and equipment. In particular, this Chapter discusses how to go about creating items that have magical properties. It also includes advice on how to manage these items for GMs. Chapter 3 introduces a slew of Fantasy themed Trainer options, including the Berserker, Rune Master, Weapon Specialist, and Elementalist Classes. Chapter 4 contains sample settings and campaign ideas to help GMs get started. Each campaign concept comes with a detailed setting description, several plot-hooks, and in some cases, optional rules for use in that campaign.Genre and Setting 5 Chapter 1: Genre and Setting By now you’ve likely looked over the core book, and maybe Do Porygon Dream of Mareep or Blessed and the Damned, and you feel you’re ready to take on a game that’s more than just your modern day travel through a Region, collecting Badges and defeating a Team. You’ve decided your next game will visit another time in history, or an ancient mythology, a completely alien, fantasy world, or maybe just Hogwarts for Pokémon Trainers in a world where Trainer society is completely hidden from the masses sounds really rad to you. Either way, you got a few questions you have to get answers for before we really get to the meat and potatoes. So you wanna run a fantasy campaign? High or Low Fantasy? Fantasy has a lot of variations and flavors and we’ll try to discuss as many as we can in this chapter. Te divide between high and low fantasy is the broadest of these flavors, and is very similar to the divide between hard and sof sci-f. High Fantasy is probably the frst thing you think about when the Fantasy genre comes up. It is characterized by supernatural struggles between good and evil, fantastic elements such as non-human races and rampant use of magic, and epic sagas. Tis type of fantasy usually takes place on a world that isn’t Earth, but might resemble Earth. When it does take place on Earth, there is a very hard divide between the supernatural and the mundane, and the two do not interact with each other in great detail. Tis brand of Fantasy is also commonly known as being Tolkienesque, as J.R.R. Tolkien is ofen credited as popularizing the genre with his Te Hobbit and Te Lord of the Rings. C.S. Lewis’s Te Chronicles of Narnia and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter also embody this brand of fantasy; it’s the more common type of fantasy in books, movies, videogames and comics. Obviously, Dungeons and Dragons would fall under this category. Low Fantasy, on the other hand, is a lot harder to put a fnger on. Te term was originally coined to describe a brand of fantasy that not only takes place on Earth, but features how the supernatural interacts with the mundane as aGenre and Setting 6 central theme. It has taken on a second variation over the last couple of years to also refer to a brand of fantasy where the fantastic elements are deemphasized in favor of a more gritty portrayal of human conflict. Tis has caused the genre to sometimes get called ‘Urban Fantasy’ or ‘Dark Fantasy’, depending on the work being referred to. Te works of Stephen King, such as It, Te Shining, and Salem’s Lot, as well as H.P.’s Lovecraf’s works would go under this variation, as well as George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, and Kentaro Miura’s Berserk. White Wolf ’s World of Darkness games are also what you can consider Low Fantasy. What’s this imply for Pokémon? Not entirely much, honestly! Pokémon as a franchise has gone back and forth time and time again on what type of Fantasy it slants towards. While it has over time been creeping toward High Fantasy with the prominence of Aura, Psionics, Magic, and Godly Legendaries with each iteration, it’s a very loosely defned dial. What is safe to assume is the world of Pokémon is an alternate reality of Earth, and the supernatural does exist. How prominent that supernatural force is, or how the people and Pokémon of the world react to it is not entirely consistent with the franchise as a whole. Since Pokémon, at its roots, is already an Urban Fantasy setting, a lot of the groundwork has already been done for you as a GM when putting together a fantasy game. Te impact of the choice between a High and Low Fantasy feel will mostly be felt on how the world interacts with both Pokémon and humans with Supernatural power; the response people have to discovering someone is a Telekinetic is going to be treated is going to be drastically different based on what one you choose. If you are looking to make a setting where the supernatural is rare, feared and misunderstood, Low Fantasy might be more appropriate for you. If you’re looking to create a world full of wizards and wonder, High Fantasy would work better. Te important part here is you and your players should have a shared understanding on the general feel the game is going for, and the Low vs High label can be very helpful for that.Genre and Setting 7 When one thinks Fantasy, what ofen frst comes to mind is a historical setting where magical innovations have replaced technology - but this does not necessarily have to be the case. Even the basic Pokémon setting portrays a world where mystical powers and high tech devices coexist, and would likely continue to in the future. Here are some questions you should ask yourself about your setting: • Who battles Pokémon in your setting? Is it a privilege to be a Trainer, or a common occurrence? What sorts of jobs or tasks are Pokémon trusted with? Where do they live? How do humans care for and interact with them in the wild? • How easy is it to travel in your setting? Are settlements completely isolated, or are there common trade routes? How do people use these routes? Are there vehicles that might assist their travels? • How sophisticated the study of medicine in your setting? Do people understand what germs and viruses are and how to handle them? What’s the average life expectancy for humans, and what are common medical causes of death? • How advanced are the tools Trainers use? Do Poké balls exist? What about Apricorn balls? Who makes them, and how common are they? • To what extent have Pokémon replaced technological advancements? Do computers exist? What about tools that run on a power source, like electricity, steam, magical energies, or pure girl love? • How common and understood are Psychics, Elementalists, Aura Users and other humans with Supernatural powers? Are they feared or respected? Are these powers one is born with, or can they be taught over time? Where do these powers originate from? • What about the types of weapons that exist in your setting? Are they mundane? Are there legendary relics of power out in the world? Can you commission a blacksmith to forge a badass fre sword? • Are there races other than Humans in your setting? How do they interact with Humans, or Pokémon for that matter? How integrated are they into Human society? • What other supernatural elements exist in your setting that are not present in Pokémon? Are there actual ghosts and spirits as well as Ghost Type Pokémon? How do they differ from the ‘undead’? Is there an aferlife? • Do Gods exist? If they do, are they Pokémon, or entities beyond human comprehension? How involved are they with the world as a whole? Are they worshiped, revered, or feared? We’ll be discussing these questions as we go and provide you with tools and ideas to better answer them yourself! Just How Supernatural Are Tings?Genre and Setting 8 Poké balls Pokémon has a number of distinctive technologies that make the world what it is. Not only are fans familiar with these elements but many of them expect them to exist in some capacity, but not having them in a setting would be difcult to work with. In a fantasy game that takes place in a time period near modern times, this section won’t be entirely relevant. In a setting more removed from modern times, this section will help you handle the lack of these technologies in your setting. Translating Pokémon Setting Basics to Fantasy Okay, so let’s start with the 800 pound Slaking in the room: Poké Balls. Poké Balls are the single most defning piece of technology for the Pokémon universe, and thus potential players for your campaign will likely be curious about how they’ll be treated differently in a fantasy setting - especially since most fantasy games just won’t have the technology to produce these devices. Consider the following: • Pokémon are themselves inherently unstable creatures. Canonically when they evolve, they turn into energy forms temporarily as their bodies shif and change. Poké Balls may artifcially induce such a state using the same mechanisms that the Pokémon uses naturally, except this state is sustained and kept in stasis in a Poké Ball by the device instead of changing the Pokémon’s material form. Even if your setting does not have Poké Balls, per say, perhaps there are devices that induce a similar state. • Apricorn plants are perhaps the easiest way of introducing this concept. Something about these plants, be it arcane or scientifc in nature, allows them to be crafed into devices that can put a Pokémon in stasis. • Along with this train of thought, maybe people thought of other means of capture than Apricorn or Poké Balls. Examples of this include a mirror that entraps ghosts, a talisman on a pouch of glass beads that summons the creature within whenever a bead is smashed against the ground, or a family of rituals that are used to bind and summon Pokémon. Te genre of fantasy you are working with may very well have tropes such as these that already ft the function of a Poké Ball. • Poké Balls include a feature that makes them unusable on already Captured Pokémon. Is this something that your setting’s version of the Poké Ball mimics, and if so, how? Does Capture change a Pokémon somehow? What’s special about Snag Balls that makes this possible? • What happens when a capture device is broken in your setting? Does it simply fail to maintain the Pokémon’s energy form and thus release it when the device breaks? Or does the energy conversion process work in such a way that breaking the device irreversibly would kill the Pokémon contained inside instead? • Is the development of Poké Balls or other capture devices something you wish to explore as a plot point? Maybe it was a challenge for scientists to fnd a way to apply this process to sentient life without killing it. Tis could make for a bit of gruesome history for the PCs to dig up, or maybe the process is still ongoing and the campaign doesn’t have working Poké Balls - yet. Will the players stand by and watch this happen so they can gain from the convenience of this technology, or will they intervene and stop the experiments, even if it means they will never get Poké Balls? • Poké Balls don’t work on humans, but why? Tis is less applicable of a question if your capture devices work more like summoning devices than capture ones, but if devices such as Apricorn Balls do exist then the question arises of whether or not it works Pokémon Storage Tis is what makes it feasible to ‘catch em all’ in the Pokémon universe. Te sheer logistical issues behind storing and transporting dozens or even hundreds of Pokémon in Poké Balls would stop all but the most well-connected and resourceful Trainers from ever considering attempting to catch more than a handful of Pokémon otherwise. Te thing is, in a fantasy setting…well, this whole concept goes right out the window! So what do you do to compensate? Take a step back and think about what theGenre and Setting 9 PC Storage system really is; it’s a large, international network that allows Trainers to transport their Pokémon between any two PC Storage terminals in the network. It also keeps them stored safely until they are needed. Tis framework can be replicated and explained in a fantasy system through more arcane manners. Perhaps there is a widely practiced means of ritually summoning and storing a Poké Ball via a magical network, or that a rather influential group of mages has set up a ‘pocket dimension Poké Bank’ that Trainers can access through their countless branch ofces throughout the world. We won’t go too into detail on the whys and hows of these, as they are mostly examples - the takeaway should be that the convenience of the internet could simply be replaced with magic. On the other hand, this might be an intentional drawback of your setting - that Poké Balls (or Pokémon themselves if your setting doesn’t have capture devices) must be physically stored and delivered from destination to destination. Physical transportation and storage comes with many complications though and this direction might not be very appropriate for a setting with high amounts of travel. On the other hand, it could be a very interesting dynamic to a setting that is more central to a small number of settlements, as the PC’s would have pretty regular interactions with the Pokémon caretakers. Also consider what happens when a Trainer carries more than 6 Pokémon, or captures a 7th. Maybe your setting doesn’t enforce a cap of 6. If it does, and you went with a more physical storage approach, perhaps the capture devices your Trainers use have a common power source, and it caps at 6 active devices at a time; this device can only be adjusted at very particular locations (usually in a settlement), and so even if they carry more than 6 Pokémon with them, only their active 6 can be released. If you went with a more arcane approach, perhaps the capture devices are inscribed with a certain magic that allows their bonded Trainer to only handle 6 at a time, and the 7th is automatically teleported away. Pokémon Centers Pokémon Centers, far as modern medicine is concerned, are already magical. Treatment is always free, all but the most grievous injuries can be healed in under a day, and they are easily available in any civilized place, providing services in addition to medical treatment, such as facilitating Pokémon trades. While you might not have actual hospitals or Pokémon Centers in your setting, you should include some location where the Players can have their Pokémon and their own injuries taken care of for free. Pokémon Tabletop United works under the assumption such facilities exist, and removing them entirely will just make things miserable for your Players. Luckily, since what Pokémon Centers do is already miraculous, you really don’t have much work to be done. Maybe instead of Pokémon Centers they visit the local church to get care from the clerics who work there, or they visit the local medicine man, or apothecary for treatment. In the end, what these facilities are should just match the fluff of your setting, but they should exist. Te other big thing Pokémon Centers do is facilitate Pokémon Trades. In the base setting, this is largely tied to the same network that Pokémon are stored on. As such, it would make sense that the same services that handle the storage and transportation of Pokémon in your setting should also handle trading. Te Pokédex Te Pokédex has historically been a Trainer’s identifcation card, Pokémon bestiary, and a way to register their ownership of a Pokémon. While it might not be appropriate for such an item to exist in every fantasy setting, it’s a relatively easy one to describe as a magical tome that is bound to its owner. Trainers could use these to look up information on Pokémon, keep track of the Pokémon they’ve captured, and also to help facilitate the Trade of Pokémon. Perhaps all Pokémon trades must be notarized by a third party, and this is done through each Trainer’s Pokénomicon. Some other ways you could describe the Pokédex in a fantasy setting could be as an ancient relic from a long lost age, magical eyewear that functions much like Google Glass would, or a mentoring spirit that follows, observes, and handles these tasks for the Trainer.Genre and Setting 10 TM’s and HM’s Te core PTU book already contains recommendations on how a GM can make TMs ft their setting. As such we won’t go into too much detail here and simply list a few recommendations for fantasy settings: • TMs might be a reagent to a magical ceremony to impart a Pokémon with the knowledge of how to perform a new Move. • TMs might be enchanted tattoos or body art that allow a Pokémon to use a Move that it previously could not. • TMs might be a drug that sends a Pokémon on a spirit quest where they undergo a trial that teaches them how to perform a new Move. • Rather than a syringe, TMs are specially brewed potions that have the same effect the syringe would. Keep in mind that TMs are typically one-time use, so whatever idea you do settle on should be something that is consumed or rendered inert by the procedure. Mega Evolution Mega Evolution is pretty easy to explain in a fantasy setting since it is usually attributed to a mystical aspect of the source material. Tat doesn’t mean you can’t spice them up a little, though! Alchemical Stones: Maybe Megastones are the product of alchemical genius! Te highly volatile stones, when paired with an artifact that can resonate with them (such as a Mega Ring), can induce a temporary boost in power for a Pokémon. Divine Blessings: Perhaps Megastones are a divine gif! Te ability for a Pokémon to transcend from their mortal forms into a more powerful, and slightly divine entity is something only heavens can bestow - and never for longer than it needs be. Enlightenment: In a more Eastern setting, Mega Evolution might be the result of Trainer and Pokémon mastering their inner chi and reaching enlightenment. Tis state of perfect harmony manifests as a Pokémon taking on a new form, if only for a short period of time.Genre and Setting 11 Flavors of Fantasy Keep those questions we asked at the beginning of this chapter in mind, because this section is going to revisit them when expanding on some common Fantasy genres and how you can apply them to a Pokémon Tabletop United campaign. Age of Discovery Te Age of Discovery was a time period between the 1400’s and the 1800’s where European powers such as Portugal, Spain, France, and Britain began to rapidly expand their empires and establish colonies across the globe. Fantasy works that take place in this period put a large emphasis on charting the unknown, big flashy high seas battles, conflicts between mystical, indigenous tribes and European explorers, and yes, pirates. Tis sub-genre also usually includes exotic isles, glamorous and shanty port towns, and larger than life heroes and villains. Playing the “bad guys” is also highly valued in this sub-genre, as romanticized pirates and privateers are a large focus of it. Given this was an actual era in Earth’s history, it tends to gravitate more toward Low Fantasy, drawing a lot of inspiration and ideas from the current events of that era and the various cultures that contributed to it; Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean is a prime example of this. Tat said, there are also quite a few High Fantasy takes on this genre as well, such as Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, which feature high seas action and exploration in a completely alien world. Te technology level tends to be consistent with that of Earth between the 1400’s and 1800’s, but more fantasy heavy settings might also feature some steampunk elements. Te mystical side of this setting varies widely, ranging from highly historical and mundane to highly romanticized and arcane. Given the focus on this sub-genre is more on the action and exploration, supernatural elements are usually there to help move the story along or make things cooler. Curses, magical relics, ghost ships and various schools and origins of magic mesh right in with this sub-genre. Hunting for lost treasures is also a big focus of this sub-genre, and many of these treasures are going to have some myths and superstitions around them! Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Black powder weapons, Galleons, Curses and Dark Magics, Enchanted Relics, Gods and Demons Main Temes: Adventure and Discovery, High Action, Epic Heroism, Treasure Hunting Examples: Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Etrian Odyssey, Pirates of the Caribbean, One Piece, Treasure Island How do Pokémon Fit in? Pokémon easily ft into this sub-genre on two fronts. On one, they provide interesting and compelling wildlife for the players to encounter in the exotic locales of the setting. Tis includes the oceans themselves as well; sea monsters and krakens are a staple of this sub-genre! Tey also provide a very convenient and interesting twist for populating the crew of a ship. Tink of the various tasks and duties that ship hands are responsible for, and how Pokémon would have ft into that. How to Handle… Poké Balls: Given the various advancements in maritime travel during this era, it is very feasible for Poké Balls or Apricorn Balls to have been invented during this time period. Such devices would likely be arcane in nature, and likely a recent development picked up from experimenting with tribal magics and modern technology. Te PC Storage System: Tis one is extremely easy to handle in this sub-genre, as your players will almost certainly have access to a ship: Extra Pokémon just stay with the ship! If you also wish to have newly captured Pokémon teleported away, one way to approach that could be that members of a crew might be expected to ‘bind’ their service to the vessel. Tis mystical oath causes newly captured Pokémon to be transported safely to the vessel.Genre and Setting 12 Pokémon Centers: Any seafaring vessel surely has a doctor and medical supplies on board, which makes treating staying aboard a ship as staying at a Pokémon center make plenty of sense. Apothecaries and tribal medicines would also be relevant, especially when traveling ashore. TMs and HMs: Given the technology level of the subgenre, TMs and HMs would likely take on abnormal forms : such as potions, tattoos, mystical drugs and magical relics. As a GM How Should I Prepare? Map out the isles and seas your players will be sailing through, since this will help them understand the scale of what is and isn’t explored out there. Prepare rivaling factions and uncharted isles in a way that your players have some variety with who they choose to ally with or fght against, and that they can travel as they need or please. Steampunk and Tribal Fantasy Tere are two other subgenres of Fantasy that relate pretty closely to the Age of Discovery: Steampunk, and Tribal Fantasy. As such we’ll give a brief synopsis of both of these here. Steampunk Steampunk is a fantasy genre that is ofen inspired by the industrial revolution in Western society during the 19th century. Steampunk works are ofen set in an alternative history of the British Victorian era or American “Wild West”, or in a fantasy world that employs steam power. Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Tat said, this genre and shif in technology is not just to make the world quirkier. Steampunk ofen takes place right on the end of the Age of Discovery, as colonization starts to bubble and the industrial revolution begins. During this time period there was a major shif in cultural values due to rapid advancements in technology, travel and the exchange of information. When applied to the world of Pokémon, the big question that comes to mind is how did society at large shif when it comes to their opinions on how Pokémon should be handled? Did the interest in Pokémon diminish as technology hit a stride, or did it become more of a sport during this era? How did the feats Pokémon are capable of impact the steam and magic powered inventions of this era? Keep these questions in mind when you go about crafing a Steampunk setting, and for some further inspiration, check out the following : Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Last Exile, Steamboy, Full Metal Alchemist, Bioshock Infnite Tribal Fantasy Another big aspect of the Age of Discovery is the frst meeting between the indigenous populations of North and South America, and the exploring Europeans. While history on Earth played out rather poorly for these civilizations, their legacy and stories still live on. Each of these tribes had their own mythologies, mystical customs and legacies, and collectively we call these stories Tribal Fantasy. In a Tribal Fantasy setting, technology is ofen sent straight to the stone or bronze age, but the relevance of mysticism and magical elements shoots right up. Tese settings are representative of not only the tribes of North and South America, but the early foundations of many other cultures as well. Shamanism and animism were very commonly practiced throughout the world, and how these beliefs tie to Pokémon is surprisingly to-the-point. We highlight much of this in the Anima Metaphysics later in this chapter. Whether you are looking to run a game where the players are members of an indigenous tribe, or just looking to flesh out the society of a tribe that is featured in an Age of Discovery or Steampunk game, keep in mind that you have literally hundreds of real world examples of how these societies functioned and what their shamanistic practices encompassed.Genre and Setting 13 Arabian Nights Most fantasy inspired by the Middle East is set in what’s loosely called the ‘Islamic Golden Age’, a time period roughly corresponding with the European Middle Ages (c.780 AD - c.1258 AD) during which the Muslim world experienced a flourishing of the arts and sciences as its rulers strove to collect and preserve all the world’s knowledge. During this time period, works of the past and from as far away as Greece and India were preserved and translated into Arabic, and government-funded scholars pioneered revolutions in mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry - many things that we take for granted, like algebra, coffee, guitars, and astronomy, were developed during this time period! Not only did culture flourish during the Islamic Golden Age, but trade and government did too. Te caliphs of the age encouraged freedom of speech and belief, and people from all walks of life and all religions could aspire to a life of civil service. Routes across both land and sea stretched from Spain to China, and cities like Baghdad and Cairo became major centers of both trade and culture. Of course, most games set in this era will focus less on what happened in the real world and more on what happened in the stories and fables of the time, the most famous of which are the One Tousand and One Nights - stories of bold thieves, magic carpets, wise (or not so wise) sultans, and beautiful princesses, where faith and a quick mind is all it takes for even a street rat to make their fortune. A game might be about recovering the lost treasures of the great Pokémon Master Suleiman, he who managed to tame one of every species under the heavens and bid them do as he commanded, or about stopping the sultan’s evil grand vizier from summoning and binding Missingno so that he can take over the kingdom. In a world of larger than life heroes and terrifying villains, the skies are (quite literally) the limit! Tat’s not to say that you can only run high fantasy games in a Middle Eastern setting - low fantasy games more grounded in the realities of the age are just as possible! Perhaps your players are a caravan of traders, traveling the Silk Road to make their fortunes and avoiding curses and mischievous spirits. Perhaps they are researchers in Baghdad, collecting Pokémon to be recorded in the sultan’s Grand Book of All Creatures. Tey could even be thieves, banding together to steal a rich merchant’s treasure - or, perhaps, the heart of his frst-born child. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Alchemy, Medicine and Science, Spirits and Mirages, Magical Beasts Main Temes: Adventure, Exploration, Romance, Discovery, Deserts and Voyages Examples: One Tousand and One Nights, Aladdin, Te Voyage of Sinbad, Te Tief and the Cobbler How do Pokémon Fit In? Te biggest question for a setting like this would probably be ‘what ARE Pokémon in this game, anyway?’ Are they like djinn, spirits placed in this world by a higher power to serve humans? Are they embodiments of natural phenomenon, like mirages and dust devils? Are they actual animals that just happen to be able to breathe fre? While it won’t make much of a difference mechanically, of course, how your players - and your NPCs - see Pokémon will go a long way in establishing the feel of the campaign. Beyond that, you’ll want to consider what species would be readily available in a mostly single-climate setting, and how players might get their hands on Pokémon they want that aren’t so common (say, Water types). How to Handle… Poké Balls: Te easiest way to handle this, and maybe the best for lower-fantasy games, would be to simply have Poke Balls be a recent invention, one of the Sultan’s scholars’ latest wonders. For higher fantasy games, however, consider having Pokémon be bound to objects - everyone knows the story of the genie sealed in the lamp, but there are also stories of spirits bound to rings, flutes, and magical seals. Be creative!Genre and Setting 14 PC Storage: A travel-heavy game could easily have some sort of central caravan that Pokémon return to when captured; a higher fantasy game could give each player a magical grimoire that serves as both Pokedex and storage. For games based in a single city or small area, have your PCs establish a base of operations, perhaps with NPCs to care for their extra Pokémon when they’re away. Pokémon Centers: In a time of flourishing science and great strides in medicine, it shouldn’t be too hard to fnd a doctor or healer pretty much anywhere. Whether they’re actually competent, on the other hand… While you shouldn’t make your players jump through hoops to get their Pokémon healed without incident, introducing a scholar working on more radical medicine would be a great way to justify things like type-shifing, if you should need to. As a GM, How Should I Prepare? Look through the One Tousand and One Nights, most importantly! Almost every trope concerning Middle Eastern fantasy originates from here, so it’s really the best place to start. You should also consider what angle you want your game to far as treasure hunting, traveling and trading, and thieving go. Tere was a lot going on in this time period, and in its works of fction, so some focus might be required.Genre and Setting 15 Chivalric Romance Traditionally, Chivalric Romance describes a style of prose that was popular in the aristocratic circles of early modern Europe. Tese stories ofen told of the marvel-flled adventures of a knight-errant who goes on a quest. Tese works also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic, satiric or burlesque intent. Many of these tales reworked legends, fairy tales, and history itself to better suit these themes, but by 1600 these were out of fashion, and Miguel de Cervantes famously burlesqued them in his novel Don Quixote. Still, the modern image of “medieval” is more influenced by the romance than by any other medieval genre, and the word medieval evokes knights, distressed damsels, dragons, and other romantic tropes. As such, we use this term as a catch-all for Low Fantasy settings that take place in an Europe-inspired setting and put more emphasis on the human elements and historical mythology. Tese settings also usually put a large emphasis on the politics, with dramatic and meaningful outcomes being reached by the pen just as ofen as the sword. While all the examples listed might be what you would consider Dark Fantasy, we list them here because many of the motifs and themes found in them are the same you’d expect to fnd in a Chivalric Romance Pokémon setting. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Castles and Siege Warfare, Mounted Calvary, Te Fae, Wizards and Witches, Dragons, Demons and Monsters Main Temes: Warfare, Politics, Economics, Feudalism, Chivalry, Adventure, Romance Examples: Arthurian Legend, A Song of Ice and Fire, Berserk, Beowulf, Te Canterbury Tales, Irish and Celtic Mythology, Vinland Saga How do Pokémon Fit In? Given that these stories ofen referred back to mythology and legends of old, Pokémon don’t have much issue slipping in as both a replacement to mundane animals, like swapping out horses for Rapidashes, and as fantastical critters. Fairies also play a large role in this genre, so Fairy Pokémon are naturally a centerpiece of the mystical elements of these settings. Tis holds true for the demons, monsters and dragons in these settings too, which are ofen intelligent enough to have their own political or economic agendas that they wish to progress, just like the humans. How to Handle… Poké Balls: Apricorn Balls are the go to solution, and are likely made by wizards or crafsmen who have enlisted the help of mischievous fairies. Tey are likely scarce and only affordable by the upper class. Knights-errants and adventurers who have gotten ahold of them likely either did someone a great favor, or owe someone one. Te PC Storage System: Your players might have a home fort where they keep surplus Pokémon, but keeping a large roster and swapping them out constantly will likely be infeasible. You may wish to warn your players that a smaller and more focused roster of Pokémon are more appropriate for campaigns of this genre. Pokémon Centers: Apothecaries, hedge wizards and herbalists, clerics and temples, and actual wizards all make sensible alternatives to Pokémon Centers in Chivalric settings. Priest and priestesses in a setting in this genre are likely knowledgeable in frst aid, and supernatural healing through magic or herbal means is also appropriate. TMs and HMs: A wizard did it. No, really! TMs and HMs would likely have supernatural sources, either from an experienced mage or from a powerful Fae or spiritual entity. It would very unlikely be something you purchase and use at a later date and more be an arcane ritual that is performed on your Pokémon to teach them a Move. As a GM, How Should I Prepare? Plan out your Region and the various factions that govern it. Find out which ones are allies and enemies. Map out a portion of your Region where powerful Pokémon or a Fae Covenant control. Tink of any dominant religions or cults in your Region. And fnally, fgure out what the quest your Player Characters will be on is. Teir quest will be the most critical aspect of the game, but the Player Characters are not the center of your setting; they are but a piece of it.Genre and Setting 16 Dungeon Fantasy Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re at least passingly familiar with the concept of Dungeon Fantasy. Popularized by Gary Gygax and his Dungeons and Dragons, this sub-genre descended from war-gaming and lead to the formation of modern tabletop roleplaying. Usually centered around swords and sorcery in pseudo-European fantasy settings (more ofen than not with a little borrowed ‘inspiration’ from a certain J.R.R. Tolkien), Dungeon Fantasy focuses on adventurers scouring the realm to right wrongs and make coin. Slay the dragon, defeat the lich, and spend all your earnings from the dangerous Tomb of Horrible Spiky Tings on a dozen flagons of the innkeeper’s best mead. It goes without saying that this sub-genre is heavily, heavily High Fantasy in most depictions, though its incarnations are as myriad as the imaginations of roleplayers the world over. Technology level can vary heavily, from Middle Age kingdoms full of dirt-encrusted, malnourished peasants, to more fantastical applications of industrial age technology in the form of formidable airships powered by steam engines, or even more futuristic technology heavily laced with the setting’s magic. Similarly, the amount of supernatural influence can vary heavily, from more gritty ‘no-magic’ campaigns to the most fantastical settings imaginable. All in all, it’s very hard to do dungeon fantasy ‘wrong’. Adventure, delving, loot, and a good time had by all are all you need. Look to the past for inspiration, but it’s YOU, the players and the GMs out there, who make this sub-genre what it is. