The Campaign Builder's Guild

Storm clouds bellowed over the Ikontan plain. Sheriff "Demonfinger" Damian sat on his horse on Pinewhisper Ridge overlooking the train tracks below. In the southwest he could see the buildings of Fort Knight, and just beyond that, on the horizon, was Hangman River. The thunder and chill wind added to the mood, which was already foreboding and tense. He knew the Hell Canyon Gang was out this way, far from bustling, safe Storm City in Achaita to the northeast. He'd come looking for them when reports had come in of several train robberies first in the White Echo Mountains in northern Molena and then here by Fort Knight, and had come out to catch them himself. He'd put them behind bars three times already, but they always seemed to escape. This time he had a bullet for each of them.

He'd heard the rumors - you know, the stories about ghosts and demons and things hunting you in the wild, not to mention the lack of a strong government hold over the western Federation, better known as the Frontier, to enforce any laws. Yeah, he'd heard the legends, and with a few years in the Sheriff's office, he'd learned to deal with lawlessness. The trick was putting a gun to a bandit's head and asking him how nice it'd be if there was a law that prevented the Sheriff from putting a bullet in his skull. They always came around pretty quick.

A loud, ear-splitting whistle and then he saw it; the train rolled down the track at a steady pace. Behind it rode the five of them, and despite the train's considerable speed, they quickly gained on it. It took Demonfinger's mind a few moments to clue in that the Hell Canyon Gang that he was watching looked a little funny - and then he realized, they were skeletons. "Holy shit," he said to himself, squinting to see if he was looking at them right, "They aren't the boys from Storm City."

"Well, I got a surprise for ya," said a venerable man who suddenly appeared on a horse beside him, looking as if he stared at the sun instead of sleeping, "You ain't in Storm City, boy."

Wyldestorm[/size]

[spoiler=Map of Wyldestorm]



[/spoiler]
 
Wyldestorm is a world of outlaws, heroes, frontiers, dark magic, and pure evil. There are plenty of civilized, orderly, safe places - but they're far off and lie on the edges of vast portions of land that are traversed by forgotten trails, violent rivers, and a few dangerous railways. Away from the few civilized places, the largest of which are Storm City in southern Achaita and Fort Knight, a lone bastion in Ikonta, the best shelter is where you are - a place where you can't even find yourself, let alone your enemies - and the best weapon is a gun, a spell, or your own bare hands. You don't have time to think in Wyldestorm; you've only got time to live or die.

Mission Statement

Wyldestorm is a wild west, horror fantasy-themed setting. It's not built for any specific system, but I'll most likely be using WoD or 4e for it. The goal is to create a playable world that recreates the legends and feel of the American Wild West in a setting that also features magic, demons, undead, and other supernatural creatures, and is brutal in execution.

Thanks To:

Andrea
Xeviat
Rose of Montague

The World of Wyldestorm: Cowboys, Witches, and Demons[/size]

Adam "Nowhere" St. John knelt down to take a look at the tracks as it rained. Something had been through here, all right. The boot shape was a lot like his own, but the trail clearly suggested he was having trouble walking - no doubt from that round Nowhere put in his thigh two days ago. They led down a rocky, uneven slope into a little river valley and through the brush to the west. Snapping his fingers and signaling his partner, Mika, he moved down the hill at a moderate pace. In the distance the coyotes already howled, as if they could smell a feast on the horizon. It wasn't often it rained out here in Arcona, but when it did they got it hard - and it made Nowhere's job of catching these bastards a lot easier.

Down in the valley, the path of his quarry was obvious even if you ignored the tracks - the bridge over the river crevice had long since collapsed and the cliff was too sheer to climb - leaving the only option of the low canyon to the left. After trekking that way with Mika through the growing storm, they came to another little ridge that overlooked the entrance to an old mine. He could see the tracks leading into the mine, which was pitch dark. As the creatures of the wild continued to howl, the two of them swore they heard it come from the mine.

"You bring a lantern?" Nowhere said to her, surveying the area and drawing his revolvers.

"No," Mika said. "Why?"

"We're gonna need one."

Wyldestorm is set in the western lands of the Agnean Federation, a land heralded across the world for its prosperity and the promises of fortune and better lives that it offers to immigrants. In the east the Federation's borders are well-defined, and despite several small civil wars it is now stable and mighty; but on the Frontier, things are not the same. The west holds excitement, freedom, adventure, and untold wealth - but it also is full of danger, chaos, and horror.

