Oathbound presents an epic struggle against cosmic forces, where creatures must strive to uncover
ancient secrets and shape the destiny of an entire world. In this world of extreme sensations and
passions, strength and power truly matter! The heroes in Oathbound stories are not merely powerful—
they are the most powerful heroes in the cosmos. The forces in Oathbound gather the strongest and
most promising heroes in the universe and push them to their maximum potential, pitting them against
supreme villains of unimaginable evil. The main driving forcess of the Oathbound setting are freedom
and power, which work in opposition to one another and serve to keep the stories going. For the most
part, the more power each character has, the less freedom is available to him. Those with freedom
desire power, and those with power, freedom.
ancient secrets and shape the destiny of an entire world. In this world of extreme sensations and
passions, strength and power truly matter! The heroes in Oathbound stories are not merely powerful—
they are the most powerful heroes in the cosmos. The forces in Oathbound gather the strongest and
most promising heroes in the universe and push them to their maximum potential, pitting them against
supreme villains of unimaginable evil. The main driving forcess of the Oathbound setting are freedom
and power, which work in opposition to one another and serve to keep the stories going. For the most
part, the more power each character has, the less freedom is available to him. Those with freedom
desire power, and those with power, freedom.
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Any of the races in the main campaign can be used in Oathbound, but if you plan on utilizing the city of
Penance with its unique issues I would suggest ruling out any of the giant races as well as the stone
grunts. Players with a weight over a few hundred pounds will find travel in Penance impossible and
lethal. If there is a certain race you players want to try, this is certainly the setting to experiment.
THE CITY OF PENANCE
This single city is actually the size of a small nation. It is raised high on a deep plateau of archaeological
strata, formed of the ruins of ancient buildings, relics of the city’s age-old past. Penance is a difficult
place to navigate, where alleys and streets sometimes lead nowhere. There are places where one may
walk through city streets for miles and never see a sign of life, while in others it is too crowded to even
move. The city is a landscape of buildings and towers, built on the backs of countless millions. It is
enormous and sprawling, cut only by the swift rivers that flow from the great freshwater lake at its center.
Races of all kinds and ken dwell in the city of Penance, and for the most part live amongst one another in
a rather metropolitan way. The city’s maze of alleys and side streets are hunted by the
dark, cruel, and sick, and at night it is a dangerous place to walk unguarded. In the vast abandoned
parts of the city, strange secrets are lost from the ages. These places are home only to hordes of bandits
and lone, horrible creatures that kill without question and take whatever they desire.
The most striking feature of Penance is its architecture. Unlike most cities, which are built upon the
ground, the city of Penance stands over a thousand feet above the soil, its foundations made up from or
placed atop buildings near to two thousand years old, which in turn rest upon buildings perhaps four
thousand years old, and so on. The city does not stack on a regular basis, but as part of a natural,
constant, and organic process, giving the city an uneven and hilly look, as some places are built up
more than others. Street level is a very inconsistent concept in Penance, as it may vary by as much as a
hundred feet over the expanse of a single block. Stairways, railings, and ladders are essential means
of getting around in the city, and everyone in Penance has become quite accustomed to making constant
use of them.
Only in the richest and most prestigious areas of the city have the streets been leveled out and set
at the same height with a complex series of planks, underground scaffolding and masonry. These areas
have their own quirks though, as entrance to any given building may connect to any given level. A
massive tower, for example, may appear only to be small shed, as only its very top pokes above the
level of the street. In another few thousand years, the tower will vanish completely and become
forgotten, relegated to the vast unknown sea of ruins known as the undercity.
Having no open topsoil causes some interesting situations in the city. Plants cannot grow on
their own, and dirt must be imported from the countryside in order for the city to have any greenery
within its confines. Most citizens in Penance employ window boxes or roof gardens to grow at least
some of their food, and fresh soil is as much a commodity in the city as wood, stone, or iron. One cannot
dig down into the earth here, so the dead of the city are traditionally incinerated. There is no such
thing as a grave in Penance, unless one views the undercity and its many victims as a mass grave of
sorts.
Penance with its unique issues I would suggest ruling out any of the giant races as well as the stone
grunts. Players with a weight over a few hundred pounds will find travel in Penance impossible and
lethal. If there is a certain race you players want to try, this is certainly the setting to experiment.
THE CITY OF PENANCE
This single city is actually the size of a small nation. It is raised high on a deep plateau of archaeological
strata, formed of the ruins of ancient buildings, relics of the city’s age-old past. Penance is a difficult
place to navigate, where alleys and streets sometimes lead nowhere. There are places where one may
walk through city streets for miles and never see a sign of life, while in others it is too crowded to even
move. The city is a landscape of buildings and towers, built on the backs of countless millions. It is
enormous and sprawling, cut only by the swift rivers that flow from the great freshwater lake at its center.
Races of all kinds and ken dwell in the city of Penance, and for the most part live amongst one another in
a rather metropolitan way. The city’s maze of alleys and side streets are hunted by the
dark, cruel, and sick, and at night it is a dangerous place to walk unguarded. In the vast abandoned
parts of the city, strange secrets are lost from the ages. These places are home only to hordes of bandits
and lone, horrible creatures that kill without question and take whatever they desire.
The most striking feature of Penance is its architecture. Unlike most cities, which are built upon the
ground, the city of Penance stands over a thousand feet above the soil, its foundations made up from or
placed atop buildings near to two thousand years old, which in turn rest upon buildings perhaps four
thousand years old, and so on. The city does not stack on a regular basis, but as part of a natural,
constant, and organic process, giving the city an uneven and hilly look, as some places are built up
more than others. Street level is a very inconsistent concept in Penance, as it may vary by as much as a
hundred feet over the expanse of a single block. Stairways, railings, and ladders are essential means
of getting around in the city, and everyone in Penance has become quite accustomed to making constant
use of them.
Only in the richest and most prestigious areas of the city have the streets been leveled out and set
at the same height with a complex series of planks, underground scaffolding and masonry. These areas
have their own quirks though, as entrance to any given building may connect to any given level. A
massive tower, for example, may appear only to be small shed, as only its very top pokes above the
level of the street. In another few thousand years, the tower will vanish completely and become
forgotten, relegated to the vast unknown sea of ruins known as the undercity.
Having no open topsoil causes some interesting situations in the city. Plants cannot grow on
their own, and dirt must be imported from the countryside in order for the city to have any greenery
within its confines. Most citizens in Penance employ window boxes or roof gardens to grow at least
some of their food, and fresh soil is as much a commodity in the city as wood, stone, or iron. One cannot
dig down into the earth here, so the dead of the city are traditionally incinerated. There is no such
thing as a grave in Penance, unless one views the undercity and its many victims as a mass grave of
sorts.
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