Welcome to Avantis

Welcome to Avantis!

In the savage land of Avantis, a realm of steamy jungles, untamed wildernesses, and haunted swamplands, great beasts roam free - from island-sized sea serpents capable of sinking ships to dinosaurs that can swallow a man whole. Amidst all this danger lie the sprawling cities, teeming with merchants, craftsmen, sailors, and thieves. Palaces, temples, and towers rise up to house nobles, soldiers, priests, and wizards, who defend those within the city walls from the dangers that lurk beyond.
But beyond the city walls lie ancient ruins - toppled temples, abandoned cities, haunted tombs, and crumbling palaces, overgrown and forgotten. These structures whisper of treasures hidden within their shadowed halls, waiting to be discovered. It is a land of legend, where heroes carve out their own sagas through their deeds and adventures.
But in the vast continent of Avantis, there are always more tales to be told, more legends waiting to be made.

Swords and Sorcery

Avantis is a Swords and Sorcery setting for Fate Accelerated.
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy.
Since its inception, many attempts have been made to provide a precise definition of "sword and sorcery". Although many have debated the finer points, the consensus characterizes it with a bias toward fast-paced, action-rich tales set in a quasi-mythical or fantastical framework. Unlike high fantasy, the stakes in sword and sorcery tend to be personal, the danger confined to the moment of telling. Settings are typically exotic, and protagonists often morally compromised. Many sword and sorcery tales have turned into lengthy series of adventures. Their lower stakes and less-than world-threatening dangers make this more plausible than a repetition of the perils of epic fantasy. So too does the nature of the heroes; most sword-and-sorcery protagonists, travellers by nature, find peace after adventure deathly dull.

Seven Key Aspects of Avantis

These eight Aspects prevail throughout the world of Avantis, There may be small pockets in certain times and places where they do not apply, but in general these are the baseline assumptions driving the world.

A Young World

It has only been a few thousand years since the gods forged Avantis from Chaos and the reign of the children of the gods is new and fragile, and older races from the Primordial Age, such as serpentmen, ghouls, rakshasas, and troglodytes, still lurk in many places. Their kingdoms and realms have fallen into ruin, but these ancient creatures dream of reclaiming what was once theirs and hate and resent humankind.

Barbarism

In this young world, both humans and demihumans struggle to establish civilization. Many live in tribal societies, close to nature and all its dangers. Even in the city-states, life is often violent and harsh. The so-called civilized people engage in brutal arena fights for entertainment, and practices such as robbery, dueling, and assassination are common. No matter where one lives, be it in a jungle village or an opulent palace, life is often short and brutal.
Similarly, engineering, knowledge, and technology are not very advanced. Writing is a privilege known only to sages, scribes, and the wealthy who can afford an education. Arms and armor are made of copper or bronze, and the great temples and monuments of the cities are built by hordes of laborers using simple tools and techniques.

Wicked Cities

Even civilization offers little safety, as the city-states are havens of greed, crime, and callousness.
Powerful thieves' guilds rule many cities and constantly fight with rival guilds for territory and power. Slavery is widespread, and secret cults devoted to forbidden gods operate in the shadows. The rich and powerful scheme to gain more influence and closer proximity to the throne, while the lower classes simmer with unrest and resentment. Oppressive authorities are the norm.

Savage Wilderness

Stepping outside the city walls is a risk to one's life, as there are few roads and the jungle is filled with deadly predators. The flora and fauna of Avantis belong to a primitive and cruel age, where giant predators such as cave bears, saber-tooth cats, and giant vipers roam free. Even the herbivores, like mammoths and giant sloths, can be just as dangerous to humans as the predators. The tribal people of the wilderness are just as savage as the beasts they live alongside. Some are simply warlike and territorial, while others are headhunters, cannibals, or primitives who worship monstrous beings and relish the opportunity to torture and sacrifice those who fall into their hands.

