Morningstar Corebook, Podreczniki RPG, Morningstar
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By R. Scott Kennan
Credits
Written by R. Scott Kennan
Cover art by Michael Erickson
Interior art by Tom Galambos, Andy Hopp,
Kennon James, William McAusland, Jennifer Meyer,
and Scott Purdy
Graphic design by Andy Hopp and Joseph Goodman
Cartography by Clayton Bunce
Edited by Joseph Goodman
Published by Goodman Games
Dedication
For Tammy and Ethan with love. Thank you for believing in me, and
putting up with the odd hours I’ve kept over the past year. This is the
first of many good things to come for our family.
Acknowledgements
Greg Connolly, for helping me hone my creativity, being a great friend,
and shooting down that other idea for the Setting Search.
Nate Edmunds, for knowing.
Kristopher Hauck, for playing Emrock, and playing paladins in a way
that inspired the eidolon. Also, for being the first player to explore
Thraxis (under another name) way back in 1990.
Ben, Lonnie, Rhiannon, Abby, and John. You guys are awesome.
Tyler, Gary, Josh, Kenny, Gabe, Garret, and a cast of dozens (includ-
ing some of the above) who played in the high school games that even-
tually led to this book.
Alanna Evans and Shawn Perron, for lending me the computer, and
other input.
Phil Higgins, Frank Solis, Lillian Climan (who also loaned me a com-
puter), and Joan Pelletier.
My brothers, Chris, Mark, Michael, and David.
Joseph Goodman, for believing in this book, and not cutting this
acknowledgement.
And finally Lyette Mercier, who gave me feedback on my early
attempts at writing and GMing.
Visit www.goodman-games.com for special offers, freebies, upcoming releases, and
more. Comments? Send them to goodmangames@mindspring.com.
Be sure to look for supplemental Morningstar material in the EN World Player’s
Journal.
On the cover: Our heroes come within sight of a crystal city of the elves. From
left to right: a crown elf sorceress, a clay dwarf rogue, a thull ranger, a human
eidolon, and a human artificer. The moon, Arril, hangs low in the sky.
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C
ontents
Chapter I: Age of Majesty
An Introduction to Thraxis...........................................................................................................
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Chapter II: Heroes of Morningstar
The Characters
..............................................................................................................................9
Chapter III: Mystic Forces
Magic
..........................................................................................................................................59
Chapter IV: Of Honor and Glory
Brendir
........................................................................................................................................81
Chapter V: The Root of the World
Nine Empires
...........................................................................................................................118
Chapter VI: The Elder Pantheons
Faith and Worship
....................................................................................................................134
Chapter VII: The Canticle
Adventures
................................................................................................................................141
Character Sheet
The Adventure Begins
...............................................................................................................156
T
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Chapter I
A
ge of Majesty
An Introduction to Thraxis
You hold in your hands the gateway to Thraxis, the world
of Morningstar. On the other side lies a world of eldritch
magic, primeval races, and diverse imperial cultures at the height
of their achievements, where a dark Prophesy has begun to
uncoil. This is a world that never fell from grace and that con-
tinues to meet its highest potential. Immortal elves have
retained their fey natures; the dwarves maintain a flourishing
empire, wielding powers over earth and stone. These and other
races are still vital; humanity has not yet pushed them into
retreat. There are spirits in the land, water and sky. Places of
power are everywhere, regions where certain magics have
greater or lesser effect, which can be exploited to create work-
ings impossible anywhere else. Wondrous treasures wait to be
won from the gods in legend-making adventures, and heroes
perform mythic deeds in the name of glory... in the name of
Empire.
Magic is the force that drives civilization toward its great-
est potential in Morningstar. It is a fantastic time to be alive.
The spirit of magical exploration pervades this world and the
limits of possibility know no bounds. In the Brendirian
province of Triskatariot, the creation of constructs has been
raised to a high art. Olive groves are tended by golems,
ornithopters wheel in the sky, and construct-vehicles carry
troops on land and sea to battle. Ijamvians gain the element of
surprise with ingenious and deadly mechanisms, such as the
spring-loaded viper clamp, used as a grapnel in close combat.
Sacred hot air balloons carry paying supplicants from Haseth
closer to their gods, while Latoman gliders wheel in the skies of
Quetapan.
Thraxis is a world of grandeur and beauty, both natural and
architectural. Civilization seeks to match the beauty of creation
in its own works, harnessing the magic of the world to erect
monuments built to stand forever. In Brendir, columns and
arches tower over the people, holding up multi-tiered temples
and civic buildings. In Kenabu, giant turtles ferry citizens along
the banks of obelisk-lined waterways. The gnomes of Gimmun
Gibuldigapp display their technical mastery with an entire city
that rotates, whirs, and chimes with clock-like precision.
Fantastic Achievements
The world is awash in magic, but its nature is such that it
promotes large-scale undertakings in addition to personal
power. The nine empires are virile, and everything is being dis-
covered for the first time. Great and daring undertakings are
funded, trade is strong, and the exchange of ideas creates pros-
perity for all concerned.
Art and culture are at their peak. Nine empires coexist in
relative peace except for minor skirmishes that are not official-
ly recognized. They trade with one another for mutual benefit.
This prosperity has allowed for the construction of universities,
monuments, and religious and civic buildings of breathtaking
grandiosity, and for the development of an astounding way of
life. Though far from idyllic, a citizen’s life is reasonably stable.
