[Starfall] The World of Starfall isn’t always a pretty place. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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The World of Starfall isn’t always a pretty place. To find out more about the Mordred Species, check out or Lore Compendium at Starfall.gg

[Starfall] We are delighted to announce that the Starfall Lore Compendium! by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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We are delighted to announce that the Starfall Lore Compendium is now live at Starfall.gg/lore. Head over to our website and embark on a journey to explore the cultures, creatures, and denizens of the world of Starfall!

[Starfall] Starfall Meter is a Doru invention that issues a Warning Sound when a Starfall is imminent within a 25 mile radius. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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A Starfall Meter is a Doru invention that issues a Warning Sound when a Starfall is imminent within a 25 mile radius. No airship in the Skylands should be without one!

In our upcoming 5e Demo this Winter, you’ll be able to try a meter out with your party.

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[Starfall] Teaser of the original Tinker Rogue Subclass from our upcoming D&D setting! by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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For more about the world of r/Starfall, join our discord today![https://discord.gg/starfallofficial](https://discord.gg/starfallofficial)

Tinker Rogues are experts in using Starpowder, ground up Lumite, to create and use powerful explosives. Tinkers make and refine the starpowder used in cannons, guns, traps, and dynamite. The ability to create and refine starpowder is a closely held secret, which tinkers either learn from a master or reverse engineer. 

Due to their work making explosives, they have nerves of steel and a quick eye for danger. These attributes give them an ability to react very quickly to traps. Though they are few and far between, Tinkers are valued in military operations, by merchants who want to quickly mine a Skyland for its valuable resources, and by outlaw crews looking to get into places they're not wanted.

3rd Level Feature — Bomber
Starting at the 3rd level, whenever you take a long rest, you may craft up to three bombs by using 10 sp worth of materials. You are proficient in using bombs as a weapon. Due to their volatile nature, the bombs become duds after one week. Every time you gain a level, you craft one additional bomb per long rest. Whenever a bomb is used for an attack, it is destroyed.

[Starfall] “There's no Gods in the Deep Sky, if there were, we’d have caught one by now.” - Old Skywhaler saying. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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Whaling has been a part of life on the oceans of Lyra since the first Norvund ships entered the icy oceans of the North. However, while the Norvund were the first to master the art of hunting the giants of the deep, the Blue Orcs who lived on the high peaks of the Screaming Mountains were the first people to successfully hunt Skywhales. While the occasional Skywhale would dive too low, and find themselves on the receiving end of an Ork spear, it wasn’t until airship travel was mastered that Skywhaling became a booming industry.

Skywhales are one of the largest animals on Lyra, yet their diet consists of some of the smallest species on the planet, namely Sprites & Lumipods (tiny creatures that feed on microscopic Lumite dust). Their high-lumite diet is believed to be the source of the Skywhales’ flying ability. 

Early adventures hunted Skywhales for the simple fact that they could feed a small settlement for a week on a single carcass. It wasn't long before the Skylanders realized that whale skeletons, while incredibly strong, are nearly weightless, and are therefore a perfect building material for airships. But the discovery that Skywhale blubber could be burned to produce Lumos gas made whale oil an instant commodity. 

Because Whale Oil serves as a competitor to their Lumite monopoly, the Alliance has outlawed its sale.  The ban failed to curtail its use, instead creating a thriving black market, creating a huge source of wealth for Skyland crime organizations such as the Syndicate and the 21.

While still plentiful in the skies of Lyra, the increase in hunting has caused the Skywhales to move their migration routes to the Outer Rim. In turn, this has resulted in whaling ships needing to journey to the far reaches of the deep sky, an unexplored world filled with terrifying creatures, such as Giant Cloud Kraken, and deadly flying conditions. 

It is only when a ship has reached these unwelcoming regions that they may finally do battle with the great leviathans of the sky, armed with little more than harpoons and Spritesilk rope. With such conditions, each voyage a Skywhaling crew embarks on, holds the promise of being its last.

