Rubicon

Rubicon, also referred to as the Material Plane, the Middle plane, or the Feywilds to outsiders, is the plane of chaos between Heaven and Hell. It is inhabited by the fey and home to the most varied terrain, ecosystems, and people out of all three planes. It is also the plane cursed with mortality, which I describe more in detail here.

Perception

Most rubiconians know of the other planes, but talk about the upper and lower planes of Heaven and Hell as if they were fiction; some worship the outer planes or their inhabitants, some deny their existence, and some even strive to travel to one of the planes, but largely they are treated like the theology of our world with an added understanding that "Well, they are real, but they're just so far from us it’s hard to think of our plane as the same". Most that have been thrown into the infinite war would rather keep these forces out of Rubicon than truly partake in their battle.
The other planes mostly view Rubicon as a wasteland. Some consider natives victims of the plane’s state, some see Rubicon as a freedom from the infinite struggle, few see the inhabitants and the plane itself as a waste of matter. Most see Rubicon as a tragedy, where all who live there or go there suffer a terrible fate, and a necessary evil in their efforts to better their own lives. Think of it like a radioactive waste home to valuable resources in-between two warring countries; they see exposure to the radiation as a death sentence, and no viable hazmat suit exists, but some consider the resources and territory worth the struggle in order to get an edge over the other nation.

Terrain and Ecology

Rubicon is home to any biome you can visit in the real world. It is extremely varied, but limited to what exists in reality. There are a few exceptions to this: several monstrosities and monstrous fey like blink dogs also roam the plane, but they fit into those natural ecosystems. If you are curious what groups of people live in what biomes or ecosystems, see the race page for more details about each specific cultural group.

Central Deity

Rubicon is the only of the three planes with no central deity. There is no greater God, power, or ideology that the plane answers to.

Sapient Inhabitants

The playable races native to or regularly inhabiting Rubicon are humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, orcs, burrowlings, giantkin, lepali, changelings, dryads, naiads, and satyrs. Please check out the race page for more details on these races and their cultures.
The non-playable* groups in Rubicon consist of hags, archfey, giants, and fairies.

Hags

Hags are a group of powerful fey that have gone to the extreme of occult arts. They are not one race in particular; any race can be a hag, the title is gained by undergoing a powerful ritual, similar to a lich. These creatures then become physically warped, growing old and often becoming bloated and grotesque in the process. Most hags have the ability to hide their true shape and semi retain their old image, and some are powerful enough to truly reverse the physical scarring, but most do not care about their new shape. They do not undergo the ritual without knowing what is about to happen.
Hagdom grants an individual extended life, as if they resist the mortal pull of Rubicon, and increased magical capacity. Most hags are self motivated and neutral, using their magic to benefit themselves, their families, or their communities, but a rare few use their power for grander things.
*If I allow a player to be a hag, it will be at greatly decreased power and detached from any community they were once a part of. Thus, there are no specific stats for a player hag and I will deal with that on an individual basis.

Archfey

Similarly to Hags, Archfey are not one race in particular. Archfey is a title granted to powerful fey of all kinds across Rubicon; they are usually magical, but do not have to be. It is treated almost as a political title, granted to rulers of nations or large groups, but rarely is it ever granted to someone without them having the power to back it up. An archfey is someone powerful and well known enough to grant power to warlocks who pact with them or sorcerers born from their lineage.
Archfey are most often in charge of a large group of people, often a nation, and have political motivations to use their powers. Many are aligned with one of the outer planes and acts as a rubiconian player in the war, playing more of a political and territorial part in the war, but some have retained Rubiconian allegiance; such Archfey are usually the target of both planes, and have to fend off offers or political moves from both planes.
*If I allow a player to be an archfey, it will be at greatly decreased power and detached from any community they were once a part of or ruling. Thus, there are no specific stats for a player archfey and I will deal with that on an individual basis.

Giants

Giants are the ancestor races to giantkin and are often in charge of giantkin societies and cities. They are usually elementally attuned and huge sized or larger. They mature at around 30 years old and live to be around 400 when mortal. Rubicon is home to several races of giants, including:

