You look at the sparkling star-shaped badge in your hand. Pressed proudly at the top with old-world machinery is the word "Errant" followed by your personal details. Nobody on this continent can hope to make a decent forgery, but it ain't that hard to shoot an unlucky enforcer in the back and take his badge if you really wanted one. In your other hand rests your new "Errant's bible". Mostly stuff you already went over in training. They went through the trouble of making sure you knew how to read just to check the badge and bible. If you got any questions and someone else has ever had the answer, it might just be in the bible.
You pull up the fresh-off-the-press book and skim through some cursory information.
First thing it talks about is the "Old World" across the ocean. Most enforcers where born there, this section must be for the colonials and the natives. A land of "science and progress!" with hundreds of different nations and dozens of languages and people. The place where guns, trains, and immigrants come from. The section on politics will probably be outdated by the time the ink finishes drying but it gives you a good sense on who hates who. About three hundred years back the Old World discovered the new one. Maybe rediscovered is a better word for it. Some of the stuff over here looks a lot like mythology they had back there, plus there where folks living here already. Either way there was the first literal and figurative gold rush after the ships came back. You see the fancy plants and monsters that you can't turn over a rock without running into around here just don't exist back there. Just filling up a ship's cargo bay full of leaves or fur would let you live the good life if you made it back. Things have calmed down since then, but bringing things to port for the Old World will probably always be a staple of the New World economy. You'll probably never go here. It ain't hard, ship tickets are relatively affordable for an Enforcer, they just got "law and order" figured out back there. For the most part. Natives can't survive long there unless they build up an immunity first. Things ain't going well back there, for various reasons immigration to the New World has been increasing.
Our bible connects the New and Old world with the Colonies. You see they cut the New World into three parts, the "Colonies", the "Frontier", and the "Darkness". You keep the Colonies and Frontier from eating each other and getting eaten by the various monsters. Colonies where first set up by folks from the Old World to collect New World goods and ship them back to the Old World. It ain't easy, even the well established colonies of today have to fight off various angry critters on top of all the diseases. Those sent with military escorts had a bit of an easier time, though poor folks trying to run away from persecution, debt, or whatever else floated their boat where left to fend for themselves. That's where the Knights Errant came in. Back in the Old World they where a military class that would wonder around fixing problems in various kingdoms and what had you. A few of them wondered across the pond and started protecting the colonies regardless of where their home nation was. Thanks to them the colonies didn't get wiped away in a sea of claws, jaws, and blood. Eventually they got around to making a more official organization just for the new world. We ain't knights no more, but we kept the "Errant".
Anyway they're a scarce couple of towns mostly to the East. Those by the sea are connected by railway, the further west you go the more likely you'll have to take a trail. Most Settlements in the colonies are the permanent type with walls and gates and guards, folks can live in relative safety and comfort but they'll never strike it real big unless someone on the Frontier is feeling particularly generous. They'll still have problems if a particularly ornery band of outlaws is gunning for their trails or rails, and even some of the weaker monsters can slip right by the guards, but for the most part you can go to sleep and expect to see them standing the next day.
Now the frontier is a different story. To the West and South of the Colonies are the folk willing to take risks to make real money. The frontier is mostly filled with boom towns following whatever the new trend is or exploiting the local resource. One town could be panning for gold while the next one over sends hunting parties after a certain critter while just down the river they're trying to cultivate a special plant. All three could be gone next month either as they get stomped flat or find a better place to ply their trade. Traders, craftsman, and other sorts follow the frontiersman looking for a slice of the pie. Sometimes they make it even bigger than the folk doing the more dangerous work. Criminals from back east like to hide out in this kind of place, there ain't too many lawmen asking questions and nobody thinks a new face is suspicious if the town just got founded yesterday. Others just live in a log cabin alone away from the rest of civilization. The local wildlife tends to be stronger and angrier than back in the colonies. Overall it is a place that holds high risk high reward for the good folk, meaning they mostly rely on themselves. And any wandering Errant that happens to be passing by.
As for the Darkness? Not on any map. Only the suicidaly brave step foot in the Darkness. Its like the land itself hates you personally and wants you dead. Surviving five minutes in the Darkness is considered a feat worthy of the strongest worriers to those unfortunate enough to live nearby it. Everything in the book on it is prefaced with warnings to stay the hell away. If you're chasing someone and they run into the darkness you're legally allowed to mark 'em dead without even pretending to look for the body. If you ever end up here you've either given up on life or the whole continent is in danger. Legends say that heroes have often had to travel into the Darkness to fight a great evil for the sake of the world....and about a century back the Errant had to do just that. At the very least there wouldn't be much of civilization on the continent left if they hadn't.
