The Whorl: How Did It Come to This?

This is a brief introduction to the setting of the Whorl. More to come!

The City.

Themuria was massive. Roughly circular, roughly 1500 miles across, surrounded by a wall seven miles high, and home to many towers stretching more than ten miles high. Think the Caribbean Ocean, but drained.

The Anguish.

Desperation separated Themuria from everywhere. Inhabitants starved, then fed on whatever they could find; thousands of years of feral hordes in the ruins. And the Whorl was haunted by spirits, ghosts, angels, demons, things that think they are gods and things that want to be, things trapped and unable to escape to other planes. The Others. Civilization tried again.

The Deluge.

Sabotage. The city drowned, covered in a saltwater sea five miles deep. Towers accumulated dirt and rock and became islands. Three massive islands lie near the wall of the Whorl, the Outer Rim. A few miles inside the Outer Rim is an archipelago, tens of thousands of islands, a circle a dozen miles wide and thousands of miles long: Lagos. A jagged black axis, the Needle, a spike in the city center with sea and sky spinning about it, creating a constant wind and current of 15 miles per hour in the Outer Rim, faster inwards; power generation and easy sea travel. Civilization tried once more.

The Blending Plague.

A magical virus wove together creatures with one another or with inorganics. The less chaotic such are called Weave, more chaotic are Tangles. Giantkin are weaves of humans and trees, dwarves are weaves of humans and rock, and smolfolk are weaves of humans and rabbits. Goblins are tangles of smolfolk and elements (fire, earth, air, water), … well, you get the idea. And again, civilization scrabbled for purchase.

The Crashing Waves.

Scarce resources drove Outer Rim explorers into the Whorl and down the ancient towers of the city. They searched for farmland and lumber, for gasses and metals, and for the lost technologies of the drowned city. But exploration enraged the goblin hordes further into the Whorl. They invaded the Outer Rim, three waves over hundreds of years. Perhaps they have stopped, or perhaps a fourth wave forms. But again, civilization.

The Stilling or the Gloaming?

Many years. The Outer Rim has settled into a fragile stability. Human Weaves are the primary sentient creatures on land in the Outer Rim, and the whales in the sea. Whales are intelligent but alien, sometimes incomprehensible to their “little land brethren”.

But the winds and waves slow, energy and trade dwindle; the Stilling. And some folk have plumbed the depths of the ruins, but they wake sleeping things. A dusky cloud - the Gloaming - now spreads in a district in Whitehall, the largest city in the Outer Rim, blanketing the area with darkness. Rumors speak of roaming undead.

And despite the tangled horrors beneath their feet and the haunted cityscape they live atop, the inhabitants of the Outer Rim are full of hope and community. What is left strives towards an industrial revolution of sorts. Airships sail the sky, people speak of power generation and the economy, and there is hope for a future alongside planning for the next apocalypse. This is not a desperate, dog-eat-dog world, though it should be. It has enduring people who uplift one another. This Other haunted land survives.