The wildness of the Frontier lies mostly in the Federation's difficulty in dealing with what they found there, and the lack of proper defenses against it for their outposts - at various times the western states have been under much better control than they are now, but locations such as Fort Draw, Keeger, and Tsutle Hill have since been abandoned and either become towns where outlaws and madmen dwell, or the homes of more sinister and grotesque creatures. From the northern reaches of the frontier in the state of Engel to Fort Drake in Derecho and beyond, there is little salvation for anyone who can't shoot a pistol, and do so fast, accurately, and without remorse.

A Timeline of Territories and the Federation

As is true of all nations, different regions and states are annexed at different times, and the Agnean Federation's Frontier States are no exception. Here is a list of dates for each state joining the Federation, and the reasons for doing so:

ACHAITA, LOWSIN, HODA, CLESANDA, 462 - Established as Border States by First Federation
WACHENNA, 477 - Territory gained in Inacus War, current borders established 486
MOLENA, 481 - Borders contested by Drake Tribes, alliances with Federal Army
IKONTA, 466 - Borders along the Norban River at Helbridge and Patterhea until 474 during the start of the Inacus War
NEW NORMORN, 462 - Captured by Federation during the Great Mountain War with the Yalchain Empire
HELESAS, 463 - Free settler region abandoned by Yalcha and later annexed by Federation
ENGEL, 460 - West Bay and Engel City established 452 by explorers as Federation outposts, attacked in the Balethic War in 455, declared official Federation State 460
RHONO and PROVA, 475 - February and March after the end of the Winter Campaign
TREXESAW, 476 - Purchase from Hurassa during the Great Railroad Expansion
NORTH ATHANTON, 478 - Purchase from Hurassa, Great Railroad Expansion
SOUTH ATHANTON, 480 - Purchase from Ilqan Kingdom
ARCONA, still disputed - Fort Draw built 475, abandoned 479
DERECHO, Native Territory - Alliance formed 486

Races of Wyldestorm[/size]

In the Agnean Federation, there have been civil wars based on the races of its inhabitants, but they were insignificant and short-lived - the conflicts between people in the current day are mostly based on philosophy - but that isn't to say that in the wild you can't find someone who'd shoot you just because you weren't human.

Humans

It was human explorers who discovered the continent of Agnea, humans who manned the front lines in the Great Mountain and Inacus Wars, and humans who developed the RBR (Renard Braucher KM-18 Rifle, popularly called the "Really Big Rifle"). For all of their ability and history, humans are some of the most common men and women to take to the life of the bandit and also the most easily corruptible onto dark paths.

Dragonskins

Dragonskin in Wyldestorm are renowned as great upholders of the law because their most famous individuals have been sheriffs, soldiers, and other heroes of the frontier. It is a common sight to see a dragonskin man or woman dressed in the clothing of an officer, or the distinctive, ragged hat and shirt of a frontier constable. Dragonskin are beings of necessity and efficiency; if they do not hold a position of government and justice, they are masters of trades and production, such as farming, smithing, hunting, or construction.

Dragonskin were once the lords of great families who wore the remains of dead beasts to intimidate their enemies, but long ago a witch coven put a curse on them, damning them to look like monsters forever. They appear much as a humanoid dragon might, complete with a tail, long lizard-like snout and skin, massive clawed hands and feet, and the eyes of a serpent. Some of them also possess wings, though this is a trait of rare children of specific families of the Cursed Lineages.

Devilhorns

Even though racial prejudice is a minor issue in Wyldestorm, when it comes to devilhorns it often seems otherwise: they have the longest history of happening to be on the wrong side of a war when it is lost, provoking an unwarranted animosity towards them. Likewise, in Agnea they have reputations (not undeserved) as being bandits, outlaws, and general troublemakers. Surprisingly, when they dedicate themselves to good causes they are often more heroic than others. Some of the Federation's best trackers, explorers, and missionaries are devilhorns.

Like dragonskins, devilhorns were once humans who were cursed - but this was a curse of their own design and development. In the east's ancient days, the devilhorns were practitioners of the foulest witchcraft and necromancy, and in their sins the power they wielded warped their very genetic makeup, damning them to be sinister-looking mockeries of humanity. A devilhorn looks much like a human except for its long, sometimes barbed tail, the horns that extend back from the temple to the rear of the head and outward (or more rarely, curve like a ram's), their skin that is often charred black in sections, and their eyes that glow in the dark. Another reminder of the dark magic they used remains in all devilhorns' aging process: as they get older, their bodies begin to wither until during old age, the skin finally begins to rip or fade away to reveal their black, rotting insides, even though they are still fully capable of life and as strong as they may have been in their youth.

