EB, Age of Dreams

Man comes, formed by the Immortals as their servants, and they join together in tribes, exploring the new world. Along the way they find each other, the Zephriel, who were there before the Immortals, the V’Sta’ak and the Sutharis, who were made from the Immortals’ own fury, the Gochin, who clawed out from their earthen womb even as it cracked, and the Shadow, who came from places I know not, from everywhere and nowhere. Our forebears struggle against the elements, the Beasts of Legend, nameless monsters from the darkest chasms, and each other in their quest to find their promised lands.

The Age of Dreams tracks multiple tribal groups as they travel and migrate across the world, looking for their promised land - a place to settle, prosper, and grow.

The Epoch can be played in one of two ways:

  • As individuals in tribes, fighting for survival and experiencing a wide, beautiful, untamed, and often hostile world together.
  • As a strategy game or simulation, where a player takes control of one tribe and manages their travel through the undiscovered map, attempting to be the first to identify and settle their promised land.

ENTERING THE EPOCH

FROM THE AGE OF MYTH

The Age of Dreams is always entered after the Age of Myth by default.

  • At this point, create the world map and decorate it with actions from the Age of Myth,
  • Then place from 20-40 tribes in random hexes on the map, rolling the geological profile for their ‘promised land’ randomly.

FROM THE AGE OF KINGS

Though it’s rare, it’s not impossible for the Age of Dreams to be re-entered from the Age of Kings if 4/5 of the established settlements fail without consolidation or expansion - a particularly effective Beast of Legend, say, or a plague or other deadly event might precipitate this.

  • From each surviving Kingdom, create 3-5 Tribes and place each one somewhere in the boundaries of the old Kingdom.
  • Give each new Tribe a new Promised Land profile, and begin world progression as described above.

PLAYING THE EPOCH

AS A TTRPG

The Age of Dreams is one of the dawn of sentient life, where the world is immense, superstitions run wild, the influence of the Immortals is unquestioned, and survival is never guaranteed. Tribes move from place to place in search of sustenance and comfort, encountering harsh climates and magical lands, the vicious Beasts of Legend, and the most dangerous of all - other Tribes. With resources scarce and danger around every turn, a party can experience a grand adventure as members of a Tribe searching for their Promised Land.

AS A BOARD GAME

As a strategy game or simulation, each player takes control of one Tribe and manages their travel through the undiscovered world map, attempting to be the first to identify and settle their Promised Land.

AS A SIMULATION

  • If you’re running the random build process to create events for your world, then you’ll first need to create the Tribes in random locations on the map.

    • If entering from the Age of Myth, create the world map and decorate it with actions from the Age of Myth, and then spawn 20-40 tribes randomly across the world map.
    • If returning from the Age of Kings, spawn 3-5 tribes per Kingdom Remnant within the bounds of the old Kingdom.

  • Now, move each existing Tribe one hex randomly every game year as the tribe searches for its promised land, and determine which perils or benefits the group encounters each year

    • One roll for the type of hex the Tribe has entered (forest, swamp, shore, etc.).

    • One roll on the Beasts of Legend table.

    • One roll on the Tribal Fate table.

When a Tribe lands on a hex which matches their description for their Promised Land, they can stop moving and settle.

EXITING THE EPOCH

When 4/5 of all remaining tribes are settled, the Age of Dreams passes, and the Age of Kings begins.

If it should somehow occur that all Tribes are wiped out before the Age of Kings can begin, then the World passes directly to the Age of Shadow. This is a very rare occurence, and usually only happens when the Age of Kings fails more than once.

If rolling dice to determine results, roll 3d6. On a roll of 3, the world passes to Shadow - otherwise, it moves on to the Age of Kings.