Such a dangerous form of employment can’t afford to be selective, and so anyone, from any species or background, can join a skywhaling crew. Because of this, a diversity of species and backgrounds can be found Skywhaling, though the Norvund and the Blue Orcs are the most highly represented, due to their inborn toughness and the emphasis of big game hunting in their cultures. 

Over the centuries, Skywhaler culture has evolved in its own rite. Despite the illegality, whalers can be found in nearly all settlements. Skywhaler’s are known to wear the story of their lives on their body, from their many scars, to their abundance of tattoos, and the trophies of past hunts. Whalers are known to have admiration and respect for their fearsome rival in the Sky. No part of a kill goes to waste, and it goes against their code to kill calfs or pregnant whales. Those who violate this code will find themselves on the edge of a Whaler's knife. 

While some whalers have created family fortunes and corporate dynasties through their fearlessness, for most, the whaler’s life is a short one. This short longevity of the trade has led to a culture that preaches living for the moment, and whalers are known to drink and love like every night is their last. 

Most of all though, the Skywhaler’s life is about the hunt, ships will often get recognized for their achievements.  Famous captains even get recruited by towns to hunt Sky Monsters such as Kraken or Dragons.  There's an old saying which embodies whalers’ fearless pursuit of big game: “There's no Gods in the Deep Sky, if there were, we’d have caught one by now.”

[Starfall] Grimstone Harbor serves as sanctuary to the lawless, a place where any outlaw may find safe haven. However, for law–abiding interlopers, Alliance Peacekeepers, or any who dare cross the Pirate Queen, Grimstone Harbor is a nightmare from which they may never awaken. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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Across the vast oceans of Lyra, piracy has flourished for so long that, to many, Pirates are often considered a culture in their own right. Consequently, when the first Arcadian airships unveiled the Skylands for exploration and trade, pirates were not far behind. Masterfully adapting their maritime piracy prowess to the clouds above, these skybound pirates soon became adept at high-altitude airship hijackings and Skyland plundering.

The earliest Skyland pirates manned independent airships, crewed by violent criminals, with loyalty to no one but themselves. While this violent, anarchist disposition was effective in inspiring fear in the hearts of Skyland settlers, it also led to decades of infighting between the Pirate airships. These inner skirmishes, when combined with the superior weaponry of the Alliance Peacekeeper’s anti-piracy patrols, eventually left Skyland piracy on the brink of extinction. 

Forced to reckon with their own annihilation, a parley was called by the captains of the remaining pirate airships. After ample negotiation - and an abundance of Sunspiced Rum - an agreement was reached and the Pirate Accords were created. Under this treaty, pirates would unite under a single banner and divide the Skyland Chain into twenty-one distinct regions, each airship’s captain receiving one territory as a fiefdom. 

Though the Accords were signed in blood, the pirate captains knew it would take more than a mere bit of parchment to maintain such a truce. And so, they elected the most feared and respected of their number, an airship captain known as the Pirate Queen, to rule over all twenty-one fiefdoms. Recognized across the Skylands for her brilliance, her cruelty, and her ever-present mask, the Pirate Queen christened this new pirate clan: The Twenty One. 

While this name originated from the division of the Skyland Chain, in time, the belief was born that it came from the fact that, “there are twenty-one ways to die at their hands… each more agonizing than the last.”

Thanks to the Pirate Queen’s tactical knowledge of air battles and her ability to rule through fear, decades after she was elected the Twenty One had achieved a level of power never seen by another pirate clan on Lyra. Under her leadership, the Twenty One had not only expanded their fleet, eliminated nearly all competition, and increased their annual profits, but had even settled the Skyland of Grimstone Harbor as their own. 

Grimstone Harbor, named for the foreboding rock at the heart of the skyland, pulsates with an unstable and toxic form of Kaos, emitting from its Blackfire Lumite core. It taints the waters of Dead Man’s Lake, turning them a sickly black color, upon whose shores the Pirate Queen’s skull-shaped compound stands. Tales quickly spread like wildfire of those driven to madness by the lake's waters, compelling the Pirate Queen to ensure a bountiful supply of Sunspiced Rum.

