We are used to our fantasy settings having complicated, multi-layered realms with dozens of heavens and hells all lorded over by their own gods, and each drawn from their own inspirations throughout world history and mythology. Sundara is both more, and less, complex than this, however. In Sundara there is the material plane, where all the rocks, trees and people exist, and beyond that there is the Prim. The Prim is the roiling realm of spirits, filled with the raw chaos of creation, and the potential for anything. This is where the gods dwell, and the realm from whence all magic is drawn.
The Prim is not some far-off place only reached by the most learned of wizards, and the chosen servants of the divine, however. It lurks just behind the veil, and in the thin places of the world it’s close enough that one might be able to reach out and touch it… or be touched by it.
When the fabric of reality rubs raw, or when the waters of the Prim churn, it’s possible that it may burst through into the material plane. This can have all kinds of bizarre effects on the world, and they may be as benign as bright lights in the sky, or as serious as spontaneously raising the dead, sundering mountains or bestowing sorcerous powers onto those who are caught in the blowback. Sometimes these effects are temporary, sometimes they can last for years and something they’re permanent. These events are referred to by those who live in this world by many names, but the most common name people call them is a Primquake.
For those whose adventures take place in Sundara, particularly if they are roaming through blasted wastelands, or delving into places where reality has been scarred in the past, Primquakes may be an occurrence the protagonists of your campaign have to deal with. The following chart is filled with sample effects of Primquakes, but they can also be used as a scale for Game Masters who want to create their own!
To use the list, either roll d100 for a random result or select appropriate ones manually.
Here are some sample results:
31. In the wake of this particular reality tear, random objects (and some animals) have been turned into either silver, or gold. This “wyld gold” as some have begun to call it, is unreliable at best, and there are quite a few stories of poor farmers or tradesmen who filled their pockets and carts with golden pebbles and silver leaves, only for the magic to have worn off by the time they return to town to try to sell these miraculous finds. Whether it’s the time, the distance from where they were initially changed or some other factor entirely, no one is quite sure why these items do (or don’t) maintain their altered states of being.
32. Fields of bizarre flowers burst from the ground near where a Primquake occurred. These flowers are a bright, unnatural yellow color, and their smell is intoxicating. Those who breathe deeply of these flowers’ perfume, though, often fall into a deathlike torpor, where they are plagued by visions of the realms beyond. While most of those who have fallen under the spell of these flowers have woken from the stupor they fell into, some have not. And of those who have woken, many of them left their sanity behind in that other place, their minds shattered by the things they saw, but which they still cannot understand in the light of day.
33. Insects have grown to huge sizes in the area in and around where the Primquake was reported. There’s talk of ants the size of horses, bees bigger than carriages, colossal grasshoppers and more tearing through the countryside as they follow their instincts to consume. While these huge insects are scary enough all on their own, these altered creatures could pose a serious risk to the entire region if the changes in their stature are permanent, and they produce offspring just as large as they are. If that happens, it could soon be a war against these creatures to stop them from stripping the entire countryside bare.
Released: 18th November 2023 Pages:23
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“Born in the Boneyard”