Loreborne and Orderborne

Loreborne

In the Age of Umbra, knowledge of the Old World is precious beyond measure. Those who preserved texts, maps, and histories from before The Apostasy hold keys to survival—locations of lost sanctums, formulas for medicines, and secrets of the Aetherweave. Loreborne communities have built their identity around preserving and protecting this knowledge.

Some loreborne settlements were once the sites of great libraries or academies, their inhabitants descended from scholars who survived the cataclysm. Others formed around hermetic societies that have guarded forbidden truths about God-King Othedias and the Veiled Gods. These communities often trade in information as their primary currency, bartering secrets for supplies and protection.

• What forbidden knowledge does your community guard, and what price would you pay to protect it?
• What lost text or artifact does your community seek, and why is it worth risking the darkness beyond your walls?
• A piece of knowledge your community protected was used to cause great harm. What was it, and how has this shaped your view of sharing information?

Orderborne

In a world where chaos reigns and The Umbra threatens to consume all, some communities have found strength in rigid structure and discipline. Orderborne settlements operate with military precision, their hierarchies clear and their rules absolute. These communities often emerged from surviving military units, religious orders, or civic organizations that maintained their structure through the cataclysm.

Orderborne communities value duty, sacrifice, and the chain of command above individual desires. Their Sacred Pyres are tended with ritualistic precision, and their walls are patrolled by watchmen who know that a single moment of negligence could doom everyone within.

• What rank or role do you hold within your community's hierarchy, and what did you sacrifice to earn it?
• What rule or tradition of your community do you believe is essential for survival, even if others question it?
• You once had to enforce a harsh judgment on someone you cared for. What was their crime, and do you still believe justice was served?