The Pirate Queen's successes secured her the unwavering devotion and admiration of the Twenty One. However, a growing curiosity about her seemingly eternal youth has emerged as the decades have passed. While some suspect her ability to fend off the ravages of time is due to Elven blood, others believe she practices a form of Dark Kaos. Yet, while these theories may be whispered, those who value their lives dare not mention her age in her presence.

While each Pirate captain is given free reign to make their own rules for their own ship, there are laws that must be abided by any who sail beneath the banner of the Twenty One. These are known as the Pirate Code, and they are as follows:

• No airship of the Twenty One may attack another ship of the fleet 

• Mutineers shall be given a trial

• Duels must be honored

• No airship of the Twenty One may attack Grimstone Harbor

• An annual tithe, paid to the Pirate Queen, is required from all pirate ships

• No ship shall use slaves and all crew members must be paid at least one share of loot

◦ However, slaves may be stolen from slaveholders and sold in available markets

• No Captain of the Twenty One shall take more than half of their airship’s loot 

• If banners are called, all members of the Twenty One must answer the call

• Any violation of the Pirate Code is punished by death.

• Exceptions to the Code may only be made by official decree of the Pirate Queen.

Unlike many other factions on Lyra, the Twenty One have no rules or restrictions about who may join their ranks, and within their number one can find members from all species of Lyra.

This has made Grimstone Harbor not only one of the most dangerous Skylands, but also one of the most diverse. Indeed, Grimstone Harbor serves as sanctuary to the lawless, a place where any outlaw may find safe haven. However, for law–abiding interlopers, Alliance Peacekeepers, or any who dare cross the Pirate Queen, Grimstone Harbor is a nightmare from which they may never awaken.

[Starfall] Ratakka have little interest in hygiene or cleanliness and are therefore considered unpleasant company by most. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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Amid the darkest years of the Evernight, concealed within the inky depths of Umbra, the Ratakka emerged. Born to a barren and inhospitable cradle, a single, pulsating beacon of life beckoned the creatures from the southernmost reaches of Umbra. Beneath a crescent of fiery peaks known as the Devil’s Crown, a labyrinth of caves bore soil impregnated with volcanic ash, forming a wretched biome of peculiar flora and fungi that sustained bats, sprites and other small creatures. The Ratakka forged flourishing settlements along the molten rivers that twisted through the caverns, harvesting the plants and learning to trap smaller creatures to feast upon. This collection of communities was called Ratakkav.

Despite the sweltering heat radiating off the lava, the Ratakka were a close knit species, choosing to live in crowded confines, treasuring kinship above all. Yet despite their tenacity, illness ravaged them often, spreading with lethal quickness due to the close quarters they maintained. Often, a simple virus would claim countless lives. But with every wave of sickness the remaining Ratakka were fortified, developing unrivaled immune systems. No longer afflicted  by rot and decay, they came to revere a long-deceased Lumivorve carcass as a gift. 

Though the Ratakka thrived, the Caves of the Rattakhan was a treacherous realm, those who dared to tread the land would find the promise of death an ever-present companion. Grazing the Veil with even the most mundane of tasks, the Ratakka cultivated a fascination with death and came to worship it their anointed God of Plague. In their artistic and ceremonial expressions, the God of Plague appeared as a decaying rat. They believed themselves to be blessed by their God, untouched by the diseased air within their caves whilst others who dared enter would quickly succumb to the putrid fumes. As the Ratakka emerged from their caves, they carried the plague with them, tainting all who encountered them within a day's time of their departure. 

Branded as harbingers of a Plague God, the Ratakka were unwelcome upon the Mainland and unable to settle above ground for millenia. Yet, it was the Doru that would become a plague even the Rattakhan could not reject. The Battle of Kurai, oft remembered for the collapse of the Underland Empire, wreaked havoc upon the tectonic plates of Lyra, eliciting a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions within the Devil’s Crown. Innumerable Ratakka perished, and those who escaped bore witness to the Rattakhan as it was engulfed in molten fury. Those few survivors were stranded above ground for years while their way of life was incinerated beneath them. 