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Various, ofen low tech with powerful practitioners of magic and fantastical beasts breaking up the more mundane. Main Temes: Adventure, Swords and Sorcery, Epic Battles between Good and Evil or anything in-between, and almost anything else you could think of. Examples: Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Quest , Wizardry, Final Fantasy I, Te Hobbit How do Pokémon ft in? Pokémon ft extremely naturally into this type of setting, as fantastical monsters lurk in almost every gloomy wood, dark cave or abandoned castle. Even in traditional tabletop games, the most martial-oriented fghters will favor utilizing magic equipment against their foes to compete with their increasingly outlandish supernatural powers. It might also be said, then, that in a world of Pokémon, adventurers are wont to train some of the realm’s beasties to gain a similar edge. It may be difcult for the average Joe to get much beyond a Miltank or a Mareep, but the players, who are almost certainly playing as larger than life heroes, would certainly be able to form their own menageries. How to Handle… Poké Balls and PC Storage: Te surprisingly brilliant invention of a mad wizard who wanted to fnd a way to keep his dangerous Ursahoots encapsuled, only for these strange spheres to be liberated by the frst set of adventurers to shut him down. Te blessed spheres of a church’s faith, distributed by the religious to the faithful in order to contain the savage creatures of the realm. Te ways Poké Balls and Storage could have come about are just as varied as anything in this subgenre! Pokémon Centers: Churches of major religions, inns, and hospices are all standard methods of handling healing in fantasy settings. TMs and HMs: Spell scrolls that when read aloud, imbue the knowledge of a technique into a Pokémon’s mind, or perhaps an elixir of knowledge. As a GM, how should I prepare? Dungeon Fantasy tends to focus more heavily on dungeon crawling, which can include anything from heavy amounts of encounters, to intricately detailed areas to explore, dangerous traps to overcome, and conundrums to solve. Give yourself plenty of time each week to prepare for crunch-and-detail heavy sessions when necessary. Make encounters interesting and engaging, and don’t be afraid to litter the area with possible environmental factors that the players or their foes can use. Give things a feel of high adventure. And more than anything, have fun.Genre and Setting 17 Sengoku Jidai Te Sengoku period in Japan (from the mid 1400’s to the beginning of the 17th century) marked an age of conflict that arose as the result of the Ashikaga shogunate losing its centralized influence over the rest of the country, with local lords (daimyos), clans, and religious groups gaining power and vying against each other for control of Japan. Tis period is known for these conflicts, the economic, social and political upheavals the country faced, the popularization of trade with foreign powers, and the rise in use of early frearms. Additionally, this is also the period where most of our information about ninja comes from, as this was when men willing to perform tasks that the more honorable samurai would not would begin to offer their services. Like the Age of Exploration, this is a historical period, and tends to be depicted with low fantasy in fction. Where the supernatural does crop up, it tends to include elements of Shinto mythology and Japanese folklore, though other religious influences during the period included Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity. Popularly, stories on the Sengoku period cover closer to the end of the wars, especially around the warlord Oda Nobunaga and other fgures of his time. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Matchlock rifles, castles, Japanese folklore Main Temes: Warfare, Unifcation, Politics, Economics, Feudalism Examples: Pokémon Conquest, Inuyasha, Princess Mononoke, Nobunaga’s Ambition, Sengoku Basara, Samurai Warriors, Onimusha How do Pokémon Fit In? What might immediately spring to mind about Pokémon in this setting is that they might provide a sizable bulk of any given army within the states, though depending on the particular species of Pokémon, one might also see stronger or rarer specimens as pets of influential lords, for sale by foreign traders, or acting as yokai for the setting (maybe Sawk and Troh are oni instead of martial arts masters). Pokémon Conquest had the particular, simplistic division of making each of the warring states drawn to a single Type of Pokémon, which may or may not be suitable for a given campaign. How to Handle… Poké Balls: Apricorn Balls or Poke Balls may be relatively new technologies imported by foreigners like frearms (the Portuguese were the ones responsible for this in real life) and would likely be severely sought afer due to their ability to condense an army’s size considerably. Alternately, as outlined before, there might be more mystical talismans or mirrors with entrapped spirits, though these would be less common among strict military. PC Storage: Te castle of one’s home territory (or other applicable headquarters) should serve your players well as a spot for their Pokémon. Similar to the Age of Exploration suggestions, a ritual might be employed to transport recently caught Pokémon to their home castle for safekeeping.Genre and Setting 18 Pokémon Centers: An army that travels without doctors to heal the wounded is sure to encounter signifcant losses, so for larger-scale operations, treatment should be provided. For more personal treks, various temples or local healers may provide rest and healing for the wounded, perhaps even despite afliation. TMs and HMs: From enchanted paintings, to mercenary training, to carefully prepared shinobi scrolls detailing stratagems, there are a number of ways that Pokémon could be instructed in using moves that they normally don’t possess. As a GM, How Should I Prepare? Whether you’re using historical Japan, Ransei, or your own Sengoku-ized setting, a map will help your players visualize territories and make informed tactical decisions. Tey won’t necessarily be aware of what faction is controlling an area at any given time (scouts can help with this), but they should at least have a strong idea of who their neighbors are and some of the more infamous names in the region. Don’t be afraid to change borders every now and then as factions gain or lose influence, but be careful not to create too much work for yourself either. You should also decide ahead of time how to handle war itself - will you create your own subsystem for mass battles and have the players engage the enemy commanders in a traditional Pokémon battle? Will it all be traditional battles in subsections of the feld? Will you put the larger battles in more narrative control by describing how the battle is going, and ask for the players’ input in more commander-esque roles? Te decision is up to you, but you should prioritize how to handle these things.Genre and Setting 19 Urban Fantasy Put in the most basic terms, urban fantasy is fantasy that heavily features cities and urban environments. However, the concept now usually refers to works with a few more specifc traits. Urban fantasy works usually take place in a contemporary setting, ofen drawn directly from the real world but with supernatural elements layered on top, and they tend towards mystery and horror in their themes and tone. In urban fantasy, the supernatural elements are ofen hidden from most of the world, which is said to live under a veil of ignorance or in a masquerade. Characters in such a story live a double life, trying to get by and deal with everyday troubles while maintaining the secrecy of the supernatural and fghting magical threats and enemies. Ofen, this is made easier by the fact that magic and the occult primarily exist in Otherworlds, other planes of existence that connect to the mundane world. Still, supernatural investigation takes up signifcant time and resources, making everyday obligations like school and holding down a job difcult or impossible for the heroes. Tere is ofen a level of anachronism in urban fantasy settings. Dullahans are portrayed as mysterious bikers, modern sorcerers use implements and tools that wouldn’t look out of place at a Renaissance fair, and the occult society uses names and traditions from centuries ago despite having completely modern trappings otherwise. Tis dissonance produces the unique feeling that many urban fantasy works have. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Occult Underground, Modern Day Technology, Otherworlds, Extraplanar Entities Main Temes: Mystery and Investigation, Horror, Double Lives Examples: Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, Neverwhere, Dresden Files, Durarara!! How do Pokémon ft in? Te frst question to ask yourself when drafing up your urban fantasy setting is: does the world at large know about the existence of Pokémon? If the answer is yes, you will have to think carefully about what makes your setting urban fantasy rather than a normal modern day Pokémon campaign. Perhaps Pokémon are extraplanar beings, invaders from beyond our realm. Te world may know of them, but few are brave enough to attempt to capture, tame, and battle with them. If the answer is no, then you should fgure out how they remain hidden, but you also have more leeway to decide what they are. Perhaps they only exist in an Otherworld which the players visit, or they are disguised with glamours to appear like normal plants and animals for everyday situations. Urban fantasy is by far one of the easiest fantasy genres to adapt to Pokémon because the very existence of Pokémon is usually crucial to the plot. How to Handle… Poké Balls: While it’s simple enough to use Poké Balls due to the modern setting of most urban fantasy, you can do better. Maybe Pokémon are stored like programs in a cell phone that summons them, or perhaps they have their essence pressed into Tarot Cards. It’s common in urban fantasy to see either seemingly mundane modern day technology repurposed to manipulate magic or classical occult implements being used as actual magical tools. Te PC Storage System: If cell phones and computers are used to summon Pokémon, then it’s easy to just keep the idea of a PC Storage System, albeit one that may be run in secret rather than as a public service. Pokémon Centers: Medical treatment is a bit trickier when you’re fghting supernatural beings hidden from the rest of the world. Black market doctors who are in the know likely set up shop specifcally to take advantage of this situation, and they may even be sponsored by supernatural investigators like the PCs. TMs and HMs: Magically enhanced computer programs could teach new Moves to Pokémon stored in a cell phone or computer. TMs could also be fluffed as artifacts or shards of magical power taken from an Otherworld.Genre and Setting 20 As a GM How Should I Prepare? If you’re creating a world where the supernatural is hidden away, then you absolutely need to think about what happens if your players blow the secret wide open. It can and will happen when you are least prepared to think about the implications otherwise. Outside of that, you should prepare the major secrets of your setting and decide the vague roadmap for how your players will be drawn into and uncover them. Various factions will ofen have an interest in either exposing or protecting these secrets, and planning them out well will practically make your plot write itself as the players interact with and wheel and deal with them. Wuxia Wuxia is a fantasy genre set in ancient China which centers on martial arts and the lives of wandering heroes, called youxia. Te actual time period and setting for wuxia stories can vary greatly, though honestly they are ofen not of particular importance because wuxia heroes tend to come from the margins of society and operate with their own code of ethics. Youxia are larger than life, ofen capable of taking on large mobs of lesser fghters such as guardsmen and common soldiers without breaking a sweat. Te only true threat to a powerful martial artist is an equally skilled martial artist, which contributes to the marginalization of youxia and their life on the fringes of society. Tis world of martial artists is called the jianghu, or rivers and lakes, and within it, disputes and conflicts are usually solved through combat, with formal structures based on law and order usually being ineffective. Among the fantastical elements present in the wuxia genre, the most important is the concept of qi, or the life force that martial arts master through a process called neigong and use to perform superhuman feats. Authors exploring the concept of qi and neigong give elemental qualities to certain practices of cultivating qi or manipulating it, using the fve classical elements in Chinese philosophy: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Metal. In a Pokémon world, it is easy to expand this to the whole list of Types, resulting in various schools of martial arts based on each Type which can be represented by the Elementalists. Wuxia stories tend to focus on disruptions and major changes and upheavals within the jianghu. Tragedy strikes as a venerated leader of a martial artist society is murdered, rival pupils fall out and tear apart their martial arts school in the process, or an old master seeks out pupils to pass his or her secrets onto before their death. Recurring characters are important to establish in a wuxia story, with rivals who will be fought many times over the course of a story, or romantic interests for the PCs. Key Technologies and Supernatural Temes: Varied Martial Weapons, Neigong, Daoism and Other Eastern Philosophy Main Temes: Trials of a Hero, Rivals and Mentors, High Action, Honor and Redemption Example: Te Condor Trilogy; Weapons of the Gods; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; House of Flying Daggers How do Pokémon ft in? At frst, this genre may seem difcult to apply to a Pokémon, but possibilities for campaigns open up once you consider treating styles of Pokémon battle as martial arts, with their own carefully guarded secret societies and passed down techniques. In a world of Pokémon, the martial arts range from techniques for personal combat such as the Martial Artist and Aura Guardian, to styles of mixed Pokémon and personal combat such as the Hunter, to pure Pokémon battlers like the Taskmaster. And of course, Fighting-Type Pokémon are already based on many schools of existing martial arts. Te question is whether in your setting those Pokémon inspired these forms of martial arts, or whether they learned them from humans. How to Handle… Poké Balls: Modern Poké Ball technology certainly wouldn’t exist yet, though Apricorn Balls are a reasonable possibility. However, consider that the themes ofGenre and Setting 21 wuxia mean that Trainers may ofen keep their Pokémon outside of their balls and may carry a smaller team due to a lack of easy means to transport them from city to city like the PC Storage System in modern settings. Another way to handle Poké Balls is to borrow the concept of a lu, or spirit register, from Daoist traditions. A lu is a record of spirits’ names who can be called on for service, using written paper talismans called fu. Te concept translates easily to one’s record of their own Pokémon and fu used to call them into battle. Te PC Storage System: Characters in a wuxia campaign may have a home base of some sort, such as the temple for their martial artists’ society, where reserve Pokémon can be stored. However, this makes keeping a rotating team of Pokémon difcult at best and infeasible for many campaigns. You may wish to warn your players that a smaller and more focused roster of Pokémon are more appropriate for campaigns of this genre. Pokémon Centers: Te practice of neigong is ofen portrayed to have applications to healing, particularly when making use of accupunctural pressure points. Tose who know how to navigate the social world of the jianghu well will probably fnd healers willing to treat them and their Pokémon wherever they go. TMs and HMs: In a world themed afer wuxia stories, it makes much more sense to populate the world with many specialized Move Tutors than it does to have TMs and HMs be consumable items. Te passing down of techniques from mentor to pupil is an important aspect of wuxia stories, and this can make seeking out TM Moves for a Pokémon much more interesting. If you do feel the need to use TMs as items, then it is easy enough to treat them as mystical scrolls that provide instruction and a training regimen for learning new Moves. As a GM How Should I Prepare? Figure out the outlines of a few secret martial arts societies and what techniques and practices they guard and teach. You will also want to think carefully about each PC and their goals and desires. Set them up with intriguing and personal nemeses, as the dramatic buildup to a fnal showdown is the most common way to treat a basic wuxia plot arc.Genre and Setting 22 Te Nature of Types and Pokémon • Where do the 18 Pokémon Types come from in your world? • Are they like the building blocks of the world like the classical elements in many settings, or do they play a less fundamental role in reality? • Has the list of Types always been the same, or has it changed over time? What causes that change? • Pokémon obviously have Types, but humans do not - why, and what does it mean to be “Typeless”? • What other fundamental differences exist between humans and Pokémon? Pokémon are essentially magical animals, so when looking to defne the nature of magic in a setting, you look frst to them and their most distinctive traits - the 18 elemental Types. Te origin of the 18 Types will also feed into how supernatural powers operate in your world. Did Arceus create an unchanging spectrum of Types from day one of creation? Or do the existing Types in the world ebb and flow along with the memories and thoughts of the world’s collective consciousness? Many possibilities exist here that could lead to dramatic events in your campaign, such as introducing the creation of a new Type like Fairy midway through. You will also need to defne just what the Types are in your cosmology. Some schools of classical philosophy use a set of elements as the fundamental building blocks of the world, and others use them in more of a fgurative way to describe processes of change. You should decide whether the world is literally composed of bits of each Type, or whether the qualities that are ascribed to Type are a layer on top of the normal composition of matter and energy as we understand it. Given that humans lack Type, it’s easiest in most cases to simply say that having a Type and the effects of such are a product of a magical property all Pokémon have. If you do decide to make Types the fundamental building blocks of your universe, you then need to fgure out what makes humans different. Are they composed of all of the Types and thus end up Typeless due to them canceling out? Or are they composed of some neutral 19th element? Tink about what this means for humans who do wield Type-based powers like Elementalists and Psychics - this would seem to make them metaphysically closer to Pokémon than their mundane companions Tis has implications when it comes to other differences between Trainers and Pokémon too, such as that the latter can evolve suddenly into other forms and can be contained in Poké Balls. It could be something in the nature of Types and why Pokémon have them that makes them susceptible to Poké Ball technology. Te Supernatural and Metaphysics Where do the Pokémon Types come from? How different are Aura Guardians, Telepaths, and other Elementalists from each other? Pokémon is by its nature fantastical, but the franchise itself does little to explore the nature and origin of supernatural abilities such as Sabrina’s psionic powers or Riley talents as an Aura Guardian. However, these very issues ofen come to the forefront of Fantasy genre campaigns. Magic systems, detailed metaphysics, and the unique supernatural phenomena tied to those systems ofen characterize popular works of fantasy, so it’s important to explore these concepts when GMing a Fantasy campaign in PTU. While it’s best to defne the nature of the supernatural and create your own system of metaphysics for your campaign, we’ll provide examples and brainstorming ideas for how to handle that, including a fully fleshed out system of metaphysics that will be used in two of the sample campaign settings later in this book. Each section here will begin with a few questions you should ask yourself when thinking about the Metaphysics of your world, and then it’ll explore ways to answer some of those questions and the explanations for supernatural power that can come from that.Genre and Setting 23 Supernatural Power Sources • What does Elemental Connection represent, and how is it obtained? • Do the various Elemental Connections and their related Feature Trees differ substantially in nature, or are they different flavors of the same kind of trait? • Are supernatural powers largely in-born traits or the products of training? Both? • What other sources of supernatural power exist outside of the Type structure of Pokémon? • Does supernatural power fundamentally change a person? As mentioned above, having supernatural power from Feature Trees tied to Elemental Connections can represent a drastic change to a person, bringing them closer to Pokémon. What this means can vary. Perhaps the change is absolutely central to someone’s being, and their soul (or the equivalent in your setting) shows differences from that of someone who has no powers. On the other hand, an Elemental Connection may be external, like a persistent spell or blessing that happens to latch onto someone. Te way this manifests can be different in each case, however. Here’s a short list of possible sources of Elemental Connection: • Genetic inheritance, possibly due to a blessed or cursed bloodline • Birth in proximity to elemental phenomena • Sudden manifestation due to exposure to elemental phenomena • Change induced from repeated magic rituals or consuming potions and reagents over time • Blessing from a Legendary Pokémon or a bargain made with them Aura reading and Telepathy may be in-born traits in your world, while a dedication to studying herbology could be the basis of a Grass Connection and Druidic powers, while only those blessed by a Legendary Pokémon ever manifest a Dragon Connection and the powers of a Herald of Pride. On the other hand, you may decide that Elemental Connection is completely uniform in how it manifests in a person. It is always a genetically inherited trait, or it is only present in those who are born near powerful manifestations of a particular Type, or it is always the product of some form of dedicated study and training. Aside from the 18 Types, other sources of supernatural power could exist in your world, especially if you style your setting afer a particular real life culture or draw heavily from those influences. As an example, blood as a representation of life and vitality may have magical properties in your world and be crucial to rituals like performing Type Syncs. Powerful expressions of art, such as music and story may also manifest as magic in your world, helping to explain the effects and talents of Musicians and Dancers, or giving reason to the power of Legendary Pokémon - they grow with the strength of their associated myths and legends. Supernatural Phenomena and Magic • What other supernatural phenomena do you need to explain in your system? • Are there places of magical power in the world or otherworlds? • What about magical artifacts, enchanted items, etc? • Does an aferlife exist? What is the nature of death? • How do these supernatural phenomena affect Pokémon and potential variant Pokémon in the setting? Primary among these concerns is that of life and death. With a Ghost Type in Pokémon, you have to be careful with how you treat the nature of death in your setting. Do people and Pokémon who die actually turn into Ghost Pokémon? If so, what do they remember, and what happens when a Ghost Type dies? If not, where do Ghost Pokémon come from, and why do they have their name? You may decide that strong emotional impressions lef upon the world by the dying become Ghost Pokémon with little or no recollection of their origin, and that the actual soul of humans and Pokémon enter a cycle of reincarnation. Or perhaps there’s a more defnite realm of the aferlife, perhaps with Giratina overseeing it like a Hades fgure. Outside of that, you should decide how supernatural power manifests itself in places and things, and not justGenre and Setting 24 Pokémon and humans. If you use Types as the building blocks of your universe, for example, consider whether or not pure “elemental planes” representing the Types exist. And even if you treat the Types as just properties that Pokémon have, perhaps some locations are infused with the energy of a certain Type, such as the shrines for certain Legendary Pokémon. Tese locations are ripe for creating Type Shifed Pokémon or variants to refluff Pokémon that are normally tied to technologies too advanced for your setting - a crystalline elemental plane of Normal Type energies to match the Prism and to house a Porygon variant that travels through magical crystals, for example. Tis is also where you should consider some features of the Pokémon universe such as Giratina’s Distortion World, the Unown dimension, and the Dream World, which didn’t get a huge amount of explanation or exploration. Is the Dream World just an elemental plane of Psychic energy, or is it more Type-neutral? Did the Unown come into being when language was created? And if so, what does that mean about the nature of their dimension? And of course, most fantasy settings feature magical artifacts of some sort. Aside from the power held in Elemental Stones and many Held Items like Mega Stones, you may create other objects imbued with the properties of one or more Types. Te next chapter on fantasy items will include an Alchemy system to help create equipment with these traits. You may decide that magical items may give off an Aura much like living creatures, and items with particular elemental strength may exhibit special properties, such as a Dark Type item being impossible to scry upon or fnd with Psychic powers.Genre and Setting 25 Example Systems Tese examples won’t answer all of the questions above, but they’ll give enough information to fgure out how supernatural characters work and differentiate different supernatural Feature Trees. Mystic Traditions Tis is probably as close as we can get to a “default” system of metaphysics for Pokémon, considering the lack of canonical Elementalist powers and the little information that is given on canonical supernatural abilities like psionics and Aura. Pokémon Types are not the building blocks of reality here but instead are just properties that Pokémon have and which humans can sometimes access through select means. Each manifestation of an Elemental Connection and its associated Feature Trees differs in origin and training. Despite the fact that all living things possess an Aura, Aura manipulation is an innate talent, and not one that someone can acquire by training or through supernatural accident. You are either born with the potential or not, but the skill to use and control Aura as an Aura Guardian must be honed like any other. Psionic talent is largely the same, and considered a genetically inherited trait. However, there are rare instances where a human may come into contact with a powerful psychic phenomena, like Celebi’s time traveling, and gain psionic abilities as a result. In the latter case, a person may even develop strong Psychic powers without any real training. However, other supernatural talents primarily result from training, experience, and circumstance, rather than birth. Te Unown usually choose Rune Masters from those who discover artifacts related to them, ofen those who feel a great need or desire that requires supernatural power to satisfy. At other times, it appears like pure whim who is graced with the ability to manipulate the letter Pokémon. In any case, it’s impossible to guarantee that the Unown will “accept” you and grant you their power, no matter how much time you pour into collecting and studying their artifacts. Te supernatural empathy that characters like N demonstrate is also a byproduct of experience rather than innate talent. Growing up near Pokémon rather than people and connecting with them has allowed his ability to understand Pokémon grow to literally magical levels. Most Channelers come from a similar background and feel like they’re more at home with Pokémon than with other humans. In any case, it also takes an open and accepting personality to develop these powers, and this suggests that other expressions of strong personality traits may similarly develop into supernatural powers with the right environment to nurture them. For example, a Herald of Pride requires a boastful and prideful personality and a near constant exposure to Dragon Type Pokémon, while a Wind Runner is born from an exceptionally free spirit living among Flying Types since an early age. Te abilities of Ninjas, Sages, and Hex Maniacs are largely gained from dedicated study, as are those of Druids and Stone Warriors. Tools and implements as well as specialized training routines are much more important to those wielding these supernatural powers. As for the rest of the Elementalist Feature Trees, they’re easy to sort into categories as you like. Maelstroms, Swarmlords, and Steelhearts grow from appropriate personalities with heavy exposure to their respective types. Prisms and Glamour Weavers fnd themselves graced with power by chance or the blessing of a Legendary Pokémon. Apparitions and Shade Callers are born with their powers. Miasmics could be derived from an obscure Ninja tradition. And so on and so forth.Genre and Setting 26 Practices of Neigong Tis Chinese-inspired system of metaphysics is perfect for a Wuxia campaign and takes a more unifed approach to the nature of supernatural powers than the Mystic Traditions framework. Elemental Types are not a basic building block of matter, but they are basic building blocks for life and specifically life energy, or Qi. Pokémon are born with the natural capability to channel and control flows of Qi within their body in line with certain elemental Types, and in fact they can never change the nature of their internal energies, which is what binds them to certain Types. Humans, in comparison, are born without this innate knowledge but as a result can learn methods of internal alchemy which let them control the nature of the Qi flow in their bodies. As a result, all Elemental Connection Feature Trees require a general practice of aligning one’s body, breath, and mind. As with real life practices of neigong, there exist manifold methods for achieving internal balance, and in this framework they are used to achieve mastery of different Elemental Connections. Dynamic choreographed movements such as those used in Tai Chi are ofen practiced by those seeking a deeper connection with Types that emphasize flow and movement, such as Flying, Fighting, and Water. Practitioners seeking mastery of level and stable Types like Rock, Steel, and Ground use training based on holding static stances for long periods of time. Meditation and visualization exercises beneft those seeking Psychic, Dark, or Dragon Type power, and those who want to become a Prism must become adept at clearing their heads and letting thought and energy merely flow through it. Not all neigong is based on purely internal practice either. Use of medicines and other external aids, including Pokémon, is the centerpiece of Grass and Bug Connection, and these techniques are also used for many of the Supernatural Feature Trees which don’t require an Elemental Connection. No one in this framework is simply born with supernatural powers. Everyone who attains that level of mastery has trained for it and dedicated themselves to a particular philosophy and method for attaining internal balance and control of their qi flows. Divine Bloodlines Tis framework also unifes all Types and Elemental Connections under one umbrella, but it makes most supernatural powers hereditary in nature rather than trained skills, with a twist on their origin. At one point in history, Pokémon did not exist, and the universe functioned much like ours did. No one knows exactly when or why Pokémon came into being, but when they did, their existence fundamentally changed the nature of reality. Elemental Types are not the only building blocks of reality, but they color and influence a great deal of how they work and are present in all Pokémon. In the early days of the age of Pokémon, pure expressions of the Elemental Types, known as the Outer Gods (read the appropriate section in the Blessed and the Damned for more) appeared before humanity to help guide them through the crisis caused by the sudden appearance of Pokémon. Much like the ancient gods of many cultures, these Outer Gods ofen took human form and had children among mortals, who were then blessed with a fraction of their power. With each successive generation, however, the strength of that divine blood waned. Today, most people who have divine ancestors do not even know it, and the family trees are too muddled to accurately trace whether any given individual or family has divine origins. It takes a unique combination of circumstance, strength of personality, and pre-existing skill to awaken a latent Elemental Connection. Most who do feel a quiet calling in the back of their head to act as an agent of their Outer God ancestor, most of whom have retreated from civilization to elemental Otherworlds and are now known as little more than ancient myths and legends.Genre and Setting 27 Te Supernatural Feature Trees that don’t require Elemental Connections were largely developed in ancient times to combat rogue children of the Outer Gods, who ofen abused the much more potent elemental powers that resulted from their more direct connection to their divine forebearers. For example, it’s suspected that Unown were originally invented to create a dimensional prison for Outer Gods or their children, though present day Rune Masters would hardly have the knowledge to recreate that kind of application. Elemental Anima, a Pokémon Metaphysics Te Pokémon universe contains many elements that the canonical media does not quite fully explain. How do Pokémon evolve with such rapidity? Why are Poké Balls able to contain them but not humans? How do humans come to manifest supernatural abilities such as Aura Manipulation and Telekinesis? Why are birds naturally resistant to punches? Te Game of Trohs supplement for PTU adds to these questions with the Elementalist Suite of Trainer Classes - now Trainers can gain supernatural powers aligned with any of the 18 Types of Pokémon, not just the Fighting-associated Aura or the Psychic-associated Psionics. Tis framework is designed primarily for the Visiwa setting included in this book but has a couple extra ideas and can be used for any fantastical Pokémon setting to provide a foundation for explaining the supernatural elements of the franchise and how supernatural Trainer Classes work. As you might have inferred from the title, this framework is based on animism, a set of beliefs seen in religions and other spiritual beliefs throughout history that posits that all things in nature - humans, animals, plants, even rocks and other inanimate objects - house an animating spirit or soul. Another common idea in animist beliefs is a separation between the physical and spiritual realms, which will also be used in this framework. If you want to do some of your own research and reading on the topic, take a look at indigenous tribal religions, such as those in the Americas and Philippines, or at Shinto, for a good start. Te Nature of Pokémon and Humans In our framework, we’ll call these spirits Anima, and there are 19 varieties of Anima. Of these, 18 varieties are associated with the 18 elemental Types of Pokémon. Tese are the Elemental Anima, and every Pokémon is animated by a spirit with the aspects of at least one of these 18 Anima. But there also exists a 19th variety called the Origin Anima or Creation Anima. Tis latter variety is (usually) exclusive to human beings. Humans are therefore inherently different from all Pokémon on a spiritual level, which is very important for this framework. Te Origin Anima is known for stability in its growth and development - hence why humans mostly appear share the same body type, aside from minor differences such as coloration and other aesthetic differences. In contrast, the Elemental Anima are far more versatile in how they express themselves in the physical world; a Fire Anima can animate animal-like Pokémon such as Charmander and Torkoal as well as stranger creatures like Slugma and Litwick. However, as the name suggests, the Origin or Creation Anima are also intensely creative. In fact, it is from human thought and imagination that all Pokémon forms arise. Te Origin Anima acts as a wellspring of inspiration from which the Elemental Anima draws the designs for Pokémon species. As human civilization and natural philosophy advances, new Pokémon species come into the world, and new Elemental Anima, such as the Steel Anima, may even develop. Tis difference