Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
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| Palladium Fantasy RPG | |
|---|---|
 Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game, Second Edition cover |
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| Designer(s) | Kevin Siembieda |
| Publisher(s) | Palladium Books |
| Publication date | 1983 (1st edition) 1996 (2nd edition) |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System | Megaversal system |
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a game produced by Palladium Books. It is set in a unique world, called the Palladium World (the unofficial name of Palladia is disliked by Palladium), with the primary setting being some 10,000 years after a great war between the elves and their dwarven allies. First published in 1983 as The Palladium Role-Playing Game, the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game saw a 2nd edition in 1996. The two editions are largely compatible, though second edition uses a later iteration of Palladium's ruleset, to be more compatible with the rest of their Megaverse.
Contents |
[edit] Setting
[edit] Race and class
Like many fantasy games, the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game (often shortened to Palladium Fantasy or PFRPG) includes many different sentient races as playable characters. In addition to humans, and the above-mentioned elves and dwarves, there are also gnomes (small humanoids who once had a republic), kobolds (wiry, subterranean humanoids who tend to be evil), goblins (small, ugly, stupid humanoids, some of whom have remnants of faerie magic), ogres (large, strong, primitive humans), orcs, trolls, changelings (who are capable of assuming many humanoid forms) and, most famously, Wolfen. The Wolfen are large, humanoid wolves, who have, in the past century, established their own Empire in the extreme north of the continent. Unlike many other fantasy games, there is very little interbreeding between the races. Humans and ogres are considered to be the same race, but any children are considered ogres. Wolfen and the related coyles (who resemble humanoid coyotes) may be able to breed, as one supplement (Adventures in the Northern Wilderness) implies that a non-player character may be half-coyle, half-wolfen, but this is not confirmed.
There are also a variety of classes available. They are divided up into Men at Arms, Men of Magic, Clergy, and Optional O.C.C.s (Occupational Character Classes), as well as P.C.C.s (Psychic Character Classes, for characters whose abilities are primarily psychic in nature). As with most Palladium games, the character classes determine which skills are available to the character, and several grant special powers, as well.
[edit] History of the world
The history of the world is divided into several large "ages", each corresponding to certain events and a different level of ambient magical energy. While there are many historians in the Palladium World, the best known historical text is the Tristine Chronicles, of which several different versions exist. Most copies are incomplete, but it is regarded as the authority on Palladium history.
The first, and most horrific, was the Age of Chaos, during which time the Great Old Ones, Lovecraftian monsters of great power and evil, ruled the world, inventing many kinds of magic and creating several races. These monsters and their minions were defeated by the "Army of Light", led by dragons, elves, and several gods. The Old Ones themselves were put into a deep slumber, and many of their minions were turned into undead and imprisoned.
Following the Age of Chaos was the Age of Light, which was a time of very high ambient magic. It is during this time that humans first appear in history, and religious wars begin as rival gods contend for worshippers. This period is known to be very long, but essentially indeterminate in length and time.
Sometime after the Age of Light was the Time of a Thousand Magicks. While magic was not substantially more powerful than during the Age of Light, it was at this point that magic reached a point of great diversity. This led to elves gaining great influence across the middle of the continent, and dwarves developing rune magic: the art of trapping souls in indestructible objects.
The Elf and Dwarf empires grew in strength, and cooperated closely for centuries, but the dwarves grew resentful of elven high-handedness, and the elves suspected the dwarves of scheming. This resulted in the Elf-Dwarf War, which nearly destroyed the two empires, as each tried to outdo the other in magical atrocities. It culminated with the destruction of the Golden City of Baalgor, and the creation of the Baalgor Wastelands.
Following the war, Dwarves forever foreswore magic, and both cooperated to purge the world of "evil" magic, sparing only a few types which they judged worthy of remaining in a Millennium of Purification. Many other traditions of magic went underground or to other worlds, however, or survived in a few members who have since spread.
Since that time, ten thousand years ago, humans have become the dominant race on the planet, controlling four of the major kingdoms or confederacies. In the past fifty years, the Wolfen of the Northern Wilderness have become highly organized, developing a society which now clashes regularly with humans in the Eastern Territories (see the section on Geography and Politics for more).
[edit] Geography and politics
The game takes place on a single continent, and several nearby islands. The extreme south of the world is tropical, having a jungle on the western coast, while the extreme northern portions of the country are subarctic forest. Given the size of the continent (approximately 2500 miles north to south), this makes the planet slightly larger than Mars. The continent represents only part of the world, but it was revealed in the sixth supplement, Island at the Edge of the World, that the game setting is surrounded by a large, impenetrable black wall for unknown reasons. The supplement Land of the Damned Two: Eternal Torment also revealed that there were other lands on this planet, that were not involved in the war against the Old Ones.