• Cloud giants. Giants with an elemental affinity for wind. Like other elemental giants, they appear as large humanoids with skin, eye, and hair color that matches their attunement.
• Storm giants. Giants with an elemental affinity for lightning. Like other elemental giants, they appear as large humanoids with skin, eye, and hair color that matches their attunement.
• Fire giants. Giants with an elemental affinity for fire. Like other elemental giants, they appear as large humanoids with skin, eye, and hair color that matches their attunement.
• Frost giants. Giants with an elemental affinity for ice. Like other elemental giants, they appear as large humanoids with skin, eye, and hair color that matches their attunement.
• Stone giants. Giants with an elemental affinity for earth and rock. Like other elemental giants, they appear as large humanoids with skin, eye, and hair color that matches their attunement.
• Hill giants. Giants with no elemental affinity that live in hills and grasslands. They tend to be fatty and stout humanoids with natural hair, eye, and skin colors.
• Ogres. Giants with no elemental affinity that live in swamps, bogs, and marshes. They tend to be fatty and stout humanoids with natural hair, eye, and skin colors.
• Fensir. Giants with no elemental affinity that live in mountains and tundras. They tend to be fatty and stout humanoids with gray, white, black, or light blue hair, eye, and skin colors.
• Trolls. Giants with no elemental affinity that live in forests or underground. They tend to be smaller than most giants, appearing as tall humanoids with green, gray, or pitch black hair, eye, and skin colors.
• Cyclopes. Giants with no elemental affinity that live near coasts. They appear as regular humanoids with horns and sometimes only a single eye. They have natural hair, eye, and skin colors.

*If I allow a player to be a pure giant, it will be at greatly decreased power and detached from any community they were once a part of or ruling. Thus, there are no specific stats for a player giant and I will deal with that on an individual basis.

Fairies

Fairies are tiny winged humanoids that exist in Rubicon. Fairies include pixies, quicklings, and sprites. Just like any other race, they have full communities and societies, just on a smaller scale than any other race. Similarly to a lot of the heavier-magic fey cultures, they have a celtic/old druid inspired culture. They mature at around 8 years old and live to be around 40 when mortal.
*These will just be unplayable. I don’t want to deal with allowing full flight for exploration or other hazards or balance out what that would look like, or deal with that size in combat, generally balancing a fairy character isn’t something I want to do right now. Last time we had a fairy as a PC it was hardly a problem because I just wasn’t paying attention; that was my 2nd ever full campaign and combat or exploration disparity between players was the least of my worries. Not really something I want to deal with now that I’m paying attention to that kind of thing.

Politics

Unlike the other planes, there is no effort to have an overarching rule or dominion over the entire plane. The plane is ruled by individual nations and factions, each with their own goals and motivations. The most common political state in Rubicon is a feudal monarchy, but other political systems exist for each culture.
Most of the plane is unaware of the extent of the infinite war. They understand Heaven and Hell are opposed, but most don’t know that Rubicon is in any way involved. Those that are aware usually pick a side, but do not make real attempts to physically participate in the war. Most of their efforts are social and political instead of leading armies or gaining territory in the name of Heaven or Hell.

History

Because of the vast and varied nature of Rubicon, this section will be relatively brief and incomplete until I have more character information.
A lot of early Rubicon’s history is rumor at best. It is speculated whether or not Rubicon ever had a God or if it was always without a central deity. It is also unknown whether or not the plague of mortality was always a threat in Rubicon or if there was once a version of the plane with immortal inhabitants. Its lack of solid history contributes to its perception as a barbaric wasteland to the outer planes. Many believe that some cataclysmic event wracked Rubicon: that this is why there is no central deity (or, perhaps, the loss of its central deity was the cataclysmic event), there is no solid recorded history, and mortality curses the plane; others believe that Rubicon is simply a much newer or much older plane than Heaven or Hell, and this is the natural life cycle of planes. Some believe that this is just the way Rubicon is, and that if other planes are discovered it might very well be that Heaven and Hell are the exceptions and not the other way around. That being said, most native Rubiconians don’t dwell too much on mortality or their lack of a central deity, so their historical research is more focused on the finer details of their societies and cultures.
Other than that, I will leave the minutiae of Rubiconian nations alone until I have more character information. If it ends up being relatively unimportant, just understand that Rubicon is basically the real world and there will have been several wars, developed nations, and territorial shenanigans that lead to today that I won’t delve into. I don’t even know what the “map” will look like just yet, because each plane is hypothetically infinite. I will want to focus on a specific area and, again, I’ll wait for player backstories before I decide on where nations and terrain will exist.

Hub Page

Important Figures

For now, this is a complete list. These can changed, be renamed, or be added to as people create characters or ideas come to me. They are directly ripped from or inspired by folklore and fairy tales; feel free to request any additional figures either for your character or just for fun.

King Arthur Pendragon

King Arthur is a human king known for his legendary blade Excalibur and his diplomatic union of several human kingdoms under his rule. He was granted the title of archfey and is known as a legendary swordsman even without his magic blade. He currently rules the kingdom of Camelot and it's surrounding states.

Beowulf of Heorot

Beowulf is a human folkhero known for his huntsmanship and feats of battle. He is most well known for slaying a dragon, which popularized the myth that dragons exist natively in Rubicon. He became an archfey by title and is known as a formidable warrior with insurmountable strength. Currently, he roams the plane as a legendary adventurer.

