Information on Uncaen

[WarcasterSigmus]

Hello Everyone!,

I am currently running an Iron Kingdoms Campaign and long story short, The group ended up in Uncaen, while still living.
I know, I know not the most strict following of the Lore; but it's been fun so far

I am posting because even though I own All the old D20 books for the setting; there really is not a lot of info on Uncaen.
anything any of you may know about it, from details of the Deities domains, the war of souls, to even suggestions of hazards
they may encounter while traveling beyond the deities domains, I'd really appreciate it!

The last session ended with their entry into Uncaen, I do know as much as the domain outside the purview of the gods is dangerous. I choose to describe it
as a "Twilight Desert, stretching out into infinity, a chilling wind blows across it's endless dunes, pulling at your very soul."

Thanks for any info and input!

[Iron_Peanut]

I choose to describe it as a "Twilight Desert, stretching out into infinity, a chilling wind blows across it's endless dunes, pulling at your very soul."

You a Discworld fan, sir?
To my understanding, Urcaen is mostly a dark wilderness which is prowled by the Devourer and the souls of his worshippers, and there are a few "cities" where human souls can find refuge from the danger of the wilderness. Morrow resides in his shining city, and he sends out followers to gather other souls to join him. Menoth also has a city, and He also sends out followers, but mostly to fight the Devourer, and any souls that show up that aren't also Menites. I don't know what happens to you if your souls is eaten by the Devourer or burned by Menoth, but I assume it isn't any good.

Visually I imagine Urcaen as the darkest, most threatening old-growth forest. It is always night, and the stars and shapes in the sky move with no discernable pattern. Off in the distance you can see a light shining in the darkness; high stone walls topped with massive flaming braziers - the city of a god. All around you you hear muffled movements and feel a sense of unease. The Devourer Wurm is out here, and you will never be safe.

Canonically, both of the churches do resurrect people from time to time, and those people do have some hazy recollection of what Urcaen is like, but the details are pretty vague. The High Reclaimer is the only living human to have been to Urcaen and back, and presumably knows all of the details, but he is sworn to a vow of silence and isn't telling.

[Babbington]

If you check the Seacat thread, he posted some good stuff on the domains of the gods, especially Morrow and Menoth's domains. There are also some tidbits in the IK guides. If I recall correctly, the Morrowan church and Menite temple have both published books about their afterlives, written by members of the faith who were resurrected by their priests. There's also the particular afterlife domains of the dwarves and elves as well.

In between the particular domains of the gods, the followers of the Devourer (and the Devourer Wurm himself) hunt in the wilderness in the form of terrible beasts, eating lost souls. Menoth is probably also out there as well, hunting and being hunted by the Wurm.

[WarcasterSigmus]

Thank's Iron_Peanunt! That was really helpful! I think I will have them discover a forest at some point if they don't find their way to one of the God's Cities.
do you have any suggestions on how to represent these beast souls? I was considering using Lycantrhopes from the D&D 3.5 to show that they where at least "Humanoid"

Babbington, do you know which book those tomes are mentioned in? the ones written by Menoth and Morrow Clergy.

More information is always welcome!

[Iron_Peanut]

do you have any suggestions on how to represent these beast souls? I was considering using Lycantrhopes from the D&D 3.5 to show that they where at least "Humanoid"

The Devourer Wyrm is The Beast of All Shapes; he represents predators in all of their forms, and his followers aspire to emulate that. I imagine that humans that give themselves fully to the devourer in life might appear in Urcaen to simply be predatory beasts, albeit with a creepier vibe. I came across this a while ago, and the image instantly springs to mind. Running d20, just throw some Dire animals their way.
Again, I have no idea what happens to you if you die while you are in (what is basically) hell, but I imagine it's not good. The PCs won't have any idea either, so play up this concern with them.

