Introduction
The Obsidian City is a repository of RuneQuestTM 2nd edition game setting information that has been developed over many years and has been host to many players and GMs. Most of the information herein relates to the Fretown campaign, which has been running for several years, but there are several other campaign areas that will be touched upon.
The Campaign World
Several areas of the world have been called home by many pcs over the years. These include:
| Fretown | a small market town on the Moon River. |
| Heliopolis | centre of solar worship |
| Moonguard and the Moonvalley | sandwiched between the chaots and the trolls, the lunar religion forges its own brand of civilization |
| Sartak | a small city in decline, sliding into corrupt despotism. |
| Drakenberg | home to the Dragon Queen |
| Necropolis | centre of death worship and ruled by the Priest-King of Azrael |
| Karnak | from here the Phoenician Emperor rules his mildly chaotic empire |
| Freiburg and Transylvania | a town uneasily shared between the lunar nobility, the assassins and the headhunters, it sits at the gateway to the Vampire state |
| Eagle County | to the Vampires, this is a northern buffer state but to the barbarians and newly civilized eagle tribesmen it is home |
| Copperhead and the Nerthan Valley | centre of life worship |
| Trebizond and Anatolia | a frontier town serving a wild hinterland |
| Godsport and Stromberg | Rival cities and homes to merchant princes |
| Crete | Now a small trading federation, largely run by the Cult of Poseidon, Crete has a murky past. Tales of ancient horrors abound, secrets lost in the deluge that swept away the Second Age Empire of Knossos. |
A Potted History of the World
Sheldon has provided us with a short history from the dawn of Time to the end of the Third Age.
Maps
Physically the world around the great middle sea resembles the real world's mediteranean. However, some geographical features, types of vegetation, local climates, and of course political entities are very different.Some maps can be found in the maps index page.
(Almost) All the Cults of the World
More than fifty cults have been detailed for this world. Some will be familiar to Gloranthan RuneQuest players, but most will not. Details can be found in the cult descriptions.
RQ2 As We Play It
We play second edition RuneQuestTM with some rule modifications. There is no single GM, different players take turns to run adventures, adding to the background developed by others and if they wish making use of the NPCs and settings already created.
Play by Email
Steve Sheldon is currently running a play by email campaign entitled Blood and State
. This is
set around Drakenburg and Anatolia, and charts the rise of the Anatolian Empire at the start of the Fourth Age. You can read the
Blood and State Chronicle which gives an account of the story so far.
You can also have a look at the play by email character generation system and rules if you wish.
Essays
The following are a variety of texts chosen from libraries around the world to illustrate some aspects of the cosmos.
- Speculations on the Nature of Mortality
- Dreams of Hell
- A History of Freiberg
- Baboons! (work in progress, comments appreciated)