Introduction to Zada

Zada in Brief

Zada is a world in which the forces of tyranny descended upon mankind, and heroes rose to face them, only to be cast down in defeat. Against the might of the immortal World-King there could be no victory, and the armies of liberty were laid to waste, and all Zada was plunged into an era of oppression under the boot of the Nelkheti Empire. Some continued their struggle in the shadows, while others fled into the desert to wage guerilla warfare, but over time the embers of freedom dwindled, until even the faintest glow of hope threatened to be stamped out.
But something unexpected happened. The World-King, the tyrant-oppressor of Zada, subjugator of every free nation in the world, changed. After five centuries of rule he could no longer justify his own wrongdoings to himself, and before long the very man that brought such darkness to the world kindled the last of the embers that he had all but quashed, and returned a semblance of liberty to the world. He still rules with absolute power, and tolerates no questioning of his authority, but things now slowly improve. Amnesty is granted to rebels, medical care is provided to all, basic working conditions are enforced in the factories, and people begin to wonder if perhaps rebellion is no longer necessary.
Some things remain the same, however. The World-King continues his campaigns to rapidly push forward technological growth, for reasons uncertain; many of his governors remain corrupt or oppressive; and his propagandists continue their work, now trying to reframe the World-King's past deeds as efforts to free the people of Zada, rather than to prove his superiority over them.

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When the World-King came to Zada five centuries ago, the world was essentially in an iron age, comparable in technological and societal development to the early medieval period, and politically akin to the real-world bronze age. By now, 535 years since the World-King came to Zada, his empire has developed into an industrial age with similar, though not identical, technology to that of the late 19th Century. It should be noted that Zada is not steampunk, rather it exclusively uses real-world technology.
Zada is a low-fantasy setting. There is magic, and there are fantastical creatures, though most people see such things only as foolish, outdated superstition. It is set within the same universe as Ura, and thus shares a similar cosmology, but Zada is another planet, in another star system entirely.

Structure of this World

This world is broken up into three categories: the Imperial Encyclopedia, which covers the lore of the setting and is laced with in-character propaganda; the Deputy Handbook, which covers the mechanical aspects of the setting: items, talents, careers, nationalities, and so forth, and is (mostly) out-of-character; and the Expedition Records, which is where matters to do with the campaign are organised. If your character has ranks in certain Knowledge skills, or has them as career skills, you may have access to Forbidden Knowledge.