between the Origin Anima and the Elemental Anima also explains Poké Ball technology and Pokémon evolution. Te stability of the Origin Anima does not allow the rapid form changing of Pokémon evolution, and Poké Ball technology relies upon the inherent mutability of Elemental Anima in order to turn Pokémon into energy - a form of pure Anima rather than physical form. How exactly the process of new Pokémon creation occurs is a place where you can put your own interpretation into your setting and give it personal flair. New Pokémon species may arise spontaneously all the time,Genre and Setting 28 with local populations completely driven by the whimsy of human dreams and stories. You may instead decide that new Pokémon species arise in large batches, afer the Origin Anima becomes full with new ideas or has time to process the creative output of human civilization for an extended period of time. Tis is an easy way to introduce the concept of different Generations of Pokémon if you wish to give signifcance to that way of organizing Pokémon in your campaign. Te position of Legendary Pokémon is also up to interpretation in this framework. You may use Legendary Pokémon as near deities, powerful entities that have an innate influence over the Elemental Anima and may even be living embodiments of them. Tis could come about due to the very rare instances where a Pokémon has an aspect of the Origin Anima within them. Alternatively, you may simply have them be Pokémon that contain a large amount of Elemental Anima and are rare but otherwise completely normal. An idea you will see used in both the settings offered here is that Legendary Pokémon need worship and belief from humans in order to maintain their power, and they will usually be tied to locations that are signifcant in the human collective consciousness. Pokémon Types and Teir Anima What each Pokémon Type represents in this metaphysical framework might not be immediately clear, especially when it comes to creating landscapes that are infused with the Elemental Anima of Types such as Dragon. Most of the Types are fairly obvious, however. Grass would be associated with lush forests, Rock and Ground would be associated with caves and mountains, Fire would be associated with volcanoes, and so on and so forth. Combinations may exist as well, such as hot springs and geysers associated with both Fire and Water. Here are some ideas for what some of the Types can represent: • Dragon and Fighting-Type both represent life and vitality to some extent. • In the case of Dragon, this association is more wild and untamed, like vitalism growing out of control. Terrains infused with Dragon Anima would also tend further toward the extremes. Dragon Anima in the oceans would produce treacherous waves, and Dragon Anima in the mountains produces jagged and perilous peaks. Both locations would be fraught with extreme weather. • Fighting on the other hand represents life in a state of disciplined conflict. Hills and valleys in the area would produce what seem like natural arenas and training grounds, and the wildlife in the area would be intensely competitive with each other. • Ghost-Types represent the imprints or remnants of the memories of the deceased. Travelers wandering through these lands are haunted with hallucinations of loved ones long dead as the land turns their own memories against them. • Dark-Type lands are deceptive and fraught with hidden danger. Lakes and oceans hide a treacherous undercurrent which pulls unwary swimmers down to their deaths. Natural pitfall traps and quicksand appear in dark forests and marshes. • Fairy-infused locales have an air of mysticism about them. Landforms and plants ofen have a sof glow that betrays their nature, and foraging for food in these areas can be an unpredictable and potentially hazardous endeavor - eating berries, mushrooms, and other plants and fungi from a Fairy-Typed land can have unexpected side-effects, from giving the eater magical compulsions to causing temporary minor glamour effects on their appearance. In a similar fashion to how the land itself can be infused with Elemental Anima, the attacks and Moves that Pokémon are infused with them as well. Tis may seem obvious, but this is the reason why a punch performed as a Mega Punch will barely tick an Aggron while a punch performed as a Focus Punch can deal devastating double super-effective damage. Te technique for performing the latter calls Fighting-Type Anima and changes the very nature of the attack itself. Trainers and Supernatural Powers What does this mean for humans with supernatural powers? While most humans are purely of the Origin Anima, some may be born with an aspect of an Elemental Anima as well - which is represented in the system as the Elemental Connection Edge. Still others may have their spirit forcefully infused with an Elemental AnimaGenre and Setting 29 through outside influence - blessings from Legendary Pokémon, accidents involving areas of high Elemental Anima concentration, and purposeful use of magic rituals are all ways this can happen. Elementalists, Psychics, Aura Guardians, and other supernatural abilities all result from this kind of spiritual blending. More ‘generic’ supernatural abilities that aren’t tied to a certain Type, such as Channeling can be explained as greater spiritual sensitivity, an awareness of the Elemental Anima and ability to manipulate it that most humans do not share. In settings written with this framework as a foundation, the occult is not some mysterious and esoteric art that few know of and understand. It is used on a daily basis, and most people would make use of simple rituals and “magic” just as ofen as they use “technology”. Apricorns are the frst and most widespread example of this, as it takes a simple magical ritual anyone can perform to unlock their latent potential and create Apricorn Balls out of them. A World in Flux Another consequence of the stability of the Origin Anima and the volatility of the Elemental Anima is that the entire world exists in a state of constant flux, and the only points of stability are major human civilizations. Landmarks and particularly well known locations - the ones that have taken root in human imagination, are well known among many people, or have stories told about them - remain in place as long as they are remembered, but the rest of the land twists and contorts as if alive itself. And in a way, it is most defnitely alive; the land is infused with latent Elemental Anima, which determine which Types of Pokémon most commonly come to inhabit the area. For example, a particularly ancient tree or a tall rock outcropping covered in vines may have become deeply embedded in local knowledge of a forest, and thus they would remain and could act as consistent touchstones for travelers trying to fnd their way. However, the surrounding forest will change, with springs and creeks fading in and out of existence, large groves and clearings appearing at arbitrary points, and even small hills and valleys growing from the ground. Travelers therefore can rarely rely on maps more detailed than a list of landmarks, and navigating the wilds is a highly valued and difcult skill. Tere’s a method to this madness, however. An area will never change in a way that is signifcantly alien to its latent Elemental Anima. A forest flled with Bug and Grass Anima will probably forever remain a forest or grassland of some form, though it may change through the ages from a thick and lush rainforest to fragrant and colorful feld of flowers. Of course, there are ways in which Elemental Anima may come and go from an area, and thus a particular location may change Elemental alignment as new Anima shif in or even become barren in the absence of strong Elemental Anima nearby. You might wonder why we’re including such an odd phenomena in our metaphysical framework. Te answer’s quite simple really. It gives a good reason for the wilderness to be a dangerous and unpredictable place, and it makes traveling and pathfnding into a viable profession. Skilled Trainers would become invaluable assets for merchants who need to fnd their way through the wilderness, as it would be nearly impossible to establish consistently safe paths through the wild. Te world will likely never enter an age where exploration is “done”. Te world will continue to change as human thought changes, and there will always be more to discover. As a GM, you should introduce ideas for how to allow PCs to better navigate the flux of the wilds, which can be interpreted as an innate ability to ‘read’ the ambient Elemental Anima in an area, or as an expression of the Origin Anima and its creative force on the world around it - rather than discover a safe path through the wilds, a very willful human may actually unconsciously create that path as they travel. Te Dream World Obviously, with a metaphysics framework that makes everything into spirits, there’s a lot of room for magical planes beyond our own. Many settings have a concept of a spirit world where the reflections and ideas behind real physical objects have their purer spiritual form. In this framework, that place is the Dream World. We said before that the human subconscious fuels the process of populating the world with Pokémon, and the placeGenre and Setting 30 these ideas take form and grow before fnding their way into the real world is the Dream World. One never directly visits the Dream World physically. It’s not like stepping into a door and coming out in a different place. Rather, it’s like peeling back a layer of an onion, in this case the layer of the physical world, and peering within. It’s not easy to do. Dream Mist created by certain Pokémon species can help the process, and of course it is much easier to do while one is asleep and dreaming, with their minds in a mutable state. Dedicated Dream World enthusiasts will brew tea and other concoctions using the Dream Mist to help them peer through the veil. Normal humans are the most “pure” form of Origin Anima and have the easiest time perceiving and manipulating the Dream World. Humans with an aspect of Elemental Anima ofen have trouble perceiving or influencing anything in the Dream World that doesn’t directly relate to their chosen Type. Everything else is a bit blurred and feels ephemeral. Part of the reason behind this setting decision is to give normal humans a bit more utility in a fantastical setting where they might be overshadowed by their more magical counterparts when it comes to plot hooks and interesting mystical adventures. So what does one actually do in the Dream World? Well, this is the “factory” where new Pokémon species are created. Te united force of the whole world’s collective consciousness drives this factory, which means one individual human, even if they’re peering directly into the Dream World and touching it, cannot do much to influence the overall direction of things. However, it’s possible to “steal” from this factory and take Pokémon out before they’re ready to be introduced to the rest of the world. Such a brazen defance of the natural order is not without its dangers, of course. You may decide that Legendary Pokémon act as spiritual guardians to this realm, seeking out and punishing those who would steal from it. Or you may simply decide Pokémon taken out early are unformed and unstable, causing a myriad of problems around them. Te Dream World is also a good way to gain insight and hand out plot information, from diving into an important NPC’s dreams, to fnding the spiritual source of a disaster in the physical world. Oracles may also draw on the Dream World when performing their Auguries. Demesnes: Pokémon and the Origin Anima As described further above, there are rare instances where Pokémon carry a bit of the Origin Anima in them as well, instead of being purely of Elemental Anima. Tis phenomenon should be treated as very rare in a setting, as its implications are quite drastic: Te infusion of a Pokémon with Origin Anima causes them to influence and warp their surroundings with their mere presence and thought, similar to humans. However, unlike humans, individual Pokémon that carry the Origin Anima have a signifcant effect on their environments and can alter them consciously, shaping them into mystical realms that seem to exist in another dimension all on their own but blend seamlessly into normal. At one moment, a group of Trainers may be going on what they think is a routine walk in the forest, and in the next, they are trekking through the labyrinthine mystical Demesne of an Origin-empowered Torterra. Tese Demesnes have heightened supernatural qualities. A forest is flled with walking trees that will uproot and rearrange themselves, closing off parts of the forest while opening new paths. Trainers will fnd themselves suddenly engulfed by a rising wall of water as coral reefs spring into existence around them, but afer a moment’s panic, they realize they can breathe the water. While it is easy to wander into a Demesne by mistake, it is difcult or impossible not to realize where you are once you’ve gone further inside. You can think of them as the spiritual domains of local deities, and in fact if you were to use the idea of Legendary Pokémon in a setting with this metaphysics framework, giving them a piece of Origin Anima and creating a sprawling Demesne for them within a shrine dedicated to their worship is a good way to do so. You may also decide that belief and worship powers a Pokémon’s Demesne. Te more humans worship and revere (or fear) these Pokémon, the more they subconsciously lend them strength through the subtle ways that the Origin Anima changes the world, and the more these Pokémon grow.Genre and Setting 31 Te Pokémon who control these Demesnes have several advantages in battle as well. First of all, every Pokémon of this nature should be created using the Boss Template. Te infusion of Origin Anima, the essence of creation, into a Pokémon drastically increases their strength. Second of all, the Origin Anima makes them impossible to capture with Poké Ball technology, similar to humans. Tird of all, the influence these Pokémon wield over their Demesnes extends so far as to allow them to create other Pokémon on the fly to act as allies in battle. Finally, whether they are true Legendaries or not, these Pokémon should be able to control their environments to help them fght and conjure up effects similar to Legendary Auras in the Blessed and Damned supplement book. For example, the Origin-infused Torterra acting as a local deity may wield the Creation and Life Auras when faced in battle. Fantasy Pokémon Variants Tere are a few Pokémon species that assume a certain level of scientifc advancement that might seem problematic for a fantasy game. Fret not, because we’ll be discussing those species here and how you can make them more setting appropriate. Also here are a few other fantasy variants to spice up a few species, and present some ideas you could extend to additional ones as well! Te Antikythera Pokémon Tis set of variant Pokémon is based on the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient device used for predicting the movements of cosmic bodies and a precursor to analog computers. Mysterious devices created by ancient civilizations are a dime a dozen in fantasy settings, and they provide a way to integrate oddball or anachronistic Pokémon into a campaign in an interesting way. Tis machine has three Pokémon as its primary components. Te Klink line makes up the bulk of the device, ancient rusted gears which representing mechanical knowledge beyond what one might expect of civilizations of the time. Unlike normal versions of the Klink family, these Pokémon cluster into larger groups, sometimes comprising up to a dozen gears constantly churning towards a mysterious purpose. Unown engraved upon the surface of the machine may come to life to observe those who examine the machine and are thought to provide instructions for operation or ways to read the information it uncovers. Whatever the standard written language is for your setting, these Unown are not in that language. You could choose to use Greek letters, Chinese characters, or even make something up all your own. Voltorb are used as an arcane power source for this machine, and they are the only aspect of this write-up that isn’t based on a detail of the real Antikythera Mechanism. In addition to harnessing Electricity in some novel way for the device, these Voltorb seem to be linked to the Sun and Moon, and possibly other cosmic bodies. Researchers presume that they serve some purpose in the astronomical applications of the machine. Mechanics: • Klink: Lose Plus/Minus for Technician. Lose Early Bird. Targeting System becomes an Advanced Ability. Te High Ability becomes Cluster Mind. Replace Charge Beam with Spark, Mirror Shot with Magnet Bomb, Discharge with Wild Charge, and Hyper Beam with Meteor Mash. • Unown: No mechanical changes here, only a fluff one on the side of both Unown and Rune Masters. • Voltorb: Becomes Electric/Fairy Type. Replace Soundproof with choice of Starlight or Sunglow. Replace Rollout with Moonlight or Morning Sun. Replace Swif with Dazzling Gleam. Replace Gyro Ball with Moonblast.Clockwork Porygon Porygon is a tricky Pokémon to implement in historical settings for obvious reasons. Digital computers didn’t exist until very recently in human history, and Porygon are practically wedded to those technologies. However, this variant is based upon analog computers, of which we have uncovered examples dating back to antiquity. While not much appears to be different at frst glance, a closer examination of the Pokémon reveals that it is made from stained glass rather than a futuristic plastic compound, and one can just barely make out the movement of myriad cogs and gears on the inside. Mechanics: Loses Wired for the Machine Spirit Capability. Tis Capability allows the Clockwork Porygon to influence and control simple machines around it, much like a normal Porygon can control electronics. However, it cannot “jump in” and possess a machine the same way its modern-day variant does. Fire Elemental Chandelure Beings of pure elemental essence are surprisingly short in supply in the Pokémon world, for all its focus on elemental Types. However, it’s fairly easy to create such creatures by stripping away the Ghost-Typing from certain species and treating them as pure manifestations of their secondary Type. Tis approach can be used for other elementals as well, such as turning a Rotom into a lightning elemental or a Jellicent into a water elemental. Mechanics: Becomes pure Fire-Type. Replace Soulstealer with Fox Fire, and Infltrator with Heat Mirage. Replace Night Shade with Swif, Imprison with Incinerate, Hex with Fiery Dance, Curse with Morning Sun, and Shadow Ball with Solar Beam. Loses Phasing, Invisibility, and Dead Silent. Gains Amorphous. Haunted Armor Golurk It is said there once lived a great king who always received his audience alone in his throne room and kept no personal guard. Trough years of courtly intrigue, threats from foreign nations, and even unrest and near-civil war, he persisted in this policy and yet he never fell prey to any threat to his person. Some stories sing praises of the king’s martial prowess and champion the notion that his ability in single combat was too great for any assassin to overcome, no matter their preparations or advantage in numbers. However, the truth is much simpler. Lining the walls of his throne room were the suits of armor belonging to all the greatest heroes and warriors of his kingdom. Every time a knight of legend fell in battle, the king would send his magisters to seek and bind the soul of the fallen knight to the armor they wore in life, to become eternal sentinels and secret guardians for his throne room. Tis Golurk variant takes on the appearance of a suit of armor, rather than a golem or automation, and when it is inactive, it is virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary suit of armor. It can be used in a dungeon crawl campaign as an ambush encounter to keep players on their toes, or as guardians to an ancient and sacred place. Tese Golurks are ofen paired with the Honedge line, and together, they are a devastating combination. Mechanics: Becomes Ghost/Steel Type. Gains the Wielder Capability. Replace Iron Fist with Bulletproof, Klutz with Sturdy, and No Guard with Parry. Replace Mud-Slap with Bullet Punch, Magnitude with Iron Head, and Earthquake with Meteor Mash.Genre and Setting 33 Homunculus Reuniclus Te Solosis line of Pokémon were invented as part of an experiment in creating artifcial humans. Te products were anything but human, but remnants of the project or instructions for their creation can be found in the ruins of deserted alchemists’ labs, waiting to be rediscovered. Each Solosis has an intense desire to become more human, and when they fnd a Trainer, they will do everything in their power to emulate the qualities that they believe constitute humanity. Tis variety of Solosis cannot reach its fully-evolved state without the help of a human teaching it and showing it how to act more human. It will latch onto them and the values and desires they teach, which influences their fnal evolutionary form. Mechanics: Tis Solosis variant is Normal-Type and has the following changes to its Move List: Psywave becomes Sonic Boom, Psyshock becomes Swif, Future Sight becomes Trump Card, Psychic becomes Hyper Beam, Heal Block becomes Recycle, and Wonder Room becomes Lucky Chant. However, in order to evolve into a Reuniclus, this variant needs to learn and embrace a type of desire that it considers formative to its humanity. Te desire it embraces determines the Type it becomes upon evolving into a Reuniclus, with its Move List changing accordingly. A fully realized Homunculus Reuniclus also gains a Trainer Feature based on the desire they embraced. For the purposes of this variant, when such a Feature refers to “your Pokémon”, it instead affects this Reuniclus only. Te fve types of desire are: desire for knowledge, desire for pleasure, desire for power, desire for belonging, and desire for freedom. Use the table below as a reference. Note that a Reuniclus that embraces a desire for pleasure retains its Normal Typing and Moves and that a desire for knowledge has different Moves than the original despite having the same Psychic-Type. Desire Knowledge Pleasure Power Belonging Freedom Type Psychic Normal Dragon Fairy Flying Level 1 Move Psywave Sonic Boom Dragon Rage Fairy Wind Gust Level 25 Move Psyshock Swif Dragon Breath Dazzling Gleam Air Cutter Level 31 Move Psychic Trump Card Dragon Pulse Moonblast Air Slash Level 39 Move Psycho Boost Hyper Beam Draco Meteor Light of Ruin Hurricane Level 54 Move Miracle Eye Recycle Snatch Attract Defog Level 59 Move Role Play Lucky Chant Mimic Misty Terrain Tailwind Feature Echoes of the Future Dietician Deadly Gambit Go, Fight, Win! Burst of SpeedGenre and Setting 34 Honedge Armory In most ordinary Pokémon campaigns, a sword is just a sword, and it doesn’t particularly matter if a character is wielding a katana, a jian, a scimitar, or some other type of sword. Players in a fantasy campaign, particularly one with specifc cultural inspirations, will be more discerning and may even pursue a Honedge with a particular model of sword, rather than the default claymore-like appearance, on their own initiative. Similar to the Cofagrigus and Samurott variants presented in this chapter, this variant is primarily designed to help you resolve cultural inconsistencies that may come from using particular Pokémon in your campaign. Mechanics: Te following variants are mechanically identical to the original Honedge line except for two crucial differences. Tey each switch out King’s Shield for a different Shield Move, and they grant different Moves when being wielded as a Living Weapon. Duelist’s Honedge: Tis variant begins as a thin rapier, evolves into a pair of daggers as Doublade, and then fnally becomes a rapier paired with a sword breaker as Aegislash. Honedge’s Adept Move: Pierce! Doublade’s Adept Move: Cheap Shot Aegislash’s Adept Move: Pierce! Aegislash’s Master Move: Riposte Move: Blade Trap Type: Steel Frequency: Scene AC: None Class: Status Range: Self, Interrupt, Shield, Trigger Effect: If the user is hit by an attack, the user may use Blade Trap. Te user is instead not hit by the Move. You do not take any damage nor are you affected by any of the Move’s effects. In addition, if the triggering attack was Melee ranged, the attacker becomes Vulnerable for one full round. Spartan’s Honedge: Tis variant begins as a thick kopis, becomes two smaller xiphos swords when it evolves into Doublade, and then becomes a kopis again as Aegislash, paired with the iconic aspis shield used by Spartan hoplites. In its fnal form, Aegislash tends to use its shield for offense just as much as it does its blade half. Honedge’s Adept Move: Wounding Strike Doublade’s Adept Move: Pierce! Aegislash’s Adept Move: Wounding Strike Aegislash’s Master Move: Titanic Slam Move: Phalanx Type: Steel Frequency: Scene AC: None Class: Status Range: Self, Interrupt, Shield, Trigger Effect: If the user is hit by an attack, the user may use Phalanx. Te user is instead not hit by the Move. You do not take any damage nor are you affected by any of the Move’s effects. In addition, if the triggering attack was Melee ranged, the user may immediately perform an Attack of Opportunity against the attacker. Jousting Samurott As hinted by its name, Samurott is based on the samurai warriors of Japanese history, which makes it a good candidate for a variant Pokémon in more western-inspired settings. Rather than using its horn for cutting attacks like Fury Cutter and Slash, this variant is based on European knights and jousting. In terms of appearance, Samurott’s “armor” and “helmet” take on the appearance of European plate mail, including a pseudo-visor over its eyes to help protect them. Mechanics: Becomes Water/Steel Type and swaps Special Attack and Defense in its Base Stats. Replace Fury Cutter with Drill Peck, replace Slash with Iron Head, replace Swords Dance with Iron Defense. Replace the Inner Focus Ability with Run Up.Genre and Setting 35 Outsider Kabutops Extraplanar beings are a staple of fantasy works, whether they be eldritch entities whose very existence tears apart reality, or simpler more benign but still mysterious beings who hail from worlds quite different from our own. Tis Kabutops belongs to the former category, and it is well known for slaying mages who act with hubris and recklessness in their study of other worlds and dimensions. Adding to its fearsome appearance, its form is unstable and erratic in the Pokémon world, as alien forms of matter and magic struggle to maintain a persistent state of being in a world of Pokémon’s Elemental Types. In one moment, it is ephemeral, easily floating through walls in pursuit of fleeing victims or to make a quick escape itself. In the next, it becomes jagged and deadly, a mess of shadowy blades that easily seek out weak points in even the most well-armored opponent. Mechanics: Becomes Rock/Dark-Type or Rock/GhostType. Phase Shif becomes its only Basic Ability. Its Advanced Abilities are Sturdy, Shadow Tag, and Battle Armor. Its High Ability depends on its current typing. As a Ghost-Type, it has Fade Away. As a Dark-Type, it has Super Luck. Replace Aqua Jet with Shadow Sneak, Mega Drain with Pursuit, Slash with Shadow Claw, Ancient Power with Stone Edge, Wring Out with Phantom Force. Ability: Phase Shif At-Will - Shif Action Effect: Te user changes its Ghost-Typing to Dark-Type or vice versa. Has the Phasing Capability while Ghost-Type, and Mindlock while Dark-Type. Pegasus Rapidash Tis one is a bit of a no-brainer. Te Pegasus is one of the most well-known and recognized mythological creatures, and it is quite easy to imagine the majestic Rapidash as having a winged variant that soars through the sky. Of course, this raises questions of where such creatures came from. Tey could be magical experiments conducted between wizards and Pokémon Breeders to serve a royal army, or perhaps they’re the creations of bored Gods. Either way, in a setting where these variant Pokémon exist, they are sure to change the face of warfare. Mechanics: Becomes Fire/Flying Type. Gains a Sky Speed of 6 as Ponyta and 9 as Rapidash. Add Wing Attack as a Level 10 Move. Replace Take Down with Acrobatics, and replace Fury Attack with Brave Bird.Genre and Setting 36 Re-Cultured Cofagrigus In a modern setting with a well-connected world, it’s easy to take a Pokémon that makes a very specifc cultural reference like Cofagrigus and explain it away as having been discovered in a faraway land and popularized and spread later. However, in many historical settings, such Pokémon are difcult to account for and may be jarring to the overall feel of the setting. In this case, a variant Cofagrigus simply has a different funeral receptacle, rather than a sarcophagus, ftting for whatever best matches the culture and setting in your campaign. Don’t forget to change the base form Yamask’s death mask to be appropriate to your campaign’s setting. Mechanics: Re-Cultured Cofagrigus have a Type Shif, the appropriate Move List changes, and a replacement for their Sand Veil Ability. You may rename Mummy to be culturally appropriate for your game. Here are some examples. • Cofn Cofagrigus: Tis Cofagrigus has a wooden cofn rather than a sarcophagus. Ghost/Grass Type. Loses Sand Veil for Pressure. Replace Haze with Ingrain, Ominous Wind with Energy Ball, and add Giga Drain as a Level 42 Move. Adjust TM and Tutor Lists according to this new Type. • Burial Tomb Cofagrigus: Tis Cofagrigus is encased in a stone cofn. Ghost/Rock Type. Loses Sand Veil for Sturdy. Replace Haze with Stealth Rock, Ominous Wind with Ancient Power, and add Earth Power as a Level 42 Move. Adjust TM and Tutor Lists according to this new Type. • Funeral Pyre Cofagrigus: Tis Cofagrigus is composed of burning sticks and other bits of wood in the shape of a cofn, with a visible skull up top. Ghost/Fire Type. Loses Sand Veil for Flash Fire. Replace Haze with Fire Spin, Ominous Wind with Flame Burst, and add Flamethrower as a Level 42 Move. Adjust TM and Tutor Lists according to this new Type.Gear and Alchemy 37 Chapter 2: Alchemy and Gear Magical weapons, armor and relics are a staple of Fantasy settings and stories. Te entire plots of many works revolve around these artifacts, and their powers are heavy influences to the narrative of others. From a tabletop perspective, they function as both great plot hooks and as milestones for players to work for. Afer all, what swordman doesn’t want that Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking? Tat said, its not always so easy to introduce these items to a game. How rare should they be? How powerful should they get? Who makes these items and how much should they sell for? How much should I make my players work to get that Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking? Fret not, because Alchemy is here to help answer these questions. Better Living Trough Alchemy Historically, Alchemy was an ancient tradition whose practitioners believed it to be the precursor to various powers. Te objectives and traditions that Alchemists followed differed from culture to culture, but there were a few staple trends. Te frst of these trends was a set of three goals that cropped up very commonly in alchemical traditions: the desire to turn basic metals into noble metals (such as turning lead into gold), the development of an elixir of youth, and the development of a Philosopher’s Stone. Te Philosopher’s stone was believed to be a miracle substance that could do a variety of things, but the most common trend was that it was believed to be able to create life, bring back the dead, or grant immortality. Te second of these trend was that Alchemy was seen as a protoscience, mixing mythology, magic, religion, spirituality and other hermetic principals with structured laboratory techniques, theory, terminology and experimental method. Alchemists had a method to their madness, and their work paved the way for more modern sciences like chemistry and medicine. Te third and most relevant to trend to Pokémon, however, would be that most Alchemists believed that everything in our world was composed of four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.Gear and Alchemy 38 Taking what we know of traditional alchemical practices, and extending that to the world of Pokémon, things mesh up pretty well. Te mystical traditions that Alchemists followed already have precedence in the world of Pokémon through both the various Types of Pokémon and the other supernatural arts that humans are capable of. Instead of just four elemental types, these Alchemists had eighteen to work with, and the creation of Pokémon species such as Reuniclus or Mewtwo could have come about from an Alchemist successfully creating a Philosopher’s Stone. If we accept that Alchemy is an understood and practiced form of crafsmanship in the world of Pokémon, it makes it much easier for both players and Game Masters to approach these magical items in a way that’s both accessible, but also quantifable. For example, revisiting the Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking. If a player wanted to get an item like this made, it wouldn’t be out of the question to fnd a blacksmith or alchemist, fnd out what they’d need to get it made and how much the labor would cost, and then go gather the reagents. Or, if the players fnd a Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking in an ancient ruin and wish to sell it, fnding out how much its worth gets much easier when the Game Master has an idea what it would take to make this item. Now if only we had some rules to do that… A Method to the Madness While there’s a lot of mysticism and spiritual tradition surrounding alchemy, at its base are a set of concrete steps and basic procedure that don’t change. Step 1: Choose the Base First off, you need an item that you are attempting to alchemize a magical property upon. Tis item is known as the Base of your alchemical formula. Most mundane equipment, such as weapons, clothing, armor, accessories and tools, make fne Bases. Consumables and perishables typically do not work as Bases, nor does trying to use a living organism as a Base work. One could, for example, alchemically enchant some ink and then tattoo it onto a person, but you could not directly alchemize the enchantment onto that person. While a Base that has previously been enchanted can be used as a Base in an attempt to change or empower its enchantment, doing so is not easy and the other reagents required to successfully perform the procedure are both scarce, and expensive. Step 2: Choose the Catalyst Te Catalyst is usually an elemental stone, TM, keepsake, or other common held item. Tey defne the main quality of the alchemized item, usually a Type alignment but sometimes a particular tendency like being used for Injuries or Flinching. Fossils can also be used as Catalysts, and sometimes especially rare Catalysts can be used such as Type Plates, which have the effect of a normal Type aligned Catalyst but with a bonus. Step 3: Add Extras Extras are typically disposable or consumable items that can give an alchemized item quirks such as berries, type gems, dream mist, cleanse tags, etc. Multiple Extras must ofen be used in the alchemy formula. Tree is a good baseline. As their name implies, Extras aren’t required for Alchemy to work. Maybe the item is being made on a budget, or someone doesn’t care about the ‘of Fairy Buttkicking’ part of the Badass Fire Sword, so they don’t need the Extras. Step 4: Alchemize! If you haven’t already found an Alchemist to perform the procedure, now’s the time to do so! Once an Alchemist has a Base, a Catalyst, and the required Extras, they are ready to perform the procedure. Te one caveat here is that an Alchemist can only Alchemize items when they are within their Alchemical Lodge. An Alchemical Lodge is essentially a workshopGear and Alchemy 39 that contains a collection of symbols, writings, tools, fetishes and other mystical materials that help the Alchemist record their lore, expand their talent and practice Alchemy. Te actual contents of these Lodges differ from Alchemist to Alchemist (an Irish Blacksmith who also practices Alchemy is not going to have the same sort of lodge as an Indian Sherpa), but their functionality is more or less identical in that an Alchemist needs to be in their comfort zone and place of power to perform the ritual. Te ritual itself takes an Extended Action to perform, afer which the item is enchanted. Alchemical Lodges are normally stationary, but can be set up and taken down in the event