Slivers & Shards: Jaunt Info

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Slivers & Shards
Post-Apocalyptic Psionic Kaiju Funtimes
December 1 - January 24

First was the Age of the Ancients. Nine billion Ancients ruled over all of the Living World, ripe with mushrooms, blue with water. They lived on the High Tables, for they were ascended beings and knew the secret of breathing there. They reigned, we think, for a hundred thousand years, since the birth of the world. They knew Paradise, and they built Heaven. But they were fools, and used fire in war. They burned the World down.

Second was the Age of the Mystics. For ten thousand years after the Death of the World, the Mystics built Spires on the edge of the Tables, unlocking glorious powers and sheltering a chosen few - eight million, it is said. They ruled whole Tables, but no one ruled all the Dead World. The eight million Mystics knew secrets of fire the Ancients never did, and while the World was not theirs to travel, everyone in it lived safe, and no one died before they turned one hundred. But they were fools, and their power ran on water. The seas dried to dirt, and the Mystics died.

Third was the Age of the Shadow. For one thousand years, the Umbrian Protectorate united the Vales of the Fallen World. They could not live on the High Tables any longer, and all people were born thirsty and died thirsty, but they were still united, and they were careful with their resources. They ruled Nations the size of Vales. They delved in the depths for crystals, and found they could place thoughts in them. Many of the secrets of the Ancients and Mystics still rang in the depths. The world had died twice, but the Umbrians thought if they could control the minds of everyone, they could prevent a third apocalypse. But they built the hellstones, crystals that could destroy Vales who wanted to think for themselves. And the hellstones, being a violation of the earth as the Mystics violated water and the Ancients violated fire, drew the third apocalypse up from the heart of the world. The Nation-Eaters devoured Vale after Vale, and the Umbrian overlords were shattered for their hubris.

This Age doesn’t have a name. It’s been a hundred years since the Fall of the Protectorate. By the end of the Age there will only be 60,000 people left, they say. Nobody rules anything larger than a Spire, and anybody who thinks he rules a Spire himself best look out. The secrets of the past were lost when the Umbrian Shadow fell. The only secret knowledge people have now is what their grandparents told them - and their grandparents knew the world would end again soon. “Don’t fuck up the air,” we remind each other. Earth, Fire, and Water all turned against us, abandoned us. The world may be nothing but Slivers & Shards, but this is all the world we got left, and it’s going away soon. Hang onto it.

World Info | Surviving Flora & Fauna | Fallenheart Locations/Map | Vale Locations/Map | Glossary | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Psionic Powers in the Vale | Spire-Specific Powers | Skills | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | A Day in the Life | Calendar | Infiltrator Directory | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

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SKILLS

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Vale Psychics - everyone on the Jaunt gains this skill automatically, and will be able to replicate the basic psychic powers of the Vale later simply by using the Psychic Network. This skill does not need to be claimed, and is listed here to clarify that its capabilities are available without a skill claim.

Dreampushing, Shading, Astral Tripping, Reaving - as above. Requires Vale Psychics.

Vale Arts - the psychic skills of each Spire. When taking this skill, you must select Factor, Katador, Nector, Magnator, Vocator, Genitor, Cleritor, or Cabalist. With rare exceptions, it is impossible to master more than one Vale Art.

Wastelands Survival - surviving on a handful of grain while traveling in temperature that oscillates between roasting and freezing, finding water in the open desert, and weathering dust storms, yeast fields, and moth swarms is a highly specialized skill set. We do not recommend keeping this skill, as it is not likely to be relevant in endgame.

Improvised Weapons - the ability to turn your clothes and the environment around you into deadly fighting tools through desperation and ingenuity.

Crystalline Storage - the ability to store strong emotions, vivid sense memories, mundane skill instructions, or raw psychic power in an unprimed crystal, and access that stored thoughtform regardless of local psychic conditions or networks. Each time you take this skill you may apply it to up to three crystals, which may be re-used, but which may each only store one emotion, memory, instruction, or dose of power at a time. Using a crystal empties it of the stored thoughtform. It takes eight hours to refill a crystal with a new thoughtform.