Player Guide

This page is intended as a guide for players embarking in campaigns that take place in Norelva. This isn't strictly required for new players, but it helps clarify some important information and makes sure everyone is on the same page.

Check the playlists on the right for vibes and inspiration! Music is an important part of my DM style and the world, so I put some emphasis on it. They are, respectively:

Norelva Tunes, an upbeat/happy compilation representing a typical day in the city, with jazz and colorful notes,
Norelva Rain, a sadder/more grounded playlist, for when the gloom and rain overcomes the brightness of the nightlife,
Norelva Confidential and Special Weapons and Cantrips, playlists for Norelva's cops and detectives.

"Norelva Tunes" - Upbeat Playlist

"Norelva Rain" - Sad Playlist

"Norelva Confidential"

"Special Weapons and Cantrips"

Index

The World and its History

The City and the Nation

Religions and Planes

Picture Gallery

Disclaimer: you are NOT expected to know everything on this wiki, as it is also mostly a place for me to store all the world’s information, lore, names and dates. You should, however, consult it when making your character, and are freely allowed to use it during sessions.

It's divided in the Politics Hub, where you can find information on the noble houses, political parties and every branch of government, the History Hub, with information on the timeline of events and the other nations of the world and the Culture Hub, with information on the religions and corporations of the world.

Information found in-game, such as map pins or handouts, usually is copied from these pages and might have a link directing you there.

Playing the Game

"How do I play D&D?"

I can't really answer that here without boring you, but you mostly roll dice, talk and occasionally fight bad guys.

If you're reading this and you've never played, and we're about to play together, don't worry, we'll learn as we go. If you want to look at the basics and get an idea of how things work, I recommend this video by Ginni Di or this one by Bob World Builder. If you want to see how a typical D&D session works, check XP to Level 3's Tomb of Horrors recap here - while you might know Brennan Lee Mulligan and Matt Mercer, I don't recommend elevating your standards to them: I'm not a professional, and they have a lot of funding and experience I don't have.

Rules and Additions

Every campaign will typically use the D&D 5e system. Here are some rules and important remarks. If you don't understand some of the more technical things mentioned here, don't worry - feel free to ask.

All races are playable: goblins are fine, orcs are fine, even bugbears and vampires. There are no restrictions on backgrounds or classes, and you’re free to bring a class/item/background etc. from any expansion or book, official or unofficial. Class flavor text (names, visuals, etc.), starting equipment, or else, can all be changed, and according to the setting, you may choose guns (scroll down on the Homebrewery document) as starting weapons at your discretion.

If you’re unhappy with a class, we can change it unless we’re deep into the campaign. The same cannot be said for the race, so pick wisely.

We don’t count ammunition/arrows or weight but we do count gold, which is called Royals and are coins or banknotes in the setting. The conversion rate is 1 gold = 10 Royals. If you start with 10 gold, you start with 100 Royals. You're not expected to remember this detail, don't worry. We also don’t use material components for spells.

Here are some mechanic-related rules added from the optional choice in the Handbook/other games:

flanking: if two people are next to a target, they get +2 to their attacks. If they’re on opposite sides, they get advantage.
glancing blows: if AC and attack roll match, damage is halved.
inspiration numbers: instead of a single one, you can amass multiple inspirations (Baldur's Gate).
death saving throw: if a nat20 is rolled during death saving throws, the character gains 1 hp.

World Primer

The World and its History

Norelva is set in a post-industrial revolution world, which has slowly faded out magic as the main driving force of wonder, medicine and academia and has shifted to something every humanoid can grasp: technology. Roughly set in what would be our 1920s (some leeway left), it is a world that switched quite quickly from horses, adventurers and wizards to cars, police and engineers. The struggles of less organized life, such as famine, raiders and natural predators, have disappeared, leaving behind new problems - this time, a volatile job market, crime families, and the gruesome tales of serial killers in the shadows.

The history of the world is one of destruction and rebirth, a constant rollercoaster caused by gods fighting for balance and against it, and warlords vying for power. The most recent event is the Great War of 500, the most devastating conflict in history, which saw magic, technology, divine intervention and even chronomancy reshape the land, dry out oceans, level mountains and alter time and space. See more in the History Hub and the Timeline.

The City and the Nation

The capital of the nation of the same name, Norelva, is the typical focus of most campaigns. It is the world's first proper metropolis, an enormous city that spans roughly the size of a modern city like Milan or London. The nation features a number of other major cities, each with their own distinct flavor and purpose - see more on the city and nation here. See also the maps here.

The main factions at play are three "fronts":

the government of Norelva, a generally well-meaning and respected body made up of politicians, parliamentarians, party members, and also inspectors, judges and administration workers - an enormous bureaucratic monster that, at times, struggles to move its otherwise effective power;
the crime families, be they actual families or not, which are the natural evolution of thieves' guilds. Powerful and ever present but forced to act in the shadows due to the extremely long hand of the law;
the corporations, led by charismatic CEOs or scheming Boards of Directors, always looking to gain an edge wherever the crime families or the government can't reach first - a new type of insidious enemy to both of the above.

Religions and Planes

There are countless cults in Norelva, as animistic ideas tend to be the most popular. Everything has a soul, so everything can be a god, and the more believers something has, the more powerful it becomes. On the grand scale, four major formless concepts make up the major gods, giving life to the most basic ideas of the universe. On a smaller scale, common concepts such as nature and knowledge may have a specific god, however, they are likely to be enshrined in specific spirits and gods. For example, the god of swords, or the god of writing.

There are four planes of existence:

the material plane,
the Ashen Waste, where the Flame, deity of chaos and entropy, lives. An endless desert of ash dunes, crumbling cathedrals and palaces, rivers of lava and monsters - this is typically where demons and other monsters come from;
the Scaduforest (pronounced Shadow-forest), plane of the Winnower: the reaper, the one who delivers death to maintain balance. A forest lit by gentle light, and a winding path lined with headstones - this is not a malicious place, but is the "standard" resting plane for all who die;
the Spire of Gold, plane of the Gardener: the creator, the one who delivers life to maintain balance. A castle in the heavens erected on a cloud, where mechanical angels and celestial golems create life.

See more here.

Picture Gallery

This next section will include some pictures and carousels, with captions, to give you a clearer idea of the world your characters will inhabit. These could be advertisements, as seen just below, pictures of cities or custom made artwork/screenshots.

Advertisements one might find on walls or info boards, respectively: Royal Network of Railways ad, Grand Prix of Norelva ad, Norelva Automobile Company ad.

A typical downtown street in central Norelva. Older, taller brick buildings like the ones pictured are usually the ones that survived the war.

Dublin, Grafton Street

A typical residential street. The buildings are still attached, but have more space for balconies, porches and storefronts. These are usually newer constructions.

New Orleans, French Quarter

Skyscrapers, entrances and interiors of the most luxurious buildings and skyscrapers in Norelva, in a pure art deco style and adorned with gold, bold colors and opulent decorations. Also a lot of that specific shade of green everyone likes now.

Pictures taken from various buildings in Chicago and LA; on the bottom-right, Eastern Columbia in LA.

A stylized picture of the financial district, with the Sumferrum Heavy Industries headquarters on display. Skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings have started spreading from this district outwards, and slowly the 3-4 storey houses in Norelva are being replaced by imposing blocks - also to tackle overpopulation.

Made in Dystopika

The typical type of car an average Norelvan drives. Small, cheap and with basically no safety features. More expensive and sleek cars, but also vans and trucks are also common. Trams and double-decker buses are also typically used.