the Alchemist has to move. Setting up or taking down a Lodge takes about an hour, but it can take up to a week for an Alchemist to feel acclimated to it once its been moved to a new location. Handling Alchemy as a Game Master Probably the most important thing a Game Master should be aware of with Alchemy is it is going to severely up the power level of your campaign. Not only will your players be building and fnding these items, but your bad guys will need them as well to remain an actual challenge. Tis can also come back to haunt you if you give a Boss a really overpowered relic, and your players defeat them and acquire it. So you should be prepared for some additional prep work should you decide to include these items! Tat said, they are a ton of fun on the player side, and your players will likely really enjoy trying to fgure out what they need to get a particular effect on a piece of equipment, or just giving an Alchemist an assortment of random items and seeing what comes out of it. While it might only be an Extended Action to enchant the item, if you feel a little stumped on what the things the players tried to mix together does mechanically you shouldn’t feel pressured to answer on the spot. Just let your player know that you’re going to need some time to fgure out what the item does, and you’ll let them know when you’ve fgured it out yourself. Part of the idea behind the Alchemical Lodge existing was to help with this, as it encourages players to do their Alchemy at the beginning or end of a session, when they are still in town and things are either warming up or winding down. Players should understand that sometimes their random ideas are going to stump you, but the results almost always worth the wait. On the topic of these bonuses, keep in mind that many effects will imitate, rival, or exceed what may be given by various Trainer Combat Classes in the system, and you will have to be aware of this as you assign the effects of an alchemized item so as not to inadvertently step on a player’s toes by giving a fellow player an item that mimics or outdoes their own niche. Te upside to this is that characters will become defned by the personalized items they carry and accumulate through a campaign as well, which gives an additional level of customization to the players as well as allowing players to play similar concepts and Class spreads while still differentiating their characters from each other, if they so choose. As for Alchemists themselves, if you choose to include alchemized items, you should make them common place enough that its not a hassle for players to fnd one to get something made. Tey should at least be as common as your equivalent of Pokémon Centers. If you got a player who really wants to learn how to become an Alchemist, make it a personal subplot for that player to fnd a mentor, be it an experienced Alchemist or a Legendary Pokémon who will help them out. We made a choice here to not make an Edge or Feature for this for two reasons. Te frst is that we didn’t want to make Alchemy a Feature tax for that player, and the second is we didn’t want people to take the Feature then be bummed they didn’t get to utilize it ofen. As for the alchemical reagents themselves, your players typically shouldn’t have to buy Catalysts and Extras.Gear and Alchemy 40 Buying Bases is fne, as they are usual mundane items that they could pick up anywhere, but outside of the occasional Talismonger, these two groups of reagents should be things they fnd from exploring or hunting (parts from the carcass of powerful Pokémon make a great idea for Catalysts and Extras), or things they are rewarded with for their actions. Alchemy is a really fun mini-game for your players when it comes to piecing together items to get specifc effects out of them, so try to keep it that way by not taxing them that much on the puzzle pieces that make it fun, and try to throw enough of them out to give them lots of room to work with. When it comes to upgrading the enchantment on an item, or trying to do something unusual with this system (such as trying to create life or revive the dead), the easiest solution is to get your players to require a Philospher’s Stone to perform what they are trying to do. How these are actually made or acquired we’ll leave in your hands, but they should be rare enough that acquiring one should be a major plot point, a meaningful moral dilemma, or take a signifcant amount of time and resources to acquire. Catalyst Examples Below we’ve listed some examples of what type of items might be considered a Catalyst, and how they might affect the Base item. Note that additional Moves granted by Alchemized weapons are in addition to the Moves the weapon would normally have. Elemental Stone and Keepsake effects: • On a weapon, change the damage to the Type of the stone at Scene x3 frequency. • On a weapon, Grant a Move that is of the associated Type, usually Simple Weapon tier (Ex: Reaper Cloth → Shadow Sneak). • On armor, grant +5 Damage Reduction against attacks that the Type of the armor resists. • On armor, resist an attack the Type of the armor resists once a Scene. Type Plate effects: • In addition to normal Elemental Stone or Keepsake effect, grant an Ability associated with the Type (ex: Fox Fire for a Staff + Fire Plate).More powerful custom effects that are in theme with the Type. Held Item effects: • On a weapon, attacks with the weapon have the effect of the Accessory/Held Item (Ex: King’s Rock, Razor Claw, etc). • On armor, grant the wearer a chance to ignore the effects the Held Item causes. (Ex: King’s Rock granting a chance to resist Flinch). Fossil effects • Grant an Ability known by the Pokémon that it’s a Fossil of (ex: Boots of the Rampardos that grant Run Up). • On a weapon, Grant the Ancient Power Spirit Surge effect to all attacks made with the weapon. Extra Examples Much like the previous section, these are just examples of what some items could grant as an Extra. Type Gem effects • On a weapon with a matching Type Primary Catalyst, turn the Simple Weapon tier granted Move into a Fine Weapon tier granted Move or a Status Move (Ex: Shadow Claw instead of Shadow Sneak). • On a weapon, deal +5 bonus damage against enemies weak to the Type of the Gem. Berry effects • On armor, give a +2 bonus to Save Checks for the status effect the Berry heals. Cleanse Tag effects • On a weapon, attacks made with the Moves granted by it are treated as if the user had Scrappy. • On a weapon, disable Capabilities of damaged Targets like Invisibility, Phasing, etc. • On armor, grant Immunity to Curse. Dream Mist effects • On a weapon, add a 19-20 sleep effect range on weapon • Grant the Sleep Talk Move.Gear and Alchemy 41 Example Alchemized Items Keep in mind these items are just examples and not an exhaustive list, but they should help players come up with ideas for items to combine, and ideas for Game Masters for what type of effects would be appropriate for items of a certain quality or cost point. Storm Gloves Reagents: Simple Glove Weapon + Water Stone Effect: Small Melee Weapon, grants Aqua Jet. Spread Needle Reagents: Fine Ranged Weapon + Omastar Fossil Effect: Short Range Weapon, Grants Barrage. When using Barrage with this weapon, make the 1d8 roll for Five Strike before you roll Accuracy. Ten, you attack a number of different targets up to the number of attacks you rolled with a DB 2 attack, as if using Barrage without the Five Strike keyword. Staff of the Nine Flames Reagents: Fine Staff Weapon + Fire Plate + 3x Fire Gem Effect: Large Arcane Weapon, grants Flame Burst and the Fox Fire Ability. Blood Scythe Reagents: Fine Scythe Weapon + Big Root + 3x Dark Gem Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Slash. Once a Scene heal Hit Points equal to half the damage dealt by an attack made with the Weapon, deals +5 damage to enemies weak to Dark. Robes of the Songbird Reagents: Light Armor + Really Freaking Good Altaria Cloud Fluff + 3x Chesto Berry Effect: Light Armor, grants the Cloud Nine Ability, +2 to Save Checks vs Sleep. Heartwarming Flute Reagents: Magic Flute (Cures Paralysis) + Shiny Stone + 3x Cleanse Tag Effect: Can be used 1/Scene instead of 1/Day, grants up to Occult Rank allies affected by the Flute +5 Damage Reduction against Ghost Attacks for the rest of the Scene.Gear and Alchemy 42 Brimstone blade Reagents: Fine Knife Weapon + Dark Plate + 3x Fire Gem Effect: Small Melee Weapon, Grants Night Slash, Critical Hits with the weapon inflict the Burn Status Effect. Stampede Boots Reagents: Jungle Boots + Cranidos Fossil + 3x Cheri Berry Effect: Boots with Naturewalk (Mountains, Caves), Run Up Ability, and +2 to Paralyze Save Checks. Tunder Beast Skewer Reagents: Fine Polearm Weapon + Manectric Mega Stone + 3xLuxray Fangs Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Tunder Fang and grants Rivalry Ability. Shadow Walkers Reagents: Foot Equipment + Sealed Gengar Soul Effect: Original foot slot equipment effects + grants the Shadow Meld Capability Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking Reagents: Fine Longsword + Charizard Mega Stone + 3xColdsteel Ingots Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Flametounge (A Fire-Shifed Slash). Moves used with the Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking deal Super Effective damage to Fairy Types. Te Candy Hammer Reagents: Fine Warhammer Weapon + tears of a virgin maiden + 3xRare Candies Effect: Large Melee Weapon, attacks made with Te Candy Hammer deal Candy Type Damage (Neutral to everything). Once a day you may lick the Candy Hammer to restore 2 Ticks of Hit Points.Gear and Alchemy 43 Kaladanda Reagents: Fine Polearm Weapon + Griseous Orb + 3x bottled Spiritomb Souls Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Phantom Force, Shadow Claw and Shadow Force. Foes knocked out with this weapon cannot wake again until 24 hours have passed. Svalinn Reagents: Heavy Shield + Regice Core + 3x Occa Berry Effect: Heavy Shield, user has immunity to Burn and to Fire Type attacks, allies within 2 meters resist Fire one step further. Yata no Kagami Reagents: Mirror + Reshiram’s Light Stone + 2x Fire Gem, 2x Dragon Gem Effect: Off-Hand Item, User is immune to Illusion effects and can tell when someone reflected in the mirror is wearing a disguise or is Transformed. Once Daily you may force a target looking at the mirror to answer a single question truthfully. Ruyi Jingu Bang Reagents: Fine Staff Weapon + Blessed Fire given by an Infernape Outer God + 3x Fighting Gem Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Mach Punch, Fire Punch and Brick Break,. Te wielder has Reach 5 when making attacks with this weapon. At Scene x2 frequency they may use any attack from this weapon with Smite and as a Burst of size 1 to 3 or a Close Blast of size 2 to 4. Excalibur Reagents: Fine Longsword Weapon + Steel blessed by Arceus + one of each Type Plate Effect: Small Melee Weapon, grants Sacred Sword and the Regal Challenge Ability. You may change Sacred Sword’s Type as a Swif Action. Chaos Dunker Reagents: Te Candy Hammer + A Diglett’s Lower Body + A Philosopher Stone Effect: Large Melee Weapon, grants Earthquake, Land’s Wrath, and Precipice Blades with the Friendly keyword. Moves used with Chaos Dunker bypass Ground Immunity. Example Legendary Alchemy Items While the Badass Fire Sword of Fairy Buttkicking might be awesome, its still not Legendary. Tese are less like creative alchemy and more like using highly powerful symbolic items, requiring parts from Legendary Pokémon or Philosopher Stones to conjure the “memory” of a legendary artifact and bring it into existence once more. It is not enough to merely possess the ingredients either - knowledge of the legend behind the item is required as well, and a great deal of personal power. Crafing these is usually accompanied by some sort of ritual or a pilgrimage to a sacred place.Gear and Alchemy 44 Arcane Weapons Game of Trohs introduces a new kind of weapon: Arcane Weapons! Tese weapons represent everything from staves, to wands, to magical instruments, and serve as foci for Trainers who favor Special Attacks over normal ones. A Trainer requires the Arcane Training Feature (found on page 47) in order to wield one of these weapons. Arcane weapons can come in both the Small and Large Melee variety, and can also be Short or Long Ranged. So it’s totally possible for one Trainer to have a Short Ranged Arcane wand, and another to have a Large Melee Arcane staff, for example. Tey also come at the same price points for Crude, Simple, and Fine weapons listed in the core book. All Arcane Weapons modify Struggle Attacks to be Special Attacks. Simple and Fine Arcane Weapons also have their own list of Weapon Moves gained at Novice and Expert Rank. Additionally, you qualify for Arcane Weapon Moves and bonus Struggle Attack Damage Bases using Occult Education Ranks, not Combat Ranks. Additional effects, such as Moves and Abilities, on Alchemized Arcane Weapons are not subject to the normal restriction on Typed Damage that normal Arcane Weapons have, nor do they gain Damage Base bonuses from Arcanist’s Soul Bond. Novice Arcane Weapon Moves Move: Arcane Fury Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 3 Damage Base 3: 1d6+5 / 9 Class: Special Range: Cone 2 Effect: Arcane Fury’s Targets become Vulnerable on 19+. Limitation: None Move: Energy Blast Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 3 Damage Base 4: 1d8+6 / 11 Class: Special Range: WR, Blast 2 Effect: You gain +1 Special Attack on 19+. Limitation: None Move: Energy Sphere Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 3 Damage Base 4: 1d8+6 / 11 Class: Special Range: Burst 1 Effect: You gain +1 Special Defense Combat Stage on 19+. Limitation: None Move: Rending Spell Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 2 Damage Base 3: 1d6+5 / 9 Class: Special Range: WR, 1 Target Effect: Te target loses a Tick of Hit Points on 16+. Limitation: None Move: Resonance Beam Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 3 Damage Base 4: 1d8+6 / 11 Class: Special Range: Line 4 Effect: All targets have their Special Defense lowered by 1 Combat Stage on 20+. Tis Effect Range is extended by +1 for each foe targeted by this Move. Limitation: NoneGear and Alchemy 45 Move: Secret Force Type: Normal Frequency: EOT AC: 4 Damage Base 4: 1d8+6 / 11 Class: Special Range: Melee, 1 Target, Smite Effect: When calculating damage, the target subtracts their Defense from Secret Force’s damage instead of their Special Defense. Secret Force is still otherwise Special. Limitation: Melee Weapons Only Expert Arcane Weapon Moves Move: Arcane Storm Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 2 Damage Base 6: 2d6+8 / 15 Class: Special Range: WR, Blast 3 Effect: All targets of Arcane Storm are Slowed and Vulnerable for 1 Full Round. Limitation: Ranged Weapons only Move: Bane Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 2 Damage Base 4: 1d8+6 / 11 Class: Special Range: WR, 1 Target Effect: Te target loses a Tick of Hit Points at the start of their next three turns and suffers a -2 penalty to all Save Checks on those turns. Limitation: None Move: Cone of Force Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 2 Damage Base 6: 2d6+8 / 15 Class: Special Range: Cone 2, Push Effect: Cone of Force Pushes all targets 2 meters, and lowers their Evasion by -2 for 1 full round.. Limitation: Melee Weapons Only Move: Energy Vortex Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 4 Damage Base 2: 1d6+3 / 7 Class: Special Range: WR, 1 Target Effect: Te target is put in a Vortex. Limitation: None Move: Magic Burst Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 2 Damage Base 6: 2d6+8 / 15 Class: Special Range: Burst 1, Friendly Effect: Foes hit by Magic Burst can’t make Attacks of Opportunity for 1 full round. Limitation: Melee Weapons Only Move: Spirit Lance Type: Normal Frequency: Scene x2 AC: 2 Damage Base 6: 2d6+8 / 15 Class: Special Range: Line 6 Effect: Spirit Lance deals +3 damage to all targets for each target beyond the frst that it successfully hits. Limitation: NoneTrainer Classes 46 Chapter 3: Trainer Classes In this chapter you’ll fnd a variety of classes that are very appropriate in a fantasy setting. Tese classes have a heavy slant toward Trainer Combat options, so the way they are divided is a little different than the classes in the core book. Berserker and Rune Master are more general classes that might be a bit out of place in a modern day game that takes heavily afer the To-Be-A-Master format, but ft well in most settings. Arcanist, Fortress, Marksman and Skirmisher are weapon specialists; each of these classes embodies a style of martial combat that utilizes weapons. If Trainers carrying around weapons isn’t normal in your setting, these classes might not be very appropriate for your setting. Next are the Elementalists, a collection of 18 classes that represent Trainers with a supernatural tie to a Pokémon type. Tese settings ft perfectly for a High Fantasy, high magical shenanigans game. In a more grounded or gritty game, they might be out of place, or practitioners of them could be hunted and persecuted. As for why Psychic and Fighting do not have classes listed here, its because we consider Aura Guardian and the Psychic classes in the core book to be their Elementalists.Trainer Classes 47 General Trainer Edges Weapon of Choice Prerequisites: A Feature with the [Weapon] tag Static Effect: Choose a specifc weapon type. You gain a +2 Bonus on Opposed Rolls to prevent being disarmed while wielding weapons of your chosen type. If you would be disarmed anyway, you may pay 1 AP to prevent yourself from being Disarmed General Trainer Features Arcane Training [+Special Attack][Weapon] Prerequisites: Novice Occult Education, Elemental Connection or Mystic Senses Static Effect: You may use Arcane Weapons. Attacks made with your Arcane Weapons share the Type of your Elemental Connection. If you have Mystic Senses, these Attacks deal Normal Type Damage. Arcane Weapon users that qualifed through Mystic Senses or Elemental Connection (Normal) gain a +5 Bonus to Damage Rolls and a +2 Bonus to Effect Range when using Arcane Weapon Attacks. When wielding an Arcane Weapon, you may resist Disarm Maneuvers with your Occult Education. Smith [Ranked 2] [+Attack] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Novice Focus, Novice Athletics Rank 2 Prerequisites: Adept Focus, Adept Athletics Rank 1 Effect: You may create Simple Weapons for $1000, Light Shields for $1,500, and Light Armor for $4,000. Rank 2 Effect: You may create Fine Weapons for $2,000, Helmets for $1,125, Heavy Shields for $2,250 and Heavy Armor for $5,000. Type Sync Prerequisites: Elemental Connection; a Type-Linked Class*; Adept Medicine, Occult, or Tech Education. Special – Extended Action Target: Your Pokémon Effect: Te Target gains the Type of your Elemental Connection as an additional Type, or has one of their Types replaced by that Type. See the Type Changes section (page 436) for more information and suggestions. A Pokémon may be targeted by Type Sync only once. Tis Feature may be performed One Time for each Rank above Untrained you have of your highest of Medicine, Occult, or Tech Education, up to a maximum of 4 times at Master Rank. *Type-Linked Classes include Type Ace and all Elementalist Classes, all of which are linked to their respective Types. Additionally, Aura Guardian is linked to Fighting; and Telekinetic, Telepath, and Warper are linked to Psychic. Obviously, your Type Linked Class must match your Elemental Connection to apply for Type Sync! Work with your Game Master to determine what Moves are on the Simple and Fine Weapons you create.Trainer Classes 48 Berserker Stories of Berserkers have been passed down through the ages telling of savage warriors who channel their anger into a trance-like frenzy. In reality, the way of the Berserker is more controlled than barbaric; they are warriors who have learned to not only fght through injuries that would hinder most, but also harness that pain as a weapon against their enemies. While many of these warriors are capable of entering the frenzied battle trance, doing so is something they ofen strive to avoid. Afer all, an angry, injured Ursaring might not be able to tell friend from foe in a heated battle, and neither can they. Berserker takes some of the ideas from Taskmaster and Enduring Soul and applys them to a Trainer. Tey are tough to put down, and get stronger the more they get injured. Tis class pairs well with classes that like to get in the thick of things, like Fortress, Roughneck and Martial Artist. It can also work well with more mobile classes like Skirmisher or Ninja by giving them something to fall back on when their mobility is taken away from them, or they jump into more trouble than they were asking for. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Combat, IntimidateTrainer Classes 49 Power of Rage [+HP] Prerequisites: Berserker Static Moves: Choose Enduring Rage, or White Flame. You gain the chosen Ability. Lessons In Rage & Pain [+HP] Prerequisites: Berserker, Adept Intimidate Static Effect: While you have at least 1 Injury, add +X to your Damage Rolls with Rage, Flail, Fury Swipes, Trash, and Weapon Attacks. X is equal to your Intimidate Rank plus the number of Injuries you have. You do not lose Hit Points from being Heavily Injured, and Injuries beyond the 5th do not lower your Maximum Hit Points. Frenzy [+HP] Prerequisites: Berserker, Adept Combat Scene x2 – Free Action Condition: You must be Enraged to use this Feature Effect: You may immediately take your turn with Priority. If you do, you are instantly cured of Slowed and Stuck, and for the rest of this turn gain a +2 Bonus to Critical Hit Range, +2 Bonus to Movement Speed, and +2 Bonus to Acrobatics, Athletics, Combat, and Intimidate Checks. Fight On and On [+HP] Prerequisites: Lessons in Rage and Pain, Adept Combat Daily – Free Action Trigger: Your Hit Points are lowered to or below 0 while Enraged. Effect: You are not Fainted; you instead Faint upon reaching -50% of your Max Hit Points. If you have 5 or more injuries, you may use this Feature regardless of Frequency. Crash and Smash [+HP][Weapon] Prerequisites: Frenzy, Expert Combat Static Effect: You learn the Moves Double Edge and Trash. You may use these moves as a Weapon Attack when wielding Melee Weapons. Push it to the Limit [+HP] Prerequisites: Lessons in Rage and Pain, Expert Intimidate At-Will – Free Action Trigger: You hit with a Berserker Move or Weapon Attack Effect: Immediately gain one Injury before resolving the triggering attack. You gain a Tick of Temporary Hit Points and may cure yourself of a Persistent Status Affliction. Te triggering attack doubles your damage bonus from Lessons in Rage and Pain. Berserker [Class] [+HP] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Novice Combat, Novice Intimidate Static Effect: You learn the Moves Rage and Flail. You may use these moves as a Weapon Attack when wielding Melee Weapons.Trainer Classes 50 Rune Master Rune Masters study the mysterious Unown and have gleaned an insight into their powers. Tey have an afnity for the odd creatures, able to call them forth from thin air. Whether they are summoning them from some far off location or alternate dimension, or whether they have somehow learned to create Unown by their own powers is unknown. While Rune Masters have the ability to augment Unown as Pokémon, combining them to allow them to battle to greater effect, they also learn a number of ways to use Unown more as occult tools. Tey can create spy glyphs, set off Hidden Power explosions at a distance, and even create remotely activated sentries. Despite the universal focus on Unown, whether or not a Rune Master heavily draws upon use of these Pokémon in battle is up to individual preference. Some may be more comfortable battling alongside their large swarms of Unown, linked together with their occult expertise. Others choose to treat them as a reservoir of glyphs, preferring to do battle with their other Pokémon instead. Travel and Investigation Passive Pokémon Support Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Occult EducationTrainer Classes 51 Hidden Power [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Rune Master Static Effect: You learn the Move Hidden Power. Whenever you use Hidden Power, it may be either Physical or Special, adding the appropriate Attack Stat. Rewrite [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Hidden Power Daily Target: Self or a willing Pokémon with Hidden Power. Effect: Reroll the Type for an instance of Hidden Power the target knows If you target an Unown, you may transform the target into a different letter. Glyph [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Rune Master At-Will – Extended Action Target: Your Unown that is not part of a Prime Unown Effect: You may set the target Unown against any flat surface, and turn the Unown into a glyph. Glyphs have HP equal to your Level, and no other stats. Glyphs last until they are destroyed or intentionally de-activated, at which time the Unown returns to Unown Space, disappearing forever. You may have a number of active Glyphs equal to your Occult Education Rank. When setting a Glyph, you may have the Glyphs be either visible or invisible, as you prefer. At any time, as a Standard Action, you may Channel any Glyph youhave set down. Tis causes the Glyph’s eye to open and become visible if it was not. While you are channeling a Glyph, you are able to see through the Glyph, listen through it, and project your voice through it. Words of Power [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Adept Occult Education, Hidden Power Static Trigger: You or your Pokémon use Hidden Power Effect: Instead of a Burst, you may choose to have Hidden Power be a 1 Target Melee, 1 Target 6m, or Cone 2. Additionally, you and your Prime Unown always have STAB on Hidden Power as if you or they were of the same Type. Alarm Runes [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Glyph Bind 1 AP – Standard Action Target: A Glyph you have put down, regardless of distance Effect: You give the Glyph a Trigger, which may be as vague or as precise as you like (i.e.: “If anyone enters the room”, “if James peeks in my diary”, “If a Torkoal uses Surf while I scream the word ‘Gelato’”). If the trigger is met within the Rune’s 30 meters, the Rune will become visible, and will begin screeching loudly, alerting anyone nearby. You are capable of hearing this screeching noise in your head, regardless of your current distance. Glyphs will remember their Triggers as long as the AP spent on the Feature is Bound. If you have the Explosive Runes or Sentry Runes Features, you may instruct this Glyph to automatically use the chosen Feature as a Free Action when it is triggered if you have the AP to spend. You may have only one Glyph use Explosive Runes per round, even if multiple Runes are triggered at the same time. Rune Master [Class] [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Own 2 Unown, Novice Occult Education Static Effect: You gain the Gather Unown capability, and your Unown gain the Letter Press Capability. When using Gather Unown, you are treated as a level 20 Pokémon.Trainer Classes 52 Explosive Runes [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Adept Occult Education, Glyph, Hidden Power 1 AP – Standard Action Target: A Glyph you have put down, regardless of distance Effect: You may use Hidden Power, originating the attack from the location of the targeted Glyph. Use your own Stats and Hidden Power values to calculate damage. Using this Feature causes the Glyph to become visible and glow for a minute aferwards. Sentry Runes [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Expert Occult Education, Explosive Runes, Hidden Power 1 AP – Standard Action Target: A Glyph you have put down, regardless of distance Effect: Te target Glyph becomes an Unown of your Trainer Level, its Stats allocated as you wish. Tis Unown knows a single instance of Hidden Power, identical to your own. Te Glyph can fght on its own without needing you to command it. At the end of the encounter, or afer 5 minutes, the Unown returns to Unown Space forever, destroying the Glyph. You may only have one Glyph active in this way at a time; if various Alarm Glyphs are triggered to become Sentries at the same time, only one does so; the others will do so once the previous one has been destroyed if the Trigger condition is still being met. What’s a Prime Unown Look like? Tis is a pretty common question, so we’ve included an art piece that’s pretty close to what we imagine. It’s fve seperate unowns that have been bound into one entity through a supernatural means! Whether they are actually touching or just bound by magic is likely up to the traditions of the rune master.Trainer Classes 53 Arcanist When it comes to supernatural combat, some are simply dabblers. Tey might have been born with a knack for telekinesis, Aura manipulation or an elemental connection, but whatever talent they have with it was simply what they were born with. Others, like Rune Masters or Hex Maniacs, put the effort to learn and hone their skills like any other profession. Arcanists are those who have taken these talents to the next level, and learned how to weaponize them. Using arcane foci, such as staves, wands, and in some cases musical instruments, they both amplify their attacks and channel new ones through their foci. While Arcanist can stand on its own feet mechanically as a weapon specialist class, it shines as a support pick up for a Trainer who has invested in another Special Attack class. Anything from Aura Guardian to Windrunner, and even Musician, can make great use of what Arcanist has to offer. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Occult EducationTrainer Classes 54 Metamagic [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Arcanist, Adept Occult Education 1 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You use a Special Move Effect: You may apply a Rank 1 Power Manipulation to your attack. Authentic Taumaturgy [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Arcanist, Expert Occult Education Scene x2 – Swif Action Trigger: You use a Special Move Effect: You may apply a Rank 2 Power Manipulation to your attack Signature Manipulations [Ranked 2] [+Special Attack] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Metamagic Rank 2 Prerequisites: Authentic Taumaturgy Static Effect: Each Rank, select a Power Manipulation of the same Signature Manipulation Rank you are taking or lower. • For Rank 1 Manipulations, this Manipulation may be used twice per Scene without spending AP to activate. • For Rank 2 Manipulations, this Manipulation may be used once per Scene without activating Authentic Taumaturgy’s Frequency. Recoup Energy [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Arcanist, Expert Occult Education Scene x2 – Free Action Trigger: Your Special Move misses all targets Effect: You do not expend the Frequency of the triggering Move. If you applied a Power Manipulation to the triggering Move, you are refunded the AP for the Manipulation or do not expend the Frequency for it. Soul Investment [+Special Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Arcanist, Master Occult Education Bind 2 AP – Extended Action Target: Your Soul Bonded Weapon Effect: Choose one Novice and one Expert Arcane Weapon Move. Your Soul Bonded Weapon adds those Moves to your Move List as long as this Feature is Bound. You may only Bind one instance of this Feature at a time, and you may not have multiple instances of the same Move in your Move List. Arcanist [Class] [+Special Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Arcane Training At-Will – Extended Action Target: An Arcane Weapon Effect: You create a Soul Bond with the target Weapon. You may make a Soul Bond with only one weapon at a time. If you create a new Soul Bond, previously Soul Bound weapons lose the Bond. Soul Bound Weapons gain the following benefts: • Increase the Damage Base and Effect Range of Struggle Attacks and Arcane Weapon Moves made with your Soul Bonded Weapon by +1 for each Occult Education Rank you have above Novice, up to a maximum of +3 at Master Rank. • As a Shif Action, you may beckon your Soul Bonded Weapon to your hands if it is within 10 meters. If it is being held by someone else who does not want to let go of the weapon, make an Occult vs Athletics Opposed Check. If you win, they their lose grip on your Weapon and it flies to your hand as normal.Trainer Classes 55 Rank 1 Power Manipulations Energy Finesse Condition: Te triggering Move is an Arcane Weapon Move and has an Effect Range Effect: In addition to its existing Effect Range, the Effect triggers on all natural Even-Numbered Rolls. Warp Energy Condition: Te triggering Move is a Cone, Line, Burst, or Blast Effect: Instead of its usual range, you may use the Move as if it had a range of Burst 1, Cone 2, Close Blast 2, Line 4, or 2-Target with a range of 4. Directed Barrier Effect: You gain Damage Reduction equal to your Tick Value against the targets of the triggering Move for one full round. Power Overdrive Effect: If the triggering attack hits, you lose a Tick of Hit Points, and the triggering attack deals bonus damage equal to your Tick Value plus your Occult Education Rank. Tis loss of Hit Points cannot be prevented in any way. Rank 2 Power Manipulations Berserk Blow Condition: Te Triggering Move is 1-Target Effect: Te Move causes the target to become Vulnerable for 1 full round, and the Move’s Critical Hit Range is increased by +3. Energy Link Effect: For one full round, the next Normal-Type attack to hit the target instead deals Damage of the same Type as this Attack. If the Attack Energy Link was applied to was already Normal-Typed, for one full round, the next Normal-Type attack to hit the target instead deals damage as if it was one step more Super-Effective. Enlarged Power Effect: Te Move gains the keyword Burst 1 if Melee 1-Target, or Blast 2 if ranged 1-Target. If the Move is already a Burst, Blast, Cone, or Line, increase the size of the Move’s Range by 1. Lock of Fate Effect: Te Move cannot be Intercepted, and targets may not avoid the attack in any way if hits (such as via Dodge, Parry, Shield Moves, etc). Evasion still applies, and the Move can still Miss.Trainer Classes 56 Fortress Knights, Myrmidons, Landsknechts, Braves, Samurai, Warriors. Tey’ve been known by many names throughout the centuries and various cultures of the world, so we’ve given them a singular one. Fortresses are heavily armored weapon specialists who focus on front line combat and protecting their allies from harm. Some favor the classic sword and shield, others a massive two handed weapon, but their goal is the same: to hold the line and to defeat their foes. Te Fortress is in both name and function a tank. Tey excel at drawing fre to themselves and mitigating the damage they do take. Tis class pairs well with almost any Fighting Class, and can also make a great pickup for a Trainer who is Pokémon Support focused and wants to take on a proactive, defensive role in combat. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Combat, FocusTrainer Classes 57 Slow or Steady [+Defense] Prerequisites: Fortress Static Effect: Choose Analytic or Battle Armor. You gain the chosen ability. Stalwart Bastion [+Defense] Prerequisites: Fortress Bind 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: While this Feature is Bound, you and all cardinally adjacent allies gain Damage Reduction equal to your Combat or Focus Rank. Shield Bearer [+Defense] Prerequisites: Stalwart Bastion 1 AP – Swif Action Effect: You may immediately ready a Shield, and do not become Slowed as a result. You may choose to grant an adjacent Ally the Evasion and Damage Reduction bonuses from your shield instead of gaining them yourself, but these bonuses only apply as long as the ally remains adjacent to you. If you do and the ally Shifs, you may Shif alongside your ally as a Shif Action Interrupt. Tis cannot cause you to shif more than your normal Movement. Wall of Iron [+Defense] Prerequisites: Fortress, Adept Combat or Focus Static Effect: You learn the moves Iron Defense and Protect. Guardian’s Punishment [+Defense] Prerequisites: Fortress, Expert Combat or Focus Scene x2 – Swif Action Trigger: You hit a Marked Foe with a Damaging Weapon attack Effect: Add your Defense Stat to the Damage Roll. Te Marked Foe takes a penalty to Damage Rolls equal to your Combat or Focus Rank for 1 full round. Unstoppable Will [+Defense] Prerequisites: Slow or Steady, Expert Combat or Focus Static Effect: You gain the Discipline Ability. Fortress [Class] [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Novice Combat, Novice Focus At Will - Free Action Trigger: You target an enemy with a Struggle attack or Weapon Attack and end your turn adjacent to the target. Effect: You Mark all targets of the attack until the end of your next turn. Marked foes take a penalty to Attack Rolls against any targets besides you equal to your Focus Rank. A Mark from a different source (such as a second Fortress or a Fighting Type Ace’s Pokémon) will overwrite your Mark.Trainer Classes 58 Marksman Since ancient times, men has hunted and protected itself with projectiles. From throwing weapons, to bow and arrow, to crossbow and frearm, the art of combat has always respected the ability to down a foe from a safe distance. Marksmen are practitioners of this tradition, taking aim of their targets and waiting for the precise moment to strike. Te Marksman is the class of choice for a Trainer looking to be an archer or musketeer. It offers a number of ways to make your Ranged Weapon attacks get more bang for their buck. