Introduction

The name of a thing is the whole of a thing...

The world of Shem is a high-magic setting. Everything is magic. It exists in a part of the universe called the Spirit Realm, for it is part of the cosmos where legends and stories come alive. To the people living there, it is simply the world they are from, a world of wonders that have been rendered almost mundane in how common those wonders are.

Shem is the fourth planet from the star Sol Angelos. It is one of sixteen planets in a large system. It is a twin planet to the ocean world Salit, which can be seen large and blue in the sky. Shem has three moons - Green, Grey, and White - which are populated and magical as well. It is said that all of these worlds have existed in different forms before.

The Tall Ships campaign will take place on the moons. Read on for more information about each of the moons. If you want to know more about the planet Shem, click here.

Grey Moon

The Grey Moon is the elemental moon. It is home to beings reflect the many aspects of the moon. It has a light atmosphere, low gravity, and a 28-day cycle. Its days are 14 Shem-days long and its nights are 14 Shem-nights long, thus it has extreme changes in temperature, due to being tidally locked with Shem. It has a weak magnetic field and not enough air for flame to survive very long. It has the oldest civilization of any of the moons with the sora, the akhoata who are children of the lunar spirits.

It is separated into four geographic regions:

• Severozahod: southern nearside
• Severovzhod: southern farside
• Yugozahod: northern nearside
• Yugovzhod: northern farside

And it has five sublunar layers:

• Spelunca Gliva: a layer near the surface, the upper crust.
• Spelunca Hangat: a layer near and containing the core, the lower mantle and core.
• Spelunca Luska: the second layer down, the lower crust.
• Spelunca Predor: the third layer down, extremely warm and pressurized, the upper mantle.
• Spelunca Rudniki: the metal-rich layer above Hangat and below Predor.

Features of the Grey Moon include alien forests, the bluefrost at the poles, craters, crystal fields, cryovolcanoes, flower fields (inexplicably in the dark), ice caves within the polar ice, the lunar maria (dark-stone plains), mountains, promontoria (mountainous capes around the maria), rilles (deep canyons), rupes (escarpments), and wrinkle ridges (also called dorsa).

There are many countries and nations of elemental beings on the Grey Moon. The imperial forces from Shem who have settled there live in a colony called New Alba, because they mistakenly thought they were on the White Moon at first.

Green Moon

The Green Moon is the fey moon. It is ruled by a fairy queen named Diaga. It has a thick atmosphere with green clouds (hence its name and appearance), climate bands based on latitude, and a 26-day cycle. Its days are 13 Shem-days long and its nights 13 Shem-nights long, giving it the illusion of "seasons". Its atmosphere has some gases not present on Shem, meaning colonials must wear filters to breathe there. It experiences vast temperature swings, but lower radiation. Gravity is a little stronger, but still not as strong as Shem's. It has a magnetic field. Flames can work on it, though they may be strange colors due to the atmosphere. It has physical features similar to Shem's (and thus Earth's), but each are alien in their own ways.

The atmosphere is called An Cleiti.

It is split into many different physical regions:

• Bogthais, the nearside tropical region
• Crios Caol, the nearside northern subtropical zone
• Crios Corcra, the nearside southern subtropical zone
• Crios Faoi, the farside southern subtropical zone
• Crios Glas, the farside northern subtropical zone
• Crios Uaighe, the farside southern temperate zone
• Fasarch, the farside northern temperate zone
• Ordlathas, the nearside northern temperate zone
• An Scalladh, the farside tropical region
• Talamh Oiche, the southern polar regions
• Tasianseo, the nearside southern temperate region
• Tir Realta, the nothern polar regions

It has three sublunar layers:

• Luachmhar, the second layer of the sublunar, the crust
• Marmaraithe, the first layer of the sublunar, the upper mantle
• Terpanas, the third and lowest layer of the sublunar, the lower mantle and core

There are many countries on the Green Moon, but the most important are Diaganacht, the fairy kingdom; Teasfluich, the tropical swamp kingdom; Searbh, the Iron Kingdom; Kyellezhi, a forest kingdom; and the colonial lands of Concordia.

The features of the Green Moon include alien forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, volcanoes, crystal fields, rivers, and lakes. Everything seems to be a strange color there, and a dreamy haze covers everything.

White Moon

The White Moon is the unaligned moon. It is home to many alien beings. It has no atmosphere at all, meaning there is no protection whatsoever from radiation and flames cannot burn there without magic. It has a 24-day cycle that means 12 Shem-days of light and 12 Shem-days of darkness, and thus extreme temperature changes. It has very little gravity. It is a much harsher environment even than the Grey Moon.

It is split into many different regions:

• Anduzoph: northern polar region.
• Endgoz: farside equatorial region.
• Geromod: northern nearside region.
• Myzozori: southern nearside region.
• Q'rah: northern farside region.
• Sazam: nearside equatorial region.
• Wynyz: southern farside region.
• Yohchol: southern polar region.