A World of Mystery

The vast jungles and imposing mountains and glaciers of Avantis and its neighboring islands remain largely unexplored, and people know very little about what lies beyond a few days' journey from their homes. The brooding jungles and stark mountains hide many secrets, including abandoned cities, strongholds of inhuman powers, foul temples, degenerate tribes, and hidden lands ruled by monstrous beings. Any of these dangers could be lurking in the next valley over. Many of these places are unique and unrecorded cities belonging to unknown peoples, ruins whose builders are lost to history, and terrors that exist nowhere else in the world.
One must be prepared for anything in the wilderness of Avantis.

Weird and Eldritch Powers

Dabbling in supernatural powers is a perilous endeavor, as occult learning predates the rise of the modern peoples of Avantis and comes from primordial times. This ancient knowledge is extremely dangerous, and most who take up arcane studies meet a gruesome and terrible fate. Few wizards live to a ripe old age.
Priestly magic is less dangerous, but still rare. Most priests and acolytes have no magical training and only master the everyday prayers and doctrines of their faith. Those initiated into the secrets of their god's magic are rare individuals who belong to a secretive and mysterious cabal. The gods are inscrutable, and priests guard access to their power closely. Magic is such a dark and esoteric field of study that users of magic are few and far between. Even the largest cities are home to only a handful of adepts, who are feared and whispered about. Enchanted swords and magical treasures are similarly rare – most people in Avantis have never seen a magic item and would likely fear and shun anyone known to possess one.

Freebooters, Mercenaries, Opportunists

This is an age of bold, brawling heroes who are larger than life. Adventurers are driven by their ambitions – they crave gold, glory, and power. While great causes and noble crusades are admirable, most itinerant adventurers in Avantis are in it for the money. If there are no rumors of treasure to be found and opportunities seem scarce, a hero of Avantis may move on in search of better prospects or devise a scheme to gain wealth

Influences

Books

Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian
Lin Carter's Thongor of Lemuria
Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion stories, especially those featuring Elric of Melnibone and Corum
Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Grey Mouser

Cartoons

Thundarr the Barbarian (1980 - 1981)

Movies

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Fire and Ice (1983)
Heavy Metal (1981)

RPG

The primary influence on Avantis is the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG by Simon Washbourne and many elements of that game appear here in only slightly reskinned fashion, with rules converted from that game's original system to the Fate Accelerated system.

Other RPG influences include:
Various Conan the Barbarian RPGs
Primeval Thule from Sasquatch Game Studios

Typical Adventures

What sorts of adventures are especially appropriate for the primeval continent?
Characters in Avantis face a world of savage wilderness, corrupt villains, and things that should not be.

In Avantis, adventurers might...
• Loot the ruined temple of an elder god.
• Become pirates and prey on merchant galleys.
• Rescue the daughter of a tribal chieftain from a party of beastman raiders.
• Fight in the arena of a decadent city.
• Assault a slaver fortress.
• Steal a ruby of fantastic value from a noble’s monster-guarded treasury.
• Explore the ruins of a cursed city.
• Challenge a tyrannical wizard-king.
• Kill the icy heart of a living glacier.
• Hunt mammoths to prove their worth to a barbarian tribe.
• Slay a demon in the tower of a sorcerer.
• Battle star-things preying on human cattle.
• Root out a foul cult threatening to take over a city.
• Sail to strange islands with unknown perils.
• Plunder the tombs of barbarian kings.
• Break the power of a thieves’ guild.
• Depose a weak or foolish king and seize the throne for themselves.
• Seek the wisdom of a monstrous oracle.
• Read books of sorcery written by inhuman wizards who lived before mankind existed.
• Search for the lost ruins of an Atlantean city.
• Venture into a frozen monastery claimed by deadly polar cold, then perform a ritual of binding to imprison a demon prince before it escapes to torment the world.
• Defend a village against a beastman horde.
• Steal the secret of iron from a dwarven priest.
• Unmask a rakshasa impersonating a high nobleman.