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Combat, PerceptionTrainer Classes 59 Aiming Down Te Sights [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman At Will – Shif Action Effect: Your next Weapon Attack with a long-range Weapon gains +2 to its Accuracy Roll and Critical Hit Range. Tis effect lasts until used or until the start of your next turn. Double Shot [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman, Adept Combat 1 AP – Standard Action Effect: You may make two Struggle Attacks with a -2 penalty to Accuracy, each targeting the same foe. If the frst attack gains the beneft of Aiming Down the Sights or Clear Shot, the second attack also gains the same benefts for free. Overwatch [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman, Adept Perception or Combat At-Will – Standard Action Effect: Create a Line X, and place a Blast 3 with at least three meters overlapping the Line’s area. X is equal to your Weapon’s Range. For one full round, if a foe moves in or out of that area, you may make a Ranged Weapon attack, Frequency allowing, against that foe as a Free Action. You may not attack a specifc foe more than once per round this way. While this is in effect, if you Move from your current location, Overwatch’s effect is lost. Clear Shot [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman, Expert Perception or Combat Scene x2 – Swif Action Trigger: You make a ranged Weapon Attack against a target with no other combatants or Rough or Blocking Terrain within 2 meters Effect: Te target is considered Vulnerable against this attack, and you increase your Critical Hit range by +4 for this attack. Crippling Shot [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman, Expert Perception or Combat 2 AP – Full Action Effect: Make a Ranged Struggle Attack attack with a -2 penalty to Accuracy. If you hit, the attack deals Damage as if it was resisted one step, but the target becomes Slowed, loses 1 Speed Combat Stage, and you initiate a Trip Maneuver against the target. You may use your Perception Skill to resolve the Opposed Check if you wish. Dead-Eye Shot [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Marksman, Master Combat or Perception Scene x2 – Standard, Priority Effect: Use of Dead-Eye Shot must be declared at the start of the round. Nothings happens at this time. At the end of the round, the user may use their Shif Action, and then make a Ranged Weapon Attack and roll twice for Accuracy. You may resolve the attack using either result, but if you choose to use the lower result and the attack hits, it is automatically a Critical Hit. Marksman [Class] [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Novice Combat, Novice Perception Static Effect: You gain the Sniper Ability.Trainer Classes 60 Skirmisher Some weapon specialists are more quick than they are mighty, favoring to outmaneuver their opponent and strike where they are weakest. Utilizing smaller, more nimble weapons, they dance around the battlefeld and their enemies alike. Tese scrappy fghters are known as Skirmishers, and where they lack brawn, they make up for in alacrity and precision. Skirmisher covers a variety of combat styles, including swashbuckling pirates, fencing duelists, and nimble assassins and ninjas. Tey make great use of movement and pair well with classes that give Trainers mobility bonuses. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Acrobatics, CombatTrainer Classes 61 Nimble Steps [+Speed] Prerequisites: Skirmisher Static Effect: You may perform the Disengage Maneuver as a Swif Action. Counter Stance [+Speed] Prerequisites: Skirmisher At-Will – Free Action, Interrupt Trigger: An adjacent foe misses you with an attack Effect: You perform an Attack of Opportunity against them. Harrier [+Speed] Prerequisites: Skirmisher At-Will – Free Action Trigger: You hit a foe with a damaging Attack Effect: Until the end of your next turn, that foe is considered Flanked, is Slowed, and cannot take actions as Priority or Interrupt. Harrier may only be used on a foe once per Scene. Weapon Finesse [+Speed] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Counter Stance, Adept Combat or Acrobatics 2 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You hit a foe with a Weapon Attack. Effect: Afer the attack is resolved, you may immediately use a Disarm, Trip, or Push Maneuver against that foe as a Free Action. Te Maneuver automatically hits, but you must still make an Opposed Roll. Outmaneuver [+Speed] Prerequisites: Harrier, Adept Combat or Acrobatics Scene x3 – Free Action Trigger: You use a damaging Attack Effect: Add half your Evasion to your Accuracy Roll for the attack, and all foes hit by the attack have their Initiative reduced by your full Evasion value. Swif Strikes [+Speed] [Weapon] Prerequisites: 4 Skirmisher Features, Master Combat or Acrobatics 1 AP – Standard Action, Special Effect: Use a Weapon Attack as if it had the Priority Keyword. If the Move already had the Priority Keyword, use it as if it had the Priority (Advanced) Keyword instead. Skirmisher [Class] [+Speed] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Novice Combat, Novice Acrobatics Static Effect: Choose Flutter or Vanguard. You gain the Chosen Ability.Trainer Classes 62 Bug Elementalist: Swarmlord Some trainers like to collect Bug Pokémon, and support them in battle. Others instead seek to emulate and command them. Swarmlords are trainers who have undergone a manifestation of Bug-type elemental power, taking on either the aspects of the arachnid hunters, or the traits of the proud, winged monarchs. Such manifestations are not always physically apparent, but the Swarmlord may take on certain features when using their powers - whether it be their eyes splitting to have multiple irises, or sprouting tiny hairs from their fngertips. Swarmlords tend to be resourceful and charismatic individuals, and can be utterly relentless in battle - striking again and again while emitting pheromones that subtly guide their attacks towards the enemy’s weak points - and teaching them what happens when you try and take on a Swarm. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Command, SurvivalTrainer Classes 63 Swarmlord [Class] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Bug), Novice Survival, Novice Command Static Effect: Your powers begin to take afer either Arachnid's Embrace or Monarch's Embrace. Depending on your Embrace, you gain an Ability and Stat Tag. Whenever you gain a Swarmlord Feature, you gain the same Stat Tag. How To Shoot Web Prerequisites: Swarmlord Static Effect: You gain the Treaded and Wallclimber Capabilities. Broodlord Prerequisites: Enhanced Embrace Rank 2, Expert Command or Survival Static Effect: You gain the following Ability based on your Embrace. Arachnid’s Embrace: Tinted Lens Monarch’s Embrace: Compound Eyes Pheromone Markers Prerequisites: Enhanced Embrace Rank 1 1 AP – Free Action Trigger: You hit a foe with a damaging Bug-Type attack Effect: Te triggering foe gains 1 Pheromone Stack. Your Bug-Type attacks gain a +2 bonus to Accuracy Rolls and +1 Critical Hit range against foes for each Pheromone Stack they have. Once per Scene per foe, when they gain their third or higher Pheromone Stack, you may choose to roll 1d6. On a result of 1 or 2, the foe becomes Confused; on a result of 3 or 4 the foe becomes Suppressed; on a result of 5 or 6 the foe becomes Enraged. Enhanced Embrace Rank 1 Prerequisites: Swarmlord Rank 2 Prerequisites: Adept Command or Survival Rank 3 Prerequisites: Expert Command or Survival Static Effect: Learn two Moves from the list below at the Rank of Enhanced Embrace you are taking or lower. Moves marked with an Embrace require that Embrace to be chosen. Rank 1 Moves Move Prerequisites Defend Order None Fury Cutter None Fell Needle None Struggle Bug Monarch Sticky Web Arachnid Rank 2 Moves Move Prerequisites Attack Order Arachnid Infestation None Powder Monarch Signal Beam None Steamroller None Rank 3 Moves Move Prerequisites Bug Buzz None Mega Horn None Quiver Dance Monarch Spider Web Arachnid Arachnid’s Embrace Unnerve [+Attack] Monarch’s Embrace Shield Dust [+Special Attack]Trainer Classes 64 Mankind has long been afraid of the dark. Without the light, once familiar spaces can become difcult to navigate. Creatures of the night emerge from their dens and begin to go on the prowl for their next meal. And those poor souls who get caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time, become swallowed by it, never to be seen again. Te Shade Caller is not one such soul. Tese trainers embrace the Dark, and revel in it. Te lightless areas of the gloom are their playground, a medium they move through more easily than fsh through water. Teir attacks may come from anywhere, and strike with unnatural precision. Tey are the night. Tey are Shade Callers. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Dark Elementalist: Shade Caller Associated Skills: Guile, StealthTrainer Classes 65 Shade Caller [Class] [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Dark), Novice Guile, Novice Stealth Static Effect: You learn the Moves Faint Attack and Snarl. Twisted Soul [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Shade Caller Static Effect: You gain the Twisted Power Ability. Living Shadow [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Shade Caller Static Effect: Your own Shadow can attack others; you may have your Dark Type Moves originate from any Square adjacent to you. If you are fghting among complete darkness, you may have your Dark Type Moves originate from any square within X meters that is completely dark, where X is the higher of your Guile or Stealth Rank. Attacks originating from Living Shadow do not trigger effects that rely on being hit with a melee attack. Sharpen Shadows [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Shade Caller, Expert Guile or Stealth Static Effect: You learn Dark Pulse and Night Slash Heart of Darkness [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Sharpen Shadows, Master Guile or Stealth Static Effect: You learn Night Daze and Punishment World of Darkness [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Shade Caller, Adept Guile or Stealth 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: You create a zone of Shifing Darkness in a Burst 2 around you, which persists until the end of the encounter. All targets without Darkvision attacking from or i nto the Shifing Darkness receive a -3 penalty to Accuracy. You may count Shifing Darkness as complete darkness for the purposes of activating your Living Shadow. As a Static effect, you also gain the Darkvision Capability. Dark Soul [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Shade Caller, Master Guile or Stealth Static Effect: Choose Shadow Tag or Super Luck. You gain the chosen Ability.Trainer Classes 66 Pride. A defning trait of the dragons, and for good reason - their strength is unparalleled, their heritage ancient, and their weaknesses few. Why shouldn’t they be proud? Dragons are the mightiest creatures on Earth, and they know it. Similarly, humans who have inherited the will of the dragon might themselves be Heralds of Pride. With unrelenting force they strike, and with a regal demeanor they walk. Tey know their attitude is not simple arrogance, for they have the strength and the will to back it up. Tey will earn the respect they deserve, or through the fre and the flames their foes will carry on. Trainer Combat Dragon Elementalist: Herald of Pride Associated Skills: Command, Intimidate Trainer Classes 67 Herald of Pride [Class] [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Dragon), Novice Command, Novice Intimidate Static Effect: When wielding Melee Weapons, you may use Command or Intimidate instead of Combat to determine the Damage Base of your Struggle Attacks, to resist Disarm Maneuvers, and to qualify for a Weapon’s Moves. Your Weapon Attacks ignore Damage Reduction up to your Command or Intimidate Rank. Noblesse Oblige [+Attack] Prerequisites: Herald of Pride Static Effect: You gain the Regal Challenge Ability. Channel the Dragon’s Spirit [+Attack] Prerequisites: Herald of Pride 1 AP – Free Action Trigger: You use a Weapon Attack Effect: You may have the triggering attack deal DragonType Damage if you wish. On 18+, all targets can only use At-Will Frequency Moves for one full round Bare the Dragon’s Claws [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Herald of Pride, Adept Command or Intimidate Static Effect: Your learn the Moves Dragon Claw and Dragon Tail. You may use these Moves as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Call the Dragon’s Rage [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Bare the Dragon’s Claws, Master Command or Intimidate Static Effect: You learn the Moves Dragon Rush and Outrage. You may use these Moves as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Rouse the Dragon’s Blood [+Attack] Prerequisites: Herald of Pride, Expert Command or Intimidate Scene x2 – Free Action Trigger: You suffer a Critical Hit or gain an Injury from a foe’s attack Effect: For 1 full round, the next Herald of Pride Move you use against the triggering foe cannot miss, cannot be Intercepted, and effects that would cause it to miss cannot be activated against it. Sovereignty [+Attack] Prerequisites: Herald of Pride, Expert Command or Intimidate Bind 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: While this Feature is bound, you gain a +2 Bonus to Save Checks against Volatile Status Afictions, and a +2 Bonus to Opposed Checks when defending against being Disarmed, Grappled, Pushed, or Tripped.Trainer Classes 68 Bzzzap! Electricity is the element of motion. Leap here, crackle there, sizzle and spark… and when the time is right - leap out and strike in a flash! Te so-called Spark Masters take this to heart themselves, overcharging the electricity in their bodies to unprecedented levels. Tese guys are quick and don’t let much slow them down - whether the obstacle to overcome is merely distance or even gravity itself, with their electromagnetic prowess. Don’t call them attention-defcit though, it takes a lot of focus to safely channel several thousand volts of electricity. Underestimate the fast and formidable Spark Masters, and you might just fnd lightning will strike you twice… or three or four times! Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Electric Elementalist: Spark Master Associated Skills: Acrobatics, FocusTrainer Classes 69 Spark Master [Class] [+Speed] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Electric), Novice Focus, Novice Acrobatics Static Effect: Choose Static or Electrodash. You gain the Chosen Ability. Magnetize [+Speed] Prerequisites: Storm Wizard Rank 1, Adept Acrobatics Static Effect: You gain the Magnetic Capability and may use this magnetism to stick to surfaces with signifcant metal content (ex: metal walls obviously, concrete with metal I-beams inside, etc). You may use your Overland to traverse any such surfaces, even if that means walking vertically up a wall or upside down on a ceiling. You may choose not to be Pushed when on such a surface. Body of Lightning [+Speed] Prerequisites: Master Acrobatics or Focus Static Effect: Choose Volt Absorb or Motor Drive. You gain the Chosen Ability. Bottled Lightning [+Speed] Prerequisites: Storm Wizard Rank 1, Adept Focus 2 AP - Standard Action Target: An item made of conductive material Effect: Choose one of your Electric Type Moves with a target. You Charge the target item with this Move. Bottled Lightning counts as using the Move for frequency purposes. You may expend this Charge as a Swif Action on your turn to use the Move the item was charged with, originating from the item. If a Pokémon or Trainer touches a Charged item, you may instead activate this Swif Action as if it had the Priority keyword. At the end of a Scene, all items lose their Charge, and you may only have X items Charged at a time where X is half your Focus Rank. Storm Wizard [Ranked 3] [+Speed] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Spark Master Rank 2 Prerequisites: Expert Acrobatics or Focus Rank 3 Prerequisites: Master Acrobatics or Focus Static Effect: You may learn two Moves from the list below, marked with the Storm Wizard Rank you are gaining or lower. Rank 1 Moves Rank 2 Moves Rank 3 Moves Charge Beam Charge Discharge Eerie Impulse Tunder Punch Tunder Shock Wave Tunderbolt Tunder Wave Spark – Volt TackleTrainer Classes 70 Fairy Elementalist: Glamour Weaver Fairies are one of the most mysterious groups among Pokémon. Shimmering, dancing lights leading to dancing Pokémon within circles of stones or mushrooms… Who are these creatures? Why do they frolic so cutely? Why can these creatures of fable withstand the might of Dragons? Few know the secrets to these questions, and fewer still are those who know the origins of the fey-aligned ‘magical girls’ that emulate the illusionary powers of these mysterious beings. Tese so called Glamour Weavers bend the line between fact and fction, taking on a fey aspect in their Enchanting Transformations… Are their hearts pure, or do their glamours mask their true selves as well? Only the Glamour Weavers can answer that question… Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Charm, Occult EducationTrainer Classes 71 Glamour Weaver [Class] [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Fairy), Novice Charm, Novice Occult Education Static Effect: You learn the Moves Sweet Kiss and Disarming Voice. Fey Law [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Glamour Weaver 1 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You hit a foe with a damaging Fairy attack Effect: Choose one of the following: Status-Class, Combat Maneuver, attacks with an unmodifed Damage Base 10 or higher, or an Elemental Type. Te triggering foe is Bound; they suffer a -X penalty to all rolls made to use attacks with the chosen trait. X is equal to half your Charm or Occult Education Rank. Te Bound condition lasts until the end of a Scene. You may unbind someone as a Free Action at any time. A target may not have multiple instances of Bound applied at once. Passionato Harmony [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Glamour Weaver, Expert Charm or Occult Education Static Effect: You learn the Moves Dazzling Gleam and Draining Kiss. Lucky Clover Grand Finale [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Passionato Harmony, Master Charm or Occult Education Static Effect: You learn the Moves Moonblast and Aromatic Mist. Glamour Mastery [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: 4 Glamour Weaver Features Static Effect: Choose Magic Guard or Magic Bounce. You gain the Chosen Ability. Enchanting Transformation [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Glamour Weaver Bind 2 AP – Shif Action Effect: You perform a magical transformation on yourself. While this Feature is Bound, you gain +5 Damage Resistance against Dragon, Fighting, Dark, and Bug-Typed attacks and your Glamour Weaver Moves have the additional effects below. » Sweet Kiss: Sweet Kiss ignores Speed Evasion. » Disarming Voice: You may also choose to use Disarming Voice as a Line 4 or Cone 2. » Dazzling Gleam: On Even-Numbered rolls, targets hit by Dazzling Gleam have their Accuracy Lowered by 1. » Draining Kiss: You gain an additional Tick of Hit Points when gaining Hit Points from Draining Kiss. » Moonblast: Whenever Moonblast misses a target, they lose a Tick of Hit Points. » Aromatic Mist: All allies affected by Aromatic Mist gain a +2 bonus to their next Save Check. Magical Burst [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Enchanting Transformation, Passionato Harmony Scene – Standard Action Condition: You must have Enchanting Transformation Bound to use Magical Burst Effect: Use a Glamour Weaver Move as if it had the range Burst 3, Friendly, Exhaust, Smite. All allies within the area-of-effect gain a Tick of Temporary Hit Points or cure themselves of one Volatile Afiction. Enchanting Transformation immediately becomes Unbound, and the AP used to bind it becomes spent instead of becoming available again.Trainer Classes 72 Fire Elementalist: Fire Bringer Trainer Combat One legend holds that fre was once the sole dominion of the gods, until one of their own stole it to give its power to man. Whatever truth may lay in this tale, fre has been one of the most important elements used by humans - providing the steps for improved nutrition, hygiene, and shelter, as well as being the force that allowed humanity to bend and conquer metal. Both nurturing and destructive, the aptly-named Fire Bringers channel this primal force in decidedly the latter fashion. Channeling their inner destructive might, these Elementalists will not rest until their enemy burns with the same passion they do - literally - as they intensify the crispy injuries their attacks already do. Play with fre, and you’re gonna have a bad day. Associated Skills: Combat, FocusTrainer Classes 73 Fire Bringer [Class] [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Fire), Novice Combat Static Effect: Choose two of Flame Burst, Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, or Will-O-Wisp. You learn the chosen Moves Fiery Soul [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Fire Bringer Static Effect: You gain the Heater Capability, and are immune to the Burn condition. Firebrand [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Fire Bringer, Adept Focus or Combat Static Effect: Your Fire-Type Moves Burn Targets on a roll of 19+. If a move already has a chance of Burning foes, Firebrand increases the effect range by +2. Burning Passion [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Fire Bringer, Expert Focus or Combat Static Effect: Choose Flash Fire or Flame Body. You gain the chosen Ability. Blazing Inferno [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Fire Breather Rank 2, Master Focus or Combat 2 AP – Swif Action Effect: You becoming Blazing. While you are Blazing, whenever your Fire-Type Moves Inflict Burn, the Burned target immediately loses a Tick of Hit Points, and loses an additional Combat Stage in Defense. While Blazing, when you hit a foe with a damaging Fire-Type Move, you may choose to automatically burn one target of the Move. If you do, you lose the Blazing Condition afer the Move’s effects are resolved. Fire Breather [Ranked 2] [+Attack or Special Attack] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Expert Focus or Combat Rank 2 Prerequisites: Master Focus or Combat Static Effect: Learn two Fire Bringer Moves from the list below. You may choose any Move marked with the Fire Breather Rank you are taking or lower. Rank 1 Moves Rank 2 Moves Flamethrower Blaze Kick Fire Punch Fiery Dance Fire Spin Flare Blitz Sunny Day Heat WaveTrainer Classes 74 Flying Elementalist: Wind Runner Of all the limits the world places on its denizens, gravity is the force that struggles to keep a three dimensional world flatly in the second. Breaking free of these chains and soaring high above the world - that is what Wind Runners yearn to do. While they can’t outright fly for very long, these masters of the wind can hover, as well as temporarily break their shackles, joining their Flying-type brethren in the air, or challenging them there. So keen is their connection with the sky, that the very breeze is said to be as the tips of their fngers, letting little lay out of their grasp. Tose lucky trainers whose hearts have learned to fly free - they are the Wind Runners. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Acrobatics, PerceptionTrainer Classes 75 Wind Runner [Class] [+Speed] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Flying), Novice Acrobatics, Novice Perception Static Effect: You gain the Levitate Ability. You have a total Levitate Speed equal to 4 plus half of the higher of your Acrobatics or Perception Rank. One With the Winds [+Speed] Prerequisites: Adept Perception Bind 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: You summon a windy breeze that follows you around. Your sense of touch is extended through this wind, and you can guide it by thought, using it to perceive the shape and texture of objects as long as the wind can reach, even through very small cracks and holes. Te range of this effect is equal to your Acrobatics Rank plus Perception Rank in meters. Flight [+Speed] Prerequisites: One With the Winds, Adept Acrobatics 1 AP – Swif Action Effect: You gain a Sky Speed equal to your Levitate Speed plus your Acrobatics or Perception Rank for the remainder of the round. Gale Speed [+Speed] Prerequisites: Raging Winds Rank 1, Master Acrobatics or Perception Static Effect: Choose Celebrate or Gale Wings. You gain the chosen Ability. Raging Winds [Ranked 3] [+Speed] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Wind Runner Rank 2 Prerequisites: Expert Acrobatics or Perception Rank 3 Prerequisites: Master Acrobatics or Perception Static Effect: You may learn two Moves from the list below, marked with the Raging Winds Rank you are gaining or lower. Rank 1 Moves Rank 2 Moves Rank 3 Moves Aerial Ace Air Slash Brave Bird Air Cutter Bounce Hurricane Gust Defog Mirror Move Tailwind Feather Dance Sky AttackTrainer Classes 76 Ghost Elementalist: Apparition Spooky, scary skeletons don’t send shivers down their spines - the Apparitions are trainers with an intense connection to the spiritual Ghost type and an inclination to a knife in the dark. As ephemeral as the mischievous souls that still walk the realm, these gifed tow the line between this world and the next. Tese haunting Elementalists are known to be able to take on ghastly forms, free of the restrictions of their flesh, attack with ghostly remnants of themselves, and partially pass through even the thickest armor with their attacks. Beware the Apparition, or you may just feel their hand on your shoulder… or their blade between your ribs. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Intimidate, Occult EducationTrainer Classes 77 Apparition [Class] [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Ghost), Novice Intimidate, Novice Occult Education Static Effect: When wielding Melee Weapons, you may use Occult Education or Intimidate instead of Combat to determine the Damage Base of your Struggle Attacks, to resist Disarm Maneuvers, and to qualify for a Weapon’s Moves. Your Weapon Attacks always treat you as having the Reach Capability, and foes may not activate Reaction effects against them that specify being hit by a Melee Attack. Shadow Arms [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Apparition Static Effect: You learn the Moves Shadow Punch and Shadow Sneak. You may use these as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Too Spooky [+Attack] Prerequisites: Apparition Static Effect: Choose Pressure or Frighten. You gain the chosen Ability. Silent Assassin [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Apparition, Adept Intimidate or Occult Education Bind 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: While this Feature is Bound, your Struggle Attacks and Weapon Attacks deal Ghost-Type Damage, and you gain the Dead Silent Capability. Shadow Form [+Attack] Prerequisites: Silent Assassin, Expert Intimidate or Occult Education Bind 2 AP – Swif Action Effect: While this Feature is Bound, your appearance becomes wan and obviously otherworldly. Your natural Weaknesses, Resistances, and Immunities change to match that of the Ghost Type. Additionally, while in Shadow Form, you are immune to the Cursed Status (if you were previously Cursed, you are instantly cured upon going into Shadow Form) and gain the Phasing Capability. You may unbind this Feature as a Swif Action, returning to your normal appearance. Phantom Menace [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Shadow Arms, Expert Intimidate or Occult Education Static Effect: You gain the Moves Shadow Claw and Phantom Force. You may use these Moves as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Haunted Wounds [+Attack] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Shadow Arms, Master Intimidate or Occult Education Scene x2 – Free Action Trigger: You hit with an Apparition Move or GhostTyped Weapon Attack Effect: Afer one full round, repeat the triggering attack against one target as a Free Action, regardless of range. If this attack hits, it deals damage as if it were resisted one step further. Haunted Wounds may only affect a target once per Scene.Trainer Classes 78 Grass Elementalist: Druid Druids are trainers in-tune with that which grows in the earth. Some may herald themselves as protectors of nature, others as mere observers. Yet others still might only be interested in the power that the untamed wilderness can offer them. But all have the same in common - they are one with the forest, and will use the myriad abilities of nature to turn their enemies into mulch. If you anger one, you’d best make like a tree… and leave. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: General Education, SurvivalTrainer Classes 79 Green Path Prerequisites: Druid Static Effect: You gain the Naturewalk (Grassland) and Naturewalk (Forest) capabilities, and you are immune to Moves with the Powder keyword. Overgrowth Prerequisites: Nature’s Embrace Rank 3 2 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You hit with a Druid Move Effect: One target of the triggering Move is aficted with Overgrowth. As long as the target is aficted, they are one step less Resistant to Grass-Type attacks, to a maximum of neutral damage, and they cannot recover Hit Points or gain Temporary Hit Points. Whenever they would do so, you gain those Hit Points or Temporary Hit Points instead. Overgrowth is removed when the target Takes a Breather or is hit by a damaging Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, or Bug-Type attack. Overgrowth may only affect a target once per Scene. Druid's Call Prerequisites: Green Path Scene x2 – Standard Action Effect: 6 small saplings, flowery bushes, or mushroom patches (depending on your oath) suddenly grow within 6 meters of you, occupying 1 square each. Tis vegetation lasts until the end of the encounter, and acts as rough terrain that blocks line of sight for Pokémon and Trainers without the Naturewalk (Forest) Capability. Whenever you use a Move learned through Nature's Embrace, you may have it originate from these Plants as if they were the user. Tis Feature must be used on soil, or terrain under which soil is hidden by only a few inches (such as most sidewalks, parking lots, gravel or woodchip lots, etc.) Nature's Embrace [Ranked 3] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Druid Rank 2 Prerequisites: Adept Survival or General Education Rank 3 Prerequisites: Expert Survival or General Education Static Effect: You learn 2 Moves chosen from the list below, marked with the Rank of this Feature you are gaining or lower. Druid [Class] [Special] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Grass), Novice Survival, Novice General Education Static Effect: Your powers begin to take afer either Flowers, Fungi, or Trees. Depending on your oath, you gain an Ability and Stat Tags. Whenever you gain a Druid Feature, you gain the same Stat Tags. Flower Oath Aroma Veil [+Special Attack] Fungal Oath Effect Spore [+Special Defense] Wood Oath Life Force [+Attack] Rank 1 Moves Move Prerequisites Cotton Spore None Ingrain Tree Oath Mega Drain None Razor Leaf None Stun Spore Fungal Oath Sweet Scent Flower Oath Rank 2 Moves Move Prerequisites Aromatherapy Flower Oath Energy Ball None Giga Drain Fungal Oath Magical Leaf None Seed Bomb None Spiky Shield Tree Oath Rank 3 Moves Move Prerequisites Leech Seed None Petal Blizzard Tree Oath Petal Dance Flower Oath Power Whip None Solar Beam None Spore Fungal OathTrainer Classes 80 Ground Elementalist: Earth Shaker Te earth is the very foundation that the world’s life lives on. Little by little, it moves, unceasingly changing itself bit by bit. Continents drif. Volcanoes rise. Te earth quakes, shakes and cracks open. Tose with the steady, unyielding nature of the land are Earth Shakers. As unflinching as the ground itself, these souls control the very substance on which they - and their enemies - stand. Whether the earth parts, the sand streams, or balance is lost, these patient trainers will overcome any odds to ensure they and their allies are the only ones lef standing on solid ground. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Focus, IntuitionTrainer Classes 81 Earth Shaker [Class] [+Defense] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Ground), Novice Intuition, Novice Focus Static Effect: Pick two of Bulldoze, Mud Shot, or Sand-Attack. You learn the chosen Moves. Earthen Bond [+Defense] Prerequisites: Earth Shaker Static Effect: You gain the Tremorsense Capability, and you gain Naturewalk for Cave, Mountain and Desert. Earth Mother’s Blessing [Ranked 2] [+Defense] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Adept Focus or Intuition Rank 2 Prerequisites: Ground Out, Master Focus or Intuition Static Effect: Each Rank, choose Arena Trap or Lightning Rod. You gain the chosen Ability. Earthshifer [+Defense] Prerequisites: Ground Out 2 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You hit with a damaging Ground Type Move Effect: You initiate a Trip Maneuver against 1 target of the Move. Te Maneuver automatically hits, and you may use your Focus or Intuition for the opposed check. Ground Out [+Defense] Prerequisites: Earth Shaker, Expert Focus or Intuition Static Effect: Pick two of Drill Run, Magnitude, or Mud Bomb. You learn the chosen Moves. Tectonic Shif [+Defense] Prerequisites: Ground Out, Master Focus or Intuition Static Effect: Pick two of Earthquake, Earth Power, or Sand Tomb. You learn the chosen Moves.Trainer Classes 82 Ice Elementalist: Frost Touched Eons ago, the world flourished in life, only to fall in a relatively brief but lethal global freeze. Tose who emerged from the ice age were tempered by it, ft for survival. But many have forgotten to fear the frost… and those who would call upon its power once more. Te Frost Touched are trainers with a supernatural power over subzero temperatures, and by that power can function however cold it gets. As ft for survival as their ancestors, these fearsome warriors could certainly build a snowman - but should you get the urge to ask, you should just let it go. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Athletics, SurvivalTrainer Classes 83 Te Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Frost Touched Static Effect: You gain the Naturewalk (Tundra) Capability, are immune to being Frozen, and do not lose Hit Points from Hail. Glacial Defense [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Frost Touched Static Effect: Choose Ice Shield or Winter's Kiss. You gain the Chosen Ability. Frozen Domain [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Expert Athletics or Survival 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: Set 6 square meters of Frozen Domain within range 6. All 6 meters must be adjacent with at least one other space of Frozen Domain. All legal targets passing through these squares must make an Acrobatics check with a DC equal to 4 + twice your Survival Rank. On failure, the target is Tripped. Pokémon who are flying, levitating, or have the Naturewalk (Tundra) Capability are immune to this effect. When standing on a square affected by Frozen Domain, you may act as if you were in Hail weather. When a Fire-Type attack originates from or targets a square of Frozen Domain, that square of Frozen Domain melts and is cleared. Frozen Domain is considered a Hazard. Winter is Coming [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Master Athletics or Survival Static Effect: You gain the Frostbite Ability. Winter's Herald [Ranked 2] [+Attack or Special Attack] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Expert Athletics or Survival Rank 2 Prerequisites: Master Athletics or Survival Static Effect: You may learn two Moves from the list below, marked with the Rank of Winter’s Herald you are gaining or lower. Frost Touched [Class] [+Attack or Special Attack] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Ice), Novice Athletics, Novice Survival Prerequisites: Effect: Choose two out of Haze, Ice Shard, Mist, and Powder Snow. You learn the Chosen Moves. Rank 1 Moves Rank 2 Moves Freeze-Dry Avalanche Ice Punch Blizzard Ice Beam Frost Breath Icicle Crash Icicle SpearTrainer Classes 84 Normal Elementalist: Prism In a realm of eighteen different flavors of ice cream, the Normal type is certainly vanilla. But whoever said that vanilla had to be plain? Tough lacking in the raw, elemental aspects of the other types, Normal nevertheless tends to focus a variety of powers, like a prism straining different colors of light. Te trainers who embrace their inner versatility may learn themselves how to focus it, like a Prism. Wielders of light, these Elementalists make use of flashy, powerful techniques with a rainbow spectrum of effects, proving that Normal defnitely doesn’t mean dull. