Welcome to the Shards World.
For countless ages, the seven Shards existed as separate worlds, each distinct from the others in its own way, and linked over time by the discovery of a Portal Network. Then, mere decades ago, the cataclysm known as the Union of the Shards united them into a single world. The Shards World has since faced many more crises, from the coming of the deific Monarchs and their fall; the undead armies of the Forsaken; the chaotic corruption of the Dark Rider; the Demon War; and even the relocation of the entire World across the dreaded dimension of the Netherworld.
All these stories were written by the actions of the group of individuals known as the Wanderers. Some call them heroes, others call them infamous – but whatever their label, their actions shape the course of destiny…
Due to the varying nature of the different Shards, Ascendancy LRP has a lot of options for the characters played. Whether you want to be a swashbuckling pirate, a learned wizard, an ageless fey, a sharpshooting musketeer, an armored knight, a viking sailor, or more – chances are you’ll find a place in the Shards!
The Shards:
(Click for in-depth backgrounds)
Archipelago
From the Port Cities of the Confederacy Isles to the Guild City of Whitewater, the remote reavers of the Fenris Isles to the City Port of Jade, this Shard is defined by its swashbuckling adventure on the High Seas, the horror that links below the waves and the Faithful of the Voudon that worship the Lwa. In-between all lurk Pirate Havens and more!
Dust
A seemingly endless desert, dotted with oases. Many cultures cling to existence, from the Caliphate of the Valley of Nia, to the Lost Kingdom under their Pharaoh, and the tropical Jungles of Thineland to the South filled with Goblins and tribes of humans raided by slavers.
Faerie
Said to be the oldest of the Shards, the history of Faerie is said (by the Faeries) to be the history of the Shards themselves. Dominated by the Fey courts and their dance, there are many others who live here: the human tribe of McUens, the survivors of now-destroyed Atlantis, the outcast Fomorii and more. The stories define this place, and many a strange tale is lost to the land…
Frontier
The untamed jungles of Frontier are more than they first appear. The land itself is a danger, home to ravenous wildlife and carnivorous plants. Throughout this place live the animistic tribes that try to work with the land, and settlers from foreign lands trying to tame the wilderness. Meanwhile, evil lizard creatures live in secret, scheming and plotting, and perhaps more secrets dwell hidden by the dense foliage, waiting to be found…
Salem
A land of dark forests, dark mountains and dark hearts. The people of this land survive the horrors that exist in this place through adherence to the faith of the One True God. Though the land has been divided into many nations, from the remnants of the once Shard-spanning Holy Empire, to the People’s Republic of East Salem; the strange lands of Araby, to the cold Steppe of the Khingan. It is the faith of the One that unites them in the end, but beyond the light of faith, darkness waits to swallow them all.
Thunders
Once dominated by the Five Thunders who gave their name to the land, the land is now ruled by the samurai of the Shogunate and the Empire, and the free peasants of the Sanctuary. Balance and Harmony bind the land, and disharmony threatens to bring it to chaos.
Union
The nexus of the portal network that once spread across every space of every Shard. The coming together of the Shards brought with it a cataclysm which saw that network destroyed, and a new one take its place. Once an unpopulated land, through the crises that have plagued the world, there has emerged a melting pot of cultures: from the Faerie settlement of Yana, to the seedy resort town of Compton, the sprawling Institute of Curiosities to the industrialised city of the Smoke, Union is at the front of a new era.
Other background
There is much more to the world than what you can see. Different planes of existence, secretive peoples, strange magicks and wondrous technologies… Information on these things can be found here.