Setting: The mystery of "Akenia Adventure!" (The Other World)

Outer World scholars know frustratingly little about the Otherworld. While they often eagerly interview Dimensional Strays about the subject, two primary difficulties arise: 

1) There is only so much any given individual can know about their own world (indeed, some strays know remarkably little about their home) 

and 

2) There is certainly more than one "Other World"

As result, much of the information collected amounts to little more than scattered trivia and is very difficult to bring together into a cohesive study without a vast network of information that few academics have access to. Even then, their remains little way for them to verify any of the facts they've received. It is a grueling effort made all the more frustrating by a single, alarming discovery.

The Otherworld (one of them) seems to know a great deal about Outer World.

Well, at least a great deal about one Aeon and one place from Outer World. This has been learned through Otherworld portable devices (that have been loaned, recovered, donated, confiscated, etc) and a particular interactive function they all seem to share called Akenia Adventure!

While at first blush Akenia Adventure! seems to be mostly for entertainment purposes, experts on the 3rd Aeon agree that it is a remarkably accurate simulation of numerous places and events from the period. There are some artistic embellishments, but none greater than one might see in say, the differences between the various regional productions of the play The lover of the Shadow Queen. On top of this, there are multiple iterations of Akenia Adventure! including ones that seem to focus on wider strategy and tactics as opposed to events viewed through the lens of a particular individual. Sixteen editions have been documented, and it seems like there are potentially more.

All fascinating facts, but it begs the question, how? It seems unlikely that the Otherworld would manage to recreate (admittedly, dramatized) versions of Outer World events by coincidence alone. There are many theories, but the most widely accepted one is that some Akenian Mage-Knight escaped into the Otherworld during the 3rd Cataclysm and somehow levied their lived experience and personal knowledge to gain footing and fortune in their new home. After all, sorcerers in the 3rd Aeon were said to be able to draw Dimensional Strays into their world via ritual, so why shouldn't the reverse be possible? And, given the caliber of the dimensional strays interviewed thus far, it's believed that even the most banal re-telling of Outer World events would seem colorful and fantastic to them.

Others have put forth the suggestion that maybe a clever Otherworlder might have managed to find some way to go back and forth between dimensions, but that theory is generally considered to be very unlikely.

Freebie: Some More Alternate Callings

Today's freebie is a simple one: the other Callings got alternate versions so I thought it was only fair if I provided ones for the remaining four. These also make great rival GMCs if you happen to be a Game Master!

 

Scoundrel

The Scoundrel is a variant Sneak. While not quite a warrior, the Scoundrel has seen their fair share of scrapes and knows the best way to win one: never fight fair, gang up on your foes, know when to duck! These wily sorts tend to pair up with the burliest fighter they can find and act as their partner in crime.

The Scoundrel is Identical to the Sneak with the following exceptions:

• The Starting Ability Sticky Fingers is replaced with the Standard Elective Ability Flanker. Sticky Fingers may be taken as an elective ability at higher ranks.
• The Starting Ability Light Footed is replaced with Sidestep, a Raider Starting Ability. Light Footed cannot be taken later on.
  

 

Bladesmith

The Bladesmith is a variant Raider. These wanderers hone their combat skills alongside their craftsmanship in hopes of finding meaning, spiritual equilibrium between creation and destruction, or just a way to make the most kick-ass sword possible.

The Bladesmith is identical to the Raider with the following exceptions: 

• The Starting Ability Sidestep is replaced with the Standard Elective Ability Artisan Smithy. Sidestep may be taken as an elective Ability at higher ranks.
  
• The Starting Ability Hunter's Focus is replaced the Standard Elective Ability Ranger. Hunter's Focus may be taken as an elective Ability at higher ranks.
  

 

Haunted Knight

The Haunted Knight is a variant Murder Princess. An eerily serene spirit clings to this gloomy warrior, striking down their foes with stolen malice. Whether the ghost of a betrayed friend, a slain lord seeking vengeance, or a lover lost too soon, they never leave the knight's side.

The Haunted Knight is identical to the Murder Princess with the following exceptions:

• The Starting Ability Withering Glare is replaced a new Ability called Beloved Wraith, which is mechanically identical to the Heretic Ability Bushi Miyabi. This ability summons the Haunted Knight's unique ghostly companion. Withering Glare cannot be taken later on.
  
• The Starting Ability Tenacity is replaced with the Standard Elective Ability Frost Blade. Tenacity may be taken as an elective Ability at higher ranks. The knight's heart is cold, so their blade is as well.
  

 

Soothsayer

The Soothsayer is a variant Heretic. Cursed with the fleeting knowledge of what might be and the ability to know much more then they should, the Soothsayer is chased off as often as they are sought out. Perhaps they can find companionship by guiding other wanderers...

 

The Soothsayer is identical to the Heretic with the following exceptions:

•  The Starting Ability Dreadful is replaced with Dire Divination, an Ability identical to the Sage Ability Everyday Divination save it utilizes the Soothsayer's Grit rather than their Insight. Their divination process requires a lot more writhing and anguish, you see. Dreadful cannot be taken later on.
  
• The Starting Ability Squire Marlow is replaced with the Standard Elective Ability Seer Kasnah. Marlow, being the patient sort, may be taken as an elective Ability at higher ranks.
  

Setting: Old Iron's War

It is easy to laugh at Old Iron.

This nation, nearly as venerable as Outer World itself, that has spent its entire existence oscillating between isolation and attempted conquest, that pontificates endlessly on relics adorned with vague statements written in Creator's Script, that manages so often to destroy but rarely maintain, has become something of a joke on the surface. To those distant from them, Old Iron generals and officials come off as temperamental would-be despots, stuffed into starchy uniforms while taking themselves much too seriously.

It is easy to laugh at Old Iron, when you are a world away from them.

Their army is absurdly outfitted with heavily armored soldiers and dangerous war machines. Their latest push outwards began at the start of the 4th Aeon and has persisted for centuries. This campaign has resulted in numerous Pyrrhic victories and has made the tunnels even more dangerous to live in than ever before.

Old Iron's ambitions have always been countered by New Ore, the underland's other most prominent nation. The venerable army is stuck in a constant stalemate with its rival's terrain savvy guerillas. Borders swing to and fro like a pendulum as the two sides trade crushing defeats back and forth. This has not deterred Old Iron's leaders - if anything, it has convinced them they need to redouble their efforts. 

The rotting foundations of their nation buckle and crack under their militaristic ambitions and draconian decrees, but if any of them are even aware of this it only spurs them on further. They must march forward, as the ground behind them crumbles away. 

Some even wonder: if victory cannot be found in the Buried Kingdoms, perhaps the soft folk of the surface will yield?

Detachments from the bulk of Old Iron's forces have already made their way to many corners of Outer World, armed with delusions of grandeur and whatever experimental technology their leaders can hobble together. These efforts have thus far been foiled by the surprising pluck of the very surface folk they underestimate, but one can only shudder to think what might happen if any of these vagrant conquerors manages to get a foothold.

It is easy to laugh at Old Iron, 

But you really shouldn't.