The Surface

"You ever see the sun? The real one? The thing has an evil about it, as though it hates everything that it shines upon. Almost looks that way too." Karfnel, Pinnacle Sage

Ever since the great catastrophe that scoured the world, the planet’s surface has been an inhospitable wasteland. Much of the landmass is blasted hellscapes scarred from titanic surges of wild magic. High above, the Sun can be seen, an oppressive mass of ever shifting colors as it bathes the world with light and magic. The Weird here is so powerful and omnipresent that the very reality of the surface is unstable. Frothing rivers of boiling ice, storms made of fire rage, and crystalline plains of jagged glass are just a few of the extreme environments the surface has to offer. Animated spells scour the landscape given sentience by the Weird and even the natural laws of time and space seem to fluctuate or simply not apply at all.

None of this is to say that the surface is entirely lifeless though. The Weird has warped and mutated any remaining life on the surface into strange and dangerous forms, having long left their natural biology behind. Many of these creatures resemble elementals, with skin made of flame or bodies that crackle electricity. Some have grown to titanic sizes or been given sentience by unbound magic. Still stranger things are rumored to exist, things that stagger belief and are written off as mad ravings.

cxz Rising like forlorn ghosts from the desolation are the ruins of The Ancients. Their cities casting long shadows over the forgotten places as the remendants of towers strech towards the sun like hands grasping at their murderer. While long departed, the Ancients left behind wonderous Magitech, a combination of arcane sorcerey and advanced technology. It suffuses every inch of these places, from the impossible architecture to the still functioning devices and elderitch siences. Little is understood from this time and what little has been gleamed is a closely guarded secret. Securing such treasures and information inspires many to make the dangerous trek to the Surface.

Type

Wasteland

Included Locations

• The Thirsty Man