Politically, there are several nations, and several alliances amongst races. Humans are allied to both elves and dwarves, though those two races still maintain personal hostility because of the Elf-Dwarf War. Humans are in charge of the Western Empire, a decadent empire which lies between the two inland seas of the continent. The Eastern Territories are also called the "Domain of Man", and have a large population of humans, as well as elves and some dwarves. Immediately north of the Eastern Territories is the Wolfen Empire, which is open to all races, though is dominated by Wolfen and is somewhat suspicious of humans due to long-running conflicts with the Eastern Territories over some disputed land. To the south of the Eastern Territories is the predominantly human kingdom of Timiro. In between the Western Empire and the Eastern Territories lies the Old Kingdom, the former center of elven civilization, which is now populated by large numbers of orcs, ogres, and similar monsters. South of the Old Kingdom is the giant-run kingdom of Mount Nimro, which is centered around two volcanos. West of Mount Nimro is the Land of the South Winds, of which only sketchy information has been presented, and the Baalgor Wastelands, which were created at the very end of the Elf-Dwarf war as an elven-made catastrophe destroyed their own capital. Southwest of the Baalgor Wastelands, and west of the Land of the South Winds is the Yin-Sloth Jungles.
[edit] Magic and psychic powers
The Palladium World is a magical world, with several different kinds of magic practiced, as well as psychic powers. In the past, many more types of magic were practiced, but immediately after the Elf-Dwarf War, a Millennium of Purification saw the end of many types of "questionable" magic. The major remaining forms of magic are Wizardry (casting spells), Diabolism (magical writing, used for wards and empowerment), Summoning (using magic circles to protect, to bind demons and other creatures, or activate various powers), Alchemy (creating magic items), Warlockry (in which a person uses a special bond with one or two classical elements to cast spells and summon elementals), Witchcraft (in which a person signs a pact with a demon, trading souls, servitude, or other favors in exchange for power), Priestly Magic, and Druidry. Psychic powers are also common, though several races lack any psionic potential at all. Those characters whose race does have psychic potential have a chance to possess a few powers, regardless of their O.C.C.. All of these operate on Palladium's standard system of magic being powered by Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.), and psychic powers being fueled by Inner Strength Points (I.S.P.).
[edit] Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing game books and supplements
- Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game, 2nd Edition. The current core book, with the majority of the necessary rules and information.
- The Old Ones, 2nd Edition. A revision of the 1st edition book, this includes more information on the Minotaur, the Timiro Kingdom, and The Old Ones, Cthulhu-esque monsters who ruled the Palladium World millennia ago.
- Adventures on the High Seas, 2nd Edition. A revision of a 1st edition book, this includes rules for maritime and entertainment-oriented O.C.C.s, the Necromancer and Shaman O.C.C.s, as well as the island Kingdom of Byzantium.
- Dragons and Gods. Expanded information on the various pantheons of the Palladium World, Demon and Deevil Lords (who are Gods in their own right), and Dragons.
- Monsters and Animals. A collection of various monsters common in the Palladium World, as well as several real-world animals. The second section makes it frequently referenced as a source for other Palladium games.
- Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, Further Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, and Wolfen Empire. The first two books were 1st edition books which provided some details about the Wolfen Empire, as well as several adventures taking place there. Wolfen Empire is a 2nd edition book which updates that information, and reworks some of the adventures into 2nd edition format and rules.
- Island at the Edge of the World. A fully-developed campaign, this book also provides information about the Floenry Island chain, and parts of the Old Kingdom. It is 1st edition.
- Yin-Sloth Jungles. A 1st edition sourcebook about the Yin-Sloth Jungles and the races and monsters who live there.
- Western Empire. A detailed look at the most influential kingdom in the world.
- Baalgor Wastelands.
- Mount Nimro.
- Library of Bletherad. This book details a huge library off the eastern coast of the continent.
- Eastern Territories.
- Northern Hinterlands. Including information about the area west of the Wolfen Empire, it includes information about various barbarian tribes, a growing centaur confederation, and the colonies of the Kingdom of Byzantium.
- Land of the Damned: The Chaos Lands and Eternal Torment. These two books (and the yet-unreleased third book, The Bleakness) detail a prison subcontinent in the extreme northwest of the continent, where remnants of the war against in the Old Ones, many millennia ago, are trapped.
| Palladium Books | |
| Current role-playing games | |
| Fantasy | Palladium Fantasy |
| Horror | Beyond the Supernatural • Nightbane |
| Martial arts/war | Ninjas and Superspies • Recon |
| Post-apocalyptic | After The Bomb • Chaos Earth • Rifts • Splicers • Systems Failure |
| Superhero | Heroes Unlimited |
| Out of print role-playing games | |
| Anime/comics | Macross II • Robotech • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness |
| Science fiction | The Mechanoid Invasion |
| See also | List of role-playing games by genre |
