Ulverland a Gothic Gaslight Fantasy Setting

Ulverland A Gothic Gaslight Fantasy Setting “There was something awesome in the thought of the solitary mortal standing by the open window and summoning in from the gloom outside the spirits of the nether world.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, “Selecting a Ghost” What is it? Ulverland is an island kingdom of decaying castles, foreboding forests, haunted moors, defiled graveyards, and gloomy ancestral estates. What lies beneath the surface? The conventions of the Gothic and Gaslight Fantasy: mad monks, ghosts, villainous aristocrats, monstrosities, and long-buried secrets that can no longer be repressed; duelists and monster hunters, highwaymen and assassins, witch finders and pagan cultists, demonologists, mesmerists, and exorcists; swashbuckling battle against the forces of darkness; impossible steam-powered inventions; the influence of Hammer horror films, the Victorian fin de siècle, and morbid moments from real-world history. What does it feel like? A cold wind that chills you to the bone, the taste of Samplecoppery blood in your mouth, a shrill scream breaks file the death-like silence of the witching hour. 2 Setting Inspirations Literature Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane stories; Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray; Bram Stoker's Dracula; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto; Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque; Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's Queen Victoria's Book of Spells; Kim Newman's Anno Dracula; Oliver Potzsch's The Hangman's Daughter; Cherie Priest's Boneshaker Film & Television The Brotherhood of the Wolf; Vampire Hunter D; Penny Dreadful; Ripper Street; Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde; Black Sunday; The Vampire Lovers; Sleepy Hollow; Sweeney Todd; I Sell the Dead; Witchfinder General; Pirates of the Caribbean; The Prestige; Le Chevalier D'Eon Comics From Hell; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Defoe: 1666; Victorian Undead; The Cain Saga; The Scorpion; Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities; Baltimore; Sebastian O Music Nick Cave; Sopor Aeternus; Marissa Nadler; Rasputina; Cradle of Filth; Moonspell; Nox Arcana; Midnight Syndicate; The Rohan Theatre Band; My Dying Bride; King Diamond; The Tiger Lillies SampleMiscellaneous file Castlevania and Darkstalkers; Innistrad; the art of Harry Clarke, Joseph Vargo, and Simon Marsden; Ravenloft 3 A Brief Historical Account The Ancient Era During the Ancient Era, the island was home to Kellmen tribes ethnically and culturally similar to the people of the Shae Isle. The Iron Era With the coming of the Iron Era, the island was conquered and colonized by the Iron Empire. Eventually, the Iron Empire would fall to barbarian invaders, fragment into the various Iron Principalities, and most of the Empire colonials would flee from Ulverland when cut off from the Empire's support. The Wolf Era In this era, the southern Kellmen of the island were conquered by barbarians from the northern lands of the Grand Continent. These “Ulvermen” used wolf imagery that is still favored by the country today. At first the Ulvermen won land in battle, but eventually they intermarried with the island's Kellmen populace and their cultures intermixed to form the basis of what will come to be called Ulverlandian culture. The Sword Era Morgundian knights led by Lord Ather invade and annex Ulverland for the Morgundian queen, Analise I. Instead of imposing their culture on the populace, these conquerors assimilated to Ulverlandian ways; Samplethe only noteworthy Morgundian contribution to file Ulverlandian culture was the importation of knightly virtues and the ideals of chivalry. 4 The Frost Era The Morgundian invaders had by this time fully assimilated into Ulverlandian culture and lost their ties with Morgundy. Frostreaver marauders began to raid the northern towns of Ulverland. Desirous of a clime milder than their own, these Frostreavers forged their own settlements in the Northlands. The Northwall was built to keep the Frostreaver threat contained. The Illumined Era New ideas, philosophies, and technological innovations from the southern countries of the Grand Continent began to filter into Ulverlandian society. Resistant to change, Ulverlandians are slow to adopt these novel concepts, but eventually a mania for new experiences set in; during this era, Ulverland sent explorers on state-backed expeditions and funded mercantile ventures to far-off locales. The Blood Era Spurred by the desire for novelty, Ulverland utilized the new ideas and technologies that first arrived during the Illumined Era and became a modernized, industrialized society. Colonies in other lands are established, and Ulverland emerges as one of the richest countries in the world. However, this era is not without its anxieties; vampire lords from Harrowfaust establish themselves in the Northlands, disrupting the dominion of the Kellmen and Frostreaver-descended Sampleleaders, and instituting a blood-based system offile feudalism. It is currently year 1666 of the Blood Era. 5 A Rough Guide to Ulverland Ulverland can be roughly divided into four districts: Suthenbrook is the most civilized region of Ulverland, and is home to the kingdom's capital city— Lowedon—which straddles the River Albin. Lowedon is a sprawling, foggy, fortified city that was established by colonizers from the Iron Empire in the distant past. Lowedon is the seat of governance; Queen Erzebeta II and her Parliament rule from her palace at Minister's Rest. The people of Lowedon are currently aghast at the outrages of a serial murderer known only as the Gardener, so called because he cuts the bloom of youth short for the women he catches at night on the streets of the Madchapel borough. The Queen's Bloom borough houses the Stained Cathedral, a spiritual center of the Church of the White Way. The Stained Cathedral also serves as the barracks for the Knights of the White Raven, a religious order comprised of templars, inquisitors, and witch finders led by Sir Robert Aubrey. The countryside of Suthenbrook is mostly farmland and light woodlands; these areas are menaced by winter wolves. It is rumored that twin necromancers, Arion and Arianna, are raising an army of the dead from Suthenbrook's many neglected cemeteries. The Orxham Academy, Ulverland's premier university and one of the few colleges that teaches Occult Science, is also located in SampleSuthenbrook. file 6 Westenbrook is a region of farmlands and deep woods. Grand Bishop Julianna VI holds sway at the great cathedral at Covenant. The people are hardy and mix their belief in the Ulverlandian Church with superstitions and folk magic; this has earned them a reputation as a hex-blooded people. It is not uncommon for the folk of Westenbrook to leave gifts on their doorsteps at night to appease the fey. The people live in fear of werewolves, banshees, will-o'- wisps, and worgs. Once a year all of Westenbrook engages in the regional Festival of the Blood Moon, which culminates in a stoic hunt for werewolves in the wild-lands. While gypsies travel all of Ulverland, the “gypsy king” Bela Drachen maintains a permanent camp in Westenbrook. The countryside is dotted with rings of standing stones, barrow mounds, and tenebrous fissures in the earth that are said to lead down into lower planes. Estenbrook is a land of rolling hills, cold beaches, port towns, and seaside cities. The shipyards of Estenbrook are famous for the seaworthiness of their vessels. It is rumored that resurrectionists and mad inventors ply their diabolic trades under the cover of night in this region of Ulverland. Estenbrook is also home to the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Yew, a secret society dedicated to hunting and slaying undead abominations. The people of Estenbrook are said to be a bloodthirsty lot; their favored form of entertainment is vicious pit-fighting. Louisa de Grace, a renowned Samplesculptor residing in the city of Ilwich, is equally file famed for her charm as she is for the vices attributed to her nocturnal rambles. Estenbrook is also known as the 7.

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