Speaking of civilization on the continent, lets talk about the other folks. There are many different people that live on this land aside from Old Worlders. Mostly you'll run into the big three. You'll occasionally run into some other folk if you travel far enough, but you'll mostly see these kinds of people if you stick near Old World lands. Notably the book says this is mostly the Old Wolder's distinction, the New Worlders typically identify by tribe, clan, or kingdom unless they're culturally adapted to being a new worlder. It generalizes a bit too, you'll occasionally see individuals or whole tribes that fall out of the normal.
Historically the first New World folks the Old World folks interacted with is the Tree Folk. They're found all throughout the Colonies and Frontier, despite what you'd think it ain't always around trees. They're typically good at identifying and using the plants of the New World to near magical effects. Thanks to this, their lifespan tends to span centuries if they can avoid falling prey to the harsh land. Overall they can be identified by their pointy ears and gangly body, their tribe can be easily identified by physical characteristics brought about by their plant conception. As an example, your bible describes the Red-Lipped tribe which routinely consumes a fruit that leaves their lips and mouths a bright red. Their medicinal knowledge was instrumental in keeping the pathogens of the old world from decimating the new world. However this tends to tie them closely to the land they live in. In most cases the plants they ingest must be routinely eaten to maintain the effect. If they leave without a stable supply, they will often become sick and perish as their body has relied on them for so long. Most of their medicinal knowledge works well on other folk, though to date nobody has been able to replicate their lifespan even when replicating their diet. Their technology is generally considered to be lower medieval before the arrival of old worlders, with some variations between tribes. Governments tend to be some form of monarchy, with some exceptions noted.
The second to be encountered was the Beast Folk. These folk have a natural affinity for what they call "spirits", allowing them to perform various miraculous actions that had astonished the Old Worlders. Some listed examples are moving objects, setting inexplicable fires, and launching lightning from their bows. They are typically nomadic hunters living in the Frontier, using a variety of New and Old World beasts as mounts. Unlike the Tree Folk the Beast Folk's name is very descriptive. They each have visible animalistic traits that tends to be loosely related to the local wildlife. One example in the book is a tribe of fishermen who have fins, scales, and the occasional claw or tentacle. Their technology was effectively in the stone age until the arrival of the Old Worlders, of the three groups they have latched on most eagerly to the offerings of the old world and depending on the deposition of the tribe trade or steal for them. Leadership varies from tribe to tribe more so than with other folk, though it is often tribal or clan based.
Then there is the Hill Folk. Named both for the hills they mine and the Hills they built, the Hill Folk make up a large Empire to the south. While the folk to the north had difficulty interacting between the tribes due to the dangerous wilderness and the Tree Folk's reliance on local plant life, the Hill Folk underwent massive building projects creating secure cities and roads allowing more interaction and eventually leading to one Empire subjugating all its neighbors. They're technology was likewise higher than the rest of the continent, with comparatively advanced metalworking and writing. They have access to a special form of gold that, when forged with a more solid metal, creates an "enchanted" piece giving a variety of benefits to its wielder. The Old Worlders have long been in conflict with the Hill Folk Empire, the Errant are legally banned in the Empire whereas their northern neighbors often signed treaties allowing them to patrol. Physically they tend to be short and hairy. A few can be found in the Frontier and Colonies, typically those from the subjugated parts of the Empire making a run for it with whatever they can carry. If they're lucky, that is "something covered in gold" and they can live the rest of their life comfortably in the colonies.
In all cases, you can expect both hostile and friendly interactions. As it said earlier contact between tribes was rare for various reasons...the exception being "Wanderers" or whatever else the local tribes called them. The rare people who would travel from tribe to tribe trading, spreading news and information, offering assistance in times of need, or even making war on the larger tribes. They'd often become something resembling legendary figures as they'd collect equipment and knowledge from each group they'd come across, giving them an impressive array of tricks and tools. Their purpose was close enough to Errants that many decided to join up just for the paycheck and logistical support, with the treaties the Errants made with the tribes legally allowing them to become full members. That is about when they started printing race and physical description on the badge, since some Old Wolders where worried that their enemies would steal badges and use them as an excuse to break into colonies and cause trouble.
Ah, that brings you back to the badge doesn't it? Right bellow "Errant" is your name. What is it? On the back is your physical description and race. What does it say?
Author
Topic: Errant-Wandering Sheriff of the New World (SG) (Read 3152 times)