Though it has many sublunar layers, the only one named is the upper one, Kzetzot, where most alien beings dwell.

There are many countries on the White Moon, about half of them underground.

The physical features of the White Moon are similar to the Grey Moon: craters, crystal fields, lunar maria, mountains, promontoria, rilles, rupes, and wrinkle ridges. Though it is an airless desert, there are some very alien plants that grow there and strange alien animals.

The colonizers there live in a region they call Vexilla.

Beyond the Moons

While the campaign will (probably) be limited to the moons, it is possible for players to be characters from other parts of the solar system or even the galaxy. While none of it has been colonized by anyone from Shem, some aliens from well beyond Shem are colonial themselves.

There are sixteen planets, sixteen mesoplanets, an asteroid belt, and many comets and other orbital bodies in the Angeldawn system (the name for the system around the sun, Sol Angelos).

The asteroid belt is between Kruurach and Avagen, normally.

The planets:

• Colos, the Messenger, with no moons, a small, molten iron and lava planet. It is small and fast.
• Behial, the Warrior, with no moons, a planet about 2/3 the size of Shem, made of lava and molten lead. It is an angry red dot in the night sky.
• Jahur, the Temptress, with one moon called Tsalib, Jahur is a planet about 4/5 the size of Shem with a heavy, violent atmosphere that gives it a greenish hue. The stormy atmosphere hides wondrous gardens and strange fauna. Very bright in Shem's night sky, it is beautiful to see.
• Shem, the Valet, with three moons, it is a blue and green marble, full of life. It is a double planet with Salit.
• Salit, the Blue Jewel, with five moons, a beautiful blue ocean planet with no land above sea level. She is about half the size of Shem. Though it is very close, it is rarely visible in Shem's sky. It is a double planet with Shem.
• Kruurach, the Stone Giant, with 11 moons, a massive megaplanet, almost large enough to be a small gas giant, but made of thick rock, massive mountain ranges, and deep craters (it occasionally passes through the asteroid belt). It has no native life.
• Avagen, the Eye, with no moons, a red planet of strange wonders and Abyssal waters, half-gas planet, half-terrestrial. It is about a third the size of Shem and used to be much further out.
• Inoxuil, the Mindflayer, with two moons called Xevenon and Cleoptis, Inoxuil is a toroidal planet (a giant terrestrial ring) with a thick atmosphere and warm core that creates a massive jungle world. It is about twice the size of Shem.
• Gallyneg, the Happy Marble, with no moons, a super puff, a gas planet with a low mass but vast diameter. It is nearly the size of Weptaram, but made of very light, bright gases (orange and white).
• Weptaram, the Marshal, with 41 moons, the largest planet in the system, a massive gas giant. It is a vibrant swirl of colors with a series of beautiful rings around it. Its rings, known as the Crown of Weptaram, are one of the most magnificent sights in the system.
• Thurudrill, the Duke, with 37 moons, the second largest planet in the system, also a gas giant. It has two sets of rings that form Thurudrill's Cross over it, covering two different equators, possibly because of a wobble in the rotation. It is a rich, soft violet color. It is about 3/4 the size of Weptaram.
• Mytoth, the Duchess, with 11 moons, the third largest and last gas giant in the system, it has one tiny ring barely visible from Shem. It is a deep bluegreen hue and has a series of visible anomalies on its surface known as the Nets of Ceronius, a series of net-like formations that may or may not be storms. It is about 3/5 the size of Weptaram.
• Daialoth, the Ice Giant, with 12 moons, an ice giant planet, about half the size of Weptaram. It is a blue and white mass of swirling cold gases and ice, mists and storms. It has a thin ring. It has poles made of massive solid ice. It is a double planet with Parsadus.
• Parsadus, the Knight, with no moons, an iron megaplanet with a thin atmosphere. It is dominated by oceans of cyanogen and metallic continents. It has no moons, as they were all drawn into Daialoth's orbit.
• Unim, the Wanderer, with no moons, a mysterious planet with irregular orbit, it is small and might have once been a very large moon of one of the gas giants. It is about 3/4 the size of Shem and has an atmosphere of pink crystals floating in the air. No ship has ever been able to penetrate this atmosphere.
• Ane, the Daughter, with one moon called Oe, the last planet, a tiny and cold place made of pink and yellow ice and blue stone.