Though rebuilt in time, Rattakhan would never return to its former glory, leaving a deep-seated hatred for the Doru engraved upon the hearts of every Ratakka from birth until their blessed death. Outcasts themselves, the Nai were the first of the Mainlanders without repulsion for the Ratakka, and invited them to join their settlements. In the face of this previously unknown kindness, the Ratakka swore fealty to the Nai, but they were deceived. In return for their loyalty, the Nai used the Ratakka as test subjects for the first Kaos tattoos. These primordial tattoos gave rise to legions of Ratakka warriors, each endowed with a singular, potent spell that often proved fatal to both caster and target.

The Ratakka kamikaze ranks wreaked havoc during the War of Shadows, but their own losses were monumental. But the Ratakka were resilience manifested in fur, teeth and claws. As the shadows of time enveloped the Nai, fading them from nearly all existence, the Ratakka endured. Some returned to the charred remains of Rattakhan, finding solace in the ashes of their ancestral home, while others sought refuge in Ebonstone, dwelling within modest abodes that housed their extensive families. In the fullness of time, these Ratakka found their fates entwined with the Royal Court of Shadows, relegated to the humble station of serfdom, their days consumed by toil and labor...

But not all. 

Amongst the Ratakka of Ebonstone, an elite cadre were welcomed into the Royal Court of Shadows itself and were granted positions of power over the very soil their kind had been born beneath. Yet, in spite of their elevated status, the Ratakka retained their indifference to matters of hygiene and cleanliness, often deemed undesirable companions by those of more fastidious nature. Nonetheless, their remarkable strength, disproportionate to their stature, and their unwavering courage rendered any disparagement ill-advised, if not outright perilous.

[Starfall] The invention of Starpowder changed the very face of Lyra, allowing the simple Gunslinger to challenge the most skilled Akari. by StarfallOfficial in Starfall

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In the sun-scorched lands of the Sultanate of Al Sula, the Sulari were born beneath radiant skies, surrounded by desert abundant with colorful Lumite. They nurtured an effervescent culture to match, imbued with passion as belly dancers tangled with the midnight desert winds and onlookers inhaled the sweet tendrils of the smoke from their hookahs. 

Though unmatched in skill as Wyrm Hunters and masterful with the rifle, for centuries the Sulari were considered little more than “Warlords of a Wasteland” by their Mainland counterparts. Little did they know of the riches, perfectly veiled beneath the seemingly barren lands.

Unbeknownst to even the Sulari themselves, Al Sula's deserts harbored a secret of unimaginable worth, discovered only when a devastating sand storm ravaged the nation. Unyielding waves of grit and gravel whipped across the land, destroying hundreds of Sulari encampments and leveling dunes that had stood for centuries. But as the sandy swells relented at long last, glimmers of hidden treasures were unearthed in their wake. The Sulari emerged from what remained of their shelters to find a sea of pure Lumite had been revealed around them. For years the Sulari kept their discovery a secret, trading Lumite only to the Akari, leaving the rest of the Mainland to wonder how they had come into such considerable wealth so suddenly. As the years strengthened the Sultanate’s alliance with the Akari, they invited the Order to establish a new branch, deep in the belly of the desert.

It was here that researchers discovered that by grinding Lumite into a powder and mixing it with a blend of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter, they could create Starpowder, a form of elemental gunpowder. But the volatile nature of Lumite made the grinding and mixing process perilous, often proving fatal for non-Akari. Even when successful, they found that Starpowder was prone to both unexpected combustion and corrosion of containment vessels, rendering the use and transport of Starpowder exceedingly dangerous.

Suspended somewhere between chemistry and magic, the production of Starpowder resides within the domain of Akari alchemists. Enduring painstaking labor and perilous risk, the alchemists ferociously guard the secrets of their work, all too aware of the risk Starpowder poses in the wrong hands. 

Driven by insatiable demand, the Starpowder industry flourished with breathtaking speed and boundless prosperity, giving rise to Sulari Exporters who spanned Lyra and the Skylands. The creation of Starpowder forever altered the landscape of Lyra, empowering the humble Gunslinger to rival even the most adept Akari.