GURPS Banestorm
Encyclopedia
Banestorm, written by Phil Masters and Jonathan Woodward was released in October 2005. It is a setting sourcebook for the fourth edition of the GURPS
Role-playing game
. It details a fantasy setting called Yrth that has been updated from older GURPS Fantasy source books. The standard fantasy elements such as Wizards, Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves are present, along with connections to Infinite Worlds
. There are also some more unusual fantastic races like the Reptile Men, and several others which can be added in as desired by the game master.
, Islam
, Hinduism
, Buddhism
, Judaism
and others.
The settings's official timeline syncs up with our own, so that a "normal" campaign would be set in 2005 or 2006. The Banestorm started about 1,000 years ago when a group of "Dark Elves" completed a magical ritual designed to banish all Orcs from Yrth. The spell backfired horribly, and instead brought people from other worlds. Although the majority of Banestorm strikes occurred shortly after the initial backfire, giving the world its fantasy-medieval flavor, occasional flare-ups have occurred since then. For instance, in the 16th century a number of humans were transported to Yrth from France, bringing with them dangerous knowledge of Protestantism, and gunpowder. The latter has since been suppressed due to concerns by the Empire of Megalos about too much technological progress.
for the development of the REXplorer mobile game. GURPS Fantasy: Tredroy and GURPS Fantasy: Harkwood provide additional setting information about Yrth.
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
Role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. It details a fantasy setting called Yrth that has been updated from older GURPS Fantasy source books. The standard fantasy elements such as Wizards, Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves are present, along with connections to Infinite Worlds
GURPS Infinite Worlds
GURPS Infinite Worlds is a supplement for the Fourth Edition of the GURPS role-playing game, published by Steve Jackson Games in 2005 and written by Kenneth Hite, Steve Jackson, and John M. Ford...
. There are also some more unusual fantastic races like the Reptile Men, and several others which can be added in as desired by the game master.
Setting
A basic premise of the setting is that magical banestorms pick up people and whole villages from other worlds (including Earth) and deposit them on Yrth. As a result many of the societies and cultures are reminiscent of a Crusades-era Earth, albeit with magic. One significant difference this brings is that, unlike many fantasy settings, Yrth has many of the major Earth faiths as its core religions, including ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and others.
The settings's official timeline syncs up with our own, so that a "normal" campaign would be set in 2005 or 2006. The Banestorm started about 1,000 years ago when a group of "Dark Elves" completed a magical ritual designed to banish all Orcs from Yrth. The spell backfired horribly, and instead brought people from other worlds. Although the majority of Banestorm strikes occurred shortly after the initial backfire, giving the world its fantasy-medieval flavor, occasional flare-ups have occurred since then. For instance, in the 16th century a number of humans were transported to Yrth from France, bringing with them dangerous knowledge of Protestantism, and gunpowder. The latter has since been suppressed due to concerns by the Empire of Megalos about too much technological progress.
Plot
One of the interesting things about the setting is that a different flavor of fantasy campaign can be had depending on which region of Yrth one uses. Araterre, for instance, is a sea-faring nation inhabited by the descendants of those brought to Yrth from France in the 16th century. Light or no armor, swashbuckling, and courtly intrigue are the rule of the day. Sahud is the Asian mish-mash country, and would be suitable for a wuxia style game, or even something akin to Legend of the Five Rings. Some countries are almost entirely human-dominated, and others are mixed, while there are still some area completely under the control of Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, or Reptile Men.Third Edition
In third edition GURPS, the book GURPS Fantasy covered the Yrth setting rather than being a genre toolkit. It was among the inspiration sources for the Media Computing Group of the RWTH Aachen UniversityRWTH Aachen
RWTH Aachen University is a research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with roughly 33,000 students enrolled in 101 study programs....
for the development of the REXplorer mobile game. GURPS Fantasy: Tredroy and GURPS Fantasy: Harkwood provide additional setting information about Yrth.
Major Locations
- Al-Haz
- Al-Wazif
- Araterre - Island nation.
- Cardiel - Formed from the former Islmanic Nation of Al-Kard, which was conquered by Megalos, but lost control of Cardiel.
- Caithness
- Megalos — The largest nation of Yrth, Megalos is a human-dominated Christian Empire.
- The Nomad Lands
- The Oceans
- The Orclands
- Sahud - Quasi-Asian nation on the northern coast of Yrth.
- The Southwestern Wilderness
- Tredroy: City of Three Laws — Tredroy is a city divided between the rule of Cardiel, Al-Haz and Al-Wazif.
- Zarak — The Underground Kingdom of the Dwarves.