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Charm, General EducationTrainer Classes 85 Blinding Brightness [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Prism Static Effect: You gain the Illuminate Ability. Sparkle [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Prism, Expert Charm or General Education Static Effect: You learn the Moves Tri-Attack and Weather Ball. Rainbow Surge [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Sparkle, Master Charm or General Education Static Effect: You learn the Moves Hyper Beam and Morning Sun. Lucent Mirage [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Prism Static Effect: You gain the Illusionist Capability. Luminous Aura [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Blinding Brightness, Adept Charm or General Education Static Effect: Choose Starlight or Sunglow. You gain the Chosen Ability. Prismatic Alignment [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: 4 Prism Features, Master Charm or General Education 2 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You use a Prism Move Effect: Te effect of this Feature depends on the Triggering Move. You may only use Prismatic Alignment with each Move once per Scene. • Flash: Flash also Blinds all targets it hits until the end of their next turn. • Swif: Swif instead has a range of 8, 3 Targets. • Tri Attack: Roll twice for Tri Attack’s Accuracy Roll and take the better result. If you trigger its Effect Range, you may choose the effect instead of rolling for it. • Weather Ball: You use Weather Ball as if you were in the Weather of your choice. • Hyper Beam: Hyper Beam instead has a Range of Burst 2, Smite or 10, Ranged Blast 3, Smite. • Morning Sun: You use Morning Sun as if you were in Sunny Weather, and you may cure yourself of one Status Afiction. Prism [Class] [+Special Attack] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Normal), Novice General Education, Novice Charm Static Effect: You learn the Moves Flash and Swif.Trainer Classes 86 Poison Elementalist: Miasmic Illness. Disease. Death. Decay. Where Grass represents flourishing life, and Ghosts display life afer death, Poison is that in-between. A slow, steady decline towards the end. Even in its most nonlethal doses, poison causes living creatures to ‘malfunction’, debilitating in some way. Many substances are toxic to a degree, and Miasmics know that rarely is anything truly pure. Tese trainers take on the vile aspects of decay, becoming less susceptible to the same themselves and becoming less bound to the shape their living shell was born with. Tese individuals may be shaped by their powers, becoming abrasive to those who don’t understand. But Miasmics know, everything has its end… Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Guile, StealthTrainer Classes 87 Corrupt Blood [+Defense] Prerequisites: Miasmic Static Effect: You are immune to the Poisoned and Badly Poisoned statuses and resist Poison-type attacks one step further. Flexible Form [+Defense] Prerequisites: Miasmic Static Effect: Your body becomes more malleable, and even your bones are able to flex when required. You do not gain Injuries from taking Massive damage, and you gain a +2 Bonus to any Acrobatics or Athletics Check made to bend, squeeze, or otherwise contort your body -including those to avoid Trip or Grapple maneuvers. Vile Body [+Defense] Prerequisites: Adept Guile or Stealth Static Effect: Choose Absorb Force, Poison Point, or Poison Touch. You gain the chosen Ability. Miasma’s Call [+Defense] Prerequisites: Vile Body, Expert Stealth or Guile Static Effect: You learn the moves Acid Armor and Sludge Bomb. Miasma Unleashed [+Defense] Prerequisites: Miasma’s Call, Master Stealth or Guile Static Effect: You learn the moves Sludge Wave and Toxic. Miasmic Spray [+Defense] Prerequisites: Miasma’s Call, Master Stealth or Guile 2 AP – Swif Action Trigger: You hit with Acid, Clear Smog, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, or Toxic; or use Acid Armor. Effect: Te Effect of this feature depends on the triggering move. • Acid: Instead of its usual effect, Acid lowers the Special Defense of all targets hit by -2 Combat Stages. • Clear Smog: Clear Smog’s target loses 5 HP for each combat stage lost. • Sludge Bomb: Te Target receives a -3 penalty to Accuracy Rolls until the end of your next turn. • Sludge Wave: All targets in Sludge Wave’s Burst are Slowed until the end of their next turn. • Toxic: Te target’s Badly Poison Hit Point Loss begins at 10 instead of 5. • Acid Armor: You are not slowed while liquefed and resist all special damage one step. Miasmic [Class] [+Defense] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Poison), Novice Stealth, Novice Guile Static Effect: You learn the Moves Acid and Clear Smog.Trainer Classes 88 Rock Elementalist: Stone Warrior While the supernatural effects of an Elemental Connection aren’t always obvious, those with a Rock Connection show it in a way that’s pretty gneiss; their skin gets thicker, bones more durable, and overall exhibit more physical endurance than whats considered normal. Tey also exhibit some limited ability to materialize earthen matter and weaponize it, much like a Rock Type Pokémon . Tese individuals are known as Stone Warriors, and are ofen guided since an early age to put their natural skills to use. Tese earthen guardians make excellent bodyguards, and many corporate fat cats, politicians and celebrities seek them out for employment. Because of this, some might think that these guys are all bark and no bite, but you can’t take the ability to materialize rocks for granite. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Combat, SurvivalTrainer Classes 89 Stone Stance [+Defense] Prerequisites: Stone Warrior Bind 2 AP – Standard Action Effect: You adopt one of the stances below, gaining the effects of the stance while this Feature remains bound. You may switch your active Stance as a Standard Action without rebinding your AP. Te benefts from this Feature do not apply if you are not standing on a solid surface, such as deep mud or snow, or if you are outright swimming or even flying. • Falling Boulder Stance: You gain a +5 bonus to all Damage Rolls, but lose 5 HP from Recoil whenever you hit with an attack. • Moon Mountain Stance: Your initiative is lowered by -5, but you gain 5 Damage Reduction and are immune to Push or Pull effects. • Roiling Earth Stance: Afer a successful Intercept action, you may make a Struggle Attack against a foe within range. Rock Power [Ranked 2] [+Defense] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Adept Combat or Survival Rank 2 Prerequisites: Expert Combat or Survival Static Effect: Each Rank, choose one of Sturdy, Rock Head, Run Up, or Sand Veil. You gain the chosen Ability. If you choose Sand Veil, you may consider sand a “solid surface” for the purposes of Stone Stance. Shards of Stone [+Defense] Prerequisites: Expert Combat or Survival Static Effect: You learn the Moves Rock Slide and Stealth Rock Stone Cold Finish [+Defense] Prerequisites: Shards of Stone, Master Combat or Survival Static Effect: You learn the Moves Stone Edge and Head Smash. Stone Stance Mastery [+Defense] Prerequisites: Stone Stance, Master Combat or Survival Static Effect: Whenever you bind Stone Stance, you may choose two Stances and apply the effects of both. Stone Warrior [Class] [+Defense] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Rock), Novice Combat, Novice Survival Static Effect: You learn the Moves Rock Tomb and Wide Guard.Trainer Classes 90 Steel Elementalist: Steelheart What was once a curiosity buried in the ground was tempered by mankind into the foundation of society. Weapons and armor to defend themselves, beams to support their houses, circuitry housed within complex devices… Metal has come a long way since man frst discovered it and learned how to alloy it to match or exceed the iron hides of Aggron. Te strength of Steel is unyielding to man or mon, and those gifed few who know this better than anyone are the Steelhearts. Possessing immense durability, these men and women are living siege engines, taking any blow and offering an unrelenting assault in turn. Tey do not yield, they do not break. Tey are the bone of their swords, the heart of their armor. Tey know that the hardest metal known to man is no Dragonforce, but the spirit of Steel within themselves and their unlimited blades. Trainer Combat Associated Skills: Athletics, FocusTrainer Classes 91 Champion of Steel [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Steelheart 1 AP – Free Action Trigger: You make a Weapon Attack. Effect: Te attack or Move increases your Defense by 1 Combat Stage on 16+ and you may have it deal SteelType Damage if you wish. Steel Wind [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Steelheart Static Effect: You learn the Moves Bullet Punch and Metal Claw. You may use these Moves as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Reactive Armour [+Defense] Prerequisites: Steelheart, Adept Athletics or Focus Scene x2 – Free Action Trigger: You gain an Injury or take a Critical Hit while wearing metallic Armor Effect: All foes within a Burst 1 lose Hit Points equal to double your Athletics or Focus Rank, and you gain Damage Reduction equal to double your Athletics or Focus Rank for one full round. Impenetrable [+Defense] Prerequisites: Steelheart, Expert Athletics or Focus Static Effect: You gain the Bulletproof Ability. Master of Arms [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Steelheart, Expert Athletics or Focus Static Effect: You learn the Call to Arms and Unlimited Steel Works Talents. Call to Arms At-Will – Extended Action Target: A Metal Weapon Effect: You create a Steelheart Bond with the target Weapon. You may only have one Steelheart Bond at a time; if you create a new Bond, all old Bonds are lost. As a Shif Action, you may beckon your Steelheart Bonded Weapon to your hands if it is within 10 meters. If it is being held by someone else who does not want to let go of the weapon, make an Athletics or Focus vs Athletics Opposed Check. If you win, they their lose grip on your Weapon and it flies to your hand as normal. Unlimited Steel Works At-Will – Extended Action Target: Your Steelheart Bond Weapon Effect: You may replace the Move(s) granted by the target Weapon with any other standard Weapon Moves, within Limitations. Weapons may still only grant one Adept and one Master Move at a maximum. Man of Steel [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Steelheart, Master Athletics or Focus Static Effect: You learn the Moves Meteor Mash and King’s Shield. You may use these Moves as Weapon Attacks when wielding Melee Weapons. Steelheart [Class] [+Defense] [Weapon] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Steel), Novice Athletics, Novice Focus Static Effect: When wielding metal Melee Weapons, you may use Athletics or Focus instead of Combat to determine the Damage Base of your Struggle Attacks, to qualify for a Weapon’s Moves, and to resist Disarm Checks. Whenever your Weapon Attacks hit a foe who has previously hit you with a Melee attack in the same round, the foe loses a Tick of Hit Points.Trainer Classes 92 Water Elementalist: Maelstrom Te ocean is the vast body of water that covers seventy percent of the Earth’s surface area. Being over twice as vast as the land we live on, it positively teems with life-forms majestic and mysterious. But the sea isn’t only a place of beauty and life - it can also become a raging whirl of clawing waves and greedy currents, waiting to drag the next fool who underestimates the dangers that lay beneath their boat. Te ones who can brave the Maelstroms fearlessly have taken on the name of the same, among them skilled Water type Elementalists who can breathe the water like air and glide through the currents as birds on the breeze. Tey too have the sea’s deadly might, and assault their enemies with the force of a great typhoon. Trainer Combat Travel and Investigation Associated Skills: Acrobatics, AthleticsTrainer Classes 93 Water’s Shroud [+Speed] Prerequisites: Call Te Current Rank 2 Static Effect: Choose Wash Away or Storm Drain. You gain the Chosen Ability. Hydro Jet [+Speed] Prerequisites: Call Te Current Rank 1 1 AP – Free Action Trigger: You use a damaging single target Water-Type Move Effect: Hydro Jet’s effect depends on if the triggering Move was Melee or Ranged. • If Melee, the Move gains the Pass keyword and you may change direction during the four meters of Pass (but may still only target any given Pokémon or Trainer once). • If Ranged, the Move becomes a Line 4 instead of its usual range. Oceanic Feeling [+Speed] Prerequisites: Water’s Shroud, Master Athletics or Acrobatics Scene x2 – Free Action Trigger: See Text Effect: You may activate Oceanic Feeling when either Wash Away or Storm Drain would be triggered to gain that Ability for 1 full round, if you do not already have it, and immediately Trigger it. Activating an Ability this way ignores its usual Frequency. You may use each Ability once per Scene this way. Call Te Current [Ranked 3] [+Speed] Rank 1 Prerequisites: Maelstrom Rank 2 Prerequisites: Adept Athletics or Acrobatics Rank 3 Prerequisites: Expert Athletics or Acrobatics Effect: You learn 2 Moves chosen from the list below, marked with the Rank of this Feature you are gaining or lower. Maelstrom [Class] [+Speed] Prerequisites: Elemental Connection (Water), Novice Athletics, Novice Acrobatics Static Effect: You gain the Gilled Capability, and a +2 bonus to your Swim speed. Whenever your Water-Type Moves miss all targets, you gain a Tick of Temporary Hit Points. Rank 1 Moves Rank 2 Moves Rank 3 Moves Aqua Jet Bubblebeam Aqua Tail Aqua Ring Waterfall Rain Dance Water Pulse Whirlpool SurfCampaign Settings 94 Chapter 4: Campaign Settings How to Use Tese Settings Tis section is divided into two (and hopefully soon three, and by soon I mean before 1.06 in a blog post) containing two full setting concepts for Fantasy campaigns. Tese settings are comprehensive and ready to be used as is, which can be a big win for a lot of play groups and GMs who are more looking to jump straight to playing. Te settings included here were written to cover a variety of fantasy concepts and subgenres, and to explore various aspects of Pokémon lore that have a lot of room for development in a fantasy world. Keep in mind as you read these that they aren’t intended to be complete and closed settings. Each one of them is complete enough for a campaign, but mysteries have been deliberately lef open-ended, not just to prevent your potential players from reading ahead but also encouraging playing with ideas and rifng off the ones contained here. Te Six Duchies is the frst campaign setting detailed and is representative of your traditional Chivalric Romantic setting. It is an ideal setting for those looking for that traditional Tolkienesque fantasy feeling, as well as those looking for something more akin to A Song of Fire and Ice from a political intrigue angle. Visiwa: Te Eastern Isles is the second campaign setting detailed and representative of both the Age of Discovery and Tribal Fantasy. Tis high seas and dense jungled setting focuses on exploration of the unknown with extremely dangerous wildlife, ever changing labyrinths and ecosystems, and lost relics and ruins of an ancient civilization. It can be played from both a swashbuckling, light hearted angle all the way to a dark and dangerous dungeon crawl. It also includes several different cultural groups, leaving a lot of room for politics and tension between the various factions.Campaign Settings 95 The sea breeze rolled across the docks and through the city of Kingswatch, the banners of the First Cohort of the royal army fluttering. Te procession through the town was silent save for the clamor of armored foot steps. Te troopers marched through the city, past the temple of the Tousand Arms where holy men and - women mourned. Past the College of Tree Disciplines, where scholars had halted their studies for the day to pay solemn respect, and past the College of Logic, saluted by future captains and commanders in full parade dress. Bannermen held their burdens high, never letting the black pennants dip or waver despite the winding path and the hours of steady march. Reaching the palace proper, they entered a grand hall, their fnal destination. It was open to the western sea, allowing the breeze to swim over those assembled. Standing on tiered platforms along the walls were the ruling nobility of Adairslen. Te dukes and duchesses each sat under a banner displaying their coat of arms. Of the Six Duchies only one lord was absent; the Duke of Coalbank had sent his youngest son in his place, a boy no older than ten summers. It was just above insult for the event. A funeral. A coronation. Te soldiers knelt in a wave, each rank in turn. Tey did not pay obeisance to the nobility at their flanks, but to the veiled woman at the head of the room, standing stiff as wood and flanked by two men. Te men standing on either side of her could not look any more different. One was a man of middle years, his long hair tied in a braid streaked with early grey. His clothes were worn, but of fne material. He looked down his nose, crooked where it had been broken at least once. Tis was the storyteller. Te other man was in the winter of his life, his white hair cropped short in a warrior’s cut. His clothes were of simple make and fabric, all in white. He clutched his medallion of ofce, the golden wheel, with scarred hands. He was the First Arm of the Path. Six DuchiesCampaign Settings 96 On the raised dais the veiled woman motioned for the soldiers to stand. At her command they snapped to attention. Slowly she removed her veil. She was rather plain, her face bare of paint, her dark hair pulled into a severe bun. Even her mourning dress was simple in design, if not in fabric. Her most striking features were her red eyes, and they glowed on her pale face. Te sun, setting at her back, ringed her in light. It was then that Margaret Bloody-Eyes made her frst speech as queen. “Tis is Our time for mourning. Our father the late king was one of the most beloved rulers this kingdom has ever known. He viewed all his lands, his home, and all those who lived upon them his children. Our father was as a father to the entirety of Adairslen. As such every Adairen weeps for his passing. But the treachery that took him will not go unpunished,” her voice cracked as she spoke. Quickly she regained control of herself. “But now more than ever are the duchies divided, ripping at each other’s throats. Why? Differences in belief? Who follows the Path of One-Tousand or who pays respect to the Icons? Over riches gained or taxes levied? Slights real or imagined. Tose seeking to lay blame?” Her words came easier now her as she found the rhythm. Te room remained silent. Many of the noble men and women looked anywhere but to the dais, to their Queen. “We are not blind, nor deaf. We know what whispers echo in Our nation. Cession. We know what we are called. We are not Our father, we have never claimed to be. No, do not hide it. We see it in your faces. Te fear in your eyes. Te uncertainty. Te ambition,” Margaret’s eyes lingered on the young scion of Coalbank, and to the boy’s credit he only squirmed afer her gaze lef him. “We will not be perfect at frst, but We are still your monarch. We, I, am your Queen. But for this nation to do more than survive, for this nation to thrive as it did under the rule of my father I cannot do this alone. I will need the aid of every Archduchess and Archduke in the kingdom. Te aide of every man and woman in this room.” Te queen continued on, her expression hardening as she looked over those assembled. “We are Maragret Adairson, also called Bloody Eyes. We call now to reafrm your oaths, thrice over. Once to the throne, once to your lands, and once to me,” the stiff, uncertain woman of earlier was mostly gone. Several of the dukes and duchesses shared confused looks. Eventually Duchess Oriana of Fairfeld knelt, hand over heart. ”My Queen, I swear my oath, my fealty, my life. To the crown, the kingdom, and to you.” Each of the dukes and duchesses followed suit. Coalbank was the last group to kneel before their queen. “You all honor me and you honor our father,” Margaret said, the tears falling down her face, red in the setting sun. –So began the Reign of Margaret Bloody-Eyes. 1065 FFCampaign Settings 97 Six Duchies is a western medieval fantasy campaign setting, where sword and sorcery still reign supreme. Te nation of Adairslen is in turmoil; their king was assassinated while en route to a ball in his honor. Fear runs rampant with the nobility, and whispers of usurpation and cession burn the ears of all who hear them. Te six duchies that the setting derives its name from make up the six provinces of Adairslen: the capital King’s Watch; Fairfeld, the oldest Duchy; Coalbank, famed for its mining; Sailmourne and its famous sailors; Faepeak, in the shadow of the mountain, Fairymont; and Greensea, land of primordial forests. Wild Pokémon still populate the Six Duchies, but Poké Balls are still a new and rare invention, so there are fewer domesticated species. Each Duchy has a Ducal Keep that serves as a capital. Tey are the largest settlement in each duchy and are the center of commerce. All tariffs, levies and general tax collection makes it’s way to the ducal keeps, and from there to Kingswatch. Every ducal keep is protected by walls taller than any man could climb. Tese walls were built when the duchies were still new, and as time progressed the commerce, produce, and manpower needed to supply the Keeps caused the towns to spread outside of the walls. Technology and Setting Basics Six Duchies Campaign Setting Genre: Chivalric Romance Features: Enchanted Landscapes, Exploration, Living Gods, Magical/Military Academie, Political Intrigue, Old Fae Lore, Warring States Poké Balls Capturing Pokémon is nothing new in the Six Duchies, and has been happening for centuries. Te method by which Pokémon are captured is the only thing that has changed. Prior to the invention of Poké Balls, Pokémon would have to be contained within a runic circle for the duration of a ritual to bind them to a sizeable piece of Faeglass, a crystal found only within the mines of Fairymont. Due to the cost of materials, only nobility were able to bind Pokémon, and the Faeglass crystals were ofen displayed in jewelry, weapons, or armor. Due to the length of the ritual and the fragility of the Faeglass before being bound, only sedated or domestic Pokémon were bound. Modern Poké Balls have only been in production for about ten years. Initially discovered by researchers at the College of Logic, Poké Balls are made using Apricorn shells inlaid with Faeglass and Varil ore. While the College is highly protective of their production methods and design, rudimentary versions of the Poké Balls created by the College can be produced by country hedgewitches and wizards, but these products are more likely to break. Pokémon Centers In the duchies Pokémon centers do not exist in the traditional sense. Te duchies have houses of healing in every major city that heal both trainer and Pokémon, but out in the wilds options are limited to local healers and hedge witches/wizards. Tese individuals will provide healing services, sometimes for free, but sometimes in exchange for a favor, either immediate or called on later. In general it is poor planning to have every Healer’s Hut or Hedge Witch require a service or goods but it can help set the tone of the area. Religion Tere are two main religions in Adairslen: the worship of the legendary Icons, and the proclaimed Path of One Tousand Arms, sometimes refereed to as the Arcean Cult. Te Path is relatively new, as it was only established two hundred years ago; the late king was the frst member of the royal family to practice the Path openly, going so far as to build a temple in the capital. Since his conversion, tensions and conflicts between the two religions have begun to emerge between the formerly peaceful groups.Campaign Settings 98 Te Icons Icons are the forces of human nature made manifest. Tey begin as mere stories told over years and centuries until the belief and faith of thousands of people spins them into life. As they are beings beyond mortal limitations, no Icon is bound to a singular body or shape; however, they are still bound to mortal belief. Should a story cease to be told, an Icon may lose access to that character. Should enough stories vanish, an Icon may disappear entirely. Conversely, as new stories are created, an Icon can gain new forms. Every Icon has a sphere of influence that correlates to their nature, as well favored Pokémon. Tese Pokémon may embody an Icon’s spirit, ideology, or personality; they may also simply be tied to an Icon through stories. Icons will ofen bless members of these favored species in odd but benefcial ways. Occasionally, these Pokémon can also be used as servants or messengers. Icons do not have an organized or dedicated clergy. Tey can be worshipped anywhere, by anyone. Prayers are simply stories; they range from as short as two lines, to epics usually reserved for festivals. Te closest thing to a priesthood are freelance Storytellers. Tese are people who travel the land learning and telling stories, attempting to ensure no legend is lost. Most Storytellers devote themselves to a particular Icon, but will never turn down a rare tale of any Icon. Te more popular Icons may have shrines, but these are tended by volunteers, usually retired Storytellers. Each duchy has a favored Icon, one the people pour more belief into than any other. Icons are more likely to appear and act in areas where their worship is strong, but they are by no means limited to these areas. Most Popular Icons Te Grinning Fisherman Patron of the art of fshing, the Grinning Fisherman is said to be found at every major body of water with a pole in hand and a story to tell. Reports of his appearance vary wildly from duchy to duchy, but he always appears as an older man with a full beard and a perpetual grin. He is one of the most enigmatic of the Icons, as he never makes demands of his followers or attempts to increase their numbers. He usually only appears to those worried or afraid; he tells a story, or answers some questions, and departs, ofen before they realize who he is. Despite his mysterious nature, he is worshipped by sailors, fsherman, and anyone with business on the sea. Spheres of influence: Water, Fishing, Sailing, Storytelling Favored Pokémon: Lapras, Slowpoke, Finneon, Wailmer Lord of Feasts Tis Icon is arguable the most active, and unlike most Icons, the Lord of Feasts can be deliberately summoned- -in this instance, by a grand enough celebration. He appears most ofen as a young man with a masquerade mask, and is usually clothed as richly as the wealthiest of nobles. Although normally carefree and jovial, this Icon is capable of grimmer presentations. He embodies excess; when his mood turns sour, the celebration may continue until participants are pushed beyond mortal limits, dancing and consuming until there is nothing lef. Despite the risk, any party attended by the Lord of Feasts will be remembered for years to come. Other Titles: Duke of Drink, Viscount of Victuals, Reviled Reveler Spheres of Influence: Dance, Food, Celebration Favored Pokémon: Muchlax line, Gulpin line, Spinda, Shuckle Te Midwife Doctors and hospitals are rare in Adairslen, found primarily in the keeps. In the country, the Midwife is the patron Icon of local healers and pregnant women. Te Midwife usually takes the guise of an older woman, wrapped in scarves and a tattered dress, a bag of tools and a long knife on her hips. Her face is obscured by her scarves but her long, bony fngers are wrinkled, worn, and calloused.Campaign Settings 99 Tough midwifery is her specialty, it is not the only thing the Midwife is known for. She is a healer of any ailment; though she usually only appears in times of dire need, she will also appear to newly pregnant women or women who have recently miscarried. Other Titles: Midwife, Matron, Matriarch Spheres of Influence: Fertility, Health Favored Pokémon: Chansey, Kangskhan, Audino, Alomomola Soul of the Battlefelds Tis Icon is associated with any sort of bloodshed, be it war, murder, or raiding. As such, this Icon is worshipped not only by soldiers, but also by bandits and assassins. Tis Icon is only found where lives have been deliberately taken and is most commonly seen on battlefelds, battling on the side of the victor. Te Soul of Battlefelds has only one identifying trait; a face painted red with blood. Anyone who pays respect to this Icon does so fervently, for the Soul of Battlefelds is unpredictable; the worst fate imaginable is to fnd this Icon fghting against you, for they never lose. Other Titles: Bloody Icon, Idol of Murders, Warcaller Spheres of Influence: Duels, War, Bloodshed Favored Pokémon: Tyranitar Line, Honedge Line, Tyrouge line Pathfnder Te patron of the hunt and master of the secrets of the wild lands, this Icon is barely remembered by those who live in large towns and cities. Tis Icon is known for its capricious behavior; while it occasionally aids hunters, it will sometimes turn on them in the middle of the hunt, startling game or turning disrespectful hunters into prey. Te Pathfnder never kills without reason. It appears to followers as: an older woodsmen with Ursaring hides slung over one shoulder, carrying a large logging axe; a young woman with a longbow; or a young child with a hunting knife. Other Titles: Te Pathfnder, Ranger of the Wilds , or Master of the Hunt Spheres of Influence: Hunting, Forests, Stealth Favored Pokémon: Stantler, Deerling line, Vulpix line, Houndour Line, Growlithe line, Rufet Line Plowman Te most humble of the Icons, the Plowman’s presence is visible even if he himself isn’t. Wherever he has walked or worked the plants grow that much faster, are that much stronger, and produce that much more. Tough he is not the most widely worshipped Icon, he is respected and loved by his followers, for he brings only blessings and never curses. Te Plowman always takes the form of a suntanned youth on the verge of manhood, his hair bleached by the sun. He is most commonly found hiring on for a day’s work; where he toils, the work goes faster, and his fellows never tire. Crops he gathers seem to double in the gathering, and what he plants faces neither pest nor plague. He is ofen accompanied by a Tauros that he will leave behind as a gif; Tauros descended from these Pokémon are highly valued. Other Titles: Lord of Farmers, Tauros Blood, Spheres of Influence: Crops, Growth, Animal Husbandry Favored Pokémon: Taruos, Miltank, Spoink line, Hoppip line, Mareep line, Cherrim,pumpkaboo line. Scholar of Runes Te Icon of academic endeavors and research. Te Scholar has no defnite shape or form; it has appeared as men and women both young and old, as whisperers unseen, and even as a tome of knowledge. Te Scholar appears to anyone truly seeking knowledge and will offer their advice and guidance. Tis Icon truly appreciates being called upon and relishes their patrons as much as the endeavors they are on. Te Scholar ofen becomes too engrossed in the pursuit of research, and has been known to go to extreme lengths, influencing patrons or providing questionable tools and means, in order to fnd answers. Other Titles: Librarian of the Arcane, Scathing Academic, Sinister Savant Spheres of Influence: Knowledge, Artifce, Ruthlessness Favored Pokémon: Unknown, Fenniken line, Abra line, Claydol line Golett lineCampaign Settings 100 Singer of Storms Te Singer of Storms is the Icon most closely associated with the turn of the seasons and the weather. Tose who pay her respect ask for an early spring or a cool summer, for rain or for sun. She is also mistress of music, and one of the many ways she asks for tribute is through song. Her appearance and instrument change depending on the season and the weather. In fall she has hair of deep browns, gold and yellows; her skin is the color of wet clay and her eyes green. She primarily uses flutes and other woodwinds during this season. In winter her skin is white as snow, her hair blue with shards of black, and her eyes are colorless white orbs, and uses drums and other percussions. Spring turns her hair to green, full of life and flowers; her skin becomes a rosy peach color; and her eyes change at a whim, always reminiscent of wildflowers. It is during this season that she truly becomes the Singer, as she uses no instrument but her voice. Summer turns her skin turn a dark bark-like brown; her hair as red as the setting sun; and her eyes each a miniature sun. Tis season is for string instruments, primarily harps and lutes. Other Titles: Composer of Cold, Spring Soloist, Conductor of Sunlight Spheres of Influence: Weather, Seasons, Song, Music Favored Pokémon: Castform, Kricketune, Chatot, Igglypuff line, Deerling line Migrant Trader Te Icon of travel and trade. Every merchant, trader, and traveler pays homage to the Migrant Trader, for its blessings include safe travel, the best deals, and the chance to be the frst to corner a market or discover a new point on the map. Te Trader has anything a person could want and is always the happy to make a deal, although they don’t always trade in coin. Tey have been known to trade secrets, time, years of work, and even lives for their goods and services. Te Migrant Trader has claimed to have set up shop everywhere in the world, and some places besides, even on the other side of death. Teir appearance is always the same: a fgure in a large black cloak, hood raised, a kerchief across their face, and a bag of goods on their back. Other Titles: Dead Peddler, Vagrant Vendor Spheres of Influence: Trade, Travel, Money Favored Pokémon: Meowth Line, Inkay line, Delibird Te Path of One Tousand Arms Unlike the Icons, the Path has a devoted and organized clergy and religion. Tey preach of the harmony of the natural world and worship Arceus as the creator. Although they are a popular religion, practiced openly by commoners and nobility alike, the Path was initially persecuted and practiced secretly. Te founder of the Path was a commoner, a farmer in Farfeld Duchy named Mercedes. During planting season, she unearthed a flute carved entirely of strange blue stone. She played it that evening for her family, and they marveled at the clear and beautiful sounds it produced. In their dreams, each member of the family saw a being unlike any other; he did not speak to them, and he did not attack them. He simply watched. For over a fortnight the family shared this dream, and every day they discovered a new object buried in their felds, strange stone like objects of mysterious make and design. On the sixteenth day they found the last plate; on the sixteenth night, the being fnally spoke to Mercedes. While there are many contradicting stories of what the being we now call the Creator told His frst disciple, all the texts agree on what happened next. Mercedes of Farfeld cast away her name, becoming the First Arm of the Path of One Tousand. She preached the unity and harmony of the Sixteen Essences of the World, using the power of the sixteen Plates to demonstrate the truth of her story. Each Plate granted dominion over one of the fundamental elements of the world. Many were awed by her power and her story, and her following steadily grew. Although the First Arm denounced war and bloodshed, her pacifsm was seen as a fatal weakness by those who