Cinder Reach
Volcanic badlandsMiners pry emberglass from a crater while the ground beneath their camp starts to breathe.Where: The fire shard, a broad crescent near the center of the drift.Next to
Ferryfall
World · A shattered world
Ferryfall
Every road hangs by a cable, and every cable has an owner.
Overview
Ferryfall is what remains of a world broken into seven drifting shards, each ruled in part by a different element. Settlements cling to old anchor towers and survive by magitech ferries, lift engines, and bargains with whoever controls the routes. The largest shards hold cities and armies; smaller ones are little more than a mine, a shrine, or a haunted landing. Every crossing carries cargo, rumor, and the risk of being cut loose.
The world
ShapeA shattered world
What it is likeSeven fragments of one broken planet float across a gulf, each dominated by a different element; the earth shard is largest, while the time shard is scarcely more than a sliver.
How people travelTravel uses elemental lift engines, cable ferries, and tethered skyships; routes shift with the shards, and an untethered crossing risks being lost in the gulf.
Themes
Ruin and salvage, Risky crossings, Elemental wonder, Hard bargains
Laws of the world
The rules
MagicMagic draws on the dominant element of each shard; trained casters shape it, while mythic workings can alter terrain or awaken ancient engines at steep cost.
TechnologyMagitech is common in ports and scarce inland: lift engines, signal lamps, cable ferries, and hand-built weapons run on elemental cores.
Death and soulsThe dead are buried or burned according to local custom; souls pass beyond the shards, though spirit-workers can briefly call echoes that are not truly the dead.
Special rules
A shard's dominant element slowly alters local weather, wildlife, and unprotected objects.
Crossing the gulf without a powered vessel or tether is almost always fatal.
The skies
SkiesThe shards hang in a vast blue-black gulf, with cloud seas and distant fragments below; auroras mark strong elemental currents.
Moons and stars
- The pale moon, used by navigators to judge drift
- The Red Lamp, a bright wandering star blamed for engine surges
SeasonsDays last twenty-six hours by old engine clocks, while each shard keeps its own weather cycle; the moons set the safest crossing seasons.
Ages
3 agesMagitech lifts and ferries have restored travel, but rival powers fight over the anchors, fuel, and laws that keep the shards near.
Powers
4 powers · 2 conflictsPowers
- The Liftwrights' CompactTrade guildReach: Engineers and cable crews at the major portsKeep the anchor network working and preserve their right to charge for passage.
- The Crown LeagueRival leagueReach: Three major shards and their tributary portsUnite the largest settlements under a single customs code and navy.
- The Free PortsPort allianceReach: Independent harbors scattered across the shardsProtect local routes from tolls, conscription, and outside claims.
- The Salt FactorsMerchant consortiumReach: Merchants, lenders, and agents on every shardSecure elemental fuel for their patrons and keep the mines open.
Conflicts
- The Anchor DisputeSidesWhoever controls the anchor towers can redirect trade routes or let whole settlements drift beyond reach.
The Liftwrights' Compact, The Crown League, Free shard ports
- The Ember ClaimSidesA new mine threatens to wake the fire shard's buried engine, while its factions argue over who gets the wealth and who bears the danger.
The Ash Guard, Fire-shard miners, The Salt Factors
Atlas
8 regionsSecrets
Secret 1 · GM only
Secret 2 · GM only
Secret 3 · GM only
Plot hooks
4 hooks- 1The Empty CrossingInvestigationA cable ferry arrives at a port with its crew missing and a new shard visible through the empty route.
- 2A Tower for SaleEscortA liftwright hires the party to guard a replacement anchor core, while rival claimants insist the old tower belongs to them.
- 3Below the CindersExplorationMiners uncover a sealed control room beneath the fire fields, and the local engine begins answering their tools.
- 4The Last RouteMoral dilemmaA spirit-worker offers the party a dead navigator's memory in exchange for carrying it to the shard where they died.
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