It is an age of wonders, where anything can be done for the
right price, though this price is not always monetary.
Places of Power
Magic is a living energy on Thraxis, the result of planar
emanations that attract, repel, and destroy one another. These
planar emanations suffuse the land and its life forms. These
flows concentrate in certain places of power, creating areas tied
to the phenomena of the plane or planes from which the ener-
gies derive. These areas range in size from a single plot of land
to entire empires. These places of power are self-reinforcing;
they are created by large congregations of similar beings, and
when formed they strengthen those beings, causing more of the
same types of creatures to seek them out, for the easy life they
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Those Who Seek Power
Technology in Morningstar
Malevolent forces are stirring, hoping to tame the energies
that have raised Thraxis so high, and to recast her in their own
perverse images. Chaos is growing, and beings from the odd
angles of reality are invading, bringing their eternal wars with
them. A bizarre race of outsiders has recently come to the
world, called by interested parties. Known only as the Strangers,
these sophisticated beings are helping to undermine the fabric
of society and to create strife between nations.
Gods can be forged here, and beings from all over the mul-
tiverse are becoming aware of that fact. Strange cults rise and
fall, as these and other gods lay their claims in the hearts and
mind of the peoples of Thraxis.
Men and gods struggle with fate, locked in a battle for the
fate of Morningstar. At stake is the key to all the power in the
cosmos. Thraxis attracts planar power, concentrating it to a
strength that is not even possible on its plane of origin. The
newcomers are learning a valuable, and potentially deadly les-
son: he who controls Thraxis, controls the multiverse.
In addition to the construct vehicles and other
magnificent innovations that have been discussed so
far, the artificer traditions of the world have improved
the lot of the common man with numerous mundane
endeavors. The study of the properties of water alone
has led to plumbing in all civilized areas of the nine
empires, labor-powered water pumps that pull up
groundwater for irrigation in arid lands, the lifting of
heavy blocks of stone to great heights atop rafts that
are raised upon columns of water allowing for ever
taller monuments proclaiming the glory of the
empires, and even the diversion of waterways to routes
that are more beneficial to civilization. Precision tools
have been developed: astrolabes for navigation, lenses
for vision magnification over distances long and short,
clocks and watches for timekeeping, and scales of
exquisite tolerances that allow for greater precision in
mercantile transactions. Wind-power is a burgeoning
field as well, and windmills are cropping up in various
frontiers where man or golem power is in short sup-
ply.
The Canticle
On Thraxis, magic made a perfect world. Almost. There is
a price for everything, and it is becoming apparent that the
abuse of magic on Thraxis cannot be sustained indefinitely. A
dark Prophesy, called the Canticle of the Morning Star, is
unfolding. It speaks of the end of the great civilizations, and the
prices each must pay for their arrogance. Its verses number in
the tens of thousands, and each time it is thwarted, it adapts.
Verses restructure themselves in the unholy texts, and a new
route to destruction is plotted. None know its origin, but all
respect its predictions, whether they seek to prevent them or to
enable them. It is not entirely certain whether the Canticle seeks
to bring the end about, or merely serves as a warning. One thing
is certain; Thraxis is under siege from every direction, and by an
inscrutable and faceless foe.
The world itself is a threat to the existence of civilization.
Thraxis and her massive terraqueous moon have long existed in
a state of perfect balance. Now, Arril’s orbit is disturbed, creat-
ing great tides and earthquakes. Most of the time, the world’s
many tectonic plates disperse the stress, but with certain eccen-
tricities of orbit come devastating earthquakes. Fierce elemen-
tal storms sometimes ravage the land as Thraxis seeks to fight
the cancer that is springing up within her.
Deep underground lurk great and terrible civilizations as
old as the world, which resent the encroachments of surface
folk. Conflict so far has been mostly attrition, but with the
increased mining that prosperity brings, full-scale war can’t be
far off. While most of the underground realms are bolstered
with magic and centered within the established tectonic plates,
with the most extreme upheavals deep-dwelling creatures can
be forced to escape to the surface.
These and other threats are larger than any one person, but
Magically implemented technologies have also left
an indelible mark upon society, causing moves in direc-
tions different from that our own world took. Stone-
cutter fortified roads and strongholds have rendered
concrete a minor development, since few structures
even require mortar. Fireballs and lightning bolts have
kept the various explosive powders that alchemists
have developed off of the battlefield, relegating it to
celebratory uses in holiday displays of fireworks.
Mechanical efficiency is almost a non-issue when a
spirit can be bound into a vessel and perform its duty
perpetually, needing no fuel, rest, or pay for those who
can afford to bind them.
offer. This is why Brendir is lawfully inclined and positively
charged, and Zeikrus, the draconic empire, is chaotic and in a
state of eternal civil war. Smaller pockets are usually much more
concentrated than those of the larger area they lie within. The
shrine at Nepri, in Hasem-Bura, where desire becomes matter,
is one such place. Spellcasters find some of their spells are more
powerful, or weaker, in the most strongly-aligned areas. Great
acts of daring that would be foolhardy in some areas are a mat-
ter of course in others. In the Triskatariot region of Brendir,
machines rarely break down inconveniently, while they are
much more prone to collapse in the primeval forests of
Ynnidon.
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