Remove ads by subscribing to Kanka or enabling premium features for the campaign.

Before you read

This is the work of a single fan who wishes to share this setting with the RPG community. This is a lore-book so don't expect any rules or profiles. This way anyone can use their own rule-set. The content in these page have been copied from the books of the Cadwallon RPG, the Confrontation wargame, and the Cry Havoc magazine, with as little modification as possible from the source material. Here are some fair warnings :

Content Warning

This setting can be quite dark at times. It was made in 2006 by a team of ... "retro" style rpg players. Cadwallon's society is immoral, corporatist, with a savage liberal capitalist economy. it is a societal and economical fantasy dystopia. Therefore :

  • Every aspect of its law and organisation tends to maximize profit for the city. Moral or social justice does not exist.
  • Misery, inequality and poverty abound and solidarity is rare.
  • People who rise against oppression tend to be depicted as naïve or misguided, if they are represented at all.
  • The Cadwë justice only repairs financial prejudice. Some of these laws are revoltingly unfair and oppressive.
  • The setting, like most of its contemporaries, lacks maturity in term of inclusivity.

Though it how the setting has been written, remember that it is your game. If some themes or aspects make you inconfortable, feel free to ignore or change them. Do not hesitate to fill what this setting lacks, by including more diverse characters or civil rights activists. After all, what better place than a dystopia to tell the tales of those who wish to fight for a better world ?

Adressing some problematic people

Some aspects of the setting being problematic, it can, unsurprisingly, attract some problematic individuals. If you happen to be affiliated with the far-right, the "alt-right", or however you call yourself theses days, you are highly encourage to get the hell out of here. Same goes if you happen to genuinely agree with the way this fictional world treats people. No nazis are permitted upon these grounds.

Beware of spoilers

This is a setting filled with intrigues, plots and schemes. Expect a load of organisation, secret identities, agendas, betrayals and the like. So of course, spoilers abound. This work is therefore intended to be read by GMs.

Click to toggle

Aarklash, a world at war

It was an age where time did not exist ... The age of the gods. The gods travelled the Creation unrivalled. Their empires knew no limit and extended over entire worlds born from the magic energies of the Creation. Discord came and the gods waged war among themselves for supremacy. The crumbling of the dying worlds almost led to the collapse of the Creation and the death of everything. The Creation fought back. The gods were brutally thrown off their thrones and sent into exile beyond the borders of the elemental worlds, Realms. Time appeared, imposing its curse to the vain immortals: if they dared to reappear, they would suffer the punishment and would be forever forgotten. Thus, the age of the gods ended.

However, one does not get rid of these terrible forces so easily. After thousands of years in exile, the gods continue to wage war through their champions - Incarnates - and their most faithful allies. The balance is once again under threat. The curse of Time is fading. Darkness seizes the heart of the brave and the gods get ready to lead their armies. The ultimate age has come : the Rag'Narok

A continent lost in darkness

Not far from the heart of the Creation is a sought after Kingdom: Aarklash. Magic thresholds can be opened there to travel to all the Realms, including those where the gods are imprisoned. The future of the Creation is linked to the fate of this singular world. The history of the continent of Aarklash was written by the victors of the great wars of the past. The glory and the prestige of the conquerors of long gone eras hide fratricide wars and dreadful lies. The nations of Aarklash were built on pain, blood and treachery. Some nations did not resist the erosion of Time. From their ashes, larger and stronger empires arose, yet also younger and drawn towards the warlike temptations of power.

The war Lords of Aarklash cured the wounds inherited from their fathers and gathered armies for the end of the world. All are getting ready for the Rag’narok, a merciless war announced by ancient prophecies, but of which the mortals still ignore the real stakes..

Click to toggle

Cadwallon

In these hours of darkness, Cadwallon is a cosmopolitan city outside the conflicts of the Rag’narok. The center of all the attentions. The powerful and the most ancient races of Aarklash contemplate it with a mixture of envy and hope, but also fear and aversion.

Click to toggle