The mesoplanets:

• Aram, just beyond Salit, the Exalted, a large, colorful, rocky mesoplanet with deposits of crystal that capture light and turn it into euphotonia
• Ziezi, which roves through the Angeldawn system, the Seafarer, a mesoplanet full of blue ice that was once vast lakes
• Asshur, just beyond Salit, the Dragonborn, a rocky, volcanic mesplanet with great pools of lava
• Arphaxad, near to Weptaram, but out of his orbit, the Judicious, a red desert mesoplanet full of craters and jagged mountains
• Elam, beyond Ane, the Eternal, a blue and white icy dodecahedron mesoplanet
• Lud, close to Jahur, called Strife, a red rocky mesoplanet with lakes of molten metal
• Venok, in the asteroid belt, the Poison Pool, a rocky mesoplanet with pools of green vile energy, liquid poison
• Yeltara, beyond Ane, the Wraith, a grey, misty mesoplanet at the edge of the solar system filled with ghosts that got lost in space
• Bossetta, near to Mytoth, but out of her orbit, the Little Lord, a white, rocky mesoplanet kept as a slave-pit by various interplanetary groups
• Eltevra, near to Thurudrill, but out of his orbit, the Soldier, a black, rocky mesoplanet full of heavy metals, very dense
• Hijai, in the asteroid belt, the Golden Child, a rocky mesoplanet rich with precious metals
• Kena-Kunara, just past Daialoth and Parsadus, the Hunter, a greenish, rocky mesoplanet with strange vegetation and animals on it, in spite of its lack of atmosphere
• Nechozach, just past Daialoth and Parsadus, the High Priest, a reddish, icy mesoplanet where an ancient, unexplained temple has been carved into the face of the planet
• Q'kzaaha, in the asteroid belt, the City-State, a perfectly smooth mesoplanet on which asterians have built a massive megacity
• Xaucha, beyond Ane, the Spy, a mesoplanet near the edge of the solar system that has so little light that beings of darkness dwell there safely
• Hieghedon, in the asteroid belt, the Unknown, a small mesoplanet, almost an asteroid, unnoticed by most in the midst of many other asteroids, where secrets are kept

Nearby stars include Sol Aestate, Sol Felicitos, and Sol Invictus. A star cluster known as the Kyel Cluster has a magical connection to Shem, and another star, Miquelon also has some kind of connection to it. Constellations vary by culture. Other distant stars and cosmic features exist as well, which will be covered among the various species (see Aliens for more).

The People of Shem and Her Moons

Shem's conscious species number in the hundreds. Many are small populations living in hidden places, but some dominate the world. They fall into several categories, some of which overlap with one another:

• Akhoata: species of all-female assigned beings, such as nymphs, muses, and valkyries.
• Aliens: beings from other worlds.
• Animal Folk: anthropomorphic animals.
• Constructs: species constructed by other mortals.
• Dragons: big lizards.
• Elementals: beings who embody part of nature.
• Fungals: anthropomorphic fungi.
• Illittum: beings descended of inmortals.
• Inmortals: extremely powerful beings who do not die of old age, including Divines.
• Insinsi: mystic beings who are attuned to study and observation.
• Insubstantiates: beings with gaseous or energy-based bodies.
• Metahumans: human-like beings with magical powers.
• Plant Folk: anthropomorophic plants.
• Spirit Folk: beings based in legend or folklore.
• Terata: spirit folk with more "monstrous" forms.
• Undead: the unliving who corrupt life.

Spirits, animal folk, and metahumans are the most common species around the world.

Magic

The magic of Shem is broadly split into five categories:

• Elemental or aetherial: magic of nature and the elementas.
• Celestial or popular: magic coming from the people, from acts of protection, kindness, or resistance. Often forbidden.
• Infernal or imperial: magic coming from power, control, and harm.
• Fey: magic coming from stories and legends.
• Unaligned: various forms of magic unconnected to the above-listed magics, including powers of faith, conflict, paradox, and powers deriving from the identity of a person.

Unaligned Magic

There are four types of unaligned magic:

• Ambrosial or faith: magic derived from belief or faith. There are aligned versions of many of these.
• Nommic: magic derived from identity, from the body, mind, emotion (heart), or soul of a being. There are aligned versions of many of these.
• Paradoxical: magic derived from paradox, from the contradictions of the universe. There are aligned versions of many of these.
• Shebvic or neutral: magic derived from various forms of conflict or neutral concepts. There are aligned versions of many of these.

Names

The name of a thing is the whole of a thing...

A True Name is a concept, a power that encompasses everything that a person, place, thing, or idea is. A True Name has enormous power. The universe is called the "Book of Names", because a book containing all True Names would contain the whole of all things. Nommic magic derives from a True Name and its component parts - mind, body, heart, and soul. There are infernal, elemental, celestial, and fey True Names as well.

Faith

A person's faith, if felt and believed strongly enough, is powerful. Belief in a Divine being can give a person power if the Divine gives them favor, but belief in non-Divine beings may also give power if the being worshipped is powerful enough. Furthermore, faith in concepts has power. There are many who believe in a concept called "mortalism", which is the belief that though Divine beings exist, they do not deserve worship, and mortals can function without them. Religion on Shem is complex and varied.

Campaign Settings

The Tall Ships campaign can be read more about here.