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The Known World: A Lore Compendium

Fate's Edge GM Guide — Chapter 14

Using This Compendium

You only need to read the region your campaign is set in. The generators (see the separate Travel Guide) will provide the rest.

Quick reference by subgenre and typical conflict:

RegionFantasy SubgenreTypical Conflict
AcasiaLow fantasy / mercenary realismFeuding warlords, mercenary flips, the Curse
AelaeremFolk horror / pastoral darkThe Neighbors, clan feuds, harvest famine
AelerIndustrial / political / survival horrorResource scarcity, jurisdiction feuds, White Flood
AelinnelFae / mathematical / courtesy horrorGeasa, Thorn Court vs. law, the Green Gate
Black BannersMilitary / mercenary warfarePayday delays, condotta flips, winter campaigns
EcktoriaPolitical intrigue / legal dramaRival claimants, bread riots, Everflame schisms
LinnViking / maritime / oath-bound raidingFeuds, mistland fog, Thing injunctions
MistlandsFolk horror / gothicDirewood encroachment, ward-salt shortages
SilkstrandUrban / mercantile / noirGuild rivalries, dyewater curses, condotta flips
TheonaCeltic / folk horror / taboo-drivenNo Ninth taboo, bride-peace feasts, Green Host
ThepyrgosByzantine / academic / arcane mysterySynod edicts, iconoclast riots, witch-hunters
UbralHighland clan / reiver / honor cultureBlood feuds, guest-right, dwarf toll roads
ValewoodFairy tale / dark forest / fey remnantPhasing ruins, fae courts, imperial echoes
VhasiaCourtly romance / chivalric / fractured kingdomRival dukes, chevauchée, parlement war
ViterraLegal drama / low fantasy / frontier justiceBorder disputes, legal duels, Queen's progress
YkrulSteppe nomad / saga / honor cultureFeuds, hostage strings, white squalls
ZakovPirate / noir / crime syndicateSyndicate wars, tide-driven routes, cursed cargoes

When you read a region entry, look for the GM Seed — a one-line hook to spark an adventure — and the Faction Standing suggestion. Use the simple −3 to +3 scale to track attitudes, and tie advancements to Mandate and Crisis timers.

This chapter presents a practical overview of the major regions of Fate's Edge. For each area, you will find its dominant fantasy subgenre, the primary conflicts that drive adventure, and the key stakeholders (factions, leaders, and powers) that shape events. Use this as a quick reference when planning sessions or improvising.

A Note on Subgenres and Travel

Each region is designed as a distinct fantasy subgenre. When the party travels from one region to another, the genre shifts — a journey from the folk horror of the Mistlands to the political intrigue of Ecktoria should feel like turning the page to a different kind of story. Use the travel rules to blend these genres organically.

Acasia — “The Broken Province”

Genre: Low fantasy / mercenary realism / border feud.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“In Acasia, every bargain is an echo of a promise once broken, and every drink tastes faintly of obligation.”

GM Seed

A broken bridge, a cursed child, and a free company that switches sides.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track attitudes toward the Margravine, the Lame King, and the major free companies on a −3 to +3 scale. Tick Mandate up when the party brokers a truce or earns a noble's public endorsement. Tick Crisis when a feud spills into their path or a condotta flips.

The road-judges of Acasia whisper that the Curse is not a blight but a slow accounting — every unpaid tithe, every broken oath, etched into the stone. “Pay what you owe,” they say, “or the road will eat the interest.”

Aelaerem (Halflings) — “Hearth & Hollow”

Genre: Folk horror / pastoral quiet with dark undercurrents.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“Don't cross the Pale Causeway at dusk, especially not if you've got a silver tooth.”

GM Seed

A harvest feast where the ninth cup is poured, and the Hollow answers.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track relations with the Apple-Matron's hearth, the Lantern-Wardens, and the Pale Shepherd's circuit. Tick Mandate when the party honors a taboo or mediates a feud. Tick Crisis when a Neighbor is disturbed or a harvest fails.

A Gray Wanderer's note: “The Aelaerem pour the ninth cup only for the Hollow. They count to eight, then stop. I have seen a child count nine. The cup did not overflow — but the child's reflection was no longer her own.”

Aeler (Dwarves) — “Crowns & Under-Vaults”

Genre: Industrial / political / survival horror (underground).

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“When the stone starts singing a different tune, you best listen.”

GM Seed

A ventilation shaft collapses, and the only way out is through a sealed crypt that holds a forgotten king's secret.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Vault-Queen, the High King's court, and the True Masons. Tick Mandate when the party secures a new trade route or repairs a crucial under-way. Tick Crisis when a bell-code dispute escalates or a White Flood warning is ignored.

Saikou Ira's case files: “An Aeler tunnel-wright once told me, ‘The mountain does not forget a misplaced keystone. It waits — sometimes a year, sometimes a century — then settles the debt with a collapse.’ I have never seen a dwarf leave a stone unturned.”

