The World of Seven Dragon Saga

While the official website hasn’t yet been updated with the information, the team at Tactical Simulations Interactive sent us over this browser-readable newsletter featuring a brief look at – and history lesson for – the world that they’re preparing for us in their debut RPG, Seven Dragon Saga. A generous sampling:

Few written records predate the founding of the Empire of the Seven Dragons, and the crowing of Emperor Sithu I. So it falls to the Chanters of the Court to retain and tell the stories of the founding of the world, and the precarious victory over the great enemy, the Malloi.

It was this victory which led the Seven Dragons of Heaven to descend and anoint the seven founding Houses as the eventual rulers and guardians of the entire world. This duty has come down through the thousand years of the Imperial dynasty, and rests upon the hearts of every citizen of the Empire.

The Chanters of the Court commune with the ancestral souls, and help provide the Emperor with their accumulated wisdom. It is through the memories of such ancient spirits that modern men understand the origins of this world.

Over five thousand years ago, this world (along with many others) formed. Created like froth from a stormy sea of Chaos itself. Within this celestial sphere rose five groups:

Spirits- the soul of the world; imbuing plants, animals, even the most mundane of objects, with purpose and energy. To this day, we honor and appease them with shrines, gifts and celebrations. Ethereal beings interested in preserving only the small bit of the world they are bound to.

Fae- the mind of the world; foreseeing the future and setting up the rules the world must follow. It is due to these immortal, ethereal beings that snow falls in winter, grain ripens in the fall, and the sun hangs overhead for only part of each day.

Dragons- the heart of the world; guiding the forces of the world simply by their presence. These Heavenly Dragons were massive beings of the ethereal realm, able to generate storms with a beat of their wings, raise mountains with a shrug of their shoulders. The lesser, corporeal dragons and dragonkin that roam the modern world are their much diminished descendants. There are seven Heavenly Dragons, plus innumerable spawn with limited powers.

Man- the hands of the world; mortal and dedicated to creation, they spread across the face of the world, building kingdoms and cities. Being corporeal from the start, they are more attuned to the forces of Chaos than the ethereal beings.

Monsters- the teeth of the world; mortal and dedicated to destruction. They too spread across the world, seeking to clear what Man and others create. Monsters spawn in infinite variety, from hordes of goblins, to giant beasts, seeming to arise from barren rock in the desolate corners of the world. The tensions between Man and Monster have left many a blasted civilization in their wake. Ruins dot all but the most isolated of areas.