Federation Cities[/size]

Storm City

Storm City is the largest and most prosperous of all cities this far west in Agnea. Named for the area's tendency to get thunderstorms, tornadoes, and generally bad weather constantly throughout the year, Storm City is an eye in the chaos. It is a haven for travelers of all kinds who might be heading west in search of fortune and adventure. Entertainment and work are everywhere - although jobs consist mostly of searching for outlaws posted on "WANTED" signs across town. Saloons and bars decorate the city as if they were lamp posts, and the wealthiest parts of town have recently obtained a new innovation: electricity.

Storm City is situated on the mighty Storm River, which originates in the Eastern Heartland. The canyons that it has created through hundreds of thousands of years of rushing, violent currents are notorious for being the hiding spots of many criminals from Storm City who have evaded the law, but also hold countess valuables lost in troves that have been forgotten. Despite Storm City's presence as a bastion of civilization and order, it is not without its own troubles - the local sheriffs are always recruiting, and the National Federal Army keeps two infantry, one artillery and one cavalry battalions stationed there at all times.

Fort Knight

Slowly becoming a civilian locale, Fort Knight is the forward-most active military installation of the Federation. It is also the largest hub of locomotive operation other than Storm City and Bull this side of the Horizon Mountains. Fort Knight is a settlement surrounded by reinforced wooden walls and towers from which military snipers observe the countryside. It is a location that only the most daring outlaws would ever venture near, considering its notoriety for being the place of executions of hundreds of bandits in the past few years, and the Hangman River that is named for that reason.

To send a message to would-be murderers and vagabonds, officers in Fort Knight often torture men slated for hanging by putting the noose around their necks, letting them choke and struggle for air until nearly dead, and then cut them free only to hang them up again moments later. Though some rogue highway and railroad bandits still sneak into Knight for a night of indulgence or supplies every now and then, these individuals are the mad or desperate exception - Fort Knight has a reputation for being the only place on the Frontier that has to go searching to find anyone committing crimes and running from the law.

Bull

Bull is where the Ikimo Trail (only real road heading southwest from Storm City) ends, and travelers who wish go to further must move by train, on a horse, or on foot through the wilderness. In fact, Bull is really only even on conventional maps because of this; the town is little more than a single street lined with buildings. The village is a hot-spot for frontiersmen and outlaws alike trying to make a name for themselves, who aren't quite yet capable of handling extended stays in the deep wild on their own. Its train station is small and lacking in any sort of security; Bull Station is one of several stops along the Trans-Agnean Railroad that allows one to hitch a ride for free, much to the frustration of the railroad tycoons and their companies.

West Bay

West Bay is a fairly small but surprisingly busy port town on the western coast of Engel. The original location where seaborne expeditions landed in 451, it was not declared an actual Federation city for another year. West Bay is where the Abekadi Trail ends, coming all of the way from Fort Drake in Derecho. It is the primary naval stronghold of the Federation on the west coast, though Fort Wise is the main trade port. Unlike Engel, West Bay is frequently attacked from land and sea by the evil of the land, as well as the Federation's rivals. The trip to West Bay from Harmington (Agnea's national capital) is much longer than by land, but is far less dangerous, considering the lack of an active railway directly to the city, and the bandits that would stalk it. It is a city that thrives on the military.

Engel City

Engel is the quietest and least-touched location in all of the Agnean Federation. Heralded as the place where the Angel of Light itself lies dormant, Engel is a city in a land of giant redwoods and thick forests that see cold winters and ideal summers. The entire highland looks down over the coastland and the mountains to the north allow one a view of many miles on good days, and its land is exceptional for farmlands and shepherding. It is also a bastion of equality and peace between the natives of Agnea and the Federation settlers. It is the final stop for those who no longer wish to see war or danger, and the refuge for hard-working, honest people. Yet Engel City is in danger of falling to the evil of the land as demons and the dead encroach on its outskirts - and it is in need of heroes to stop them.

Reserved - The World of Wyldestorm 2

Reserved - The World of Wyldestorm 3

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I'm really diggin the postmodern genre-blending of what appears to be standard fantasy and wild west stuff. Sort of like the genre-blending of Noir pulp & fantasy in Eberron no? I, for one, am interested to read more.

Count me in as well. Sounds like good stuff.
I will try to keep an eye on this project.

Sounds awesome. Then again, i have always enjoyed settings on the edge of civilization. :)

Some updates. Thanks for the support guys. :D

Not really familiar with Eberron, seems to be coincidence that the setting might have some resemblance.

This reminded me of your setting, and is totally awesome.

Nice start. How are you planning to keep the atmosphere of both wild west and supernatural?

Ghost stories and the old west go together well, but it seems to me you'd have to be pretty careful not to let the supernatural/fantasy elements take over too much, or you'll lose a lot of the thematic feel of the American West.