Thirty Relics You Might Find in the Whorl

Shimmerstick - 1 charge - A short length of dense stone that glows brightly when activated, providing light as a torch for one hour. Recharge - Rub vigorously with a split potato or similar root vegetable for five minutes.
Buzzy Bee - 1 charge - A small carved stone bee. Produces ambient sound when activated, can be heard for a few hundred feet. User chooses one of the sounds: a massive swarm of bees; talking but incoherent voices; rushing water; ringing hammers and clangs as from a smithy. Recharge - Soak in seawater for one hour.
Live Coal - 1 charge - A fist-sized lump of black stone, appearing as coal but much more dense. Produces intense heat for one minute. Caution: any metal touching the stone will heat rapidly and cause harm to any touching it. Recharge - Must be carried at a walking pace for four hours.
Hornet’s Nest - 1 charge - A hefty chunk of detritus on the end of a stick. When held aloft and activated, the user selects up to six targets in sight who are attacked by magical darts, causing 1d6 damage to each. Requires 2 slots. Recharge: Sing lullabies in its presence for an hour.
Whetstone - 3 charges - A small, gritty chunk of rock with runes carved on one face only. The user can touch this to any weapon with a blade; the weapon receives a +d6 bonus to damage for ten minutes. Recharge: Must lie in a bird’s nest with eggs for a full day.
Spring Sauce - 3 charges - A small stone bowl, smoothly polished, with a tight-fitting leather-and-wax cover. The bowl contains a highly spicy sauce. When applied to the tongue, the user gains the ability to jump up to 30 feet straight into the air or laterally, landing safely, for 10 minutes. Recharge: Fill the bowl half with seawater and half with cooking oil, lodge it in a tree at least 10 feet off the ground, and leave for a week.
Blowsack - 1 charge - A large leather sack, taut to the touch but very light in weight. The user activates the sack by opening it to produce a strong wind lasting for an hour. The user can specify that the wind double the speed of a sailing ship or air ship, or that the wind blow in a particular direction in a 100 foot radius area to cause a hazard, requiring a Strength save or be blown out of the area. Recharge: The empty sack must be used as the blanket for a nursing litter of cats and their mother for a full night.
Portable Keyhole - 3 charges - A small ring of copper-colored metal, warm to the touch. When placed flush against a door, provides a keyhole-sized viewing hole for the user to see whatever happens to be on the other side of the door. The hole is small but visible to creatures on the other side of the door. Recharge: Must pass the larva of a gossamer springlet through the ring three times. Note: No one in the Outer Rim knows what a gossamer springlet is. It may be an old name for a common species, or the creatures may have suffered extinction.
That Makes Scents - 3 charges - A woven flexible band encircling a human arm or a halfling leg. When tapped thrice, it produces a common smell imagined by the wearer. Recharge: A grandmother must lock the band into a cabinet and retrieve it after a day has passed.
Tsharn’s Gloves - 3 charges - Thin, flexible gloves of an unknown material. When worn, tools you use with your hands make no noise. Recharge - Immerse in the sacred waters of Lake Tsharn in the light of a full moon.
Compass Wax - 1 charge - A small pouch containing a grub and a waxy substance. Smear the waxy substance on a bowstring, think of a person, place, or thing, and fire an arrow straight upwards. The arrow streaks towards the target, leaving a glowing trail in the sky that is visible for ten minutes. Recharge: Put one gold coin in the pouch with the grub and leave it overnight; the coin disappears and the wax is there.
Stage Sword - 3 charges - A sword with a gaudy hilt and guard. When the owner speaks the word, the sword blade becomes insubstantial for up to a full minute or until the owner speaks the word again. The sword causes 1d6 damage to anything in the blade’s path when it solidifies. Works even when the sword is held by someone else. Recharge: Wipe down the blade with a mixture of honey and black powder.
Bleater - 1 charge - A statuette of a goat. When activated, it begins bleating in terror and emits a strong, goaty odor. Continues for ten minutes. Recharge: Drop from at least a hundred feet into water.
Magic Map - 1 charge - A scrap of leather. When activated, reveals the features of the area under it, within a few miles if above ground or within 20 squares if underground. Recharge: Must be chewed by a fox or similar small canine for a few minutes.
Pinocchio Platter - 1 charge - A fancy serving platter for desserts. Anyone who eats food served on it must answer questions for ten minutes. Each lie during this time causes their nose to immediately grow by an inch; the process is not painless. Recharge: Wash and dry, then store between books on a shelf in a library overnight.
Ereshon’s Mirror - 2 charges - An ornate hand-held mirror. When used to reflect the image of a magical item, the viewer instead sees a clear description of the item’s properties. Recharge: Must be polished with a doily recently laundered by a halfling lass.
The Mermaid’s Crown - 2 charges - A tarnished silver crown, cool to the touch. When activated gives the wearer the ability to breathe water for one hour; the wearer cannot breathe air during this time. Recharge: Must be carried one full loop around the center of the Whorl.
Helping Hand - 3 charges - A glove with reinforced bands of bone running up the fingers. For 10 minutes, move an object up to the size of a few humans (500 pounds or so) through the air at your movement rate. Recharge: Must be worn onstage by a singing performer for one hour.
Shadow Glass - 1 charge - A small crystal globe with a dark purple flaw in the center. Create a shadow spy to follow one creature indicated by the user. The spy lives in the shadows near the creature, and is undetectable by non-magical means. Once per night, the spy will visit the globe to report. Recharge: Must pass through the digestive system of a living reptile.
Monocle of Unseeing - 2 charges - An ornate monocle, trimmed in silver. When placed on the eye, the wearer becomes invisible for an hour. The wearer may not attack, defend, or cast spells while invisible. Recharge: Soak in a bowl of star-kissed shadows.
Hallucinatory Map - 1 charge - A sturdy but unfinished map drawn on a piece of thick hide. Drawing a finger over the map and imagining terrain creates a sensory illusion of that terrain overlaying an area within 20 squares of a point you can see. The illusion will appear as the user imagines, and will include visual, auditory, and olfactory components. The illusion does not stand up to investigation by touch. Recharge: Scour the map clean with a solution of water, vinegar, and one powdered gold coin.
Deephin Belt - 3 charges - A simple leather belt with a sturdy brass buckle. The wearer transforms into a deephin for one hour. Recharge: Hang the belt on the wall of a giant’s bedroom for one week. Deephins are similar to dolphins, but can dive deeply. Also, unicorn horn.
Shield Bracelet - 3 charges - A slender silver bracelet with charms, almost as a child’s. When worn, creates a visible magical shield around the wearer, adding 2 armor points to the wearer but without armor’s banes for swimming, climbing, or casting. Lasts until dawn. Recharge: Carry in a pack with a dagger and a helm for three days.
Humani-key - 1 charge - A small carved wooden key. Tapping an animal with it gives that animal human intelligence or human appearance (not both) until the next dawn, user chooses. This is not an illusion. Recharge: Wrap in rough cloth and stow in a sealed wooden box from dawn to dawn.
Swarm Ring - 3 charges - You become a swarm of rats, sparrows, or trout (your choice). Weapons cannot significantly harm you but magical blasts may. All your carried items transform with you and may not be used while you are a swarm. Lasts 10 minutes. Recharge: Place in an abandoned rat’s nest for a full day.
Pouch of Marbles - unlimited charges - A small leather pouch that contains about fifty marbles. Refills once per minute. Wizards are mystified by the workings of this pouch, and have no idea why marbles.
Hat of the Third Eye - 2 charges - A battered, wide-brimmed hat. When worn and activated, the wearer has advantage on perception checks, can see invisible creatures, and will see a faint glowing aura around magical objects. Effect lasts 10 minutes. Recharge: Hold in the only beam of sunlight in an otherwise dark room in an abandoned building for 10 minutes.
Alice’s Bottle - 2 charges - A small crystal vial containing a small amount of clear liquid. When consumed during the day, reduces a creature’s size to a mouse. When consumed at night, increases a creature’s size to 10 feet tall. The effect lasts 10 minutes. Recharge: Refill the bottle with a few drops of wine and a few drops of blood and wait an hour.
Carry Arrow - 1 charge - A standard arrow with green fletching. Fire the arrow from the bow. Once it strikes a target, the shooter is teleported instantly to the arrow’s location. Recharge: Refletch the arrow with green feathers. They must be naturally green, not dyed.
Wand of Exchange - 1 charge - Two creatures you can see instantly switch places. Recharge: Two dogs from the same litter must sleep the night with the wand nestled between them.