saw her as a lunatic and a heretic. In order to protect her, members of the congregation formed a group called the Gilded Fists. Each member of the Gilded fsts aspires to the rank of Knight-Templar. Tere are only ever sixteen Knight-Templars at one time, as each embodies one of the sixteen aspects of creation.Campaign Settings 101 Each Knight-Templar commands fve ‘Finger’ groups of ten men and women. Total, the Gilded Fists are composed of eight hundred knights. Tough this group is large enough to rival any standing army, they have no military base and are rarely in the same place. Tey are most commonly divided down to the Fingers and serve as small honor guards for missionaries and gather into full Fists to serve the First Arm. In the formative years of the Path, when they were still hunted and persecuted, the Sixteen Plates were lost. No one knows why or how: some say the Creator was angry with his disciples for using His blessings as tools of destruction, and reclaimed the Plates from the world; others claim that the First disciple deliberately broke them on her deathbed and scattered the shards across the land with the last of her power to prevent them from being misused. Tose of the Path hold only sixteen major elements in high regard, disregarding two elements that were not present in the Plates. Normal holds no special gifs, but is seen as the force that binds the world together. Te other missing element is Fairy. Te Path ofcially views fairies as something alien, but benign. Tere are those who seek it out as a corruption, and attempt to cleanse it from the world. Other factions claim that it is just a new element brought to the world by the Creator and that the Path should adopt it into its doctrine. Titans In the world of Adairslen, legendary Pokémon take the form of Titans, beasts of legendary power and pure elemental force. Old legends claim these creatures made the world, but these stories have long been disregarded in the face of their unrelenting destructive force and complete disregard for the lives of anyone, human or Pokémon, who crosses their path. Not one expedition has ever returned from trying to calm these Titans. In ancient history, kingdoms and empires banded together in attempts to defeat these Titans. Such battles are referred to as the Titan Wars. Tey all ended in failure. In modern Adairslen, most people avoid these creatures to the best of their ability. However, the College of Tree Disciplines has begun long-distance studies into the nature of these Titans, and rumors say they hope to one day capture or control them. Tey have recruited the small but fervent Titan Cults into service, sending members closer than most scholars dare go. Example Titans: • Te Titan of the Southern Sea, now called the Sea of Glass stilled it’s waves over a millennia ago, no scholar knows why but to this day there are no waves, the tide rises and falls with still water. • Te islands that dot the northern archipelago have raging volcanoes that never stop spewing their ash and lava, slowly growing each year. On dark still nights those who live on the shores claim to hear ringing roars and earth shaking blows coming from those mountain peaks, the Titan of the Earths Heart expanding his influence. Society in the Six Duchies Te social structure of Adairslen is largely feudal. Te kingdom is broken into the six duchies, and each duchy is broken down further into individual fefdoms. Each duchy has a ruling noble family led by an arch- duke or duchess, then branch families who own and oversee these fefdoms. Depending on the duchy there may also exist a wealthy merchant class. Te merchants wield considerable power and influence, ofen on par with the nobility, but without titles. Many of these merchant princes have been stripped of their property and wealth afer trying to act above their station in the capitol. Tose who exhibit supernatural powers are ofen recruited at a young age by the Path to be trained as either a Gilded Fist or part of the clergy. Tose who refuse or avoid their attention ofen attend the College of Tree Disciplines to further their abilities. Individuals from small towns or remote villages are usually taught by a local hedge witch or wizard in some regard, ofen as an apprentice. Pokémon Populations Since this setting is pre-digital age, Pokémon like Porygon, Voltorb, Magnemite, and even Mewtwo can’t have the same background as usual.Campaign Settings 102 Te Land of Ardairslen King’s Watch (Capital of the Kingdom) Ruled by: Queen Margaret Bloody-Eyes Patron Icon: Scholar of Runes Te capital of the Six Duchies is located on the coast, and is the secondary trade port of the kingdom. Tis city is older than the duchies themselves, having been home to the original inhabitants of Adairslen. Over the centuries the Adairslens have made changes and additions to the city and surrounding area, but the keep itself, a great stone tower, remains mostly unchanged. It serves as a lighthouse for passing ships and travellers. Residence of the Royal Family. Notable locations: • Te largest military and scholarly academies of the land. Te College of Logic is the Adairslen military academy; most young nobles spend at least a single year in attendance. Te College of Tree Disciplines is the academic college. It focuses on arcane arts, history, and philosophy. Farfeld Duchy Ruled by: Arch Duchess Oriana Patron Icon: Te Plowman Te oldest of the duchies. Farfeld is the agriculture hub of the country, where most of the kingdom’s grains and livestock are raised. Afer the invention of Poké Balls, much of its land has been turned away from food production and instead to the growth of the Apricorns that make the cases of Poké Balls.Campaign Settings 103 Te recent change in direction for many of its farms has caused a bit of an uproar with those who survive off these lands. Te new plants and trees cannot bear fruit for several years afer planting, and even at maturity the Apricorns are inedible. Tis has lef many of the farmers holding onto the promise of royal investment as a shield against starvation. Notable locations: • Te ducal keep, Silo, whose walls surround enough farmland to support the entire keep. • Te Tauros Proving Grounds: the route by which drivers take their Tauros to market every year. • Te Gormen Music Academy: the greatest school of music and theory in the duchies. It is said that every notable bard, dancer or performer has trained here, including many of the Icon’s storytellers. Coalbank Ruled by: Arch Duke Vincent Patron Icon: Migrant Trader Tis duchy lies at foothills that lead to the Fairymont. Coalbank contains the only mines that produce Varil, the singular ore suitable for the creation of pokeballs. As a result, Coalbank has become the richest of the Six Duchies. Most mining operations for normal ores have ceased in favor of searching for Varil deposits. Hundreds of boomtowns have risen and fallen in the decades since this economic shif. Notable locations: • Te ducal keep, Whitewall. Whitewall is not the grandest of the ducal keeps, but it boasts some of the most impressively maintained walls and garrisons. Te white stone of the walls came from the hills of the duchy themselves and some say they are magicked. • Te town of Varisle, located by the original varil mine, is the oldest remaining boomtown and boasts the second largest population in the duchy. Sailmourne Ruled by: Archduchess Isabella the Privateer Patron Icon: the Grinning Fisherman. Te only other coastal duchy in the kingdom, Sailmourne is renowned for its fne ships and excellent sailors. Te duchy is in charge of guarding its coast from outside raiders, pirates and corsairs. Minor raiding parties are the norm; a full scale naval battle has not been waged in generations. Te people of this duchy are notoriously superstitious, and invoke their patron at the smallest hint of ill fortune. Notable locations: • Te ducal keep, commonly referred to as the Shipyard. Te keep is built right into its own private docks where the duke’s flagship is kept in case of emergencies. • Te shipyards, not to be confused with the ducal keep. Tey use the timber imported from Greensea Duchy to create all of their ships • Te Whirling Cave: home to all manner of strange and varied sea life. Faepeak Ruled by: Archduchess Serena Patron Icon: Singer of Storms Tis duchy dwells in the direct shadow of the Fairymont. Te people here are reserved and do not take to outsiders very well. Faepeak is one of the more dangerous duchies; in the shadow of the mountain, infants and children sometimes vanish from their homes, replaced with strange creatures; men and women vanish for years and return unchanged, unaware of the passage of time, while some return afer only a single night, but aged into elders. Tis duchy is also home to unique Pokémon found nowhere else in the kingdom. Tis duchy is where the crystalline stone called Faeglass was frst discovered, and its mines remain the only mines to produce it. Since the invention of Poké Balls and the increasing use of Varil ore, the demand for Faeglass has decreased.Campaign Settings 104 Notable locations: • Te ducal keep, Stonheart; built into the Fairymont itself, the keep’s walls are constructed from stone said to be mined from the heart of the Fairymont. Tough it has never been sieged properly, any attacks made against the ducal keep have always failed quickly. Many who visit claim that Stoneheart Keep is a maze of corridors that go deeper than they should. Some visitors even claim to have heard voices from the walls and see faces in the stone. Conversely, no native has ever experienced trouble navigating. • No one is certain how the properties of the crystals within the Faeglass mines were frst discovered, but Faeglass has always been vital to the production of Poké Balls. Locals however, have a number of superstitions surrounding Faeglass; most disturbingly, they claim that any child who looks into a crystal will lose their soul. While these legends remain unsubstantiated, a larger percentage of people do go missing from the mines than from anywhere else in the duchy. Greensea Ruled by: Archduke Laurent Patron Icon: Te Pathfnder Te largest of the duchies, but the least populated, Greensea is named for the thick forests that dominates its lands. Many settlements rest just at the forest’s northern edge, but there are a few communities that make their living by logging deep in the woods. It is a difcult life, as the living forest tries to reclaim its lost land every day; plants and trees grow at a vastly accelerated rate, and have overcome several villages unable to keep ahead. Much of the traveling done through this duchy is accomplished by paving roads with stone from the Fairymont, the only material resistant to the plants and trees. Te wood provided by Greensea duchy supplies the entire kingdom with timber; with the rate of forest growth, there is very little chance of complete deforestation. Notable locations: • Te ducal keep, Ivywall. Te keep’s walls are not made of stone, but live wood. When the duchy was frst established, before the nature of the forest was fully understood, the people thought nothing of building in the forest using wood. But over the years the walls and buildings began to sprout and leaf again. Te strange nature of the forest seems to have brought the dead wood of the walls back to life. Tis has created a strange atmosphere to the keep and most buildings in the duchy. Te maintenance of the walls requires much shaping and trimming, but as the walls themselves grew the keep became incredibly fortifed.Campaign Settings 105 Trainer Creation Trainers can walk all manner of life in the duchies. Many Elementalists and those with the power of Aura are snatched up by the Arcean Cult to serve as squires and eventually knights known as the Gilded Fists, but some still live their whole lives in the country or attend a College. Supernatural classes like Medium and Channeler are much more common in the wilds; almost every village or town has at least one as a wiseman or woman. Many scholarly types try to gain patronage to research their felds, such as pokeball research or the artifcial creation of Poké Balls. Such classes might be Researcher, Scientist, even something like Jail Breaker from DPDoM could ft with some reflufng. Te classes from Te Blessed and the Damned can also ft if the campaign focuses on Legendary Pokémon, or even the Icons themselves may have chosen to bless or brand individuals. Te more ‘mundane’ classes still have a home in the Duchies as well, Ace’s and Capture Specialist especially, as Pokémon raising and catching is important not just for warfare, but everyday life. Chefs might be trying to impress the Lord of Feasts and musicians may wish to play at Court. Building a Six Duchies Campaign Te setting allows for a diverse set of game styles (ex: service under a duke to quell banditry; a mercenary band escorting members of the College of Tree to a site; political intrigue in the capital in the afermath of the Kings death; even students at the College of Logic during fnal exams), so it is best to sit down with your group and discuss what sort of fantasy style game they want to play in. A campaign of Knights of the Gilded Fists will be worlds apart from one following the disciples of the Grinning Fisherman. One might be full of combat and rising through the ranks, the other more about exploration and seafaring. Campaign Hooks Ruins in the Woods Sages of the College of Tree have had an unsettling message delivered in the night. A strange set of ruins have been discovered near the small village of Pinevale in Greensea Duchy. Tey are in a barren clearing that plants refuse to grow in, an occurrence very unusual in Greensea’s forest. A few brave and curious villagers explored every huge stone structure, except the tallest tower, and found them empty of anything save the murals on the walls. Te largest tower was the only one with a sealed door. But even from the ground the villagers could spy a large, strangely etched stone upon its top. Te villagers departed the ruins unharmed, but those who had entered the buildings began to fall into a deep slumber and any who awoke began speaking in strange tongues. Soon, the strange illness spread to other members of the expedition, and then to the rest of the village. Te writer of the message claims to be one of the last unaffected. Te sages have agreed to send a company to investigate this strange illness, but it is not the state of the villagers that most interests the sages; it is the murals and the buildings themselves. Tese ruins sound almost completely intact, a legacy unspoiled by war and time. Tey are unsure how the frescos survived for so long but the scenes described are unlike the Duchies of today. From what the scholars were able to understand of the ‘uneducated’ descriptions, the murals depicted Kingswatch, the volatile northern islands, and strange and fantastic creatures and humans. Scholars have theorized that the murals could be showing humans and Titans living side by side. Upon arrival in Pinevale, the party fnds the village as bustling as a logging town can be expected to be. Te villagers don’t seem ill, but the people of Pinevale all speak in some sort of language none of the sages have ever heard. Yet the villagers seem to understand one another perfectly fne, and are not outright hostile to the party. Te only thing that seems amiss is a large stone in the center of the town. It is easy to tell that it was dragged there recently.Campaign Settings 106 It isn’t until several days afer the party arrives in Pinevale that a carrier Pidgey delivers a fateful message. Te malady is spreading from Greensea Duchy to the rest of Adairslen even the messenger is now stricken, and it is not so benign. Men and women do not wake from sleep, or enter a frenzied feral rage. Does this strange stone hold the key to the afiction of the town? Tis plothook is something that an entire campaign can be based off of or can be adopted in with some tailoring. Te murals and the ruins themselves are lef intentionally vague for you to fll in your own ideas and mythos to the cause of the plague. It allows for a great jumping off point. Maybe the lake guardian trio are enraged to fnd those who worshiped them now dead and are revoking the gifs of knowledge, willpower and emotion they gave to humanity. Te strange stone could be the keystone to an ancient Spiritomb who housed the souls for an ancient people, and is now possessing those of the Dutchy, and the messenger brought the keystone to the capital. Shards from the Heavens It has been generations since the Path of One Tousand Arms lost it’s most holy relics, the Plates of Arceus. Te details of how they were lost are still the debate of theologians today; the most accepted theory is that Mercedes of Farfeld shattered each Plate into shards so that the enemies of the Path could not use them. Over the centuries many relic hunters have come forward, offering to sell what they called shards of the Plates to the Path, most of which were mundane in nature, but not all. Te Path hoards those shards, regarding them as holy artefacts. Tey collect them in hopes to one day mend the shards back to their original form. Tis was seen by most of the clergy as an commendable but ultimately unattainable goal. Yet the Path has begun to receive reports from its missionaries, strange starfalls across the Duchies and in their wake the land is changed. Some areas the changes are minute, more rainfalls, or heat waves, even some reports of shadows moving on their own. While in others the region have to contend with the dead walking, or explosive plant growth, even ground shattering earthquakes. Te Pokémon in these areas are likewise changed, some are simply found with abilities rare for their breed, while others are different elemental types. But it is those who are behemoths for their kind, their abilities and power strange and foreign for their species. It was one of these Pokémon that was frst discovered to have one of the strange elemental shards embedded in its flesh, that the Path coveted so much. Even before word had reached the First Arm it seemed some other force had began to collect these shards for their own use. Te First Arm has offered several mercenary companies and treasure hunters personal contracts to aid those areas affected by the starfall, as well as retrieve any and all artefacts in the vicinity. Tose of the Path are not the only ones interested in these strange starfalls, the College of Tree has also began efforts to explore these incidents. Shards from the Heavens is a campaign hook that allows for many different biomes and conflicts between two or more factions. Te party can be one of a multitude of groups hunting these shards, for glory, gold or out of piety and the lust for knowledge. Perhaps this shadowy group is trying to amass all of the shards to recreate the frst 16 plates, or a rogue sect of the Path is using these shards to try and create their own Fairy Plate. Encounter and Session Ideas • While traveling the party notices a strange weather phenomenon, a sandstorm, hail, rain and even striking beams of sunlight shifing in succession. Upon investigation they fnd a group of Castform and two musicians fghting over the weather as the locals run for cover. • Te Duke Edmont has contracted the party to escort one of his sons from Sailmourne duchy to court. During the trip they fnd that he is a she! Having swapped places with her brother she wants to attend the College of Logic. • A strange merchant asks to join the party at their fre as they camp, he has a cart with a Rapidash attached. Afer breaking bread with them he asks them if they are looking for work. He brings out a strange bauble he claims is a Poké Ball that can catch anything, and he is looking for a buyer.Campaign Settings 107 • A great discovery is announced in Coalbank duchy, a varil ore vein deeper than any other. But as the minders start to dig deep a giant Steelix rampages through the tunnels Any attempts to fend it off or even capture it prove fruitless. A renowned scholar claims that the beast has some how fused with the Varil ore during its evolution and is easily worth a fortune itself. • Strange tales from Faepeak Duchy claim that children are being replaced with fairy Pokémon! Te Duchess Serena had written it off as more superstition until even her own son is replaced with a Ralts. Te party is contracted to fnd out what is happening. • Te Lord of Feasts has announced a grand festival, and promised a boon to whoever could best entertain him. Get your grills and guitars out chefs and bards! • Te College of Tree is shaken to it’s core as one of the experiments breaks free and is terrorizing the country side of Kingswatch. Reports are conflicting on what the experiment was, a herd of small Pokémon all acting in unison, a giant beast which pulls trees from the root, or a single small Pokémon that seems completely harmless.Campaign Settings 108 Visiwa: the Eastern Isles In the beginning, we were one people – the people of the Holy City of Empathica. We, the children of Bondye, were brought into this world with a simple task: Live, Learn, Build, and Worship. He even sent Te Great Moth er to watch over us. Our forefathers took this task to heart, and built the greatest city this world has ever known. - Teir ziggurats, pyramids and temples of gold and gems reached to the heavens themselves. Artisans, scholars and shamans thrived in a time of great learning and prosperity. We learned many of the secrets of the universe – mathematics, alchemy, metallurgy, medicine, nautical navigation and many other arts. With the teachings of Te Great Mother, we frst learned to tap into the secrets of mind, body, and soul: Psionics, Mysticism, Aura, and Te Dream World. But one day, this all changed. A great catastrophe fell upon Empathica, and the city was lost. None can say for sure what happened – some say Bondye was displeased that they invented the Apricorn Cages and found ways to tame the wilds and inflicted a holy wrath upon us, others claim nightmarish creatures rose from the waters and pulled Empathica down, and many others simply believe we built our towers too high, and the island sunk. Whatever the cause, our forefathers fled their Holy City as it sunk beneath the waves, taking what little they could with them – which was mostly their knowledge. Te Great Mother exerted much of her energy to guide our people to our new home – Visiwa. Once our people landed on what we now call Mother’s Isle, Te Great Mother herself said she was tired, and must rest. She found a nice, cool stone to lay on, and entered a deep sleep. Our forefathers simply could not leave her there, and they learned the wilds were a truly dangerous place. So, they built her a temple, and beneath that temple, a labyrinth. Tere, far beneath the warmth of the sun, they lef her to rest. Tat was many centuries ago. Tings have changed much now. In Te Great Mother’s absence, we found new Gods…or maybe, they found us. Regardless, disagreements amongst our people started, and then violence. We are no longer one people, but two. Te Great Mother’s Temple is lost to us, and with it, Te Great Mother herself as well. -Ekondayo, Elder Shaman of Darkfeather Village. January 12th, 1816 Six months have passed since we frst landed on Kingler Isle (and to think it took us three months to understand why the Wildlings called it that!) and founded Port Ivyhollow. While we are able to maintain the settlement just fne, as resources are plentiful, expansion has proven highly improbable. We have lost scores of scouts over the months; it as if it knows we are outsiders, and fghts against us as the body does against a plague. It contorts,Campaign Settings 109 twists, shifs and changes as we sleep, and the Pokémon that inhabit the wilds are truly savage beings. If not for the charity of some of the more curious and benevolent Wilding tribes, I myself would not be alive to write this diary entry. Tey know this land in a way we cannot, and to make matters worse, my scouts report that pirates have begun to take interest in the Isles as well. I give it two months before they establish a port of their own. I abandoned hopes of this colonization effort playing out as planned. We will not subjugate and conquer this land and the Wildings who inhabit it. Tere is something mystical about this land that we do not understand, and if we are to thrive and have influence here, we will have to strike alliances with the Wildings. We know this is something they will consider, since we are not the frst Anglos to visit this land; it seems the tales of the Vinland saga had some truth to them, since a group of Norsemen settled and on a neighboring isle and integrated with the natives. Tis apparently happened hundreds of years ago. Absurd, isn’t it? To help accomplish our own steps toward a coalition with the Wildlings, I have established an Explorer’s Guild, and have sent couriers to the mainland to begin a recruitment campaign on its behalf. I will call upon the bravest, most skilled trainers, soldiers, scholars, scientists, alchemists, and adventurers across all of Kalos in the hopes that they will succeed where we have failed. I have even welcomed the Wildings to join this effort as a frst step toward forming an alliance between them and Kalos. As for those of us of the Kalosian Navy, we shall focus on the security of this settlement for the time being. While my actions will seem absurd to my superiors, and to Europe and the Americas as a whole, I hope that the tales the Explorers will weave will help show the world that this land is unlike any other. -Admiral Sharp, Leader of the Eastern Isles Expedition Visiwa: Te Eastern Isles Campaign Setting Genre: Age of Discovery, Tribal Fantasy Features: Alchemy, Ancient Ruins and Exploration, Te Anima Metaphysics, Black Powder Weapons, Dangerous Wilds and Pokémon, High Seas Adventure, Gods and Legends, Shamanism and Spirits Te Eastern Isles setting takes place in what one could equate to the Caribbean. Nestled South of Unova (and northwest of Mexinova) rests a collection of Isles that host several independent Tribes. While the Technology in this setting is what could be considered primitive, the people of these Isles devised means of creating Apricorn Balls very early in their history. Mystical and Pscionic powers are also very prevalent among these people, as Visiwa is a very spiritual location. Pokémon in this setting are respected for the danger they present to those who venture into the wilds, as well as the loyalty and companionship they can provide. In short, they are viewed in much the same light as wild and domesticated animals are to us. In addition to the native tribes, the navy of Kalos has recently set its sights on the Isles. Tey have established a base camp named Port Ivyhollow, but have been unable to expand beyond its borders. Te Kalosians have brought many commodities with them, from iron bound Galleons to black powder weapons, but they struggle with the supernatural. Te Kalosians have also imported foreign Pokémon species to the isles, but have been careful to not let them free into the wilds. Trade and general relations between the Tribes and the Kalosians is still in a shakey state. Recently, the Kalosians have caught wind of corsairs approaching the region as well. Tis setting uses the Anima Metaphysics presented in Chapter 1, so the following section will be echoing some of its aspects and how they apply to Visiwa.Campaign Settings 110 Te indigenous people of Visiwa came to the islands with a great breadth of knowledge from the Golden Age of Empathica, but life in these lands was not what they expected. Te origin of Pokémon, and the dangers the wilds presented were very alien concepts to them. Tey quickly learned the laws of this new home, and their society and studies shifed to adapt to survival in a primal land. Te frst thing the natives learned about their new home, is leaving their settlements unprepared was a quick way to die. Not only were the Pokémon they encountered much more hostile than any they had encountered before, but they found it impossible to make heads or tails on mapping out the lands around their settlements. Coming across the same rock formation no matter what way they traveled, or they would fnd this landmark repeated in completely different biomes. Te Pokémon that inhabited these regions also seemed to be constant flux, and they rarely encountered the same species twice. Tey also noticed trends in the Types of Species they encountered. If a child had a nightmare about a ghostly apparition and began to spread the tale amongst the others in the village, sure enough the next time their hunters and gatherers would dare leave, they’d encounter Ghost Pokémon. In time, their shamans and spiritual leaders formed a hypothesis on this phenomena – one that was later confrmed when they frst encountered deities other than their lost Great Mother. Te frst lesson was that the human subconscious had a very powerful effect on the world around them. Tey had known for ages that Pokémon were highly volatile entities, capable of quickly evolving and learning new traits and capabilities. It was this observation that led them to create Apricorn Balls in the frst place – if Pokémon enter a stage of pure energy when they evolve, could they be forced into that state to contain them? Te origins of these Pokémon, they had always assumed, was the doing of Te Great Mother. She surely had the power to create them, and there were endless eye witness accounts of her doing so, even among survivors. What the shamans theorized is this was simply her acting on the subconscious of her devout – that it was the collective human spirit’s dreams and imagination that had given her the idea for these beings, and she had willed them into existence. What if, in her slumber, this power had been lef in a state where it would naturally occur as long as humans were near her? It surely explained the patterns in the kinds of Pokémon they encountered in their travels, and their general hostility. Tese beings were being born from nightmares and dreams. Te second hypothesis was that the wilds themselves were also in a state of constant flux. Empathica was an entire island city. It had no vast, expansive wilds where no men dwelt – just farm lands along its coasts. Miles and miles of untapped land was a new thing to them, something they had never experienced before. With no humans around to observe it, it could very well change as easily as the Pokémon that inhabited it did. If they were ever to make any concrete mapping of what to expect outside of their settlement, they would have to establish more of them and slowly crawl their way across the isles. To test this theory, the people’s spiritual leaders, and those with talent for the mystical and pscionic arts, started to accompany their hunters and gatherers, and observe the land while treating this hypothesis as fact. Tey quickly found that this greatly increased the likelihood of these individuals ever returning home from the wilds, and it helped those who would dare to explore have a better sense of what to prepare for. With this knowledge in mind, they slowly established a vast network of villages in their new home. Tis, of course, had social impacts – a once united people was forced to sever if they ever hoped to flourish in this land. Te Kalosians Kalos, being inspired by France, continues that tradition in Visiwa. It has been around thirty years since the Kalosian Revolution, and the refounded nation been in a state of constant flux since. While the Kalosians are not the frst Europeans to settle on the Eastern Isles, their motivations were very different; when Admiral Sharp Te Wilds and Setting BasicsCampaign Settings 111 set out with his fleet to colonize the Eastern Isles, he had in mind what most colonial powers did; to conquer the land and its natives, and extract the region’s wealth for their home empire. Tings could not have gone worse. While their initial landing and settlement went smoothly, they swifly learned the same lessons the tribesmen had centuries ago about how dangerous it was to venture beyond the town. Te fleet swifly found itself at the mercy of the Wildlings (a Kalosian catch-all term for the tribesmen) friendly enough to extend a hand. Admiral Sharp, living up to his namesake, realized how disadvantaged they were and began to change the objectives of this colony. Te Wildlings were willing to trade, and to teach, and the Kalosians would need it - especially when dealing with the supernatural. Back home in Kalos, topics of the supernatural are considered heretical, and those who exhibit signs of an elemental connection, such as Aura or Psionics, are ofen feared and lynched. Rune Masters and Channelers are unheard of, as these arts are not native to Kalos. In reality, the military would love to recruit these individuals for their abilities, and the few they do manage to fnd before they are sent to the gallows are recruited to serve as Alchemists: masters of the Elements and exempt from the Church of Arceus’s persecution. Even amongst Admiral Sharp’s fleet, there are only a handful of these individuals. Te Wildlings, on the other hand, have a natural inclination to these abilities. Admiral Sharp believes that half the struggles that his fleet has faced settling here are due to this fear, and limited understanding of the supernatural, and he’s not far off either! He has recently created an Explorer’s Guild that welcomes civilians from the homeland, willing soldiers, and Wildings, to collaborate and learn from one another as they explore the isle while his fleet focuses on the security of the settlement. Sharp hopes this will lead to the Kalosians being just as accepted as the norse settlers of old were, but time will tell if that pans out, and the European corsairs probably won’t help with that. Life in the Eastern Isles While the Wildings are a divided people with various tribes and customs, they did come from a common culture and have many shared characteristics. Tis is especially true when it comes to the more common jobs among the inhabitants of a village. Te natives do not uphold a caste system, as it’s very common for an individual to take on many different professions in their life to better round out their ability to adapt and survive. Starting from the top down, all the tribes have a Chief. While the way this individual is chosen differs from tribe to tribe, their role is very much the same – they are the highest authority on all matters within the village, and it is very uncommon for a chief not have some sort of supernatural power. Tis stems from the fact that many of the choices a Chief must be involved with, involve an understanding of the supernatural and the way the lands of Visiwa function. Directly under the Chief would be the spiritual leaders of the village – Shamans, Witch Doctors, Druids, Witches, Rune Masters, call them what you will, they play many vital roles within a village. One of these individuals, or one of their acolytes, almost always accompanies individuals traveling into the wilds. Following this are a myriad of professions that are important to survival in the isles. Such as warriors, hunters, beastmasters, gatherers, the crafers, traders, farmers, and other service providers. Warriors, hunters and gatherers play very self-explanatory roles – they are the frst lines of the defense for the villages and ofen venture into the wilds to secure whatever raw materials the village needs. Rune Masters! Let’s talk about what those are here. Since all Pokémon origins start from the subconscious of men, Unowns are this idea at its purist form. Rune Masters create Unown from human memories, and typically in a village they act as the historians. A Rune Master’s primary role in a village would be to observe and record the life and times of their people.Campaign Settings 112 A more blurred profession here would be beastmasters. Ace Trainers, Commanders, Taskmasters, Cheerleaders, Enduring Souls, and similar classes that have more of an active battling focus. Tese individuals ofen work closely with the warriors, hunters and gatherers, as their ability to handle Pokémon and train them for combat are highly valued for survival. Likewise, Pokémon Breeders, Mentors, Coordinators and Style Experts provide the village with outlets to increase the pedigree of Pokémon throughout a village as well. While Pokémon might have a supernatural origin, the ability to both breed them in captivity and better care for them is just as important for a village as being able to best and capture them in the wilds. For example, fairly common that an explorer’s frst Pokémon would be one that was bred by one of the village’s Breeders. Crafers, traders, and farmers