The Makers

These lands were once ruled by giants, who stood two or three times the height of a full-grown human. They were powerful not only in stature but also in learning, wisdom, and magic. They established mighty civilizations and left many wonders in their wake.

Five different groups of Makers helped to shape the region now called World's End.

These included…

  • the Forge Lords, passionate artisans who bent fire and metal to their will;
  • the Green Lords, who bred and shaped all forms of life and bound the spirits of the wild to their will;
  • the Rime Lords, who embraced the cold of the far north and practiced all manner of ascetic disciplines and esoteric arts;
  • the Stone Lords, who carved cities out of bedrock, raised towering monuments, and sang stone and crystal and glass into impossible shapes; and
  • the Tempest Lords, who harnessed the primal forces of sky and sea, who sailed forth to conquer much of the world.

The Tempest Lords' empire was the oldest and greatest nation of Makers, and for a long time the others lived in their shadow. But hubris led to the empire's ruin, and allowed the other Makers to rise in power. There were rivalries between them, certainly, and border conflicts, but for centuries they largely lived in peace. They traded goods and ideas, even cooperated on grand projects like the Makers' Roads.

The peace did not last forever. The Green Lords called on the Things Below to crush their rebellious servants, a crime for which the Stone Lords would not stand. They led their brethren against the now-corrupted Green Lords, shattered their lands and tried to wipe them from the earth. They succeeded, but at great cost.

For the whispers of the Things Below had become a song. And over the decades, the Stone Lords' own human servants were themselves corrupted. In a flurry of violence, they broke the seals and turned against their masters, and ushered in the Time of Cataclysm. The power of the Things Below was loosed upon the world, and one-by-one the remaining

Makers fell.

That was a few centuries ago, at least. But the bones of those civilizations remain.

Hooks

  • A still-living Maker is found, vitrified or caught in some Fae domain or otherwise held in stasis.
  • Someone unearths a stele, with a lengthy decree written in multiple Maker-scripts as well as an archaic—but well-known—southern alphabet.
  • Two rival scholars are willing to kill in order to prove their theories about the Makers are correct.
  • Adventurers discover a ruin or tomb, clearly of the Makers, but bearing symbols and decorations unlike those of any of the known Makers. Perhaps there was a sixth type or nation of Makers?

Lore

Everyone knows:

  • Giants built most of the ruins that dot the landscape and on which the settlements in the region were built
  • The Highway and the West Road were built by these Makers
  • There were different groups of Makers, dwelling in different regions
  • They worked powerful magic, some of which persists today

One might know:

  • The different types of Makers, where each dwelt, their most important themes
  • What happened to each group, broadly
  • The distinct features of each group's writing/architecture/artifacts
  • The special materials—like aetherium or makerglass —associated with each group, and their common properties
  • The names of a few individuals
  • Which peoples served/followed/were created by them
  • How to use/replicate some of their magic
  • How to read their writing

Very few know:

  • The nuances of their politics, rivalries, history, and schisms
  • How to speak their languages
  • How to recreate their special materials
  • The underpinnings of their magic

When a PC Knows Things about the Makers and gets a 7+, be sure to ask, "How do you know this?" If they're stuck for plausible answers, then give them suggestions: a folk tale, a children's song, secrets imparted by a wise old mentor, a tale heard from a merchant or an old prospector, some previous adventure, etc.

Questions

  • In their art, how did these Makers depict themselves? How were they different than humans, beyond just their size?
  • Can Maker-ruins be found in Lygos and the South? If so, how are they different than those often found around here?
  • Who is the authoritative scholar on the(se) Makers? When were they active? On what did they base their research? What did they clearly get wrong?
  • Which of the Makers' scripts are most like the common alphabet(s) used today?
  • How can you tell that these markings are magical, not mere writing?

Sites

Signs of these ancient civilizations litter the region, many of them surprisingly well-preserved. Some of these ruins are familiar and widely used today, but many are forgotten, avoided, or shunned. For while they contain many wonders of the past, they also hold ancient dangers. Plenty of them are haunted, or corrupted by the Things Below.

Create a site based on the type(s) of Makers who left it. Pick the creators based on where the site is located, or roll if you're unsure.

Makers & Site Locations
1The Forge Lords:

2 The Green Lords:

3 The Rime Lords:

4 The Stone Lords:

5 The Tempest Lords:

6 Multiple Makers:

True nature

The Makers were large and physically powerful, adept with magic, quick of mind, and they brimmed with elemental might.

Individuals varied greatly in both personal power and prestige.

They were long-lived but far from immortal, and reproduced slowly (if at all). Their numbers, thus, were relatively few, and they surrounded themselves with slaves, servants, and disciples of smaller stature:

humans, Fae, Forest Folk, Ustrina, etc.

Beyond that, the nature of the Makers is for you to decide. Perhaps they were…

  • among the first sentient beings, placed here by the primordial powers;
  • children of Danu, birthed from the elements themselves;
  • humans who elevated themselves through magic and study;
  • immigrants from across a trackless sea;
  • travelers from another world or dimension;
  • some combination of the above; or
  • something else entirely.

The answer might well be different for each group of Makers. Maybe the Tempest Lords were among the the first sentient beings and the other Makers were once their human subjects, who stole their power as the first empire waned and fell. Or maybe the Forge Lords came from another world, but the Stone Lords were born of the hills and mountains.

Runes & glyphs

Ancient writing often adorns Maker-ruins and artifacts. Most of these runes and glyphs are mundane (names, labels, memorials, directions, warnings, etc). But some Maker-marks brim with power. They bind spirits, channel energy, anchor magical effects. Many minor arcana feature such writing, which PCs must decipher in order to unlock the arcana's secrets.

If a PC is literate and has some justification (such as the Well Versed move with "the Makers and their arts" as a topic), then they can Know Things to decipher Maker runes and glyphs: on a 10+, tell them the full meaning; on a 7-9, give them a vague sense of the text's meaning, or a few possible translations, and a way to learn more;

on a 6-, maybe tell them what's required to translate the text, and/or interrupt the scene with trouble.

Other PCs can Know Things about Maker runes and glyphs, but at best they can discern a few words and recognize the magical vs. the mundane. Focus instead on who could help them translate the runes, or who might find them valuable, or places and artifacts that bear similar markings, and what the PC knows about them.

If the PCs can't immediately decipher the Markings, then maybe they could…

The Tempest Lords used ideographic glyphs (ideas, not sounds). The other Makers' writing was phonetic; just how distinct their alphabets were is up for you and your group to decide.