[jdripley]

You could probably take some inspiration from the beasts that the Circle Orboros uses, since they kindof flirt with Devourer worship. Sure they're not straight up "worshiping" the Devourer, and their goals are actually to keep the Devourer distracted and in a position of balance relative to Menoth, BUT they're not against tapping the Devourer's power and destructive nature when it suits them. I can see giant-sized werewolves and completely bonkers Goraxes being good analogues to dead Devourer worshipers.

[FrankJaeger]

I imagine that people who "die" again in Urcaen becomes energy to strengthen the god whose servitor killed him. Or become mindless servitor themselves.

[Iron_Peanut]

Sure they're not straight up "worshiping" the Devourer, and their goals are actually to keep the Devourer distracted and in a position of balance relative to Menoth, BUT they're not against tapping the Devourer's power and destructive nature when it suits them.

Probably my favorite thing about the Circle is how nebulous and prone to interpretation the answer to "What is Oroboros?" is. Way better than counting angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Depending on who you ask, Oroboros is:
- Oroboros is the interface between Dhunia and the Devourer, as exemplified in the natural cycles of life/death and predator/prey and also the cycle of seasons. Failure to properly manage Oroboros will disrupt natural cycles of decay, death, and renewal, which will destroy causal relationships in the natural world.
- Oroboros is an entity seperate from Dhunia and the Devourer which embodies the world in a state of balance. Failure to properly manage Oroboros will disrupt that balance and therefore the world itself.
- Oroboros is the balance between the forces of civilization and the wild, as exemplified in the endless war between Menoth and the Devourer Wyrm. Failure to properly manage Oroboros will disrupt this balance and exalt one entity over the other, which would probably destroy existence as we understand it.
- Oroboros is not a specific entity but the gestalt energy of the wild and sacred places of Caen, channeled through natural formations and invisible leylines. Failure to properly manage Oroboros will disrupt the relationship between these places and maybe cause horrible earthquakes or floods or something.
- Oroboros is some combination of the above.

- Bonus Krueger the Stormwrath Answer: Oroboros is the Devourer Wyrm, full stop. Failure to properly manage-er-appease Oroboros will cause the Devourer to get bored and eat the world.

[WarcasterSigmus]

Thank you guys for the information!

The group is currently fighting it's way to towards what it believes is either Menoth's City or Morrow's Domain. To put it aptly from the Preceptor of Cyriss in the group:
"Either option is preferable to being digested for all eternity, Once was enough for me."
Previously he got swallowed by a troll.

[Cromagnon]

From my understanding, and I wish I had the source to back it up, once you were consumed by the Devourer Wurm, your soul was obliterated and you ceased to exist as an entity; which is why the various deities are so hellbent (zing!) on getting the souls to their respective domains, to protect the soul in question from destruction, and to help fuel the power of that deity in the War of Souls.

[PsychoLaughs]

orboros. not oroboros.

[The Happy Anarchist]

From my understanding, and I wish I had the source to back it up, once you were consumed by the Devourer Wurm, your soul was obliterated and you ceased to exist as an entity; which is why the various deities are so hellbent (zing!) on getting the souls to their respective domains, to protect the soul in question from destruction, and to help fuel the power of that deity in the War of Souls.

I'm pretty sure that is the exact opposite. From what I recall, souls were pretty much indestructible - even the ones used by Cryx have energy drained from them, but still eventually make it to Urcaen after their energy is used up. The souls eaten by the Devourer & friends end up being digested for an indeterminate amount of time, likely with similar results.

I believe this info was from one of the Seacat posts in the sticky.

[Iron_Peanut]

Another weird thing: that extra bonus sword all of the Sword Knights have hanging off their belts, that is a ceremonial long sword they get when they become full Knights. They're forbidden to use it, but they're required to keep it clean and sharp at all times. When they die, they're buried with that sword so they can take it to Urcaen with them and fight off the horrible stuff that's in the wilds.
So I guess grave goods are a thing in the IK? Huh.