Lore on The Moonshroud Realms — GM Reference

The Gods

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Gods#

The divine order of the Moonshroud Realms flows from a single source: Spherus, the creator. Before the Eternals, before mortal history, Spherus conceived five Primordials to govern the elemental foundations of existence itself — forces so vast and ancient that most mortals encounter them only as the world they live in. From there, Spherus imagined nine Eternals into being — fundamental forces given will and purpose, each responsible for a domain of reality rather than a nation of worshippers. Beneath the Eternals exist the Ascendants — beings of mortal origin elevated to divinity through extraordinary deeds, divine selection, or profound sacrifice.

The Seven Moons

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Seven Moons of Orb#

The world of Orb turns beneath seven moons. There is always at least one moon visible in the night sky except during heavy overcast — true darkness is essentially unknown on Orb. Most nights are touched by multiple moons at once, each casting its own quality of light.

Sailors read the moons for navigation. Farmers watch them for planting cycles. Druids study their conjunctions with the care of scholars. Astrologers argue endlessly about what each alignment means. And everyone who lives near the sea has learned to watch for the signs of supertides — the powerful surges that occur when multiple moons align, capable of making sea travel dangerous or outright impossible.

Eclipses of Orb

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Eclipses of Orb#

Eclipses on Orb are predictable, documented, and taken seriously by sailors, scholars, and temples alike. The Circle of Seven Moons publishes eclipse predictions through its scholarly network — Bridgeport’s harbor authority keeps Circle almanacs for navigational purposes, and the Adventurer’s Guild maintains a copy.

An eclipse is not merely an astronomical curiosity on Orb. It is an event the world responds to.

How Eclipses Work#

All seven moons have orbital inclinations relative to Orb’s orbital plane around Krotar, the star at the center of the solar system. These inclinations prevent eclipses from occurring every orbit — instead, eclipses only happen when a moon crosses the orbital plane at exactly the right moment, during what astronomers call eclipse seasons.

The Certification System

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Certification System#

In most parts of the world, anyone with a sword and a willingness to use it can call themselves an adventurer. In Algar, that is not quite how it works.

The Certification System is the framework through which the Adventurer’s Guild and the Royal Adventuring Society regulate who is permitted to undertake sanctioned work — and what level of work they are permitted to take on. It exists for practical reasons: dangerous jobs done badly create problems for everyone, and clients who hire capable parties get better results than clients who hire whoever happened to be standing nearest the mission board.

The World Beyond

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The World Beyond Bridgeport#

Bridgeport sits at the mouth of the Godsfall River on the western coast of Algar, one nation among many on the continent of Elderland. It is a busy, prosperous city — and it is also a very small part of a very large world.

The Continent of Elderland#

Elderland is the known world for most of its inhabitants. It is vast enough that few people ever see more than a fraction of it in a lifetime, and large enough that its eastern reaches are more legend than geography to those living on the western coast.