Aelinnel (Gnomes) — “Stone, Bough, and Bright Things”

Genre: Fae / mathematical / courtesy horror.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The law here flows like water over stone — it finds its own path, and woe to those who try to dam it with paper.”

GM Seed

A missing step, an unsaid name, and a door that only opens when you speak the eighth word.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Stone Prince's court, the Lady of Thorns, and the Oath-Carvers. Tick Mandate when the party resolves a dispute without breaking geas. Tick Crisis when a promise is shattered or the Green Gate opens at the wrong hour.

From the Gray Wanderer: “An Aelinnel bell-tender once told me, ‘We do not say “no” to a spirit. We say, “That road is closed for repairs.” The spirit nods and leaves. It is not a lie — the road is closed. To spirits.’”

Black Banners — “Condotta & Crowns”

Genre: Military / mercenary / low fantasy warfare.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“A contract is only as good as the next payday, and a grudge is only as sharp as the sword backing it.”

GM Seed

Two rival companies encamped on opposite sides of a frozen river; a single bag of coin could end the war or set off a massacre.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with individual banner captains, the condotta brokers, and the Clan-Mother. Tick Crisis when a payday is missed or a condotta flips mid-contract.

A camp whisper: “The Black Colonel died three winters ago. The banner rides because the company owes him a war. They will not stop until the debt is paid — in blood or gold.”

Ecktoria — “Marble & Fire”

Genre: Political intrigue / legal drama / fallen empire.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The law here is written not in books but in marble and flame.”

GM Seed

A forged will, a missing tax ledger, and a procession that turns into a riot at noon.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Grand Magistrate, the Everflame priesthood, and the ducal courts. Tick Mandate when the party wins a legal case or brokers a grain deal. Tick Crisis when a bread riot ignites or a heretic is burned.

Saikou Ira notes: “The Everflame's inquisitors burn heretics on the Triumph Stairs. But the ashes are swept into the same crypts as the senators' bones. In Ecktoria, even the dead cannot escape politics.”

Linn — “Skerries & Storm-Oaths”

Genre: Viking / maritime / oath-bound raiding.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The sea keeps better counsel than any scribe, and the storm remembers every oath sworn upon its winds.”

GM Seed

A bride stolen, a longship lost in fog, and a skald's verse that names the dead.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Sea-Queen's court, the High Jarl's household, and the skaldic circles. Tick Mandate when the party resolves a feud at Thing. Tick Crisis when a ship is lost in a squall or a wedding turns to blood.

A Linn skald's verse: “The Thing-bell rings for the living. The drowned wait for a different bell — one that only sounds when the tide forgets its name.”

Mistlands — “Bells, Salt, and Breath”

Genre: Folk horror / gothic / supernatural dread.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The bells here do more than mark time — they weave the very fabric of reality.”

GM Seed

A bell-line fails at dusk, and something that should not walk steps through the gap.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Legate's protectorate, the Bell-Wardens, and the Salt-Monks. Tick Mandate when the party repairs a bell-line or negotiates a ward-salt shipment. Tick Crisis when a wraith breaks through or a village is quarantined.

A Gray Wanderer's warning: “In the Mistlands, never breathe deeply after the ninth bell. The fog remembers your breath, and one day it will ask for it back.”

Silkstrand — “City of Bridges & Dyewater”

Genre: Urban / mercantile / noir.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“In this city, every bridge belongs to someone, and every current carries the price of being allowed to cross.”

GM Seed

A dye-permit stamped with a dead notary's seal, and a canal that runs red at midnight.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Matron's office, the Dyers' Guild, and the smuggling networks. Tick Mandate when the party brokers a trade deal or exposes a forger. Tick Crisis when the Exchange corners a market or a condotta flips.

Madam Serafine's whisper: “The dye-water never truly washes out. A forger's hands stay stained — not with color, but with the memory of every seal they broke. You can see it in the way their fingers curl.”

Theona — “Three Greens, No Ninth”

Genre: Celtic / folk horror / taboo-driven.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The wells here hold more than water — they hold the dreams and prayers of generations.”

GM Seed

A bride-peace feast where the ninth cup is poured, and the Green Host rides before dawn.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Matron of Wells, the Three-Isles King's moot, and the Taboo-Witness. Tick Mandate when the party keeps the Ninth silent or brokers a marriage peace. Tick Crisis when a taboo is broken or the Green Host is sighted.

A Gray Wanderer's note: “I attended a moot on Theona. They counted every vote, every step, every cup — but never the ninth. When I asked why, the eldest said, ‘The ninth is not for us. It is for the ones who will come after. Let them count it.’”

Thepyrgos — “City of a Thousand Stairs”

Genre: Byzantine / academic / arcane mystery.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“Every stair climbed is a word in the great conversation between earth and sky.”

GM Seed

A stolen grimoire, a silent bell, and a witch-hunter who refuses to explain her orders.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Archon's office, the Synod, and the Chain-Lantern order. Tick Mandate when the party resolves a heresy trial or sponsors a student. Tick Crisis when an iconoclast riot erupts or a witch-hunt goes too far.