Br’er Rabbit

Br'er Rabbit is a rabbit burrowling folkhero known for his incredible wit and trickery. He became is an archfey trickster and is a master illusionist, known to help whoever he feels like helping or prank on a whim. His actions are only ever known to be violent or malicious to those who he's deemed deserve it, but he's not known to be a particularly good person either. Still, most burrowlings look up to him and stories of him. Currently, he roams the plane as a legendary adventurer.

Godmother Esmé

Esmé, also reffered to as Godmother Esmé or the Fairy Godmother, is an elven hag archfey known for her extreme generosity. Her title as both archfey and hag are testiments to both her power and her notoriety; she is a myth even to native Rubiconians, and a hero to those who live near her kingdom. She is incredibly kind and will use her magic to help those in need, often leaving her kingdom run by those she trusts so that she may roam her kingdom in disguise to help the genuinely poor and needy. She is incredibly old by Rubiconian standards; the rite of hagdom has extended her life and nobody knows for sure how old she really is. She currently rules the kingdom of Sivellian and the surrounding elven states.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga is a famous gnome hag and a powerful wizard. She is most well known for her spell "Walking Hut", but has mastered the transmutation school of magic and created several other unique spells during her hagdom. She is known as a hermit and recluse and seen as bizzare by her home community despite her strength, and keeps to herself until she has a new spell she wishes to teach the world.

Queen Gormlaith

Gormlaith, also known as the Blue Queen or the Blue Fairy, is a blue lepali archfey known for her kingdom's sanctuary and relatively open stance on the infinite war. While she isn't open to most about the war directly, she has dedicated villages to being sanctuaries for defunct angels and devils who have been sent to or forced into Rubicon. The most successful of these villaiges is run by her son, the prince Caomh. She currently rules the queendom of Uaithne and the surrounding lepali states.

Saint Nicholas Myra

Saint Nicholas, also known as Saint Nick or Santa, is a dwarven archfey known for his incredible craftsmanship and charity and his open worship of Elohim. He's almost always happy and rarely ever do people witness him being any more negative than “miffed”. He is a talented smith and Artisan, and loves creating magical items and contraptions for those in need. He has a soft spot for children and loves making toys; the names Santa specifically arose from the mashed mispronunciation of “Saint Nick” from children. Though many respect him, he does not rule any nation or group in particular. He currently roams dwarven territories and lives a nomadic lifestyle.

Gilgamesh of Uruk

Gilgamesh is an orc archfey known for great feats of heroism carried out by his strength and endurance. He's a confident and egotistical man, but constantly seeks to be humbled or triumphed over. He's happy to face a fair fight and has been known to obsess over unbeaten challenges. He is the leader of the orc nation of Khalyat.

Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan, simply called Bunyan by most, is a stone giant archfey known for creating the city Holztead and his leadership there. He is a kind man of few words who has an incredible drive to work and create. He both grew and worked the trees that built his city with incredible speed, and built fantastically sturdy and resilient homes and other buildings from those trees. He's also known for having a great love of animals, owning a large amount of big creatures like bison and ox. He is the leader of Holztead and has political respect among neighboring giant nations.

Crysta Luna

Crysta is a dryad archfey known for her activism supporting nature and natural land. Her hearth is surrounded by one of the largest known untouched rainforests in Rubicon, and she fights tooth and nail to protect uncharted land and keep urban centers from spreading into nature’s realm. Her actions aren’t supported by all, and plenty of people think her efforts are either pointless or actively negative, but most dryad communities support Crysta. She is currently the arch-druid of one of the largest dryad communities, Gulbourne.

Keiko MacLeila

Keiko is a naiad known for his happiness campaign traveling across Rubicon. He does not officially have the title of archfey, but plenty of people advocate for him to be granted the title. His campaign, what he calls the “joy of the ocean campaign” (often shortened to “joy ocean campaign”) is a nomadic journey Keiko is embarking on, with whoever wishes to join him, intent on spreading joy and happiness with a water-themed aesthetic, as he puts it, “a personal joy from home”. He is traveling alongside the archfey Dionysus with his band. He is currently traveling across Rubicon with a band of others seeking to bring happiness wherever he goes.

Dionysus Eleutherius

Dionysus, also known as Bacchus or Liber, is a nomadic satyr archfey known for inciting parties and drunken mischief. He is traveling with Keiko MacLeila in his happiness campaign; according to him, he’s contributing to the campaign with his wild and freeing parties. He’s much more neutral than Keiko and his parties can cause more harm than good, but for the most part they are known for being a fantastic time and Keiko is happy with the company. He is currently traveling across Rubicon with a band of others seeking to bring happiness wherever he goes.