provide the village with a myriad of resources and needed equipment. While things such as weapon, armor, food, and restorative potions might seem obvious, ofen it’s the Apricorn Smiths who fnd themselves the wealthiest. Traders, as you could guess, focus on the movement of local goods from one village to another for proft. Tis could include raw goods such as equipment, food, Apricorn balls, and Pokémon themselves. Te Wildings hold a common currency – gold coins from the lost city of Empathica – but being there is a fnite supply of these bartering and exchange of services are also very common means of trade as well. As for the Kalosians, there are three primary groups that have settled in Ivyhollow. Te frst are the members of the Kalosian Navy who are stationed there. Tey function as both the local security and law enforcement, and answer to Admiral Sharp. Te second group are skilled professionals: doctors, teachers, scientists, artisans, blacksmiths, fshermen, farmers, engineers, cartographers, brewmasters, you name it, they got it. Tese civilians have their own elected ofcials who work alongside the Admiral to make sure both sides are met. Te third group are the recently welcomed Explorers. Tese brave souls are the ones who venture forth into the wilds, and while they technically answer to Admiral Sharp, they are compensated by both him and the civilians of Ivyhollow. Since the Wildings had their own coinage, trade with the Kalosians was easy to work out and the two currencies are exchanged freely. Bartering, haggling, and exchanging of favors are still common modes of business as well. Technical Machines One of the frst major accomplishments in the collaboration between the Kalosians and the Wildings was the invention of a substance they call Tech-Mojo. Tis mix of modern science and tribal magic is an incense that can send a Pokémon on a spirit journey to the Dream World. When they awake, they know a Move they didn’t know previously, and ofen couldn’t learn naturally! Tis substance is only sold in quantities large enough for a single Pokémon, and seems to have no effect on humans (It doesn’t stop plenty from trying to get high on it anyway. Cut’s a top seller!) Poké Ball Technology Both the Kalosians an the Wildings use Apricorn Balls as their primary method of capture and containment of Pokémon, and can transport as many as they wish, but most Trainers on both side agree that its difcult to bond and care for more than six Pokémon at a time. Tis is a policy that is pretty strictly enforced by caretakers in the settlements, since the well being of Pokémon is their duty. A Trainer looking to leave a village or town with more than six would have to have a very compelling reason to get the approval of the local caretakers. Transportation of Pokémon from one settlement to another is handled by the caretakers and traders, and due to the efforts of the Explorer’s Guild, they’ve gotten pretty fast at doing it. Keep in mind there are no factories to produce Poké Balls in Visiwa, and the ability to manufacture these devices from Apricorns is vital to a village’s ability to actually capture and raise Pokémon. If the village lacksCampaign Settings 113 Apricorns and/or Apricorn Smiths, they will have to rely on much more primal methods of capture and containment, such as lassos, traps, and winning Pokémon over with bait and force of personality. Tis holds true for Kalos as well, as commodities traveling from the mainland are slow to arrive. Pokémon Centers While the villages don’t have typical ‘Pokémon Centers’, these individuals also ofen act as the village’s medics. Tese individuals also typically have close afliations to the local deity. Port Ivyhollow hosts an actual Pokémon Center with the best surgeons and nurses that the Kalosian Navy could get. Tough given this is the 1800’s, many Kalosians wonder if they should put more faith in the remedies the witch doctor’s come up with… Mechanically, these facilities are identical. Pokémon Populations Visiwa hosts a number of different biomes and environments, but Ice and Dragon Types in particular are scarce. Tey would either be found at the steepest of mountains, found near Snowfeather Village, or be imported from Kalos. Tis said, due to the constant flux of the wilds in Visiwa, its not unheard of for Explorers to wind up in a tundra due to circumstances beyond their control. Type-Shifed and unusual Pokémon, while not common place, are the most potent threats to humans in the wilds, since ones with these traits tend to become pack leaders amongst their kind, or the most alpha predators. Along with Type-Shifed alpha predators are the ever dreaded Demesnes. Sometimes called “Fiends” by the Wildings, these extremely powerful and paranormal creatures lurk in the wilds of the isles, and are less uncommon than most would be comfortable with. It is believed that the majority of Te Labyrinth is controlled by these creatures. It’s up to you what Pokémon live in a given biome, or how far these biomes extend. Te fact that the wilds are in constant change gives you a lot of freedom to vastly change what your players encounter traveling the same route twice. Tis said, each locale does offer suggestions to what to expect in the wilds near it.Campaign Settings 114 Te Eastern Isles 1. Te Temple of the Great Mother Centuries ago, Te Great Mother entered her endless slumber here. Tis location was where the Empathicans began their expansion throughout the isles and is their oldest settlement. While the natives built a temple in her honor on the surface and a handful of tribesmen and shamans reside here to maintain it, what lies beneath is considered the most dangerous region of the isles: Te Labyrinth. It is as if the land itself wished to protect the resting Mew, and grew defenses to accommodate that. Countless Demesnes and their Pokémon spawn reside within it, and none can say how far down it goes, how treacherous it gets, or what other horrors await those who venture too deep. Tose who do reside here are elected individuals from each tribe, and their primary objective is to ensure that the frst few levels are kept in check so that nothing too dangerous could ever surface from the depths below. Very rarely do explorers venture here, and even fewer ever return.Campaign Settings 115 2. Darkfeather Village Associated Types: Ghost, Bug, Poison Deity: Te Fate Spinner (Ghost/Bug Galvantula) Darkfeather Village rests upon the shore of Te Misty Isle, nestled next to the isle’s massive forest. Te forests covering the isle are a bit more temperate than the jungles on the other isles, and make an ideal breeding ground for Bug Pokémon due to a lack of natural predators. Villagers of Darkfeather tend to stick to the bay and the forests, as they know the lay of the land there best. For a good portion of their history, their tribe was nomadic, traveling through the forests and hunting and gathering for their food. Over time they learned to tame and work along side the insects inhabiting these forests, and before too long their tribe developed an afnity for the Bug and Poison Types. Tis development had a heavy cultural impact, as girls tended to develop Bug Connections, and boys Poison Connections. Te Swarmlods of their tribe learned to use pheromones to better lead their insectoid allies, which over time led to them not only developing a matriarchal society, but also adopting a hive-like culture centered around an elected “Queen Bee.” Tis tradition began afer a young Swarmlord encountered and befriended an entity that would become the Tribe’s personal deity - Te Fate Spinner. It was under the frst Queen’s guidance that the nomadic tribe settled down, turning to agriculture as well as hunting, raising and gathering for food. She also introduced a practice of ancestral worship which would eventually lead Ghost Types to hold the tribe in high regards. Socially, the Darkfeather Tribe is broken into several castes; these castes are familial, but do not hold much weight in determining one’s status as much as their profession. Farmers, warriors, and shamans, and other societal tasks are considered equals, as all the tasks the Tribe recognizes are necessary to its survival. Normally, one is stuck to the caste they are born with, but children who develop Elemental Connections (especially girls with Bug Connections) tend to be funneled to a caste more suitable to their talents. Marriage can also change one’s caste, as men typically take on the caste of their bride. Bug Pokémon play a large role in Darkfeather culture, and almost every caste makes heavy use of them. Tis is especially true of the Farmers, who work side by side Bug Types in the felds. While Poison and Ghost Types are also highly revered, Poison Types tend to be raised by warriors, and Ghost Types tend to assist those more in touch with the supernatural. Warriors of the Darkfeather Tribe have also adopted many of the survival techniques that Bug, Poison and Ghost Types employ to survive into how they fght - including stealth, trickery, swif movements and use of venoms. Religiously, the Darkfeather put a huge emphasis on honor to one’s family, including one’s ancestors. Tey believe that Ghost Pokémon are the spirits of their loved ones who have returned to help guide the living. While this belief might not be entirely accurate of the true nature of Ghost Pokémon, i is one that has has served the tribe well and that Te Fate Spinner does not feel a need to correct. Te Fate Spinner is a gargantuan, spectral Galvantula that has watched over the tribe since their nomadic days, and long before the frst Queen noticed her. She fnds humans, the choices they make, and the stories they weave truly fascinating. When those she favors fnally do pass on, she creates a Ghost Pokémon imparted with her memories of the individual; this is considered the highest honor that a Darkfeather tribesmen can receive, and many live their entire lives working toward this goal. Te Fate Spinner is very social, and even a bit motherly. She’s usually found in the company of the current Queen, serving as an advisor, instructor and spiritual counselor for all of the Darkfeather Tribe. While the Darkfeather Tribe as a whole remains skeptical of the fair skinned Kalosians (they were not large fans of the Snowfeathers at frst either), Te Fate Spinner believes that Admiral Sharp’s efforts to found an Explorer’s Guild are done out of good will. To honor this opinion of their patron deity, they have allowed warriors and shamans of their tribe to venture to Ivyhollow and enlist in this guild to both learn from and about these outsiders. Tis is nodding toward the Ninja class existing in Visiwa.Campaign Settings 116 3. Steelwing Village Associated Types: Fire, Rock, Ground Deity: Te Mountain Breaker (Fire/Ground Torkoal) Steelwing Village is nestled in the midst of a mountain valley in the Misty Mountains. Te mountains span across the center of the isle and host a wide variety of Pokémon types. Travel through the mountains can be quite risky, as the mountain paths tend to be in constant flux. Tose traveling outside, or through the range, tend to prefer heading through the mine shafs that the Steelwing Tribe have dug up. Te entrances to these mines are marked by signal fres along the cliffsides, and travel through them is generally considered safe, as guards ofen patrol them and escort travelers from end to end. Te village also hosts a number of natural hot springs, which are quite popular with visitors. Te founders of Steelwing Village chose the location for its temperate weather (the mountain range shields them from most storms), and proximity to the largest mineral deposits in the isles. Tese founders had a vested interest in working toward relearning the lost arts of Empathica, and news of the settlement attracted artisans from all over the isles. Te village makes heavy use of Rock and Ground Types to assist with the excavation efforts, and Fire Types to assist with the crafwork. Tis close bond has led to the vast majority of those born with an Elemental Connection in the village to be tied to one of these Types. Precious metals, gemstones, glass work, and stone works are all produced here, making it a hotspot for trade; Steelwing goods are heavily desired by the other tribes, and making the journey to trade for them can be very proftable. While they are not as religious as their neighboring tribes, Steelwing Village does have a patron deity of its own. Te Mountain Breaker, a large, craggy Torkoal, has assisted the tribe with their mining and crafsmanship for centuries. Te Legendary has a large admiration for art and crafsmanship, and has embedded himself in this aspect of the village by assisting in training new apprentices, appraising goods, and helping with the excavation of new mine shafs. He is also responsible for choosing the village’s chief through an annual contest where those wishing to compete for the title of chief are given a list of materials that they must gather, and create something with. Tese materials change from year to year, but all contestants receive the same list. It is a task they must complete with only the assistance of their own Pokémon, and cheating is grounds for exile from the village. While the village is a wonderful place for an artisan to learn and prosper, it can also be a taxing one. Competition amongst peers can be cut throat, and quarrels are a constant problem with the youths of the village. And for those who aren’t miners or crafsmen, life can be rather dull as that is the focus of the village. To help alleviate this, the village has recently sent hot headed apprentices and aimless youths to live amongst the other Villages, hoping a change of scenery and perspective will help them mature. Some never return, fnding life outside of Steelwing more to their liking, and others come back with a breath of new experiences and a rekindled passion for their craf. Either way, its proven wildly successful, and the invitation from Admiral Sharp to welcome these traveling youths to the Explorer’s Guild was well recieved. 4. Snowfeather Village Associated Types: Ice, Dragon, Dark Deity: Te Drake Hunter (Ice/Dark Beartic) On the southeast coast of Te Misty Isle rests a Village with an unusually chilly climate compared to the rest of the isles. It snows all year round near Snowfeather Village, and the wildlife in the forests and mountains near here reflects this. Te Village itself is an oddball compared to its peers, since its founders were not Empathican, but Norsemen. Around thirty years afer the Empathicans settled, they arrived on wooden longboats en mass. Almost all of these Nords were runaway slaves who had chased afer the tales of a fertile land called Vinland, and had taken to the seas in hopes of fnding it. Visiwa was not the welcoming Vinland they expected, and their settlement was a rough one. Between their unfamiliarity with this new land, and their lack of resources from their long journey, survival looked bleak. Luckily, the other tribes of Visiwa learned of this new settlement of fair skinned and haired people, and aferCampaign Settings 117 much deliberation, decided to help them out. Tings were difcult at frst, as the former slaves were wary of the true intentions of the Empathicans, and the Empathicans unsure if they were the scouts of an invading force or refugees themselves. Tis doubt on the side of the Empathicans was largely due to the draconic Pokémon these people brought with them. Te ferce Dragon Types were unlike any species the Empathicans had seen before, and had an unsettling regality about them.. Tis matter sorted themselves out when a new Deity awoke in the Isles; the Norsemen had come with their own legends, stories, myths, and beliefs, and many fell to prayer in their harshest hours. Tese collective emotions and wishes were answered by the Isle itself in the form of Te Drake Hunter, a colossal, black furred Beartic. It is said that he arrived in the midst of a fght between a Darkfeather Tribesmen and a Norsemen, separating the two and beseeching both to settle their differences with words, and not bloodshed. He approached the Nordic settlement, ensuring the settlers that their prayers had been answered and entrusting them with a pack of Weaviles, vicious and loyal hunters that would serve the settlers well. He then ventured to the other Villages, and pleaded with their Deities and Tribesmen alike to welcome these outsiders as brothers and sisters. Afer witnessing what their beliefs had birthed, and some introspection, the Empathicans realized that these outsiders and their struggles were no different than their own. Tey welcomed them with open arms, and the Nords in return respected by taking on a tribal name of their own - Snowfeather. While the majority of the Snowfeather chose to stay with the village, others decided to intermingle with the other Tribes. Te opposite was also true as Empathicans settled in Snowfeather as well. Over time, the two bloodlines mixed, but the Anglo traits of the original settlers didn’t exactly fade away. People from Snowfeather tend to have lighter skin, and people with blonde or red hair can be found throughout the isles. In current times, the Snowfeather’s major resources are lumber, fsh, and skins. Te southern and eastern coastline are rich in wildlife, and most the original settlers were woodsmen, carpenters and farmers by trade. Agriculture is limited in the cold environment, but the farmland they do have helps sustain the production of wine and mead, two products the others tribes consider a grand luxury. Te Drake Hunter still watches over the village, though he is a little more ofands than most the other Deities. He resides in the woods near the village, but welcomes and teaches those who do track him down in an ancient combat style from their original home that closely models the ruthlessness of a Weavile, and the namesake of a Beartic. Tose who practice it are known as Berserkers. When word of Admiral Nelson’s invitation reached Snowfeather, it was met with fear. Were these Anglos from the same land as their ancestors, and were they here to take back their slaves? Te reassurance of other tribes has quelled some of these worries, the turnout has been sparse thus far. Most the initial volunteers were adults, grizzled veteran hunters, and Berserkers. Te feedback from the frst wave of volunteers has been overly positive, though, and now young adults are looking to make the trek as well. 5. Bravescar Village Associated Types: Electric, Flying, Normal Deity: Te Storm Seer (Electric/Flying Xatu) Bravescar Village rests atop an expansive plateau on the northwest side of Kingler Isle. Te plateau itself is largely grasslands, but also has patches of arid desert. Te climate on this plateau is much less humid than it is down in the jungles below, making it a much more dry heat than most the isles. Getting up and down the plateau is tricky to do on foot, as safe routes up are few and far between. Most travel up and down is done with the assistance of flying Pokémon. To the Bravescar Tribe, the plateau is a bread basket. Tere is ample space for raising livestock and crops, enough rainfall to get by, and best of all, a wide variety of Flying Pokémon that live up here. Bravescar Tribesmen have always had a strong tie to the skies, and their name is derived from both the boldness needed to soar the skies on the back of a Pokémon, and the Braviary Species being one of the more common Flying Types raised by the tribe. Where this obsession with flightCampaign Settings 118 originated from is a topic of much debate amongst the tribe, but most recognize it as a question along the lines of asking if the Torchic or the Egg came frst and that their patron Deity is at the heart of it. Te Storm Seer is a Xatu with a very electrical flare to it - with a yellow molting and feather patterns that depict storm clouds, rain and thunder. It rests on a stone pillar at the center of the village, and spends its days staring into the sun and moon. It speaks little, but when it does, it speaks of events to come, and it’s always right. Te signifcance of these messages varies and most of them do happen to be inconsequential, such as predicting a newlywed wife in Steelwing Village will burn dinner tonight, or that a man in Ivyhollow dropped a penny. Te Storm Seer does however make a point of regularly reporting an update on what the weather forecast for the next week, or month, or year will look like. Tis is immensely helpful to farmers and villages in general to help budget and gauge how much food they will be able to produce in a year, and what additional must be hunted or traded for. Also, when something truly insidious does happen in the isles, Te Storm Seer alerts all who are near what has, or will, transpire. Compared to the other Deities, Te Storm Seer is a little odd. It doesn’t pay much attention to the humans who live alongside it, and does not take part in any of the inner workings of the tribe. If offered a gif, it will accept it and thank the gif giver, but won’t say much else. Despite this, Bravescar Village has a number of Clairvoyants and Rune Masters who do their best to assist Te Storm Seer and record its messages. Tese messages are handed off to a team of couriers known as the Braves, who take to the skies with their trusted Flying Pokémon, and relay the messages to the other tribes. In addition to this, Te Braves act as mail carriers for the region, and also help transport Apricorn Balls from village to village. Tese services are very crucial to the success of the tribes of Visiwa, and its not uncommon for young Bravescar Tribesmen to gain an inflated ego from this honor. When Admiral Nelson extended his invitation to the Explorers Guild, these bratty and boisterous youths were the frst to go with the hope that the experience would humble them. Te results are yet to be determined. 6. Ivyhollow Associated Types: Grass, Fairy, Steel Deity: Princess Diana (Diancie) New Ivyhollow hosts all the amenities a proper colony of Kalos would be expected to have, and plenty of Kalosians and Wildlings live there comfortably. Unfortunately, the bay that town rests in is surrounded by swampland and geothermal hotspots, so once you leave town you’re literally knee deep in trouble. Tere’s a path by land that leads to both Veilbeak Village and Bravescar Village from the town, but given the swampy conditions and the dangerous Pokémon that lurk in it, travel on these roads without a military or Explorer convoy is discouraged. For an explorer, probably the most important locale in the township is the Explorer Guild’s HQ. Tis building hosts a number of meeting rooms, ofces, and a research library. All missions and guild business are done through this portside facility: • Vai University - founded by a Kalosian inventor and artifcer by the name of Teresa Vai, this research academy focuses on the Kalosians and Wildlings sharing their knowledge with one another. Tis ranges from basic language courses, to history and cultural studies, to complex supernatural and scientifc topics. • Te Armory - this state-of-the-art blacksmithy and alchemy hall provides both equipment and services to Explorers at affordable prices. Te Alchemy Hall also is home to a team of researchers who are studying the unusual Pokémon in the region. • Te Moonstone Inn - while construction for new housing for Explorers is constantly going on, new arrivals do need a place to stay in the short term! Te Moonstone Inn houses new explorers while they await more permanent housing, making moving in and out of it a rite-of-passage for many. • Te Singing Feebas - Run by Barkeep Mac, Te Singing Feebas is not only a fne seafaring ship, but the best pub in town. Located right on the main pier, explorers ofen come here to relax, hear the latest gossip, and see if they can pick up some non-ofcial jobs from the town folk for some extra income. • Te Trader’s Market - Every Saturday, various shipsCampaign Settings 119 from Kalos and the various Wildling Tribes come into port and set up the Trader’s Market. Here the locals can trade for outside goods, and vise-versa. While Admiral Nelson is ofcially the leader of the Explorer’s Guild, he also has his duties to the navy, so he has entrusted most the day-to-day administration work to Princess Diana: A Diancie that Admiral Nelson befriended many years ago back home in Kalos. While she isn’t technically the a patron of the town, most townsfolk (especially the visiting Wildlings) respect her as one. Most Explorers consider Princess Diana their direct “boss”, as she her aids (both humans and Pokémon) are the ones who divvy out missions. She’s known for being bubbly and cheery, and having a sweet tooth for Bluk Berry Pofns. Kalosians in general have a strong tie with Fairy and Grass Type Pokémon, and this is especially true of Admiral Nelson’s fleet. All recruits to his fleet are issued a Mawile upon graduation from basic training, winning the them the nickname of Mawile Marines. Also, the infantry mount of choice for the Kalosians is the Gogoat, so they are quite common to see around the port town. Te Admiral himself is almost never seen without a Whimsicott on his shoulder and a gaggle of Mawiles following at his heels. 7. Veilbeak Village Associated Types: Fighting, Psychic, Water Deity: Te Sea Guardian (Water/Psychic Milotic) Veilbeak Village is a seaside settlement where to the west you can fnd swamps, and to the north you can fnd dense jungle. Several rivers meet and empty into the sea here, giving the village easy access to waterways that venture deep into Kingler Isle. Tis proximity to so many water sources has led to most the town being on stilts or floating platforms, and many buildings are simply large boats. It goes without saying that every family in Veilbeak owns a boat, and its ofen easier to row over to someone’s adobe than to walk there. Te Veilbeak Tribe has always been known for two things: its sailors, and its warriors. Te sailors are of no surprise to anyone - with so much of day-to-day life in the village revolving around boats, children learn from a young age how to sail and handle Water Pokémon. For the longest time almost all goods traveling between the isles were carried by a Veilbeak vessel, and trade was the largest source of income for the town. Tat said, it isn’t just the wilds that are dangerous in Visiwa; there are things in the deeps even more frightening than anything you could experience on land. Tis makes security of these vessels a top priority for Veilbeak, which is where their warriors come into play. Its said it was Te Sea Guardian who frst taught the Veilbeak the secrets of Aura and Psionics. By bestowing those who would stand up to defend others the ability to transcend the limits of the human body, and teaching others how manipulate the ocean itself, she empowered them to fght the monsters that lurk in the deep. Te grey-scaled Milotic is a generous soul, and ofen accompanies ships coming and going from Veilbeak to their destination. For those who she cannot accompany, well, the people of Veilbeak can handle that on their own now. Children born with an Elemental Connection are swifly sorted out and begin training from a young age with a Pokémon companion of a Type matching their gif. Because of this, Fighting and Psychic Pokémon are very common sights around town - especially Medicham. Youths without a supernatural gif are ofen schooled in martial combat, as its expected that anyone who would work on one of the village’s ships should be able to defend themselves. Te arrival of the Kalosians is a sour subject for the Veilbeak Village. Many feel their monopoly on trade between the isles will be threatened by these new arrivals, and others are frustrated that their Fairy Pokémon are so resilient against their best warriors. How the people of Kalos treat people with the gifs they excel at is also a sour topic for most, and their proximity to the town of Ivyhollow makes many nervous Admiral Nelson has done his best to assure the people of Veilbeak that he and the people of Ivyhollow mean them no harm, but relations are shaky. Tose who do answer the Explorer’s call usually have a bone to pick with the people of Kalos.Campaign Settings 120 Trainer Creation Trainers with supernatural aptitude are a dime in a dozen amongst the Wildlings, but scarce amongst Kalosians. Kalosians who have an elemental connection were either raised in a military environment from an early age to become Alchemists, or fled from home to avoid persecution for their talents. Given the time frame and the scope of the setting, the classes in Do Porygon Dream of Mareep do not make sense in the setting. Advancement paths from Te Blessed and the Damned, on the other hand, would be very appropriate. One class that can work in the setting but would need reimagination would be Photographer. Photographers, rather than rely on a camera, would have to rely on pen and paper. Building a Visiwan Campaign Te most likely setup for a group of player characters in Te Eastern Isles is as an Explorer Team working out of Ivyhollow. Tis gives the players a wide variety of potential backgrounds to come from, and gives them a very direct, joint goal by working to uncover the secrets of the isles. Sessions and plot arcs would start in the form of missions assigned by Princess Diana, and branch out from there. Tat said, there’s a few different plot points in this setting that you could also play from. You could turn the dial back to the fall of Empathica, with the player characters being amongst the survivors as they began to learn about the isles and splinter into tribes. You could also go to the period in time when the Norsemen frst arrived, with your players either being runaway slaves trying to fnd a new home,tribesmen deciding how to approach these fair skinned people, or a mix of both in a scenario where the two sides need to fnd a middle ground to survive a struggle or crises. Tose looking for a more swashbuckling theme could take things a different way. Te player characters could possibly be a pirate crew looking to set up a pirate town, or a tea of privateers working under Admiral Nelson tasked with stopping these buccaneers. Or what if the East Indian Trade Company started to take interest in the isles as well? Tere’s a lot of different angles one could approach the setting from, and each of them has a unique flair to it. Plot Hooks Here is an assortment of ideas for GMs who need a last minute session idea or some hooks they could throw to their players to give them more options to explore. Not all of these are necessarily meant to be used in the same campaign, and some of them establish facts about the setting you may wish to ignore in your campaign. Te Labyrinth of the Great Mother Te Great Mother rests far, far below her temple on the small isle south of Ivyhollow, and it is a known fact that the halls beneath the surface are extremely dangerous. Tere are horrors that lurk down there, and those who live there are tasked at ensuring they do not reach the surface. To the Wildlings, this simply was a fact, one they accepted and did not question. But the Kalosians, afer hearing these tales, found the whole story peculiar. Why would the land itself build a natural dungeon that is considered a death trap? Why are extremely powerful Pokémon trying to leave it? What about the extremely powerful Pokémon in the wilds, where did they come from? Are there maybe more entrances than the Wildlings originally thought? Is something actually trying to keep others away from the Great Mother? All of these were simply questions exchanged between Kalosian researchers at frst, since it struck them as something that would be offensive to ask a Wildling. Tat changed recently. Tis plot hook isn’t something that should kick in immediately as the game starts, but it is something you should hint and tease about with the above questions. Te player characters have stumbled across something or unleashed something that has had catastrophic results. Horrifc creatures are rising from the sea, the land, and the labyrinth at a terrifying rate, and something must be done about it. Admiral Nelson has called for the Explorers Guild to answer this call, and beseeches the player characters to venture down into the labyrinth to both quell these monsters, and learn what has caused this. Ultimately, the truth of what happened here is in your hands. Maybe the cause is also what caused EmpathicaCampaign Settings 121 to fall. Perhaps a malevolent Legendary has taken advantage of Te Great Mother’s absence and has made the labyrinth so that none could reach and rouse her. Perhaps this is due to Te Great Mother having a really bad nightmare, and her dreams becoming reality. Either way, your players have been asked to tackle this head on, calming one level of the labyrinth at a time as they work their way down to the resting place of Te Great Mother. Scourge of the Crimson Corsairs Admiral Nelson is well aware that pirates are taking interest in the isles, and is doing his best to up security to brace for it. What he’s not aware of is the scale of this pirate threat. A pirate captain named Grant the Red has managed to unite a dozen of the most feared pirate crews under a single banner: Te Crimson Corsairs. Teir fleet is heading straight for Visiwa, and their goals are bigger than just looting, drinking, gambling and wenching; these buccaneers want power. Grant aims to turn the isles into a sanctuary for pirates, and enslave the gods of its indigenous population for his own gain. How he intends to do this, no one can agree on. Some say he plans to usurp Te Great Mother, and have his most trusted underlings do the same to the others. Others say he has the support of a dark lord, or several dark lords. Others think he himself might BE a dark divinity. Regardless of what the truth is, his fleet poses a threat unlike any other to Visiwa. Te player characters, as well as their NPC allies, should be caught off guard by the reality of how large this fleet is. Tey should completely overtake a location (ideally the Temple of the Great Mother), and establish a base of operations there. Combating these pirates will take a large force, and the player characters trying to unite the isles under a banner as well should be encouraged. Each of these pirate crews has a unique theme to it, and while they are all loyal to Grant, they should have their own agenda as well. Perhaps down the road some of them will change sides and help the player characters, or even backstab Grant for their own gain. Te end result no matter how it plays out should be an epic struggle as the player characters do their best to help defend the villages of the isles, and ensure Grant’s mission does not go as planned. Encounter and Session Ideas • Te long scorned and disgraced Firefoot Tribe, composed entirely of pygmy cannibals, has risen from the shadows and attacked Ivyhollow! Tey’ve made off with several prisoners and have retreated into the swamp. To make matters worse, Te Storm Seer claims they’ve fnally found a patron deity of their own. • Tere’s a festival going on in Snowfeather Village, with dancing, drinking and hunting! Yes, hunting. Te village hosts an open invitation challenge every year. Te objective is simple : go out and slay or capture the most powerful Pokémon you can fnd. Tose who enter compete over several Dragon Type Pokémon eggs specially bred as rewards for this event! Some say the real winner gets a Sneasel egg, though. • While traveling between islands by ship, the player characters witness an eerie scene at night as the legendary ghost ship known as Te Flying Dutchman sails past them. Seeing this ship is known as an ill omen,and the night only gets stranger as Ghost Pokémon and other horrors start to invade the ship the player characters are on. • While visiting Bravescar Village, Te Storm Seer warns the village that a kraken will soon attack a ship at sea! Te player characters are the only ones available to relay a warning and help combat the monster, and are permitted to borrow a Flying Pokémon for the trip if needed. • While venturing along the coast in the wilds, the player characters spot a woman with the lower body of a Milotic resting on a rock! If approached, she panics and dives below the surface. If the players continue to investigate this, they discover a chunk of sunken, Empathican ruins, and a tribe of merfolk who are living there! • Te player characters forgot about Princess Diana’s birthday, and she’s so upset with them that she won’t give them work! But fret not, Admiral Nelson thinks he might have an idea to help the players apologize to the pouting Diancie. And it involves singing, dancing, and bluk berry pofns.
rpg:kyrael:ptuk:throhs
rpg/kyrael/ptuk/throhs.txt · Last modified: 2017/08/27 13:26 by wizardofaus_doku