Saikou Ira's observation: “Thepyrgos's witch-hunters carry censers of lead, not brass. ‘Brass is for faith,’ they say. ‘Lead is for certainty.’ I have never seen a lead censer cool.”

Ubral — “The Stone Between Spears”

Genre: Highland clan / reiver / honor culture.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The stone here remembers every oath sworn upon it and every blood spilled in its shadow.”

GM Seed

A stolen herd, a broken guest-token, and a cairn that adds a new name at dawn.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Lady of Tor, the Council of Cairns, and the Khaz-Vurim dwarf wardens. Tick Mandate when the party pays a wergild or brokers a truce. Tick Crisis when a feud reignites or a guest-right is violated.

A Gray Wanderer's memory: “An Ubral widow once told me, ‘My husband's feud cost three cows and a boy's finger. I paid the cows. The finger — that is still owed.’ She smiled. I did not ask more.”

Valewood — “Empire Under Leaves”

Genre: Fairy tale / dark forest / fey remnant.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The forest here remembers empires that crumbled to dust, and its laws are older than your kingdoms.”

GM Seed

A star-road that opens at dusk, a fae bargain that demands a voice, and an imperial shade that knows your true name.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Hazel Queen, the Alder King, and the Imperial Echo patrols. Tick Mandate when the party returns a relic or respects a geas. Tick Crisis when a court's patience expires or a star-road realigns dangerously.

A Lethai-ar whisper: “The Valewood is not a place. It is a process. Every root, every leaf, every fallen emperor — all are being digested into something new. Walk softly, or you will join the meal.”

Vhasia — “The Fractured Sun”

Genre: Courtly romance / chivalric / fractured kingdom.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The sun may be fractured, but our authority is absolute within our domains.”

GM Seed

A false Dauphin, a stolen crown, and a chevauchée that burns a village that swore neutrality.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with each of the Two Crowns, the Queen-Mother, and the Parlement clerks. Tick Mandate when the party brokers a truce or exposes a forgery. Tick Crisis when a chevauchée goes unanswered or a parlement divides.

The Gray Wanderer: “In Vhasia, every castle flies two banners — one for the king who might return, and one for the lord who actually lives there. The third banner, the one for the truth, is never raised.”

Viterra — “The Hedge-Law Realm”

Genre: Legal drama / low fantasy / frontier justice.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“Every hedge here marks not just a boundary but a principle — the careful balance between order and freedom.”

GM Seed

A boundary stone moved overnight, a legal duel at dawn, and a charter that was signed in disappearing ink.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Queen's court, the Queen's Justiciars, and the Fen Reeves. Tick Mandate when the party wins a legal case or settles a border dispute. Tick Crisis when a legal duel turns lethal or a charter is voided.

A Justiciar's saying: “The hedge does not move. The law moves. If you wake to find your boundary stone three feet east, do not curse the neighbor — curse the clerk who slept with the surveyor's wife.”

Ykrul (Orcs) — “Wolf Standards, Winter Camps”

Genre: Steppe nomad / saga / honor culture.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The steppe remembers every oath sworn beneath its endless sky, and the wolf-standards carry the honor of clans that have outlasted empires.”

GM Seed

A hostage string cut, a white squall that blinds both sides, and a Sky-Speaker who demands a blood-price for the weather.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Khatun's camp, the Khagan's court, and the Sky-Speaker's circle. Tick Mandate when the party pays a blood-price or secures a hostage exchange. Tick Crisis when a white squall isolates a camp or a hostage string is severed.

A Ykrul bone-singer's whisper: “The wind carries more than snow. It carries the names of the forgotten. When a horse shies at nothing, it is because a name touched its ear. Speak the name, and the horse will calm — or run.”

Zakov — “Salt & Serpent”

Genre: Pirate / noir / crime syndicate.

Primary Conflicts

Key Stakeholders

“The tide here keeps better ledgers than any scribe, and the reefs remember every secret whispered above their depths.”

GM Seed

A cursed cargo that whispers, a tide that does not rise, and a Syndicate Silent who offers a deal with no visible cost.

Hidden Agendas

Faction Standing

Track standing with the Salt Prince's court, the Pirate Queen's flotilla, and the Syndicate Silent. Tick Crisis when a syndicate war breaks out or a cursed cargo escapes. (Mandate rarely applies in Zakov — reputation is measured in threats, not legitimacy.)

Madam Serafine's advice: “In Zakov, a coin that stays warm is a curse. Spend it fast, or throw it into the sea. The Salt Prince's collectors can smell interest from three docks away.”

Other Regions (Brief)

For completeness, these areas appear in the comprehensive guide but are less central to the core setting:

Using This Compendium at the Table

When preparing a session or improvising, consult the region's entry for:

Remember that travel rules allow you to blend these genres as the party moves from one region to another.